Riboflavin supplementation (10 mg/day) to patients with MS does not improve disability status. It appears that this effect is not related to serum homocysteine levels.

Vitamin D and zinc are important components of nutritional immunity. This study compared the serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and zinc in COVID-19 outpatients with those of potentially non-infected participants. The association of clinical symptoms with vitamin D and zinc status was also examined. A checklist and laboratory examination were applied to collect data in a cross-sectional study conducted on 53 infected outpatients with COVID-19 and 53 potentially non-infected participants. Serum concentration of 25(OH)D were not significantly lower in patients with moderate illness (19 ± 12 ng/mL) than patients with asymptomatic or mild illness (29 ± 18 ng/mL), with a trend noted for a lower serum concentration of 25(OH)D in moderate than asymptomatic or mild illness patients (p = 0.054). Infected patients (101 ± 18 µg/dL) showed a lower serum concentration of zinc than potentially non-infected participants (114 ± 13 µg/dL) (p = 0.01). Patients with normal (odds ratio (OR), 0.19; p ≤ 0.001) and insufficient (OR, 0.3; p = 0.007) vitamin D status at the second to seventh days of disease had decreased OR of general symptoms compared to patients with vitamin D deficiency. This study revealed the importance of 25(OH)D measurement to predict the progression of general and pulmonary symptoms and showed that infected patients had significantly lower zinc concentrations than potentially non-infected participants.

This study showed a higher prevalence of marginal riboflavin deficiency in depressed subjects. We found no association between dietary intake and status of riboflavin with low-grade systematic inflammation in nondepressed and depressed clinical nurses.

Background: Food addiction has been defined as consuming palatable foods leading to addictive-like behaviors. Little studies have assayed food addiction in children and adolescents. Thus, we aimed at identifying the prevalence of food addiction and the relationship between food addiction, sociodemographic and anthropometric indicators among children and adolescents in southwestern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 222 elementary school students aged 7 to 13 years in Ahvaz, Iran, using a random sampling method. Sociodemographic and anthropometric indicators were obtained. The 25-item child version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS-C) was applied to provide food addiction diagnosis and symptoms. A nonparametric analysis was used for data analysis. Results: The prevalence of food addiction was 17.3%. Also, the most common symptoms associated with food addiction were (1) inability to cut down, (2) withdrawal, and (3) tolerance. The students with food addiction diagnosis were older than the undiagnosed (p=0.04). The males and students older than 8 years showed a higher food addiction score than females and students under 8 years (p<0.05). In females, significant positive correlations were found between anthropometric indicators, including body mass index and body mass index z-score, with food addiction score (p<0.01). Conclusion: Food addiction diagnosis was more prevalent in males and students over 8 years. Females with higher YFAS-C scores had elevated body mass index z-scores, suggesting that food addiction may be a remarkable problem in childhood and early adolescence and may also be related to a risk of overweight/obesity in Iranian students.

