Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among Iranian pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasmosis is a great public health concern due to its capacity for prenatal transmission. Serologic studies have reported various estimates for seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among Iranian pregnant women. Estimation of the pooled prevalence of this infection is necessary for policy-making. AIMS: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Iranian pregnant women using systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: We searched national and international databases to identify relevant studies. To enhance the search sensitivity, we evaluated all references and interviewed relevant researchers and research centres. The final studies for meta-analysis were selected according to the quality assessment as well as inclusion/exclusion criteria. Because of the heterogeneity of the primary results, random effects models were used to estimate the pooled prevalence of T. gondii. We included 43 studies with a total sample size of 22 644 in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: The pooled seroprevalence of overall toxoplasma infection, IgG antibody and IgM antibody was estimated at 41.3% (95% CI: 35.8-46.8), 39.2% (95% CI: 33.3-45.1) and 4.0% (95% CI: 3.1-4.9) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that a considerable proportion of Iranian pregnant women are at high risk for toxoplasmosis.

Molecular Characterization of Highly Susceptible Candida africana from Vulvovaginal Candidiasis.

Phylogenetic studies highlight Candida africana as an atypical variant within Candida albicans species complex which is dominantly recovered from vaginal specimens. This study aimed to characterize C. africana isolates from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) by molecular methods and in vitro susceptibilities. One hundred and fifty-six (48.44%) Candida strains were collected from 322 patients diagnosed with VVC. Of these, 114 (73.07%) were germ tube positive and presented green color on the chromogenic medium, thus classified as C. albicans species complex. One hundred and nine (95.61%) out of 114 isolates were identified as C. albicans, while five (4.38%) isolates were identical with C. africana based on hwp1 PCR. C. africana appeared to be highly susceptible to the tested antifungals. For all strains of C. africana, fluconazole MIC was 2-log2-dilution steps less active than amphotericin B, which in turn was 2-log2-dilution steps and 3-log2-dilution steps less active than other azoles and echinocandin agents, respectively. In conclusion, among the C. albicans species complex, C. albicans predominantly and C. africana rarely occur in vaginal mucosa. Due to limited information on molecular epidemiology of this novel yeast, more studies using molecular methods are needed to elucidate the inter- and intraspecific genomic variations of C. africana isolates.

The effect of social network based motivational interviewing on health behaviors among infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled trial.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the commonest and complex endocrine disorders in females of reproductive age. Attention to self-care behaviors such as health-promoting behaviors can improve physiological and psychological conditions in women with PCOS. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of Social Network-Based Motivational Interviewing on health-promoting behaviors and quality of life of infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome. In this randomized controlled trial, 60 infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome were randomly selected and assigned to the interventio (n = 30) or a control group (n = 30). Participants in the control group received routine care. Those in the intervention group received five motivational group sessions in WhatsApp, which were conducted in five groups of six participants each. The data related to health-promoting behaviors and quality of life were collected through an online questionnaire. Both groups were followed up immediately and 2 months after the intervention. Data collected in the two stages were analyzed using the paired-samples t-test, Chi-square, and repeated measures analysis. No significant difference was observed between the two groups before the intervention means health-promoting behaviors and quality of life scores (p>0.05). Immediately and two months after the intervention, the mean scores of health-promoting behaviors and their domains increased in the intervention group. This increase is statistically compared to the first test, and the scores obtained by the control group in the second (p< 0.001, ES = 1.5) and the third test (p< 0.001, ES= 1.3) were significant. The score of the quality of life variable increase was not statistically significant compared to the first test and also to the scores obtained by the control group. However According to the Generalized estimating equations (GEE) test, the changes in quality of life score between the two groups in the three stages of measurement are statistically significant. WhatsApp support increases the health-promoting self-care behaviors rate and has favorable effects on follow-up.Trial registration: Iranian Registry for Clinical Trial (the link to trial: https://www.irct.ir/trial/48089 ). Registered August 11 2020.