Predictors of Life Skills Level of Students in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in Southeast of Iran

Background and aims: Life skills involve a big class of socio-psychological and interpersonal skills which help a person to take conscious decisions, communicate effectively and improve self-management skills. Preparing a plan for all the above mentioned programs, need awareness about life skills level of different groups such as students in universities. Present study was aimed to reveal the predictors of life skills level of Students in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in southeast of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study carried out on 380 medical students of Zahedan in 2015. The subjects were selected using stratified random sampling method. The data were collected using reliable Life Skill Dimensions Score questionnaire. The data were analyzed in Stata.12 software using ANOVA, Independent t-test and multiple linear regression with Hosmer-Lemshow method. Results: The mean of total score regarding life skills score was 280.8±45.8. The linear regression analysis indicated that gender (β=11.15, 95 CI: 5.03-17.27), socioeconomic status (β=6.78, 95 CI: 1.76-11.8) and average grades (β=15.3, 95 CI: 9.11-21.49) were associated with life skills score. However, the life skills score was not associated with the age, semester, residential area, smoking, marital status and school of education (P>0.05). Conclusion: The level of life skills scores of medical students in southeast of Iran is low in all dimensions especially in communication skills. Thus, promoting life skills in university students is too important. However, the life skills training programs should be implemented with respect to socioeconomic status, gender and average grade and male students with low socioeconomic status and average have priority

Comparison the frequency of dry eye syndrome in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis with healthly people in Zahedan

زمینه و هدف: از شایع ترین تظاهرات درگیری چشم، سندرم چشم خشک می باشد. سندرم چشم خشک باعث افزایش خطر عفونت چشم و اختلال در میزان دقت بینایی می گردد. مطالعات مختلف نتایج متفاوتی در خصوص شیوع آرتریت روماتویید و سندرم چشم خشک نشان داده اند. به نظر می رسد یکی از علل تفاوت شیوع سندرم چشم خشک در مطالعات مختلف، تفاوت آب و هوایی در مناطق مورد مطالعه باشد. هدف از این مطالعه، بررسی میزان شیوع خشکی چشم در بیماران مبتلا به آرتریت روماتویید در مناطق با آب و هوای گرم و خشک در مقایسه با افراد سالم و همچنین بررسی میزان شیوع سندرم چشم خشک در مبتلایان به آرتریت روماتویید تازه تشخیص داده شده می باشد. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه مورد-شاهدی،60 نفر از مبتلایان به آرتریت روماتویید و 60 نفر از افراد سالم که از نظر سن و جنس همسان سازی شده بودند وارد مطالعه شدند و در آنها علاوه بر شرح حال و علایم بالینی تست های شیرمر، منیسک اشک، فلورسین و شکست اشک بررسی شد. در بیمارانی که یکی یا بیشتر از این تست ها مثبت بود، تشخیص سندرم چشم خشک داده می شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمون آماری کای اسکوئر مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفتند. یافته‌ها :از 60 نفر مبتلا به آرتریت روماتویید 32 نفر (53) مبتلا به سندرم چشم خشک قطعی و 15 نفر (25) مبتلا به سندرم چشم خشک احتمالی بودند و در گروه کنترل 6 نفر (10) سندرم چشم خشک داشتند بین دو گروه بیمار و کنترل از نظر وجود سندرم چشم خشک قطعی اختلاف آماری معنی داری وجود داشت (001/0

Maternal macronutrient and energy intake during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Nutritional status during pregnancy can have a significant impact on infant and maternal health outcomes. To maintain maternal homeostasis and support fetal growth, adequate macronutrient and energy intake during pregnancy is essential. Therefore, this study sought to systematically review and meta-analyze macronutrient and energy intakes during pregnancy. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The required data were collected from four databases including: Web of Sciences, ProQuest, Scopus, and PubMed, from 1 January 1980 to 30 May 2023, by using a combination of search terms (dietary pattern" OR "diet quality" OR "food habits" OR "nutrition surveys" OR "diet surveys" OR "food-frequency questionnaire" OR "diet record" OR "dietary recall") AND ( "pregnancy" OR "reproduction" OR "maternal health" OR "neonatal outcomes") among interventional and observational studies. Excel and STATA version 11 were used for data analysis. Results: Among 7081 published articles, 54 studies were included in the review. Most of the 33 (61%) studies were cohort studies and a total of 135,566 pregnant women were included. The overall average of energy, carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake was 2036.10 kcal/day, 262.17 gr/day, 74.17 gr/day, and 78.21 gr/day, respectively. Also, energy intake during pregnancy was higher in American (2228.31 kcal/day, CI95%: 2135.06–2325.63) and Eastern Mediterranean regions (2226.70 kcal/day, CI95%: 2077.23–2386.92) than other regions (P < 0.001). Energy intake was higher in the third trimester than others (2115.64 kcal/day, CI95%: 1974.15–2267.27). Furthermore, based on the findings, there was a significant difference between energy intake in different World Health Organization (WHO) regions (P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results of meta-analysis, the average total energy was below than average total energy required during pregnancy. More efforts are needed to encourage women to adopt healthy eating habits during pregnancy to support healthy fetal and infant development

