Effectiveness of Karate in Oncology Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Cancer is a global health concern and affects patient quality of life, anxiety, depression, and sleep. Physical exercise shows promise in alleviating these effects. Karate is a holistic intervention that could be used to improve several outcomes related to cancer disease, but to date its effect remains unexplored. This quasi-experimental pre-/poststudy evaluated the effects of a 6-month karate program conducted twice a week for 60 minutes each session on quality of life, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and psychosomatic symptoms in 22 patients with posttherapy oncology. Significant improvements in quality of life (P = .006), anxiety (P < .001), depression (P < .001), and sleep quality (P = .011) were observed. Multidimensional psychophysical evaluation showed significant reductions in symptoms (P < .05). High participant satisfaction was reported across all dimensions. This pilot study shows the potential benefits in oncology patients, but more research is necessary to confirm these findings.

Assessing the risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in relation to Hookah smoking: Evidence from a cohort study in Southern Iran.

Background: Hookah smoking has pointedly increased worldwide and could have different harmful health effects. However, long term hookah smoking effects on chronic diseases has not been well studied. This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between hookah smoking with metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Methods: In this prospective study, the baseline data from 3695 participant (35-70 years old) of Bandar-e-Kong cohort study in Hormozgan province, Iran were used. In this study, data were collected through the questionnaires designed in the Kong cohort study and 25 mm of blood sample. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 27.0 and the ggplot2 package in RStudio version 2023.06.1 + 524. p < 0.05 was considered a significant difference. Results: The prevalence of hookah smoking was 17.3% in total. Also, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were 35.6, 15.2, 31.2, and 78.0%, respectively. Our results showed that there were statistically significant relationship between hookah smoking and metabolic syndrome, hypertension and diabetes (p < 0.05). In the case of dyslipidemia, hookah smoking was also associated with increase in dyslipidemia (p < 0.05). Conclusions: More evidence is needed to understand the mechanism of hookah smoking and these health effects. As well as, health education and increasing public awareness about the health effects of hookah smoking and implementation of smoking prohibition policies are highly recommended.

Atherogenic index of plasma as a predictor of coronary artery disease: a cohort study in south of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an atherosclerotic disease of an inflammatory nature. Previous studies examining the relationship between triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol have highlighted the importance of plasma atherogenic index (AIP) as an important predictor of coronary heart disease. However, due to the lack of adequate information on this topic, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between AIP and coronary heart disease risk. RESULTS: This study included 2,226 women and 1,690 men aged 35-70 years who participated in the Bandar Kong Cohort study and met the eligibility criteria. The data was collected using a checklist and questionnaires, which were designed by experienced individuals. After participants completed a registration form and gave informed consent, face-to-face interviews were conducted by trained experts. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire had been verified by the national cohort team prior to its use. The Ethics Committee of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (IR.HUMS.REC.1400.171) approved the study. Data from the initial cohort survey using SPSS software version 25, were analyzed to include several factors, including age, sex, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), physical activity level, socioeconomic status, AIP, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. The prevalence of coronary heart disease was found to be 7.5% higher in people with a BMI of 25 or higher. Also, Individuals with low physical activity had a higher prevalence. Individuals with CAD had significantly higher mean values for the AIP, age, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure (0.46, 57.50, 128.43, and 81.10, respectively) compared to those without CAD. Furthermore, patients with CAD had lower years of education (2649.45 and 3.59) than individuals without CAD (P < 0.05). Importantly, our findings showed that AIP increased the odds ratio of coronary heart disease by 1.86 as an independent risk factor. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our investigation, the AIP is a valuable and independent predictive risk factor for coronary artery disease. This index can be utilized effectively due to its accessibility and affordability, making it a promising tool for risk assessment in clinical settings.