Background: Given the increasing availability of internet, it has become a common source of health information for all population including students. However, the actual effect of this increased access to information on the health status and its different aspects needs to be studied more. This study aimed to investigate the correlations between online health information seeking behavior and health related quality of life in a sample of high school students of Iran. Methods: A survey was conducted among secondary school girl students of Yazd province, Iran in 2019. A total of 295 students participated in the study. The required data were gathered using two valid questionnaires including eHIQ (Kelly et al., 2015) to measure the online health information seeking experience and validated Persian version of SF-36 to measure the health related quality of life. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS version 23. Results: The mean score of eHIQ was 2.71±0.71. Mean scores for physical component summary and mental component summary of SF-36 were 72.90±16.20 and 63.19±22.26, respectively. eHIQ score showed no statistical correlations with physical component summary (P=.46) and mental component summary (P=.53). Conclusion: The findings suggest that seeking online health information does not improve the health related quality of life. The possible causes are discussed but this finding should be studied more. Background Adolescence refers to the age range of 10 to19 years [1]. It is generally supposed that this period is an appropriate time to maintain and promote health and prevent health-related adverse effects in the following decades of life [2]. Despite this potential, adolescents have special needs that are often not well met by health systems [3]. Evidence suggests that many high-risk behaviors that usually begin in adolescence cause an epidemic of non-communicable diseases in adulthood [4]; an 18-year prospective study has showed that physical activity in adolescence had a significant effect on one's health in adulthood [5]. Today, adolescents are facing multiple health-threatening factors, various questions on different aspects of health and more complicated health challenges and problems
BackgroundBreast cancer is estimated to be the most common cancer worldwide. We sought to assemble publicly available data from Africa to provide estimates of the incidence of breast cancer on the continent.MethodsA systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, Global Health and African Journals Online (AJOL) was conducted. We included population- or hospital-based registry studies on breast cancer conducted in Africa, and providing estimates of the crude incidence of breast cancer among women. A random effects meta-analysis was employed to determine the pooled incidence of breast cancer across studies.ResultsThe literature search returned 4648 records, with 41 studies conducted across 54 study sites in 22 African countries selected. We observed important variations in reported cancer incidence between population- and hospital-based cancer registries. The overall pooled crude incidence of breast cancer from population-based registries was 24.5 per 100 000 person years (95% confidence interval (CI) 20.1-28.9). The incidence in North Africa was higher at 29.3 per 100 000 (95% CI 20.0-38.7) than Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at 22.4 per 100 000 (95% CI 17.2-28.0). In hospital-based registries, the overall pooled crude incidence rate was estimated at 23.6 per 100 000 (95% CI 18.5-28.7). SSA and Northern Africa had relatively comparable rates at 24.0 per 100 000 (95% CI 17.5-30.4) and 23.2 per 100 000 (95% CI 6.6-39.7), respectively. Across both registries, incidence rates increased considerably between 2000 and 2015.ConclusionsThe available evidence suggests a growing incidence of breast cancer in Africa. The representativeness of these estimates is uncertain due to the paucity of data in several countries and calendar years, as well as inconsistency in data collation and quality across existing cancer registries.
Objectives To quantify the epidemiology of bladder cancer in Africa to guide a targeted public health response and support research initiatives. Methods We systematically searched publicly available sources for population-based registry studies reporting the incidence of bladder cancer in Africa between January 1980 and June 2017. Crude incidence rates of bladder cancer were extracted. A Bayesian network meta-analysis model was employed to estimate incidence rates. Results The search returned 1,328 studies. Twenty-two studies conducted across 15 African countries met our pre-defined selection criteria. Heterogeneity across studies was high (I2=98.9%, p<0.001). The pooled incidence of bladder cancer in Africa was 7.0 (95% Credible Interval [CI]: 5.8–8.3) per 100,000 population in men and 1.8 (1.2–2.6) per 100,000 in women. The incidence of bladder cancer was consistently higher in North Africa in both sexes. Among men, we estimated a pooled incidence of 10.1 (7.9–11.9) per 100,000 in North Africa and 5.0 (3.8–6.6) per 100,000 in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In women, the pooled incidence was 2.0 (1.0–3.0) per 100,000 and 1.5 (0.9–2.0) per 100,000 in North Africa and SSA, respectively. Incidence rates increased significantly among men from 5.6 (4.2–7.2) in the 1990s to 8.5 (6.9–10.1) per 100,000 in 2010. Conclusions This study suggests a growing incidence of bladder cancer in Africa in recent years, particularly among men and in North Africa. This study also highlights the lack of quality data sources and collection of essential clinical and epidemiological data in several African countries and this maligns public health planning.
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