Chronic Diseases Journal
Volume:11 Issue: 4, Autumn 2023

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most prevalent genetic hemoglobinopathy with an estimated 300,000 babies born with the disease globally every year. Due to the chronic nature of the disease, there is a pressing need for safe, effective, and affordable therapeutic agents for SCD. In many settings, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been reported in the management of the disease. However, there is limited documentation aboutthe use of CAM among patients with SCD in Uganda. Thus, this study was conducted with the aim to determine the prevalence of CAM use and the most commonly used CAM among patients with SCD at Mulago Sickle Cell Clinic (MSCC).

This cross-sectional study was conductedfor a period of 3monthsusing an interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect data from 293 participants who were recruited into the study using simple random sampling method at Mulago National Referral Hospital Sickle Cell Clinic, Uganda. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software to express univariate data as median, mean, mode, percentage, and frequency tables and graphs.

CAM use was reported among 76.7% of the participants with the majority using more than ontype of CAM. Biological products were the most commonly used form of CAM followed by spiritual healing; 74.6% of the CAM users used biological products, 25.2% used spiritual healing and prayer, while 0.6% used energy therapies. The most commonly used CAM include avocado leaves (50.9%), herbal concoctions (28.3%), beetroot (19.8%), prayer (18.8%), garlic (13.7%), and anointed water (12.6%).

This study found a high prevalence of CAM use among patients with SCD.

Health literacy is one of the important areas in research related to cancer and preventive behaviors that play an important role in improving health outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural pattern of health literacy on cancer self-efficacy with the mediating role of social support in cancer patients.

The method of this research was cross-sectional modeling of structural equations. The statistical population included all female patients with breast cancer who referred to Shahid Rahimi Hospital of Khorramabad city, Lorestan, Iran, for follow-up treatment between the beginning of summer 2019 and the end of spring 2020, and 300 of them were selected using available sampling method. They then completed the Health Literacy Scale-Short Form (HLS-SF), Cancer Behavior Inventory-‎Brief Version (CBI-B), and ‎the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ)‎. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling inAmos statistical software.

The results of data analysis showed that health literacy and social support have a significant relationship with cancer self-efficacy. The results of modeling the structural equations showed the fit of the model with the experimental data. Health literacy had a significant direct effect on cancer self-efficacy (P < 0.01). Moreover, due to social support, health literacy had an indirect and significant effect on cancer self-efficacy (P < 0.01).

Health literacy and social support play an important role in increasing cancer self-efficacy in breast cancer patients.

Assessing the prevalence of chronic diseases is necessary to reduce complications and mortality rates in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2). This study aimed to evaluate the chronic diseases in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and describe the clinical course of symptoms and changes in laboratory findings during the hospitalization of these patients.

This cross-sectional and retrospective study investigated the frequency of various chronic diseases in hospitalized patients with COVID-19,and compared them to deceased and improved patients in Razi Teaching Hospital, Ghaemshahr, MazandaranProvince, the northern part of Iran,duringthe March to September2020.Data analysis was performed by SPSS -21 using mean and standard deviation (SD) and chi-square test.

1000 patients were evaluated for chronic diseases. The most common chronic disease in patients with COVID-19 was diabetes (30.3%), followed by hypertension (HTN) (28.8%), and ischemic heart disease (IHD) (14.7%). Other chronic illnesses were less than the mentioned diseases including hypothyroidism (4.9%), heart failure (HF) (4.3%), renal failure (4.3%), obesity (2.3%), and corticosteroidconsumption (2.1%).

According to the results, chronic diseases such as diabetes, HTN, and cardiovascular disorders can increase the risk of mortality from COVID-19. The mortality rate in the present study was similar to the majority of studiesin this field. However, the difference in mortality rates with other studies may be because patients who required advanced medical care in the hospital and had an advanced stage of the disease were examined in our study.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that causes multiple and occasionally debilitating symptoms in patients. Given the high prevalence and wide effects of IBS inour society, finding cheap, safe, and effective drugs has a great importance for helping the patients with IBS and helping the community's health economy. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of yarrow, licorice, and chamomile (as a cheap andsafe cocktail) on the symptoms of patients with IBS.

