BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity (PA) is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and one of the leading causes of premature mortality worldwide. This study examined the prevalence and independent determinants of insufficient PA among adults resident of Tehran utilizing Tehran Cohort Study Data (TeCS).
METHODS: We used the recruitment phase data from the TeCS with complete data on PA. PA was assessed through a Likert-scaled question and categorized into three groups. Utilizing data from the 2016 national census, the age- and sex-weighted prevalence of insufficient PA in Tehran was determined. The adjusted logistic regression model is used to neutralize influencing factors and determine the factors associated with insufficient PA.
RESULTS: The weighted prevalence of insufficient PA was 16.9% among the 8213 adult citizens of Tehran, with a greater prevalence among females (19.0% vs. 14.8% among males). Additionally, older age groups, unemployed, housewives, and illiterate educated participants displayed a much higher prevalence of insufficient PA (p < 0.001). Moreover, Tehran\'s central and southern districts had higher rates of insufficient PA. Concerning the adjusted regression model, older age (Odds ratio [OR]: 4.26, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 3.24-5.60, p < 0.001), a lower education level (p < 0.001), unemployment (OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.28-2.55, p = 0.001), being a housewife (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.15-1.80, p = 0.002), higher body mass index (BMI) (OR for BMI > 30: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.56-2.18, p < 0.001), opium consumption (OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.46-2.52, p < 0.001), diabetes mellitus (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.06-1.48, p = 0.008), hypertension (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.50, p = 0.001), and coronary artery diseases (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.05-1.61, p = 0.018), were significantly associated with insufficient PA.
CONCLUSIONS: The identified associated factors serve as a valuable guide for policymakers in developing tailored intervention strategies to address the needs of high-risk populations, particularly among older adults and females.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization defines mental health as a combination of two dimensions: the negative dimension, or negative mental health, which indicates the presence of mental disorders, symptoms, and problems, and the positive dimension, or positive mental health, which includes emotions and positive personal characteristics such as self-esteem, resilience against environmental challenges, a sense of integrity, and self-efficacy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of internet addiction and academic resilience in predicting the mental health of high school students in Tehran, Iran.
METHODS: The research method employed was a survey. 758 people participated in the study, and the samples consisted of high school students in Tehran during the academic year 2022-2023. The process of collecting information was carried out by distributing the questionnaire link through virtual networks and schools. The research utilized Young\'s Internet Addiction Test, Samuels\' Academic Resilience Inventory, and Goldberg\'s Mental Health Questionnaire as the research tools. Statistical tests, including Pearson\'s correlation and multiple regression analysis, were employed to investigate the relationships between variables.
RESULTS: The effect of internet addiction on mental health (ß=0.39) is negative and significant at the 0.001 level, while the effect of academic resilience on mental health (ß=0.66) is positive and significant at the 0.001 level. These two variables collectively predict 53% of the variance in students\' mental health. This indicates that as internet addiction increases among students, their mental health significantly decreases, whereas higher levels of academic resilience correspond to higher mental health.
CONCLUSIONS: This study has elucidated the role of internet addiction and academic resilience in predicting the mental health of high school students in Tehran. Given the significance of adolescent mental health, it is imperative for healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to develop intervention and prevention models to address mental health crises and plan for the enhancement of adolescent mental health.

Exposure to heavy metals can result in various adverse health effects. Tehran is rated as one of the world\'s most polluted cities. Green space workers are continuously exposed to such pollutants in this city. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the health risks caused by exposure to heavy metals among green space workers. Eighty-eight workers and office personnel in two regions with different air quality levels were chosen for sampling. Air samples were collected using the NIOSH-7300 method and analyzed using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) instrument. The hazard quotient (HQ) and the lifetime cancer risk (LTCR) were calculated to assess carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk levels. The results revealed that the rank order of heavy metals was determined as Zn, Pb, Mn, Ni, Co, and Cd. Workers were subjected to higher concentrations of Ni, Pb, Zn, and Co than office personnel. Furthermore, the Cd, Co, and Zn exposure levels stood significantly higher in region 6 than in region 14. Non-carcinogenic risk levels for all participants fell within the acceptable range. Moreover, no employee had a carcinogenic risk level within the acceptable range when exposed to Cd. Also, 2.3% of individuals demonstrated Ni\'s acceptable carcinogenic risk level. Owing unacceptable risk levels, proper interventions are required to minimize occupational exposure to heavy metals. These interventions include optimizing shift schedules, using personal protective equipment, and conducting regular health assessments.

