Depression, Anxiety, and Perceived Social Support among Adults with Beta-Thalassemia Major: Cross-Sectional Study / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: Considering the high prevalence of depression and anxiety among thalassemia patients and the role of social support in preventing mental disorders, this study aimed to determine prevalence of depression, anxiety, and perceived social support (PSS) among adults with beta-thalassemia major. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed with 389 adults with beta-thalassemia major. Data were collected via a questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic and medical information, the Persian version of the hospital anxiety and depression scale, and the Persian version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS ver. 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) through analytical statistics (independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multilevel linear regression), and the results less than 0.05 were considered to be significant. RESULTS: The mean scores of depression, anxiety, and PSS of patients were 7.42±3.17, 7.47±4.35, and 41.8±8.64, respectively. Of 389 patients, 19.8% had depression and 23.7% had an anxiety disorder. Relationships of depression and anxiety with age, the level of education, job, and family income were statistically significant, as were those of PSS with age, thalassemia center, family income, job, and the level of education. PSS from family, friends, and significant others were the significant predictive factors of depression and anxiety among adult patients with beta-thalassemia major. CONCLUSION: Considering the PSS as a factor influencing the reduction in depression and anxiety in thalassemia patients, social support from the social networks (spouse, family members, friends, and healthcare workers) should be integrated with interventions that are designed to improve the mental and physical health of thalassemia patients.

Associations between a health-promoting lifestyle and quality of life among adults with beta-thalassemia major / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: A health-promoting lifestyle (HPL) is a factor that affects the quality of life (QoL) in patients with beta-thalassemia (β-thalassemia). Due to the lack of studies of this issue, this study aimed to determine the association between HPL and QoL among adults with β-thalassemia. METHODS: This cross-sectional (descriptive-analytic) study was conducted among 389 adult patients with β-thalassemia in Tehran, Iran. The research instrument included a questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic items, the Short-Form Health Survey and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. The results were considered significant at the conventional p<0.05 level. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 30.2±8.3 years. The mean score of the HPL dimensions was 127.28±21.53, and the mean score of the QoL domains was 61.44±23.38. The highest and the lowest mean scores of the HPL dimensions were found for spiritual growth (23.96±5.74) and physical activity (11.32±3.95), respectively. The QoL scores in all three domains (total, physical component summary score, and mental component summary score) were moderate. Health responsibility, physical activity, spiritual growth, and interpersonal relations were significant predictive factors of QoL in adults with β-thalassemia; these four dimensions explained 37.9% of the variance in QoL. CONCLUSIONS: QoL and HPL were not at acceptable levels among patients with thalassemia. Therefore, educational interventions emphasizing spiritual growth, physical activity, and interpersonal relations are necessary for patients with thalassemia.

Effect of relaxation education, based on theory of planned behavior on students' painful dismenorrhea

Background and Aim: Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common problems in females. [Theory of Planned Behavior] is one of the important theories that explains the main process of adopting health behaviors

The present study assessed applying " the Theory of Planned Behavior in relaxation training regarding the severity and duration of painful dysmenorrhea in Mashhad girl students

Materials and Methods: In this Semi-experimental study, 160 first year intermediate students of Mashhad city who suffered from dysmenorrhea were assessed. They had been randomly selected from 5 girl highschools in the 6th educational district. They were divided into equal groups [case] and [control]

Intervention was made in four sessions. The requisite data was gathered by means of a researcher designed questionnaire before and 3 months after the education of the students. Finally, the obtained data was fed into SPSS software [v:16]; using statistical tests including Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Independent T-test, Paired T and X[2]

Results: After educational intervention, mean level of knowledge, attitude, perceived behavioral control, and willed performance of relaxation techniques significantly increased in the case group [P<0.05]

These changes were not significant in the control group. Besides, no statistically significant difference in subjective norms was observed between the two groups after intervention. Meditation education group was increased significantly [P<0.05]

Conclusion: Education of relaxation base on the Theory of Planned Behavior is effective in reduced pain intensity and its duration

Effect of the intervention based on new communication technologies and the social-cognitive theory on the weight control of the employees with overweight and obesity

Background: Work settings provide a unique opportunity for health promotion interventions. Considering the issue of obesity in employees, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the intervention based on new communication technologies and the social cognitive theory [SCT] on weight control in the governmental employees of Hamadan City, western Iran in 2014

Methods: This randomized control trial study was conducted in "telephone- assisted intervention", "web- assisted intervention", and "control" groups comprising 435 employees of Hamadan City with overweight or obesity in 2014 [Ethics Committee Code: 93/D/130/1139]. The educational intervention was performed for 6 months under the title of "lifestyle program". Then, the participants were evaluated in terms of weight and changes in the constructs of the social-cognitive theory 6 and 9 months after the intervention. A researcher-made questionnaire based on the Dishman and Dewar questionnaires was used to evaluate the constructs of social-cognitive theory. The data were collected and analyzed using SPSS-20

Results: The lifestyle intervention resulted in a weight loss of 1.92 and 1.08 kg in the telephone-assisted and web-assisted intervention groups, respectively. The intervention in the telephone-assisted group increased the mean scores of the constructs of self-efficacy [P=0.001], environment [P=0.001], outcome expectations [P=0.040], and outcome expectancies [P=0.001] among participants. In the web-assisted intervention group, the mean scores of the constructs of self-efficacy [P=0.001] and outcome expectancies [P=0.020] increased

Conclusions: Our results showed the effectiveness of the intervention based on new communication technologies and the Social-Cognitive Theory. Future studies with more retention strategies regarding self-efficacy and environment constructs are needed to further explain the application of SCT and technology-based approaches to reduce obese and overweight

influence of social environment on smoking behavior among adolescents in Iran

Research suggests that factors in the environment are major determinants of health behavior for populations. This cross-sectional study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to determine the prevalence of smoking and identify the possible associations between smoking and environmental variables among school pupils in Iran. A self-reported questionnaire was administrated and collected data from 2200, students15-18 from 100 high schools who agreed to take part in the research. The sample was selected from the Iranian Education System Database using a two-stage cluster sample based on a random sample of schools and pupils as a representative sample of this population. Almost 90% of respondents had completed the questionnaires. Examination of the test-retest answers over all questions among 70 students in two weeks interval revealed reliability coefficient ranges 0.72 to 0.98. The Adjusted Enter Logistic Regression Models were applied to significant variables identified through Chi square tests. In addition, 40 of the sample took part in focus groups exploring the facilitators and barriers to smoking behavior. Content analysis was also used to extract themes from the focus group discussions. The effects of social environment variables including peers', mothers', and sisters' smoking on cigarette consumption among young people were explored in this study. Levels of cigarette availability and exposure, effects of parents' attitudes and supervision, legislation on tobacco control, expanding life opportunities and more options for leisure activities perceived as influencing factors on adolescent smoking were all highlighted in the focus group discussions. The qualitative and quantitative findings revealed the impact of social environment on smoking behavior among young people. This study provides strong evidence to support environmentally oriented smoking prevention programs targeting young people