نشریه تازه های پژوهشی روان تنی
پیاپی 4 (تابستان 1402)

Polycystic ovarian syndrome with a significant prevalence is one of the most common disorders among reproductive aged women whose quality of life is affected by this disease and its complications. 

This scoping review study was conducted in 2023 by searching for related studies published from 2010 to 2023 in databases including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, IranDoc, Magiran, SID, and Google Scholar using keywords such as “Yoga”, “hypnotherapy”, “motivational interventions”, “mindfulness”, “cognitive behavioral therapy”, “polycystic ovary syndrome”, “women”, “quality of life” in English and Persian languages. After screening the titles, abstracts, and full texts of 901 articles, 11 eligible articles were selected. Evaluation of their quality was done by Chocrane risk of bias checklist.

The 11 reviewed articles assessed four psychological interventions: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, mindfulness therapy, and yoga program.

Psychological interventions such as mindfulness therapy, yoga, CBT, and motivational interviewing alone or with other interventions can increase the QOL of women with PCOS. However, it is necessary to conduct more studies with minimal bias and long-term follow-up to get stronger evidence.

Neuroinflammatory processes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is related to the immune system. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential elements of this association. Deficiency in these cells may have a role in worsening of ASD. 

This study reviews the physiology of Tregs and their molecular mechanisms in regulating the immune system, their role in neurological disorders, abnormality in Treg number and function in patients with ASD, and the association of neuroinflammatory processes with Tregs. The comprehensive literature search was performed by electronic databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus to July 2023.

Expression of cytokines in Treg induction decrease in ASD patients which causes Th/Treg cells imbalance and deficiency in Treg cells. This may be clinical evidence of ASD. However, there are scant research on molecular mechanism of Tregs causing healthy behaviors in ASD patients. Future studies on the effect of Th/Treg cells imbalance on attenuating behavior deficits and finding treatments for ASD based on the activation of Tregs and regulation of the immune system are recommended

The use of approaches that balance the function of the immune system, especially through the activation of Tregs, may help improve the health of the patients.

Abnormal fear of childbirth (FOC) can leave many complications. Examining the factors that worsen the FOC is helpful in eliminating or modulating the fear. In this regard, we aim to investigate the relationship between psychological factors and the increase of the FOC.

This scoping review study was conducted in 2023 by searching for related studies in databases Scopus, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, IranDoc, MagIran, SID, and Google Scholar using related keywords. After screening the titles, abstracts, and full texts, 10 eligible descriptive-analytical studies were selected. Evaluation of their quality was done by the AXIS checklist.

The findings from 10 studies were divided into three groups based on the answer to the main research question. Four studies showed the relationship between FOC and depression. Six studies showed the relationship between FOC and anxiety, and three studies showed the relationship between FOC and self-esteem. In all students, the relationships were statistically significant (P<0.05).

Psychological factors of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem are related to the increased FOC in women. In this regard, by designing intervention programs to eliminate related psychological factors, it is possible to prevent the increase of the FOC in women.

Eating disorders are behavioral nutritional disorders with a psycho-social origin, and are considered as one of the global concerns. This study aims to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and binge eating disorder (BED) in female college students, mediated by distress tolerance. 

This is a descriptive-correlational study using structural equation modeling. The study population consists of all female college students in Isfahan, Iran, of whom 214 were selected as the samples by a convenience sampling method. They completed the Perfectionism Inventory, distress tolerance scale, and binge eating scale.

The results indicated a good fit of the study model. The total effect coefficient (sum of direct and indirect effect coefficients) between adaptive perfectionism and BED was negative and significant (P<0.01, β=-0.286), while the total path coefficient between non-adaptive perfectionism and BED was positive and significant (P<0.01, β=0.329). Therefore, distress tolerance negatively mediated the relationship between adaptive perfectionism and BED, and positively mediated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and BED.

It is important to pay attention to the mediating role of distress tolerance in the relationship between perfectionism and BED. The therapists should include this component in occupational therapy.

Infertility is one of the unfortunate events of life, which is associated with various personal, social, mental, physical, and financial pressures and can put couples, especially women, at high risk of psychological disorders. The current study aims to determine the prevalence of depression and its related factors in infertile women in Ardabil, Iran.