UNASSIGNED: Unintended pregnancy is considered one of the critical indicators of community health as being a risk factor in unsanitary abortions, miscarriage, and insufficient prenatal care. This study aimed to determine the frequency of unintended pregnancy and the related factors in married women.
UNASSIGNED: The study was conducted on 1013 married women aged 15-49 who were referred to health centers in the South of Tehran. To analyze the data, single and multiple logistic regressions were used.
UNASSIGNED: About 50% of participants had already experienced at least one unintended pregnancy. Analysis showed the following predictive factors for unintended pregnancy: being within the age range of 26 to 40 (AOR, 95% CI = 1.91; 1.25-2.90), being over 40 years of age (AOR, 95% CI = 1.96; 1.04-3.71), spouse education level of high-school or lower (AOR, 95% CI = 1.64; 1.11-2.42), first marriage age range of 21 to 30 years (AOR, 95% CI = 0.64; 0.47-0.88), use of the DMPA method as contraception (AOR, 95% CI = 3.42; 1.16-10.06), history of tubectomy (AOR, 95% CI = 4.45; 1.99-10) and history of vasectomy (AOR, 95% CI = 4.61; 1.18-17.98).
UNASSIGNED: Training and distribution of free contraceptive methods would be much more effective and less expensive than paying for costly illegal induction of abortion and unwarranted complications due to abortion.
UNASSIGNED: Vulnerable women who are referred to health centers to receive health services should be trained in contraceptive methods and be informed of the probability of unintended pregnancy with each contraceptive method and the consequences of self-induced abortion.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and burden of substance and opium use have increased worldwide over the past decades. In light of rapid population changes in Tehran, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of opium and other substance use among adult residents in Tehran, Iran.
METHODS: From March 2016 to March 2019, we utilized data from 8 296 participants in the Tehran Cohort Study recruitment phase (TeCS). We calculated the age-sex-weighted prevalence of substance use and the geographic distribution of substance use in Tehran. We also used logistic regression analysis to determine possible determinants of opium use.
RESULTS: We analyzed data from 8 259 eligible participants with complete substance use data and the average age of participants was 53.7 ± 12.75 years. The prevalence of substance use was 5.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.6- 7.1%). Substance use was more common in males than females (Prevalence: 10.5% [95% CI: 8.6- 12.6%] vs. 0.5% [95% CI: 0.2- 1.2%], respectively). The age-sex weighted prevalence of substance use was 5.4% (95% CI: 4.6-7.1%). Moreover, opium was the most frequently used substance by 95.8% of substance users. Additionally, we found that male gender (Odds ratio [OR]: 12.1, P < 0.001), alcohol intake (OR: 1.3, P = 0.016), and smoking (OR: 8.5, P < 0.001) were independently associated with opium use.
CONCLUSIONS: We found that the prevalence of substance use in Tehran was 5.6%, and opium was the most frequently used substance. In addition, male gender, lower levels of education, alcohol, and tobacco consumption are the main risk factors for substance use in Tehran. Healthcare providers and policymakers can utilize our results to implement preventive strategies to minimize substance use in Tehran.

Detention reservoirs are employed in urban drainage systems to reduce peak flows downstream of reservoirs. In addition to the volume of detention reservoirs, their operational policies could significantly affect their performance. This paper presents a framework for the real-time coordinated operation of detention reservoirs using deep-learning-based rainfall nowcasting data. Considering the short concentration time of urban basins, the real-time operating policies of urban detention reservoirs should be developed quickly. In the proposed framework, a cellular automata (CA)-based optimization algorithm is linked with the storm water management model (SWMM) to optimize real-time operating policies of gates at the inlets and outlets of detention reservoirs. As CA-based optimization models are not population-based, their computational costs are much less than population-based metaheuristic optimization techniques such as genetic algorithms. To evaluate the applicability and efficiency of the framework, it is applied to the east drainage catchment (EDC) of Tehran metropolitan area in Iran. The results illustrate that the proposed framework could reduce the overflow volume by up to 60%. For complete flood control in the study area, in addition to the real-time operation of detention reservoirs, constructing five tunnels with a total length of 13200 m is recommended. To evaluate the performance of the CA-based optimization model, its results are compared with those obtained from the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm III (NSGA-III). It is shown that the CA-based model provides similar results with only 5% of the run-time of NSGA-III. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to evaluate the effects of optimization models\' parameters on their performance.

