BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) might affect everyone, but people with comorbidities such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) may often have more severe complications and worse outcomes. Although vaccinations are being performed worldwide, it will take a long time until the entire population of the world is vaccinated. On the other hand, we are witnessing the emergence of new variants of this virus. Therefore, effective therapeutic approaches still need to be considered. Statins are well-known lipid-lowering drugs, but they have also anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of statins on the survival of COVID-19 hospitalized patients.MethodsThis retrospective study was performed on 583 patients admitted to a highly referenced hospital in Tabas, Iran, between February 2020 and December 2020. One hundred sixty-two patients were treated with statins and 421 patients were not. Demographic information, clinical signs, and the results of laboratory, and comorbidities were extracted from patients' medical records and mortality and survival rates were assessed in these two groups.ResultsThe results of the Cox crude regression model showed that statins reduced mortality in COVID-19 patients (HR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.97; p = 0.040), although this reduction was not significant in the adjusted model (HRs=0.51, 95%CI: 0.22, 1.17; p = 0.114). Using a composite outcome comprising intubation, ICU admission, and mortality, both crude (HR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.73; p = 0.002) and adjusted (HR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.99; p = 0.048) models suggested a significant protective effect of statin therapy.ConclusionDue to anti-inflammatory properties of statins, these drugs can be effective as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: In recent years, cosmetic surgery has increased among young people. Given the importance of recognizing effective factors in intention of cosmetic surgery among young people, the present study aimed to determine predictors of intention of have a cosmetic surgery among female college students based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). Material and Methods:In this descriptive-analytical study, a convenience sample included 233 girl college students were selected and filled out questionnaires demographic characteristics and TRA constructs. Statistical analysis of data was performed with SPSS software and independent-samples T test, One-Way ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests. Results:The mean and SD age of of participants was 22.45±3.20 years. 6.61 percent of participants Were going to do a cosmetic surgery in future. The attitude of 39 percent was predicted changing of intention to perform cosmetic surgery in the future (R2=0.32, F =147.68, P<0.0001). The results showed that there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward cosmetic surgery and intention of participants (P<0.0001). Age, discipline, education, body mass index and subjective norms were not significantly correlated with the intention of students to have a cosmetic surgery. Discussion and Conclusion:Given the importance of attitude as one of the predictor of cosmetic surgery' intention in the future, designing and conducting interventions to reduce attitude of elective cosmetic surgery perform among college students is essential.

Background: Mammography is one of the best methods to screen breast cancer. Because mammography screening is not entirely under the control of the person, the study of perceived behavioral control (PBC) is valuable in this regard. Objectives:The aim of this study was to investigate PBC in mammography in women in Khorramabad, Lorestan province, Iran (550 kilometers north of Persian Gulf). Methods: In this qualitative study conducted using semi-structured and in-depth interviews, 22 women, a gynecologist, and a general surgeon were interviewed purposively. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed, using the directed qualitative content analysis. The MAXQDA10 software was used to analyze the data. Results: Two categories, namely facilitators and barriers to mammography screening and 5 subcategories, namely individual facilitators, social facilitators, psychosocial barriers, barriers related to mammography technique, and structural barriers were drawn from the data. Individual facilitators included having faith and heart belief in God (Faith in God was a comfort for the participants and the acceptance of God's favor), family support, and follow-up; the only social facilitator drawn was respecting the rights of the referring people; psychosocial barriers were embarrassment, fear of breast cancer diagnosis, and belief in fate; the barriers related to mammography technique were radiation and painful mammography and lack of insurance; and high costs and long wait in public mammography centers were drawn as structural barriers. Conclusions:The results of this study provided useful information about the experiences regarding mammography. Psychological barriers may be reduced by changing women's knowledge and attitudes toward mammography, as well as by changing the national health system infrastructure. It is also recommended to strengthen cultural and religious beliefs along with holding training programs regarding mammography performing.

