International Journal of Preventive Medicine
Volume:13 Issue: 9, Sep 2022

Protective reactions or neutralized antibody produced after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) infection has a major impact on herd immunity induction and outbreak control. This feature potentially can open up unique opportunities for disease management.[1]

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Delay in the diagnosis of breast cancer is a major challenge that can lead to disease progression. Identifying the predictors of breast cancer screening behavior is necessary to promote early detection of breast cancer. This study aims to investigate the predictors of breast cancer screening behavior in women aged 20–69 referred to public health centers.

This cross‑sectional study was conducted on 17255 women aged 20–69 years old in Isfahan Province referred to Public Health Centers by the multi‑stage random sampling method. data were collected based on the paper forms of women’s care aged 20–69 at public health centers, Isfahan, Iran, in 2012. Using STATA 14, logistic regression was employed to explore predictors of breast cancer screening behavior at a 5% significance level.

The mean age of women was 36.75 ± 10.46. About 6006 (34.8%) of women had a history of breast self‑examination, and among women aged over 40 years, 17.7% reported ever having a mammogram. The most important factors influencing breast self‑examination were age 40–49 (OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.06‑1.33), history of hormone consumption (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.15‑1.33), family history of breast cancer in first‑degree relatives (OR = 14.22; 95% CI: 9.83‑20.57. The most important factors influencing mammography were hormone consumption (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.05‑1.51), and family history of breast cancer in first‑degree relatives (OR = 32.55; 95% CI: 20.08‑52.70).

Our findings indicated that the performance of breast self‑examination and mammography was low. The frequency of BC screening behavior was higher among women with BC risk factors The results revealed the need for health authorities to pay attention to education in BC detection methods

Among the common mental disorders in societies, depression is one of the most common mental disorders that affects all groups and classes of society. Students are among the groups with the highest rates of depression. Therefore, the need for a short and effective tool for screening and early detection of depression is felt. The aim of this research is to determine validity, reliability and the best cut‑off point of the patient health questionnaires‑9 (PHQ‑9) and patient health questionnaires‑2 (PHQ‑2) in university students.

This cross‑sectional study was conducted on 246 students of Kermanshah University of medical science in Kermanshah province of Iran. They completed the PHQ‑2, PHQ‑9, and the Beck Depression Inventory‑II (BDI‑II). A structured interview was used to diagnose depression. To analyze the data, Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency, the intra‑class correlation (ICC) for test–retest reliability, confirmatory factor analysis for construct validity, Pearson Correlation for Convergent validity, and receiver‑operating characteristic (ROC) curve for Criterion validity was used.

The mean age of the participants was 20.43 ± 2.29. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for PHQ‑9 and PHQ‑2 was 0.82 and 0.80, respectively. The test–retest reliability based on intra‑class correlation (ICC) for PHQ‑9 and PHQ‑2 after two weeks was 0.81 and 0.73, respectively (P < 0.001). The correlation coefficient between the PHQ‑9 and PHQ‑2 with the BDI‑II was 0.74 and 0.64, respectively (P < 0.001). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that two-factor model and one factor model had good model fit. The best cut‑off point score for the PHQ‑9 was 10 with a sensitivity of 0.90 and specificity of 0.93, and the best cut‑off point score for the PHQ‑2 was 3 with the sensitivity of 0.71 and specificity of 0.92.

The PHQ‑9 and PHQ‑2 are suitable tools to screen depression in the university students in Iran.

There are randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the zinc supplementation effect on circulating levels of brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, the findings of these studies are inconsistent. The purpose of this systematic review and meta‑analysis was to determine the zinc supplementation effect on BDNF and zinc levels in published RCTs.

We searched PubMed/ Medline, Cochrane, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, EMBASE, “Clinicaltrials.gov”, “Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials”, “IRCT” and also key journals up to 2019. RCTs with two intervention (zinc) and control (placebo) groups that evaluated zinc supplementation efficacy on BDNF levels were included. Study heterogeneity was assessed, and then, meta‑analysis was performed using the fixed‑effects model.

Four studies were included in the present secondary analysis. Compared with placebo, zinc supplementation significantly enhanced circulating levels of BDNF [(SMD): 0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.22, 0.61)] and zinc [(SMD): 0.88, 95% CI: (0.54, 1.22)] with no considerable heterogeneity among the studies [(Q = 3.46; P = 0.32; I2% = 13.4); (Q = 2.01; P = 0, 37; I2% = 0.5), respectively].

Our results propose that zinc supplementation can increase the circulating levels of BDNF and zinc. This study was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42020149513.

Self‑care is an essential component of diabetes mellitus (DM) treatment and often depends heavily on family support. In skip generation families, children’s grandparents are their primary caretakers, many of whom have chronic diseases such as DM. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of DM patients receiving treatment at a primary care unit in Khon Kaen Province in the skip generation families and the effects of this family structure on clinical indicators of treatment outcomes.

This was a prospective descriptive study in DM patients who visited a primary care unit in Khon Kaen Province from July to October 2019. Patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire interviewed, and demographic and clinical data were analyzed.

This study included 202 participants. We found that 11.4% of patients were in skip generation families, 91.3% of whom were elderly. We found no statistically significant association between family structure and either self‑care practices or clinical indicators of treatment outcomes.

Neither clinical indicators of treatment outcomes nor self‑care practices differed between DM patients in skip generation families and those with other family structures. However, additional studies should be conducted to examine other possible factors, such as the age of the grandchildren of whom patients are the primary caretakers.

