Clinical
Tina Jafari; Leila Mahmoodnia; Mohsen Saeedi
Abstract
Background and aims: Quality of life (QOL) is poor in hemodialysis (HD) patients. High oxidative stress and inflammatory conditions disturb their normal physiological, emotional, and physical functions. This study aimed to assess the effects of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) alone and in ...
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Background and aims: Quality of life (QOL) is poor in hemodialysis (HD) patients. High oxidative stress and inflammatory conditions disturb their normal physiological, emotional, and physical functions. This study aimed to assess the effects of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) alone and in combination with vitamin E (Vit E) as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory substances on QOL of HD patients using Short-form 36 (SF-36) QOL questionnaire.Methods: This study was a double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial on HD patients. A total of 100 HD patients were randomly divided into 4 equal groups as follows: Pom+Vit E group, which received 2 PPE tablets + 1 Vit E soft gel daily, Pom group, which received 2 PPE tablets+1 Vit E placebo soft gel daily, Vit E group, which received 1 Vit E soft gel+2 PPE placebo tablets daily, and Placebo group, which received 2 PPE placebo tablets + 1 Vit E placebo soft gel daily. The intervention duration was 8 weeks. The stratified block randomization method based on sex, age, HD duration, and employment status was used for randomization.Results: The mean age of participants ranged between 51 and 57 years with an HD duration of 9-11.2 months. Bodily pain score and general health score significantly increased in the Pom group and Pom+ Vit E group. The emotional role functioning score of the Pom+Vit E group was significantly higher than that of the placebo group (P < 0.05).Conclusion: The consumption of PPE and Vit E had beneficial effects on mental components but not the physical components of QOL. Moreover, combination therapy was more effective than single therapy.
Mohammad Reza Karimirad; Fatemeh Noghani; Saeid Hossein Oghli; Sajad Noorian; Ehsanolah Amini
Abstract
Background and aims: Having a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may havean impact on the quality of life of his/her parents, particularly his/her mother. However, very limitedstudies have addressed this issue in Iran and the world. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examinethe ...
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Background and aims: Having a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may havean impact on the quality of life of his/her parents, particularly his/her mother. However, very limitedstudies have addressed this issue in Iran and the world. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examinethe quality of life in the mothers of children with ADHD and its effective factors.Methods: The present descriptive-analytic study was carried out in Tehran from April to September2016. A total of 110 mothers of ADHD children were enrolled in the study through a conveniencesampling method, who referred to psychiatric centers of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Aninformed consent form was obtained from all the participants as well. In addition, a researcher-madechecklist for demographic characteristics and the 36-item Short Form of Health Survey Questionnaire(SF-36) were utilized for data collection. The collected data were then entered into SPSS 16 statisticalsoftware. Finally, descriptive tests (mean and median) and statistical tests including Pearson correlationtest, independent t test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for data analysis.Results: The mean age of participated mothers was 39.5 years and most children were males (76.4%).The mean overall score of the quality of life was 60.6 ± 20.4. Among the eight dimensions of thequestionnaire, participants achieved the lowest score regarding the dimension of “the role limitationsdue to emotional problems” with the mean score of 52.43, while the highest score was observed interms of “the physical function” dimension with the mean score of 77.30. No significant relationshipwas observed between any of the demographic characteristics and the mean overall score of thequality of life (P > 0.05).Conclusion: In the present study, the quality of life of the mothers was not significantly differentfrom the quality of life of normal mothers. However, the healthcare team should pay more attentionregarding some dimensions of the quality of life. Eventually, similar studies are recommended to beconducted due to the lack of sufficient evidence regarding this issue among the mothers of ADHDchildren.
Fatemeh Salehi; Ali Ahmadi
Abstract
Background and aims: The purpose of this study was to revalidate the Persian version of the WHOquality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument to determine the quality of life status in the ShahrekordCohort Study (SCS) in the southwest of Iran. This study was designed to serve as one of the sources ofthe Prospective ...
