İnci Arıkan

Acne: prevalence and relationship with dietary habits in Eskisehir, Turkey.

Background  Acne vulgaris is a common disease affecting adolescents. There is not comprehensive data on acne prevalence in the Central Anatolia Region in particular. Etiology of acne is not clarified yet. Acne might be related to environmental factors. There is increasing evidence supporting acne and diet relationship.

The prevalence of tinea pedis and tinea manuum in adults in rural areas in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of tinea pedis and manuum (dermatophyte infections of the hands and feet) in adults in rural areas of Turkey, the risk factors and self-administered treatment options. A total of 2,574 people living in a rural area were enrolled in the study. Participants were asked demographic data, hygienic habits in a questionnaire. KOH preparations and culture were performed from suspicious lesions. Medical and alternative therapy methods and former dermatophytosis diagnosis history were taken from the respondents with suspicious lesions. Microbiological samples were taken from 285 (11.1%) participants. Culture was positive in 109 (4.2%) of those. The most common agent was Trichophyton rubrum. The predisposing factors were found as age older than 40, male gender and obesity. Forty-nine (44.9%) of patients had taken a medical therapy, 56 (51.4%) had performed non-medical methods (cologne, Lawsonia inermis-Henna and softener creams). Patients education about the treatment compliance is important.

Awareness of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors in rural and urban areas in Turkey

This study aims to establish the rates of hypertension among individuals living in rural and urban areas in Turkey, and to compare their level of awareness concerning cardiovascular disease risk factors and lifestyle modifications. In total, 1679 people from urban areas and 1321 individuals from rural areas who were over 40 years of age were contacted. Hypertension standardized prevalence rate was 49% in males and 51.3% in females living in urban areas, and 55.3% in males and 59.6% in females living in rural areas. The risk of hypertension was higher in those people living in urban areas with a smoking habit, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, inappropriate salt intake or a diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia. The risk of hypertension was also higher in people living in rural areas with obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, an inappropriate consumption of fat and red meat or a diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia or diabetes. Awareness of the importance of all of the included cardiovascular risk factors and protection from those risk factors was higher in urban areas. We concluded that cardiovascular risk factor control programs should be conducted together with hypertension control programs in rural and urban areas.

Incidence of epilepsy in a defined area of central Anatolia, Turkey, after 15 years of age.

Background: The aim of this study was to establish the incidence rate, incidence-related characteristics, and epidemiological profile of epilepsy in Eskisehir, Turkey. Methods: Cases were prospectively recorded by utilizing multiple data sources, including case records obtained through the Hospital Information System, files kept by family physicians, and files kept by private neurologists. Patients diagnosed with epilepsy between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, and above the age of 15 years were included in the study. Results: 219 new cases were diagnosed with epilepsy. The adjusted incidence rate was 33.51/100,000 cases in males and 42.22/ 100,000 cases in females, for a total of 37.59/100,000 persons. The incidence rates according to age were found to be highest in the 15–19-year age group and in the ≧70-year age group. Partial seizures were observed more than generalized seizures after the age of 40. Unknown etiology accounted for 77.2% of the epilepsies. Stroke was the most common etiological cause of epilepsy among the symptomatic group. Conclusions: The incidence rate of epilepsy in Eskisehir was comparable with the rates reported for developed countries.

Two Distinct Training Methods for a Doctrine of Life with Healthy Heart in a Low Socioeconomic Society Model

This study was conducted in three stages in a semi-rural region of Eskisehir, Turkey. In the first stage, individuals selected by random sampling were evaluated for cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the second stage, Group I and Group II training materials were randomly distributed. In the third stage, the subjects were screened one year later to assess and determine if there had been any changes in their attitudes towards the dangers of cardiovascular diseases. The number of active smokers significantly decreased after the training in the both groups. The percentage of people with regulated blood pressure exhibited an increase in Group II more than Group I.

Application of Healthy Heart program in the two semi-rural areas in Eskişehir.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to raise awareness of people in two semi-rural regions of Eskişehir in terms of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors and to promote related heart-healthy behaviors. METHODS The study was a semi-experimental intervention and featured as a two-phase design. In the first phase of the study, participants received visits at home. Individuals in intervention and control areas were given a participation form that indicated the Framingham Risk Score (FRS). Other training materials were distributed throughout the intervention area. The second phase was planned as a nested case- control study. The first phase included 2.766 persons and the second phase included 778 persons. In the evaluation of the data the Pearson Chi-square and Students t-test for independent samples, Mc-Nemar Chi-square and the paired t-test for dependent samples were applied. RESULTS During the first phase, the frequency of FRS metrics above 10% was 26.2% for males, 18.1% for females in the intervention area, 22.9% for males, and 14.9% for females in the control area. There was no difference between males and females in terms of scoring for control and intervention areas (p>0.05). Based on the FRS data, the second phase revealed a decrease of 15.4% in males (p<0.001) and 10.2% in females (p<0.001) in the intervention area and an increase of 8.2% in males (p=0.011) and 3.8% in females (p=0.078) in the control area. CONCLUSION In this study, teaching individuals who were older than twenty years of age about cardiac health seemed to be an effective method for decreasing CVD risk factors.