Iranian Adolescents Research Articles

Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of Abdominal Obesity in Iranian Children and Adolescents: The CASPIAN Study.

BackgroundThe assessment of the trend of changes in the prevalence of abdominal obesity can provide useful health information.ObjectivesThis study aimed to conduct an age-period-cohort (APC) analysis to provide the trend of the prevalence of abdominal obesity in the Iranian pediatric population through the three temporal dimensions of age, period, and cohort.MethodsData were gathered from a total number of 53,962 Iranian children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years through four surveys of a national surveillance program (the CASPIAN study) conducted in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015. Abdominal obesity was defined as a waist-to-height ratio of ≥ 0.5. The APC analysis was performed using the “apc_ie”command in STATA software.ResultsA significant correlation existed between age, period, and cohort effects and the prevalence of abdominal obesity in children and adolescents. With increasing age, regardless of considerable fluctuations, the prevalence of abdominal obesity followed an overall increasing trend in both genders. The age effect coefficient increased from -2.1 in the age group of 5 - 9 years to 1.1 in the age group of 10 - 14 years and then decreased to 1.0 in the age group of 15 - 19 years among boys; figures followed an increasing trend in girls from -2.2 to 0.8 and 1.5, respectively. As for the period effect, in both boys and girls, the prevalence of abdominal obesity followed an increasing trend when coming from the earlier periods to the recent ones (from -4.6 to 4.0 in boys and from -4.1 to 2.4 in girls). Likewise, this prevalence increased from earlier birth cohorts to the recent ones in both genders.ConclusionsThe prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing among Iranian children and adolescents and this rising trend is affected by age, period, and birth cohort effects. The findings of this study emphasize the necessity of implementing comprehensive interventions for tackling the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Psychometric Properties of Farsi Version of Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire- Adolescent Short Form

Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a kind of social intelligence and the main aspect of social maturity that improves the psychological health of adolescents. Based on the theory of Petrides, EI is made up of a distinctive series of traits and emotional self-perceptions related to the personality dimensions named trait emotional intelligence. Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF) is one of the few instruments for evaluating trait EI in adolescents. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of TEIQue-ASF in Iranian adolescents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the sample consisted of 550 high school students who were selected through randomized cluster sampling from four high schools in Tehran. In addition to the TEIQue-ASF scale, we used the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS) and the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ) in this study. All analyses were carried out by IBM SPSS-22.0. Results: The results revealed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α: 0.86, P < 0.001) and subscales of the TEIQue-ASF were significantly correlated with the subscales of SEIS (P < 0.05), psychoticism, neuroticism, and extraversion (P < 0.05). Factor analysis also verified the original four-factor structure (well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability). Conclusions: The Farsi version of TEIQue-ASF is a reliable and valid scale to assess the trait emotional intelligence of Iranian adolescents and may, therefore, be a considerable measure for assessing trait emotional intelligence in educational and clinical contexts among adolescents.

The role of mental health, academic stress, academic achievement, and physical activity on self-rated health among adolescents in Iran: A multilevel analysis.

BACKGROUND:Health promotion of adolescents requires appropriate evidences of its determinants. The aim of this study was to investigate predictors of self-rated health (SRH) among adolescents in Qazvin, Iran.MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this descriptive cross-sectional study, with a multistage sampling method, we recruited 1740 adolescents aged 12–19 years from 53 schools in Qazvin, Iran (2018). We used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Adolescents’ Academic Stress Questionnaire for data collection. The analysis was conducted using a multilevel logistic regression model. Gender, educational period, and socioeconomic status were considered as confounders.RESULTS:Almost 21% of the adolescents reported their SRH suboptimal. Suboptimal SRH was higher in girls and older adolescents. Mental health disorders and academic stress had a positive association with SRH. However, this association was negative for academic achievement and physical activity. The interaction between mental health disorders and academic stress with SRH had a significant association in a crud regression model.CONCLUSION:Mental health, academic stress, academic achievement, and physical activity were important predictors for SRH. Interventions that focus on promoting mental health, academic stress, academic achievement, and physical activity such as physical activity for 1 h and each day for 3 days per week can improve SRH in adolescents. Hence, policymakers should pay more attention to this issue in health promotion programs of adolescents.

