Assessing sex differential in COVID-19 mortality rate by age and polymerase chain reaction test results: an Iranian multi-center study

Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the sex differential effect in the COVID-19 mortality by different age groups and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results. Research design In a multicenter cross-sectional study from 55 hospitals in Tehran, Iran, patients were categorized as positive, negative, and suspected cases. Results A total of 25,481 cases (14,791 males) were included in the study with a mortality rate of 12.0%. The mortality rates in positive, negative, and suspected cases were 20.55%, 9.97%, and 7.31%, respectively. Using a Cox regression model, sex had a significant effect on the hazard of death due to COVID-19 in adult and senior male patients having positive and suspected PCR test results. However, sex was not found as significant factor for mortality in patients with a negative PCR test in different age groups. Conclusions Regardless of other risk factors, we found that the effect of sex on COVID-19 mortality varied significantly in different age groups. Therefore, appropriate strategies should be designed to protect adult and senior males from this deadly infectious disease. Furthermore, owing to the considerable death rate of COVID-19 patients with negative test results, new policies should be launched to increase the accuracy of diagnosis tests

Exercise-Based VRT Shows Benefits in Balance and Postural Stability in Adult Patients with Unilateral Vestibular Hypofunction

Background and Objective: Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is an exercise-based program designed to improve balance function and alleviate problems related to dizziness, including vestibular hypofunction. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of VRT exercises on balance function in adults with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH). Methods: Thirty-one patients (mean age: 39.48 (±10.96) years old) with confirmed UVH participated in this study. The VRT program consisted of habituation and adaptation exercises in combination with gait and balance exercises. The handicapping influences of dizziness were measured with a dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scale to measure the level of respondent’s performance on physical, emotional, and functional dimensions. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was also used to rate the severity of dizziness symptoms. The DHI and VAS scales were assessed pre-intervention and post-intervention at one, two, and four weeks follow-ups after the last rehabilitation session. Results: An analysis of variance showed a significant reduction and a consequent improvement in DHI scores after vestibular exercises in all domains: emotional, physical and functional (p < 0.001). The mean total DHI score significantly decreased by 15 points after one week, 24 points after two weeks and 15 points after four weeks of the last VRT session. The mean baseline VAS score was 7.71 (±0.91) that significantly decreased at one, two, and four weeks post-intervention to 4.81 (±0.73), 3.77 (±0.61), and 3.16 (±0.97), respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: The exercise-based VRT shows benefits for adult patients with chronic dizziness concerning improvement in the vertigo symptom scale, fall risk, balance and emotional status

Exercise-Based VRT Shows Benefits in Balance and Postural Stability in Adult Patients with Unilateral Vestibular Hypofunction

Background and Objective: Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is an exercise-based program designed to improve balance function and alleviate problems related to dizziness, including vestibular hypofunction. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of VRT exercises on balance function in adults with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH).Methods: Thirty-one patients (mean age: 39.48 (±10.96) years old) with confirmed UVH participated in this study. The VRT program consisted of habituation and adaptation exercises in combination with gait and balance exercises. The handicapping influences of dizziness were measured with a dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scale to measure the level of respondent’s performance on physical, emotional, and functional dimensions. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was also used to rate the severity of dizziness symptoms. The DHI and VAS scales were assessed pre-intervention and post-intervention at one, two, and four weeks follow-ups after the last rehabilitation session.Results: An analysis of variance showed a significant reduction and a consequent improvement in DHI scores after vestibular exercises in all domains: emotional, physical and functional (p < 0.001). The mean total DHI score significantly decreased by 15 points after one week, 24 points after two weeks and 15 points after four weeks of the last VRT session. The mean baseline VAS score was 7.71 (±0.91) that significantly decreased at one, two, and four weeks post-intervention to 4.81 (±0.73), 3.77 (±0.61), and 3.16 (±0.97), respectively (p<0.001).Conclusion: The exercise-based VRT shows benefits for adult patients with chronic dizziness concerning improvement in the vertigo symptom scale, fall risk, balance and emotional status

