PurposeTo determine the prevalence of refractive errors, among 6- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in the city of Dezful in western Iran.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 1375 Dezful schoolchildren were selected through multistage cluster sampling. After obtaining written consent, participants had uncorrected and corrected visual acuity tests and cycloplegic refraction at the school site. Refractive errors were defined as myopia [spherical equivalent (SE) −0.5 diopter (D)], hyperopia (SE ≥ 2.0D), and astigmatism (cylinder error > 0.5D).Results1151 (83.7%) schoolchildren participated in the study. Of these, 1130 completed their examinations. 21 individuals were excluded because of poor cooperation and contraindication for cycloplegic refraction. Prevalence of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism were 14.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 10.1–19.6), 12.9% (95% CI: 7.2–18.6), and 45.3% (95% CI: 40.3–50.3), respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed an age-related increase in myopia prevalence (p << 0.001) and a decrease in hyperopia prevalence (p << 0.001). There was a higher prevalence of myopia in boys (p<<0.001) and hyperopia in girls (p = 0.007).ConclusionThis study showed a considerably high prevalence of refractive errors among the Iranian population of schoolchildren in Dezful in the west of Iran. The prevalence of myopia is considerably high compared to previous studies in Iran and increases with age.

Necessary attention should be paid to amblyopia, although its prevalence in Iran is mid-range when compared with other countries. Amblyopia is more common in hyperopic and astigmatic individuals and therefore it is important to pay more attention to this refractive error during childhood. Since strabismus is the most common cause of amblyopia in Iran, children need to be checked for strabismus before the age of 5 years.

Purpose To determine the prevalence of amblyopia, strabismus, and ptosis among schoolchildren in Dezful in the west of Iran. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 1,375 schoolchildren of Dezful were selected through multistage cluster sampling. After obtaining written consents, participants had uncorrected and corrected visual acuity tests, cycloplegic refraction, and the cover test, and were examined for ptosis at the school site. Results Of the 1,151 study participants (83.7%), examinations were completed for 1,130 schoolchildren. Prevalence rates of amblyopia, strabismus, and ptosis were 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.8-4.7), 1.9% (95% CI: 0.2-3.8), and 0.8%, respectively. Anisometropia was the most common cause of amblyopia; 45.2% of cases had anisometropic amblyopia. Among cases with strabismus, 63.6% were exotropic and 36.4% were esotropic. Conclusion The present study indicated that the prevalence of amblyopia and strabismus in Dezful schoolchildren falls in the average range. Since the Amblyopia Screening Program has been running for years, we expected lower rates compared to previous years, but this was not observed. Correcting refractive errors can significantly reduce amblyopic cases.

Introduction: Cancers is considered as the third reason of death after cardiovascular disease and accidents. These types of disease are one of the most critical issues in health and treatment in Iran and the world. Objectives: The aim of this study was to conduct an epidemiologic investigation on types of cancers in Dezful. Patients and Methods: In this epidemiologic study, recorded data of cancers during 2006-2011 was considered. The data were gathered from all of health centers, pathobiology laboratories, and all public and private hospitals in the city of Dezful. Additionally the data of oncology and radiotherapy departments were considered. The, incidence rate in every 100 000 people had been calculated in subgroups of gender and age groups. Results: Of 2202 registered cases of cancers during 6 years in Dezful, 42.38% were female and 57.61% were male. Cancer incidence during 6 years reached to 525 (incidence of 111.68 per 100 000) in 2011 to 223 (incidence 55.4 per 100 000) in 2006. During this period, skin cancers (16.47 per 100 000) and stomach (10.88 per 100 000) had the highest incidence. The most common cancers in males and females were skin and breast cancers, respectively. Breast cancer in females had two peaks from ages 50-54 years and more than 85 years old. Conclusion: Regarding ascending order of cancer incidence in the region and also the high incidence of skin and stomach cancers, preventive modalities including individuals' personal protection of sunlight and dietary patterns modification are suggested. Additionally, individual's screening and self-examining are suggested too.

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.