Facilitators of Sexual Health Education for Male Adolescents in Iran: A Qualitative Study.

Background:Adolescence is a period of rapid physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and sexual development. The widening gap between biological maturity and social transition to adulthood highlights the importance of adolescents' need for education, especially in sexual health. The main objective of this study was to explore the facilitators of Sexual Health Education (SHE) for male adolescents in Iran.Materials and Methods:In this qualitative content analysis, a total number of 45 participants were investigated from June 2018 to July 2019 through individual, semi-structured, in-depth interviews in the city of Mashhad, Iran, until data saturated. The participants were selected using a purposive sampling method. The data were analyzed using a conventional content analysis method based on the approach developed by Graneheim and Lundman (2004) using MAXQDA software.Results:In data analysis, 2 main categories and 9 subcategories emerged. The main categories included extrapersonal facilitators and intrapersonal facilitators. The category of extrapersonal facilitators included the 7 subcategories of appropriate policy-making, use of religious capacities, consideration of native culture, supportive family environment, school empowerment, inter-sectoral integration and collaboration, and reinforcement of parent-teacher interaction. The category of intrapersonal facilitators comprised of the 2 subcategories of supporting adolescent socialization and using distraction techniques in adolescents.Conclusions:The study revealed that having an action plan with a scientific, ethical, legal, religious, and cultural background, establishing a suitable home, school, and community environment, strengthening inter-sectoral integration, collaboration, and interpersonal coordination, and utilizing the capabilities and potentials of adolescents can provide an appropriate SHE for adolescent boys.

Development and Validation of Smoking Abstinence Self-efficacy Scale among Iranian Female Adolescents

Background: Among different factors, self-efficacy is one of the most suitable components for predicting smoking behavior among adolescents. Therefore, it is essential to design a native tool to measure this high-risk behavior in adolescents and implement prevention programs in this age group. Aim: This study aimed to design and validate a smoking abstinence self-efficacy questionnaire in female adolescents. Method: In this methodological study, a comprehensive literature review was conducted, and the available similar questionnaires were used to prepare the items. In total, 351 female schoolchildren were selected by convenience sampling in Mashhad, Iran, between October 2017 and January 2018. Face and content validity and construct validity were applied for psychometric evaluation of the developed tool. The reliability of the tool was tested by internal consistency. Results: The final version of the smoking abstinence self-efficacy scale in Iranian female adolescents includes 16 items after a psychometric evaluation. The content validity of the tool was obtained at 0.99. Moreover, exploratory factor analysis explored three factors of emotional, social, and high-risk situations explaining 60% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was estimated at 0.94. Implications for Practice: The smoking abstinence self-efficacy scale is a valid and reliable tool among Iranian female adolescents derived from the native context of this group of people which can examine smoking abstinence self-efficacy in three dimensions of emotional, social, and high-risk situations. Moreover, it can identify adolescents with different levels of smoking abstinence self-efficacy.

Subgrouping of Iranian children and adolescents based on cardiometabolic risk factors using latent class analysis: The CASPIAN-V study.

Background:Cardiometabolic syndrome indicates the clustering of several risk factors. The aims of this study were to identify the subgroups of the Iranian children and adolescents on the basis of the components of the cardio-metabolic syndrome and assess the role of demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status and lifestyle-related behaviors on the membership of participants in each latent class.Methods:This cross-sectional study was performed on 3730 Iranian students in 2015 using stratified cluster. All students in each class completed anonymous and structured questionnaires. Abdominal obesity, high triglyceride (TG), low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), high blood pressure (BP), high fasting blood sugar (FBS), high low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high cholesterol and obesity were used for assessing the pattern of cardio metabolic risk as a latent variable. Data analysis was performed using PROC LCA in SAS software.Results:Four latent classes were identified in this study; namely 1) healthy (59.6%), 2) low risk (20.4%), 3) moderate risk (13.7%) and 4) high risk (6.4%). Being a female (OR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.46-0.74), living in a rural area (OR=0.45, 95% CI;0.33-0.60), high screen time (OR=1.56, 95% CI:1.09-2.24), and parental obesity (OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.18-1.95) were associated with moderate risk class. Only living in rural areas (OR=0.71, 95% CI; 0.51-0.99) was associated with high risk class.Conclusion:About 20% of the students are in the moderate risk and high risk classes. Design and implement interventions according to risk-based class that seem necessary by considering probably risk and protective factors for the prevention of complications of cardiometabolic syndrome.