Effect of conductive hearing loss on central auditory function

Abstract Introduction: It has been demonstrated that long-term Conductive Hearing Loss (CHL) may influence the precise detection of the temporal features of acoustic signals or Auditory Temporal Processing (ATP). It can be argued that ATP may be the underlying component of many central auditory processing capabilities such as speech comprehension or sound localization. Little is known about the consequences of CHL on temporal aspects of central auditory processing. Objective: This study was designed to assess auditory temporal processing ability in individuals with chronic CHL. Methods: During this analytical cross-sectional study, 52 patients with mild to moderate chronic CHL and 52 normal-hearing listeners (control), aged between 18 and 45 year-old, were recruited. In order to evaluate auditory temporal processing, the Gaps-in-Noise (GIN) test was used. The results obtained for each ear were analyzed based on the gap perception threshold and the percentage of correct responses. Results: The average of GIN thresholds was significantly smaller for the control group than for the CHL group for both ears (right: p = 0.004; left: p 0.05). Conclusion: The results suggest reduced auditory temporal processing ability in adults with CHL compared to normal hearing subjects. Therefore, developing a clinical protocol to evaluate auditory temporal processing in this population is recommended

Comparison of Dizziness, Depression, Anxiety and Mental Health of Postlingually Deaf Adults Between Cochlear Implant Recipients and Cochlear Implant Candidates

Objective: Hearing loss can affect on physical, mental and social health of deaf adults and lead to depression, anxiety, isolation, suspicion and stress of them. Cochlear implantation has positive effects on behavioral and emotional status of postlingually hearing impaired adults. This study is aimed to compare dizziness, depression, anxiety and mental health in adult cochlear implant recipients and candidates. Materials & Methods: This case- control and comparative study was conducted on 49 patients, 24 cochlear implant recipients (as case group) and 25 severe-profound hearing impaired adults (as control groups) whom were selected by simple and convenient sampling. Beck Depression Inventory, Dizziness Handicap Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and General Health Questionnaire were completed to determine and compare cochlear implant effects. Data were analyzed by MANOVA. Results: Mean depression and anxiety scores in cochlear implant candidates were more than cochlear implant recipients. This difference was significant in depression (P=0.001). There was no significant difference between two groups in general health (P=0.415). The results of this study also showed that dizziness is more in cochlear implanted group (P=0.004). Conclusion: It seems that cochlear implant use leads to decrease of depression and anxiety. It leads to increase of dizziness

Is there any association between plasma lipid profile and severity of COVID-19?

Background: COVID-19 is an infectious disease which caused a pandemic with many diseases and fatalities. This new variant of coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 and is primarily characterized by respiratory symptoms. There are some data indicating that LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) as well as HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are inversely correlated to disease severity and could act as a predictor for disease progression and unfavorable prognosis. However, the results of some other studies do not confirm this. This current study aimed to provide an answer to this question. ----- Methods: This prospective, single-center study analyzed 367 confirmed COVID-19 patients to find whether there are any differences in plasma lipoproteins between survivors and non-survivors patients or between the patients with a "duration of ≤10 days intensive unit care (ICU) stay" and patients with a "duration of >10 days ICU stay". ----- Results: No association between any lipid/lipoprotein parameter and the severity of COVID-19 could be found but survivors and non-survivors did differ concerning total cholesterol and LDL-C levels. ----- Conclusion: Multivariate cox regression analysis could not prove any association between lipids/lipoproteins and severe events in COVID-19 patients. Significantly less non-survivors with COVID-19 were taking atorvastatin than survivors which is consistent with the majority of previous findings

Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Patients with COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study

© 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Aim: Patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection can develop several psychological consequences. Epidemiological data on mental health and psychological disorder inpatients infected with COVID-19 pneumonia are not available in Iranian patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anxiety, stress, and depression of patients with COVID-19. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2020. All confirmed patients with COVID-19 were included in the study by census sampling. Assessment of depression, stress, and anxiety was performed using the DASS-21 questionnaire. All statistical analyses were performed using R version 3.5.1. Results: The questionnaires were completed by 221 patients with COVID-19 infection (204 males, 17 females). The mean age was 45.90 ± 7.73 years. Our results indicated that the mean scores of depression and anxiety were at “extremely severe” levels, while stress levels were “severe.” The prevalence of “extremely severe” symptoms of depression and anxiety was 54.29% and 97.29%, respectively. The prevalence of severe stress was 46.61%. Conclusion: In this study, patients infected with COVID-19 reported severe and extremely severe experience psychological distress. Further studies should focus on the combined use of psychological and molecular biomarker testing to increase accuracy. Overall, the findings demonstrate the necessity of special intervention programs for the confirmed patients with emerging infectious disease COVID-19 to promote mental health needs