Restless leg syndrome severity in young women is associated with neuropsychological performance and menstrual disorders

Background & aim: Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a frequent sensory dyskinesia disorder of the nervous system and a cause of disability in several aspects. We aimed to explore the relationship between RLS and mood complications, menstrual patterns and associated symptoms among young women. Methods: This cross-sectional survey undertaken on 118 female university students in Birjand, Iran in 2020 using a multistage cluster sampling method. The degree of RLS was judged using the International RLS Severity Scale. The severity of PMS was characterized via the Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool (PSST). Neuropsychological performance was evaluated by standard questionnaires. Results: Of the 118 young women, 29.7%, 32.2%, 27.9% and 10.2% of the participants were not affected by RLS, or had, mild, moderate, or severe types of RLS, respectively. The subjects with RLS had significantly lower duration of their menstruation cycle, and higher PSST scores, compared to those without it. Subjects with different severities of RLS scored higher for severity of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia and sleepiness than normal women (p<0.01). RLS score was a significant factor related to the scores for: cognitive abilities (β=-0.33; P=0.022), depression (β=0.32; P=0.001), anxiety (β=0.24; P=0.003), stress (β=0.44; P<0.001), quality of life (β=-0.23; P<0.001), insomnia (β=0.21; P=0.001), sleepiness (β=0.15; P=0.014) and PSST (β=0.28; P=0.019). Conclusions: In the absence of health management, RLS potentially associated to depression, anxiety, sleep disruption, cognitive impairment, decreased quality of life and menstrual problem. Future intervention studies is required for support these results

A study of the association between cognitive abilities and dietary intake in young women

Background: Cognitive abilities comprise activities that relate to receiving and responding to information from the environment, internal processing, making complex decisions, and then responding to this in the context of behavior. Aim: The current study investigated the association between dietary intake and seven aspects of cognitive abilities among healthy young women. Methods: The study was carried out among 182 women aged 18–25 years. A valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire containing 65 food items was used to estimate dietary intake. Neuropsychological function and cognitive abilities of participants were determined using standard questionnaires. Results: Significant differences were found in depression, anxiety, stress, physical, and mental health-related quality of life as well as daytime sleepiness for the participants in different quartiles of cognitive abilities score (p<0.05). Participants in the fourth quartile of cognitive abilities score consumed significantly higher energy, carbohydrate, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, thiamin, and riboflavin compared to those in the lowest quartile (p<0.05). There were strong correlations between total cognitive abilities score and dietary sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and thiamin (p<0.05). Using stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, iron and thiamin were statistically significant factors for the prediction of cognitive abilities. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that neurocognitive function is related to dietary macro and micronutrients including energy, carbohydrate, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, thiamin, and riboflavin on cognitive performance among young women without memory deficit

Impact of a Nordic diet on psychological function in young students

Background: There has been a rapid increase in the prevalence of psychiatric and psychological disease, and this has attracted interest in identifying modifiable lifestyle factors that may affect an individual’s mood. Diet is one potential lifestyle factor that may affect psychological function. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between adherence to the health-promoting Nordic diet (ND) with neuropsychological function in young women. Methods: The study comprised 181 female students aged between 18 and 25 years. Psychological function was evaluated using a series of standardized questionnaires, including the Cognitive Ability Questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleep Scale and Quality of Life Questionnaire. A validated food frequency questionnaire, which included 65 types of foods, was used to evaluate the amount of different foods consumed. Results: Evaluation of the dietary composition of the participants showed that the rate of adherence to the ND was positively associated with total energy, carbohydrates, protein, fibre, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, folate, phosphorus, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, carotene, whole grain, legumes, cabbage/vegetables, vegetables and fruit (p<0.05). Linear regression showed cabbage/vegetable consumption was inversely related to scores of stress (β=–0.04; p=0.038) and anxiety (β=–0.02; p=0.049) and directly associated with the quality-of-life score (0.02; p=0.036). Conclusions: Adherence to a ND with a high intake of cabbage/vegetables was inversely associated with stress and anxiety scores and directly associated with health-related quality of life

