Objectives: Infertility is one of the important complications in gynecology and the aim of the present study was to investigate the etiology and risk factors associated with infertility in the southern region of Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in infertility centers of Hormozgan University of Medical Science (HUMS). Totally, 250 infertile couples were included. The variables including socio-demographic characteristics, smoking, body mass index (BMI), and infertility status (e.g., type of fertility, duration, etc.) were assessed by a self-administered and validated questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 22.0. Results: The most common causes of male and female infertility were varicocele (49.4%) and ovulation disorders (57.5%), respectively. There was a significant association between female factor infertility and level of education, age of women, women’s age at marriage, number of abortions, alcohol consumption, presence of an underlying disease, and BMI (P<0.005). There was also a significant relationship between male factor infertility and men’s job, addiction, smoking, and presence of an underlying disease (P<0.005). Conclusions: Considering various risk factors for infertility, an important step forward can be taken towards reducing the incidence of these risk factors by providing different education classes during pre-marriage, pre-partum, pregnancy and postpartum periods so as to inform couples of controllable risk factors.

A study in Monastir, Tunisia estimated the prevalence of smoking and analysed the determinants of tobacco use among adolescents aged 10-19 years. An observational cross-sectional study was performed in the 8 colleges and high schools of Monastir city in 2004. The mean age of the 900 respondents was 15.8 (SD 2.2) years and 47.7% were aged under 16 years. The overall prevalence of cigarette use during the past year was 16.0% (30.2% among males and 4.6% among females). The first smoking experience was initiated by friends in 45.8% of cases, at a mean age of 13.8 (SD 2.3) years. One-fifth of smokers (21.5%) had used other forms of tobacco. In multivariate analysis, male sex, academic failure, poor family management, antisocial behaviour and addictive behaviour were the main predictors of adolescent smoking status. The prevalence of smoking among adolescents in Monastir is high and requires targeted action.

IntroductionPreterm labor is the main cause of infants’ death, and the main reason for undesirable consequences of pregnancy which still occur in some births, despite all of the interventions in this regard. The aim of this study was to evaluate every preterm birth and determine its maternal risk factors in Hormozgan province in 2013.MethodsThis case-control study was conducted in 2013 on the health and hospital records of 735 pregnant mothers with preterm labor (20–37 weeks) which were located in Bandar Abbas in southeast Iran. The sampling method would be multi-stage cluster sampling. The data collecting tool was a valid questionnaire by the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education, which included 5 components (demographic information, checking the current pregnancy of the mother, the maternal factors related to preterm labor in the previous pregnancy, evaluating the fetal factors associated with preterm labor in the current pregnancy and other additional information related to the factors associated with prematurity). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression and Chi-square testsResultsThe prevalence of preterm labor in Hormozgan province in 2013 was 5.5%. In our study and among the effective factors on preterm labor, revealed genital-urinary tract infections during pregnancy were (35.8%), PROM (30.3%), history of abortion (19.9%) and unplanned pregnancy (18.1%) in between pregnant women with preterm labor. Our study showed that most mothers had delivered in 33 to 37 weeks among the mothers who had preterm labor in 2013 (75%) and the statistic of very preterm labor (less than 32 weeks) in Hormozgan was 5%.ConclusionIdentification of the prevalence and associated factors with preterm labor can reduce the mortality rate and infants’ complications of it in addition to help find a way to prevent this problem.

More than 200 million children in low-and middle-income countries suffer from developmental delays and / or debilities worldwide (1). Some risk factors associated with practical damage and mental developmental delay in infants and children in developing countries are as follows: Micronutrient deficiency, malnutrition, poor health and hygiene, and scarce care. Early detection of developmental problems is of importance to the wellbeing of young children and their parents. Therefore, it is essential to decrease the negative outcomes (2). The Ages and stages questionnaire (ASQ), which has largely been used in contemporary studies, is a developmental screening questionnaire designed to be completed by parents or primary caregivers of children. This questionnaire can detect those children who should be further evaluated to decide whether they are qualified for early intervention, or early childhood specific training. Sensitivity, specificity and reliability of this questionnaire (ASQ) have been reported to be 75.8%, 87.5%, and 94%, respectively (3). The ASQ is used for children aged 4-60 months, covering five various domains of communication, fine motor, problem solving, gross motor, and personal-social skills (1). In 2015, in a cross-sectional study in Hormozgan province (located in the extreme point of southern Iran) 23,494 twelve-month-old children were screened for development delay, using the ASQ. Among the participants, the ASQ was abnormal in 88 children. Moreover, 25% had a delay in communication domain, 29% in fine motor, 31% in problem solving, 35% in gross motor, and 26% in personal-social skills. The results revealed that 'delay in gross motor' and 'problem solving' were higher among all the domains. Gross motor development includes control and movement of large muscle groups such as the head, torso, arms, and legs. Gross motor skills are abilities that have been developed during early childhood, and they develop from top to bottom (4). The 'problem solving domain' includes child's knowledge and the ability to play with toys. However, these results should not be interpreted in isolation, and decisions should be made based on other factors and the overall function of children. A systematic review summarized the results of studies and provided the best evidence for judging (5). Therefore these studies can help to identify the effective factors on delay in gross motor and problem solving domains.

