Investigation of burn-out syndrome and its related factors among academicians of islamic azad university-dental branch in 2008

A large number of dentists suffer from high levels of occupational stresses, that can produce burnout syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of burnout syndrome and its related factors among dental academicians of Islamic Azad University-Dental Branch in 2008. In this descriptive-analytic study 99 faculty members of dental school were surveyed with Maslach Burnout Inventory [MB I], including 22 questions, and a questionnaire including 10 demographic and occupational questions. This questionnaire was graded in three dimensions including emotional exhaustion, depersohalization and personal accomplishment. The final scores were categorized as high, moderate or low based on standard test scores. Variables were statistically analyzed using linear regression test with enter method. It was indicated that in frequency aspect of burnout, 19.1% of dental faculty members had high levels in personal accomplishment aspect,7% of them had high levels in depersonalization aspect and 4% of them had high levels in emotional exhaustion aspect .Job experience and hours of working per week did not have any significant effects on bumout.[P>0.05]. According to this research, Islamic Azad University Dental Branch in Tehran demonstrated low scores in three aspects of burnout

Analysis of mental health research in the Islamic Republic of Iran over 3 decades: a scientometric study

This study described the characteristics of mental health research from the Islamic Republic of Iran published from 1973-2002. Research articles in psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience published in local or international journals were drawn from IranPsych, a national database of research in mental health and related disciplines. Of 3113 articles, 21.8% appeared in international journals, but there was international collaboration among the authors in only 2.3%. There was a marked increase in the number of publications over time, especially in the last 5 years. Analysis of research areas showed a proportionate rise in neuroscience research and a decline in mental health service research. Our study provides an empirical basis for policy-making and strategy planning in the nation's mental health research

[Validity of the Iranian version of the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV [SCID-I] in the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders]

To assess the validity of diagnoses obtained with the Iranian version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV [SCID-I]. This study was undertaken in two stages: [a] translation of SCID-I into Persian [Iranian language], [b] assessing the validity of the Persian version in a sample of Iranian patients. We recruited 299 psychiatric patients- including inpatients and ambulatory cases- from 3 teaching hospitals. A trained SCID interviewer administered the SCID and then two psychiatrists developed a consensus diagnosis, using data from multiple sources. The degree of agreement between SCID interviews and psychiatrists' diagnosis ranged from "moderate" for obsessive-compulsive and major depressive disorders to "good" for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. With the psychiatrists' diagnosis used as the gold standard, the SCID-based diagnosis showed high specificity and moderate to high sensitivity for most psychiatric diseases. The results of this study indicate that the Iranian version of the SCID is a valid instrument for diagnosis in clinical settings

Knowledge, attitude and preventive practice of women concerning osteoporosis

To determine the knowledge, attitude and preventive practice of women above 45 years old. A total of 770 households in Kerman [southern Iran] were selected for inclusion in the study using cluster sampling from April through August 2005. The interview schedule consisted of 4 parts including questions about knowledge, attitude and practice [KAP] and also demographic questions. The average score for KAP was 9.3 out of 21, 2.6 out of 5 and 1.5 out of 6, respectively. Adequate osteoprotective exercise and sufficient calcium intake were found in 3.8% and 5.5% of subjects, respectively. A significant relationship between the score of preventive practice and all the following parameters was found: level of education, hearing about osteoporosis, knowledge score, perceived barrier to preventive actions and perceived seriousness of osteoporosis. Considering the Iranian women's inaccurate or insufficient knowledge and their negative attitude to the preventive actions and their weak practice in case of prevention, it is the responsibility of health policymakers and medical associations to plan for osteoporosis education and prevention initiatives

Status of mental health research concerning women in Iran over the past 3 decades

