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Background: The PolyIran study is a large-scale pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial of fixed-dose combination therapy (Polypill) for prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Iran. The PolyIran Quality Control Program (PIQCP) including a new questionnaire was developed to assess the quality of data collection during follow-up visits. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-rater reliability of PIQCP questionnaire., Methods: The study was conducted in 26 (11%) randomly selected clusters (from a total of 236 PolyIran clusters). All participants within these 26 clusters were enrolled. The quality scores were measured according to the PIQCP guidelines by two independent raters. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were measured. In addition, the quality scores were categorized into good (70%) and poor (<70%). The kappa coefficient was used to assess inter-rater agreement for this categorical quality scores., Results: A total number of 945 PolyIran participants were enrolled of which, 501 (53%) were from intervention arm. In 934 participants (98.8%), the quality score could be successfully identified by both raters. The ICC (95%CI) of the overall quality scores was 0.985 (0.983-0.987). It was 0.976 (0.972-0.980) and 0.988 (0.986-0.990) in intervention and control arms, respectively. We found excellent agreement between the two raters in identifying participants with good and poor quality scores (kappa = 0.988, P < 0.001). The kappa values were 0.972 (P < 0.001) and 1.000 (P < 0.001) in intervention and control arms, respectively., Discussion: Our results suggested that the PIQCP questionnaire is a reliable tool for assessing quality of data collection in PolyIran follow-up visits. Using this measure will help us in efficient monitoring of the PolyIran follow-ups and may ensure high quality data.

Background: To assess the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) in Iran and to evaluate correlates of NAFL in categories of body mass index (BMI)., Methods: Using a cluster random sampling approach, 7723 subjects over 18 years of age underwent abdominal ultrasonography, laboratory evaluations, blood pressure, and anthropometric measurements and were interviewed to obtain baseline characteristics. Prevalence of NAFL according to BMI and waist to hip ratio and its association with metabolic abnormalities in categories of BMI were assessed in multivariate analysis., Results: The overall prevalence of NAFL was 35.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 34.1-36.3]. A significant number of subjects with BMI < 30 had NAFL [22.1% (CI 21.0-23.2)]. Waist to hip ratio for 38.2% (CI 35.6-40.8) of the subjects with NAFL, and BMI < 30 was higher than normal values. The odds ratio for association of NAFL and dyslipidemias were higher in subjects with BMI < 30 versus those with BMI ≥ 30: (1) hypertriglyceridemia: 2.21 vs. 1.57, P = 0.006; (2) lower high-density lipoprotein: 1.29 versus 0.98, P = 0.046. Higher low-density lipoprotein also revealed greater association with NAFL in subjects with BMI < 25 than those with BMI ≥ 25 (odds ratio 1.84 vs. 1.1, P = 0.015)., Conclusions: NAFL shows stronger association with central obesity compared to high BMI. NAFL has stronger association with dyslipidemias in subjects with low compared with high BMI.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC), one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality, has earned the attention of healthcare systems widely. Screening programs are designed to detect patients at risk as effectively as possible. One of the major CRC risk factors is having a family member with diagnosed CRC., Aim: To investigate the association between presence of polyps on colonoscopy and family history of CRC., Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study in which the data was collected from colonoscopy reports of patients with/without familial history of CRC in Masoud private clinic, Tehran, Iran from October 1, 2011 to October 1, 2012. The association between presence of colorectal polyps on colonoscopy and family history of CRC was then assessed., Results: A total of 210 patients were included in the study, constituting two groups with/without familial history of CRC with a 1:1 ratio (105 subjects in each group). Compared to subjects with a negative family history of CRC, a 2.7-fold (CI 95%: 1.2-6.24) fold increase was observed in those with a positive family history to have colorectal polyps. In multivariate regression analysis, family history of CRC was the only independent variable associated with presence of colorectal polyps (odds ratio: 3.12, CI 95%:1.22-8)., Conclusion: A positive family history of CRC is a risk factor for colorectal polyps.