No Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Diminution of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a chief role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). One of the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids is to modulate the secretion of BDNF. We aimed to evaluate the effects of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation on serum BDNF in men with CAD.
Methods: Forty-eight CAD patients were randomly assigned to either the omega-3 (n=24) or placebo (n=24) group. In the omega-3 group each subject received 4 omega-3 soft gels per day (720 mg eicosapentaenoic acid plus 480 mg docosahexaenoic acid), while each subject in the placebo group received 4 placebo soft gels (edible paraffin) for a period of 8 weeks. Serum BDNF, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), serum lipoproteins, anthropometric indices, body composition, food intake and physical activity were evaluated before and after intervention.
Results: Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation increased serum BDNF (p= 0.015), and did not cause significant modifications on the blood pressure, serum lipids with the exception of LDL, fasting blood glucose, anthropometric measurements and body composition (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation significantly enhances serum BDNF in male patients who have CAD.

Background: The term metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to one of the most challenging public health issue in worldwide; however diet modification is considered as the first step in management and treatment of MetS and its components. In the present study we investigated major dietary patterns in patients with MetS compared to weight matched and normal weight control subjects.
Methods: In a case-control study 147 Iranian adults from the Endocrinology Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences were recruited. Subjects were divided in to 3 groups, according to MetS definition and BMI cutoffs.  NCEP ATP III criteria were used for identifying subjects with MetS. FFQ was used for assessment of dietary intake.
Results: Two dietary patterns were identified; Western dietary pattern and traditional dietary pattern. Compared with participants in lowest quartile, subjects with highest quartile of traditional dietary pattern and lowest quartile of western dietary pattern had significantly lower BMI, WC, weight, fat mass, abdominal fat, SBP, DBP, FBS and TG and higher HDL cholesterol and fat free mass (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Our findings indicated that western dietary pattern can be considered as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its components.

Background: This study was conducted to develop and validate a scale in order to assess perceived benefits and barriers (decisional balance) to improving dietary fiber consumption in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Methods: In order to develop the questionnaire, focus-group discussions, in-depth interviews and literature review were carried out. Validity of the questionnaire was assessed using content validity, face validity and construct validity. The factor structure of the questionnaire was also extracted by performing both principle component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analyses. Reliability was then estimated using internal consistency and test-retest analysis. Two groups of T2D patients participated in the study. 146 T2D patients participated in the content validity and the other 265 T2D patients were those whose data were used for the confirmatory factor analysis
Results: The mean age of the participants was 52.3±7.6 years. PCA indicated two components representing benefits (Cronbach’s α=0.75) and barriers (Cronbach’s α=0.71). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the two-component structure [Goodness of Fit Index = 0.94, χ ²/df=1.56 (χ ² =118.28, df=76, p <0.001), RMSEA=0.046]. The Test–retest results, measured by interclass correlation (ICC), for all the items were between 0.62 and 0.78.
Conclusion: The designed questionnaire is valid and reliable to assess perceived benefits and barriers of dietary fiber intake in patients with T2D.

Background: Food insecurity is a global problem with considerable health impacts. It is especially important in children as it can affect their learning ability. The present study was designed to determine household food insecurity status, intelligence quotients (IQ) and their associations with some relevant factors in village of Qehi, Esfahan.
Methods: This study was conducted on all of the children under the age of seven years in village of Qehi in 2016. The nutritional status of participants was determined by measuring their heights and weights. General information, FFQ andUSDA questionnaires were used to collect data about households socio-economic and food security status during interv iews with mothers. Good enough Draw-APerson test was used to assess the participants’ IQ.
Results: The prevalence of household food insecurity was 50%. There were significant associations between food insecurity and children sex and mother’s job status. Food insecurity was positively associated with number of household members (p<0.05) and negatively associated with children’s IQ, parental educational level, and household economic status. In addition, students living in food-insecure households less frequently consumed meat, fruits and vegetables and had less number of meals and snacks intake (p<0.05). Children’s IQ was only associated with sex.
Conclusion: Food insecurity was prevalent among households in the studied population and it was associated inversely with children’s IQ. Based on these associations, food assistance programs and education is necessary in the studied population.

