Culture, immigration and femininity perception: Comparing young Iranian, Canadian, and Iranian-Canadian immigrant women

This study compares young women’s perception of femininity in three sample of iranians, canadians and iranian-canadian immigrants to understand femininity in two different cultures, and also the immigrants’ position in comparison to source and destination countries. 45 iranian, 21 canadian, and 19 immigrant students participated in focus group discussions of femininity and its norms. Data was coded using content analysis method and frequency of each theme was counted. Frequency of common themes in these three groups was compared by chi square, and then themes were compared 2 by 2 using independent t-test. Content analysis of data revealed nine themes in iranian’s, six in canadian’s, and nine in iranian-canadian immigrants’ perception of femininity. There were five common themes, including “success orientation” and “feminine personal traits” and several distinguishing themes like “chastity” and “personal safety”. Group-specific norms are congruent with more general cultural differences in Iran and Canada, and also special situation of immigrants’ life

Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Afghan Refugees and War-Zone Adolescents

"nObjective: Wars' stress and violence can have tremendous effects on children's and adolescents' health and general well being; it may result in patterns of bio-psychosocial problems. The goal of this study was to compare emotional and behavioral problems in Afghan refugees and war-zone adolescents. "n Method: One hundred and eighty high school students (90 students in the refugee group and 90 in the war-zone group) in Harat were included in this research. All participants completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR). War zone and refugee adolescents were compared based on their scores on different scales of behavioral and emotional problems. "n Results: War-zone adolescents scored significantly higher on Anxious/Depression, Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, Attention Problems, and Internalizing Problems scales than refugee adolescents. In this study, no significant difference was found between the two groups on Social Problems, Thought Problems, Delinquent Behavior, Aggressive Behavior, and Externalizing scales. "nConclusion: Findings revealed that although asylum is not an ideal condition for children's and adolescents' psychological development and prosperity, it can have a protective role in comparison with war zone's circumstances. Further investigation is needed, however, to elucidate the lack of significant differences in externalizing scales among war zone and refugee adolescent

GRAND ROUNDS REVIEW ARTICLE: Rhinitis disease burden and the impact of social determinants of health

International audienceSocial determinants of health (SDH) have substantial impact on patient care and outcomes globally, both in low-to-middle income countries and high income countries. In the clinic, lack of availability of diagnostic tools, inequities in access to care, and challenges obtaining and adhering to prescribed treatment plans may further compound these issues. This article addresses a case of rhinitis in the context of SDH and inequities in care that may affect various communities and populations around the world. SDH may include various aspects of one’s financial means, education, access to medical care, environment and living situation, and community factors – each of which could play a role in the rhinitis disease manifestations, diagnosis, and management. Allergic and non-allergic rhinitis are considered from this perspective. Rhinitis epidemiology, disease burden, and risk factors are broadly addressed. Patient evaluation, diagnostic tests, and management options are also reviewed, and issues related to SDH are noted. Finally, inequities in care, knowledge gaps, and unmet needs are highlighted. It is critical to consider SDH and care inequities when evaluating and treating patients for rhinitis and other allergic conditions

Mutation-specific pathophysiological mechanisms in a new SATB1-associated neurodevelopmental disorder

International audienc

Mutation-specific pathophysiological mechanisms define different neurodevelopmental disorders associated with SATB1 dysfunction

International audienceWhereas large-scale statistical analyses can robustly identify disease-gene relationships, they do not accurately capture genotype-phenotype correlations or disease mechanisms. We use multiple lines of independent evidence to show that different variant types in a single gene, SATB1, cause clinically overlapping but distinct neurodevelopmental disorders. Clinical evaluation of 42 individuals carrying SATB1 variants identified overt genotype-phenotype relationships, associated with different pathophysiological mechanisms, established by functional assays. Missense variants in the CUT1 and CUT2 DNA-binding domains result in stronger chromatin binding, increased transcriptional repression, and a severe phenotype. In contrast, variants predicted to result in haploinsufficiency are associated with a milder clinical presentation. A similarly mild phenotype is observed for individuals with premature protein truncating variants that escape nonsense-mediated decay, which are transcriptionally active but mislocalized in the cell. Our results suggest that in-depth mutation-specific genotype-phenotype studies are essential to capture full disease complexity and to explain phenotypic variability