Healthy eating index in a nationally representative sample of children and adolescents by socio-demographic characteristics: the Weight disorders survey of the CASPIAN-IV Study

To date, the diet quality of Iranian students in relation to socio-demographic characteristics was not studied. The present study aimed to explore the association between the healthy eating index and sociodemographic characteristics among a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents. This nationwide study was conducted in 5187 children and adolescents, aged 6-18 years. Data regarding socio-demographic variables, lifestyle factors, family and student dietary habits, and quality of life were gathered via validated questionnaires. The Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010) was used to calculate diet quality scores. The odds of high diet quality was 24% lower in adolescents (13-18years) compared to children aged 6-12 years (OR 0.76, CI 0.64-0.89, p= 0.001). Students in families with moderate (OR 1.30, CI 1.13-1.49, p < 0.001) and high socioeconomic status (OR 1.36, CI 1.18-1.57, p < 0.001) were 30% and 36% more likely to have a higher diet quality score, respectively. Lower mean AHEI-2010 scores (CI) were found for low socio-economic status (46.18-47.10), adolescents 47.40 (46.94-47.82), boys 47.51 (47.14-47.88) and South-East area 47.19 (46.54-49.15) (p < 0.05) due to lower intake of fruits and vegetables and high intake of sodium and sugar-sweetened beverages. The overall diet quality of Iranian children and adolescents was low with disparities across sociodemographic variables notably age and familial socio-economic status.

Underlying pathway of factors leading to mental health in Iranian young adolescents: A structural equation modeling.

Background:The present study aimed to provide a field-tested model of constituting factors affecting mental health in young Iranian adolescents.Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, a conceptual model was proposed based on an extensive literature review. A total of 254 young adolescents aged 11–14 years were recruited from north, south, east, and west regions of Tehran megacity by a random cluster sampling procedure, of whom 244 adolescents participated. The adolescents and their mothers altogether completed eight questionnaires pertaining to the proposed conceptual model: (1) Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), (2) Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire, (3) Child Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale, (4) Drug Abuse Screening Test-10, (5) Baumrind Parenting Style Questionnaire, (6) Conflict Behavior Questionnaire, (7) General Health Questionnaire-28, and (8) Garmaroodi Socioeconomic Status Questionnaire. The statistical analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.Results:This study demonstrated that parent mental health (b = −0.111), experience of father's care (b = −1.112), conflict with mother (b = 0.309), conflict with father (b = 0.135), and exposure to domestic violence (b = 0.217), as well as age (b = 0.93) and gender (b = 0.139), had direct effect on adolescent mental health (all P < 0.05). Further, the results showed that exposure to domestic violence and conflict with mother had the greatest direct impact on adolescent mental health among all other family-related factors, followed by conflict with father and parent mental health. Conflict with mother and conflict with father also affected adolescent mental health indirectly through experience of domestic violence and had a mediating effect for the influence of several other factors on adolescent mental health, thus playing an important role in the pathway leading to young adolescent mental health status in the Iranian population.Conclusion:Overall, the final model proved to be fit and the factors constituting the final model were able to predict 88% of the variations in the mental health of Iranian adolescents. This model can guide clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health workers in a more realistic and effective prevention or treatment planning for their young clients. Moreover, it may help in arriving at a comprehensive preventive policymaking for mental health policymakers.

Participatory Action Research Approach to improve Adolescent Girls' Reproductive Health.

