IntroductionThe aim of this study was to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Iranian people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus using two different measures and examines which socio-demographic and diabetes-related characteristics are associated with better quality of life based on a nationally distributed sample.MethodsA multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select 3472 subjects as a part of Iranian surveillance of risk factors of non-communicable disease (ISRFNCD). EuroQol-5 Dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were employed to measure HRQoL. Binary logistic and Tobit regression models were used to investigate factors associated with EQ-5D results.ResultsThe mean age of subjects was 59.4 years (SD = 11.7), 61.3% were female and had 8.08 years (SD = 6.7) known duration of diabetes. The patients reported “some or extreme problems” most frequently in Pain/Discomfort (69.3%) and Anxiety/Depression (56.6%) dimensions of EQ-5D. The mean EQ-5D and VAS score were 0.70 (95% CI 0.69–0.71) and 56.8 (95% CI 56.15–57.5) respectively. Female gender, lower education, unemployment, long duration of diabetes, diabetes-related hospitalization in past years and having nephropathy and lower extremity lesions were associated with higher probabilities of reporting “some or extreme problems” in most dimensions of EQ-5D in binary logistic regression models. The same factors in addition to retinopathy were significantly associated with lower levels of HRQoL in Tobit regression analysis too.ConclusionsThe study findings indicate that patients with diabetes in Iran suffer from relatively poor HRQoL. Therefore much more attention should be paid to main determinants of HRQoL to identify and implement appropriate policies for achieving better management of diabetes and ultimately improving the quality of life of diabetic patients in this region.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Iranian people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus using two different measures and examines which socio-demographic and diabetes-related characteristics are associated with better quality of life based on a nationally distributed sample.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are used at high doses by athletes for improving athletic ability, physical appearance and muscle mass. Unfortunately, the abuse of these agents has significantly increased. It has been established that exercise and high doses of anabolic-androgenic steroids may influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, which can in turn affect testicular apoptosis. However, the effect of the combination of exercise and high dose of anabolic-androgenic steroids on testicular apoptosis is not known. We investigated the combined effects of exercise and high doses of nandrolone decanoate on apoptosis in the spermatogenic cell lineage. Five groups of male Wistar strain albino rats were treated as follows for 8 weeks: solvent of nandrolone decanoate (peanut oil) as a vehicle (Sham); nandrolone decanoate (10 mg ⁄ kg ⁄ weekly) (nandrolone decanoate); exercise (1 hr ⁄ day, 5 days a week) (exercise); nandrolone decanoate (10 mg ⁄ kg ⁄ weekly) and exercise (1 hr ⁄ day, 5 days a week) (nandrolone decanoate exercise); and sedentary control without any injection or exercise (Control). Apoptosis in the male germ line was characterized by TUNEL, caspase-3 assay and transmission electron microscopy. The weights of the testis and accessory sex organs, as well as sperm parameters significantly decreased in the experimental groups relative to the sham and control groups (p £ 0.05). Germ cell apoptosis and a significant decrease in the number of germ cell layers in nandrolone decanoate exercise-treated testes were observed (p £ 0.05). Exercise training seems to increase the extent of apoptotic changes caused by supraphysiological dose of nandrolone decanoate in rats, which in turn affects fertility.

No abstract

Curcumin is well known for its potent antioxidant activity. The result of numerous studies showed that antioxidants can protect against fluoride-induced toxicity. In the present study, protective effects of curcumin against sodium fluoride-induced toxicity in rat erythrocytes were evaluated. Curcumin (10 and 20 mg/kg) and vitamin C (10 mg/kg) were administrated intraperitoneally for 1 week followed by sodium fluoride (600 ppm) treatment for next week. Erythrocytes were isolated and superoxide dismutase and catalase activities as well as the levels of reduced glutathione, and lipid peroxidation were measured. The level of malondialdehyde in sodium fluoride treated rats (595.13 ± 20.23 nmol/g Hb) increased compared to the normal rats (315.44 ± 9.76 nmol/g Hb). Animals which were pretreated with curcumin at 20 mg/kg for 1 week prior to sodium fluoride intoxication showed significant reduction in the malondialdehyde level (320.22 ± 9.28 nmol/g Hb). Also, pretreated with curcumin (20 mg/kg) and vitamin C restored the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and modified the level of reduced glutathione compared with control group (p > 0.01).

There were obvious differences between the results of different methods in our study. However, there were significant correlations between them, except between sign and symptom score methods. For determining the most reliable screening test, further studies are needed to compare these methods with a gold standard test and reveal the specificity and sensitivity of these tests.

No abstract

Introduction: Adequate information about patient using health care facilities is a critical element in planning activities and allocation resources in health sector. In Iran, with performing family physician plan and attempt to reform referral system, the study of mobility of patients between regions (patient migration) has more importance. The aims of the study are: 1) to describe patients' migration across cities of Iranian Kerman province; 2) to analyze the role of possible determinants affecting the mobility flows. Methodology: using hospital inpatient records of all public hospitals around Kerman province during 2011, we run logit models that compare patients who were admitted in hospital and received health services in cities where they lived and patients received them out of their local hospitals. We studied 21 patient groups according to ICD10 chapters (Appendix 1) to compute the effect of geographic distance, kind of insurance, number of physiccians involved, hospital bed and patient demographic factors. Results: About 40 percent of hospital admissions in Kerman are emigrant patients that quality or quantity of local provided services didn't satisfy. Constant negative coefficients of geographic distance, hospitals physician and bed and positive coefficients for insurance in all groups do not show any difference in patient migration, between groups. Discussion: According to results of this research, existence of local services, distance, kind of illness and other factors are not more important than patients' feeling about ser-* Corresponding author. A. Sabermahani et al. 837vices in their migration. Paying no attention to this reality in planning health system reforms, especially referral systems, leads to important problems for health system in equity, patient satisfaction and finance aspects.