ABSTRACT
Objective: Herbal galactagogues are usually recommended to be sweetened with honey. Despite the high nutritious value of honey for lactating women and extensive studies on the effects of herbal galactagogues, no investigation was made to compare galactagogue effects of using herbal galactagogues with and without honey so far. The present study aimed to compare the effect of a combination of "honey and fenugreek" with "fenugreek" on breastfeeding success (BFS). Methods: This study is a triple-blind randomized clinical trial on 75 breastfeeding mothers referred to a Tehran-Iran health center. The participants were randomly divided into two intervention (fenugreek and honey users) and control (fenugreek users) groups. These women had infants of 1-5 months and had exclusive breastfeeding practice. Tools for data collection were (1) the personal and maternal-infant information, (2) the breastfeeding success, and (3) the complications questionnaires. Participants received 30 liquid drops, three times daily for four weeks. The BFS questionnaire was completed twice, before and 4 weeks after the intervention. The CONSORT checklist was followed. Results: Before and after comparison showed no significant difference in the BFS score in the "fenugreek" group, while there was a significant increase in the BFS score in the "honey and fenugreek" group (P=0.035). Between groups, comparison demonstrated a significantly higher score of BFS in the intervention group than in the control group (P=0.023). There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the possible complications. Conclusion: The combination of honey with fenugreek showed a significant effect on BFS, while there was no improvement in BFS after fenugreek only uses. Trial registration: the study was approved in the Iranian registry of clinical trials with IRCT ID: IRCT20120122008801N23 on 2019-12-30 (https://www.irct.ir/).
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The chronic condition of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in adolescents can affect different aspects of quality of life in them. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the quality of life with emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress in adolescents with PCOS. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 120 adolescents with PCOS in Tehran, Iran in 2019. The sociodemographic checklist, quality of life, depression, anxiety and stress (DASS) were assayed by valid and reliable questionnaires. The Pearson's correlation coefficient and linear regression were used for data analysis, which was performed by SPSS (V.22). RESULTS: The mean (SD) age and menarche age of participants were 16.58 (1.36) and 12.52 (1.19) years, respectively. The most common clinical symptoms of adolescence were irregular menstruation (85%) and acne (61.7%). According to the result of this study, there was a significant reverse correlation between total score of SF-12 with total scores of depression, anxiety and stress (r=-0.395, p=0.001) and a significant reverse correlation was also found between each dimension of DASS scale and 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12) (p<0.001). Based on the linear regression model and after controlling the demographic variables, there was a linear regression relationship between total DASS score and SF-12 (Beta= -0.367, p= 0.003). CONCLUSION: The study results reveal the role of emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress in the quality of life of adolescents with PCOS. Based on our findings, we emphasize the interventional studies and guides for improving all dimensions of quality of life and reducing the psychological burden of PCOS in later life of adolescence.
