Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) is a peer-reviewed electronic journal established by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. PCD provides an open exchange of information and knowledge among researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and others who strive to improve the health of the public through chronic disease prevention.

Background: Overweight and obesity are major health concerns worldwide, with adverse health consequences during the life span. This study measured socioeconomic inequality in overweight and obesity among Iranian adults.Methods: Data were extracted from 129,257 Iranian adults (aged 35 years and older) participated in the Prospective Epidemiologic Research Studies in IrAN (PERSIAN) in 14 provinces of Iran in 2014. Socioeconomic-related inequality in overweight and obesity was estimated using the Concentration Index (C_n). The C_nfurther decomposed to find factors explaining the variability within the Socioeconomic related inequality in overweight and obesity.Results: Of the total number of participants, 1.98, 26.82, 40.76 and 30.43% had underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity respectively. The age-and sex standardized prevalence of obesity was higher in females than males (39.85% vs 18.79%). People with high socioeconomic status (SES) had a 39 and 15% higher chance of being overweight and obese than low SES people, respectively. The positive value of C_nsuggested a higher concentration of overweight (0.081, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.074–0.087) and obesity (0.027, 95% CI; 0.021–0.034) among groups with high SES. There was a wide variation in socioeconomic-related inequality in overweight and obesity rate across 14 provinces. The decomposition results suggested that SES factor itself explained 66.77 and 89.07% of the observed socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity among Iranian adults respectively. Following SES, province of residence, physical activity, using hookah and smoking were the major contributors to the concentration of overweight and obesity among the rich.Conclusions: Overall, we found that overweight and obesity is concentrated among high SES people in the study population. . Accordingly, it seems that intersectional actions should be taken to control and prevent overweight and obesity among higher socioeconomic groups.

Purpose: Socioeconomic inequalities in dental care utilization in Iran are rarely documented. This study aimed to provide insight into socioeconomic inequalities in dental care utilization and its main contributing factors among Iranian households. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 37,860 households from the 2017 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) were included in the study. Data on dental care utilization, age, gender and education attainment of the head of household, socioeconomic status of households, health insurance coverage, living areas and provinces were obtained for the survey. The concentration curve and the normalized concentration index (C_n) was used to illustrate and quantify socioeconomic inequalities in dental care utilization among Iranian households. The C_n was decomposed to identify the main determinants of the observed socioeconomic inequality in dental care utilization in Iran. Findings: The study indicated that the prevalence of dental care utilization among Iranian’s households was 4.67% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.46 to 4.88%). The results suggested a higher concentration of dental care utilization among socioeconomically advantaged households (C_n = 0.2522; 95% CI: 0.2258 to 0.2791) in Iran. Pro-rich inequality in dental care utilization also found in rural (C_n = 0.2659; 95%CI: 0.2221 to 0.3098) and urban (C_n = 0.0.2504; 95% CI: 0.0.2159 to 0.2841) areas. The results revealed socioeconomic status of households, age and education status of head of households and residing provinces as the main contributing factors to the concentration of dental care utilization among the wealthy households. Originality/value: This study revealed pro-rich inequalities in dental care utilization among households in Iran and its provinces. Thus, health policymakers should focus on designing effective evidence-based interventions to improve healthcare utilization among household with the older head of households, lower education status, and living in relatively poor provinces to reduce socioeconomic inequality in dental care utilization in Iran.

Social network characteristics have an important role in understanding HIV transmission among female sex workers. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize and critically appraise the existing studies on the social network characteristics and HIV risk behaviors among female sex workers. A systematic review was performed using predefined eligibility criteria through searching electronic databases. Two independent reviewers assessed the methodological quality of studies. Nineteen papers met the eligible review criteria. The synthesized evidence suggests that characteristics of social networks, especially functional characteristics such as social support and social capital, are important constructs for understanding the HIV risk behaviors. The findings of the present review enhance our understanding of the role of social network characteristics in HIV risk behaviors among female sex workers. However, the findings also highlighted a dearth of knowledge about the association of structural characteristics of social networks with HIV risk behaviors among female sex workers.

Adherence to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preventive guidelines (ACPG) is an important strategy to control the COVID-19 pandemic effectively. The present study aimed to identify and summarize the social determinants of ACPG among the general population. A comprehensive review was performed from December 2019 to February 2021 through searching electronic databases. Two independent reviewers assessed and selected relevant studies. Next, the characteristics and main findings of the included studies were summarized. Finally, the World Health Organization’s conceptual framework of social determinants of health was used to synthesize the identified social determinants of ACPG. Forty-one of 453 retrieved articles met the inclusion criteria. The study results showed different patterns of ACPG among various communities. Furthermore, 84 social determinants were identified and categorized into structural and intermediary determinants. ACPG is a set of complex behaviors associated with different individual sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics; living and working conditions; COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and risk perceptions; exposure to sources and information level; leisure activities; social support; trust; social norms; psychosocial well-being; socio-economic position; and the socio-economic and political context. Interventions to promote ACPG among the general population should consider the identified social determinants of ACPG.

The overweight and obesity among military personnel, as an occupational group, beside the health issues, might affect their military performance. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to estimate the pool prevalence of overweight and obesity among Iranian military personnel. The national databases including Science Information Database, MagIran, and the following international databases; Web of Science, Medline via PubMed, and Scopus were searched, up to December 2017, for relevant published studies without time limitation. Totally,1431 studies were reterived and 10 studies included in meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity were 41% (95%CI:26, 57%) and 13% (95%CI:10, 17%), respectively. In the subgroup analyses, a lower and higher prevalence of overweight was reported in the ground (12%) and Navy (69%) forces military, recpectively. For the obesity, the air forces had the lowest prevalence (11%) and the ground and Navy forces military had highest prevalence (15%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity were slightly higher in studies conducted after 2014. Our findings suggest a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in the military personnel as a high-risk occupational group. Owing to the high observed heterogeneity among the included studies, large representative studies are needed to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the military personnel.