OBJECTIVE: Aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, are among the most toxic mycotoxins. Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a hydroxylated metabolite of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), found in milk and dairy products from animals fed AFB1-contaminated feed. Consumption of AFM1 has related adverse effects on human health. Breast milk can be a source of contamination for infants due to the presence of AFM. AFM1 can also contaminate powdered milk, a significant product of the milk industry. Consequently, monitoring dairy products for these toxins is imperative.
METHODS: A total of 50 samples (25 samples of breast milk and 25 samples of powdered infant milk formula) were collected in Tehran from December 2021 to February 2022. HPLC method was used for the determination of AFM1 in samples.
RESULTS: and Discussion: AFM1 was detected in 72% of breast milk samples and 96% of powdered milk samples. AFM1 levels varied significantly between the two sample types (p < 0.05). The average amount of AFM1 in breast milk samples was 25.82 ± 4.72 ng/kg, while the average amount in powdered milk samples was 40.59 ± 7.76 ng/kg. Moreover, 44% of the breast and 68% of powdered milk samples exceeded the AFM1 content limit of the European Union and the Iranian national standard. This study concludes that given the importance of breast milk and formula to maternal and infant health, monitoring and regulating the toxin levels in these products in Tehran is crucial.

This study focuses on the spatial analysis of leisure land uses in metropolitan Tehran, specifically examining spatial equality. The combination of the Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking according to Compromise Solution method and Geographic Information System is employed to evaluate leisure needs based on multiple criteria. These criteria encompass recreational, entertainment, tourism, social services, cultural services, religious, sports factors, as well as parks and green spaces. The objectives of this research are to draw attention to recreation-related challenges in Tehran, provide insights for urban planners, understand the city\'s spatial status, ensure equitable facility distribution, and propose solutions aligned with residents\' preferences for improved service provisions. The final map resulting from the MARCOS method reveals significant disparities in leisure facility accessibility between privileged and deprived districts. Notably, residents in the northern and central districts experience better living conditions compared to other areas. This study highlights the diverse needs of residents across districts, underscoring the importance of tailored service provisions. The findings hold implications for the Ministry of Interior, the Management and Planning Organization, and the Municipality of Tehran, guiding their planning strategies to enhance recreational spaces and promote spatial equality. By utilizing the research outcomes, these organizations can contribute to the improvement of leisure facilities and the overall well-being of Tehran\'s residents.

In this study, the characteristics of ambient airborne microplastics were investigated in Tehran to obtain insights into their origins. For this purpose, sampling operations took place at locations with different backgrounds in summer and autumn by using TSP and PM10 high-volume samplers. As a result of microscopic analysis and Raman spectroscopy, the color, shape, number, size, and type of microplastic particles were investigated. Seven types of chemical structures were identified in the particles, among which polypropylene (18.7%) in summer and polystyrene (20%) in autumn had the dominant share. The average number of particles collected using the TSP and PM10 samplers were 1165 ± 147.64 and 1006.5 ± 147.64, respectively. The size of microplastic particles in different stations varied between 4 and 3094 μm. In the seasonal examination of the identified colors, black (38-43%), red (17-19%), gold (13-14%), brown (12% in both seasons), blue (7-10%), yellow (3-5%), and green (2-5%) had the largest proportions, respectively. The examined microplastics were in three forms: fiber, bead, and fragment, among which the predominant form was fiber, and the most infrequent particles were fragments. Statistical comparisons showed that the sampling location does not have a significant effect on the number and size of particles (p value > 0.05). The season was not identified as a determining parameter for particle size (p value > 0.05). On the other hand, seasonal changes can have a tremendous effect on the microplastic particle number (p value < 0.05). Lastly, to obtain more detailed information about the origin of these particles, continuous and long-term monitoring near known industries and suspected sources of plastic materials and source apportionment studies were suggested.

Our registry-based cross-sectional study covered 27,508 PwMS in Tehran with a point incidence rate and prevalence of 7.87 and 194.62 per 100,000 in 2021, respectively. We found that the incidence and prevalence of MS in Tehran are still on an upward trend which requires general attention and measures to overcome. The proportion of men with a family history of MS was significantly higher. Whilst IMSS deals with economic difficulties, it continues to collect new PwMS to reach regional-level coverage in Tehran for better MS care services.