Psychological factors not only affect quality of life but also on the often determine the result of dealing with a chronic illness can play an important role. According to the paradox results in the fi eld of the relationship between mental health and spiritual health and limited studies about perceived stress and its relationship with spiritual health of patients with diabetes, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived stress and spiritual health of patients with diabetes in the city of Urmia. This cross-sectional study (descriptive-analytical) conducted with 330 patients with type 2 diabetes in rural health centers by random cluster sampling. Perceived Stress and spiritual health questionnaire was used to collect information. Data using descriptive statistics and independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coeffi cient were analyzed in SPSS v.21 software. The results of this study showed that the majority of the patients' perceived stress (70.9%) were in low level and the perceived stress mean of them were in the low level (7.6±24.22) too. In terms of the level of the spiritual health, all patients were in medium 750 ARTICLE INFORMATION:

Background: Diabetes is an increasingly important public health concern. Self-care behaviors should be improved to help diabetic patients better control the disease, highlighting the importance of understanding the factors that affect a diabetic patient’s self-care behaviors. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to determine factors related to self-care behaviors in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) using the protection motivation theory (PMT). Methods: In general, 160 type 2 diabetic patients referring to Yazd Diabetes Research Center were randomly selected and included in this analytical cross-sectional study. The data were gathered by a reliable and valid questionnaire, which is a summary of a multi-question questionnaire. It included PMT constructs and demographic information through interviewing the patients. Finally, data were analyzed using t test, ANOVA, linear regression, and Pearson correlation tests. Results: The mean age of the patients and the mean self-care behaviors were 55.87±9.62 years and 37.56±12.94, respectively. In the regression model, perceived susceptibility (β=0.294, P<0.001) and protection motivation (β=0.247, P=0.003) were significant predictors of diabetes self-care behaviors. This model was able to explain 20% of the variance of these behaviors. Conclusion: PMT is effective in recognizing the determinants of diabetes self-care behaviors; therefore, to increase patients’ motivation to adopt diabetes self-care behaviors, a framework similar to this theory can be used to design educational programs. It is suggested that other studies in the field of self-care be conducted with other educational models in different populations of patients, and their results be compared accordingly.

Introduction:The present study examined the favorable attitude of a sample of female university students regarding elective cosmetic surgery, body dysmorphic disorder, self-esteem and body dissatisfaction following a media literacy training intervention.Methods:This study was a quasi-experimental type. The study sample included 140 female university students who were allocated to either the intervention (n=70) or the control group (n=70). Attitude toward cosmetic surgery, body dysmorphic disorder, self-esteem and, body satisfaction was measured in both groups before the intervention and 4 weeks later. Four media literacy training sessions were conducted over 4 weeks for the intervention group. The data was analyzed through analysis of covariance, student’s paired-samples t test, and Pearson correlation.Results:Our findings showed that favorable attitude, body dysmorphic disorder and body dissatisfaction scores were significantly lower (p<0.05) in the intervention group than the control group. Furthermore, self-esteem score increased significantly in the intervention group.Conclusions:Our results underscores the importance of media literacy intervention in decreasing female’s favorable attitude towards elective cosmetic surgery, body dysmorphic disorder and body dissatisfaction as well as increasing self-esteem.

Introduction: Students are predisposed to loss of general health due to the special circumstances of the education period. Considering that they constitute a significant proportion of the population, their general health status can be considered as a good basis to plan for their general health. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the general health status in students of Yazd University of Medical Sciences.  Methods: In this descriptive study, 272 students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2016 were selected by stratified random sampling method. Data collection instrument was a three-section questionnaire including demographic characteristics, lifestyle-related habits, a standard health questionnaire, and a general health questionnaire (GHQ)-28. After data collection was done, the data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16, descriptive and Independent T-test and one-way ANOVAs. Results: Findings of the study showed that 54.4% of students had a non-favorable general health status. The general health status of the students was not significantly associated with gender, education level, parents’ education level and residence status (p > 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the variable of smoking. (p = 0.03), and this difference was more pronounced in the areas related to depression. Conclusion:Regarding the negative effects of the students' depression and smoking on their general health status,  it seems that the general health of the students can be improved by providing consulting services and designing and implementing preventive action.

How to cite this articleRahimi T, Khazir Z. Perceived Experiences of Life Problems for Parents with a Down Syndrome Child.