It is now nearly three years since our last newsletter. During that time we have continued to collect more samples from volunteers and enlarged our collection of photos for the face genetics project to nearly 2000. Most importantly, a subset of 2039 of our samples has been extensively analysed, and, after several revisions and adjustments, the results have appeared on 19 March as a major paper ...

BACKGROUND Different factors, especially genetic, effect individual attitude to regular physical activity in Iranian traditional medicine. It was believed that individual physical activity attitude is affected by Mizaj too. Our aim was to conduct a comparative revision and evaluation of the effect of genetic factors on physical activity in classic medicine and Iranian traditional medicine. ME...

BACKGROUND The Cardiac Depression Scale (CDS) is a disease-specific instrument for measuring depression in cardiac patients. This study was designed to validate the CDS in an Iranian population. METHODS Translation and back-translation of the 26-item CDS scale was performed using recommended procedures. The Iranian translation of the CDS (I-CDS) was administered to 261 individuals in Iran, co...

BACKGROUND The impact of the metabolic syndrome among populations in the Middle East region is unknown; we therefore examined the association between the syndrome and the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in an Iranian population. METHODS AND RESULTS The Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) prospectively followed 6146 Iranian people (51.8% women, aged 35-75 years) from three cities and their rural d...

iii realism – a predilection towards “playing by ear” and keeping options open with and ability to juggle options and keep them all in the air. Many of these traits are popularly associated with the stereotype of the bazaar merchant (bazaari). On the other hand, the popular bazaari stereotype is replete with negative characteristics. He is seen as a wheeler-dealer, one capable of selling ice to...

BACKGROUND Spirituality is recognized as a personally important matter to the elderly, and there are evidences of its impact on their health. The aim of this study was to explore the concept of spirituality from the perspectives of Iranian healthy elderly individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS A conventional qualitative content analysis of carried out with 21 healthy elderly people from both male...

BACKGROUND Leisure time is one of the most important aspects of life, especially for people with chronic diseases. The concept and types of leisure have frequently been evaluated in different socio-cultural populations. The aim of this study was to identify the nature of leisure activities among a sample of Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and classify the identified types of activ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the attitudes of Iranian nurses toward caring for dying patients. METHODS Nurses' attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients were examined by using two types of questionnaires: the Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R) and Frommelt's Attitude towards Caring for Dying Patients (FATCOD), both with a demographic survey. RESULTS The results showed that most respo...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to translate and to test the reliability and validity of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Iran. METHODS Using a standard 'forward-backward' translation procedure, the English language version of the questionnaire was translated into Persian (Iranian language). Then a sample of young people aged 18 to 25 years old completed the que...