Impact of traditional Chinese Baduanjin exercise on menstrual health among international female students studying in China: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Menstrual symptoms were the common complaints of international female students during the acculturation period, and the symptoms negatively affected the daily life and school performance of those women. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the traditional Chinese Baduanjin exercise on reducing menstrual symptoms for international female students studying in China during the acculturation period. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial among 62 international female students who suffered menstrual symptoms during the first 6 months after arriving in China. The study was carried out at three campuses of the two largest universities in the capital of a province in south-central China from March to October 2021. After screening, participants were randomly assigned to a control or intervention group. The intervention group engaged in 24 weeks of Baduanjin exercise for at least 30 min per day. The menstrual symptoms, sociocultural adaptation, perceived stress, and sleep quality were evaluated at baseline, the 12th week, and the 24th week. The chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, paired sample t-test, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)were adopted to analyze the data using SPSS 25.0. Results: Totally, 62 participants were enrolled in this study from 30 countries. Their mean age was 27.87 ± 5.58 years. None of the participants reported an adverse event. The results of the MANOVA test showed that the traditional Chinese Baduanjin exercise reduced the total score of MSQ among international female students (intervention: 47.83 ± 8.71 vs. control: 65.12 ± 16.86; F = 19.49, P < 0.01). In addition, the results of the MANOVA indicated statistically significant decreases in scores for the two subscales of MSQ: premenstrual symptoms (intervention: 17.07 ± 3.33 vs. control: 28.42 ± 7.56; F = 44.70, P < 0.01)and menstrual pain (16.03 ± 4.53 vs. 19.58 ± 5.14; F = 6.50, P < 0.05). Moreover, the results showed that traditional Chinese Baduanjin exercise reduced the scores of the sociocultural adaptation level, the perceived stress level, and sleep quality and improved the blood progesterone hormone and blood estrogen hormone. Conclusion: Regular Baduanjin exercise is a safe, acceptable, and effective form of exercise to promote international female students' menstrual health, reduce stress levels, and improve sleep quality. Trial registration: www.chictr.org.cn, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2300072376.

The experiences of menstrual symptom changes among international students studying in China during the acculturation period: A phenomenology study.

Objectives: Menstruation is a normal physiological phenomenon among female which could be influenced by the process of acculturation. Few studies have explored the experience of menstrual symptom changes among international female students studying in China. Therefore, this paper aims to summarize international female students' experiences of menstrual symptom changes when they were studying in China and interpret these changes through considering the influence of acculturation on their social and academic lives. Methods: We used a descriptive phenomenology approach. Structured in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted between May and November 2019 among ten international female students studying in one Province located in south central China. Participants were those who reported having experienced menstrual symptom changes during the acculturation period, which was defined as the first six months of living in China. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo 11.0 with the guidance of Colaizzi's seven-step method. Results: The international female students' experiences of menstrual symptom changes were summarized and grouped into five main categories and 13 subcategories. The main categories include: 1) demonstration of menstrual symptom changes, 2) challenges of maintaining menstrual function in the new setting, 3) coping styles to take care of menstrual health, 4) consequences of the menstrual symptom changes, and 5) culture-based attitude toward menstruation. Conclusions: International female students reported experiences of menstrual symptom changes, including somatic and psychological symptoms during the acculturation period. Culture barriers, academic stress, and sleep patterns are common factors influencing their menstrual symptom changes. More culturally-tailored interventions should be explored to improve the menstrual health of international female students in China.

HIV knowledge, sexual practices, condom use and its associated factors among international students in one province of China: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: China has seen an increasing number of international students in recent years, mostly from Africa and Asia. However, little is known about these students' HIV knowledge, sexual practices and potential HIV risk. This study aimed to describe HIV-related risk among international students. DESIGN: An online cross-sectional survey. SETTING: 10 universities situated in one province of China. PARTICIPANTS: 617 international students filled out the questionnaire and 607 international students were included in this study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Socio-demographic and programme-related characteristics, HIV-related knowledge, sexual practices and other HIV/sexually transmitted infection-related variables. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine factors associated with inconsistent condom use among international students. RESULT: The results showed that in total, only 51.6% (313/607) of international students had adequate HIV-related knowledge, and 64.9% (394/607) reported not receiving any HIV related education or training while studying in China. Moreover, 32.3% (196/607) reported having penetrative sex including oral, vaginal and anal sex during the period in which they studied in China and among them. The proportions of inconsistent condom use in vaginal and oral intercourse while studying in China were 52.6% (50/95) and 79.5% (35/44), respectively, with casual partners, and 60% (80/129) and 91.2% (52/57) with regular partners, respectively. Female gender, being married and having multiple sexual partners were associated with inconsistent condom use. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that international students in one province of China have suboptimal HIV-related knowledge, significant unprotected sex, less HIV testing and less safe sex education, which highlights an urgent need to provide HIV education and related health services to international students in China.

