A review of the positive and negative effects of cardiovascular drugs on sexual function: a proposed table for use in clinical practice

Several antihypertensive drugs, such as diuretics and β-blockers, can negatively affect sexual function, leading to diminished quality of life and often to noncompliance with the therapy. Other drug classes, however, such as angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are able to improve patients’ sexual function. Sufficient knowledge about the effects of these widely used antihypertensive drugs will make it possible for cardiologists and general practitioners to spare and even improve patients’ sexual health by switching to different classes of cardiac medication. Nevertheless, previous data (part I) indicate that most cardiologists lack knowledge about the effects cardiovascular agents can have on sexual function and will thus not be able to provide the necessary holistic patient care with regard to prescribing these drugs. To be able to improve healthcare on this point, we aimed to provide a practical overview, for use by cardiologists as well as other healthcare professionals, dealing with sexual dysfunction in their clinical practices. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was performed. The eight most widely used classes of antihypertensive drugs have been categorised in a clear table, marking whether they have a positive, negative or no effect on sexual function

Evaluating the Factor Structure of the Persian Version of Posttraumatic Growth Inventory in Cancer Patients

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the factor structure of the Persian version of posttraumatic growth inventory (P-PTGI). Methods: Participants included 272 Iranian people of Azari ethnicity (111 women and 161 men), aged between 21 and 91 years (mean 52.65 years), who were diagnosed with cancer and were referred to the oncology department of the university hospital. The P-PTGI was assessed to determine the construct validity, using various indices of confirmatory factor analysis and standardized lambda coefficient, followed by further assessment of the discriminant and convergent validities by using the structural equation model. LISREL 8.8 for Windows and SPSS were used for data analysis. Results: The calculated values of comparative fit index, incremental fit index, normed fit index, and non-normed fit index > .90 and the values of standardized root-mean-square residual < .08 indicate an acceptable fit for the original PTGI. Considering that the values of average variance extracted (.52–.74) were greater than the square of correlation coefficients between the five dimensions of P-PTGI, discriminant validity was approved. Convergent validity was confirmed through a high value of standardized lambda coefficient (.52–.92) between the items and their related factors. Conclusions: This study revealed that P-PTGI has an acceptable validity and reliability for posttraumatic growth assessment in Iranian cancer patients and its factor structure is similar to that of the original form developed by Tedeschi and Calhoun. Keywords: cancer, posttraumatic, validit