Beyond Contraception: The Medical Necessity of Hormonal Contraceptives for Optimal Health and Well-being of Women in the UAE

Introducing contraception as a method of treatment of many diseases is essential in order to optimize health and well-being of women in the UAE. The aim of the presented study was to analyze the non-contraceptive benefits and possible methods of using hormonal contraception in cultural context of the country. We reviewed articles concerning non-contraceptive use of contraception. Authors conducted their search in Pubmed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, National Library of Medicine, and Google Scholar. Hormonal contraceptives offer several health and wellness benefits that can improve the overall quality of life for women. These benefits encompass mood stabilization, reduction of premenstrual symptoms, acne relief, recurrent functional ovarian cysts, and luteal hemorrhagic cysts prevention, positive impact on bone mineral density, treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding, menstrual cycle abnormalities dysmenorrhea, ovarian and endometrial cancer prevention. It can also be used as a symptomatic method of treatment of PCOS and endometriosis. Moreover, it can guarantee appropriate birth spacing and can be prescribed for women with certain medical conditions where pregnancy poses significant risks to their health. Expanding access to hormonal contraceptives for non-contraceptive medical purposes requires a multi-faceted approach, including policy changes, regulatory reforms, insurance coverage adjustments, and educational initiatives for healthcare providers and the general publi

Frequency of rare and multi viral high-risk HPV types infection in cervical high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in a non-native dominant middle eastern country: a polymerase chain reaction-based pilot study

Abstract Background The incidence of abnormal cervical smears in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is 3.6%. Data regarding specific high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes are insufficient. Identification of hrHPV subtypes is essential to allow formulating effective vaccination strategies. Methods A total of 75 archival cervical cone biopsies with HSIL or higher lesions (2012–2016) were retrieved from a tertiary hospital, including HSIL (n = 70), adenocarcinoma in-situ (n = 1) and squamous cell carcinoma (n = 4). Five tissue sections (10-μ-thick each) were cut and DNA extracted using the QIAamp DNA FFPE Tissue Kit. GenomeMeTM’s GeneNavTM HPV One qPCR Kit was used for specific detection of HPV 16 and 18; and non-16/18 samples were typed by GenomeMeTM’s GeneNavTM HPV Genotyping qPCR Kit. Results Median age was 34 years (range 19–58) with 70% UAE Nationals. hrHPV detected were 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 58, 59, 66 & 68. hrHPV testing was negative in 12% of cases. Most common types were HPV 16 (49%), HPV 31 (20%) and HPV 18 (6.6%). hrHPV 16 and/or 18 represented 56% and rare subtypes 32%. Co-infection was present in 16%. Eight cases had two-viral subtype infections and 4 cases had 3 subtype infections. Multi-viral HPV infection was limited to hrHPV 16, 18, 31 & 33 subtypes. Conclusions Infection by non HPV 16/18 is fairly common. A higher than expected incidence of rare subtype (20% hrHPV31) and multi-viral hrHPV (16%) were detected. This finding stresses the importance of this pilot study as currently only quadravalent vaccine is offered to control the HPV infection in the UAE population

A comparative study on fetal heart rates estimated from fetal phonography and cardiotocography

The aim of this study is to investigate that fetal heart rates (fHR) extracted from fetal phonocardiography (fPCG) could convey similar information of fHR from cardiotocography (CTG). Four-channel fPCG sensors made of low cost (34 weeks of gestation). A novel multi-lag covariance matrix-based eigenvalue decomposition technique was used to separate maternal breathing, fetal heart sounds (fHS) and maternal heart sounds (mHS) from abdominal phonogram signals. Prior to the fHR estimation, the fPCG signals were denoised using a multi-resolution wavelet-based filter. The proposed source separation technique was first tested in separating sources from synthetically mixed signals and then on raw abdominal phonogram signals. fHR signals extracted from fPCG signals were validated using simultaneous recorded CTG-based fHR recordings.The experimental results have shown that the fHR derived from the acquired fPCG can be used to detect periods of acceleration and deceleration, which are critical indication of the fetus' well-being. Moreover, a comparative analysis demonstrated that fHRs from CTG and fPCG signals were in good agreement (Bland Altman plot has mean = −0.21 BPM and ±2 SD = ±3) with statistical significance (p < 0.001 and Spearman correlation coefficient ρ = 0.95). The study findings show that fHR estimated from fPCG could be a reliable substitute for fHR from the CTG, opening up the possibility of a low cost monitoring tool for fetal well-being

A comparative study on fetal heart rates estimated from fetal phonography and cardiotocography