Prevalence of menstrual symptoms change and influencing factors among international female students studying in china during acculturation period.

BACKGROUND: A number of previous studies have explored international students' adaptation process with regards to language, lifestyle, food, and environment. However, there have yet been no studies conducted to address the menstrual symptoms challenges faced by international female students during the acculturation period. Thus, this study aims to describe the prevalence of menstrual symptoms change and to explore the influencing factors among international female students studying in China during the acculturation period. METHODS: An online cross sectional study was conducted among international female students studying in China during the acculturation period (defined as the first six months of living in the host country) in Hunan Province of China from March 2019 to July 2019. Menstrual symptoms questionnaire, sociocultural adaptation scale, China higher education student satisfaction scale, perceived stress scale, and Pittsburgh sleep quality index were used for data collection. Descriptive analysis, ANOVA, paired t-test, Pearson correlation, and multivariate linear regressions were used to analyze the data using SPSS 21.0 software. RESULTS: Three hundred and forty-five (97.18%, 345/355) female students from 45 countries fully completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the participants was (26.59 ± 6.439) years. In total, 18.49% of participants had encountered menstrual symptoms change. There were significant differences in the menstrual symptoms score between before arrival and evaluation during the first six months of living in China (t = - 11.700, p = 0.000). The main menstrual symptoms change included cramps (17.68%), irritation (14.78%), abdominal pain (12.46%), fatigue (12.46%), and headaches (9.85%). Cultural adaptation level (ß = 0.198, 95% CI: 0.934, 2.995), sleep quality (ß = 0.166, 95% CI: 0.112, 0.496), perceived stress (ß = 0.193, 95% CI: 0.123, 0.410), time spent in the host environment, (ß = - 0.270, 95% CI: - 3.200, - 1.444) and experience of visiting foreign countries (ß = 0.184, 95% CI: 1.134, 4.125) were significantly correlated with menstrual symptoms change. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of menstrual symptoms change among international female students should not be overlooked when considering menstrual health in this population. Poorer cultural adaptation, poorer sleep quality, higher stress, and lack of overseas living experiences significantly influence the menstrual symptoms of international female students studying in China.

Prevalence and risk factors of postpartum depression in the Middle East: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common social health problem that affects not only the mother and newborn, but extends to other family members as well as various aspects of their lives. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify the prevalence and risk factors of postpartum among the women in Middle East countries. METHODS: We searched published articles from Web of Science, EMBASE, PubMed and Cochrane electronic databases to establish study articles. Articles regarding postpartum depression prevalence and associated factors among women in the Middle East were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. A random-effect model was used for estimation of pooled postpartum depression prevalence with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and forest plot. Presence of heterogeneity was checked by Cochran's (Q) test, and funnel plots and Egger's statistical tests were used to assess publication bias. RESULTS: A total of 15 studies were included in this systematic review. The studies were conducted in different countries of the Middle East between 2006 and 2020, nine of the included studies were cross-sectional studies and six were cohort studies. The overall pooled estimate of the prevalence of postpartum depression in the Middle East mothers was very high 27% (95% CI 0.19-0.35). The common risk factors reported based on our review were poor economic, pregnancy associated complications, low education, unplanned pregnancy, housewife, inadequate social support from family members and the feeding by formula. Poor economic and complication during pregnancy presented a significant relationship regarding postpartum depression in meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of postpartum depression in the Middle East was higher than other regions of the world. In response to this, we recommend an increase of routine screening for depression during postpartum in this area. Furthermore, it might be necessary to integrate mental health with maternal health care in clinical practice during the postpartum.