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Background and aims: The purpose of this study was to revalidate the Persian version of the WHOquality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument to determine the quality of life status in the ShahrekordCohort Study (SCS) in the southwest of Iran. This study was designed to serve as one of the sources ofthe Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in Iran.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 2000 people were randomly selected from thestudy population of the SCS. The reliability and internal consistency of the WHOQOL-BREF weremeasured using Cronbach alpha coefficient and Pearson’s correlation. construct validity and factorsmeasured using Pearson’s correlation matrices with each of its domains. To measure the face, content,and construct validities, the views of the panel of experts and exploratory factor analysis were used. Inaddition, the validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using linear regression.Results: All domains of the questionnaire met the minimum reliability standards (Cronbach alphaand intra-class correlation >0.7), except for social relationships. The results of comparison analysisindicated that the questionnaire discriminated well between subgroups of the study samples differingin their health status. Regarding validity, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was 0.94 and the valueof Bartlett’s test was 1699.01 (P≤0.001).Conclusion: The findings suggested that WHOQOL-BREF is a reliable and valid measure of healthrelatedquality of life among SCS population.
Epidemiology
Marjan Hosseinpour; Mohammad Esmaeilpour Aghdam; Masumeh Piri; Farzad Maleki
Abstract
Background and aims: World’s older population is growing, and attention is being directed to the improvement of their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This article was conducted to investigate the HRQoL and associated factors in rural elderly residents in west of Iran. Methods: By using ...
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Background and aims: World’s older population is growing, and attention is being directed to the improvement of their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This article was conducted to investigate the HRQoL and associated factors in rural elderly residents in west of Iran. Methods: By using the multistage sampling method, 346 elders from rural areas of Shahindezh were enrolled in this population-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 2014. To assess the HRQoL of the elderly people, the Leiden-Padua (LEIPAD) questionnaire was used. The economic status was classified into 3 categories (good, moderate, and low) using the principal component analysis. Descriptive statistics, independent t test, ANOVA, and Spearman correlation coefficient were used to analyze data. Multivariate linear regression was performed to determine predictive factors.Results: The mean values and confidence intervals of total core scale and total moderator scale were 38.6 (36.7-40.6) and 31.2 (29.6-32.6), respectively. Univariate analysis showed age, marital status, economic status, occupation, income source, and ethnicity were associated with HRQoL (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed the married, the illiterate, widows/widowers and the divorced, people with low economic status, and the self-employed had low HRQoL with respect to total scale and total core scale models (P < 0.05). Conclusion: HRQoL varies according to socioeconomic factors. Its determinants should be addressed in social and health policies designed to improve the health of older people, especially the most vulnerable groups.
Zahra Omrani; Elnaz Talebi
Abstract
Background and aims: A high number of healthcare team members are nurses. Nurses’ quality of lifelevel is an important issue because it affects their level of care delivered to their patients. Knowledgeabout nurses’ level of quality of life is useful for planning. The present study was conducted ...
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Background and aims: A high number of healthcare team members are nurses. Nurses’ quality of lifelevel is an important issue because it affects their level of care delivered to their patients. Knowledgeabout nurses’ level of quality of life is useful for planning. The present study was conducted to examinethe quality of life of nurses and related factors.Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed during 2015-2016. Samples wererecruited from single nurses who worked in teaching hospitals in Tehran. To this end, 200 nurses wereselected by using simple random sampling method. Data collection was performed by researchersusing a researcher’s self-designed checklist for demographic characteristics and a 36-Item Short FormSurvey (SF-36). After data collection, data analysis was performed using SPSS 19.0 software.Results: Of 200 nurses, 118 (59%) were female, and 82 (41%) were male. Of 200 nurses, 192 (96%)were registered nurses and the rest had Master of Science degree in nursing. The mean score of qualityof life was 71.44 ± 10.12. Among subscales of quality of life, higher and lower scores were relatedto the subscale ‘social role functioning’ and ‘physical functioning’, respectively. Nurses’ sex was asignificant factor that affected their quality of life (P < 0.05).Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, nurses’ quality of life was at moderatelevel totally; however in some subscales they had some problems. Nurses’ quality of life needs moreattention. Further study in this regard is recommended.
Epidemiology
babak Emadi Dehaghi; Laaya Rasooli; Soraya Mohammadi Farsani
Volume 3, Issue 4 , November 2016, , Pages 324-328
Abstract
Background and aims: Nowadays introduction of regular blood transfusion therapy has obviously improved the life expectancy of patients with thalassemia. However, these patients face with newer challenges which influence their quality of life (QoL). In this study, the aim of this study was to measure ...
