Background: Handwashing is an effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhea and acute respiratory infections. This study aimed to evaluate the Turkish University students' social hand washing knowledge, practices, skills and related factors. Materials and methods: All existing 1st year students in the Medical and Educational Faculty, plus all existing 2nd and 3rd year students in the Medical Faculty of Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey, from April to May, 2010, were eligible for the study. Participants filled in a questionnaire. The questionnaire tested the students' social hand washing knowledge (8 questions), practices (21 questions), and skills (10 questions) and it was prepared using previously published studies. Participants received 1 point for each correct answer provided. Final scores were calculated by summing up the points from all questions in the particular section divided by the number of questions in this section and multiplied by 100. The Family Affluence Scale was used to determine a socioeconomic status (SES). Results: In all 303 students participated in this study. Participants' age (±SD) was 20.1±1.6 and the age range was between 18 and 32. Sixty two point seven percent of the participants were women. Forty four point nine percent of the participants were medical students. Fifty one point eight percent of the participants were in low SES. Twenty seven point four percent of the participants wash their hands less than 5 times a day. main reason for skipping hand washing was the participants' belief of 'no need' (63.7%). The mean scores (±SD) of participants' hand washing knowledge, practices, and skills were 71.2±20.7, 60.3±13.4 and 79.7±18.4, respectively. All scores were significantly higher in women. A multivariate analysis showed that gender was the main factor affecting all scores. Conclusions: Increasing quantity and/or quality of available campus based public health educational programs, creating hand-hygiene promotion programs to the general public and using the findings from this study are recommended.

Our results suggest that preventive measures, such as regular veterinary care for animals and educative and supportive activities oriented to the people working in farming and animal husbandry should be taken to decrease the prevalence of human CE in Turkey.

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Background and aimSmoking is still a public health concern in many countries, especially among young adults. Consequently, we determined what factors affect university students’ smoking behavior in Turkey.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted between March and June 2017 using a simple random sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on participants’ (N = 2,505; mean age = 20.9 ± 2.5 years; 58.9% women) sociodemographic characteristics, cigarette smoking status, and related risk factors. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed with the Backward likelihood-ratio method.ResultsStudents were completing either two- or four-year degrees (45.6% and 54.4%, respectively). Regarding familial smoking behavior, 36.1% had a father who smoked, 10.3% had a mother who smoked, and 15.0% had siblings who smoked. Among participants, 27.9% were current smokers: 46% of the men and 15.3% of the women. Mean smoking onset age was 16.34 ± 2.72 years (15.65 ± 2.67 years for men and 16.34 ± 2.72 for women (p < .05). Mean Fagerströmtest score was 4.43 ± 1.82, and women had lower test scores than did men (p < .05). After controlling for potential confounders in multivariate analyses, five factors were significantly positively associated with current smoking: being a man (odds ratio (OR): 3.43; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.75–4.28), studying in a two-year program (OR: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.39–2.18), having at least one immediate family member who smoked (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.31–2.04), having all close friends who smoked (OR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.40–2.33), and alcohol consumption (OR: 4.39; 95% CI: 3.51–5.49).ConclusionThere was a higher smoking rate among our study population, both compared to similar national studies and Turkey’s overall smoking rate. Underlying factors should be evaluated via qualitative studies and preventive strategies should be implemented accordingly.

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the mental health and sleep quality of pregnant women in different trimesters during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and investigate the effect of quarantine and new lifestyle changes that come into our lives with pandemic with on this subject. Methods: It was conducted on pregnant women (n = 149) who attended routine pregnancy prenatal visit during their pregnancy weeks. The data were collected using sociodemographic and clinical data form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to evaluate sleep quality, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to evaluate maternal depression and anxiety. Results: A significant correlation was observed between the week of gestation and depression, anxiety, and defective sleep scores (p < 0.001). A moderate positive correlation was found between the week of gestation and depression (r: 0.628). A high level of positive correlation was found between the week of gestation and defective sleep quality and anxiety scores (r: 0.858, r: 0.754). A statistically significant increase in depression, anxiety, and defective sleep quality was found in the group staying in home quarantine (p = 0.002). Conclusion:This study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic can cause depression, anxiety, and serious sleep disorders in pregnant women. The depression and anxiety scores of pregnant women in home quarantine were also found to be higher than the group not in quarantine. As the week of gestation progresses, mental health symptoms worsen and sleep quality deteriorates.

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Aim Recent studies suggest that apelin can be a novel potential therapeutic mediator to improve the diagnosis, and treatment of preeclampsia. This study aimed to investigate the association of serum apelin‐13 and apelin‐36 with preeclampsia and to detect their relationship with preeclampsia‐associated perinatal morbidity. Methods Forty‐four women with preeclampsia were included as the study group. Forty‐four healthy pregnant women, at similar gestational week with similar gravidity, formed the control group. The clinical findings, biochemical indicators, maternal and perinatal outcomes, and the serum concentrations of apelin‐36 and apelin‐13 were evaluated. The levels of apelin‐13 and apelin‐36 were determined with commercial kits using a competition‐based enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay method. Results The mean gestational age at sampling was 35.77 ± 2.515 weeks in the preeclamptic group, 36.45 ± 2.057 weeks in the control group (P = 0.270). Maternal serum apelin‐36 and apelin‐13 concentrations were significantly lower in patients with preeclampsia compared to the individuals in the control group (P = 0.030 and P = 0.005, respectively). The optimal cut‐off points of apelin‐36 and apelin‐13 measurements for discriminating between preeclampsia and controls were evaluated by the receiver–operator curve analysis. The results showed that apelin‐13 and apelin‐36 are moderately successful markers to differentiate subjects with preeclampsia from healthy pregnant women. The concentrations of apelin‐13 and apelin‐36 in both groups were not statistically different in cases with and without adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes. Conclusion In conclusion, we investigated serum apelin‐13 and apelin‐36 concentrations in preeclamptic patients and demonstrated markedly lower maternal concentrations compared to healthy pregnant women.

INTRODUCTION Even though smoking is a major reason for the development and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-and quitting smoking is the only way to stop its progression-a significant number of smokers still continue to smoke after being diagnosed with COPD. The aim of this study is to compare the clinical and demographic characteristics of COPD patients who are current and former smokers and to find factors associated with their current smoking status. METHODS For this study, data were collected between June 2015 and August 2016; COPD patients who had been regularly visiting Hopa State Hospital’s outpatient clinic over the last year or longer were included. Their demographic, clinical and functional data were recorded. Patients completed a pulmonary function test, six-minute walk test (6-MWT), COPD assessment test (CAT), and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale. Comparisons were then made according to their smoking status. RESULTS In total 100 patients were included in the study; with a mean age of 63.4±10.7 years and mostly males (94%). Regarding smoking status, 49% were current smokers and 51% were former smokers. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that current smoking was negatively associated with age (odds ratio, OR=0.93, 95% confidence interval, CI=0.88–0.96) and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage (OR=0.32, 95% CI=0.13– 0.79), and was positively associated with six-minute walk distance (OR =1.005, 95% CI=1.001–1.009) and CAT score (OR=1.07, 95% CI=1.009–1.13). CONCLUSIONS Nearly half of the COPD patients in the study continued smoking even after having been diagnosed with COPD. The younger patients, with better lung function, better exercise capacity and poor quality of life were associated with current smoking.