title: PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED TO INTESTINAL PARASITE INFECTIONS AMONG PATIENTS WITH GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS IN NAHAVAND, WESTERN IRAN.
abstract: We studied the prevalence of intestinal parasites (IPs), their risk factors and associated symptoms among patients with gastrointestinal disorders. A total of 1,301 participants aged 22 days-90 years were enrolled in this study. We used a structured questionnaire to obtain socio-demographic and stool examination to investigate intestinal parasite infections. Data analysis was performed using SPSS16. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites (IPs) was 32.2% (419/1,301). Three hundred and fifty nine cases/1,301 (27.6%) were infected with a single parasite and 60/1,301 cases (4.6%) presented polyparasitism. The most common IP was Blastocystis sp. 350/1,301 (26.9%), followed by Entamoeba coli 38/1,301 (2.92%), Giardia lamblia 30/1,301 (2.3%) and Cryptosporidium spp. 17/1,301 (1.3%). Regarding the socio-demographic variables, educational status (p = 0.001), contact with domestic animals and soil (p = 0.02), age above 15 years (p = 0.001) and seasons (p = 0.001) were significantly associated to intestinal parasitic infections. Concerning clinical characteristics, the presence of IPs was significantly associated to diarrhea (OR = 1.57; CI 95% = 1.24-1.98; p < 0.001) and dysentery (OR = 1.94; CI 95% = 1.03-3.66; p < 0.04). Our findings suggest that IPs are one of the main causal agents of gastrointestinal disorders. Improving the knowledge on local risk factors such as poverty, low level of education, poor sanitation, contact with soil and contact with domestic animal is warranted.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, hamedkiani405@yahoo.com, ahaghighi110@yahoo.com, alirostami1984@gmail.com, n_zebardast@yahoo.com, seyyedtabaei@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiani
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, hamedkiani405@yahoo.com, ahaghighi110@yahoo.com, alirostami1984@gmail.com, n_zebardast@yahoo.com, seyyedtabaei@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haghighi
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, hamedkiani405@yahoo.com, ahaghighi110@yahoo.com, alirostami1984@gmail.com, n_zebardast@yahoo.com, seyyedtabaei@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rostami
authors.affiliation: Iranian Veterinary Organization, Hamadan, Iran, hamedkiani405@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Eznollah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Azargashb
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, hamedkiani405@yahoo.com, ahaghighi110@yahoo.com, alirostami1984@gmail.com, n_zebardast@yahoo.com, seyyedtabaei@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Seyyed Javad Seyyed
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tabaei
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, Dr.solgi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Solgi
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, hamedkiani405@yahoo.com, ahaghighi110@yahoo.com, alirostami1984@gmail.com, n_zebardast@yahoo.com, seyyedtabaei@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nozhat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zebardast
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult