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Background & aim: Some epidemiological evidence has shown the relationship between environmental air pollution and adverse health effects. Considering the effect of air pollution on the severity of heart disease the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of daily air pollution on daily cardiovascular mortality in Ahvaz city.
 
Methods: In the present ecological study conducted in 2018, air pollution data was inquired from the Ahvaz Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The mortality data was collected from the Health Deputy of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. Generalized additive models (GAM) was used to analyze the data with different lags of air pollutants for up to 7 days. An increase of 10 units in all pollutants except CO (1 unit) was used to compute the relative risk of deaths.
 
Results: During March 2008 until March 2015, 10625 cardiovascular deaths occurred in Ahwaz, in which 6138 (57.8%) were male. The average number of daily, monthly, seasonal and annual deaths from cardiovascular diseases calculated 4.15, 126.49, 379.46, and 1517.86, respectively. Based on the analysis of the generalized additive model, the strongest correlation between NO₂ and cardiovascular mortality was seen on lag 6, with a relative risk; RR = 1.007 and confidence interval; 95% CI: (1.002-1.012) for NO₂. The correlation coefficient of NO₂ with cardiac death was positive, significant and equal to 0.042 (P-value = 0.034). No significant relationship was found between the O₃, SO₂ and NO pollutants with the number of cardiovascular deaths. The increase in PM₁₀ and CO levels had an inverse impact on the increase of cardiovascular mortality; and RR = 0.998, CI: (0.997-0.999) and RR = 0.989, CI: (0.979-0.999) for them, respectively.
 
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that NO2 air pollutant is associated with increase cardiovascular mortality in Ahvaz. Reduction of environmental air pollution can be effective in reducing mortality from cardiovascular diseases and better life.
 
 

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Background & aim: Ticks, as external parasites, biological carriers and reservoirs of various diseases, play a role in the transmission of various disease agents to humans and animals. The aim of the present study was to identify hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the southern villages of Ahvaz-Khorramshahr road in southwest Iran.

Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study which was conducted in 5 selected southern villages of the Ahvaz-Khorramshahr road in the summer and autumn of 2019, 156 heads of livestock were investigated, ticks in the two seasons of summer and autumn from different parts of the body of cattle, sheep and goats. were collected and identified according to Chegini's diagnostic key. The sample collection method was manual, the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tests and Vines analysis.

Results: In the present study, 156 animals were examined and 234 ticks were caught. A total of 3 species of ticks from 2 genera (Ripcephalus, Hyaloma) were identified. In total, Hyaluma marginatum was the most common species and Rhipicephalus sanguinus was the least abundant. The abundance of Rhipicephalus sanguinus was 16.4%, Hyaluma anatolicum was 36.2% and Hyaluma marginatum was 47.4% in this area. The highest abundance of Hyaloma marginatum and Ripicephalus sanguinus ticks was observed in Umm al-Tir village with 56% and 29%, respectively. The highest abundance of Hyaluma anatolicum species was observed in Krishan village with 50%. Tick infestation was observed in 6% of cattle, 13% of sheep and 10% of goats. The frequency of tick infection based on the body regions in cattle was in the head and neck (59%), under the tail and around the anus (27%), groin (14%), which statistically indicated a significant difference (02.02). p = 0).

Conclusion: The distribution of the collected ticks revealed that the studied areas were suitable for the activity of ticks due to the weather conditions, so health planners need to consider the possibility of the spread of tick-borne diseases in these areas.

 

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Background & aim: Blastocystis hominis is one of the most common protozoa found in the intestines of humans and animals. However, its pathogenicity, diagnosis, and treatment remain a challenge. The purpose of the present study was to determine and evaluate the knowledge and practice of Ahvaz laboratory workers regarding Blastocystis hominis during the years 2018 to 2019.

Methods: The present a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 464 laboratory employees working in private and public laboratories in Ahvaz, Iran, during the years 2018-2019. The present study used a questionnaire and face-to-face and electronic interviews to evaluate the level of knowledge and practice of the laboratory staff regarding the protozoan Blastocystis hominis. The collected data were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical tests, t-test, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and Tukey's post hoc test.

Results: Out of the 464 participants in the study, 22.8% answered the questions through face-to-face interviews, and 77.2% answered the questions electronically. The minimum and maximum number of participants were associates (10.3%) and experts (56.7%), respectively. 67% of the participants had more than 10 years of work experience. More than 85% were aware of the protozoan nature of Blastocystis hominis. Over 50% of the participants considered Blastocystis hominis as one of the causes of diarrhea and abdominal pain, but their awareness of other clinical symptoms such as hives was low (12.3%). The practice of about 93% of the participants in using the direct expansion method was acceptable as a suitable diagnostic method for Blastocystis hominis. The relationship between work experience and their practice regarding this protozoan was also significant (p=0.007).

Conclusion: The present study indicated that laboratory staffs had an acceptable level of knowledge about Blastocystis hominis, but their performance in dealing with this protozoan was not at an acceptable level. Despite having proper knowledge about this protozoan, it seems that it has not received the attention it deserves within the laboratory community, and it is not of special importance among the intestinal parasites that are routinely reported. Therefore, it is important to bring more focus on this parasite in the field of medicine, especially in the teaching of parasitology to students of various medical fields, as well as through scientific conferences and refresher courses. This would help ensure the adoption of correct diagnostic and treatment methods for Blastocystis hominis.

 

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Background & aim: In the past few decades, air pollution, especially PM10 particulate matter, has been a significant concern affecting people's health and is clearly visible as the most important environmental problem and air pollutant in Ahvaz, Iran. On the other hand, remote sensing (RS) has been introduced as a suitable source for air pollution monitoring by researchers in the last decade. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine and investigate the relationship between aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from MODIS sensor at different hours and PM10 air pollution index in Ahvaz, Iran, in 2022.

Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022. Given the critical role and widespread distribution of dust particles, the present study examined the relationship between AOD data from the MODIS sensor and PM10 data from the Environmental Protection Agency station in Ahvaz, Iran, over the course of one year. To evaluate the correlation between these two parameters, hourly PM10 values at 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, and 15:00 were analyzed for different seasons. The results of the present analysis allowed the researchers to assess seasonal and temporal effects on the correlation between these parameters. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and the statistical correlation coefficient test.

Results: The correlation results revealed a significant relationship between the datasets, indicating a strong association between AOD and PM₁₀ in the specified region. The daily correlations at different hours—12:00, 13:00, 14:00, and 15:00—showed coefficients of 0.41, 0.75, 0.72, 0.78, and 0.86, respectively, with the highest correlation observed at 15:00. The concentration of PM₁₀ particles in the air is influenced by dust events, which intensify during the hot season, with the highest correlations mostly observed in spring and summer. Additionally, the correlation coefficient reached its lowest point during the cold season (fall and winter).

Conclusion: the present study examined various time intervals, each showing different levels of correlation. Based on the obtained correlation coefficients, remote sensing data can be used as a reliable source for air pollution monitoring.