Prevalence and factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months of life in Tehran: a population-based study

Exclusive breastfeeding is the best form of nutrition for infants in the first 6 months of life. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran in the first 6 months of life, and the factors that influence it. In a population-based, cross-sectional study 538 mothers with children aged 6-24 months completed an interview questionnaire. Only 46.5% of mothers exclusively breastfed their infant in the first 6 months of life. In multivariate analysis formula supplementation in the hospital [OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.17-0.95] and mother receiving conflicting infant feeding advice [OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.37- 0.78] had a negative effect on exclusive breastfeeding. Mother's intention to exclusively breastfeed [OR = 5.85, 95% CI: 2.88-11.9] and infant having first breast contact 6-30 minutes after delivery [OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.17-4.72] had positive effects on exclusive breastfeeding

Determining appropriate strategies for improving women's health promoting behaviours: using the nominal group technique

Women's health constitutes a major aspect of development in societies and is considered a health-related priority. The aim of the present study was to determine appropriate strategies for improving health promoting behaviours in women of reproductive age in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Using the nominal group technique, a panel discussion was held in October 2011 with 12 health specialists who were selected through purposive sampling. In the first round, panel members generated 81 strategies; after eliminating irrelevant items and merging items with similar concepts, 44 strategies remained. After group discussion and voting, the following 4 items had the highest scores: improving physical activity, with a social support approach; empowering women; promoting and improving men's role in women's health; and promoting social support. The strategies presented in this study may be utilized by policy-makers, managers and health care providers to improve women's health promoting behaviours, and thus contribute to their wellbeing

Lifetime and current waterpipe use among adolescents in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Waterpipe use among Iranian adolescents has become a matter for concern. A descriptive, crosssectional community-based survey was performed in 2010 to determine the prevalence of waterpipe use and associated factors among Iranian adolescents in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. After multi-stage, random cluster sampling 1201 adolescents aged 15–18 years old responded to a questionnaire based on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance. The prevalence of current waterpipe smoking [at least once in the previous 30 days] was 28.0%, significantly higher among males [34.8%] than females [21.4%]. A total of 45.1% of adolescents reported lifetime use [ever use] of waterpipes and 34.2% had ever shared a waterpipe. In multivariate logistic regression analysis the significant correlates of current waterpipe use for both males and females were having smokers among friends and family members, while for males, older age and educational failure were also risk factors.

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the youth risk behavior survey questionnaire

Adolescents may get involved in high-risk behaviors. Surveys are the primary, and sometimes the sole source of data collection for many high-risk health behaviours. We examined the reliability and validity of the psychometric properties of the self-administered Persian version of the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System [YRBSS] questionnaire. In a methodological study in summer 2010, 100 Iranian adolescents aged 15-18 years were recruited through convenience sampling. The face and content validity were used for the questionnaire validity. In order to evaluate the questionnaire's reliability, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient [ICC] and Cronbach's alpha were calculated for domains and 89 items. Among 89 items, the ICC values were below 0.4 [weak reliability] for 2 items [2.25%], 0.4-0.6 [moderate reliability] for 10 items [11.24%], 0.6-0.8 [good reliability] for 32 items [35.96%] and 0.8-1 [excellent reliability] for 45 items [50.56%]. The prevalence of most high-risk behaviors was constant in the first and second survey. The value of Cronbach's alpha was 0.73 for intentional and unintentional injuries, 0.77 for tobacco use, 0.86 for alcohol and other drug use, and 0.79 for unsafe sexual behaviors. No domain had a mean ICC of below 0.6. Furthermore, 97.75% of the items had moderate to excellent reliability. Thus, the Persian YRBSS questionnaire had an acceptable reliability. Over the 2-week period, sexual behaviors were reported with less consistency compared to other behaviors. In any case, researchers must be aware of the limitation of the data collected through this questionnaire, particularly in comparison to the domain of sexual behaviors. Overall, 97.75% of the items had moderate to excellent reliability. Thus, the Persian YRBSS questionnaire had an acceptable reliability

[Relationship between self-reported exposure to passive smoking and maternal urinary cotinine level in pregnant women]

Passive smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between self-reported exposure to passive smoking and urinary cotinine level of the pregnant women. This cross-sectional study was done on 108 non-smoker pregnant women referred to Arash hospital in Tehran, Iran for delivery during 2010. A questionnaire including smoke exposure during pregnancy was completed for all the participants. Urine samples were collected from the mothers in the delivery room. The urinary cotinine levels was measured by ELISA method. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16, Student t-test, Chi-Square and one-way ANOVA tests. The Kappa test was used to evaluate the variability of mothers which report exposure to passive smoking with maternal urinary cotinine level. The geometric mean cotinine of the maternal urine in the exposed group [27.4 +/- 29.96 ng/ml] was significantly higher than the non-exposed group [0.75 +/- 2.29 ng/ml] [P<0.05]. There was a significant association between maternal reports of cigarette smoke exposure and urinary cotinine [Kappa=96%] [P<0.05]. This study indicated that there is a relationship between maternal self-reporting and urinary cotinine level during pregnancy