Narjes Khavasi; Mohammadhossein Somi; Ebrahim Khadem; Mohammad Hossein Ayati; Mohamadali Torbati; Seyyed Muhammad Bagher Fazljou
Volume 20, Issue 11 , 2018, Pages 1-6
Abstract
Background: Despite a number of studies on the effects of complementary medicine products, the effects of caper fruit pickle (CFP), as Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), is not clear in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Objectives: The current study aimed at assessing the effect of the CFP on ...
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Background: Despite a number of studies on the effects of complementary medicine products, the effects of caper fruit pickle (CFP), as Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), is not clear in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Objectives: The current study aimed at assessing the effect of the CFP on anthropometric measures and some atherogenic indices in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: A 12-week randomized, controlled, double-blind trial was conducted on 44 patients with NAFLD via block randomizationmethod assigned to either the control (n = 22) or the CFP (n = 22) groups, from March to October 2016 in Zanjan city, Iran. The CFP group received 40 - 50 g of the CFP with daily meals. Before and after the treatment, anthropometric measures, serum lipoprotein ratios, and liver enzymes were assessed. Results: After 12 weeks, weight and waist circumference significantly decreased both in the CFP (P < 0.001) and control groups (P = 0.001 and P = 0.03), respectively. Adjusted to the baseline measures, the a mean difference of alanine aminotransferase (ALT)(P = 0.04), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL.C/HDL.C) (P = 0.001), triglyceride/HDL.C (TG/HDL.C) (P < 0.001) and total cholesterol/HDL.C (TC/HDL.C) (P = 0.001) decreased more significantly in the CFP than the control group at the end of the study. Conclusions: The current study results suggested that daily consumption of the CFP for 12 weeks may potentially prevent cardio- vascular complications in patients with NAFLD. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings.
Elnaz Faramarzi; Alireza Ostadrahimi; Zeinab Nikniaz; Mohamad Asgari Jafarabadi; Ali Fakhari; Mohammadhossein Somi
Volume 20, Issue 3 , 2018, Pages 1-7
Abstract
Background: Identification of reliable predictors of hypertension and prehypertension in each population is essential for early detection of at-risk people and also planning preventive strategies. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the abilities of different indices of general and central ...
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Background: Identification of reliable predictors of hypertension and prehypertension in each population is essential for early detection of at-risk people and also planning preventive strategies. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the abilities of different indices of general and central obesity in the prediction of incident prehypertension and hypertension in a large population-based study in Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the anthropometric and blood pressure measurements in 10,137 subjects (35 - 70 years) from Azar- Cohort study, north-west of Iran. Blood pressure was measured twice, with 10 minutes apart, from both upper extremities. Height, weight, waist, and hip circumferences measured according to the NIH guidelines. Hypertension considered as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 and diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg or current use of antihypertensive medication for manage- ment of hypertension. Results: The mean BMI (kg/m2), WC (cm), waist- to- hip ratio (WHR), and waist- to- height ratio (WHtR) were 28.75 ± 4.83, 94.69 ± 11.23, 0.90 ± 0.07, and 0.58 ± 0.07, respectively. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension were 16.3% and 23.3%, respectively. There was a significant association between prehypertension and hypertension with all included anthropometric indices in both men and women (All P < 0.001). In men, obesity increased the risk of prehypertension and hypertension by 3.13 (95% CI: 2.48 - 3.94) and 4.06 (95% CI: 3.23 - 5.10), respectively. In women with WHtR > 0.5 cm, the risk of hypertension increased by 6.27 (95% CI: 4.39 - 8.95) times. Conclusions: According to the result of this large population-based study, BMI is the best predictor of prehypertension and hyper-tension in men and also the waist- to- hip ratio combined with BMI were the best predictors of prehypertension and hypertension in women. These findings may have significant implications in using the most useful screening index for predicting hypertension in Iranian adults and also using waist- to- hip ratio for early detection of pre-hypertension