The aim of this study is to investigate that fetal heart rates (fHR) extracted from fetal phonocardiography (fPCG) could convey similar information of fHR from cardiotocography (CTG). Four-channel fPCG sensors made of low cost (&lt;$1) ceramic piezo vibration sensor within 3D-printed casings were used to collect abdominal phonogram signals from 20 pregnant mothers (&gt;34 weeks of gestation). A novel multi-lag covariance matrix-based eigenvalue decomposition technique was used to separate maternal breathing, fetal heart sounds (fHS) and maternal heart sounds (mHS) from abdominal phonogram signals. Prior to the fHR estimation, the fPCG signals were denoised using a multi-resolution wavelet-based filter. The proposed source separation technique was first tested in separating sources from synthetically mixed signals and then on raw abdominal phonogram signals. fHR signals extracted from fPCG signals were validated using simultaneous recorded CTG-based fHR recordings.The experimental results have shown that the fHR derived from the acquired fPCG can be used to detect periods of acceleration and deceleration, which are critical indication of the fetus' well-being. Moreover, a comparative analysis demonstrated that fHRs from CTG and fPCG signals were in good agreement (Bland Altman plot has mean = −0.21 BPM and ±2 SD = ±3) with statistical significance (p &lt; 0.001 and Spearman correlation coefficient ρ = 0.95). The study findings show that fHR estimated from fPCG could be a reliable substitute for fHR from the CTG, opening up the possibility of a low cost monitoring tool for fetal well-being

Risk of sexual dysfunctions in breastfeeding females: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Epidemiological studies do not provide accurate statistics on the percentage of breastfeeding women experiencing sexual dysfunctions and restraining from sexual activity. The data vary between 40% and 83% in the first group and 20–50% in the second one. Despite excessive studies on contributors to intimacy changes, breast feeding received little attention from researchers. The relationship between lactation and postpartum sexual dysfunctions remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis will synthesise available data and establish the link between breast feeding and sexuality problems.Methods and analysis A comprehensive literature search will be performed in biomedical databases PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE and CINAHL. We will extract peer-reviewed original studies written in English, Arabic or Polish from 2000 to June 2023. We will also search for reports from international health organisations and local health authorities. The preliminary search was performed on 04 April 2023. The studies must provide data on dysfunction prevalence/incidence and the strength of the relationship between breast feeding and sexuality in generally healthy women. The Covidence software will be used to perform literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment of individual studies. We will use a random-effects model meta-analysis to calculate pooled weighted frequency measures and effect size. Between-study heterogeneity will be assessed with the I2 test.Ethics and dissemination This meta-analysis does not require ethical approval because it synthesises data from previously published original studies. The final work will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at scientific conferences.PROSPERO registration number CRD42023411053

A Comparative Study on Fetal Heart Rates Estimated from Fetal Phonography and Cardiotocography

The aim of this study is to investigate that fetal heart rates (fHR) extracted from fetal phonocardiography (fPCG) could convey similar information of fHR from cardiotocography (CTG). Four-channel fPCG sensors made of low cost (&lt;$1) ceramic piezo vibration sensor within 3D-printed casings were used to collect abdominal phonogram signals from 20 pregnant mothers (&gt;34 weeks of gestation). A novel multi-lag covariance matrix-based eigenvalue decomposition technique was used to separate maternal breathing, fetal heart sounds (fHS) and maternal heart sounds (mHS) from abdominal phonogram signals. Prior to the fHR estimation, the fPCG signals were denoised using a multi-resolution wavelet-based filter. The proposed source separation technique was first tested in separating sources from synthetically mixed signals and then on raw abdominal phonogram signals. fHR signals extracted from fPCG signals were validated using simultaneous recorded CTG-based fHR recordings.The experimental results have shown that the fHR derived from the acquired fPCG can be used to detect periods of acceleration and deceleration, which are critical indication of the fetus' well-being. Moreover, a comparative analysis demonstrated that fHRs from CTG and fPCG signals were in good agreement (Bland Altman plot has mean = −0.21 BPM and ±2 SD = ±3) with statistical significance (p &lt; 0.001 and Spearman correlation coefficient ρ = 0.95). The study findings show that fHR estimated from fPCG could be a reliable substitute for fHR from the CTG, opening up the possibility of a low cost monitoring tool for fetal well-being

Salivary cortisol, perceived stress and coping strategies: A comparative study of working and nonworking women

AimsThis study investigated stress levels and coping strategies among working and nonworking women in the United Arab Emirates.BackgroundStress levels in working and nonworking women have previously been studied, but few studies used cortisol to measure stress or examined how coping strategies affect stress levels.MethodsWe employed a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample of women aged 20–65 years. Information on women’s sociodemographic characteristics, perceived stress (using the Perceived Stress Scale) and coping strategies (using the Brief-COPE) was collected. Participants’ morning (07:00–08:00) and evening (19:00–20:00) cortisol levels were measured using unstimulated saliva samples.ResultsIn total, 417 working and 403 nonworking women participated in this study. More nonworking women reported high stress levels than working women (14.1% vs. 4.1%, p = .001). Working women reported more use of informational support and venting to cope with stress compared with nonworking women (94.0% vs. 88.1%, p = .001). More nonworking women had impaired morning (0.359 mg/dl) cortisol compared with working women (58.1% vs. 28.5% and 41.7% vs. 18.0%, respectively). Compared with working women, nonworking women had 3.25 (95%CI: 2.38, 4.47) and 3.78 (95%CI: 2.65, 5.43) times the odds of impaired morning and evening cortisol, respectively.ConclusionNonworking women exhibited higher levels of stress than working women. There is an urgent need to support nonworking women to manage stress through appropriate awareness campaigns and public health policies.Implications for ManagementPolicymakers and community leaders should consider the mental health of nonworking women as a priority in planning public health policies and programmes. Nurse managers must have a voice in reforming public health policy to support early assessment and management of stress among nonworking women.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/175502/1/jonm13697_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/175502/2/jonm13697.pd