Nizal Sarrafzadegan

Isfahan University of Medical Sciences & University of British Columbia

Background: The extensive rise in the prevalence of obesity is a matter of great concern and poses a global threat to people's health. Obesity and overweight are considered to be the consequence of a collection of conditions including genetic, social, environmental, behavioral, and physical factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the det...

Objective: The cardioprotective effects of nuts are well established. However, the positive impacts of nuts in preventing CVD at a younger age, a condition known as premature coronary artery disease (PCAD), is still debated. Therefore, we aim to determine the association between nuts and PCAD occurrence and its severity in different Iranian ethnici...

Background considering the diet, as a whole (dietary patterns), can provide more information regarding dietary guidelines to decrease health problems and improve quality of life (QoL) of industrial workers.Therefore, the aims of this study were to identify major dietary patterns and to evaluate their association with quality of life among Iranian i...

The link between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and various stressors has not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to examine the relationship between MetS and different perceived stressors. In this study, we included participants of the Isfahan Cohort study from three counties in central Iran, with data in the 2007 (n = 3178) and 2013 (n = 1693) foll...

Introduction Sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are emerging antidiabetic agents with various potential cardiovascular benefits. The EMPT‐ANGINA trial examined the effect of empagliflozin on the angina burden in those with concurrent type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and refractory angina (RA). Method In this 8‐week, double‐blind, ran...

It has been estimated that in the next decade, IHD prevalence, DALYs and deaths will increase more significantly in EMR than in any other region of the world. This study aims to provide a comprehensive description of the trends in the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) across the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) from 1990 to...

Rationale The global burden of cardiovascular (CV) and oncological diseases continues to increase. In this regard, the prevention of CV diseases (CVD) before and after cancer treatment is an urgent and unsolved problem in medicine. For this reason, our research group aimed to investigate the possibility of dapagliflozin-related cardioprotection, us...

Background: The burden of stroke is high worldwide, especially in low-middle income countries. We aim to explore the temporal trends of the incidence rate (IR) of stroke over 14 years in Iran’s central areas. Methods: Stroke registry as part of cardiovascular disease (CVD) registry in Isfahan that focused on hospitalized patients (≥15 years) with f...

Objectives: The aim of our study was to compare four lifestyles-healthy diet and low activity, unhealthy diet and high activity, unhealthy diet and low activity, and healthy diet and high activity-in relation to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. Methods: A total of 6504 adults ages ≥35 y were recruited to particip...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered by many the pandemic of the 21st century and is associated with multiple organ damages. Among these, cardiovascular complications are responsible for an incredible burden of mortality and morbidity in Western Countries. The study of the pathological mechanisms responsible for the cardiovascular complications in...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide and are the major focus of the World Health Organization’s joint prevention programs. While, diverse diseases, CVD and cancer, have many similarities. These include common lifestyle-related risk factors and shared environmental, metabolic, cellular, infl...

Aims This study was designed to explore the relationship between cardiovascular disease incidence and population clusters, which were established based on daily food intake. Methods The current study examined 5,396 Iranian adults (2,627 males and 2,769 females) aged 35 years and older, who participated in a 10-year longitudinal population-based st...

To investigate the longitudinal association of different phenotypes of diabetes and obesity with the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), CVD- and all-cause mortality. A total of 5432 adults, aged ≥ 35 years and free of CVD were included in this cohort study. Diabesity phenotypes were defined in six categories based on the presence of diabete...

Objectives: The association between coffee intake and hypertension (HTN) risk is controversial. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at summarizing the current evidence on the association of coffee with hypertension risk in observational studies. Methods: PubMed/Medline and Web of Science were searched for observational stud...

Background Ultra-processed foods (UPF) consumption may affect the risk of PCAD through affecting cardio metabolic risk factors. This study aimed to evaluate the association between UPFs consumption and premature coronary artery disease (PCAD). Methods A case–control study was conducted on 2,354 Iranian adults (≥ 19 years). Dietary intake was asses...

