Chronic Diseases Journal
Volume:10 Issue: 1, Winter 2022

Menopause is a physiological process in women's life causing a variety of vasomotor, psychological, physical, and sexual symptoms. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of menopausal symptoms among rural women in Bangladesh.

This cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st January to 31st December 2018 on 384 postmenopausal women aged 40-70 years and selected by convenience sampling in the rural areas of Faridpur District in Bangladesh. We used the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) for measuring the prevalence of menopausal symptoms. SPSS software was used for data analysis.

The mean age of menopause was 47.13 ± 4.30 years. Out of 384 postmenopausal women, the most common symptoms in the vasomotor domain were ‘sweating’ (98.2%) and ‘hot flushes’ (94.5%). In the psychological domain, the most common symptoms were ‘accomplishing less than I used to’ (99.7%) and ‘experiencing poor memory’ (98.2%). In the physical domain, the most common symptoms were ‘decreases in physical strength’ (100%), ‘feeling lack of energy’ (100%), ‘changes in appearance, texture, or tone of skin’ (100%), ‘decreased stamina’ (99.7%), ‘dry skin’ (99.7%), and ‘feeling tired or worn out’ (97.1%). Out of 60.9% married menopausal women, the most common symptoms in the sexual domain were ‘change in sexual desire’ (58.6%) and ‘avoiding intimacy’ (58.3%).

Many of the menopausal symptoms were frequent except ‘increased facial hair’, ‘weight gain’, and ‘willing to be alone’, which were present in 2 (0.5%), 119 (31.0%), and 122 (31.8%) women, respectively.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the forgiveness skill training on sexual satisfaction, aggression, and marital conflict in women.

This was a semi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test design, in which 30 women were selected by the convenience sampling method from the consultation centers in Tehran, Iran, in 2017 and were divided into the case and control groups (each consisting of 15 individuals) randomly. The experimental group participated in the forgiveness skill training in 8 sessions (two sessions weekly; each lasting for 60 minutes), while the control group was in the waiting list. The Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire, Aggression Questionnaire, and Marital Conflict Questionnaire were used to assess the participants and the data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS software.

The results showed that the case and control groups had a significant difference, at least in one of the sexual relations, aggression, and marital conflict variables (P < 0.0500).

The findings indicated that the forgiveness skill training led to the improvement of sexual satisfaction, reducing aggression, and marital conflict in women.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) disease had a negative impact on adolescents’ physical and psychological health. This study aimed to investigate the association between coronavirus anxiety and selfcare with psychological distress among Iranian adolescents during the coronavirus epidemic.

This was a descriptive-correlational study conducted on 419 Iranian adolescents in March 2021, in which the convenience method was adopted for sampling. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used, which included Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS), Corona Self-Care Questionnaire (CSCQ), and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). The data were analyzed using the SPSS software and also Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression tests.

The results showed that there was a significant relationship between coronavirus anxiety (r = 0.279, P < 0.001) and self-care (r = -0.265, P < 0.001) with self-care. The results also indicated that coronavirus anxiety and self-care could predict approximately 17% of the variance in psychological distress (R2 = 0.168; F = 13.55; P < 0.001).

Due to the role of coronavirus anxiety and self-care in predicting the psychological distress among Iranian adolescents during the coronavirus epidemic, it is suggested to design interventions to improve psychological distress.

Patients undergoing hemodialysis are vulnerable to intestinal parasites due to a weakened immune system. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

The feces of 168 under hemodialysis patients were collected from Sari and Zanjan hospitals, Iran, and the demographic and clinical information of the patients was recorded in a questionnaire. Samples were tested using wet-mount method, formalin-ether concentration, modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining for coccidia, conventional trichrome for intestinal protozoa, and modified trichrome for Microsporidia. Data were entered into SPSS software and analyzed by the chi-square test method (P < 0.05).

The prevalence of parasitic infections in patients under hemodialysis in Sari and Zanjan was 43.58% and 33.33%, respectively, with a total of 40.4%. With a prevalence of 23.28%, Giardia had the highest prevalence rate. Then, Entamoeba coli had a prevalence of 14.3% and other parasites were, respectively, Endolimax nana (6.54%), Blastocystis hominis, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Dientamoeba fragilis, and Cryptosporidium (each one: 1.19%), and Chilomastix mesnili (0.59%). There was no significant difference between the prevalence of intestinal parasites with age, gender, place of residence (urban or rural), and duration of hemodialysis (P ≤ 0.05).

