Assessing the risk factors before pregnancy of preterm births in Iran: a population-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is a major cause of prenatal and postnatal mortality particularly in developing countries. This study investigated the maternal risk factors associated with the risk of preterm birth. METHODS: A population-based case-control study was conducted in several provinces of Iran on 2463 mothers referred to health care centers. Appropriate descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used to evaluate the association between maternal risk factors and the risk of preterm birth. All tests were two-sided, and P values < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean gestational age was 31.5 ± 4.03 vs. 38.8 ± 1.06 weeks in the case and control groups, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis showed a statistically significant association between preterm birth and mother's age and ethnicity. Women of Balooch ethnicity and age ≥ 35 years were significantly more likely to develop preterm birth (OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.01--2.44 and OR: 9.72; 95% CI: 3.07-30.78, respectively). However, no statistically significant association was observed between preterm birth and mother's place of residence, level of education, past history of cesarean section, and BMI. CONCLUSION: Despite technological advances in the health care system, preterm birth still remains a major concern for health officials. Providing appropriate perinatal health care services as well as raising the awareness of pregnant women, especially for high-risk groups, can reduce the proportion of preventable preterm births.

The comparison of depression and anxiety between fertile and infertile couples: A meta-analysis study.

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are the most common reaction in infertile couples. Several studies have been conducted to examine the psychiatric disorders among infertile and fertile couples. OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis was conducted to compare the depression and anxiety in fertile and infertile couples in various studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors searched articles published in multiple databases including World Health Organization, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Science Direct, Medline EMBASE and Persian databases including Scientific Information Database (SID) and IranMedx between 2005 and 2017. The main keywords used for searching the databases were: depression, anxiety, infertility, and fertility. Statistical analyses were performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis/2.0 software. RESULTS: The authors found 42 related articles after searching the databases. 11 articles entered the meta-analysis after considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, eight articles were chosen for the comparison of depression and anxiety, two published articles for the comparison of depression, and one published article to compare anxiety in fertile and infertile couples. The results of the heterogeneity test showed a significant heterogeneity among all articles that were analyzed in this meta-analysis in the field of depression and anxiety. The results showed that depression (p = 0.0001; Hedges'g = 1.21; 95% CI 0.63-1.78) and anxiety (p = 0.00001; Hedges'g = 0.63; 95% CI 0.54-0.73) were higher in infertile couples than fertile couples and that the possibility of a publication bias does not exist in this study. CONCLUSION: The analysis of articles used in this meta-analysis showed that depression and anxiety scores in infertile couples were higher than fertile couples.

Epidemiology and trend of cancers in the province of Kerman: southeast of Iran.

BACKGROUND: According to increase in elderly populations, and change in lifestyle and cancer-causing behavior, the global burden of cancer is increasing. For prevention and control of disease, knowledge of population statistics of cancers and their trends is essential. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology and trends of cancer in the province of Kerman: southeast of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This analytical and cross-sectional study was carried out based on cancer registry data at the Disease Management Center of the Health Ministry from 2004 to 2009 in the province of Kerman in Iran. Common cancers were defined as the number of reported cases and standardized incidence rates. To compute the annual percentage change (APC), joinpoint 4.1.1.1 software was applied. RESULTS: Of 10,595 registered cases, 45.3% (4802 cases) were in women and 56.7% (5,793 cases) occurred in men. The standardized incidence rates for both females and males were increasing during the six years studied. The most common cancers in both sexes during six years of studied were skin (13.4%), breast (9.35%), bladder (7.8%), stomach (7.45%), leukemia (7.05%), colorectal(5.57%), lung(4.92%), trachea(3.51%) and prostate(2.48%). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed that the cancer incidence is demonstrating increasing trends in both sexes in the province of Kerman. This may be because of changes in lifestyle, increasing exposure to risk factors for cancer and increase of life expectancy. If this is the case, increasing public awareness of cancer risk factors is a high priority, together with introduction of large-scale screening techniques.