مجله طب پیشگیری
سال هشتم شماره 3 (پیاپی 23، پاییز 1400)

Recognition of the factors influencing the severity of the COVID-19 disease is gradually evolving. This study was aimed to investigate the demographic factors associated with patients who suffered from COVID-19.

In the present cross-sectional study, 3100 patients with COVID-19 in the city of Shiraz completed an online questionnaire from December to March 2021. The sampling method in this study was simple random. The data collection tool included a researcher-made questionnaire containing demographic and clinical information of the patients, which its validity and reliability were confirmed. Descriptive analyzes were used for qualitative and quantitative data. The Chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The normality of quantitative variables was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test and statistical graphs (Histogram and box-plot).

The average age of the participants in the present study was 38.28±12.83 years. There was a significant relationship between age, marital status, level of education, job status, and history of chronic disease with hospitalization (P-Value≤0.001). There was no statistically significant relationship between gender (P-Value=0.419), smoking (P-Value=0.653), social distancing (P-Value=0.054) with hospitalization. In addition, there was also a significant relationship between age, gender, job status, and mask usage with home treatment of COVID-19 (P-Value ≤0.001).

Age, marital status, level of education, employment status, and history of chronic diseases are among the influential factors on COVID-19 disease. Identifying the factors influencing COVID-19 disease can help to prevent and control the disease.

Microbial contamination of bread can endanger the health of consumers. The aim of this study was to determine the microbial contamination of bread and hands of workers directly supplying bread in selected bakeries in Bandar Abbas.

In this descriptive-analytical study conducted in 2020, 76 bakeries were randomly selected and bread samples were taken using relative stratified sampling method, based on the baking type, and transferred to the food laboratory to measure the microbial load. Also, from each bakery, a bread distributor was selected to investigate the hand microbial contamination. The microbial load of bread samples was measured in a food lLaboratory and the microbial load of workers' hands was measured using an SSP device. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Mean and standard deviation parameters were used to describe the data and Chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between variables at a significance level of 0.05.

Based on the results, out of a total of 76 samples taken from the workers, 51 samples (80%) were found to be infected with microorganisms. Having a health card, using face masks, and respecting personal hygiene, social distancing, and disinfection protocols had a significant relationship with workers' hand contamination (P-Value<0.05). The results of measuring the microbial load of bread samples showed that all samples were free of microbial contamination.

Despite no microbial contamination in the bread samples, contamination of workers' hands can be a source of microbial contamination for bread. Therefore, it is recommended that health officials consider strict controls over personal hygiene and the health of bakeries.

Community participation in health programs is one of the requirements for their success. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions in promoting knowledge, attitude, and practice of health volunteers     

Information sources or data: 

This systematic review was conducted in 2020 using the keywords health volunteers OR community health volunteers AND educational intervention AND Iran and health volunteers OR communicator’s community health AND randomized controlled trial OR clinical trial AND Iran. The used Databases / search engines were Scopus, PubMed, Magiran, SID and Google scholar.

Selection methods for study:

 In the initial search, 1128 articles were retrieved in various databases. The interventional studies in which the effectiveness of educational intervention had been examined and the studies related to the health volunteers program in Iran were the most important inclusion criteria and interventions performed by health volunteers for a specific group of people were considered as the most important exclusion criteria in this study. Finally, 16 articles were included in the study for comprehensive review and data extraction.

The results showed that most of the studies were quasi-experimental, the duration of the intervention was from one day to 2 months, and follow-up time was between 10 days to two years. In all cases, after the educational intervention, the scores of the knowledge, attitude, and practice in different health-related issues showed a significant increase compared to before the intervention. Also, the use of theories and models in educational interventions had a positive effect on increasing awareness, changing attitudes, and improving the performance.

The results show the positive effect of educational interventions for health volunteers in various health-related issues, so by conducting educational interventions for health volunteers, they can play an important role in the community health.

Internet addiction is a type of behavioral disorder. One of the most common complications of this disorder is low sleep quality. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Internet addiction on the sleep quality of students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in 2021.

In this cross-sectional study, 389 students from Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in 2021 were selected by proportional stratified sampling. The data were collected using demographic, Young Internet addiction, and Pittsburgh sleep quality questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, percentage and frequency and analytical statistics of One-way ANOVA.  

About 1% (4) of participants had severe internet addiction and about 24% (96) had moderate internet addiction. Participants with severe internet addiction (11.5±2.88675) had poorer sleep quality than other groups. However, the mean score of the sleep quality questionnaire in non-addicted participants was 6.2852±3.0248, which was also higher than normal. The scores of all the sections of sleep quality except sleep efficiency were higher in addicted students.

The results of the present study show the high prevalence of Internet usage among students and also there was a significant negative relationship between Internet addiction and sleep quality. Given that Internet addiction can have inevitable effects on various aspects of health; the proper planning must be done to control the activities of students in Internet.

Vegetables are one of the most critical groups in people's diet, and quality assurance plays a significant role in health and food safety. Consumption of vegetables is one of the main exposure routes for heavy metals. This study aimed to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of vegetables cultivated around the Tehran landfill areas in 2019.

This descriptive study was conducted using available sampling method in 2019 on eight types of vegetables. The concentrations of heavy metals were measured using ICP-OES after acidic digestion. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were calculated using the related equations. SPSS software was used to determine the relationships between the variables.

The results showed that the order of heavy metals concentration was Al> Fe> Zn> Mn> Cu> Ni> Pb> As> Cr> Co> Cd. The order of contamination load in different vegetables was lettuce> leek> dill> tomato> eggplant> potato> onion> cabbage. Pearson coefficient correlation showed a very strong significant relationship between Cd with Pb, Mn, and Ni at the level of 1%. Hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) values in all vegetables were below 1, indicating no potential risk for children and adults. Lettuce, leeks, dill, tomatoes, and eggplant and lettuce, dill, and leeks had significant carcinogenic risk for children and adults, respectively.

Considering that long-term consumption of vegetables can expose the consumers to significant carcinogenic risk, mitigation measures and continuous monitoring of heavy metals in crops cultivated in the landfill areas are essential.