Objective:School-based reproductive health education programs (RHEP) motivate adolescent girls to maintain and improve their health, and prevent diseases. The purpose of this PAR was to design, implement and evaluate RHEP to strengthen adolescent girl's reproductive health.Methods:The PAR process was selected as an RHEP strategy, and it has four main phases, including: 1) assessment to explore the reproductive health education needs (RHEN) of adolescent girls. We collected data through in-depth individual interviews with 11 adolescent girls (12-18 years) in high school, 2 focus group discussions (FGD), and 4 interviews with the key informants. 2) Intervention design involved a Delphi approach to design an intervention that would address each need using 7 expert participants with a background in primary health, health promotion and other youth-focused professions. 3) In the action plan phase, the workshops, lecture meetings, counseling, and FGD were organized by the research team. 4) The impact of the intervention was evaluated through a mixed evaluation methodology, a semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and key informant, quasi-experimental assessment and FGD.Results:There were three themes we extracted from the data: (a) the need for RHP for adolescent girls, (b) sources of information about RH, and (c) the need to empower teachers to provide RHEP to their students. a) Workshops, (b Counseling, c) Lecture Meetings, d) Focus Group. The study showed that the level of knowledge about RH in more than half of the participants was poor and only in nearly half of them it was moderate.Conclusion:Results suggest that Iranian adolescents do not have adequate education regarding RH, and RHEP by PAR can be effective in improving the knowledge and behavior of female students.

Sexual health education issues (challenges) for adolescent boys in Iran: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND:Sexual health education, especially in adolescents, faces excess challenges in many cultures. Iranian adolescents, especially boys, have many educational needs in the field of sexual health that have not been met due to various obstacles. The main purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the challenges of sexual health education for Iranian adolescent boys.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This qualitative content analysis study was conducted through individual semi-structured in-depth interviews from 45 participants (20 adolescents and 25 key adults). Data were analyzed using inductive conventional content analysis based on the Graneheim and Lundman's approach via MAXQDA software (version 2010) by VERBI GmbH Company, Berlin, Germany.RESULTS:In total, 2 categories and 11 subcategories emerged; including, “extrapersonal barriers to sexual health education for adolescent boys” containing seven subcategories of lack of clear policies, family inadequacy, social barriers, cultural heterogeneity, school inadequacy, cyber threats, and educational process inadequacy concerning adolescent sexual health education as well as “intrapersonal barriers to sexual health education for adolescent boys” comprised four subcategories of uncontrolled emotions of adolescence, adolescent rebellion, information and communication weaknesses, and adolescents' concerns about being judged by others.CONCLUSION:The findings clarify some barriers to sexual health education for adolescent boys. Therefore, it was recommended to develop community-based educational programs to change attitudes of families and society toward addressing the challenges of providing sexual health education to adolescent boys. Moreover, it was suggested to utilize an educational program specific to adolescent boys, tailored to the Iranian culture, using the potential of religion.

Development and validation of food and nutrition literacy assessment tool for iranian high-school graduates and youth

Background:Food and nutrition literacy (FNL) is an emerging concept that emphasizes not only on personal knowledge, but food and nutrition skills about. This study aimed to develop and validate a food and nutrition literacy assessment tool (FNLAT) for youth and high-school graduates in Iran.Methods:The study protocol included the following steps: First, FNL components for Iranian high-school graduates and youth were identified through literature review and interviews with experts. Delphi method was used in order to achieve consensus about FNL components. Then, the questionnaire items were generated, and its content and face validity were assessed. Construct validity of the questionnaire was evaluated through applying principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in the next step. Finally, reliability of the FNLAT was assessed by calculating Cronbach's Alpha and evaluating test-retest reliability.Results:A 104-item questionnaire was developed. S-CVI was ≥90 which confirmed content validity of the questionnaire. PCA suggested that it was constructed of 6 factors, one in knowledge domain (food and nutrition knowledge) and five in skill domain (functional skills, interactive skills, advocacy, critical analysis of information, and food label reading skills). On the basis of CFA, the fit indices of the model had acceptable fit and confirmed construct validity of the FNLAT (X2/df = 1.58, RMSEA = 0.041; P = 1.00, RMR = 0.034, GFI = 0.79). The values of Cronbach's Alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) confirmed internal consistency and time stability of the FNLAT and its subscales.Conclusions:The developed FNLAT is a valid and reliable tool to assess FNL in Iranian late adolescents and youth.

