مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی گیلان
پیاپی 122 (تابستان 1401)

 Social gathering restrictions and quarantine for reducing the spread of coronavirus can reduce social interactions and cause mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

This study aims to investigate the role of personality traits and health-promoting lifestyles in predicting anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Najafabad, Iran

 This is a cross-sectional study conducted in April 2021 during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. The study population consisted of people aged >18 years old living in Najafabad. Using a convenience sampling method, 225 people were selected and completed questionaries online. Of these, the data of 217 questionnaires were analyzed. Beck Depression Inventory, Corona Disease Anxiety Scale, short form of Big-Five-Factor Inventory, and Walker’s Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed using Multiple Linear Regression and SPSS v. 24 statistical software.

The personality traits of neuroticism (r=0.343, r=0.176) and extraversion (r=-0.503, r=-0.375) were positively and negatively correlated with depression and anxiety, respectively, and were the predictive of depression and anxiety (P<0.05). The agreeableness trait (r=0.233) was also negatively correlated with anxiety, and was its significant predictor (P<0.05). Among the health-promoting lifestyle domains, self-fulfillment (r=-0.489) and physical activity (r=-0.348) had a negative correlation with depression, while health responsibility (r=-0.285) had a negative correlation with anxiety; they were the significant predictors of depression and anxiety (P<0.05) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the effect of personality traits and health-promoting lifestyles on depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak, the interventions focused on these components can be effective in improving the mental health of people.

 The health information system provides an integrated platform and an information connection between the actors of the health system regardless of temporal and spatial limitations.

 This study aims to investigate the factors affecting the development of electronic health record (EHR) system and predict the future of this system in Iran.

 In this descriptive study, identification of the main factors for the development of HER and designing the future scenarios of this system was done using a questionnaire completed by 33 managers and experts of information technology in hospitals and medical universities in Guilan and Qazvin provinces of Iran. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 22 and Expert Choice v. 11 applications.

 Three dimensions and six criteria were determined to explain the HER development. Dimensions included: information content, information architecture, and information security. The criteria were: Manpower, hardware and software infrastructure, speed of access to health services, operating costs, not dependent on the internet, and comprehensiveness. Moreover, eight scaled scenarios were determined for the future of the EHR system.

 It is necessary to pay attention to information content, architecture, and security in development of the HER system in Iran.

 Performing endurance training and taking L-carnitine supplements is effective in improving the performance of athletes, but its effect on repairing lung damage caused by boldenone injection is still unknown.

 The present study aims to assess the effect of L-carnitine consumption alone with endurance training on lung tissue structure damage in male rats poisoned with boldenone.

 In this experimental study, 30 male Wistar rats (weight= 228.53±7.94 g) were randomly divided into five groups: Control, boldenone, boldenone+training, boldenone+supplementation, and boldenone+training+supplementation. Boldenone (5 mg/kg) was injected in the biceps femoris once a week, and L-carnitine supplementation (600 mg/kg) was administrated in gavage into the stomachs of animals, three days per week. The endurance training program was included running on a treadmill for 8-week, three days per week, each for 30 minutes at a speed of 12 m/min, which reached 60 minutes and 30 m/min in the final week. Histopathological changes in bronchioles and alveoli were examined using a light microscope. 

 The weight ​​of two groups of boldenone+supplementation, and boldenone+training+supplementation increased significantly compared to the boldenone group (P=0.005). In the boldenone+training+supplementation group, a significant improvement in bronchioles and alveoli was observed compared to the boldenone group (P=0.001).

 It seems that performing endurance training along with L-carnitine supplementation has a great effect on reducing the destructive effects of boldenone on lung tissue.

 It is important to pay attention to the self-injury behaviors in adolescence as one of the high-risk behaviors with adverse consequences for the individual and society.

 This study aims to investigate the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between emotional abuse in childhood and self-injury behaviors in female adolescents.

 This is an analytical cross-sectional study. Participants were 200 female high school students in Rasht, Iran in the academic year 2020-2021 who were selected using a convenience sampling method. Data collection tools included the self-harm inventory (SHI), childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), and emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ). The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and path analysis in SPSS Software v. 23 and Amos v. 26.

 There was a significant relationship between emotional abuse and self-injury behaviors (P<0.001). The reappraisal domain had a significant negative relationship with emotional abuse and self-injury behaviors, and the suppression domain had a significant positive relationship with emotional abuse and self-injury behaviors. Emotion regulation strategies had partial mediating role in the relationship between emotional abuse and self-injury behaviors (P<0.001).

 Considering the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies, more attention to the use of these strategies should be paid to reduce the occurrence of self-injury behaviors in female adolescents.

 Study on the effectiveness of new methods of low back pain treatment is very important due to its high prevalence. There is no consensus on the most effective treatment for low back pain, despite the existence of different treatments options.

 This study aims to assess the effect of 8 weeks of dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS) and core stability (CS) exercises on pain, hamstring flexibility, balance, abdominal muscle strength, and quality of life (QoL) in men with chronic low back pain.

 Participants were 20 men with non-specific low back pain, randomly divided into two groups of DNS (Age=47.8±9.82 years, BMI=25.8±2.9 kg/m2) and CS (Age=42.4±11.8 years, BMI=28.1±13.1 kg/m2). Subjects performed exercises for 8 weeks. Before and after exercises, their pain, hamstring flexibility, static and dynamic balances, abdominal muscle strength, and QoL were assessed. For data analysis, the paired t-test and analysis of covariance were used, considering a significance level of P<0.05.

 Both training methods improved pain, abdominal muscle strength and static balance. The CS exercise significantly improved hamstring muscle flexibility, and DNS exercise significantly improved QoL. The comparison between the two methods showed no significant difference in any study variables.

 Both CS and DNS exercises can be used in designing the interventions for patients with chronic low back pain.

 Keratoconus (KCN) is a bilateral, progressive, and non-inflammatory disorder in the cornea, which results in thinning and protrusion of the cornea.

 This study aims to determine the effectiveness of using pachymetric progression indices (PPIs) in grading the severity of KCN disease. 

In this study, 76 patients with different stages of KCN were enrolled. The severity of KCN was graded according to maximum keratometry, cornea thickness, and spherical equivalent. The PPIs measured by Pentacam and the demographic characteristics were recorded and their correlation with the severity of KCN was assessed.

 In terms of KCN severity, 18% of patients were at grade 1, 31% at grade 2, 42% at grade 3, and 7% at grade 4. The power of PPIs in predicting KCN grade 4, grade 3 and grade 2 based on the area under the curve ranged from 0.722 to 0.993. 

 The PPIs (Minimum, Maximum, Average) can predict the severity of KCN disease with good sensitivity and specificity.

 Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the chronic autoimmune diseases and a progressive disease of the central nervous system that have unknown causes.

This study aims to review the environmental risk factors of MS.

 In this review study, a search was conducted in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and MagIran on related studies published in Persian and English from 2000 to 2021 using the keywords: Multiple Sclerosis, MS, Environmental risk factors, and Epidemiology.

 The studies showed that MS is an autoimmune disease with unknown genetic backgrounds. The age of 20-40 years, female gender, distance from the equator, migration, Epstein-Barr virus infection, smoking, air pollution, vitamin D deficiency, alcohol and coffee consumption, circadian disruption, and psychological factors are the environmental risk factors of MS.

 Given the environmental risk factors of MS, their control is potentially helpful in preventing the disease and its rapid progression. It is necessary for health care providers to pay attention to these risk factors.