Physical violence against pregnant women by an intimate partner, and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Mazandaran province, Iran

Violence against women during pregnancy is linked to poor outcome of pregnancy, which is reported to have widespread in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of physical violence against women by an intimate partner during pregnancy, and to assess the impact of this physical violence on pregnancy outcomes. A prospective cohort study was conducted on the characteristics of pregnant women in urban areas and related violence. The modified standard World Health Organization Domestic Violence Questionnaire was used to classify pregnant women and domestic violence. A total of 1461 pregnant women were selected using cluster sampling. The association between sociodemographic with intimate partner violence [IPV] and IPV with pregnancy outcomes was determined using logistic regression. Of these, 206 [14.1%] [confidence interval = 12.3-15.9] reported physical IPV during pregnancy. The adjusted odds ratio for IPV in illiterate women or those with primary level of education [0.001], secondary level education [0.003], and in low income households [0.0001] were significantly higher than in those women with university level education and in higher income households. After adjusting for suspected confounding factors, the women with a history of violence by partners had 1.9 fold risk of premature rupture of membranes, and a 2.9 fold risk of low birth weight compared to women who did not experience any violence from their partners. The results of this research indicated that the prevalence of IPV was high among pregnant women. Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize the screening of pregnant women at Primary Health Centers to prevent physical abuse

Physical activity, nutrition, and dyslipidemia in middle-aged women

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death throughout the world. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight/obesity, central obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia, as well as dietary factors contributing to the development of dyslipidemia among middle-aged women. The research design of the present study was a population-based cross-sectional study; anthropometric measures and blood chemistry were obtained. Physical activity was measured using the original International Physical Activity Questionnaires Long Form while food frequency questionnaire [FFQ] was used in assessing individual's habitual intake. Overall, 809 women, 30-50 years of age from fourteen active urban Primary Healthcare Centers [PHC] in Babol City, northern Iran, were obtained from 1,905 households across operational areas of 14 PHC using systematic random sampling method. The prevalence rates of women classified as overweight/obese, with central obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia were 82.8%, 75.5%, 14.6% and 63.4%, respectively. Total physical activity did not correlate with cholesterol ratio. Soybean protein was inversely associated with cholesterol ratio [rho=-0.18, P? 0.001]. The adjusted OR for dyslipidemia in women with moderate protein intake was significantly higher than in women with high and low intake [OR=2.31; 95% CI= 1.61, 3.30]. No significant associations were found between dyslipidemia and carbohydrate, fat intake or physical activity. This study showed very high prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among Iranian middle-aged women. A more detailed study is suggested to develop definitively recommendations for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease for the Iranian population

[Efficacy of face to face and internet-applied methods of cognitive-behavioral group counseling based on Ellis's theory in increasing marital satisfaction]

This study was aimed to compare the efficacy of face to face and internet-applied methods of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Counseling [CBGC] based on Ellis's theory in increasing marital satisfaction. In a controlled experimental pre-post test study, a total number of 36 couples with low marital satisfaction referred to a university counseling center were randomly selected. They were then randomly assigned to one control and two experimental groups. The two different methods of CBGC were applied for the two experimental groups. Data was analyzed using the one-way Analysis Of Variance [ANOVA] and the post-hoc Sheffeh's test through the SPSS-12 software. A significant higher increase was seen in marital satisfaction in both intervention groups compared with the control one [P < 0.05]. Face to face group counseling was more effective than internet-applied method in improving some components of marital satisfaction such as financial management, leisure time management and personality issues [P < 0.05]. For solving marital problems, internet-applied group counseling can be regarded as a good substitute for the face to face method in special conditions

Age at menarche in girls born from 1985 to 1989 in Mazandaran, Islamic Republic of Iran

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 2246 girls born between 1985 and 1989 to determine the age of menarche in Mazandaran province, northern Islamic Republic of Iran. Six cities were selected randomly and cluster sampling used to select high-school students in urban and rural areas. Students with malnutrition, anaemia and chronic infections such as tuberculosis were excluded. The mean [standard deviation] age of menarche was 12.5 [1.1] years, 95% CI: 12.45-12.55 years. The most frequent occurrence of menarche was in summer and least frequent in winter. Menarche age was significantly higher in girls living in rural areas and with fathers with lower education

[ effectiveness of multidimentional psychological treatment in enhancing the adherence to medical treatment in adolescents with type 1 diabetes]

A chronic illness, such as diabetes mellitus, creates changes in the life style and requires constant adjustment. The onset of a chronic illness can be a stressful event in any life stage including adolescence. The interaction between the illness related problems and the psychosocial changes associated with normal adolescence makes it difficult for the patient to cope with the chronic illness in a constructive way. Poor adherence to medical treatment and poor drug compliance are common concerns of the families and physicians dealing with diabetic adolescents. It is of an urgent importance to study effective, culturally appropriated interventions which focus on the high-risk diabetic adolescents with severe adherence difficulties and/or chronically poor metabolic control. This was a randomized controlled trial [Experimental design]. The sample consisted of sixty randomly selected male and female diabetic adolescents living in Esfahan, with an age range between 12 to 18 years old. They were randomly assigned to four groups with different subjects of training including: personal self-efficacy, communication skills, both subjects and no training [control group]. The scale of self-efficacy in diabetes and Family Assessment Device [FAD] were then administered to all participants. Treatment adherene was also evaluated using laboratory tests for Hemoglobin A1C [HbA1c] index. Data were analysed using the one-way Analysis of the Variance [one-way ANOVA]. Significant difference was found between the groups regardind the scores of self-efficacy [F=3.725, P=0.017], FAD [F=4.151, P=0.01] and communication [F=8.302, P=0.000], as well as HbA1c results [F=3.088, P=0.035]. For preventing the short and the long term side effects of the diabetes mellitus, patients' treatment adherence should be improved. Psychological interventions for enhancing self-efficacy and improving communication skills can be effective in this respect

[Psychometric properties of DASS-42 as assessed in a sample of Kermanshah high school students]

Psychological scales are increasingly used as important tools for assessment of intelligence, talents, academic achievement and personality characteristics and as a help in diagnosis of mental or personality disorders. Besides other methods of studying behaviors, these tools can be used for such purposes in schools, industrial and commercial organizations, public offices, universities and medical centers. This study aimed to assess psychometric properties of Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale [DASS-42] in a sample of high school students in Kermanshah. This was a psychometric study executed on Kermanshah high school students in 2003-2004 academic year. A total number of 400 students were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. In addition to DASS-44, other scales used in this study include: Beck Depression Inventory [BDI], Zung Anxiety Scale [ZAS] and Studets' Stress Scale [SSS].Data were analysed running SPSS-10 software. The depression subscale of DASS-42 showed a high correlation [0.849] with the BDI in a 0.01 level of statistical significance. The stress subscale of DASS-42 was also found to have a 0.757 correlation co-efficient with SSS, again statistically significant at a 0.01 level. The rates of Chronbach alpha for the depression, anxiety and Stress subscales of DASS-42 were found to be 0.94, 0.85 and 0.87 respectively. The KMO rate for the present study was 0.88 which indicates a large-enough sample size for factor analysis. The Cruet-Bartlett's test also showed a chi-square rate of 0.794 with a degree of freedom equal to 861, which was again significant at a 0.01 alpha level. After factor analysis, the factors which showed high specificity measures were compared with those introduced by the original authors. Hence this study identified a three factor model which can be regarded as identical with the model introduced by the original authors