Background: About two million people annually travel to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. The pilgrims may be at risk of exposure to communicable diseases in this mass gathering and their vaccination against contagious diseases can prevent many morbidities and mortalities. The aim of our study was to review the papers which evaluated effectiveness and compliance of the vaccines applied in Hajj. Methods: We used PubMed and Scopus to search international medical databases. The key words were as follows: Hajj, Haj, vaccine, vaccination, and immunization. The time interval of the search was from the beginning of 2010 to May 23, 2016. One hundred and thirty papers were extracted, and their contents were subsequently reviewed after title and abstract screenings. The original articles were included in the study and non-English articles were excluded from the study. Results: Considering the extracted papers, almost all pilgrims were vaccinated against meningococcal diseases. Using of influenza and pneumococcal vaccine rates were different among the pilgrims. The other vaccines have been taking according to specific conditions. Conclusions: The findings regarding influenza vaccine effectiveness are contradictory. A few studies confirmed the flu vaccine effectiveness while some others rejected its usefulness. Meningococcal immunization is an effective preventive tool with high compliance for Hajj pilgrims. Further investigations are recommended for the other vaccines.

Vitamin D is a prohormone nutrient, which is involved in skeletal and extra-skeletal functions. Iron is another essential nutrient that is necessary for the production of red blood cells and oxygen transport. This element plays important roles in enzymatic systems including those required for Vitamin D activation. To the best of our knowledge, there is no exclusive review on the relationship between iron deficiency anemia (IDA), as the most prevalent type of anemia, and Vitamin D deficiency and the effect of recovery from iron deficiency on Vitamin D status. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic search of observational and clinical trials in this field. The databases of PubMed, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Knowledge, and SCOPUS were searched comprehensively. English-language human studies conducted on iron deficient patients or interventions on the effect of iron therapy on Vitamin D were extracted (n = 10). Our initial search yielded 938 articles. A total of 23 papers met the inclusion criteria. Thirteen studies were excluded because they were not relevant or not defining anemia types. The final analysis was performed on ten articles (3 cross-sectional and 7 interventional studies). Observational data indicated a positive relationship between iron status and Vitamin D, while trials did not support the effectiveness of iron supplementation on improving Vitamin D status. The mechanism underlying this association may involve the reduction of the activation of hydroxylases that yield calcitriol. Future randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes and proper designs are needed to highlight underlying mechanisms.

Background: Sulfur mustard (SM) has been considered as a carcinogen in the laboratory studies. However, its carcinogenic effects on human beings were not well discussed. The main purpose of our study is to assess carcinogenesis of SM following acute and/or chronic exposures in human beings. Methods: The valid scientific English and Persian databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, IranMedex, and Irandoc were searched and the collected papers reviewed. The used keywords were in two languages: English and Persian. The inclusion criteria were the published original articles indexed in above-mentioned databases. Eleven full-texts out of 296 articles were found relevant and then assessed. Results: Studies on the workers of the SM factories during the World Wars showed that the long-term chronic exposure to mustards can cause a variety of cancers in the organs such as oral cavity, larynx, lung, and skin. Respiratory system was the most important affected system. Acute single exposure to SM was assumed as the carcinogenic inducer in the lung and blood and for few cancers including basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusions: SM is a proven carcinogen in chronic situations although data are not enough to strongly conclude in acute exposure.

Background: One of the most common sexual-transmitted infections among women is human papillomavirus (HPV) infection which is associated with genital cancers. Different studies in Iran reported various prevalences, and combining their results could be important for health policy makers. This study aims to determine the total prevalence of HPV infection as well as its related genotypes, particularly HPV16 and HPV18 among Iranian healthy women. Methods: Searching the Scientific Information Database, Iranmedex, Magiran, Irandoc, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databanks using relevant keywords and excluding duplicates and irrelevant evidence followed by applying exclusion criteria and quality assessment, eligible articles were selected. Standard error of the prevalence was calculated based on binomial distribution. Random effects model was used because of the high heterogeneity among the results. Results: Of 14 studies entered into the systematic review, 24 pieces of evidence reported the HPV prevalence among 7655 healthy and noncancerous women in different Provinces of Iran. Total prevalence of HPV, 9.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.8-12.02); HPV16, 2.03% (95% CI: 1.3-2.8); HPV18, 1.7% (95% CI: 0.9-2.5); and other genotypes of HPV, 5.3% (95% CI: 3.6-6.9) were estimated. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed that the total prevalence of HPV and its high-risk genotypes (16 and 18) among healthy noncancerous Iranian women was very high.

