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Abstract Objective To investigate the predictors of smoking among pregnant women in Iran, focusing on health literacy and associated socioeconomic factors. Methods This retrospective cohort study included 103,042 pregnant women aged 18–45 years who attended healthcare centers affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for routine prenatal and postnatal checkups between 2017 and 2020. Data were collected from the Sina Electronic Health Record System (SinaEHR®), which recorded sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, and lifestyle behaviors, including tobacco use. Results Smoking prevalence was 0.9%. Women with undergraduate or higher education had significantly lower odds of smoking (OR = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.28–0.47) compared to those with primary education or less. Maternal age was marginally associated with increased smoking risk (OR = 1.01; 95% CI = 1.00-1.03). While unemployment showed an increased crude risk for smoking, this was not significant after adjustment (adjusted OR = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.86–1.21). Strong associations were found between tobacco use and alcohol consumption (OR = 46.3; 95% CI = 24.8–83.4) and opium addiction (OR = 23.4; 95% CI = 14.5–36.3). Chronic disease history also increased smoking odds (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.17–1.92). Conclusion Lower education, substance use, and chronic disease are significant predictors of smoking among pregnant women in Iran. Targeted interventions to improve health literacy and address these factors are essential to reduce tobacco use during pregnancy.

Abstract Background The prevalence of tobacco use among various cancer types in Iran remains a significant concern, necessitating a comprehensive analysis to understand the extent and patterns of consumption. This study aimed to systematically review and analyze existing literature to delineate the prevalence of tobacco use across different cancer types in Iran, thereby providing a robust basis for future interventions and policy formulations. Methods Adhering to the PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of literature available in PubMed and Scopus databases. The initial search identified 351 records, out of which 44 studies were selected based on their relevance and design. These studies spanned various time frames, starting from the 2001s up until 2022, and encompassed diverse geographical locations and cancer types in Iran. To avoid bias and potential data overlap, we opted to incorporate a single comprehensive study from the Golestan Cohort, encompassing all data, while excluding 10 other studies. Our final analysis incorporated data from 34 studies, which accounted for 15,425 patients and 5,890 reported smokers. Statistical analyses were performed to calculate the overall proportion of tobacco consumption and to conduct subgroup analyses based on different variables such as cancer types, gender, geographical locations, and types of tobacco used. Results The analysis revealed a substantial prevalence of tobacco use among cancer patients in Iran, with an overall consumption rate of 43%. This rate varied significantly, ranging from 10 to 88% across individual studies. Subgroup analyses further highlighted disparities in tobacco consumption rates across different demographics, geographic areas, and cancer types. Notably, the ‘ever’ smokers category exhibited the highest prevalence of tobacco use. The study also identified a worrying trend of high cigarette smoking rates, along with variable consumption patterns of other forms of tobacco, including waterpipe, ‘Naas’, and ‘Pipe’. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis underscores a significant association between tobacco consumption and various cancer types in Iran, with a prevalence rate among cancer patients being three times higher than the average Iranian population. The findings indicate substantial heterogeneity in tobacco use patterns, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to address this pressing health issue. The study serves as a critical resource for shaping future policies and strategies aimed at curbing tobacco use and mitigating its adverse effects on cancer prevalence in Iran.

Objective(s): To address a highly mutable pathogen, mutations must be evaluated. SARS-CoV-2 involves changing infectivity, mortality, and treatment and vaccination susceptibility resulting from mutations.Materials and Methods: We investigated the Asian and worldwide samples of amino-acid sequences (AASs) for envelope (E), membrane (M), nucleocapsid (N), and spike (S) proteins from the announcement of the new coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) up to January 2022. Sequence alignment to the Wuhan-2019 virus permits tracking mutations in Asian and global samples. Furthermore, we explored the evolutionary tendencies of structural protein mutations and compared the results between Asia and the globe.Results: The mutation analyses indicated that 5.81%, 70.63%, 26.59%, and 3.36% of Asian S, E, M, and N samples did not display any mutation. Additionally, the most relative mutations among the S, E, M, and N AASs occurred in the regions of 508 to 635 AA, 7 to 14 AA, 66 to 88 AA, and 164 to 205 AA in both Asian and total samples. D614G, T9I, I82T, and R203M were inferred as the most frequent mutations in S, E, M, and N AASs. Timeline research showed that substitution mutation in the location of 614 among Asian and total S AASs was detected from January 2020.Conclusion: N protein was the most non-conserved protein, and the most prevalent mutations in S, E, M, and N AASs were D614G, T9I, I82T, and R203M. Screening structural protein mutations is a robust approach for developing drugs, vaccines, and more specific diagnostic tools.

