National, regional, and global prevalence of cigarette smoking among women/females in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND@#This systematic and meta-analysis review aimed to provide an updated estimate of the prevalence of ever and current cigarette smoking in women, in geographic areas worldwide, and demonstrate a trend of the prevalence of smoking over time by using a cumulative meta-analysis.@*METHODS@#Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published on the prevalence of ever and current cigarette smoking in women. We searched PubMed, Web of Science (ISI), Scopus, and Ovid from January 2010 to April 2020. The reference lists of the studies included in this review were also screened. Data were reviewed and extracted independently by two authors. A random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of ever and current cigarette smoking in women. Sources of heterogeneity among the studies were determined using subgroup analysis and meta-regression.@*RESULTS@#The pooled prevalence of ever and current cigarette smoking in women was 28% and 17%, respectively. The pooled prevalence of ever cigarette smoking in adolescent girls/students of the school, adult women, pregnant women, and women with the disease was 23%, 27%, 32%, and 38%, respectively. The pooled prevalence of ever cigarette smoking in the continents of Oceania, Asia, Europe, America, and Africa was 36%, 14%, 38%, 31%, and 32%, respectively.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The prevalence of cigarette smoking among women is very high, which is significant in all subgroups of adolescents, adults, and pregnant women. Therefore, it is necessary to design and implement appropriate educational programs for them, especially in schools, to reduce the side effects and prevalence of smoking among women.

Epidemiology of Animal Bites and Factors Associated With Delays in Initiating Post-exposure Prophylaxis for Rabies Prevention Among Animal Bite Cases: A Population-based Study / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: One way to prevent deaths due to rabies is the timely utilization of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Therefore, in addition to an understanding of the epidemiological distribution of animal bites, it is necessary to explore the factors leading to delays in PEP initiation. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in 2011, and included 7097 cases of animal bites recorded at the Rabies Treatment Center of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences using the census method. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with delays in PEP. RESULTS: Among the patients studied, 5387 (75.9%) were males. The prevalence of animal bites in Fars province was 154.4 per 100 000 people. Dogs were the most frequent source of exposure (67.1%), and the most common bitten part of the body was the hands (45.5%). A delay in the initiation of PEP was found among 6.8% of the studied subjects. This delay was more likely in housewives (odds ratio [OR], 4.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.12 to 10.23) and less likely in people with deep wounds (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.43 to 0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Although all animal bite victims received complete PEP, in some cases, there were delays. Further, the type of animal involved, the depth of the bite, and the patient’s occupation were the major factors associated with a delay in the initiation of PEP for rabies prevention.

Application of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument, Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) to patients with cataract / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: Cataract is a prevalent disease in the elderly, and negatively influences patients' quality of life. This study was conducted to study the application of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument, Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) to patients with cataract. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 300 patients with cataract were studied in Neyshabur, Iran from July to October 2014. The Iranian version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to measure their quality of life. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Pearson's correlation coefficient, the paired t-test, the independent t-test, and a linear regression model were used to analyze the data in SPSS version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 68.11±11.98 years, and most were female (53%). The overall observed Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the WHOQOL-BREF was 0.889, ranging from 0.714 to 0.810 in its four domains. The total mean score of the respondents on the WHOQOL-BREF was 13.19. The highest and lowest mean scores were observed in the social relationship domain (14.11) and the physical health domain (12.29), respectively. A backward multiple linear regression model found that duration of disease and marital status were associated with total WHOQOL scores, while age, duration of disease, marital status, and income level were associated with domains one through four, respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The reliability analysis conducted in this study indicated that the WHOQOL-BREF scale exhibited an acceptable degree of internal consistency in the measurement of the quality of life of patients with cataract. It was also found that the patients with cataract who were surveyed reported a relatively moderate quality of life.

Cost-effectiveness of rabies post exposure prophylaxis in Iran

The rabies is one of the most important officially-known viral zoonotic diseases for its global distribution, outbreak, high human and veterinary costs, and high death rate and causes high economic costs in different countries of the world every year. The rabies is the deadliest disease and if the symptoms break out in a person, one will certainly die. However, the deaths resulting from rabies can be prevented by post-exposure prophylaxis. To do so, in Iran and most of the countries in the world, all the people who are exposed to animal bite receive Post-Exposure Prophylaxis [PEP] treatment. The present survey aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of PEP in southern Iran. The present study estimated the PEP costs from the government's Perspective with step-down method for the people exposed to animal bite, estimated the number of DALYs prevented by PEP in the individuals using decision Tree model, and computed the Incremental cost-effectiveness Ratio. The information collected of all reported animal bite cases [n=7111] in Fars Province, who referred rabies registries in urban and rural health centers to receive active care. Performing the PEP program cost estimated 1,052,756.1 USD for one year and the estimated cost for the treatment of each animal bite case and each prevented death was 148.04 and 5945.42 USD, respectively. Likewise 4,509.82 DALYs were prevented in southern Iran in 2011 by PEP program. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for each DALY was estimated to be 233.43 USD. In addition to its full effectiveness in prophylaxis from rabies, PEP program saves the financial resources of the society, as well. This study showed performing PEP to be more cost-effective

Factors associated with preference for repeat cesarean in neyshabur pregnant women

Cesarean delivery is a surgery for deliver a baby. Women with previous cesarean delivery [CD] must often choose between a vaginal delivery [VD] and repeat CD. Our aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with preference for CD in Neyshabur pregnant women with previous CD. A cross-sectional study was conducted on all pregnant women [who had previous caesarean delivery] from February 20, 2011 to March 20, 2011 in Northeast of Iran [Neyshabur]. Logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratios [ORs] and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]. The mean age of pregnant women was 29.95 +/- 4.94 years. In this study of the 292 pregnant women, 235 [80.5%] said they prefer CD. There was a statistically significant relation between preference for CD and the following variables: pregnant women's educational level [P < 0.001; OR = 3.86; 95% CI = 1.85-8.05] and doctor's advice [P = 0.021; OR = 3.55; 95% CI = 1.21-10.43]. The pregnant women with a previous CD presented four-fold upper chance of choosing CD. As observed in this study, most pregnant women with previous caesarean delivery prefer repeated caesarean delivery rather than VD in their subsequent pregnancy and educational level of pregnant women and doctor's advice were important factors that influenced this preference. This subject suggests the need to counsel pregnant women with an obstetrician before select delivery type

[Correlation between controlling stress with motor activity and food habits in health students]

There is a correlation between stress levels with motor activity and food habits. The present study aimed to determine the correlation between controlling stress with motor activity, food habits and desired variables in health students. Through a cross-sectional study using randomized sampling, 100 health students were recruited. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II [HPLP II] questionnaire including controlling stress and other variables was administered. Collected data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney and linear regression tests in SPSS software. Mean and standard deviation of age and controlling stress score was 22.77 +/- 2.24 years and 20.22 +/- 3.6, respectively. 51% of the participants were female. In general, poor, middle and good stress control were estimated to be 36%, 49% and 15%, respectively. There were significant correlation between students' controlling stress with motor activity and food habits but not with age, gender, nativity and major of students. Linear regression showed that by improving motor activity and food habits score, the students' stress control score has increased significantly. Health education in advanced levels considering motor activity and a good nutritional status can have an important role in improvement of students' stress control