Cancer is one of the three main causes of mortality in most human communities whose prevalence is being increased. A significant part of health budget in all countries has been allocated to treat the cancer, which is incurable in many cases. It has led the global health attitude to cancer prevention. Many cancer-related risk factors have been identified for which preventive recommendations have been offered by international organizations such as World Health Organization. Some of the most important of these risk factors are smoking and alcohol consumption, hypercaloric and low-fiber diet, obesity, inactivity, environmental and industrial pollution, some viral infections, and hereditary factors. Exact reviewing of Iranian-Islamic traditional medicine (IITM) resources determines that preventive rules, which named as six essential rules (Sitteh-e-Zarurieah) are abundantly found, including all identified cancer-related risk factors. These preventive rules are: Air (Hava), body movement and repose, sleep and wakefulness, food and drink, evacuation and retention, and mental movement and repose (A'raz-e-Nafsani). The associated risk factors in classic medicine are: Smoking and air pollution, sedentary life, sleep disturbance, improper nutrition and alcohol, chronic constipation, and psychoneurotic stresses. Moreover, these rules are comprehensive enough to include many of the other harmful health-related factors whose roles have been confirmed in the occurrence of different diseases, except cancer. Apparently, cancer prevention in Iran would be more successful if the sextet necessary rules of IITM are promoted among the populations and health policy makers.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is associated with cognitive deficits in humans and animals. These deficits are paralleled by neurophysiological and structural changes in brain. In diabetic animals, impairments of spatial learning, memory, and cognition occur in association with distinct changes in hippocampus, a key brain area for many forms of learning and memory and are particularly sensitive to changes in glucose homeostasis. However, the multifactorial pathogenesis of diabetic encephalopathy is not yet completely understood. Apoptosis plays a crucial role in diabetes-induce neuronal loss in hippocampus. Methods: The effects of diabetes on hippocampus and cognitive/behavioral dysfunctions in experimental models of diabetes are reviewed, with a focus on the negative impact on increased neuronal apoptosis and related cellular and molecular mechanisms. Results: Of all articles that were assessed, most of the experimental studies clearly showed that diabetes causes neuronal apoptosis in hippocampus through multiple mechanisms, including oxidative stress, inhibition of caspases, disturbance in expression of apoptosis regulator genes, as well as deficits in mitochondrial function. The balance between pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic signaling may determine the neuronal apoptotic outcome in vitro and in vivo models of experimental diabetes. Conclusions: Dissecting out the mechanisms responsible for diabetes-related changes in the hippocampal cell apoptosis helps improve treatment of impaired cognitive and memory functions in diabetic individuals.

Helicobacter pylori infection is a common health problem related to many gastrointestinal disorders. This study aims to estimate the total and age specific prevalence of Helicobacter Pylori infection in Iran. We systematically reviewed all national and international databases and finally identified 21 studies were eligible for meta-analysis. Each of them were assigned a quality score using STROBE checklist. Due to significant heterogeneity of the results, random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence and 95% confidence interval of Helicobacter Pylori infection. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA. V11 software. The pooled prevalence (95% confidence interval) of Helicobacter Pylori infection among all population, children and adults were estimated as 54% (53%- 55%), 42% (41%- 44%) and 62% (61%- 64%) respectively. Helicobacter Pylori, has infected more than half of Iranian people during the last decade. Preventive strategies as well as taking into account this infection during clinical visits should be emphasized to reduce its transmission and prevalence within the community.

Tobacco smoking is one of the greatest causes of mortality in the world, responsible for over 5 million deaths per annum. The prevalence of smoking is over 1 billion people, with the majority coming from low or middle income countries. Yet, the incidence of smoking varies vastly between many countries. Some countries have been able to decline the smoking and tobacco related morbidity and mortality through the introduction of health promotion initiatives and effective policies in order to combat tobacco usage. However, on the other hand, in some countries, the incidence of smoking is increasing still further. With the growing body of evidence of detriment of tobacco to health, many control policies have been implemented as health promotion actions. Such methods include taxation of smoking, mass advertising campaigns in the media, peer education programs, community mobilization, motivational interviewing, health warnings on tobacco products, marketing restrictions, and banning smoking in public places. However, the review of the effectiveness of various health promotion methods used for smoking prevention and cessation is lacking. Therefore, the aim of this review is to identify and critically review the effectiveness of health promotion methods used for smoking prevention and cessation. All available studies and reports published were considered. Searches were conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, Ovid, Karger, ProQuest, Sage Journals, Science Direct, Springer, Taylor and Francis, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane and Wiley Online Library. Various relevant search terms and keywords were used. After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected 23 articles for the present review.