ABSTRACT
Background: Mastalgia is a common problem among women. Severe mastalgia can have a negative impact on sexual, physical and sleep activities and behaviors. Regarding the absence of a study on the prevalence and severity of mastalgia in southern Iran, the current study was conducted
Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study. The participants were women who referred to health centers affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz. The inclusion criteria were willingness to participate in the study, not being pregnant and breastfeed. The severity of breast pain was calculated with visual analog scale. The data of 845 questionnaires were analyzed with SPSS software
Results: The participants' age ranged from 15-50 years; the mean age was 32.84+/-9.49 years. Among 845 participants, 33% [279] of them had experienced mastalgia in the past three months. Among those who had experienced mastalgia, 81% [226] had cyclical mastalgai and 19% [53] had non-cyclical mastalgia. The mean of pain score was 4.32+/-2.38 and 12.9% of the participants [36] had pain scores of 8 to 10. The impact of mastalgia on daily and sexual activities and sleep behaviors was reported 9.31% [26], 12.66% [29] and 13.97% [36], respectively
Conclusion: Results of this study showed that the spread of mastalgia in women referred to health centers affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences is lower than that reported in western studies and has lesser effects on their daily, sexual and sleep activities and behaviors. We suggest further studies about mastalgia in others locations in Iran
ABSTRACT
Falling is a major health threat for the elderly and has a significant impact on their well-being and quality of life. Yet, falls are preventable among the elderly. We sought to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention in reducing the fear of falling and improving balance among the elderly visiting Jahandidegan center in Shiraz, Iran. A preliminary study was conducted to determine the validity and reliability of the Modified Fall Efficacy Scale [MFES] for the Iranian elderly. Then, 40 individuals, 17 males and 23 females, between 60 and 74 years old were selected for the survey. The inclusion criteria were "MFES" score of less than 8 and Berg Balance Scale [BBS] score of less than 45. After completing the demographic questionnaire, MFES, and BBS, the participants were randomly allocated to the training or control groups. In the training group, each participant took part in one fall prevention class per week for 8 consecutive weeks. On the other hand, the control group received no interventions. BBS and MFES were completed immediately after the intervention. Finally, the data were analyzed using independent sample t-test and Chi-square test. Besides, P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups regarding BBS and MFES mean scores [pre-post 8 weeks] [P<0.001]. The intervention reduced the fear of falling by 26.5% and improved balance by 4.3%. The study results indicated that attending the training classes was effective in decreasing the fear of falling and improving the balance.