Vaccination status and outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Iran during the dominant Delta variant period.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the characteristics, vaccination status, and outcomes of confidence interval (COVID-19) patients, admitted to a tertiary hospital in Iran during the predominant severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant period. METHODS: This retrospective study assessed the medical records of all hospitalized COVID-19 patients, who were admitted to a tertiary hospital from July 10 to September 15, 2021. Adjusted binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine factors associated with poor outcomes. RESULTS: More than 25% of hospitalized patients received at least one vaccine dose of SARS-CoV-2. The Sinopharm BIBP vaccine (China) was the most commonly received vaccine (73.3%). After adjusting for age and comorbidities, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for poor outcomes was significantly lower in hospitalized patients who received Remdesivir compared to those not receiving Remdesivir (AOR: 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.15, 0.78; p < .010). Besides, age ≥50 years (AOR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.38, 4.59; p < .003), low educational level (AOR: 3.99; 95% CI: 1.17, 13.53; p < .027), work outside in the past year (AOR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.02, 3.00; p < .041), and diabetes mellitus (AOR: 1.95; 95% CI: 1.66, 3.26; p = .011) were associated with more poor outcomes. CONCLUSION: Based on the present results, the risk of mortality and the risk of poor outcomes were lower in patients who received Remdesivir compared to those not receiving Remdesivir. The number of vaccinated patients was smaller than the unvaccinated among hospitalized patients. It is important to emphasize that vaccination reduced the need for hospitalization and that only vaccinated patients with comorbidities required hospitalization.

Exploring the Relationship between Depression on Menopausal Symptoms and Personality Trails.

The aim of the present study was to explore the potential relationships between menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, hot flash, and depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women. A cross-sectional study was designed with 150 healthy postmenopausal women (45-60 years of age) who had referred to the menopausal clinic in Babol. The participants completed the following instruments throughout the study: the Beck Depression Inventory for depressive symptoms, the Modified Blatt-Kupperman Menopausal Index for measuring menopausal symptoms, and the NEO-FFI for identifying the personality traits. After controlling all the covariates, high depressive symptoms were found to be associated with moderate/sever menopausal symptoms, poor sleep quality, and the average and high level of neuroticism. The results also demonstrated that the risk of depressive symptoms was lower in menopausal women with high level extroversion, high level agreeableness, and the average and high level of conscientiousness. The findings of the present study indicated that personality traits, menopausal symptoms, and poor sleep quality in particular can partially account for depression in Iranian menopausal women. It is highly imperative that effective health education or implement appropriate strategies to improve the quality of life for these women.

Plasma p-tau181 associated with structural changes in mild cognitive impairment.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with dementia and is a serious concern for the health of individuals and government health care systems worldwide. Gray matter atrophy and white matter damage are major contributors to cognitive deficits in AD patients, as demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Many of these brain changes associated with AD begin to occur about 15 years before the onset of initial clinical symptoms. Therefore, it is critical to find biomarkers reflective of these brain changes associated with AD to identify this disease and monitor its prognosis and development. The increased plasma level of hyperphosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181) has been recently considered a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of AD, preclinical AD, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In the current study, we examined the association of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma levels of p-tau181 with structural brain changes in cortical thickness, cortical volume, surface area, and subcortical volume in MCI patients. In this cross-sectional study, we included the information of 461 MCI patients from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort. The results of voxel-wise partial correlation analyses showed a significant negative correlation between the increased levels of plasma p-tau181, CSF total tau, and CSF p-tau181 with structural changes in widespread brain regions. These results provide evidence for the use of plasma p-tau181 as a diagnostic marker for structural changes in the brain associated with the early stages of AD and neurodegeneration.

The relationship between neck circumference and gestational diabetes mellitus in Iranian women.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between neck circumference and gestational diabetes. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted on 372 Iranian pregnant women. The criteria set by the American Diabetes Association through 2 h was used to classify subjects with regard to their gestational diabetes. At the 14-16th weeks of pregnancy, the neck circumference was measured. The maternal and fetal outcomes were measured as well. RESULTS: The adjusted logistic regression revealed that neck circumference was a predictor for gestational diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.34; P = 0.002). The ROC analysis depicted that the cut-off for neck circumference in indicating gestational diabetes was 34.3 cm, with the sensitivity of 53% and the specificity of 66%. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study revealed that the neck circumference of ≥34.3 cm can be deemed as a predictor of gestational diabetes in the case of Iranian pregnant women.

Examination of associations between personality traits, and polymorphisms of MAO-A and 5-HTT with the severity of menopausal symptoms and depression levels.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between different personality traits with monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) and serotonin transporter (5-HTT), and to examine their effects on the severity of menopause symptoms as well as the levels of depression in menopausal women. The study was designed as an analytical cross-sectional study, performed on 132 healthy post-menopausal women in Iran. Personality was assessed using the Revised Edition of the NEO Personality Index (Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness-Five Factor Inventory). The symptoms score sheet, used for measuring menopausal symptoms, was used to classify the participants according to their menopausal symptoms. Furthermore, Beck Depression Inventory short version was also used to assess depressive symptoms. Examination of blood samples taken from all participants was to identify DNA polymorphisms of 5-HTT using PCR. The results of the present study showed that a high level of neuroticism (P<0.0001), low levels of extroversion (P<0.002), an openness to experience (P=0.039) and conscientiousness (P=0.001) were all positively associated with the severity of menopausal symptoms. In addition, a high level of neuroticism (P<0.0001), low levels of extroversion (P<0.0001), and a low level of agreeableness (P<0.024) and conscientiousness (P<0.0001) were all positively associated with depressive symptoms. There was no statistically significant association between MAO-A and 5-HTT polymorphisms with menopause and depression scores. Based on these results, there appears to be a significant association between personality traits with both depression and menopausal symptoms. Identification of homogeneous groups of women who are predisposed to depression and severe menopausal symptoms may allow for the implementation of early prevention programs.