The survival rate of patients with beta-thalassemia major and intermedia and its trends in recent years in Iran

OBJECTIVES Thalassemia is a common genetic disease in Iran, especially in the north and south of Iran. The present study sought to determine the survival rate of patients with thalassemia in highly endemic regions of Iran and its variation in patients born before and after 1971. METHODS The present historical cohort study extracted data from the health records of patients with beta-thalassemia major, beta-thalassemia intermedia, and sickle beta-thalassemia who had presented to thalassemia treatment centers in the past years. The collected data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier test, the log-rank test, and the chi-square test. RESULTS Of the total of 5,491 medical records (2,647 men and 2,634 women; mean age, 23.81±11.32 years), 3,936 belonged to patients with beta-thalassemia major, and 999 and 89 to patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia and sickle beta-thalassemia, respectively. In 467 cases, the type of thalassemia was not clear. The cumulative survival rate was calculated as 0.92, 0.83, 0.74, and 0.51 by ages 25, 35, 45, and 55, respectively. The hazard ratio of death was 4.22 (p<0.05) for beta-thalassemia major and 0.77 for beta-thalassemia intermedia (p=0.70). It was calculated as 1.45 for men patients and as 3.82 for single patients. CONCLUSIONS The present study showed relatively high survival rates in patients with thalassemia. The survival of patients was unfavorable in poorer regions (Zahedan and Iranshahr). Factors including women gender, a higher level of education, being married, and living in metropolises decreased the risk of death at younger ages and improved survival

Comparison of the Rate and Causes of Surgery Cancellations before and after the Implementation of the Health Sector Evolution Plan: a case study in selected public hospitals

Background: Operating room efficiency is one of the main factors in determining hospital costs. Since Health Sector Evolution Plan (HSEP) was implemented with the idea of increasing people's access to hospital services, this study aimed to compare the rate and causes of cancellation of surgical procedures in public hospitals before and after HSEP. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was carried out in two public hospitals in Zahedan in 2017. A total of 8138 of registered profiles were selected randomly and reviewed. A standard checklist containing 9 questions were used for data gathering. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests and through SPSS software version 21. Results: The number of surgies has increased after HSEP. Befor HSEP, most of the surgeries had been canceled for organizational and managerial reasons (58%) while after HSEP, patient issues were the main cause of cancellation of surgeries (66%). Surgery cancellation related to the surgery team, patient, anesthesia, medical, equipment and organisation had a significant relation with the marital status of patients (P=0.011) and their type of health insurance (P= 0.021). Conclusion: Performing detailed planning for operating rooms, providing necessary training programs for patients, patients' visit by anesthesiologists, as well as quantitative and qualitative improvement of operating room conditions can increase the efficiency of oprtaing rooms and hospitals

Baseline results of the first malaria indicator survey in Iran at household level

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria is one of the leading causes of sickness and death in the developing world, causing more than a million deaths and around 250 million new cases annually worldwide. The aim of this comprehensive survey was to provide information on malaria indicators at household level in high-risk malaria areas in Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a cluster randomized cross-sectional survey data were collected from 5,456 households in both rural and urban areas of 20 malaria-affected districts of Iran. All the fieldwork was done by trained interviewers and a validated questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised baseline characteristics of the study population, the knowledge of people about different aspects of malaria (such as clinical symptoms, transmission and prevention) and their practice to prevent illness (such as using mosquito nets, spraying houses). The data were analysed and descriptive statistics (i.e. frequencies, percentages) were used to summarize the results.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results of this survey showed that 20% (95% CI: 17.36 - 22.24) of households owned at least one mosquito net, whether treated or untreated. Consequently, the use of mosquito nets was considerably low among both children under age five [5.90% (95% CI: 5.14 - 6.66)] and pregnant women [5.70% (95% CI: 3.07 - 8.33)]. Moreover, less than 10% of households reported that the interior walls of their dwelling had been sprayed in the previous year [8.70% (95% CI: 6.09 - 11.31)]. Data also suggest that 63.8% of the participants recognized fever as a sign of malaria, 56.4% reported that mosquito bites cause malaria and about 35% of participants mentioned that the use of mosquito nets could prevent malaria.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Findings from this study indicate that low access to treated nets along with low understanding of the role of nets in malaria prevention are the main barriers to utilization of bed nets. Therefore, the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets should be encouraged through health education on the importance of the use along with increasing access to it.</p

