BackgroundHemodialysis is the most common renal replacement therapy in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD).ObjectivesThe present study compared the performance of various parametric models in a survival analysis of hemodialysis patients.MethodsThis study consisted of 270 hemodialysis patients who were referred to Imam Khomeini and Fatima Zahra hospitals between November 2007 and November 2012. The Akaike information criterion (AIC) and residuals review were used to compare the performance of the parametric models. The computations were done using STATA Software, with significance accepted at a level of 0.05.ResultsThe results of a multivariate analysis of the variables in the parametric models showed that the mean serum albumin and the clinic attended were the most important predictors in the survival of the hemodialysis patients (P < 0.05). Among the parametric models tested, the results indicated that the performance of the Weibull model was the highest.ConclusionsParametric models may provide complementary data for clinicians and researchers about how risks vary over time. The Weibull model seemed to show the best fit among the parametric models of the survival of hemodialysis patients.

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Background: Breast cancer is the most widespread type of cancer of women throughout the world. The likelihood of its treatment can be increased by screening and early detection in the early stages. The present study aimed to determine the knowledge and behavior of women referred to health care institutes of Bandar Abbas regarding screening for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 370 women who referred to Bandar Abbas health care centers and were selected by the cluster sampling technique. A questionnaire containing demographic characteristics, knowledge assessment, and performance evaluation was used to collect the required data. The minimum and maximum scores were within the range of 0-20 and 0-7 for wise questions and performance, respectively. Finally, data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t test, along with chi-square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests using SPSS16. Results: The mean age of women was 55.35 ± 2.27 years. In addition, 298 (80.5%) and 72 (19.4%) of them were married and single, respectively. The mean knowledge score was 12.48 ± 3.85 and the mean score was 2.9 ± 2.29 as well. Finally, there was a significant relationship between the knowledge and behavior of the subjects (P<0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, regular education programs are suggested to increase women’s knowledge. Thus, their performance is hoped to increase by extending their level of knowledge.

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Background: Today, obesity is a key healthcare problem on a global scale including Iran. The present study aimed at determining the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Hormozgan province, Iran to propose effective healthcare programs and strategies to reduce this dilemma in future. Objectives: The current study conducted in the South of Iran aimed at exploring the prevalence of overweigh and obesity in males and females in terms of social variables affected by demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, education level, smoking, and physical activity. Methods: In the current cross sectional, observational study, a sample of 5000 eligible males and females above 18 years old were selected based on a multi-stratified clustering sampling method. The data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of variables such as weight, height, drug consumption, and physical activity. Statistical analysis was performed. Results: The present study findings revealed that 31.8% of the population in Hormozgan province was overweight, while only 15.2% were obese. The highest percentage of obesity (18.3%) was observed among the subjects aged 35-44 years. The prevalence of obesity among females was higher in urban population. Conclusions: The current study results showed that the urban married middle-aged females had the highest rate of obesity, which requires appropriate educational planning and utilization of efficient models in the realm of females' health.