BackgroundPreterm birth is a major cause of prenatal and postnatal mortality particularly in developing countries. This study investigated the maternal risk factors associated with the risk of preterm birth.MethodsA population-based case-control study was conducted in several provinces of Iran on 2463 mothers referred to health care centers. Appropriate descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used to evaluate the association between maternal risk factors and the risk of preterm birth. All tests were two-sided, and P values < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.ResultsThe mean gestational age was 31.5 ± 4.03 vs. 38.8 ± 1.06 weeks in the case and control groups, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis showed a statistically significant association between preterm birth and mother’s age and ethnicity. Women of Balooch ethnicity and age ≥ 35 years were significantly more likely to develop preterm birth (OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.01–-2.44 and OR: 9.72; 95% CI: 3.07–30.78, respectively). However, no statistically significant association was observed between preterm birth and mother’s place of residence, level of education, past history of cesarean section, and BMI.ConclusionDespite technological advances in the health care system, preterm birth still remains a major concern for health officials. Providing appropriate perinatal health care services as well as raising the awareness of pregnant women, especially for high-risk groups, can reduce the proportion of preventable preterm births.
Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that is identified with chronic inflammation and progressive destruction of the joints. The defective activity of regulatory T cells (Tregs) plays a crucial role in RA development. Oleuropein (OLEU) is the most common polyphenolic compound in olive leaf extracts with numerous pharmacological activities. In this study, the potential effects of OLEU in shifting CD4+ T cells toward Tregs are evaluated in patients with RA. Methods 32 healthy controls (HC) and 45 RA patients were included in two groups. The immunoturbidometric technique was used to measure serum levels of c-reactive protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor (RF). Isolated CD4+ T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of HC and RA patients were cultured with appropriate concentrations of OLEU. The cytotoxicity effects of OLEU were determined using the MTT assay at 24, 48, and 72 h. The percentage of CD4+CD25 + FoxP3 regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs) and the expressions of IL-10 and TGF-β were evaluated by flow cytometry and immunoassay techniques after treatment of cells with different concentrations of OLEU for 24 h. The serum levels of RF and CRP in patients with RA were 11.8 ± 5.32 IU/ml and 6.36 ± 5.82 mg/l, respectively. Results OLEU had a dose-dependent effect on the CD4+ T cells via increasing the frequency of CD4+CD25 + FoxP3 Tregs ( p = 0.0001). Moreover, it induced the production of IL-10 ( p = 0.0001) and TGF-β ( p < 0.01) in both HC and RA patients. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that OLEU may have immunomodulatory effects by inducing Tregs, and it might help in developing a novel nutrition strategy for management of autoimmune diseases such as RA.
Background New vaccines that are initially approved in clinical trials are not completely free of risks. Systematic vaccine safety surveillance is required for ensuring safety of vaccines. This study aimed to provide a protocol for safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines, including Sputnik V, Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV), COVIran Barekat, and AZD1222. Methods This is a prospective cohort study in accordance with a template provided by the World Health Organization. The target population includes citizens of seven cities in Iran who have received one of the available COVID-19 vaccines according to the national instruction on vaccination. The participants are followed for three months after they receive the second dose of the vaccine. For each type of vaccine, 30,000 people will be enrolled in the study of whom the first 1,000 participants are in the reactogenicity subgroup. The reactogenicity outcomes will be followed seven days after vaccination. Any hospitalization, COVID-19 disease, or other minor outcomes will be investigated in weekly follow-ups. The data are gathered through self-reporting of participants in a mobile application or phone calls to them. The study outcomes may be investigated for the third and fourth doses of vaccines. Other long-term outcomes may also be investigated after the expansion of the follow-up period. We have planned to complete data collection for the current objectives by the end 2022. Discussion The results of this study will be published in different articles. A live dashboard is also available for managers and policymakers. All data will be available on reasonable requests from the corresponding author.The use of the good and comprehensive guidelines provided by WHO, along with the accurate implementation of the protocol and continuous monitoring of the staff performance are the main strengths of this study which may be very useful for policymaking about COVID-19 vaccination.
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