Methodology and Early Findings of the Fourth Survey of Childhood and Adolescence Surveillance and Prevention of Adult Non-Communicable Disease in Iran: The CASPIAN-IV Study.
BACKGROUND
The fourth survey of the surveillance system named "childhood and adolescence surveillance and prevention of adult non-communicable disease" (CASPIAN-IV study), was conducted among a national representative sample of Iranian students. This paper describes the methods and early findings of this survey.


METHODS
This nationwide school-based study was conducted in 2011-2012 in 30 provinces of Iran among 13,486 students, 6-18 years (6640 girls, 75.6% from urban areas) and one of their parents.


RESULTS
Mean age of students was 12.5 years. Based on the World Health Organization growth curves, 12.2% were underweight, 9.7% overweight and 11.9% were obese. Abdominal obesity was observed in 19.1% of students. The dominant type of cooking oil in urban families was liquid oil and hydrogenated fat (39% and 32%), most rural families used hydrogenated fat (53%), respectively. A total of 18% of students had at least 30 min of daily physical activity; 41% of students used computer in weekdays and 44% used it in weekends. Almost 34.5% of students reported to have at least one cigarette smoker and 21.5% reported to have a waterpipe smoker in their relatives. Moreover, 20.3% of students reported that they had suffered an injury needing the help of school health providers during the year prior to the study.


CONCLUSIONS
Current evidence on the health risky behaviors among Iranian children and adolescents confirms the importance of conducting comprehensive surveillance surveys to identify health risk behaviors. Data of this survey and the trend of variables provide necessary information for health policy makers to implement action-oriented interventions.
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Child Growth and Development Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Roya
R
Kelishadi
Department of School Health, Adolescents, Youths and School Health Office, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran.
Gelayol
G
Ardalan
Department of Public Health, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran ; Department of Epidemiology, Non-Communicable DiseasesResearch Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mostafa
M
Qorbani
Department of Nutrition, Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Asal
A
Ataie-Jafari
Department of Nutrition, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Maryam
M
Bahreynian
Department of School Health, Bureau of School Health, Ministry of Education, Tehran, Iran.
Mahnaz
M
Taslimi
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Mohammad Esmaeil
ME
Motlagh
Department of Epidemiology, Chronic Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ramin
R
Heshmat
Chronic diseases; prevention; risk behaviors; risk factors; school health; surveillance