The purpose of this scientometric study was a quantitative analysis of mental health research concerning women in Iran. All scientific papers published in a 30year- period [1973-2002], in both national as well as international scientific journals, were brought into consideration for this study. Articles are indexed in the "Databank for Iranian Mental Health Researches [Iran Psych]. The articles in which the samples or the main subjects were females, considered as mental health in women. Authors assessed these studies for the following data: year of publication and language, specific fields and subject topics, research design, location of data collection, financial supports, gender and academic degree and the status of collaboration among authors. Out of 3031 articles, 239 [%7.9] were related to mental health in women. Most have been published in general medical journals and the overall trend of publications shows arise. The first authors in two - third of the articles were women and the most common area of research was psychology. The most common research topic was psychological factors affecting medical condition, especially gynecological and obstetrical problems. There were a few articles about old age female mental health or occupational mental health. There were no mental health professionals among the authors of 20% of the articles. It is suggested that collaboration should increase among mental health groups and other clinicians. Subject topics about women in rural area, health service, occupational mental health and elderly female need further research

[Validity of a Farsi translation of the composite international diagnostic interview [CIDI] to diagnose schizophrenia and bipolar disorder]

The Composite International Diagnostic Interview [CIDI] is a comprehensive, standardized diagnostic interview for the assessment of psychiatric disorders. There have been few studies on the validity of the CIDI. The objective of present study was to assess the validity of a Farsi translation of the complete CIDI and its psychosis/mania module in five referral clinical psychiatric settings. Two hundred and three as well as 104 consecutive admissions were interviewed using the complete and the psychosis/mania module, respectively. Within two days of the CIDI interview, two last year residents of psychiatry or psychiatrist who were blind to the CIDI diagnosis completed the Clinical diagnostic checklists [based on DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria] simultaneously and reached the consensus diagnosis. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 11 to determine the validity of CIDI. The sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of schizophrenia was 0.12 and 0.96 using DSM-IV criteria. According to ICD-10 criteria, the results were the same with 0.19% sensitivity and 0.96% specificity. The sensitivity for the diagnosis of bipolar I disorder was low [0.21 using DSM-IV criteria and 0.17% using ICD-10] and specificity, high [0.90 compared to DSM-IV and 0.89 compared to ICD-10 criteria]. The results were rather similar for the psychosis/mania module of CIDI. This study suggests that the Farsi translation of both the complete CIDI and the psychosis/mania module of CIDI have good specificity, but poor sensitivity for the diagnosis of schizophrenia and of bipolar I disorder

[Sodium Valproate: an adjuvant treatment in obsessive-compulsive disorder]

The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of sodium valproate as an adjuvant treatment in patients afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder.42 patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder participated in an eight weeklong double blind study. The subjects were placed in two groups,one taking fluoxetine along with sodium valproate and the other group taking fluoxetine with placebo. The efficacy of this adjuvant was assessed by Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. Data were analyzed by t-test, Mann-Whitney, and analysis of variance with repeated measures.12 patients from the sodium valproate group and 11 patients from the placebo group completed the project.This evaluation illustrated that efficacy of sodium valproate did not cause significant difference between two groups. Headache, anxiety,and insomnia were observed more commonly in the placebo group; the rate of tremor was higher in the sodium valproate group. Sodium valproate as an adjuvant treatment in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder does not bind added efficacy in an eight weeklong treatment period

[Semantic network disorder in schizophrenia: semantic priming with simultaneous presentation of two primes]

Objectives: The present study was designed to investigate the automatic activation of semantic priming in schizophrenic patients

Method: 36 schizophrenic patients and 36 normal subjects participated in two experiments. In experiment one, the effect of semantic relation on identification of degraded targets was examined between a series of single prime words and single target words presented in a typical semantic priming paradigm. To restrict the priming to automatic processes, in experiment two, series of two primes were presented simultaneously instead of one. Both primes were related to the target, and the effect of semantic relation between two primes on identification of degraded targets was examined

Finding: In experiment one, both groups demonstrated semantic priming effect for related words there was no significant difference between the two groups. In experiment two, semantic relation between two primes resulted in a significant priming effect in normal subjects, but not in schizophrenic patients

Results: This study showed that schizophrenic subjects have difficulties in automatically activating related words in their semantic networks. Restricting semantic priming to automatic processes can suggest a way to resolve the inconsistencies in studies with schizo-phrenic subjects