Background: Disease-discordant twins are excellent subjects for matched case-control studies since the confounding effects of age, sex, genetic background, intrauterine, and early environment factors are perfectly controlled. We aimed to investigate how genetic and environmental factors influence cardiometabolic risk factors in a sample of twins in...

Background: Hypertensive heart disease (HHD), one of the end-organ damage consequences of hypertension, is an important public health issue worldwide. Data on the HHD burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) are scarce. We aimed to investigate the burden of HHD in the EMR, its member countries, and globally from 1990 to 2019. Methods: We...

Background: Dietary patterns emphasizing plant foods might be neuroprotective and exert health benefits on mental health. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the association between a plant-based dietary index and mental health measures. Objective: This study sought to examine the association between plant-based dietary indices, depressio...

Background: Due to lack of contemporary data on the presentation, management, and mortality of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) admissions in Iran, in this prospective registry study, we aimed to evaluate the presentation, management, and mortality as the outcome of patients with ACS in Isfahan, Iran, 2001-2016 to address treatment and healthcare dep...

Previous studies reported a relationship between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. In this study, we aim to evaluate the impact of TSH levels on lipid profile in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and euthyroid state. Patients were selected from the Isfahan FH registry. The Dutch...

The infection caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has spread rapidly across the globe, assuming the characteristics of an epidemic in some regions. Thanks to the introduction of antiretroviral therapy into routine clinical practice, there was a considerable breakthrough in the treatment of HIV, that is now HIV is potentially well-contr...

Purpose There is a paucity of evidence regarding the influential factors on Iranian children’s diet quality. To assess this issue, we explore the relationship between parental diet quality, socioeconomic status (SES), and nutritional knowledge with their children’s diet quality using a cross-sectional sample of the Iranian population. Methods In t...

Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the predominant cause of early death worldwide. Identification of people with a high risk of being affected by CVD is consequential in CVD prevention. This study adopts Machine Learning (ML) and statistical techniques to develop classification models for predicting the future occurrence of CVD events in...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2022/5051434.].

There has been a steady rise in the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the Iranian population. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between Global Dietary Index (GDI) and CVD risk among the Iranian adult population. This study was conducted based on Isfahan Cohort Study, a longitudinal study that collected data between...

Introduction: Indirect methods for reference interval (RI) establishment apply statistical techniques to generate RIs for test result interpretation using stored laboratory data. They present unique advantages relative to traditional direct approaches such as fewer resource requirements; however, there is debate regarding their performance. Herein...

Cardiac Syndrome X (CSX) is a very dangerous cardiovascular disease characterized by angina-like chest discomfort and pain on effort despite normal epicardial coronary arteries at angiography. In this study, we used a CSX dataset from the coronary angiography registry of Tehran's Heart Center at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran to deve...

Background Diverse ethnic groups that exist in Iran may differ regarding the risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and family history of non-communicable disease. Premature Coronary Artery Disease (PCAD) is more endemic in Iran than before. This study sought to assess the association between ethnicity a...

So far, few studies have examined the effect of salt taste receptors genetic variation on dietary intake in the Iranian population. We aimed to evaluate associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in salt taste receptors’ genes with dietary salt intake and blood pressure. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 116 randomly se...

Background and aims: Although several studies have investigated the association between air pollutants and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in recent years, a lack of evidence exists regarding carbon monoxide (CO) exposure, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean’s polluted regions. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the short-term effect of CO expo...

The relationship between protein intake and mortality is still controversial. We prospectively examined the associations of dietary protein sources with all-cause mortality risk in the Isfahan cohort study (ICS). A total of 5431 participants, aged ≥ 35 years, were enrolled in the ICS, in 2001 and followed through 2013. The frequency of protein inta...

Background: Hypertension is a widely prevalent condition associated with significant morbidity and premature mortality, primarily because it is a risk factor for CVDs. The aim of this study was to estimate the trend of the burden of hypertension in Saudi Arabia in the last three decades. Methods: We conducted a systematic analysis of secondary data...