The antioxidant system can be critical in reducing exacerbated inflammation in COVID-19. This study compared the antioxidant and inflammatory responses between COVID-19 outpatients and seemingly healthy individuals. This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 53 COVID-19 outpatients and 53 healthy individuals as controls. The serum concentrations of amyloid A (SAA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured and compared between COVID-19 patients and controls using the independent sample t-test before and after controlling for dietary supplement use. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression model, limited to COVID-19 patients, was used to evaluate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of disease symptoms on days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after the disease onset. Serum concentrations of SOD (p ≤ 0.001) and GPx (p = 0.001) were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients than in controls before adjustment for dietary supplement use. GPx remained significantly higher among COVID-19 patients than in controls after adjustment for all dietary supplements (p = 0.005). Moreover, serum concentrations of GPx (p = 0.003), SOD (p = 0.022), and TAC (p = 0.028) remained significantly higher among COVID-19 patients than in controls after adjustment for vitamin D supplementation. This study showed higher GPx in COVID-19 outpatients than in controls after adjustment for dietary supplement use. Moreover, elevated SOD, GPx, and TAC concentrations were shown in COVID-19 outpatients compared to controls after adjusting for vitamin D supplementation. These results may provide a useful therapeutic target for treating oxidative stress in COVID-19 disease, which may help ameliorate the pandemic.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare nutrients intake, anthropometric, biochemical and psychiatric indices between shift working and day-time nurses. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in which ninety eight female nurses (55 day-time workers and 43 shift workers) from six educational hospitals of Jondi-Shapour University of medical sciences, Ahvaz, Iran were participated. A questionnaire including dietary, anthropometric, disease history and lifestyle pattern questions was completed and 3-day 24-hour recalls, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were collected. Serum hs-CRP and 25(OH)D 3 concentrations were measured by immunoturbidimetric and electrochemiluminescent immunoassay method, respectively. Anthropometric indices were measured according to World health organization standard protocol. Independent sample t and chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: There was a lower dietary intake of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, magnesium and iron in shift worker compared with day-time nurses (p < 0.05). No significant differences in serum hs-CRP concentrations, serum 25(OH)D 3 levels, vitamin D deficiency percentage, hemoglobin and hematocrite concentrations, and also anthropometric and psychiatric variables were found between two groups. Duration of exposure to sunlight was significantly higher in shift workers than in day time nurses. Engagement time in weekly physical exercise was around 11 times greater in day-time nurses compared with the shift work nurses (p = 0.001). Conclusions: This study showed that shift working is associated with some nutritional deficiencies and sedentary lifestyle among female nurses.

Background: Malnutrition is generally due to a lack of nutritional information rather than food deficiency. Therefore, the current knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) of the target audience should be evaluated to eliminate malnutrition. However, KAP varies across demographic status and socioeconomic status (SES). Aim: The associations of nutritional KAP with demographic and socioeconomic variables were evaluated among households living in urban and rural areas of southwestern Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted on 842 household heads (492 urban and 350 rural) using a standardized NUTRIKAP Household Questionnaire. The data evaluating nutritional KAP as well as demographic and socioeconomic information were obtained using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. SES score was also computed. Results: Urban households had a higher level of nutritional knowledge ( p < 0.05) but a lower level of nutritional attitude ( p < 0.001) and practice ( p < 0.001) compared with the rural ones. Rural households with the poorest quintiles of SES were 0.4 times less likely to have good nutritional knowledge (adjusted odds ratio = 0.4, confidence interval: 0.2, 0.9; p < 0.05), compared with higher quintiles. Households with an over-60-years-old household head had significantly higher nutritional attitude ( p < 0.05) and practice ( p <0.01) scores than households with younger ones. Households with male household heads had a higher nutritional practice score compared with households with female ones. Conclusions: These results can indicate the role of demographic and socioeconomic determinants in KAP of Iranian households towards the principle of nutrition and can be effective in prioritizing the implementation of nutritional interventions including nutrition education for them.

Since the outbreak of COVID‐19 in China, it has rapidly spread across many other countries. We evaluated antioxidant defense systems and inflammatory status related to the SARS‐CoV2 infection in a population from southwestern Iran. Comorbidities and clinical symptoms of 104 subjects (comprising negative and positive‐PCR COVID‐19 outpatients) were assessed. Serum concentrations of glutathione reductase (GR) and interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) were measured using ELISA. In the positive‐PCR group, follow‐ups on clinical symptoms were carried out for 28 days at 7‐day intervals. In the positive‐PCR group, hypertension, diabetes, liver disease, chronic heart disease, and chronic kidney disease were the most common comorbidities. In the general category of symptoms, we found a significant difference between negative and positive‐PCR groups, except regarding runny noses. In the pulmonary category, there was a significant difference between the two groups except in terms of chest pain. We also determined a significant difference in neurologic symptoms, except for ear pain, between negative and positive‐PCR groups. We also found significantly lower levels of GR but higher levels of IL‐10 in the positive‐PCR group (p = 0.000 for both). In the positive‐PCR group, serum levels of IL‐10 (odds ratio = 0.914, p = 0.012) decreased the chances of neurological symptoms occurring over time. The antioxidant defense systems of positive‐PCR outpatients failed as demonstrated by a reduction in the serum levels of GR. We also indicated a dysregulation in the immune response against COVID‐19, characterized by changes in serum IL‐10 levels.