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Purpose: Around 70% of the Iranian population had received two doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines by the end of 2021. In this study, we evaluated the reasons for vaccination refusal among people in Ahvaz, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 800 participants (400 vaccinated and 400 unvaccinated) were recruited. A demographic questionnaire was completed through interviews. The unvaccinated participants were asked about the reasons for their refusal. The Shapiro-Wilk test, independent t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression were used for analyzing data. Results: Older people were 1.018 times more likely to refrain from vaccination (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001-1.039; p=043). People who were manual workers as well as those who were unemployed/housewives were 0.288 and 0.423 times less likely to receive vaccination, respectively. Those with high school education and married women were 0.319 and 0.280 times less likely to receive vaccination, respectively (95% CI, 198-0.515; p<0.001; 95% CI, 0.186-0.422; p<0.001). Participants who had hypertension or suffered from neurological disorders were more likely to receive the vaccination. Finally, people affected with severe COVID-19 infection were 3.157 times more likely to get vaccinated (95% CI, 1.672-5.961; p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that lower level of education and older age were contributed to reluctance for vaccination, while having chronic diseases or being already infected with severe COVID-19 infection were associated with more acceptance of vaccination.
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Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the levels of sex hormones in patients with COVID-19 in Ahvaz, Iran. Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted at Razi hospital, Ahvaz, Iran, from July 2020 to Febuary 2021. The levels of sex hormones including estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and total and free testosterone were measured in 162 patients with COVID-19 infection during hospitalization and 1 month after discharge. A demographic questionnaire and a checklist were used to collect the data. Mann-Whitney U test, χ 2 test, Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: Sex hormones were assessed in 162 patients at baseline; however, a month after discharge, only 69 patients provided consent for assessment, and 9 had passed away. The estradiol level was 407.70 ± 623.37 and 213.78 ± 407.17 pg/ml in female patients with severe and moderate diseases at baseline, respectively which reduced to 195.33 ± 380.04 and 58.20 ± 39.45 pg/ml after discharge (p = 0.011 and p = 0.001). The alteration in the levels of progesterone, LH, and FSH were not significant.The level of LH in both groups of male patients with severe (6.64 ± 2.91 IU) and moderate disease (6.42 ± 4.44 IU) was high, which reduced after discharge (4.16 ± 2.44 and 3.93 ± 3.15 IU, respectively), but this decrease was significant only in the patients with severe disease (p < 0.0001). The alteration of FSH and free testosterone were not significant. The level of testosterone was 1.19 ± 0.73 and 1.46 ± 1.22 ng/ml at baseline in patients with severe and moderate diseases which increased to 2.64 ± 1.25 ng/ml, p < 0.0001, and 2.54 ± 0.93 ng/ml, p = 0.001, respectively after discharge. Conclusion: Our findings showed that the level of estradiol in female patients increased significantly while the level of testosterone in male patients decreased during the active phase of infection. Due to the attrition of patients in the follow-up period, more studies are needed to confirm these results.
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Background and Aims Some studies have shown that the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression have increased among subfertile women during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study was designed to evaluate the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among subfertile women during the COVID‐19 pandemic in southwest Iran. Method This cross‐sectional study was conducted on 190 subfertile women from two infertility centers (Imam Khomeini and Jihad) in Ahvaz, Iran. A demographic questionnaire, and the depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS‐21) were used to assess the level of depression, anxiety, and stress of subfertile women during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Data collection started in August 2021 and was completed in December 2021. Mean ± SD or N (%), and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. Result Results showed that most women experienced moderate depression, anxiety, and stress. However, the percentage of women who experienced very severe anxiety was more than that for depression and stress, and 75 (39.5%) of women had all three disorders together. Anxiety was 0.176 units lower in women who were not affected by COVID‐19 (95% CI: −5.781 to −0.629). The depression was 0.216 units lower in women with good and moderate economic status (95% CI: −5.603 to −1.178). Conclusion The results of this study showed that most studied women experienced moderate depression, anxiety, and stress, but the percentages of very severe anxiety were more than that for depression and stress. Poor economic status was also a strong predictor of depression among subfertile women. Infection with COVID‐19 increased the level of anxiety. Careful evaluation of subfertile women for mental health is recommended especially during crises such as the COVID‐19 pandemic.
