Increased rate of elective cesarean delivery following assisted reproductive technology: A letter to the editor

This is a Letter to Editor and does not have an abstract

Prenatal attachment in pregnancy following assisted reproductive technology:a literature review

Objective: To summarise the literature on prenatal attachment in pregnancies following Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). Background: Prenatal attachment can predict the quality of the postpartum parent–infant relationship and is linked to perinatal mental health of the parents and their adjustment to the parental role. It might be expected prenatal attachment will be influenced by fertility treatment such as ART, but there are contradictory results. Methods: In this review, studies with a cross-sectional and longitudinal design, published in 1990–2019 were included. A search was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science and Scopus, and using the Google Scholar search engine. A total of 17 articles were found which met the inclusion criteria and after these articles were reviewed using the STROBE-checklist, 15 articles were included in the study. Results: In most couples who conceived following ART, the level of prenatal attachment was either similar to or higher than in couples who conceive without ART. Conclusions: The findings challenge the idea that infertility problems affect attachment in pregnancies following ART. However, ART- couples may be more susceptible to anxiety due to pregnancy loss and support may be better focused on the pregnancy-related anxiety in these couples rather than any attachment intervention

Association of depression with sexual function in women with history of recurrent pregnancy Loss:descriptive-correlational study in Tehran, Iran

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between depression and sexual function in women with recurrent pregnancy loss. Methods: In a cross-sectional correlational study, 130 consecutive patients with history of recurrent pregnancy loss were included who referred to Avicenna Fertility Center in Tehran, Iran during November 2018-February 2019. The outcomes were sexual dysfunction (Assessed with the Female Sexual Function Index) and depression (Evaluated with the Beck's Depression Inventory). The study data were analyzed by using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: The study findings revealed that 40.8% of the participants suffered from some degrees of depression. The data analysis revealed that depression had a significant inverse correlation with sexual function and its domains (r = - 0.392, p < 0.001, R2= 0.15). The spouse' education level and economic status demonstrated a significant relationship with women's sexual function (p = 0.01, p = 0.033). A significant relationship was also detected between women's depression and economic status (p = 0.028). Conclusions: The study findings showed that women with RPL who had severe depression indicated lower score of sexual function. Since psychological and sexual problems are not reported to health care providers due to giving priority to fertility issues or considering such issues as taboos, the assessment of sexual and mental health needs to be part of the consultation in women with history of RPL, whether the patient seeks help for depression and sexual dysfunction or not

ACE1-I/D Polymorphism in Patients With Severe COVID-19

Background: In several studies, insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme 1 (ACE1) gene is described as a genetic risk factor for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, in some studies, this contribution is not confirmed. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the genotypic and allelic frequency of ACE1-D/I in Kurdish patients with severe COVID-19 in Iran. Methods: A total of 95 patients with PCR positive-COVID-19 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leucocytes using the salting out method. All cases were genotyped for ACE1-I/D polymorphism using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Death percentage from COVID-19 after two months’ follow-up was analyzed. Results: Of the 95 patients, 48 were female (50.5%) and 47 were male (49.5%) with a mean age of 61.9±18.7 years. The ID genotype was the most prevalent (52.6%) followed by DD (32.6%) and II (14.7%). The D and I allele frequencies were 58.9%, and 41.1%, respectively. The D allele frequency was higher in patients with SpO2≤90% (P = 0.048). The mortality percentage was 18.9% (8 females and 10 males). The frequency of the DD, ID, and II genotypes in patients who died from COVID-19 was 27.7%, 61,1%, and 11.1%. Conclusions: Our results indicated that the ACE1- D allele can be a genetic risk factor in COVID-19 patients. Further studies on different ethnicities and geographical regions are needed to evaluate this polymorphism in COVID-19 infection

An increase in cesarean section rate during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Iran