Introduction The purpose of this study is to investigate the trends of the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries from 1990 to 2019. Method Prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), death, DALYs attribution risk factors, healthcare access and quality index (HAQ), and universal health car...

Background The burden of heart failure (HF) is high globally, but information on its burden in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is limited. This study provides a systematic analysis of the burden and underlying causes of HF in the EMR, including at the country level, between 1990 and 2019. Methods We used the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (G...

Background and aims: Air pollution is a major environmental risk factor and the leading cause of disease burden with detrimental effects on cardiovascular systems. Cardiovascular diseases are predisposed by various risk factors, including hypertension, as the most important modifiable risk factor. However, there is a lack of sufficient data concern...

Background: Sleep duration and daytime napping and obesity are related to adiposity; however, it is not clear whether the association between daytime napping and adiposity measures can differ by sleep duration. Aim: To clarify the association between daytime napping and general and abdominal obesity based on sleep duration of participants. Subj...

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is scantly available in Iran, although it is the cost-benefit strategy in cardiac patients, It has not been established how CR is delivered within Iran. This study aimed to determine: (a) availability, density and unmet need for CR, and (b) nature of CR services in Iran by province. Materials and methods:...

Evidence on what people eat globally is limited in scope and rigour, especially as it relates to children and adolescents. This impairs target setting and investment in evidence-based actions to support healthy sustainable diets. Here we quantified global, regional and national dietary patterns among children and adults, by age group, sex, educatio...

Background Statins use is the most important treatment for high LDL cholesterol in patients with premature coronary artery disease (CAD). Previous reports have shown racial and gender differences in statin use in the general population, but this wasn't studied in premature CAD based on different ethnicities. Methods and results Our study includes...

income countries, multicriteria decision analysis Background: Determining cardiovascular disease (CVD) research priorities is essential given the high burden of these diseases, limited financial resources, and competing priorities. This study aimed to determine the research priorities in CVD field in Iran using standard indigenous methods. Material...

Background: Survival and prognostic factors following stroke occurrence differ between world regions. Studies investigating stroke features in the Middle-east region are scarce. We aimed to investigate 1-year survival and related prognostic factors of stroke patients in Central Iran. Materials and methods: It is an observational analytical study...

Background COVID-19 affects the cardiovascular system and ECG abnormalities may be associated with worse prognosis. We evaluated the prognostic value of ECG abnormalities in individuals with COVID-19. Methods Multicentre cohort study with adults hospitalised with COVID-19 from 40 hospitals across 23 countries. Patients were followed-up from admiss...

Objective This modelling study aimed to estimate the comorbidity burden for four common non-communicable diseases with ischaemic heart diseases (IHD) in Iran during a period of 28 years. Design Analysis of the burden of comorbidity with IHD based on data included prevalence rates and the disability weight (DW) average for calculating years lived w...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.5334/gh.1128.].

Objective To identify ultra-processed foods (UPFs) contribution to daily energy and nutrient intake in Iranians and examine whether UPF intake is associated with nutrient profile and diet quality. Design In this cross-sectional study, a validated food frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate usual dietary intake over the preceding year. NOVA s...

Importance: Some individuals experience persistent symptoms after initial symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (often referred to as Long COVID). Objective: To estimate the proportion of males and females with COVID-19, younger or older than 20 years of age, who had Long COVID symptoms in 2020 and 2021 and their Long COVID symptom duration. Design,...

When I have encountered obstacles in the three decades of my career, I have found that self-confidence and courage are the most effective traits for achieving my goals as a female cardiologist.

Background: Endothelial adhesion molecules (EAMs), and more specifically vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), belong to a family of immunoglobulin-like molecules and are found to have increased expression in inflamed microvessels. Due to the growing evidence regarding EAM effects on cardiovascul...

Purpose: To determine the impact of drug prescribing pattern, outpatient drug price of medicines, and level of adherence to evidence-based international guidelines on blood pressure (BP) control at selected hospitals in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted. The data entry and analysis were done by using SP...