Baseline results of the first malaria indicator survey in Iran at the health facility level

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria continues to be a global public health challenge, particularly in developing countries. Delivery of prompt and effective diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases, detection of malaria epidemics within one week of onset and control them in less than a month, regular disease monitoring and operational classification of malaria are among the major responsibilities of the national malaria programme. The study was conducted to determine these indicators at the different level of primary health care facilities in malaria-affected provinces of Iran</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this survey, data was collected from 223 health facilities including health centres, malaria posts, health houses and hospitals as well as the profile of all 5, 836 recorded malaria cases in these facilities during the year preceding the survey. Descriptive statistics (i.e. frequencies, percentages) were used to summarize the results and Chi square test was used to analyse data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All but one percent of uncomplicated cases took appropriate and correctly-dosed of anti-malarial drugs in accordance to the national treatment guideline. A larger proportion of patients [85.8%; 95% CI: 84.8 - 86.8] were also given complete treatment including anti-relapse course, in line with national guidelines. About one third [35.0%; 95% CI: 33.6 - 36.4] of uncomplicated malaria cases were treated more than 48 hours after first symptoms onset. Correspondingly, half of severe malaria cases took recommended anti-malarial drugs for severe or complicated disease more than 48 hours of onset of first symptoms. The latter cases had given regular anti-malarial drugs promptly.</p> <p>The majority of malaria epidemics [97%; 95% CI: 90.6 - 100] in study areas were detected within one week of onset, but only half of epidemics were controlled within four weeks of detection. Just half of target districts had at least one health facility/emergency site with adequate supply and equipment stocks. Nevertheless, only one-third of them [33% (95% CI: 0.00 - 67.8)] had updated inventory of malaria foci on quarterly basis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To sum up, malaria case management still constitutes a public health problem in Iran. Additionally, data suggest scarcity in management and evaluation of malaria foci, detection and control of malaria epidemics as well as assignment of emergency sites across different regions of the country. Consequently, massive and substantial investments need to be made at the Ministry of Health to coordinate national malaria control programmes towards achieving determined goals and targets.</p

Socioeconomic inequalities in prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension: evidence from the PERSIAN cohort study

Background Elevated blood pressure is associated with cardiovascular disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease. In this study, we examined the socioeconomic inequality and its related factors in prevalence, Awareness, Treatment and Control (ATC) of hypertension (HTN) in Iran. Method The study used data from the recruitment phase of The Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in IrAN (PERSIAN). A sample of 162,842 adults aged > = 35 years was analyzed. HTN was defined according to the Joint National Committee)JNC-7(. socioeconomic inequality was measured using concentration index (Cn) and curve. Results The mean age of participants was 49.38(SD = +/- 9.14) years and 44.74% of the them were men. The prevalence of HTN in the total population was 22.3%(95% CI: 20.6%; 24.1%), and 18.8%(95% CI: 16.8%; 20.9%) and 25.2%(95% CI: 24.2%; 27.7%) in men and women, respectively. The percentage of awareness treatment and control among individuals with HTN were 77.5%(95% CI: 73.3%; 81.8%), 82.2%(95% CI: 70.2%; 81.6%) and 75.9%(95% CI: 70.2%; 81.6%), respectively. The Cn for prevalence of HTN was -0.084. Two factors, age (58.46%) and wealth (32.40%), contributed most to the socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of HTN. Conclusion The prevalence of HTN was higher among low-SES individuals, who also showed higher levels of awareness. However, treatment and control of HTN were more concentrated among those who had higher levels of SES, indicating that people at a higher risk of adverse event related to HTN (the low SES individuals) are not benefiting from the advantage of treatment and control of HTN. Such a gap between diagnosis (prevalence) and control (treatment and control) of HTN needs to be addressed by public health policymakers