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The subjects of this study were children aged 6-60 months living in villages in the Ulas Health Region, Sivas. The villages were divided into two groups according to the amount of strontium in the soil: region 1, >350 ppm, 650 children; region 2, <350 ppm, 1596 children. Overall, the prevalence of one or more clinical signs of rickets was 22.9%. The prevalence in region 1 was 31.5% and that in region 2, 19.5%. These values were significantly different (p<0.001). When other variables which may be relevant to the occurrence of rickets were taken into account, the difference in prevalence persisted. The results suggest that in villages where nutrition is mainly based on grain cereals the presence of strontium in the soil will increase the prevalence of rickets significantly. As a preventive measure, a greater proportion of the foods given to children in these villages should be derived from animal origin, and cereals and drinking water supplies should be obtained from villages with a low soil strontium content, or calcium supplements should be given. (Arch Dis Child 1996;75:524-526)

Background: Smoking is an important health threat in Turkey. This study aimed to determine the frequency of and main factors associated with smoking in persons of 15 years and over, and the frequency of passive smoking in homes in the South-east Anatolian Project (SEAP) Region in Turkey.

Background: Nearly 10% of the population of Turkey lives in the Southeast Anatolian Project (SEAP) region. The population growth rate and the rate of unintended pregnancies are high and family planning services are insufficient in this region. Lifetime induced abortion rate is also high in this region.

This study is the first investigation of intestinal parasite prevalence in a large region, specifically, in this GAP region and in Turkey, in general. There is no direct relationship between irrigating the cultivation areas and diffusion of parasitic diseases because the existence of intestinal parasites mentioned above is not related to the range of irrigation of cultivation areas, but is related to factors already discussed.

Household conditions, individual status, age, education level of fathers and parents' habit of washing hands before taking care of the child were major factors affecting the incidence of diarrhea.

Vitamin A levels during pregnancy have important influences on the health of pregnant women and the growing fetus. Therefore, plasma vitamin A and β-carotene concentrations during pregnancy in Turkish women living in Gaziantep city were investigated in a prevalence study. Optimum sample size was determined as 252 for vitamin A deficiency and vitamin A and β-carotene levels were examined in 427 pregnant women aged 14–44 years. Vitamin A and β-carotene concentrations were measured spectrophotometrically by Neeld Pearson method. Vitamin A and β-carotene concentrations in pregnant women were found as 1.14 ± 0.44 μmol/L, and 1.80 ± 0.66 μmol/L, respectively. Plasma vitamin A concentrations were found in low levels (<1.05 μmol/L) in 45.5 % of pregnant women. Vitamin A deficiency (<0.7 μmol/L) was determined in 16.9% of pregnant women. A mild negative correlation was obtained between the vitamin A concentration and pregnancy period. Vitamin A levels of pregnant women were decreased significantly in the third trimester (p<0.05). The findings of present study suggest that vitamin A levels of pregnant women were poor in the region. Therefore, the intake of vitamin A with foods should be improved. Supplementation of vitamin A might benefit at improving maternal and child health especially in high-risk groups especially in developing countries. Monitoring vitamin A levels in pregnant women is very important for also determining low and high levels.

BackgroundHealth care systems in many countries are changing for a variety of reasons. Monitoring of community-based services, especially vaccination coverage, is important during transition periods to ensure program effectiveness. In 2005, Turkey began a transformation from a “socialization of health services” system to a “family medicine” system. The family medicine system was implemented in the city of Gaziantep, in December, 2010.MethodsTwo descriptive, cross-sectional studies were conducted in Gaziantep city center; the first study was before the transition to the family medicine system and the second study was one year after the transition. The Lot Quality Technique methodology was used to determine the quality of vaccination services. The population studied was children aged 12–23 months. Data from the two studies were compared in terms of vaccination coverage and lot service quality to determine whether there were any changes in these parameters after the transition to a family service system.ResultsA total of 93.7% of children in Gaziantep were fully vaccinated before the transition. Vaccination rates decreased significantly to 84.0% (p <0.005) after the family medicine system was implemented. The number of unacceptable vaccine lots increased from 5 lots before the transition to 21 lots after the establishment of the family medicine system.ConclusionsThe number of first doses of vaccine given was higher after family medicine was implemented; however, the numbers of second, third, and booster doses, and the number of children fully vaccinated were lower than before transition. Acceptable and unacceptable lots were not the same before and after the transition. Different health care personnel were employed at the lots after family medicine was implemented. This result suggests that individual characteristics of the health care personnel working in a geographic area are as important as the socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of the community.