Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly-Short Form (IQCODE-S)

Background: Dementia and cognitive decline mainly affect older people. Several instruments have been developed for screening and detection of cognitive impairments, among them is the short form of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-S).; however, there was no instrument to assess it in Persian language speakers. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Persian version of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly-Short Form (IQCODE-S).  Methods: In this study, WHO's standard 'forward-backward' translation procedure was performed.  The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated and it was administered in a sample of 373 inpatient Iranian elderlies. The convenient sampling was performed to include participants from family members caregiving older patients with long diagnosed of dementia. Face and content validity were evaluated and the reliability of the instrument was evaluated.  Results: The mean age of the participants was 71.08 ± 9.89 years. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was .82. Significant correlations were observed between cognitive status and age, marital status, education and hospitalized wards (p < .05). Appropriate CVI and were calculated as .85 and.7 respectively. Conclusion: This study reports on translation and validation of the Persian version of one of the most important screening tools for dementia. It reveals a significant association between the elderlies’ cognitive decline and their age, marital status, education, and hospitalized ward.  Key words: Psychometrics, Ageing, Cognitive Decline, Informant &nbsp

Serial Interval Distribution of COVID-19 among Iranian Reported Confirmed Cases

Type of manuscript: short report Introduction:  Serial interval refers to the average time between of the onset of the symptoms of two successive cases. Serial interval distribution can be used for the calculation of the basic reproduction number (R0), transmission rate, and study of an epidemic trend. This study aims to investigate the mean, standard deviation, and distribution of serial interval among the confirmed cases of COVID-19 using a Gamma distribution.      Methods: To determine the serial interval, 60 confirmed infected cases of COVID-19 (based on PCR test results) in February 20th-May 20th, 2020 were selected as the cases. For these cases, 37 transmissions occurred. The data of the dates of the occurrence of primary and secondary symptoms were collected by referring to the COVID-19 surveillance system and interviewing the patients Results: The findings showed that the median and mean of the serial interval were 3.0 and 4.5± 3.5 days. The findings showed that the median of the serial interval was 3.0 days (with the inter-quartile range of 2.0-6.0). The mean serial interval was 4.5± 3.5 days (95% confidence interval: 3.1-5.5). Conclusions: Our report showed a shorter period for a serial interval less than the previous reported interval in China. It seems that regarding the shorter serial interval reported in this study, the basic reproduction numbers reported by the first papers published in Iran have been overestimated regarding the serial interval of 7.5 days. Key words: COVID-19, Serial interval, Gamma distributio

Serial Interval Distribution of COVID-19 among Iranian Reported Confirmed Cases

Type of manuscript: short report Introduction:  Serial interval refers to the average time between of the onset of the symptoms of two successive cases. Serial interval distribution can be used for the calculation of the basic reproduction number (R0), transmission rate, and study of an epidemic trend. This study aims to investigate the mean, standard deviation, and distribution of serial interval among the confirmed cases of COVID-19 using a Gamma distribution.      Methods: To determine the serial interval, 60 confirmed infected cases of COVID-19 (based on PCR test results) in February 20th-May 20th, 2020 were selected as the cases. For these cases, 37 transmissions occurred. The data of the dates of the occurrence of primary and secondary symptoms were collected by referring to the COVID-19 surveillance system and interviewing the patients Results: The findings showed that the median and mean of the serial interval were 3.0 and 4.5± 3.5 days. The findings showed that the median of the serial interval was 3.0 days (with the inter-quartile range of 2.0-6.0). The mean serial interval was 4.5± 3.5 days (95% confidence interval: 3.1-5.5). Conclusions: Our report showed a shorter period for a serial interval less than the previous reported interval in China. It seems that regarding the shorter serial interval reported in this study, the basic reproduction numbers reported by the first papers published in Iran have been overestimated regarding the serial interval of 7.5 days. Key words: COVID-19, Serial interval, Gamma distributio

Energy Drinks Consumption among Iranian University Students and Associated Factors

Background & Aims: There is no study in Iran about the Energy drinks (EDs) use by students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of EDs consumption and its related factors among the students. Methods:This cross-sectional study carried out among students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences. Using a standardized, pretested and self-administered questionnaire, the data were collected. The questionnaire consisted of 65 questions that asked the students' sociodemographic characteristics and their knowledge and habits of ED consumptions. Results:Of all participants 66.3% were female, 63.1% of students live in dormitories and 6.9% and 19.9% of them live with friends and parents, respectively. Almost 11.5 percent of students are user of energy drinks. The most common reason to try an ED was ‘‘its special tastes’’ (36.2%), followed in order of frequency by ‘‘to stay awake for long hours’’.  Logistic regression modeling of EDs use indicated that, male gender, students who live alone and higher monthly costs for personal requirements were also positively and significantly associated with EDs use. Conclusions:Despite thelow prevalence of EDs consumption in our study samples,male students, living alone and higher monthly costs for personal requirements are factors associated with more EDs consumption. Key words: Energy Drink; Youths; University Students; Iran

Energy Drinks Consumption among Iranian University Students and Associated Factors

Background & Aims: There is no study in Iran about the Energy drinks (EDs) use by students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of EDs consumption and its related factors among the students. Methods:This cross-sectional study carried out among students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences. Using a standardized, pretested and self-administered questionnaire, the data were collected. The questionnaire consisted of 65 questions that asked the students' sociodemographic characteristics and their knowledge and habits of ED consumptions. Results:Of all participants 66.3% were female, 63.1% of students live in dormitories and 6.9% and 19.9% of them live with friends and parents, respectively. Almost 11.5 percent of students are user of energy drinks. The most common reason to try an ED was ‘‘its special tastes’’ (36.2%), followed in order of frequency by ‘‘to stay awake for long hours’’.  Logistic regression modeling of EDs use indicated that, male gender, students who live alone and higher monthly costs for personal requirements were also positively and significantly associated with EDs use. Conclusions:Despite thelow prevalence of EDs consumption in our study samples,male students, living alone and higher monthly costs for personal requirements are factors associated with more EDs consumption. Key words: Energy Drink; Youths; University Students; Iran

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly-Short Form (IQCODE-S): Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly-Short Form (IQCODE-S)

Background: Dementia and cognitive decline mainly affect older people. Several instruments have been developed for screening and detection of cognitive impairments, among them is the short form of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-S).; however, there was no instrument to assess it in Persian language speakers. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Persian version of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly-Short Form (IQCODE-S).  Methods: In this study, WHO's standard 'forward-backward' translation procedure was performed.  The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated and it was administered in a sample of 373 inpatient Iranian elderlies. The convenient sampling was performed to include participants from family members caregiving older patients with long diagnosed of dementia. Face and content validity were evaluated and the reliability of the instrument was evaluated.  Results: The mean age of the participants was 71.08 ± 9.89 years. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was .82. Significant correlations were observed between cognitive status and age, marital status, education and hospitalized wards (p < .05). Appropriate CVI and were calculated as .85 and.7 respectively. Conclusion: This study reports on translation and validation of the Persian version of one of the most important screening tools for dementia. It reveals a significant association between the elderlies’ cognitive decline and their age, marital status, education, and hospitalized ward.  Key words: Psychometrics, Ageing, Cognitive Decline, Informant &nbsp