Pathogenic parasites such as Giardia have a high prevalence in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Sari Region. Given the potential risks of these infections, especially giardiasis, amoebiasis, and cryptosporidiosis, it is recommended that regular screening be performed to diagnose and treat parasitic diseases in this population.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is more common in neonates. This study aimed to determine the predictive factors in the decision-making about surgery in neonates with NEC.

This retrospective cohort study was performed in Ali Asghar Children's Hospital in Tehran, Iran. All neonates hospitalized due to NEC from 2018 to 2020 were enrolled in this study. We compared the study variables such as demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiography, and sonography variables in neonates who underwent surgery with neonates without surgery. Statistical analysis was conducted by SPSS and R software.

There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding age at hospitalization, sex, gestational age, and birth weight (P > 0.05). Comparison of laboratory, clinical, and radiography findings showed that there were significant statistical differences in terms of C-reactive protein (CRP), prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), sodium (Na), procalcitonin (PCT), skin discoloration of the abdominal wall, presence of portal venous gas (PVG), pneumoperitoneum, ascites, and fixed intestinal loop between two groups (P < 0.05). The results also showed that existence of skin discoloration of the abdominal wall, high level of CRP, PVG, pneumoperitoneum, ascites, and fixed intestinal loop were predictive factors for the decision of surgery.

The abdominal color change, high level of CRP, PVG, pneumoperitoneum, ascites, and fixed intestinal loop are predictive factors for the decision of surgery in neonates with NEC.

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between mindfulness and binge eating in obese individuals.

This research was performed as correlation research and statistical population included obese and overweight men and women in spring, summer, and autumn 2018 in Karaj City, Iran, 414 of whom were selected by purposive sampling method and participated in the study. Data were collected by calculating participants' body mass index (BMI), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Binge Eating Scale (BES), and structural equation modeling (SEM) and then analyzed using Amos software.

The model has an acceptable fit with the collected data [χ2/degree of freedom (df) = 3.80, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.929, goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.910, adjusted GFI (AGFI) = 0.871, and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.082]. Examination of the path coefficients showed that emotion regulation strategies mediated the relationship between mindfulness and binge eating.

Mindfulness affects binge eating in obese people through the mediating role of emotional regulation strategies.

More than 1 year has passed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrition and its role in boosting the immune system have been a hot topic during the previous year in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. An effective medicine for COVID-19 has not been introduced and public vaccination has not gained an acceptable speed in the world; therefore, preventive measures, protocols adherence, and a robust immune system are crucial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of food in boosting the immune system during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this scoping review, we searched and collected data related to food and its role in strengthening the immune system and COVID-19 in 4 leading databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of sciences, and ScienceDirect. Findings were analyzed and combined using thematic analysis.

People with weak immune systems have been more affected by the coronavirus. Vitamins D, A, and E, zinc, selenium, copper, prebiotics, probiotics, lactoferrin, and omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to minimize SARS-CoV-2 viral load and shorten hospital stay. The dietary sources that can provide such functional compounds and boost the immune system are fish, milk and cheese, eggs, meat, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds, liver, and vegetable oils.

Due to the high demand for and limited availability of successful vaccines around the world, developing and low-income countries should be cautious about personal health problems and use food supplements to improve the immune system until public vaccination can be made available.

Infertility, as an important stressful factor, is involved in development of mood disorders. In this regard, this study assessed the effect of emotion regulation techniques on hopelessness, worry, and anxiety symptoms in chronic infertility in women.

This was a semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design and control group. Statistical population consisted of infertile women who referred to gynecology clinics in Tehran, Iran, in 2017. All individuals fulfilled the anxiety and depression questionnaires and then, 30 women were selected randomly in two experimental and control groups, 15 persons in each group. Emotion regulation techniques were implemented on experimental group once a week, but the control group was on the waiting list. Both groups fulfilled the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) in baseline and the end of the intervention. The results were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and SPSS software.

Emotion regulation techniques led to reduction of worry (F(1,30) = 8.29, P < 0.05, d = 0.71), hopelessness (F(1,30) = 6.32, P < 0.01, d = 0.57), and anxiety (F(1,30) = 8.69, P < 0.05, d = 0.39) in infertile women.

Considering the effectiveness of emotion regulation techniques in reduction of anxiety, hopelessness, and worry in infertile women, these techniques could be applied for improvement of mood in infertile women.