ABSTRACT
Postpartum period is accompanied by significant changes in women's quality of life. These alterations can affect the health of mothers and children. Considering the importance of postnatal quality of life and its different contributing factors, this study aimed to compare women's quality of life after vaginal delivery and cesarean section. This retrospective cohort study included a random sample of 2100 women, referring to Hamadan health care centers for congenital hypothyroidism screening or infant vaccination. The participants' quality of life was examined, using Short Form-36 [SF-36] questionnaire, evaluating five periods of time including one week, two months, four months, six months, and one year after delivery [either vaginal or cesarean delivery]. Data were analyzed using t-test. Quality of life was significantly higher in women with vaginal delivery, compared to women with cesarean section in all periods including one week [68.77 vs. 42.44], two months [69.11 vs. 54.76], four months [78.19 vs. 53.02], six months [75.62 vs. 54.94],and one year[78.43 vs. 53.77] after delivery. Considering women's higher quality of life after vaginal delivery, compared to cesarean section, it seems that vaginal delivery is a safer and less expensive option, which is recommended for all pregnant women
ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis is one of the oldest infections known to affect humans. The aim of the study was to assess the quality of life including physiological, general health perception and social role functioning among patients with tuberculosis in Hamadan, Western Iran. A cross sectional analytical study was conducted between December 2009 and March 2011, the quality of life scores of 64 tuberculosis cases were measured by SF-36 questionnaire before treatment, after the initial phase and at the end of treatment and were compared with those of 120 controls. The association of the quality of life with age, type of tuberculosis, sputum smear, duration of disease, and the stage of treatment were assessed among the patients. Before treatment, all scores of tuberculosis patients were lower than those of the controls [p<0.05]. The patients' score increased signififificantly after two months of treatment [p=0.01], but the difference was not significant between two and six months after treatment [p=0.07]. The lowest score in tuberculosis patients was related to physical functioning and energy [45 +/- 42, 44 +/- 24, respectively]. According to the results, tuberculosis patients still have a low quality of life in spite of receiving new care strategies. Therefore, enhancement in quality of life may improve adherence to anti-tuberculosis treatment, functioning and well-being of patients with tuberculosis.
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis B virus [HBV] and hepatitis C virus [HCV] infections are major global public health problems. This study was conducted to investigate the incidence rate of these infections over six successive years in Hamadan Province, the west of Iran. This retrospective cohort study was conducted on the database of hepatitis registry. In this study, 1257 subjects infected by HBV and 705 subjects infected by HCV were detected and enrolled. HBV infection was detected by presence of HBsAg and HCV infection by presence of Anti-HCV. In order to estimate province-based age-specific incidence rates of HBV and HCV infections, we used the same age-specific population as the denominator. The incidence rate pre 100,000 population from 2004 to 2009 for HBV infection was 19.60, 12.29, 12.31, 11.13, 9.46, 7.70 [P<0.001] and for HCV infection was 6.73, 7.42, 7.57, 8.45, 5.30, 5.17 respectively [P<0.001]. The incidence rate of HBV infection decreased continuously over time, while the incidence rate of HCV infection fluctuated and even increased from 2004 to 2007 then decreased. The rate ratio of trend for HBV infection across successive years was 0.85 [95% CI: 0.82, 0.88] and that of HCV infection was 0.94 [95% CI: 0.90, 0.99]. The decreasing trend in the incidence rate of HBV infection in current years may be the result of vast national immunization of newborn and adolescents against hepatitis B infection. On the other hand, fluctuating incidence rate of HCV infection with a temporarily increasing growth is critical and should be the focus of the health policymakers' special attention