Abstract Background The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has increased during recent years in Iran and other developing countries. Clinical studies suggest that essential folate dietary intake and moderate deficiency of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) may protect and reduce the risk of CRC. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of C677T polymorphism within the MTHFR gene and its correlation with the serum folate and Vit B12 in the Iranian population suffering from CRC. Methods Blood samples were taken from 1017 Iranian individuals (517 cases and 500 controls) who were referred for colonoscopy. TaqMan probe assay was performed for C677T MTHFR polymorphism. Sera were fractionated from the blood samples of 43 patients and controls and folate and Vit B12 concentrations were measured by a monobind kit. The correlation of MTHFR polymorphisms and folate/vitamin-B12 with CRC risk was analyzed. Results In the current study, we found the frequency of three different genotypes of MTHFR polymorphism in the Iranian population i.e., CC, CT, and TT, to be 51.31, 26.73, 21.96 and 61, 32.2, 6.8 in case and control groups, respectively. The homozygote genotype of MTHFR rs1801133 polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of CRC by 3.68, 1.42, and 3.74-fold in codominant, dominant, and recessive models respectively (p value 0.05). Conclusions This study revealed that there was no significant difference between the amount of folate and Vit B12 in the case and control groups. Furthermore, our results demonstrated a higher risk association for 677TT and 677TT + C677T genotypes of MTHFR compared with 677CC carriers among CRC patients.

Background: Premature menopause is characterized by amenorrhea before age of 40 years, markedly raised serumluteinizing hormone (LH) level, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level and reduced serum level of estradiol.Genome-wide analysis suggested several loci associated with premature menopause. Here, we aimed to analyze associationof variants at the MCM8, FNDC4, PRRC2A, TLK1, ZNF346 and TMEM150B gene loci with prematuremenopause.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 117 women with premature menopause were comparedto 183 healthy women. Anthropometric indices were measured in all participants: height, weight, body mass index(BMI), waist circumference (WC) and wrist circumference. Eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of theindicated genes (rs16991615, rs244715, rs451417, rs1046089, rs7246479, rs4806660, rs10183486 and rs2303369)were identified from the literature. Genotyping was performed using tetra-ARMS polymerase chain reaction (PCR)and ASO-PCR methods.Results: T allele of the rs16991615, rs1046089, rs7246479 and rs10183486, C allele of rs244715, rs451417 andrs4806660 as well as TT genotype of rs2303369 were associated with an increased risk of premature menopause,likely causing susceptibility to primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) in comparison with C allele. We also found anassociation between the rs16991615 SNP with premature menopause. Frequency of the minor allele in cases wasincreased for all SNPs in comparison with controls. All minor alleles, except for rs2303369, showed a statisticallysignificant increased odds ratio (OR). However, after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing, none of the P valueswere remained significant.Conclusion: The selected polymorphisms in MCM8, FNDC4, PRRC2A, TLK1, ZNF346 and TMEM150B genesmay potentially affect susceptibility to premature menopause, although replication of the results in larger cohort couldclarify this.

Objective Mutations of TP53 as a tumor suppressor gene are frequently observed in different types of cancer. A codon 72 polymorphism located on exon 4 with two alleles encoding either Proline (CCC) or Arginine (CGC) has been indicated as a common variation in association with cancers. Controversial results have been reported regarding the association of allelic polymorphism of codon 72 of TP53 gene and breast cancer risk in Iranian patients. Therefore, a case-control study was designed. A meta-analysis was also carried out to provide evidence of association between this variation and breast cancer in Iran, based on all available published data. Materials And Methods In this case-control study, blood sample of 622 participants, including 308 breast cancer cases and 314 controls were collected. Genotyping for rs1042522 was conducted by Allele Specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR). In order to set a meta-analysis study, PubMed, Scopus and ISI Web of Knowledge and Persian databases were searched to explore relevant studies, published up to September 2018, containing information on TP53 polymorphism and the risk of breast cancer in Iran. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16.0 and MetaGenyo. Results All retrieved available data as well as the results of our current study were consisted of 1965 breast cancer cases and 1999 healthy controls. No significant difference was observed in allele frequencies between groups (P=0.90) in our study. The cumulative results did not also show any association between rs1042522 and breast cancer risk on the dominant (P=0.61) and recessive (P=0.89) models. Conclusion These findings cannot support contribution of rs1042522 polymorphism to breast cancer risk in an Iranian population. Future larger studies may help confirm this finding with a greater power.