Background The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on healthcare services is likely to affect birth outcomes including the delivery mode. However, recent evidence has been conflicting in this regard. The study aimed to assess changes to C-section rate during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of electronic medical records of women delivered in the maternity department of hospitals in all provinces of Iran before the COVID-19 pandemic (February-August 30, 2019) and during the pandemic (February-August 30, 2020). Data were collected through the Iranian Maternal and Neonatal Network (IMAN), a country-wide electronic health record database management system for maternal and neonatal information. A total of 1,208,671 medical records were analyzed using the SPSS software version 22. The differences in C-section rates according to the studied variables were tested using the χ2 test. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors associated with C-section. Results A significant rise was observed in the rates of C-section during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic (52.9% vs 50.8%; p = .001). The rates for preeclampsia (3.0% vs 1.3%), gestational diabetes (6.1% vs 3.0%), preterm birth (11.6% vs 6.9%), IUGR (1.2% vs 0.4%), LBW (11.2% vs 7.8%), and low Apgar score at first minute (4.2% vs 3.2%) were higher in women who delivered by C-section compared to those with normal delivery (P = .001). Conclusions The overall C-section rate during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic was significantly higher than the pre-pandemic period. C-section was associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Thus, preventing the overuse of C-section especially during pandemic becomes an urgent need for maternal and neonatal health in Iran

Prevalence of Domestic Violence Against Women Undergoing Methadone Maintenance Therapy Programs and its Related Risk Factors

Background: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) against women who are undergoing methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) and its related risk factors. Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 195 women who were under MMT and a control group consisting of 195 women who were not under it in the city of Zahedan from 22 May to 1 December 2019. Data were collected using a questionnaire for the measurement of violence against women and a sociodemographic questionnaire. In order to analyze the data, the t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used. Findings: In the case group, 67.2% of participants had experienced DV during the past year. In the control group, the prevalence was 78.5%. The rate of more than one occasion of DV was significantly higher in the group who were under MMT (P<0.05). The most common type of violence was mental abuse. Physical, sexual, and economic abuses were in the next ranks. Important predictors of DV, in order of importance, were: the women’s low educational level, smoking, income level, and polygamy (P<0.05). Conclusion: MMT is not a risk factor for DV. It seems that the rate of DV against women in Zahedan is very high. The prevalence of recurrent DV in women under MMT was higher than in the general population

The Effects of Training Pediatric Cancers’ Parents in Communication Skills on their Marital Instability, Marital Adjustment, and Quality of Life

Background: When a child is diagnosed with cancer, parents face many logistical and emotional difficulties that can impact their relationship significantly. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the couple's communication skills on marital instability, marital adjustment, and the quality of couples with pediatric cancer.Methods: The population of this quasi-experimental included all the parents of children with cancer in Ahvaz, Iran, from 2019- 2020. Samples of the study were selected using purposive sampling and randomly divided into two groups; one experimental (communication skills) (n=15), and one control (n=15). Both groups underwent 10 sessions of treatment for one-hour while the control group was not provided with any therapy from the second half of October until the second half of December 2020. The subjects were assessed before and after the treatment using the marital instability index (MII), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and the WHOQOL – BREF Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23.0.Results: The total sample included 30 couples, of which 35% were in the age group of 38-34 years, 35% were in the age group of 43-39 years, and 30% were in the age group of 44-48 years. The results of an analysis of covariance showed that training couples in communication skills had significant effects on reducing the parents’ Marital instability (f=88.14; P=0.001), increasing their Marital adjustment (f=13.88; P=0.001), and increasing their quality of life (f=12.93; P=0.001).Conclusion: It seems that training couples in effective communication skills can reduce their marital instability, along with increasing their marital adjustment and quality of life

Smile satisfaction and its related indicators in students of School of Dentistry, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (2013-2014)

Background: Smile is one of the most important factors determining the attractiveness of a person and has an important role in his mood and influence on others. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the smile satisfaction and its related indicators in the students of School of Dentistry affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 80 students of School of Dentistry in Qazvin during 2013-2014. Digital photograph was provided from students’ smile. Smile esthetics of pictures was evaluated by three faculty members of restorative and orthodontics departments based on visual analogue scale. Smile satisfaction was evaluated by the students. Smile line ratio, buccal corridor ratio and symmetric ratio were measured by Photo shop CS5 software. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Findings: Mean smile esthetics score was 59±10.5 and 71±9.4 in male and female students, respectively and the difference was statistically significant. Mean self-reported smile satisfaction was 73.7±7.8% and 72.4±17.9% in male and female students, respectively and the difference was not statistically significant. Smile line ratio was significantly different between male and female students, but the differences in buccal corridor ratio and symmetric ratio was not statistically significant. There was positive significant correlation between smile line ratio and smile esthetics score. Among the morphometric indices, only smile line ratio had significant correlation with smile satisfaction in male students. Conclusion: The correlation between smile line ratio and smile satisfaction indicates the high capability of this morphometric index for evaluating smile satisfaction. Keywords: Smiling, Esthetics Smile, Dental Esthetic