In this double-blinded clinical trial study, 102 patients (referred to Toohid Hospital in Sanandaj City, Kurdistan, Iran, from February 25, 2017 to August 21, 2019) were included in the trial. The diagnosis of IBS was based on clinical findings and Rome-III criteria. Subjects were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group was given a combination of three plants [Glycyrrhiza glabra (G. glabra), Matricaria chamomilla (M. chamomilla), and Achillea millefolium (A. millefolium)] for a month. The control group received a placebo. Outcomes were assessed 2 and 4 weeks later. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

The mean age of the subjects was 41.2± 11.6 years (age range: 21-60 years). 42 patients (41.17%) were men, and 60 patients (58.8%) were women. The mean duration of the symptoms was 27.4 [standard deviation (SD) = 24.6] months. Two weeks after the intervention, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of some symptoms, including constipation, diarrhea, and mucus excretion. Four weeks after the intervention, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and feeling of incomplete excretion (P = 0.001).

Based on the results of this study, combination of the three plants (G. glabra, M. chamomilla, and A. millefolium) was effective in reducing the symptoms of IBS.

The high prevalence of corona disease has caused stress, anxiety, and distress in various groups, including medical personnel. Therefore, the aim of this study was to predict corona anxiety in nurses based on their emotional schemas and personality traits.

The present study was a descriptive-correlational research. The statistical population of the study consisted of all nurses in the treatment departmentof Markazi Province, Iran, 2019. Through convenience sampling method, 290 individuals (163 women and 123 men) were selected. Participants were assessed using the Corona Anxiety Scale, NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Emotional Schemas ‎Scale. The research data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and regression analysis in SPSS software.

The results of Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise regression showed that corona anxiety has a positive relationship with all emotional schemas, except poor consciousness. Moreover, it has a positive relationship with the psychological personality trait of neuroticism, and a significant negative relationship with openness to experience and agreeableness (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the emotional schemas of unfaithfulness, lack of perception, guilt, worthlessness, and the personality traits of neuroticism and empiricism (P < 0.01) were predictors of corona anxiety.

Based on the results, emotional schemas and personality traits are effective on corona anxiety and these variables can be considered in corona crisis conditions in nurses.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience a lack of integration in psychological, social, emotional, and physical dimensions, and in addition to physical problems, they experience a variety of psychological problems in the cognitive-emotional aspectas a result of the disease-caused cognitive-emotional disorder. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of behavioral activation combined with guided imagery rescripting on adversity quotient (AQ), experimental avoidance, and cognitive emotion regulation in patients with MS.

This was a research with a quasi-experimental design (pre-test and post-test with a control group). The statistical population included all patients with MS visiting the Caspian Physiotherapy Center of Ahvaz, Iran, in 2020. The sample consisted of 30 patients with MS (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) who were selected by convenience sampling. The research instruments included the Adversity Quotient Test, Young-Rygh Avoidance Inventory (YRAI),and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data.

Behavioral activation combined with guided imagery rescripting increased AQ and positive cognitive emotion regulation, and decreased experiential avoidance and negative cognitive emotion regulation in patients with MS in the experimental group compared to the control group (P < 0.001).

Behavioral activation combined with guided imagery rescripting could be an effective method for increasing AQ and positive cognitive emotion regulation and decreasing experiential avoidance and negative cognitive emotion regulation in patients with MS.

The mental load of work is one of the important and influential factors on the behavior and performance of nurses in the work environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the mentalload of work and the quality of work life in working nurses.

In a descriptive-analytical study, 125 nurses working in the general and special departments of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran, in October and November of 2016were examined. Data collection was done using a demographic form, a quality of work life questionnaire, and a mental workload index. The resulting data were analyzed using SPSS software and descriptive and inferential tests.

A significant relationship was observed between the components of physical demand, the level of frustration, and the effort score with the quality of work life (P < 0.05).

The results of the study show that the quality of work life of most nurses is average and this issue is related to the mental load of work.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most common diseases of the present era, as it has the highest mortality rate in developed and developing countries.The correct choice of patients for angiography leads to a reduction in the cost of angiography and its possible consequences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of normal coronary angiographies compared to all angiographies performed in Booali Sina Hospital in Qazvin, Iran, in 2018-2019.

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was performed by collecting and analyzing the results of coronary angiographies of all patients who underwent coronary angiography in Booali Sina Hospital in Qazvin from March 2018 to February 2019. The sampling method was census witha volume of 1564. After completing the checklist by extracting from patients' files, the data obtained from the study were analyzed using SPSS software.

Of 2566 performed angiography, 789 patients (30.7%) were normal or minimal in coronary arteryand 1775 patients (69.3%) had significant CAD [single-vessel disease (SVD), two-vessel disease (2VD), and three-vessel disease (3VD)].

According to the results obtained in this center and comparison with other reputable centers, it seems that the selection of patients in this center has been done with good accuracy and the rate of normal coronary angiographies is within an acceptable range compared to all angiographies performed in this center.