An Overview of a National Surveillance Program in Iran for Prevention of Chronic Non-communicable Diseases from Childhood: CASPIAN Study

Background: The health status of children in the Iran has improved in many areas such as lower rates of infectious diseases and declines in malnutrition. However rapid lifestyle changes might make them prone to chronic diseases in adulthood. Because of the importance of collecting national information about related risk behaviors and risk factors, this national project was conducted for the first time in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Methods: The baseline survey was conducted among 21111 school students aged 6-18 years, and their parents living in 23 provinces; biochemical tests were obtained from 481 1 students. Results: Underweight and overweight had similar prevalence (13.9% underweight, 13.4% overweight). The most prevalent type of dyslipidemia was low HDL-C and hypertriglyceridemia. In addition to providing national percentiles and reference curves for weight, height and body mass index, this study provided the first reference curves for waist circumference and blood pressure of children, as well as the first national prevalence of pediatric metabolic syndrome in Asia. Unhealthy nutrition and low physical activity were associated with most risk factors. Conclusion: Close monitoring of children and adolescents for risk factors and risk behaviors should be considered as a public health priority, thus a national school-based surveillance program is being established in this regard in Iran.