A study of the association of cognitive abilities and emotional function with allergic disorders in young women

Background Allergic disorders may have a bidirectional causal relationship with mental disorders. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess the associations between cognitive abilities and emotional function tests and quality of life with the presence of allergic disease in young women. Methods A diagnosis of allergic disorders, comprising allergic rhinitis (AR), asthma and atopic dermatitis (AD), was confirmed by a specialist in allergy. The presence and severity of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia and sleepiness were evaluated using validated questionnaires. Cognitive abilities and quality of life were assessed using standard instruments. Results Among 181 female young participants, the prevalence of AR, asthma and AD were 26.5%, 2.8%, and 14.9% respectively. The AR group had higher scores than the non-AR group for depression, anxiety, insomnia, and lower scores for physical and mental health-related quality of life. Moreover, the AD cases had higher scores on the depression and stress scale compared to those without it (p < 0.05). Asthmatic patients also had significantly higher insomnia severity and lower physical health-related quality of life than non-asthmatic. Conclusion There was a high prevalence of psychological/psychiatric disorders that included: anxiety, and sleep problems among allergic women, and a reduced quality of life that may be associated with it

Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations

God’s Self-manifestation and Moser’s Moral Approach in Justifying Belief in God

The present paper depicts Moser’s view on the justification of the belief in God. By debunking the efficiency of mere theoretical reason in proving the existence of God, introducing God as the source of justification, and using a moral perspective, he proposes a kind of voluntary knowledge. He assumes the right path to acquire true knowledge of god to be a direct and purposeful evidence, which is found in accordance to divine attributes. For their own redemption, before the interference of thought and feelings, God wills the voluntary moral revolution of human beings from selfishness to selfless absolute love. In this respect, Moser puts forth a virtue-based evidentialism, on the basis of which people can accept God’s invitation to friendship with absolute love and therefore experience God’s blessing in their motivational core. This experience indicates God’s self-manifestation and offers direct evidence for his existence, which causes the subject, by gaining moral attributes and receiving God’s absolute love and sharing it with others, to become a personified evidence of God himself. Moreover, according to the inference to the best explanation, Moser justifies the belief in God by this empirical and non-propositional evidence. As a result, Moser’s existential and moral account, despite being criticized for its being subjective and relative, and the unreliability of religious experiences, has revived a number of forgotten theological concepts

The Effects of Lavender Scent on Pain of Blood Sampling in Term Neonates

Introduction  After birth, many infants were in hospital undergo repeated invasive procedures and because there is increasing evidence of short-term and long-term adverse neurodevelopment consequences, pain management in neonates is very important. Methods and Materials This was a quasi experimental study of clinical trial type that carried out on 80 term neonate that were allocated to two intervention (40 neonates) and control (40 neonates) groups. In experimental group, infants at night for 8 hours before blood sampling were exposed to the scent of lavender. And the next day, at the time of blood sampling was used of the scent of lavender. Simultaneously with the needle, pain assessment scale scores Douleur Aigue Nouveau-ne (DAN) or neonatal pain discomfort by a trained person, was calculated and recorded. Duration of crying in seconds from start cry to silence that lasted at least 5 seconds interval was measured. The control group did not receive additional action for pain relief. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 16 software. Results Average rating of DAN score was in control group 5.97 ± 1.94 and in experimental group 4.47+1.81. Mann–Whitney test results showed a significant difference in pain scores in the two groups (P=0.001). The crying time between groups was not significant difference (P = 0.12). Conclusion The results of this study indicate that the scent of lavender is effective in reducing the pain caused by sampling in term neonates but had no effect on the duration of crying infants. Since neonatal pain management is an important task for nurse, using of the scent of lavender as a non pharmacological method of pain management in neonates requires further investigation

