Perspectives on COVID-19 and Sexual Health; a Letter to Editor

The pandemic of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has swept the world during the past several months. The exponential growth of this outbreak led World Health Organization to announce it as the sixth public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020 (1). Coronavirus is transmitted through direct contact with the patient (coughing, sneezing, respiratory droplets). Respiratory droplets spread through close contact from person to person (hugging, kissing, and patient care) can transmit coronavirus (2). There is also evidence of oral-fecal transmission (3-5). Despite the presence of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) as receptor of coronavirus in testicles, there is very little evidence of transmission through sexual contact with male patients (6). A study detected Coronavirus in seminal fluid of 34 recovered male patients with mild symptoms (7), but it has not been observed in semen of active COVID-19 patients. The lack of observation; undoubtedly, does not rule out the possibility of sexual transmission of coronavirus. On the other hand, there is no evidence of COVID-19 transmission by vaginal secretions through sexual contact or from mother to child (vertical transmission) (8-10)

The prevalence of depression and its related factors among taxi drivers in Tehran city during 2017-2018

Background: Depression is amongst the most significant causes responsible for loss of life, worldwide. It also increases the likelihood of accidents which may lead to unpleasant outcomes.Aim: This paper was aimed to measure the prevalence and related factors of depression amongst taxi drivers in Tehran city, from 2017 to 2018.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 350 taxi drivers. Cluster sampling was applied. Standard questionnaires, including Beck-21 items questionnaire, to measure depression, and job satisfaction questionnaire (JDI), were applied. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 24 using Odds Ratios (OR) by logistic regression models. Significant level was considered 5% at all analyses.Results: The prevalence of depression was 43.3% and mean (SD) of job satisfaction score was 188.1 (54), with a median and interquartile range (70±193) for the highest and lowest level of job satisfaction were 350 and 60, respectively. The odds of having depression were 2.2 times higher in drivers with low job satisfaction (OR=2.2; 95%CI:1.3,3.8), 6.2 times higher in drivers who reported bad/very bad economic status (OR=6.2; 95%CI:2.1,18.3), and 1.8 times higher in cigarette smokers ‎(OR=1.8; 95%CI:1.0,3.4). The odds also increased by 2.6 times in drivers who reported average self-rated health (OR=2.6; 95%CI: 1.5, 4.5), and by 10.1 times in drivers who reported bad self-rated health ‎ (OR=6.2; 95%CI: 1.5, 65.0). Furthermore, having a history of depression amongst first degree family members, increased the odds by 2.6 times‎ (OR=2.6; 95%CI: 1.5, 4.5).  ‎  ‎Conclusion: We found that 43% of taxi drivers in Tehran city suffer from varying degrees of depression. It seemed that cigarette smoking, family history of depression, job dissatisfaction, and poorer economic status were important contributors of depression in our investigation

Increasing Awareness of Papillomaviruses and Their Association with Human Diseases

The papillomavirus family is known to be responsible for a quarter of virus-related cancers worldwide. High-risk types are the causative agents of anogenital, cervical and various cancers of the mouth, throat, intestines, vagina, penis and anus. Cervical cancer and various other malignancies induced by papillomaviruses are a global health problem, and the growing prevalence of these diseases indicates the need to increase awareness of this viral family. In this review, published articles during 2001-2020 were searched using keywords such as Papillomavirus, Cervical Cancer and Papilloma Vaccine. Our review represents the results of the association of high-risk HPV serotypes with many malignancies in human. Furthermore, issues such as HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening, and other preventive programs worldwide are discussed

The Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Iranian Men; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study

Introduction: Overweight and obesity is one of the most common diseases worldwide that is less considered in men. In this regard scattered studies have been conducted in Iran, and our aim was to systematically study the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Iranian men. Methods: Major international databases including: Scopus and PubMed, and Web of Science and national databases including Magiran and SID were searched for articles in Persian and English which were published from August 10, 2010 to August 10, 2020. Qualitative evaluation of the studies was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale checklist (NOS). Random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence by STATA software version 14.2 with significance level of 0.05. Results: Overall, 52 studies with a total sample size of 120,440 men with age range of 20-77 years were included in this systematic review. Most studies were conducted in 2017 and almost all of them were in Tehran province. The pooled prevalence of overweight was 46% (95% CI: 46, 46) in men. The lowest prevalence of overweight was 11.1% in Fars and the highest was 57% in Tabriz. The pooled prevalence of obesity in men was 18% (95% CI: 18, 19) with the highest prevalence in Birjand (46.5%) and the lowest in Tehran (0.8%). Conclusion: Our results showed a variety of tools for measuring overweight and obesity in Iran. Based on the BMI index, we found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was substantial among Iranian men. There seems to be an urgent need for health policy makers to develop and implement proper preventive strategies in order to control this public health problem and its serious health consequences among men, especially in the workplace

Why are Men more susceptible to COVID-19: A narrative review of current global knowledge

Since its inception on December 2019, COVID-19 epidemic now has been titled a global emergency. Rich literature on the global descriptive epidemiology of the cases has shown that the burden of COVID-19 epidemic in terms of both morbidity and mortality is more pronounced among men. Physiological and genetic traits along with numerous differences in social and cultural profile of men are attributed to this discrepancy. This review attempted to delineate various proposed explanations for the observed gender-differences in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality

Association of Genetics traits with obesity in men: A review on the current knowledge in Iran

