The intervention was effective on loneliness, hope and quality of life in the intervention group. The intervention needs further evaluation in a larger study and with other cancer types. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Concentrations of various trace elements are altered during pregnancy with changes in the mother's physiology and the requirements of growing fetus. The aim of the present longitudinal study was to learn the changes of micronutrients Iron (Fe), Calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn) Magnesium (Mg) and copper (Cu) of pregnant woman and their relations with newborns levels. Serum levels of iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium and copper of 162 pregnant women and their newborns were determined by an inductively couple plasma mass spectrometer (ICP/MS). The results showed that majority (41 %) of pregnant women were in age group 26-36 years 55 % had high school and diploma levels of education and the total income ranged between 3 and 5 Rials million per month There was significant difference in iron levels during first, second and third trimesters, 76.0 ± 17.8, 63.5 ± 15.2 and 70.1 ± 14.4 lg/dl respectively. Significant difference was shown in zinc levels 79.5 ± 15, 74.5 ± 16.1, and 65.3 ± 14.9 lg/dl during three trimesters. Copper levels during pregnancy were significantly different (130.9 ± 43.5, 172.0 ± 38.94, 193.2 ± 28.5 lg/dl. The serum levels of calcium and magnesium during pregnancy were constant (Ca: 8.96 ± 0.48, 8.86 ± 0.47, 8.91 ± 0.42 mg/dl and Mg: 2.10 ± 0.21, 2.08 ± 0.28, 2.09 ± 0.29 mg/dl). Results showed that 13 % of pregnant women had hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia. Thirty eight percent and 42 % of pregnant women had iron and zinc deficiency respectively. In this study, unlike zinc, no pregnant women were found deficient in serum copper levels. Calcium, iron, zinc, copper and magnesium levels in the newborn's cord blood were 8.93 ± 0.43, 106.0 ± 26.1, 85.35 ± 16.6, 57.04 ± 13.8 and 1.99 ± 0.27 mg/dl respectively. In the present study the levels of iron and zinc in cord blood were higher than the levels of iron and zinc in maternal serum. The mean level of copper in cord blood serum in the current study was lower than maternal values. The mean serum calcium and magnesium in the serum cord blood and in the serum of the pregnant women were similar.

Background: Quality of life (QOL) is impaired in multiple sclerosis (MS) in part due to physical disability. MS-associated fatigue and poor sleep are common and treatable features of MS that affect QOL. We assessed the association between fatigue, sleep quality, and QOL in people with MS.

No abstract

BackgroundDysmenorrhea is one of the most prevalent gynecological disorders, experienced by approximately two third of young women during menstruation. According to literature, nutrition can play a key role in the prevalence and severity of dysmenorrhea. This study aims to investigate the relation between dietary patterns and the risk of dysmenorrhea among university students.MethodsA nested case control study was conducted among 293 students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences who were randomly recruited via a proportional cluster sampling method. From 293 students, 46 students with moderate to severe dysmenorrhea and 54 students without dysmenorrhea were assigned to the case and control groups, respectively. The major dietary patterns of students were identified by factor analysis and the association between dietary patterns and risk of dysmenorrhea was investigated using logistic regression analysis in SPSS 20.ResultsThree major dietary patterns were found and nominated as “Lacto-vegetarian”, “Snacks” and “Mixed food items” patterns. After controlling for family history of dysmenorrhea, subjects in the second and third tertiles of “snacks” pattern had a 4.23 (95% CI = 1.32–13.58, P = 0.01) and 3.41 (95% CI = 1.10–10.50, P = 0.03) times, respectively, higher chance to experience moderate to severe dysmenorrhea in comparison with subjects in the first tertile. There was no significant association between the risk of dysmenorrhea and two other dietary patterns.ConclusionsThe results indicate that adherence to “snacks” pattern is associated with an increased risk of moderate to severe dysmenorrhea during menstruation among young women.

No abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the influence of anthropometric measurements of pregnant women, gestational weight gain, fundal height, and maternal factors, namely age, education, family income, parity along with maternal hemoglobin, on birth weight of neonates. A cross sectional study was performed in Khoy City in north west of Iran. Four hundred and fifty healthy pregnant women in the age between 16-40 years were selected for this study from seven health urban centers and one referral hospital. Findings showed that the mean age, height, fundal height, maternal weight, and gestational weight gain during pregnancy were 26.1 years, 159.1 cm, 32.9 cm, 72.0 kg, 11.8 kg respectively. The mean birth weight of neonates was 3.2 kg and 11% of neonates showed low birth weight. Age, family income, maternal height, weight, gestational weight gain and fundal height were significantly associated with birth weight of neonates. Using binary logistic regression analysis, fundal height, maternal hemoglobin, family income and gestational weight gain of pregnant women could be considered as predictive factors of birth weight of neonates.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the chief cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide, with the incidence increasing exponentially particularly in low- to middle-income countries. The increase in the incidence of breast cancer is partly accounted for by increases in life expectancy due to improvements in public health, but also related to an increase in risk factors for cancer including smoking, excess body weight, decreased physical activity, and changes in reproductive activity. Health-promoting lifestyle is therefore one of the major topics of importance in studying chronic illnesses and cancer. Health promotion interventions, including the use of care models, have a vast contribution to make in terms of timely diagnosis and improved survival. One such care model, which has been designed to increase self-care, adherence, and performance in chronic patients, is the continuous care model (CCM). This study was conducted with the purpose of determining the influence of the CCM on the health-promoting lifestyle of patients with breast cancer during 2017-2018. In this randomized clinical trial, 60 patients with breast cancer were chosen by convenience sampling followed by random allocation into treatment and control groups. Six sessions of group discussion were held for the treatment group according to the CCM and items in the health-promoting lifestyle questionnaire. Data collection tools included a general health questionnaire, a demographic questionnaire, a family support questionnaire, and the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), which respondents completed before and after the intervention. P values ≤ .05 were considered significant. When comparing the mean score of health-promoting lifestyle in both the control and treatment groups, before and after the intervention, significant increases in every dimension were observed. The average overall health promotion lifestyle was revealed to be significantly elevated from 123.48 to 147.12. However, in the control group the mean scores had slightly increased or were the same in all the dimensions. In addition, the average overall health promotion lifestyle had increased from 119.89 to 121.32. The observed difference in mean scores was not statistically significant. The CCM increased the score of health-promoting lifestyle of patients with breast cancer. Therefore, this caring model can be considered an alternative to improve healthy lifestyles of patients with cancer.