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Background and aims: Nowadays introduction of regular blood transfusion therapy has obviously improved the life expectancy of patients with thalassemia. However, these patients face with newer challenges which influence their quality of life (QoL). In this study, the aim of this study was to measure QoL among patients with β-thalassemia major (β-TM).Methods: A cross-sectional study was done at the thalassemia centre of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. All the forty patients with β-thalassemia which were more than 12 years old referred to blood transfusion and participated in this study. Then, they were asked to fill out the Short Form Health Status Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. The questionnaire evaluates 8 health areas including physical functioning (PF), role-physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role-emotional (RE) and mental health (MH). The scores of each participant were calculated and data were analyzed using SPSS.Results: There were 18 men and 22 women, and the mean age was 21.69±5.74 years (range 12-38). No significant difference was seen in QoL between men and women (68.72±19.79 versus 67.47±18.80, P=0.84). The mean±SD score of PF, RP, BP, GH, VT, SF, MH was 80.5±16, 83.75±29.17, 71.94±24.22, 57.48±23.93, 54.36±22.51, 68.94±23.37, 66.33±36.04 and 58.51±23.68, respectivly. No significant differences were detected in all mentioned scores between men and women (P>0.05).Conclusion: Although most of the participants had suitable physical functioning, thalassemia had a negative effect on emotional role, social functioning and mental health of patients. It shows the importance of psychosocial supports for these patients.
Tina Jafari; Masoud Amiri
Volume 3, Issue 2 , June 2016, , Pages 138-146
Abstract
Background and aims: Diabetes affects all physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of patient’s health. Postmenopausal diabetic women are more susceptible due to their crucial conditions. The emotional regulatory role of vitamin D may be because of the existence of its receptors distributed ...
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Background and aims: Diabetes affects all physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of patient’s health. Postmenopausal diabetic women are more susceptible due to their crucial conditions. The emotional regulatory role of vitamin D may be because of the existence of its receptors distributed in brain areas involved in emotional processing and affective disorders. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of 3-mounth regular consumption of vitamin D-fortified low fat yogurt on QOL indices in diabetic postmenopausal women. Methods: Fifty nine postmenopausal diabetic women randomly allocated to the ‘FY’ (received vitamin D-fortified low fat yogurt, containing 2000 IU vitamin D in 100 g) or ‘PY’ (received plain low fat yogurt without additive) treatment groups. The quality of life questionnaire SF-36 which is the most widely used method to assess the QOL was used before and after the intervention. Results: After the 3-month intervention, physical performance, vitality, and mental health scores significantly increased and the score of physical pain decreased in the FY group. In the PY group, physical performance, vitality, and emotional role scores significantly decreased. Final scores of physical performance and vitality significantly increased in the FY group compare to the PY group while physical? Conclusion: Three months daily consumption of 2000 IU vitamin D fortified low-fat yogurt improved physical performance, physical pain, and vitality while the other domains of QOL assessments did not show significant changes.
Women's Health
Yousef Veisani; Ali Delpisheh; Kourosh Sayehmiri
Volume 2, Issue 4 , November 2015, , Pages 178-183
Abstract
Background and aims: According to psychological research female-headed households have a lot of physical and mental problems because they experience stress and anxiety more than the other women in general population. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of life and the associated factors ...
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Background and aims: According to psychological research female-headed households have a lot of physical and mental problems because they experience stress and anxiety more than the other women in general population. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of life and the associated factors in female-headed households under the Welfare Organization coverage of Ilam Province.Methods: In this descriptive analytical study, 787 female-headed households under the Welfare Organization coverage of Ilam in urban and rural in Ilam province participated in this study. Systematic random sampling was used as a sampling method. A validated questionnaire (SF-36) completed in a six-month interval and then the data were collected and analyzed.Results: From 787 female-headed households contributing to the project, the numbers of missing subjects were 79 and 708 of the subjects completed the questionnaires (response rate 89.9%). Mean ± SD age of participants was 53.3±19.18. The results of this study showed an unfavorable health related quality of life in female-headed households spatially in role–physical (mean score 48.06) and mental health (mean score 40.80) demission. We found that having the chronic disease and living in rural area were associated with an unfavorable health related quality of life (P≤0.001).Conclusion: According to the results, the most important reason affecting the quality of life in female-headed households is low level of illiteracy and having a chronic illness.