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Background: The association between PPD and COVID-19 pandemic has been studied in some countries. This study aimed to compare postpartum depression before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among reproductive-aged women in Ahvaz, Iran. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study involved 600 women of reproductive age in Ahvaz, Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic who were compared with 504 of their counterparts before the pandemic. Literate women who had given birth 1-6 months prior to the study, were aged 18-35, and were willing to participate in this study were recruited. A demographic questionnaire and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were used to collect the data. Independent t-test, Chi-square, and Logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: Before the pandemic, only 123 (24.9%) of the women had PPD, while during the pandemic, this number rose to 409 (68.2%). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the women were 8.727 times more likely to have PPD (95% CI: 5.919-12.868). During the pandemic, women with high school education and those having a high school diploma were 2.454 and 2.054 times more likely to have PPD compared to women with a university degree (95% CI: 1.508-3.996 and 1.302-3.241, respectively). Conclusion: The prevalence of PPD among Iranian reproductive-aged women increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers should seek some strategies to support women during pregnancy and postpartum in times of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Background: Fertility decision is defined as the mutual decision of partners toward having children, which may be equally controlled by the two partners or dominantly powered by the female partner. This study aimed to evaluate fertility decision of women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 women (300 pregnant and 300 non-pregnant) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A demographic questionnaire and the Attitudes toward Fertility and Childbearing Scale were used to collect the data. Independent t-test, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used for analyzing data. Results: The mean ± SD age of participants with negative and positive attitude toward fertility was 28.96 ± 5.88 and 28.39 ± 6.2, respectively. Almost half of the studied women postponed their pregnancy to after the pandemic. The total score of fertility decision in women with positive attitudes toward fertility was 95.43 ± 18.51 compared to 46.73 ± 17.2 in women with negative attitudes toward fertility (p < 0.0001). None-employed women had 0.595 times the odds of having a positive attitude toward fertility (95% CI: 0.423-0.836). Women who were not pregnant had 1.5 times the odds of having a positive attitude toward childbearing (95% CI: 1.067-2.112). In addition, women who were not hospitalized during the pandemic had 0.520 times the odds of having a positive attitude toward fertility (95% CI: 0.342-0.790). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that half of the women postponed their pregnancy to after the pandemic. Also, employed women, women who were not pregnant, and women who were not hospitalized during pandemic were more likely to have positive attitudes toward fertility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers should devise some strategies to clarify the benefits and harms of pregnancy during crises such as COVID-19 pandemic.
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Objectives During the COVID-19 home-quarantines, home care services may act as an auxiliary component of health care system, which reduces the burden on the formal health care system. This study aimed to investigate the status of informal home care provided for home quarantined patients with COVID-19 in southwest Iran. Methods This descriptive study was conducted on 288 patients with COVID-19 in Ahvaz (southwest Iran). Inclusion criteria included a known case of COVID-19, willingness to participate in the study, recommendation of home quarantine from a health center, having a smartphone, and fluency in reading and writing in Persian, and the exclusion criterion was a history of COVID-19 longer than 3 months. The data collection method was structured interviews based on a questionnaire (face-to-face-telephone calls-video call). SPSS software was used for the analysis of data. Results 45.5% of the participants in the study were women with a mean age of 37.82 (10.48%) and 55.5% were men with a mean age of 36.12 (11.93%). Findings showed that in most cases, the spouse (61.4) is responsible for the care of the patient, and in other cases, parents are responsible for this duty. 57.3% of the patients stated that they themselves had to leave home to provide for necessities of life, and 37.2% stated that they were in charge of cooking. 47.9% of the patients evaluated the quality of quality of care provided at home as good. Most of patients and caregivers referred to hospital for getting information (35.8% patients and 34% caregivers). Most of patients recovered from diseases (60.8%) and 39.2% were hospitalized. Although 43.9% of men and 33.6% of women were hospitalized and a there was a significant difference between men and women (P < 0.04). Conclusion During COVID-19 pandemic home care to reduce the burden on the health system are very important. We must also know that this type of care requires informed and planned support and sufficient community education. The health care system needs to put self-care and family care among its top priorities. The focus should be on educational and mental support of informal caregivers along with measures that protect their relatives from COVID-19.
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Introduction We aimed to evaluate use of social media during the coronavirus pandemic as a source of information about COVID-19 by students. Material and methods This was a web-based study, in which the frequency and type of virtual social media used by students as a source of information about COVID-19 were evaluated by the available sampling method. The statistical population of the study consisted of 500 students of medical universities in Iran. In the first step, administrators of student groups across the country were identified and contacted and asked to assist the research team by placing a link to complete the questionnaire, after which students voluntarily completed the online questionnaire in a self-reporting manner. Results The mean age of participants was 31.29 ±10.8 years. The selection percentages based on the number of selections were: WhatsApp (35.2), Instagram (32.7), Telegram (21.2), Facebook (8.3) and other networks (2.6). Regarding the relationship between the educational level (p < 0.001) and the field of study (p < 0.01), a statistically significant difference was found for the question of which media information is more acceptable in relation to obtaining information related to COVID-19. Conclusions It was found that social media will enable these media to act as a powerful tool to change the behavior of people and promote the well-being of individuals and public health. Social media is very important in combating this contagious disease, not only to obtain information and update on it, but also to understand how it spreads, how people function and how to respond to it.
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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many countries around the world and Iran was no exception. The aim of this study was to evaluate health anxiety of Iranian pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 300 pregnant women in different trimesters (n = 100 in each trimester) were recruited. A demographic questionnaire and the Health Anxiety Questionnaire were used to collect data. Scores of < 27, 27-34 and more than 35 were defined as low, moderate and high health anxiety, respectively. Due to nationwide restrictions, data were collected through social media groups. Chi-square tests, ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Mean (SD) total anxiety scores were 22.3 ± 9.5, 24.6 ± 9.3 and 25.4 ± 10.6 in the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively. 9, 13 and 21% of women had severe anxiety in the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively. Women in the third trimester had significantly higher health anxiety scores than those in the first trimester (p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy were more worried about consequences of disease, but total health anxiety scores were significantly higher among women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Health care providers should pay more attention to the mental health of pregnant women in times of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.