Summary Background To contribute to the WHO initiative, VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, an assessment of global vision impairment in 2020 and temporal change is needed. We aimed to extensively update estimates of global vision loss burden, presenting estimates for 2020, temporal change over three decades between 1990–2020, and forecasts for 2050. Methods We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based surveys of eye disease from January, 1980, to October, 2018. Only studies with samples representative of the population and with clearly defined visual acuity testing protocols were included. We fitted hierarchical models to estimate 2020 prevalence (with 95% uncertainty intervals [UIs]) of mild vision impairment (presenting visual acuity ≥6/18 and <6/12), moderate and severe vision impairment (<6/18 to 3/60), and blindness (<3/60 or less than 10° visual field around central fixation); and vision impairment from uncorrected presbyopia (presenting near vision

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Antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (Anti-SARS-COV-2) can be detected in patients with COVID-19 in 7 to 10 days post onset of symptoms (POS). However, there is no firm evidence of the long-term persistence of these antibodies in recovered COVID-19 patients. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the stability of anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG in recovered COVID-19 patients in a 15-month follow-up testing. Thirty hospitalized patients with real-time PCR-confirmed SARS-COV-2 infections were included in the study and five serum samples (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th) were collected from each participant. The serum levels of N and S specific anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies were evaluated by the immunoassay technique at the same time. To determine the correlation between levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM with severity of disease, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR %), and the serum levels of C-reactive protein were evaluated using an automated analyzer and turbidimetry assays, respectively. The mean serum level of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody was at the highest level up to 90 days and then decreased significantly 1 year POS (P < 0.0001). However, it was still detectable in a 15-month follow-up testing. There were no significant differences in the mean levels of IgG antibody in patients with mild, moderate, and severe diseases. The results from this study suggest that the titer of anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG antibody is detectable at high levels up to 3 months and then decreases over time. However, these antibodies can be reliably detected in up to 15 months, and they may persist for a long time.

Background: Assessment of the risk of cardiovascular disease is essential for disease prevention in every region. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease and its determinants in an adult population in Shahroud, Islamic Republic of Iran. Methods: A total of 4737 people aged 45-69 years were evaluated. The 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease was calculated using the Framingham risk scoring method. Cardiovascular disease risk is reported as per cent risk and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Factors affecting the risk of cardiovascular disease were assessed using multiple beta regression analysis. Results: The mean age of the participants was 55.9 years; 41% were males. The mean 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease was 16.4% (95% CI: 16.0-16.8%); 28.3% of the participants had a risk of more than 20% (47.8% of the men and 14.9% of the women). Age, diabetes, smoking (only in men), high blood pressure, triglycerides (only in women), waist circumference, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly associated with cardiovascular disease risk. In men, there was a non-significant increase in risk with higher body mass index up to body mass index 39.9 kg/m 2 ; however, the risk 1 / 11 WHO EMRO | Predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease in Shahroud, Islamic Republic of Iran and decreased by 4.4% at body mass index ≥ 40 kg/m 2 (P = 0.18). Conclusions: The cardiovascular disease risk was very high, especially in men. Effective interventions should be implemented to reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Longitudinal studies are recommended to investigate the effect of body mass index on the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Background Older adults with lower socioeconomic status are more vulnerable to stressful life events and at increased risk of common mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. This study investigates the socioeconomic inequality in depressive symptoms and anxiety. Methods The data were from 7462 participants of the Neyshabur longitudinal study of ageing registered during 2016-2018. The outcome variables were anxiety and depressive symptoms. Anxiety was defined by the “Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale Questionnaire”, and depressive symptoms was defined and measured by the “short-term form of the Epidemiological Center Questionnaire.” The socioeconomic status was defined using principal component analysis of home assets. The Concentration Index (C) was used to measure socioeconomic inequality in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Concentration index was decomposed to its determinants to determine the role of the independent variables on inequality. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms and anxiety was 12.2% (95% CI: 11.4, 12.9) and 7.0% (95% CI: 6.4, 7.5), respectively. Moreover, the C for anxiety was -0.195 (95% CI: -0.254, -0.136) and for depressive symptoms was -0.206 (95% CI: -0.252, -0.159), which indicate a considerable inequality in favor of high socioeconomic group for anxiety and depressive symptoms. Decomposition of the concentration Index showed that education, unemployment and male sex were the most important positive contributors to the observed inequality in anxiety and depressive symptoms, while age and number of grandchildren were main negative contributors of this inequality. Conclusion Low socioeconomic groups were more affected by anxiety and depressive symptoms. Any intervention for alleviation of inequality in anxiety and depression should be focus on education and employment of people, especially in younger elderly.