Latent class of depressive symptoms of and its determinants: A cross-sectional study among Iranian University students.

Background: According to the report of the World Health Organization, mental disorders are one of the 10 most important causes of disability in the world. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the number and frequency of latent classes of depression and its determinants in Isfahan university of medical students. Materials and Methods: A total of 1408 medical students from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were enrolled in the study in 2017. The symptoms and severity of depression were assessed using the standard Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale questionnaire. Latent class analysis was applied to seven symptoms of depression, all of which had four levels. Latent class subgroups were compared using the Chi-square test and analysis of variance test. The regression model was used to check the relationship between identified classes and related factors. Analyzes were done using SPSS-21 and Mplus7 software. Results: In this study, three latent classes were identified, that is, the group of healthy people, the group of borderline people, and the group of people suspected of depression. The prevalence of identified latent classes among medical students is 0.52, 0.32, and 0.16%, respectively. The regression results showed that compared to the healthy group, the factors affecting depression in the borderline and suspicious group were increasing age, female gender, interest in the field of study, physical activity, history of depression, and history of anxiety. Conclusion: The three classes that were identified based on the students' answers to the depression symptoms questions differed only based on severity. The history of depression and anxiety were the strongest predictors of latent classes of depression.

Improving HIV stigma in the marginalized population in Khorramabad, Iran: A single-blinded randomized, controlled educational trial using role-playing and lecturing.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of role-playing and lecture on improving the attitudes of the Khorramabad suburban population toward the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In 2019, 270 people aged 18 and above participated in a randomized controlled trial in Khorramabad, Iran. Individuals were randomly assigned to one of three groups: role-playing, lecture, or control. To collect data before and after the intervention, we used a standard HIV knowledge and attitude questionnaire. Before the educational intervention, three marginalized groups' attitudes toward HIV were stigmatized. After the intervention, the attitudes of both the role-playing and lecture groups improved significantly relative to the control group (P<0.0001); there was no significant difference between the two methods (P>0.05). The correlation between attitude and knowledge scores was positive (P<0.0001). This study demonstrates that education is a fundamental pillar of improving attitudes toward people living with HIV (PLHIV) and can reduce stigma against them, thereby increasing their desire to disclose their condition and seek medical care. Trial registration: The trial registration code is IRCTID: IRCT20190807044467N1 (https://en.irct.ir/trial/41464).

The Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Its Relationship with Mental Health Among High School Students in Bushehr, Iran (2018).

Background: The overuse and abuse of the Internet incur the risk of Internet addiction. Besides, as adolescents spend many hours on the Internet, their general health is at stake. Methods: The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study sample included 1000 female and male high school students in Bushehr City in 2018. The students took part in this study by completing Kimberly Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Goldenberg's Mental Health Questionnaire. The frequency, mean, and standard deviation measures were also used to explain the results, and data analysis was performed using the Chi-squared tests technique, which was also used to analyze the data and to examine the relationship among mental health and Internet addiction and logistical regression. Results: According to the results of the prevalence of Internet addiction it was found that 1.1% (10 individuals) were Internet-addicted and 33.1% (299 individuals) were at the risk of Internet addiction. The findings of this study indicated that four different areas of mental health including physical condition, anxiety, depression, and social functioning have a direct relationship with Internet addiction (P < 0.05). Conclusions: In the present study, a large percentage of the students were prone to Internet addiction. Hence, it is necessary to plan and perform preventive, controlling, and interventional measures for high school students.

Prevalence of short and long sleep duration: Ravansar NonCommunicable Disease (RaNCD) cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of short and long sleep duration varies in different countries and changes over time. There are limited studies on Iranians' sleep duration, and we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of short and long sleep duration and associated factors among people living in Kermanshah, Iran. METHODS: This population-based cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2014 and February 2017. Data was collected from 10,025 adults aged 35 to 65 years using census sampling, and we evaluated the short and long sleep duration (≤ 6 and ≥ 9 h, respectively) and its relation with the socio-demographic factors and health-related status of the participants. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 48.1 years (standard deviation = 8.2), and 47.4% of participants were male. Of our participants, 11.6% had short, and 21.9% had long sleep duration. Age ≥ 50 years, female gender, being single, mobile use for longer than 8 h per day, working in night shifts, moderate and good levels of physical activity, BMI ≥ 30, past smoking, and alcohol use were associated with short sleep duration (P < 0.05). Female gender and living in rural areas were associated with long sleep duration (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In the Ravansar population, short and long sleep duration are prevalent, with long sleep duration having higher prevalence. People at risk, such as night shift workers, as well as modifiable factors, such as mobile phone use, can be targeted with interventions to improve sleep hygiene.

Fear and rumor associated with COVID-19 among Iranian adults, 2020.

CONTEXT: At time of epidemics, fear and rumors in the community are the main obstacles to the success of prevention programs. AIMS: The aim of the study was to investigate the fear and rumors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the Iranian population. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted on residents of six cities of Iran via street-based multistage sampling in March 2020. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The eligible participants completed a self-administered questionnaire about rumor and fear related to COVID-19 epidemy. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed through linear regression and survey analysis using Stata (version 11). RESULTS: A total of 2249 (49.3% women) were included. The main source of information was Iranian broadcasting (68.5%). The overall mean (standard deviation) score of fear and rumor among the Iranian population was 15.68 (0.46) and 39.24 (1.27), respectively. Educational level was associated with fear of COVID-19 (P = 0.001). Trusting to the rumors was affected by age (<0.0001), education level (P < 0.0001), underlying disease (P = 0.017), and workplace situation (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The fear and rumor surrounding the epidemic of COVID-19 were common in society that could make an epidemic of COVID-19 difficult to control. Increasing public awareness via reliable mass media is recommended.