Epidemiology and Health System Journal
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Winter 2020

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease which involvesvarious organs. Vitamin D is an essential ingredient in regulating the immune system. This study aimedto investigate the relationship between vitamin D and the severity of lupus activity.

This case-control study was carried out on 38 patients with lupus on the basisof the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria and 44 healthy subjects with no history ofrheumatologic disease. To measure the level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, venous blood samples (5 cc)were taken from each participant and the activity of the lupus disease was measured by the SystemicLupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) scale. Finally, the chi-square test, independentsample t test, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to measuremultivariate effects. The level of significance was set to be P < 0.05.

Thirty-five lupus patients and 40 healthy subjects were females (P = 0.847). Vitamin Ddeficiency was observed in the case (42.1%) and control (11.4%) groups. The mean value of serumvitamin D3 level was 35.3 ng/mL in the control group, as well as 24.6 ng/mL and 21.3 ng/mL inpatients with mild and severe SLE, respectively (P = 0.024).

In this study, high levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D were observed among the healthysubjects compared to patients with SLE. Eventually, the level of vitamin D significantly decreased byincreasing the severity of SLE activity.

Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) refer to the smaller effects ofeducational attainment for ethnic minorities compared to the majority group. As a result of MDRs,research has documented more than expected tobacco use among Hispanics and African Americans(AAs) with high educational attainment. In theory, some of this increased risk may be due to lowertobacco harm knowledge. Accordingly, the present study compared ethnic groups for the associationbetween educational attainment and tobacco harm knowledge among American adults in order tobetter understand a potential mechanism behind MDRs of educational attainment on tobacco use ofHispanics and AAs.

The current cross-sectional study used baseline data of 27,405 adults, which were obtainedfrom the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (2013) study a nationally representative surveyin the United States. The independent and dependent variables were educational attainment andtobacco harm knowledge, respectively. In addition, age, gender, employment, and poverty status werethe covariates and ethnicity was the moderator. Finally, linear regression was used to analyze the data.

Educational attainment was inversely associated with tobacco harm knowledge in the pooledsample (b = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.09 - 0.13). Ethnicity showed a statistically significant interaction witheducational attainment (b = -0.05, 95% CI = -0.10 - 0.00 for AAs and b = -0.14, 95% CI = -0.19 - -0.09for Hispanics versus non-Hispanics), suggesting that the effect of educational attainment on tobaccoharm knowledge was smaller for Hispanics and AAs compared to non-Hispanics and Whites.

In general, although high educational attainment increases tobacco harm knowledge,highly educated Hispanics and AAs still report a disproportionately low level of tobacco harmknowledge. Eventually, the MDRs of educational attainment on tobacco harm knowledge may explainwhy highly educated Hispanics remain at high risk of tobacco use.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.The impact of the number of attacks on the disease is undeniable. The aim of this study was to analyze thenumber of attacks in these patients.

In this descriptive-analytical study, the registered data of 1840 MS patients referred to the MS clinicof Ayatollah Kashani hospital in Isfahan were used. The number of attacks during the treatment period wasdefined as the response variable, age at diagnosis, sex, employment, level of education, marital status, familyhistory, course of disease, and expanded disability as the explanatory variables. The analysis was performedusing zero-inflated negative binomial model via Bayesian framework in OpenBUGS software.

Age at diagnosis (CI: -0.04, -0.20), marital status (CI: -0.56, 0.002), level of education (CI: -0.81,-0.26), Job (CIHousewives vs Employee=[0.04, 0.64], CIUnemployee vs Employee=[-1.10,0.008])), and course of disease (CI:-0.51, -0.08) had a significant effect on the number of attacks. In relapsing-remitting patients, the number ofattacks was partial significantly affected by expanded disability status scale (EDSS) (CI: -0.019, 0.16).

Aging, being single (never married), high education, and not having a job decrease the numberof attacks; therefore, lower age, being married, primary education, and being a housewife increase thenumber of attacks. An interventional or educational program is suggested in order to prevent the occurrenceof further attacks in high-risk groups of patients and to increase their chances of recovery.

Midwives experience a high level of stress due to heavy workloads, which hasbeen shown to have adverse effects on well-being. Accordingly, the main goal of this study was toassess the predictors associated with a healthy lifestyle in a sample of midwives working in hospitalsand health centers of Qazvin, Iran.

A total of 200 midwives were recruited using convenience sampling method. Each subjectcompleted a demographic questionnaire, the Farsi version of the Health Promoting Lifestyle ProfileQuestionnaire, and Perceived Social Support Questionnaire. A multivariate linear regression modelwas used to assess the predictors of health promoting lifestyle (HPL).

Spiritual growth (2.78 ± 0.53) and nutrition (2.79 ± 0.45) had the highest scores among HPLsubscales. Conversely, subjects had the lowest score in physical activity (2.02 ± 0.64). Multivariateregression analyses showed that workplace (β = -0.19, P = 0.03), involving in professional sports(β = 0.2, P = 0.01), and perception of an adequate social support network (β = 0.47, P < 0.001) were thestrongest predictors of HPL. These predictors accounted for 27% of the variance in the model.