Association between nutritional intake and aggressive behaviors in children and adolescents: The CASPIAN-IV study

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the association of nutritional intake and aggression among a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents. METHODS: This nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted on a multi-stage sample of 14880 students, aged 6–18 years, living in 30 provinces in Iran. Parents were asked to report the dietary intake of their children as frequency of food groups and/or items. The validated questionnaire of the World Health Organization-Global School-based Health Survey (WHO-GSHS) was used to measure components related to aggression including physical fight, verbal aggression, and being bullied by other students. RESULTS: Participants consisted of 13486 students (90.6% participation rate) with mean age of 12.47 years (95% CI: 12.40, 12.54); 49.2% were girls, and 75.6% lived in urban areas. Physical fighting was more prevalent among urban boys[(48.63%), CI (46.75, 50.5)] while bulling was the most common aggressive behavior among boys [(29.7%), CI (28.03, 31.42)] and girls [(25.26%), CI (23.66, 26.93)] living in urban areas. Daily consumption of fast foods, sweets, soda, salty snacks and fried foods was higher among those participants who reported frequent experience of physical aggression and bullying. Bullying to others increased significantly with consumption of fast food (Odds ratio: 1.43, CI: 1.07, 1.92) and red meat (Odds ratio: 1.14, CI: 1.02, 1.28). Salty snack consumption showed a significant association with physical fighting (Odds ratio: 1.29, CI: 1.15, 1.44). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that some unhealthy foods might affect the mental health of children and adolescents. Improving dietary habits should be considered for prevention of violence in the vulnerable pediatric age group.

The Impact of Addictive Behaviors on Adolescents Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Peer Support

Studies exploring excessive Internet use and gambling are rapidly expanding concerns regarding its impact on mental health, especially in young people due to the increased prevalence of Internet and gambling addictions. Research suggests that perceived peer support plays a significant role in adolescents’ psychological well-being. However, no empirical study has dealt with the mediating effect of perceived peer support on the relationship between Internet and gambling addictions and psychological well-being. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether perceived peer support mediates the relation between Internet and gambling addictions and psychological well-being of adolescents. A sample of 347 Iranian adolescents aged 14 to 18 (Mean age 16.14, 50.4% male) who were studying in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia participated in this study. Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS), Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), Six-item Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6), and The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) were used to collect data. Mediation analyses showed a significant indirect effect of compulsive Internet use and problem gambling on psychological well-being through perceived peer support. The total effects of compulsive Internet use and problem gambling on psychological well-being were negative. This study implies the significance of strengthening the knowledge about the impact of peer relationships among adolescents.

Haemophiliac adolescents' perspectives of resilience: A qualitative study based on the resilience in illness model.

A qualitative study was conducted to investigate the concept of resilience among Iranian haemophilic adolescents based on the Haase's Resilience in Illness Model (RIM). Purposive sampling was used to recruit 15 participants comprising haemophilic adolescents and their parents in the study. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed using direct content analysis. The themes and categories were defensive coping (emotive coping, evasive coping), courageous coping (optimism, constructive approach, seeking support), derived meaning (spiritual strategy, hope) and social support (support from family, friends and treatment teams). Social support, adopting a spiritual strategy and self-management behaviours played an important role among the adolescents in improving their level of resilience and skills to cope with haemophilia.

Prevalence, comorbidities, and sociodemographic predictors of conduct disorder: the national epidemiology of Iranian children and adolescents psychiatric disorders (IRCAP).