Background: There are some studies claiming the association of dairy consumption with BCC risks in the general population. In this study, we examinedgetting the fatty acid C14: 0, C15: 0, C17:0 associated with the amount of the fatty  acids in the red blood cell membrane to assess the relationship between them and the risk of BCC.
Methods: This case-control study (40 cases and 40 controls) was conducted with newly diagnosed BCC adults who were recruited from Razi Hospital. To measure fatty acids of red blood cell membrane, fatty acids were extracted and injected to gas chromatography. Case and control groups were matched based on sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). All subjects also completed two 24-hour dietary recalls by nutritionist help, which included two randomly selected days.
Results: Both groups had no significant differences between weight, height, age, sex, and BMI and also macro-and micronutrients intakes. Pentadecanoic acid concentration of red blood cell membrane was higher in BCC patients than in the control group (p=0.04). There was no significant difference in myristic and heptadecanoic acids concentration in the red blood cell membrane between two groups.
Conclusion: Considering that pentadecanoic acid indicates consumption of dairy products, it is likely that consumed greater high fat dairy products in BCC patients seem to be associated with basal cell carcinoma.

Background: Natural honey is among products that are very rich in antioxidants.Several studies have demonstrated its advantages for human beings. However,diabetic patients are recommended not to consume a great amount because of itshigh content in sugar. The aim of the current study was to investigate the safety ofnatural honey in type 2 diabetes.
Methods: Thirty-three patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly recruited andate 10g of natural honey with water per day during ten weeks. During the studyperiod, they did not undergo any changes in their diet, drugs and lifestyle. Beforethe onset of the study and at the end, lipids, glycemic profile, and HbA1c weremeasured. The patients performed regularly capillary blood glucose monitoringtoo.
Results: We observed that HbA1c has significantly increased from 7.2% to 7.65%(p<10-5). Preprandial glycaemia has also increased, but not significantly.However, fasting and postprandial glycemias remained unchanged. Contrary toglycemic effects, honey improves lipid profile, but not significantly. Actually, totalcholesterol, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol have decreased, and HDLcholesterol has increased.
Conclusion: Daily consumption of Natural honey can deteriorate glycemic controlof diabetics. However, it is still much better than other sweeteners. So, diabeticsshould take precautions if they consume honey for its advantages, and they coulduse low doses of honey, less than 10 g per day. Nevertheless, more studies shouldbe done to investigate if honey can be beneficial and to determine the mechanismby which it can be

Background: To evaluate systematically the role of maternal vitamin D levels in postpartum depression (PPD)
Methods: PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched using the search words [vitamin D, cholecalciferol, calcitriol, 1,25 (OH)D] in combination with [postpartum depression, PPD, postnatal depression, PND] in the title, abstract, and keywords. The search was limited to publications in English. Criteria for inclusion in this systematic review were data on maternal 25(OH) D and PPD.
Results: We identified 147 publications at first, from which five observational studies were selected for inclusion in the final review.in one study 25(OH) D was associated with PPD. In another one was found an association but in category with vitamin D lower than 47 nMol/L was significant in p<0.05. In two studies the blood sample was taken after childbirth and observed an increased risk of PPD associated with only serum 25[OH] D levels ≤ 25.46 nmol/L and ≤25 nmol/L and in one studies not only observed no association between vitamin D concentrations and risk of PPD  but also found that in compare with  women 50–79 nmol/L, women with higher 25(OH)D3 concentrations (79 nmol/L) appeared to have significantly increased risks of PPD.
Conclusion: It seems that vitamin D plays a role along with other factors that might cause postpartum depression, in a specific but unknown cut off. Further studies are necessary to identify the exact role of vitamin D on PPD.