Informal sexual relationship-associated factors among young adult smartphone users in South of Iran: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: With the unprecedented pace of modernization, risky sexual behaviors have become more frequent in developing countries, such as Iran. We aimed to assess the prevalence of informal sexual relationship (ISR) and factors associated with having ISR in young adult in Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 414 young adult smartphone users in Iran, in 2019. Data was collected through an online questionnaire (including: ISR, socio-demographic variables, their use of social network, religious beliefs, personality, and loneliness). Logistic regression model was used to determine factors related to ISR. RESULTS: A total of 152 (36.7%; 95% CI 32.1-45.6) participants reported having ISR. Finding an opposite-sex friend through a mobile app (OR = 2.59, 95% CI 1.34, 5.01), being currently sexually active (OR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.26, 4.56), higher scores of extroverted personality (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.01, 1.27), and closer relationship with parents (OR = 3.17, 95% CI 2.25, 8.02) were found to be associated with having ISR. Additionally, living in small cities rather than the provincial capital (OR = 0.23, 95% CI 0.10, 0.49) had a reverse association with having ISR. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrated the high prevalence of ISR and its association with increased duration of internet and mobile app use. Innovative and multidisciplinary approaches could be recommended in this regard.

Domestic violence and associated factors during COVID-19 epidemic: an online population-based study in Iran.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 has severely affected communities around the world. Fear and stress of being infected, along with pressure caused by lockdown, prevention protocols, and the economic downturn, increased tension among people, which consequently led to the rise of domestic violence (DV). Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the rate of change in DV and its associated factors during the COVID-19 epidemic in Shiraz, Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 653 individuals with the age of over 15 years from Shiraz were participated through snowball sampling and filled out an online questionnaire through the WhatsApp platform. A 51-item, self-administered and multidimensional (knowledge, attitude, and practice) questionnaire was designed and assessed 653 participants. The gathered data was analyzed using SPSS software (version 25), and variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: In this study, 64.2% of the respondents were within the age range of 31-50 years, and 72.6% of the subjects were female. Furthermore, 73.8 and 73.0% of the individuals were married and educated for over 12 years, respectively. The DV increased by 37.5% during the quarantine period, compared to before the pandemic. The emotional type was the most common type of violence; the sexual type was the least frequent. Multivariate analysis indicated that infection with COVID-19, drug use, high level of co-living observation of anti-COVID prevention protocols, and lower level of physical activity during the quarantine period had a positive and significant association with the occurrence of DV. CONCLUSION: Based on the obtained results, it is required to implement effective harm-reduction policies and measures in the community due to the increasing rate of DV during the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Impact of Abuse on the Quality of Life of the Elderly: A Population-based Survey in Iran.

OBJECTIVES: The quality of life (QoL) of the elderly and elder abuse are growing public health concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of abuse and the association between QoL and abuse in older adults. METHODS: Multistage random cluster sampling, along with valid QoL (LEIPAD: LEIden, the Netherlands; PADua, Italy; Helsinki, Finland) and abuse questionnaires, were used to assess QoL and elder abuse. Path analysis was performed using Mplus. SPSS and AMOS were used for the other analyses. RESULTS: A total of 386 elderly individuals with a mean age of 68.00±6.10 years were interviewed, of whom 200 (51.8%), 289 (74.9%), and 376 (97.4%) were women, educated, and married, respectively. Moreover, 167 (43.2%) had low-to-moderate QoL, and 108 (27.9%) had experienced a moderate level of abuse. QoL and abuse were inversely associated (r=-0.253), with men (ß=-0.24) more affected than women (ß=-0.21). Musculoskeletal disorders were also strong determinants of QoL in the elderly. QoL was strongly associated with emotional abuse, while abuse was highly related to the social component of QoL. Furthermore, emotional abuse was the type of abuse most significantly associated with the self-care, depression/anxiety, cognitive, and social components of QoL. Sexual abuse, violation of personal rights, and neglect were the main determinants of the physical functioning, life satisfaction, and sexual domains of QoL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of the elderly individuals lacked a high QoL, and at least one-fourth had experienced some form of abuse. Elder abuse was correlated inversely with QoL. Therefore, preventive interventions are recommended to decrease elder abuse in the family, community, and other settings.

Quality of Life in Elders with Suspected Alzheimer Disease: An Urban Health Centers-Based Study from Iran.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Quality of life (QOL) and Alzheimer disease (AD) among older people have been recognized as public health challenges. Here, we investigated the association between QOL and AD in the elders. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, elderly people were selected from urban health centers (Shiraz, Iran) by multistage cluster random sampling and were interviewed using LEIPAD (for QOL) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (for AD) questionnaires. The data was analyzed using Mplus (version 6.12) and IBM SPSS (version 25) software. RESULTS: The participants consisted of 182 elderly with a mean age of 67 ± 5.05 years, and 95 (52.2%) of them were females. There were 161 (88.5%) and 130 (71.4%) cases educated up to 12 years and married, respectively. Furthermore, 46 (25.3%) had low-to-moderate QOL, and 132 (72.5%) were suspected to have AD. QOL was inversely associated with AD, and men (ß = -0.310) were more affected than women (ß = -0.290). AD (ß = -0.298), age (ß = -0.288), hypertension (ß = -0.267), education (ß = 0.260), and body mass index (ß = -0.198) were determinants of QOL. Also, physical activity was indirectly associated with QOL (ß = 0.076). AD was correlated with the cognitive functioning component of QOL (r = -0.72). CONCLUSION: One elder out of 4, did not have desirable QOL and 3 elders out of 4 were suspected to have AD. AD can decrease QOL among the older people. Screening of the elders for AD is recommended to improve their QOL by health centers.

Cox Regression and Parametric Models: Comparison of How They Determine Factors Influencing Survival of Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Background and objectives: The present study of survival rate of patients with non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) compared the efficiency of Cox semi-parametric vs. parametric models in determination of influencing factors. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, data were gathered from 190 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of NSCLC referred to Shahid Sadoughi and Shohadaye Kargar Hospitals in Yazd, Iran during 2005 to 2014. To identify and compare factors influencing the survival rate, a Cox semi-parametric model was fitted to the data. Data analysis was performed using the R software version R3.3.1, and the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The average age was 64.5 years. About 40% of patients had stage 4 disease. The median survival was 8 months. After comparing the models, the more efficient was the log-normal distribution (AIC=889.3829), with which disease stage, type of therapy, and age were significant factors. Among the different types of therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy yielded higher survival rates, and increased age was associated with lower survival. Conclusion: The most efficient model was a log-normal model. Implementation of optimal therapies at early stages can improve the survival of patients.