This is a descriptive study with a cross-sectional design. Participants were 100 infertile women referred to an infertility treatment center in Ardabil city. For all participants, information related to age, educational level, place of residence, occupation, family income level, duration of marriage, duration of infertility, type of infertility, history of abortion, and history of taking antidepressants were first recorded. Their depression was measured by the Beck depression inventory.

The prevalence of depression was 52%. There was a significant difference in depression in terms of age ((P=0.006, 95%CI: 1.4-7.3, OR = 3.2), occupation (P=0.042, 95%CI: 1-6.2, OR = 2.5), duration of marriage (P=0.001, 95%CI: 1.7-9.7, OR= 4.1), infertility period (P< 0.001, 95% CI: 1.9-10.5, OR = 4.5), infertility type (P=0.013, 95%CI: 1.2-7.9, OR = 3.1), and history of abortion (P = 0.021, 95%CI: 1.2-10.5, OR=3.5). 

More than half of infertile women in Ardabil have different degrees of depression. The depression is significantly higher in those older than 30 years, housewives, those with marriage and infertility duration >5 years, those with primary infertility, and those with a history of abortion.

Depression is the most common psychological disorder during pregnancy. Maternal depression affects the health of the baby. Some psychological techniques, including self-compassion training, are effective in reducing depressive symptoms. This study aims to determine the relationship between self-compassion and depression in pregnant women.

This is a descriptive-correlational study. The study population consists of all pregnant women referred to the comprehensive health centers in Kermanshah, Iran. Sampling was done using a multi-stage cluster random sampling method. The data were collected using a demographic form, the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, and the self-compassion scale. Collected data were analyzed in SPSS statistical software, version 26.

Participants were 527 pregnant women. The results of Spearman’s correlation test showed a negative and significant relationship between self-compassion and depression in pregnant women (r=-0.153, P<0.05). According to the results of logistic regression analysis, the components of self-kindness, common humanity, and had a role in predicting depression in pregnant women.

There is a negative and significant relationship between self-compassion and depression in pregnant women; the increase in self-compassion can reduce the depression symptoms. It is recommended that health care workers use the self-compassion training to reduce the depression of pregnant women.

Sleep disorders are common in postmenopausal women, which endangers their physical and mental health. Due to the increase in life expectancy, the number of menopausal women in the world is increasing, whose health problems can put a high burden on countries. The present study aims to determine the relationship between mindfulness and sleep quality in postmenopausal women.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 291 postmenopausal referred to comprehensive health centers in Kermanshah, Iran were selected by a convenience sampling method. A demographic form, questionnaire, the five facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were used to collect data. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 25.

The mean age of the participants was 55±3 years. According to the reports, 48.5% of postmenopausal women had poor sleep quality. The results of the Spearman correlation test showed a significant relationship between mindfulness and sleep quality in postmenopausal women (P<0.05).

The increase of mindfulness can improve the quality of sleep in postmenopausal women. It is recommended to take measures so that healthcare workers use mindfulness interventions for postmenopausal women with sleep disorders.

Spousal violence is one of the major problems of women. The personality traits of couples have been mentioned as one of the factors related to spousal violence, although there are contradictory results. The present study aims to determine the relationship between the personality traits of couples and spousal abuse against women of reproductive age.

In this cross-sectional study, participants were 156 couples covered by the health centers in Sari, Iran, in 2022, who were selected with a systematic sampling method. The data were collected using a socio-demographic form, the spousal abuse questionnaire, and Goldberg’s international personality item pool. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software, version 25. The data were reported by using Mean±SD, frequency, and percentage and were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The significance level was set at 0.05

Mild emotional abuse had the highest prevalence (76.3%). Husband’s conscientiousness trait predicted emotional abuse of women. Husband’s agreeableness trait and wife’s neuroticism trait predicted physical abuse of women, and husband’s neuroticism trait predicted sexual abuse of women. Moreover, husband’s smoking predicted physical abuse of women.

The personality traits of couples can predict spousal abuse of women. Identifying the personality traits of couples, along with individual and social factors, can significantly help in prevention, screening, and developing appropriate treatments for abused women.