Scientific Journal of

  Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Millions of lives are saved each year through blood transfusion. Although blood is a life-saving element, it can occassionally cause some severe diseases. This study was performed to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infections and their known risk factors among Guilan blood donors from 1997 till 2002.

 Materials and Methods

 In this descriptive study, 221508 blood donors were referred to Guilan Blood Transfusion Center. ELISA test was performed for HBsAg and HCVAb detection. Positive cases of HBV and HCV were confirmed by neutralization and RIBA tests, respectively. Known risk factors including history of surgery, blood transfusion, and IV drug abuse were extracted from available medical documents for being evaluated.

 Results

 997 patients were HBsAg positive and 3603 HCVAb positive. After performing confirmation tests, the prevalence rates of HBsAg and HCVAb were 0.45% and 0.32%, respectively the rates of both were higher in males. The most common risk factors were in order history of surgery and the history of dental procedure in the past decade.

 Conclusions

 Due to several risk factors in blood donors, more studies are recommended in order to evaluate the correlation between prevalence of infections with one single risk factor as an independent variable without any factor intervening factors.

 Key words : Blood donation, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Iran

  Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Thalassemia is one of the most common chronic genetic diseases whose psychological issues can affect quality of life in patients. Research has shown that regular physical activity can increase well-being in a person. This study compared the quality of life in patients with thalassemia major based on their participation in group activities in Bandar Abbas in 2011.

 Materials and Methods

 In this descriptive analytical study, 35 patients with thalassemia major having participated in group activities were selected as the case group and 75 patients not participating as the control. Data were collected with quality of life questionnaire SF-36 and were analyzed by using SPSS13 statistical software , Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests.

 Results

 The difference between the quality of life scores in the case and control groups for dimensions of general understanding of health, role limitation due to physical health problems, energy and vitality, physical functioning, emotionally related role limitations, body pain, mental health, and overall quality of life score was significant. The mean values of overall quality of life score in the case and control groups were 81.40 ± 3.64 and 58.35 ± 6.14, respectively. The relationship between the overall quality of life score and participation in group activities, starting age for desferal medication, and the number of desferal injections per month was significant in the case group.

 Conclusions

 Patients should be encouraged to participate in group activities and rehabilitative centers should be constructed to improve the level of life skills so as to lead to greater patients independence.

 Key words: Thalassemia Major , Physical Activity , Quality of Life