Influence of lifestyle factors on Body Mass Index in preschoolers in Behbahan city, southwest Iran, 2016.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The body mass index (BMI) of Iranian preschoolers is noticeably increasing. Thus, studying the factors influencing BMI in preschool children is crucial. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of lifestyle factors on BMI of preschool children, residing in Behbahan city, southwest Iran, in 2016. METHODS: A total of 120 preschool children, aged 4 to 6 years, participated in this cross-sectional study. Multi-stage random sampling was done. Using researcher-developed questionnaires whose validity and reliability was confirmed, demographic and lifestyle data were obtained, as the questionnaires were completed by the subject's mothers. Lifestyle factors included physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, sugar-free beverage intake, and screen time. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to analyze the influence of lifestyle-related behaviors on BMI. Data were analyzed by means of the SPSS 22 software and p<0.05 was resulted as the meaningful level of statistics. RESULTS: The average BMI values for children was 15.13±1.90 kg/m2. A total of 88.3% of children did not receive 5 cups of fruits and vegetables each day. Also, 12.5% consumed more than one serving of sweetened beverages per day. Only 2.5% engaged in 60 minutes of structured physical activity every day and 40% did not limit screen-time viewing to 2 hours per day or less. The findings indicated that the physical activity and screen time affected the BMI (p<0.05), and the duration of physical activity had inverse relationship with obesity, and screen time was directly related to obesity. CONCLUSION: Understanding the factors affecting the BMI of preschool children can inform the development of interventions to impact children's weight-related behavior and it can be used as the basis for future healthy body weight policies. Efforts to lower the obesity rate of preschoolers should be focused on the lifestyle behaviors, especially on the physical activity and screen time.

Demographic determinants of obesity, and adherence to dietary and physical activity guidelines among 4 to 6-year-old children in Behbahan city, southwest Iran, 2016.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The world is experiencing an alarming increase in prevalence of childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to determine the demographic determinants of obesity and adherence to dietary and physical activity guidelines among children aged 4 to 6 years old in Behbahan city, southwest Iran, in 2016. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 preschool children aged 4 to 6 years old in Behbahan city, southwest Iran, in 2016. Multi-stage random sampling was done. The weight and height of the children were measured with standard methods. The demographic and behavioral factors data were collected in self report questionnaires which were completed by the children's mothers. The Chi-square test, Independent-samples t-tests, One-way analysis of variances and logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. SPSS software (version 22) was employed. RESULTS: This study showed that 88.3% of the children did not meet the guideline of 5 servings per day of fruit and vegetables. Only 2.5% met the guideline of 60 minutes of structured physical activity every day. Sex and mother's occupation status were associated with adhering to screen time guideline. This study found a significant difference in the mean of screen time between sexes. Boys were more likely to meet the screen time guideline. A significant association between adhering to physical activity guidelines and mother's occupation status was revealed. Significant statistical relationship between demographic factors and BMI categories was not illustrated. Demographic covariates were not significantly related to adherence to dietary and physical activity guidelines. CONCLUSION: In preventive programs of obesity among 4 to 6-year-old children key lifestyle behaviors and demographic factors need to be considered.

Journey to Motherhood in the First Year After Child Birth.

Objective: Child bearing is a period of psychological challenges that must be viewed in a social context. This study reports the maternal transition from the perspective of Iranian first-time mothers in the first year after childbirth. Materials and methods: Qualitative method was chosen for explanation of mothers' individual experiences of motherhood.26 first-time mothers (aged 18-35 years old with various socio-economic status) who had delivered between 0-1 year prior to the interviews participated in the study.Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and interview transcripts were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Results: The core category was called "Regaining advanced balance." There were several themes within this category: "internal conflicts", "encounter and interaction" and "internalization". They felt unpreparedness, lack of control over their lives, incomplete maternal feelings and unstable relation to their husbands and others. Within the first postpartum days and weeks a sort of attachment develops between mother and child as the mother starts to attain a better understanding of maternal feelings; she begins to accept the child as an independent identity and reconstructs herself. As the attachment to child deepens, the mother feels control over the affairs. She realizes a kind of development and integration in herself which specifically stems from becoming a mother and attempts to strengthen family bonds. Conclusion: Through the expression of new mothers' experiences toward motherhood, healthcare providers can reach a better perception of the emotional and psychological changes as well as the various aspects of mothers' acceptance of their maternal role and helps a better preparation and presentation of effective training programs for mothers and families.