Background: The Isfahan COVID Cohort (ICC) study was designed to investigate the short- and long-term consequences of patients with COVID-19 in Iran. This report presents the rationale, methodology, and initial results of ICC. Materials and methods: ICC is a 5-year multicentric prospective cohort study that is ongoing on two groups including 500...

Introduction There is inadequate information on the cost-effectiveness of hypertension based on evidence-based guidelines. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of hypertension treatment based on 2020 International Society of Hypertension (ISH) guidelines from a societal perspective. Methods We developed a state-tr...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are the first and second leading causes of death worldwide, respectively. Epidemiological evidence has demonstrated that the incidence of cancer is elevated in patients with CVD and vice versa. However, these conditions are usually regarded as separate events despite the presence of shared risk factors betwee...

Purpose: There is a lack of information of the difference in sex-aggregated prevalence of comorbid noncommunicable disease (NCD) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iran. This study aimed to evaluate sex differences in the relation between medical comorbidities and subsequent death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: All subse...

Aim: Hypertension control in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the worst (less than one out of ten) when compared to the rest of the world. Therefore, this scoping review was conducted to identify and describe the possible reasons for poor blood pressure (BP) control based on 4Ps' (patient, professional, primary healthcare system, and public health polic...

Background Treatment resistant hypertension (TRH) is defined as uncontrolled blood pressure (>140/90 mm Hg) after treatment with the intensified dose of three standard anti-hypertensive drugs. Management of TRH involves addition of fourth line drugs on standard care or interventional therapies (Renal denervation, Baroreceptor activation, Central ve...

Introduction There is inadequate information on blood pressure (BP) and FBG (Blood pressure and Fasting blood glucose) control among adult hypertensive patients in Southern Ethiopia. Aim To determine the level and factors associated with poor BP and FBG control among adult hypertensive patients on regular follow-up at three public hospitals Results...

Background Macronutrients' quality may impact differently on mental health and quality of life (QOL). This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between the carbohydrate quality index (CQI), fat quality index (FQI), protein quality index (PQI), the affective mental symptoms and QOL among Iranian adults. Methods The LipoKAP is a cro...

Introduction: This study developed a novel risk assessment model to predict the occurrence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. It uses a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to develop an easy-to-use model with high accuracy, calibrated based on the Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) database. Methods: The ICS was a population-based prospective cohort study of 6,...

Background and aims: Limited data exist on the cardiovascular manifestations and risk factors in people hospitalized with COVID-19 from low-and middle-income countries. This study aims to describe cardiovascular risk factors, clinical manifestations, and outcomes among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in low, lower-middle, upper-middle-and high-...

Despite high levels of air pollution in the Middle East, there are relatively few studies of its impacts on population health. In this study, associations between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 and hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were evaluated in a study from Isfahan, Iran. In a bidirectional case-crossover design, pa...

Background and aims: Limited data exist on the cardiovascular manifestations and risk factors in people hospitalized with COVID-19 from low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to describe cardiovascular risk factors, clinical manifestations, and outcomes among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in low, lower-middle, upper-middle- and hi...

Background and aims: Limited data exist on the cardiovascular manifestations and risk factors in people hospitalized with COVID-19 from low-and middle-income countries. This study aims to describe cardiovascular risk factors, clinical manifestations, and outcomes among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in low, lower-middle, upper-middle-and high-...

Objective: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is the mainstay of diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia, the most prevalent autosomal domi- nant disorder among humans. Since the reference measurement method (ultracentrifugation) is time-consuming and expensive, many formulas emerged to calculate low-den...

Purpose: We aimed to estimate the level and trend of plasma cholesterol and raised total cholesterol (TC > 200 mg/dl) prevalence at national and subnational level of Iran. Methods: Nine national surveys and 27 studies, encompassing 3,505 unique points on over 500,000 adults, aged > 25 years with a report of laboratory measurement of TC were foun...

Importance While much of the attention on the COVID-19 pandemic was directed at the daily counts of cases and those with serious disease overwhelming health services, increasingly, reports have appeared of people who experience debilitating symptoms after the initial infection. This is popularly known as long COVID. Objective To estimate by countr...