Predicting perceived quality of life through social trust, physical activity, and sense of happiness in Iran: Moderating role of gender.

Background and Aims: In Iran, few studies have addressed the moderating effect of gender on determinants of quality of life. This study aimed to determine the effect of social trust, physical activity, and sense of happiness on the perceived quality of life, considering the moderating role of gender. Methods: This was a population-based cross-sectional study. The statistical population were men and women aged 16 years and above in five western provinces of Iran. The final sample size was estimated to be 1268 people calculated through the correlation coefficient estimation formula, and finally 1185 questionnaires received. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software. Results: The mean score of quality of life among women was significantly higher than that of men (p < 0.001). The direct standardized coefficient showed that the sense of happiness (ß = 0.40), social trust (ß = 0.20), and physical activity (ß = 0.12) had a significant effect on the perceived quality of life (p < 0.001). Also, gender had a moderating role in the relationship between sense of happiness and perceived quality of life (z-score = 3.246, p < 0.001). Totally, 21% of the changes in perceived quality of life were explained by three main variables. The main variables were stronger explanatory factors in men (R = 0.26) than in women (R = 0.17). Conclusions: The final model showed that sense of happiness had the most direct effect on the perceived quality of life, moderated by gender. Considering that the quality of life among men was lower than that among women and the direct effect of happiness on quality of life was more among men than that among women, it is suggested that gender-based health promotion interventions with an emphasis on men be carried out to strengthen the sources of happiness to improve quality of life.

Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Boosts Decision Making and Functional Impulsivity in Female Sports Referees.

We investigated the effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) on the sensitive decision making of female team sports referees. Twenty-four female referees voluntarily participated in this randomized, double-blind, crossover, and sham-controlled study. In three different sessions, participants received either anodal (a-tDCS; anode (+) over F4, cathode (-) over the supraorbital region (SO)), cathodal (c-tDCS; -F4/+SO), or sham tDCS (sh-tDCS) in a randomized and counterbalanced order. a-tDCS and c-tDCS were applied with 2 mA for 20 min. In sh-tDCS, the current was turned off after 30 s. Before and after tDCS, participants performed the computerized Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Go/No Go impulsivity (IMP) tests. Only a-tDCS improved IGT and IMP scores from pre to post. The delta (Δ = post-pre) analysis showed a significantly higher ΔIGT in a-tDCS compared to c-tDCS (p = 0.02). The ΔIMP was also significantly higher in a-tDCS compared to sh-tDCS (p = 0.01). Finally, the reaction time decreased significantly more in a-tDCS (p = 0.02) and sh-tDCS (p = 0.03) than in c-tDCS. The results suggest that the a-tDCS improved factors related to sensitive decision making in female team sports referees. a-tDCS might be used as an ergogenic aid to enhance decision performance in female team sports referees.

The effect of self-rated health, subjective socioeconomic status, social capital, and physical activity on life satisfaction: a cross-sectional study in urban western Iran.

BACKGROUND: Life satisfaction is an important component in designing strategies to improve health outcomes in different groups of society. This study aimed to investigate the effect of subjective socioeconomic status (SSS), social capital (SC), self-rated health (SRH), and physical activity (PA) on life satisfaction (LS) in Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1187 people (643 men and 544 women) lived in five western cities in Iran. The sampling method was multistage clustering. Data collection tool was a five part questionnaire including demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status ladder, social capital scale, a question to measure physical activity, and the life satisfaction scale. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, one way ANOVA, and Ordinal Logistic Regression. RESULT: Life satisfaction was higher in married men and women compared to single and widows (p < 0.05). Among the variables included in the main model, the significant predictors were college education (- 0.500), marriage (coefficient = 0.422), age 25-34 years (coefficient = - 0.384), SRH (coefficient = 0.477), male sex (coefficient = 0.425), SSS (coefficient = 0.373), trust (coefficient = 0.115), and belonging and empathy (coefficient = 0.064). CONCLUSION: SRH and SSS were significant predictors of life satisfaction in west Iranian society. Being married was associated with higher LS, but college education affects LS adversely.