The aim was to evaluate the lifetime prevalence of conduct disorder according to sociodemographic characteristics, determine the sociodemographic predictors of conduct disorder, and estimate the rates of comorbidities of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with conduct disorder by age and gender. The National Epidemiology of Iranian Children and Adolescents Psychiatric Disorders was a cross-sectional, general population-based study on 30,532 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years from all provinces of Iran, which was done using multistage cluster sampling. Iranian citizens aged 6-18 years who resided at least 1 year in each province were included, and children and adolescents with severe physical illnesses that prevented them to participate in the study were excluded. The sample weighting adjustment was used, since we had randomly selected the equal number of 1000 participants of each province from the urban and rural areas. Trained psychologists conducted diagnostic interviews with the adolescents and the children's parents using the Persian version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). In this study, 54 children aged 6-9 years (0.58%, CI 0.47-0.77), 64 adolescents aged 10-14 years (0.57%, CI 0.47-0.77), and 117 adolescents aged 15-18 years (1.22%, CI 0.96-1.44) met the criteria of the lifetime conduct disorder. Conduct disorder was significantly more common in boys than in girls, and was significantly less prevalent among those participants whose fathers had no history of psychiatric hospitalization. Of the participants with conduct disorder, 83.4% met the criteria for at least one other psychiatric disorder. Conduct disorder had a high rate of comorbidity with oppositional defiant disorder (54.89%, CI 48.50-61.12), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (32.34%, CI 26.68-38.56), tobacco use (20.43%, CI 15.77-26.04), and depressive disorders (18.30%, CI 13.88-23.74). Because of using the diagnostic instrument, we found a low total rate of prevalence for conduct disorder; however, higher rates of it were observed among boys and adolescents. Further studies are needed to explore the nature of comorbidities of conduct disorder and to consider them in a large clinical population.

Iranian Adolescent Girls' Perceptions of Premarital Sexual Relationships: A Qualitative Study

Sexual perception refers to the attitudes, expectations, beliefs, and values associated with sexual behaviors. Adolescents’ sexual behaviors is affected by the knowledge, attitudes, values, beliefs, and social norms in their society. In this respect, the sexual perception of adolescents can be studied from a cultural perspective. The present study was designed to identify factors affecting Iranian adolescent girls’ perceptions of premarital sexual relationships. A qualitative study was conducted using a conventional content analysis approach. Data was collected using in-depth unstructured interviews with 18 adolescents recruited through purposive sampling. Data analysis resulted in the development of a primary main theme, meaning and value of sexual self-care, and three main categories: significant others, sexual norms, and attitudes, and perceived risks. Overall, findings of the present study revealed that the sexual perceptions of Iranian adolescent girls motivated them to abstain from premarital sexual relationships. However, apart from the perceived double standards involved in social norms and attitudes identified in the study, the presence of a conflict caused by their families, schools, and peers necessitated the importance of establishing and consolidating parent-adolescent communication about sexual issues. Findings of this study point to the need for appropriate sexual education for adolescents and parents to promote adolescent sexual literacy and health.

Social health needs of Iranian male adolescents.

Adequate attention to adolescents' health is considered an investment for the future of any country. Adolescents face many social and cultural challenges when they enter a new stage of social life. The advancement of adolescent social health depends on the recognition of their needs. This study aimed to explain the concept of social health needs from the perspectives of male adolescents to improve the health of both adolescents and the society. In this qualitative study with a content analysis approach, 52 male adolescents aged 13-18 years participated in 10 semi-structured individual interviews and seven focus group discussions. They expressed their experiences and opinions regarding social health needs. Purposive sampling was performed to recruit the adolescents in different areas of Tehran in 2017. Collected data was analyzed using the conventional content analysis method. The findings were divided into four main themes and eight sub-themes including "need to have a healthy family (healthy family relationships and family responsibility)", "need to have a healthy society (favorable social status and favorable economic situation)", "need to have educational facilities (promoting productivity in schools and public education facilities)", "need to have communication with peers (healthy communication with peers and setting up for communication with peers of the opposite gender)". To promote social health in adolescents, it is necessary to plan for the empowerment of community, family, schools and mass media by health authorities and devise appropriate health policies.

Prevalence, correlates and comorbidities of feeding and eating disorders in a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents.