Efforts to increase the coverage of exclusive breastfeeding require extraordinary innovation supported by many parties, such as community leaders, including Housewives Peer Group activist living as a neighborhood of lactating mothers. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a short course on the knowledge and practice of Housewives Peer Group activists as assistance to lactating mothers in providing exclusive breastfeeding.

The method of the research was pre and post‑test of quasi‑experimental. The population was Housewives Peer Group activists in the working area of Tlogosari Wetan Community Health Center, Semarang City. Samples were chosen using purposive random sampling to 37 Housewives Peer Group activists. The intervention given was a short course which should be attended by the group, and the post‑test was assessed 1 month after conducting the pre‑test.

The results of the Wilcoxson Match Paired test showed differences in knowledge (P < 0.05) and practice (P < 0.05) of the Housewives Peer Group activists before and after attending a short course regarding exclusive breastfeeding and lactation management. At the end of the study, the knowledge and practice of the Housewives Peer Group activists increased by 4.21 points and 3.73 points, respectively.

Short course on exclusive breastfeeding and lactation management significantly influences the increased knowledge and practice of Housewives Peer Group activists that further improve the quality of transferred information, monitor public health, especially to increase the coverage of exclusive breastfeeding and lactation management for breastfeeding mothers.

Oxidative stress (OS) is caused by an imbalance between prooxidant substance production and antioxidant defense. OS is involved in physiologic interactions in the body and the pathogenesis of various disorders. This study aimed to evaluate serum prooxidant‑antioxidant balance (PAB) as a selective prooxidant, antioxidant defense, and acute phase reactant protein in patients with subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism.

This case‑control study was conducted in three groups including clinical hypothyroidism (32 patients), subclinical hypothyroidism, (42 cases), and healthy controls (32 individuals). This study was performed in the Endocrine Clinic of Arash Training and Research Hospital, Tehran, 2017. In the study groups, thyroid hormones including T4 and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipid profile, PAB, and hs‑CRP as inflammatory markers were measured and compared between the groups.

Among 106 participants, 95.3% were females, the gender balance was similar across groups and mean age was 30.79 ± 7.65 years. FBG and lipid profile except for cholesterol level were not significantly different between the three study groups. However, cholesterol level in the clinical hypothyroid group was significantly higher than the other two groups. PAB was higher in subclinical hypothyroidism compared to healthy controls after adjustment for age and TSH levels (P value: 0.04) but there was no significant difference in the clinical hypothyroid group in comparison with healthy controls. In addition, there was no significant difference in high‑sensitivity C‑reactive protein (hs‑CRP) between the three study groups.

This study suggests that that subclinical hypothyroidism increases PAB in comparison to healthy control which could indicate OS response in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism, respectively.

Evidence suggests that dietary pattern is related to incidence and grades of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between major dietary patterns and hepatic histologic features of newly diagnosed patients with NAFLD.

This cross‑sectional study included 260 newly diagnosed NAFLD patients. Hepatic fibrosis and steatosis were diagnosed using Fibroscan. Dietary information was obtained using a validated 168‑item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. The association between dietary patterns and odds ratio of the grade of fibrosis and steatosis was examined by multinomial logistic regression.

The mean ± SD age participant was 46.53 ± 11.71 years. Fifty‑seven percent of the participants were women. Two major dietary patterns were recognized: “Western dietary pattern” and “Mediterranean dietary pattern.” After adjustment for various confounders, adherence to the two extracted dietary patterns was not associated with odds of fibrosis and steatosis (P > 0.05). However, P was not significant. Patients in the second quartile of the Mediterranean dietary pattern had a higher risk for being in the F1 grade compared to those in the reference group in the crude and adjusted model.

The major dietary patterns of NAFLD patients living in Gilan were not related to the severity of their disease. More precise study design such as cohort or interventional studies is suggested to reveal the strength of this study findings.

Coronavirus disease‑19 (COVID‑19) caused by SARS‑CoV‑2 is a novel viral infectious disease, which broke out in the end of winter season 2019 in China and soon became a pandemic. Characteristically there was severe local and systemic immune‑inflammatory response to the virus, damaging the respiratory system and other organ systems. The morbidity and mortality caused by the disease are producing tremendous impact on health. The understanding about pathogenesis and manifestations of the disease was obscure. To date, no classic treatment or preventive measure was available for COVID‑19 other than symptomatic and supportive care or few drugs under trial. A possibility exists that maintaining vitamin A adequate levels can protect the affected respiratory mucosa, increase antimicrobial activity, produce better antibody response, and have antiinflammatory effects, thereby promoting repair and healing as well. It has been discussed in the review that by various mechanisms, immune regulation through vitamin A supplementation is beneficial to boost immunity in the current outbreak situation when the population is susceptible to the disease. There is a high possibility that vitamin A supplementation to cases as well as population at risk of COVID‑19 has a key role in prevention and control. Hence, it is believed that along with other therapeutic and preventive measures, maintaining vitamin A sufficiency during and prior to the development of active disease may act as an adjuvant in population at risk and cases to prevent and control COVID‑19.

Sir, E‑waste is the fastest growing waste in the solid waste stream.[1] As per E‑waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, e‑waste includes electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) (e.g., laptops, computers, mobile phones, TVs, DVD players, mp3 players, etc.) either in whole or in part, which is discarded as waste by consumer or bulk consumer and the ones which are rejected by the processes such as manufacturing, refurbishment, and repair.