Effect of female genital mutilation/cutting on sexual functions.

BACKGROUND: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) or female circumcision is the procedure of eliminating some or all parts of the external female genitalia. FGM/C is carried out by traditional circumcisers. They usually use cutting tools like a blade or straight-razor. Although FGM/C is well described in the African continent and some Arabic countries, data from Iran are scarce. OBJECTIVES: The major objective of this current study was to investigate the effects of FGM/C on the female sexual function of married women compared to the non-circumcised women in the Kurdistan province of Iran. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in a sample of 280 married women (140 circumcised-women and 140 non-circumcised-women) who referred to the healthcare centers for vaccination, midwifery, or family planning services. Participants were requested to complete the Persian-translated version of the Female Sexual Function Index. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The total score of the FSFI and its individual domains. RESULTS: Of the circumcised women, 51.4% reported circumcision procedures before the age of 3 years. Religion motivation (53.6%) was mentioned as the most important factor for the family leading to FGM/C. Almost all operations were performed by traditional circumcisers. Non-circumcised women had significantly higher Persian-FSFI total score (25.3 ± 4.34) compared to the circumcised women (17.9 ± 5.39). CONCLUSION: Sexual function in women with FGM/C is adversely altered. In Kurdistan province women, FGM/C is associated with reduction of scores of Persian-FSFI on all domain scores. Education in general and informing the people that FGM/C is not a religious Hadith certainly would have a great impact on the suffering of the women from FGM/C as well as the level of "desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain in the sexual function of women".

Cardiovascular diseases in the mirror of science.

Introduction: Heart disease or cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a kind of illness that involve heart and/or blood vessels of people throughout the world. The major aim of current study was to show the trend of global scientific activities in the field of CVD during a period of 10 years through 2001-2010. Methods: A scientometrics analysis was carried out to show the world wide activities towards scientific production in the field of CVD during a period of 10 years. Science Citation Index- Expanded (SCI-E) was used to extract all documents indexed as a topic of CVD throughout 2001- 2010. Results: Analysis of data showed that the number of publications in the field of cardiovascular has increased steadily. The number of publication indexed in SCI-E in 2010 was three times greater than in 2001. It reached from 5080 documents in 2001 into 15,584 documents in 2010. English consisting 95% of total publication was the most dominant language of publications. Based on Bradford scatterings law the journal of Circulation was the most prolific journal among core journals. The USA sharing 29.5% of world's profiles in the field was the most productive country Harvard University was the most productive Institution followed by Brigham Women's Hospital. Conclusion: The vast majority of scientific publication in the field of CVD was produced by authors from North America and Western Europe. The results of study concluded that research activities in the field of CVD have become an interesting subject area of scientists during years 2001-2010.