This study investigated the prevalence of feeding and eating disorders, and identified their correlates and comorbidities among children and adolescents. We used the nationally representative sample of the Iranian Children and Adolescents' Psychiatric disorders (IRCAP) survey, with 30,532 participants randomly selected by a multistage cluster sampling method. We employed the kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia-present and lifetime version (K-SADS-PL) semi-structured face-to-face interview to screen for any psychiatric disorders, including feeding and eating disorders, and associated factors. We used multivariate binary logistic regression to analyze the data. Valid data from 27,111 participants were analyzed. The total prevalence of feeding and eating disorders among children and adolescents was 0.89 (0.81-1.10). In all types of feeding and eating disorders, the adjusted odds ratio was higher among girls (except binge-eating disorder) and older adolescents but was lower among rural residents. The most common psychiatric comorbidities observed in children and adolescents with feeding and eating disorders were obsessive-compulsive disorder (20.2%), agoraphobia (20.2%), depressive disorder (16.4%), social phobia (10.1%), oppositional defiant disorder (10.1%), generalized anxiety disorder (9.4%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (7.5%), and conduct disorder (5.7%), which were significantly more common compared to their peers without feeding and eating disorders. Older age, female gender and living in an urban area are predisposing factors in feeding and eating disorders (in binge-eating disorder, the male gender is a positive correlate). We suggest that future works pay attention to the role of gender, comorbidities and predisposing factors.

Genetic Variation in Cytochrome P450 2R1 and Vitamin D Binding Protein Genes are associated with Vitamin D Deficiency in Adolescents.

Background: Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have evaluated several genes related to vitamin D synthesis, metabolism and transport. They have proposed a genetic basis for low levels of vitamin D in the blood. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between certain vitamin D-associated gene variants and vitamin D deficiency in Iranian adolescents. Methods: In this case-control study, the genomic DNA was extracted by Real Time PCR High Resolution Melt(HRM). All measurements were carried out with triple repetition. The following factors were assessed: single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Vitamin D binding protein (DBP, rs2282679), 7-Dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7, rs12785878) and Cytochrome P450 2R1 (CYP2R1, rs10741657). Results: the genomic DNA of blood samples obtained from 481 adolescents. Participants with hypovitaminosis D were compared with a control group. The average vitamin D level of sufficient subjects (controls) was 44.88±14.01ng/mL, while subjects who were insufficient (cases) had an average vitamin D level of 7.03±1.24ng/mL. No statistically significant differences were found in the allelic and genotypic distributions between genders. The SNP frequency in CYP2R1 (rs10741657) and DBP (rs2282679) in the vitamin D deficient group was significantly higher than in the control group (p-values <0.001 and 0.01 respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in the DHCR7 SNP (rs12785878) distributions between the Vitamin D deficient group and control group. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated evidence of the ability of the SNPs under investigation to predict circulating vitamin D concentration. Further study is needed to better understand if and how genetic factors contribute to vitamin D levels, and certain skeletal-associated disorders in adolescents.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Risky Behaviors, Resilience, and Distress Tolerance in Adolescents

Background: The adolescent faces rapid physical growth that is emotionally immature, in terms of limited experience, and fragile and vulnerable in cultural terms. The rate of change in this period is high that can cause various behavioral problems during this period. Objectives: The aim of this research was to explore the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Intervention on risky behaviors, resilience and distress tolerance among adolescents in juvenile correction and rehabilitation center. Patients and Methods: This research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group. A random sampling method was used to select 30 people in the experimental and control groups at Tehran’s Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center in 2019. The control group did not receive any training and just were taken pre-test and post-test. The Iranian Adolescents Risk-Taking Scale, Distress Tolerance Scale and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used in this research. Multivariate analysis of variance, multivariate covariance test were performed to analyze data by SPSS V. 22 software. Results: The results showed that intervention in adolescents at the juvenile correction and rehabilitation center has an important impact on risky behavior, resilience, and distress tolerance. Conclusions: Mindfulness can be used as an effective interventions for adolescents with risky behaviors.