Students' concerns about the pre-internship objective structured clinical examination in medical education.

BACKGROUND: Despite several studies on implementation, reliability and validity of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), the perceptions of examinees toward this evaluation tool remain unclear. The aim of the current study was to assess students' perceptions of the OSCE. METHODS: All students in their final year of studies, who participated in the pre-internship OSCE in September 2010, were included in the study. A 16-item questionnaire was designed to assess: Characteristics of respondents; organization, content and structure of the OSCE; and perceptions of validity, reliability and rating of the OSCE with respect to other assessment methods. Questionnaires were administered immediately after all students had finished the OSCE and before leaving the examination venue. RESULTS: Response rate was 86.2%, with 77% of the students indicating the OSCE as a useful learning experience. A majority of the students (62%) agreed that a wide range of clinical skills was covered in this exam. However, 66% had concerns about the wide coverage of knowledge assessed. A total of 81% of students did not prefer the OSCE to multiple choice question exams and 88% found the OSCE intimidating and more stressful than other forms of assessment. DISCUSSION: Our study demonstrates that although the majority of students believe in the reliability and validity of the OSCE, they have concerns about it and report poor acceptance of the OSCE. Further studies are necessary to assess the important concerns of the students and the effectiveness of interventions in improving the acceptability of the OSCE.

Mothers' knowledge about acute rheumatic fever.

AIM: Mothers' understanding and co-operation is an important factor supporting primary prevention and secondary prophylaxis for controlling rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. We sought to determine mothers' knowledge about different aspects of rheumatic fever. METHOD: Participation of 500 mothers referred to healthcare centers in Guilan province was sought for the study which used a questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge about five different aspects of rheumatic fever. RESULTS: Among the 443 respondents, good knowledge about treatment was high (86 per cent); fewer mothers had a good level of knowledge about other aspects of treatment: epidemiology 34 per cent, symptoms 4 per cent, route of infection 27 per cent and complications 10.5 per cent. More educated women had significantly better knowledge about rheumatic fever. CONCLUSION: Expanded health education is required to improve knowledge about this condition among the population.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis and its related factors in diabetic women.

OBJECTIVE: One of the problems of women with diabetes is resistant vulvovaginitis, which is related to some factors such as hyperglycemia, allergy and atopy. One of the most common pathogens associated with this condition is Candida albicans . Thus, most physicians begin antifungal therapy at the patients first visit, even without paraclinical findings. We aimed to determine the prevalence of Candida vulvovaginitis and factors that cause diabetic women to be prone to this infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive, analytic cross-sectional study was performed in 160 nonpregnant diabetic women who visited the diabetes clinic of Shariati Hospital in Tehran, Iran from 2002 to 2005. The fasting blood sugar, 2-hour postprandial blood sugar, and glycosylated hemoglobin were measured, and a culture of the vaginal discharge was obtained. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Seventy-one percent of the women had clinical vaginitis (fungal or bacterial), and 12.5% (20/160) had Candida vaginitis. Microscopic findings for Candida were positive in 12 patients, of whom two had Candida vaginitis. The prevalence of Candida vaginitis together with positive culture was 2.6% (4/160). After including the 10 patients with positive Candida culture together with other clinical vaginitis, the overall prevalence of Candida vaginitis based on positive culture was 8.8% (14/160). There was a significant statistical difference between either mean fasting blood sugar or educational level and infectious vaginal culture. There were no significant associations between positive culture and age, glycosylated hemoglobin, history of allergy, genital hygiene, occupation, kind of treatment, and type or duration of diabetes. CONCLUSION: We suggest that in the case of clinical vaginitis, especially Candida vulvovaginitis, culture of vaginal discharge should be warranted even if there is a positive smear.