Risk factors for miscarriage in Syrian refugee women living in non-camp settings in Jordan: results from the Women ASPIRE cross-sectional study

Background Syrian refugee women face health care disparities and experience worse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage. We investigated risk factors for miscarriage in Syrian refugee women living in non-camp settings in Jordan to identify targets for interventions. Methods We analyzed data from Women ASPIRE, a cross-sectional study of gendered physical and mental health concerns of 507 Syrian refugee women (≥ 18 years old) living in non-camp settings in Jordan. We recruited women using systematic clinic-based sampling from four clinics. We limited our analyses to women who had a history of pregnancy and whose most recent pregnancy was single, took place in Jordan, and ended in term live birth or miscarriage (N = 307). We grouped the women by the primary outcome (term live birth or miscarriage) and compared the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups. We used Pearson’s χ2 test or the Mann–Whitney U test to obtain unadjusted estimates and multivariable binomial logistic regression to obtain adjusted estimates. Results The most recent pregnancies of 262 women (85%) ended in term live birth and another 45 (15%) ended in miscarriage. Since crossing into Jordan, 11 women (4%) had not received reproductive health services. Of 35 women who were ≥ 35 years old, not pregnant, and did not want a (or another) child, nine (26%) did not use contraception. Of nine women who were ≥ 35 years old and pregnant, seven (78%) did not plan the pregnancy. The adjusted odds of miscarriage were higher in women who had been diagnosed with thyroid disease (aOR, 5.54; 95% CI, 1.56–19.07), had been of advanced maternal age (aOR, 5.83; 95% CI, 2.02–16.91), and had not received prenatal care (aOR, 36.33; 95% CI, 12.04–129.71). Each additional previous miscarriage predicted an increase in the adjusted odds of miscarriage by a factor of 1.94 (1.22–3.09). Conclusions We identified several risk factors for miscarriage in Syrian refugee women living in non-camp settings in Jordan. The risk factors may be amenable to preconception and prenatal care

Knowledge and attitudes towards polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex condition affecting about 5% to 7% of women in their reproductive years. Adequate knowledge and a right attitude play an important role in the management of the disease and in the prevention of complications. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of women towards PCOS. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted in women aged 18-75 years old at the outpatient department of Jordan University Hospital. The questionnaire consisted of three main parts: the respondents’ sociodemographic variables, knowledge of PCOS, and attitude towards PCOS. There was a total of 400 participants, data was analyzed using SPSS version 23, 89% of the 400 participants were aware of the term PCOS. Most of the participants have adequate knowledge and positive attitude towards the disease. However, most of them lack knowledge on its complications. The level of education and occupation were found to have a positive association with knowledge and attitude towards the disease. Meanwhile, marital status and age were only found to have a positive association towards knowledge. Doctors were found to be the most preferred source of knowledge for further information about PCOS

Healthy lifestyle behaviors are major predictors of mental wellbeing during COVID-19 pandemic confinement: A study on adult Arabs in higher educational institutions.

BackgroundIn the past infectious diseases affected the quality of lifestyle during home confinement. The study conducted examines the influence of home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak on lifestyle, mental wellbeing, nutritional status, and sleeping pattern.MethodAn online multicategorical questionnaire was distributed to collect demographic information combined with the following tools: Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), WHO-5 wellbeing score, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A snowball non-discriminate sampling procedure was conducted to collect data from people attending or working at higher institutions from March 1, 2020 to April 24, 2020. A total of 1723 completed responses (917 males, 37.4 ±13.4 years old and 806 females 32.2 ± 11.5 years old) were collected.ResultsThe female participants had significantly lower mental health scores than males (53.9% vs. 46.1%). The mental wellbeing scores were higher among participants with medium and high physical activity (PA) levels (p ConclusionFactors such as PA, diet, and sleeping patterns were associated with mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 confinement among Arab participants