EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF ACUTE POISONINGS CAUSED BY CONSUMING VARIOUS CONTAMINATED FOOD, CHEMICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL SUBSTANCES RECORDED BY IMAM KHOMEINI HOSPITAL OF KERMANSHAH DURING 4 YEARS (2009-2012)

ARASH ZIAPOUR¹, MEGHDAD PIRSAHEB², LIDA HEMATI², MOSTAFA KARIMAEI³, ^{4@z, FATEME ASADI2, ALI AZARI4, HAMID REZA GHAFARI5, KIOMARS SHARAFI2, 4*}

¹ Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran- ² Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health (RCEDH), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran - ³ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Aradan School of Public Health and Paramedicine, Semnan Universityof Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran - ⁴ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran - ⁵ Social Determinants in Health Promotion Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

Acute poisoning caused by consuming food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals is one of the main problems of public health, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Epidemiological studies related to various diseases have a key role in diagnosing the sources of contamination, transmission routes, prevalence and spread of various diseases (e.g. varied poisonings) and prevention and control approaches. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of acute poisonings caused by consuming food, chemical and pharmaceutical compounds at Imam Khomeini Hospital of Kermanshah during 4 years (2009-2012). We extracted the research data on food, chemical and pharmaceutical poisonings from Imam Khomeini Hospital of Kermanshah during this period of time using 165, 2610 and 3073 records of hospitalized patients in the hospital, respectively. After classifying the data regarding the objectives of the study, they were analyzed by using Excel and SPSS software. We used chi-square test to determine the association between the different variables and poisoning incidence. The results showed that most food, chemical and pharmaceutical poisonings had accrued in spring and summer. They recorded an increase in food poisoning incidence and a decrease in chemical and pharmaceutical poisonings from 2009 to 2012. The incidence of food and chemical poisonings was reported higher in men than in women, while gender differences in the incidence of drug poisoning were quite opposite. Among age groups, the highest incidence for each poisoning occurred in the age group of 30-15 years. Besides, the association between incidence of food, chemical and pharmaceutical poisonings and year, season, month, gender and age groups was significant (Pvalue<0.001). Therefore, responsible organizations need to take steps to train the public and broaden its knowledge of food hygiene and proper usage of chemicals and pharmaceuticals by employing different means (radio, television, newspapers, etc.), considering the significance of this association.