Investigate the relationship between the retraction reasons and the quality of methodology in non-Cochrane retracted systematic reviews: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review aimed to investigate the relationship between retraction status and the methodology quality in the retracted non-Cochrane systematic review. METHOD: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched with keywords including systematic review, meta-analysis, and retraction or retracted as a type of publication until September 2023. There were no time or language restrictions. Non-Cochrane medical systematic review studies that were retracted were included in the present study. The data related to the retraction status of the articles were extracted from the retraction notice and Retraction Watch, and the quality of the methodology was evaluated with the AMSTAR-2 checklist by two independent researchers. Data were analyzed in the Excel 2019 and SPSS 21 software. RESULT: Of the 282 systematic reviews, the corresponding authors of 208 (73.75%) articles were from China. The average interval between publish and retraction of the article was about 23 months and about half of the non-Cochrane systematic reviews were retracted in the last 4 years. The most common reasons for retractions were fake peer reviews and unreliable data, respectively. Editors and publishers were the most retractors or requestors for retractions. More than 86% of the retracted non-Cochrane SRs were published in journals with an impact factor above two and had a critically low quality. Items 7, 9, and 13 among the critical items of the AMSTAR-2 checklist received the lowest scores. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: There was a significant relationship between the reasons of retraction and the quality of the methodology (P-value < 0.05). Plagiarism software and using the Cope guidelines may decrease the time of retraction. In some countries, strict rules for promoting researchers increase the risk of misconduct. To avoid scientific errors and improve the quality of systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SRs/MAs), it is better to create protocol registration and retraction guidelines in each journal for SRs/MAs.

Important Systemic Factors for Improving Adolescent Mental Health Literacy.

Objective: Mental health literacy is especially important during adolescence and youth, because the peak of the onset of mental disorders occurs in this period. The present study aimed to identify the effective systemic factors for improving Iranian adolescent mental health literacy from the Perspective of policymakers and experts. Method : This qualitative study was performed on 21 policymakers and health literacy/mental health experts since May 2020 to September 2020 in the workplace of the interviewees in Tehran. Purposive sampling (snowball method) was conducted based on experience, expertise, and the willingness to participate in an interview. All interviews were conducted with the presence of the interviewer at the interviewees' workplace in Tehran. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed via the conventional content analysis method. Results: Five themes were extracted as systemic factors for improving adolescent mental health literacy. Themes were "mental health literacy training", "integration and coordination of stakeholder organizations", "resources and facilities", "continuous assessment" and "provision of information." Conclusion: Before policy-making and planning to enhance adolescents' knowledge and awareness of mental health issues, it is necessary to attract policymakers' attention to the macro level and identify direct and indirect strategies for the correct implementation of policies adopted in this field.

Hypertension and Pre-Hypertension in Middle East and North Africa (MENA): A Meta-Analysis of Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control.

Hypertension (HTN) is one of the most important public health challenges, especially in developing countries. Despite individual studies, information on the exact prevalence of prehypertension (pre-HTN) and HTN in the Middle East and North Africa is lacking. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate prevalence of pre-HTN and HTN, awareness, treatment, and control in the Middle East and North Africa region. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched from inception to April 30, 2021. Keywords included hypertension, pre-hypertension, awareness, treatment, and control. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Hoy scale. A random-effects model was evaluated based on overall HTN. The heterogeneity of the preliminary studies was evaluated using the I2 test. A total of 147 studies involving 1,312,244 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Based on the results of the random-effects method (95% CI), the prevalence of pre-HTN and HTN were 30.6% (95% CI: 25.2, 36.0%; I2 = 99.9%), and 26.2% (95% CI: 24.6, 27.9%; I2 = 99.8%), respectively. The prevalence of HTN awareness was 51.3% (95% CI: 47.7, 54.8; I2 = 99.0%). The prevalence of HTN treatment was 47.0% (95% CI: 34.8, 59.2; I2 = 99.9%). The prevalence of HTN control among treated patients was 43.1% (95% CI: 38.3, 47.9; I2 = 99.3%). Considering the high prevalence of HTN, very low awareness, and poor HTN control in the region, more attention should be paid to preventive programs for HTN reduction.

Depression Literacy of Women and Girls in Terms of Prevention and Interventions.

Objective: Recognizing the status of mental health literacy among women and girls as effective and key individuals in family and society seem to be essential. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate depression literacy among women and girls in Tehran on prevention and effective interventions for improving depression. Method : This study was part of a large mental health literacy project on residents of Tehran in 2017, with a sample size of 1023 girls and women aged 16-68 years. Random Digit Dialing (RDD) sampling was done using the Australian questionnaire, whose Persian version's validity and reliability was tested in our previous study. Data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software. In order to determine the effect of demographic variables on predicting depression literacy among participants, multiple regression analysis was performed. Results: Receiving counseling, relaxation training, having physical activity, and studying self-help books were the most helpful items, respectively, from the participations' point of view. More than 70% of participants agreed with avoiding stressful situations and close relationship with family and friends, while only 49.8% agreed with coping skills learning. Based on the regression analysis, only higher education and the history of exposure to a person with similar Vignette problem were able to predict mental health literacy in the area of intervention and prevention. Conclusion: Considering the effects of women's and girls' depression on individual, family, and even social life, more attention should be paid to improve depression literacy in this group.

Effectiveness of self-help mobile telephone applications (apps) for suicide prevention: A systematic review.

Background: According to the expansion of suicide prevention applications in recent years, the aim of this study was to review randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and pretest-posttest studies that evaluated the effectiveness of suicide prevention applications. Methods: In this systematic review, we searched online databases including Pubmed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Chocrane Database, and Google Scholar to find randomized controlled trials and pretest-posttest studies published up to Jul 18, 2019. Randomized controlled trials and pretest-posttest of efficacy self-guided telephone applications that reported any primary and secondary outcome of suicidal thoughts and behaviors were included in the review. We evaluated the articles using the CONSORT 2010 checklist. Results: After screening articles, 7 studies were included in this review. Four studies focused on the effectiveness of applications on suicide thoughts and attempt, 2 on effectiveness of applications on self-injury, 4 on depression and anxiety, 1 on impulsivity, and 2 on adaptive strategies. Overall, mobile phone applications were associated with reductions in suicidal ideation scores at post intervention, and enhancement of adaptive skills; however, no evidence of reduction was reported in impulsivity after use of applications. Conclusion: Despite the differences in studies, this review showed that the use of mobile applications had an overall positive effect on reducing the risk of suicide and improving performance and health of patients.