The relationship between personality type, and menstrual patterns and neuropsychological performance in young women

Introduction: Personality type describes the configuration of personality traits which represents an individual. We have explored the association between personality type, menstrual pattern and associated symptoms, neuropsychological function, and quality of life of young healthy females.Material and methods: Menstrual patterns and presence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and primary dysmenorrhea (PD) were assessed using standard tools. Personality type was determined using the Personality Type A/B Inventory questionnaire. The presence and severity of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia and sleepiness were evaluated using other validated questionnaires.Results: Of the 179 females in the population sample, 38.6% were Type A personality and 61.4% were Type B personality. There was no significant difference in the mean age of women with menarche menstrual pattern, presence of PMS and PD between subjects with Type A or Type B personality. The women with a Type B personality performed better than women with a Type A personality for most of the cognitive ability tasks. Moreover, women with a Type A personality had a higher score for depression and stress, and a lower score for mental health compared to Type B group (p &lt; 0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed that individuals with a Type A personality were more likely than women with a Type B personality to have cognitive impairment (OR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.8–6.7), depressive mood (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.05–3.6), stress reaction (OR = 3.6; 95% CI:1.8–7.4), and lower quality of life (OR = 3.7, 95% CI: 1.6–8.7).Conclusions: There was no significant relationship between personality type and menstrual pattern or menstrual-associated complications. Type A personality had a greater degree of personality disorder traits including lower cognitive performance, decreased mental quality of life, as well as higher depression, and stress

Safety Risk Assessment in Medical and Paramedical Education Laboratories

Background: Considering the reported positive effects of risk management practices and monitoring them by conducting risk assessments and achieving safety improvements, this study was conducted to assess the risks in the educational laboratories of Qom University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 13 medical and paramedical educational laboratories. To assess safety conditions in the laboratories, a comprehensive safety checklist was developed, and in order to assess the risks of laboratories, a method called FMEA was used. Two trained occupational health and safety experts evaluated the laboratories understudy, identified the hazards, completed the relevant checklists, and subsequently ranked them based on severity, occurrence, and detection. Finally, a comparison was made based on the calculated Risk Priority Number (RPN) for each hazard. Results: In general, the fire hazards and electrical hazards of 54% of the laboratories have been accompanied by normal risk (RPN250). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that in general, three types of hazards, including health hazards, equipment, and material storage, should be given priority

Neonatal intensive care nursing curriculum challenges based on context, input, process, and product evaluation model: A qualitative study

Background: Weakness of curriculum development in nursing education results in lack of professional skills in graduates. This study was done on master's students in nursing to evaluate challenges of neonatal intensive care nursing curriculum based on context, input, process, and product (CIPP) evaluation model. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with qualitative approach, which was completed according to the CIPP evaluation model. The study was conducted from May 2014 to April 2015. The research community included neonatal intensive care nursing master's students, the graduates, faculty members, neonatologists, nurses working in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and mothers of infants who were hospitalized in such wards. Purposeful sampling was applied. Results: The data analysis showed that there were two main categories: “inappropriate infrastructure” and “unknown duties,” which influenced the context formation of NICU master's curriculum. The input was formed by five categories, including “biomedical approach,” “incomprehensive curriculum,” “lack of professional NICU nursing mentors,” “inappropriate admission process of NICU students,” and “lack of NICU skill labs.” Three categories were extracted in the process, including “more emphasize on theoretical education,” “the overlap of credits with each other and the inconsistency among the mentors,” and “ineffective assessment.” Finally, five categories were extracted in the product, including “preferring routine work instead of professional job,” “tendency to leave the job,” “clinical incompetency of graduates,” “the conflict between graduates and nursing staff expectations,” and “dissatisfaction of graduates.” Conclusions: Some changes are needed in NICU master's curriculum by considering the nursing experts' comments and evaluating the consequences of such program by them