Measuring psychosocial exposures: Validation of the Persian of the copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire (COPSOQ)

Background: The effect of psychosocial work environment on personal and organizational aspects of employees is well-known; and it is of fundamental importance to have valid tools to evaluate them. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Persian version of Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). Methods: The questionnaire was translated into Persian and then back translated into English by two translators separately. The wording of the final Persian version was established by comparing the translated versions with the original questionnaire. One hundred three health care workers completed the questionnaire. Chronbach's alpha was calculated, and factor analysis was performed. Results: Factor analysis revealed acceptable validity for the five contexts of the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.73 to 0.82 in different contexts. Conclusion: This study revealed that the Persian version of COPSOQ is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring psychosocial factors at work

Angiotensin enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers as protective factors in COVID-19 mortality: a retrospective cohort study

Targeting the renin-angiotensin system is proposed to affect mortality due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to compare the mortality rates in COVID-19 patients who received angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEIs/ARBs) and those who did not. In this retrospective cohort study, mortality was considered as the main outcome measure. All underlying diseases were assessed by the chronic use of medications related to each condition. We defined two main groups based on the ACEIs/ARBs administration. A logistic regression model was designed to define independent predictors of mortality as well as a Cox regression analysis. In total, 2553 patients were included in this study. The mortality frequency was higher in patients with a history of underlying diseases (22.4 vs 12.7, P value < 0.001). The mortality rate in patients who received ACEIs/ARBs were higher than non-receivers (29.3 vs. 19.5, P value = 0.013, OR = 1.3, 95 CI 1.1, 1.7) in the univariate analysis. However, the use of ACEIs/ARBs was a protective factor against mortality in the model when adjusted for underlying conditions, length of stay, age, gender, and ICU admission (P value < 0.001, OR = 0.5, 95 CI 0.3, 0.7). The Kaplan�Meier curve showed an overall survival of approximately 85.7 after a 120-day follow-up. ACEIs/ARBs are protective factors against mortality in COVID-19 patients with HTN, and these agents can be considered potential therapeutic options in this disease. The survival probability is higher in ACEIs/ARBs receivers than non-receivers. © 2020, Società Italiana di Medicina Interna (SIMI)