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Background: More than one million children throughout the world are born by using fertility techniques. In this process, human intervention and laboratory conditions may have an impact on the growth and development of the fetus. Objectives: The present study aimed to consider the effect of assisted reproductive techniques on the results of embryonic health screening tests. Methods: In this case-control study, among clients who went to the Infertility Center of the Ome Leila Hospital in Bandar Abbas Province, we selected 200 pregnant women who were impregnated via assisted reproductive techniques as the case group and 200 natural pregnant women as the control group by sample random sampling. Checklists were filled out and data analyzed by the SPSS version 21 and chi-square tests by using an interview with pregnant women and investigating the embryonic screening tests. Results: Most of the participants in the study were housewives and had primary infertility. Their BMI was normal. There was no significant difference between the final results of the embryonic screening test in the two groups at the first trimester (P > 0.05). However, in the second trimester, there was a significant difference between them. The positive results were higher in the case group in comparison with the control group (P = 0.001). The mean of all types of screening tests in the first trimester in both groups was not different, significantly (P < 0.05), although in the second trimester, the mean of all the testis, including BHCG (P = 0.006) and AFP (P = 0.018) in both case and control groups, was significantly different. The mean of BHCG and AFP was higher in the case group, while the mean of Estradiol and Inhibin, NB, and NT were not really different (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our study showed that embryonic screening tests, particularly the BHCG and AFP tests, would be affected by applying the assisted reproductive techniques. For the couples who had a history of infertility and used reproductive methods, screening tests are essential in the first and second trimester.

Background: Stillbirth is one of the unfavorable consequences of pregnancy. Generally, the true causes of fetal death are complicated and difficult to accurately identify. Objectives: The present study was aimed to identify risk factors for stillbirth among mothers referring to health centers of Hormozgan province, Iran. Methods: This case-control study was conducted in 12 cities of Hormozgan province in 2015. The samples were randomly selected among those referring to the health centers of Hormozgan province by cluster sampling. Required data were collected by using a researcher-made questionnaire comprised of demographic characteristics of the mother pregnancy and delivery. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to measure the correlation between variables within a significance level of 5%. Data analysis was performed using SPSS, version 21. Results: A total of 825 mothers were recruited and assigned into two groups, experimental and control groups. There were 403 mothers with a history of stillbirth in the experimental group, and the control group was comprised of 422 mothers with a healthy live birth. The average age of the participants in the experimental and control groups were 27.68 ± 6.4 and 26.96 ± 5.4 years, respectively. Most of the mothers (> 90%) in both groups were housewives and most mothers in the case group (37%) were illiterate, whereas the majority of controls (43%) had a university education. The odds of stillbirth among mothers older than 35 years was 2.33 times higher than other mothers [OR: 2.33, 95% CI (1.287 -4.246)]. The odds of stillbirth among mothers with a history of stillbirth was 10 times higher than those with no stillbirth history [OR: 10.1, 95% CI (2.846 -35.973)]. Conclusions: The findings of this paper show that the fetal death is associated with maternal age, maternal education, maternal area of living, history of stillbirth in previous pregnancies and history of abortion in previous pregnancies. The results of this study may help to conduct future research effectively, and help supervisors and policymakers make evidence-based operational decisions.

Introduction: Given that the evolution of various mental aspects, includes. Therefore, screening for the developmental status of children can prevent significant complications and disorders. Therefore, we decided to examine the developmental status of children in Hormozgan province based on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed by cross-sectional method in December 1997 in health units of Hormozgan province. Based on cluster random sampling, the names of 2260 children aged 60 months (3 to 5 years) were extracted through the integrated health system. Data collection tool was ASQ questionnaire which was used to assess the development of children in the five areas of communication, large movements, fine movements, problem solving and social personality. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22 and statistical tests, analysis of variance, chi-square, mean indices, standard deviation and frequency percentage.(p<0.05) Results: The mean age of the children in the study was 3.14 ± 2.3 Out of 2260 children, 1036 (45.8%) were girls and 1224 (54.2%) were boys. In terms of communication 1.5%, fine movements 2%, 4.5% large movements, 3% problem solving and social personality 4% were abnormal. Conclusion: The results showed that despite the normal development in most children, a number of children had developmental disorders in at least one area. Therefore, the need for programs to deal with related risk factors and continuous follow-up in terms of the development of these areas is essential to prevent future complications.