Today, obesity is one of the leading causes of death. It also causes other diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and various types of cancer. Obesity is a multifactorial disease caused by factors such as genetics and lifestyle. However, scientists imagine that about 40-70% of the disease originates from genetics. In this review, we examined the role of different genes in obesity by examining 30 articles published on the role of genetics in the obesity of Iranian men, according to their BMI, comorbidities and family history. We concluded that most of the research has been done on the FTO, Hind III and S447 genes. We also showed an apparent relationship between these genes and obesity. Finally, according to studies, FTO can be considered as the most important and strongest contributor to obesity

A review on the Current Areas of Geriatric`s Research in Iran

Introduction: Population aging is becoming a global challenge for developing countries. The aim of the present paper is to review the current literature on geriatric health and to propose possible research areas. Methods: By reviewing scientific databases, all published papers in geriatric health within the last 5 years (until 31 December, 2019) were extracted. Inclusion criteria were being about elderly health conducted on Iranian elderly population and published no longer than 5 years ago. Unrelated, foreign studies and qualitative, trend analysis, and case series were excluded. The keywords were classified into 5 macro domain of General, Biological, psychological, Social and Spiritual domains. Results: Until 31 December, 2019, 713 related studies were finally retrieved. 56.8% of keywords belonged to the Biological macro domain. Among which, neurologic disorders had the highest proportion of studies (n=108, 15.1%). The most prevalent subdomain was the “Sociological” (P=15.4%) and the most prevalent keyword was “Quality of life”. The lowest proportion of studies was belonged to Hematology and Otolaryngology (0.4% each). Among the top institutions in terms of publication output are University of Social welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (11%), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (9.7%), and Iran University of Medical Sciences (9%).   Conclusion: Most of the literature concerning elderly`s health in Iran has focused on biologic aspect of health. There seems to be an urgent need to develop a research roadmap to cover all aspects of research among elderlies. Various prepositions to develop and promote context-based and innovative strategies are also provided

Primary preventive interventions on traffic accidents among males: A review on the literature during 2009-2019 in Iran

Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the national health indicators and the effectiveness of primary preventive interventions on traffic accidents in Iran during the last decade (2009-2019). Methods: All published original articles on the primary preventive intervention and health indicators of traffic accidents in Iran were extracted. The inclusion criteria included epidemiologic studies on Iranian male population during 2009-2019. Data were screened and extracted by two independent evaluators and the quality of studies was checked using the STROBE checklist. The exclusion criteria included those articles aimed at presenting results of second or third levels prevention (including injury management, pre-hospital emergency management, economic analyses, case reports, and traffic accidents from non-human perspectives).  Accident-related mortality rates, proportionate mortality from traffic accidents per 1000 vehicles, and per 1000 accidents were estimated.  Results: A total of 65 original articles were included of which 13 were presented health indicators. The crude mortality rate varied from 57.1 in Sistan-Balooshestan province to 73 (per 100,000 population ) in Fars province.  The age-standardized mortality rate among male pedestrians (per 100,000 population) varied from 10.6-33.4 in Gilan and Mazandaran, 42 in Fars, 50.9 in Lorestan provinces. During the last 10 years, the mortality rate decreased from 38 to 12 cases per 1000 vehicles and increased from 51 to 56 cases per 100 accidents. Studies on the effectiveness of primary level prevention have addressed regulations on controlling blood alcohol level and international projection models.  Conclusions: The type of health indicators related to traffic accidents seems to vary greatly among studies. Investigation on the effectiveness of primary preventive interventions on traffic caccidents are proposed frequently by WHO. Nevertheless, short-term and long-term effectiveness of many interventions including educational packages, regulations and specific laws have not been assessed in Iran

Challenges of disinfection by-products in water and effect on the men's health infertility- A Narrative review

Chlorination is the most common disinfectant in the water treatment process. The reaction between Natural Organic Matter (NOM) in water and chlorine lead to the formation of harmful disinfectant by-products (DBPs). The most common DBPs (HAAs and THMs) impose risks on human health. The data acquired from human samples on the relationship of men's infertility with DBPs exposure are limited and epidemiological studies have reported various results about the association between long-term exposure to DBPs and the adverse effect on the man's infertility (sperm concentration, semen quality and sperm motility). Previous cellular studies show that HAAs and THM damaged DNA by their effect on the ROS generation and Oxidative stress, respectively. Moreover, CDBM can lead to decreased litter sizes and pup viability. Bromodichloromethane (BDCM) cause the production of sperm abnormalities. In addition, Trichloromethane (TCM) led to increase the degeneration of epididymis ductal epithelium. Dibromoacetic acid (DBAA) and Bromochloroacetic acid (BCAA) led to synergistical decrease in the levels of SP22 sperm membrane protein. Likewise, BCAA and DBAA resulted in testicular damage. It should be noted that synergistic effect between Br THMs and TCAA in relation to below-reference sperm count was demonstrated. It has been reported that mixture of THMs and HAAs lead to increase sperm motility in adult male rats

Complications of male circumcision in Iran: A systematic review and weighted averaged analysis

Male circumcision (MC) is a minimal procedure to remove penile foreskin and is one of the oldest and most frequent surgical procedures in Iran, where the majority of the population identify themselves as Muslim. Despite numerous health benefits, MC is an issue of debate among pediatricians, urologists, and other medical professionals. Much of the debate stems from the lack of national guidelines and the incidence of minor or serious clinical complications. This study performed a systematic review on the current literature on male circumcision in Iran and summarized the major clinical complications reported by the studies