Vitamin deficiency in Golestan Province, northern Iran: a high-risk area for esophageal cancer.

Objective: Dietary factors seem to play a major role in esophageal carcinogenesis in Golestan Province, a high-incidence area for esophageal cancer in northern Iran. The current study was conducted to evaluate previous reports on severe deficiency of vitamin intake in Golestan.

Methods: Using a food frequency questionnaire, food intake data were collected from 30,463 healthy participants in the Golestan Cohort Study.

Prevalence of malnutrition in free living elderly people in Iran: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: The elderly are a particularly vulnerable group. Malnutrition is common and increases an old person's vulnerability to disease. We determine the prevalence of malnutrition in free living elderly people and its relationship with nutritional status and some socioeconomic conditions.

Nutritional knowledge and attitudes in athletes with physical disabilities.

Context: Little is known about sport nutritional problems and requirements of athletes with physical disabilities.

Objective: To compare the nutritional knowledge and attitudes of Iranian athletes with physical disabilities (APDs) after nutrition education. Because proper nutrition is important for both performance and injury healing, learning about the nutritional areas in which APDs are deficient may assist professionals in educating them.

Effect of nutrition education and diet modification in iron depleted preschool children in nurseries in Tehran: a pilot study.

In view of the high prevalence of iron deficiency in preschool children and its consequences, this study was carried out to examine the effect of nutrition education and dietary modification on 438 two- to six-year-old nursery school children in Tehran in 1999. Sixty-two children who were judged anemic, iron-depleted, or having low iron stores were randomly allocated to "control," "dietary modification" (consuming one additional citrus fruit after lunch), and "nutrition education" (teaching the mothers proper eating patterns based on the food pyramid) groups. Food habits were surveyed, including 24-hour dietary recall and food frequency, as well as timing of consumption of special items; this survey was carried out for each child before and after intervention.

Serum zinc and its relation to bone mineral density in beta-thalassemic adolescents.

Trace elements have been considered to play critical roles in bone metabolism. This study aims at determining the serum zinc profile and its association with bone mineral density (BMD) abnormalities in thalassemic patients. In 131 transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemic patients, aged 10-20 yr, serum levels of zinc were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (F-AAS).

Evaluation of the impact of an iodine supplementation programme on severely iodine-deficient schoolchildren with hypothyroidism.

Background: Northern rural areas of Tehran have been shown to have severe iodine deficiency in our previous studies. In 1989 the inhabitants of these villages received an injection of iodised oil, followed by iodised salt distribution in 1993. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the iodine supplementation on iodine-deficient schoolchildren with hypothyroidism in these villages.