Considering the predictive role of three variables including workplace, involving inprofessional sport, and having adequate social support, HPL interventions can be designed andimplemented. Improving working conditions, strengthening social support networks, and increasingphysical activity might be beneficial measures to improve midwives’ HPL.

According to the sponge hypothesis, compared to men’s self-rated health (SRH),women’s SRH is more likely to reflect conditions other than chronic medical conditions (CMCs) suchas psychiatric disorders (PDs). As a result, poor SRH is a weaker predictive factor for mortality risk forwomen than men. Most of this literature, however, is done in samples that are predominantly middleclassWhite. To test the sponge hypothesis among economically disadvantaged African Americans(AAs), this study compared low-income AA men and women for the effects of the number of PDs andCMCs on SRH.

This cross-sectional study recruited a non-random sample (n = 150) ofeconomically disadvantaged AA adults with PD(s). Structured face-to-face interviews were used tocollect data. SRH was measured using a single-item measure. PDs and CMCs were also self-reported.We applied linear regression models to test the interactions between SRH and the number of PDs andCMC as well as gender.

The number of PDs and CMCs were associated with SRH in the pooled sample of low-incomeAA adults with PD(s). However, we found a significant interaction between the number of PDs andgender. This interaction suggested a stronger association between PDs and SRH for AA women thanAA men. Gender did not alter the association between the number of CMCs and SRH.

The number of PDs is a determinant of SRH for low-income AA women but not AA men,supporting the sponge hypothesis.

This study was conducted to determine the economic, social, and culturalfactors influencing the consumption of drugs by drivers of public vehicles in 2013.

The capture-recapture method was employed to determine drug use, its type,and the time of consumption among drivers of public transport. At the capture stage, 384 of the sampleswere surveyed and then (15 days later) at the recapture stage, 1176 drivers were randomly selected.All drivers who crossed the boundaries of Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Khorasan Razavi, West and EastAzarbaijan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Gilan during the defined time were randomly selected. Thesample size was 196 drivers for each boundary based on the traffic volume of each boundary and typeof vehicle.

The mean age of the addicted and non-addicted subjects was 41.65 ± 3.41 years and39.63 ± 2.11 years, respectively, with a significant difference (P = 0.01). There were significantdifferences between addicted and non-addicted subjects with respect to some of the socioeconomicvariables such as monthly income (P = 0.001), owning home (P = 0.001), owning car (P = 0.001),ethnicity (P = 0.016), and education (P = 0.01). There were significant differences in the economic andcultural factors affecting addictive drug use between non-addicted and addicted subjects (P = 0.001).

A significant difference in economic and cultural factors, ethnicity, and levels of educationwas observed between non-addicted and addicted subjects.

Stress urinary incontinence is one of the most common diseases which canreduce the quality of life in women. Urodynamic test is a common method of diagnosis of this disease.This study is designed for investigating the necessity of urodynamic test in patients with urinary stressincontinency before transobturator tape (TOT) surgery. Urodynamic test before surgery can affect thequality of life in patients.

This study was a randomized clinical trial. The sample size was 48 patients divided into twogroups of 24 women in January 2018. Women with urinary incontinence complaints were randomlydivided into two groups. For the first group, the urodynamic test was done. Both groups were evaluatedone month and six months after TOT surgery based on the results of the I-QOL questionnaire.

The mean I-QOL score was 83.9 ± 3.3 in questionnaire group and 81.6 ± 4.6 in urodynamicgroup one month after surgery with no statistically significant (P = 0.052) difference. The quality of lifescore after 6 months was 87.2 ± 4 in the questionnaire group and 85.4 ± 3 in the urodynamic groupwith no statistically significant differences with each other (P = 0.084).

In this study, the urodynamic test only had additional information related to lower urinarytract symptoms and it did not have effects on improving the outcome of the surgery. The test onlyimposes economic burden. Therefore, the urodynamic test is not required before surgery in patientswith urinary stress incontinence.

Fennel is often advocated for primary dysmenorrhea. Whether this herb has areal effect on pain relief is still a matter of debate in medicine. Therefore, this study was conducted toevaluate the effect of fennel on primary dysmenorrhea.

This systematic review was conducted on clinical trials (non-randomized, randomized,historical study with concurrent control) published in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, Scopus,Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), ProQuest, and Persian databases (Magiran,IranMedex, SID, Irandoc) regarding the effect of fennel on pain intensity in primary dysmenorrhea from1990 to 2019. Nine studies met all inclusion criteria. Any clinical trials on young women with primarydysmenorrhea were included in the study. Studies that used fennel plus other products investigatedfennel effect on premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and bleeding; studies without a control group andnonclinical trials were excluded. In all studies, participants were young female university or highschool students. All of them had moderate to severe primary dysmenorrhea.

In all of the studies except for one, fennel had been more effective than placebo in pain relief(P < 0.01). Non-steroidal drugs had the same result as fennel for pain relief. However, in one study,the difference between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and fennel in pain relief wasobserved. Only one study reported increasing vaginal bleeding after fennel consumption in somecases.

Collectively, these studies favored fennel over NSAID, other herbal drugs, and placebo.But more investigation is needed to draw a firm conclusion.Registration: PROSPERO - 42015023725