Search

Objective(s): Immigration could affect people's sexual health. The present study aimed to compare sexual quality of life of Afghan immigrant women living in Tehran province with Iranian women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that conducted from August 2022 to March 2023, in health centers of three counties in Tehran province with a continence sample of 218 Iranian and 218 Afghan immigrant women who met the inclusion criteria. The data was collected by a questionnaire containing items on women's sexual quality of life and demographic characteristics, history of fertility and menstruation, use of modern methods of family planning, and frequency of intercourse with spouse per week. The descriptive analysis of the data included reporting of frequencies, mean and standard deviation. To investigate the factors affecting quality of sexual life, multiple linear regression model was used. Results: The results showed that the mean (SD) score of total sexual quality of life in Iranian women was 89.57 (17.34) and it was 81.40 (18.79) in Afghan immigrant women (P < 0.001). Age (P = 0.01), occupation (P < 0.001) and contraceptive method (P = 0.02) had an inverse and significant effect and education (P = 0.03), husband's occupation (P = 0.02) and number of sexual intercourses per week (P < 0. 001) had a significant direct effect on the sexual quality of life of Afghan immigrant women, and husband's occupation (P = 0.04), contraceptive method (P = 0.02), and number of sexual intercourses per week (P < 0.001) had a significant direct effect on the sexual quality of life of Iranian women. Conclusion: Based on the findings, Iranian women had a higher sexual quality of life than Afghan immigrant women. These differences may be due to marginalization and lower education and cultural differences between Iranian and Afghan immigrant women. It is suggested that health centers provide sexual health promotion services for immigrant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ovarian cysts are common forms of gynecological problems that can be range from physiological cysts to highly aggressive neoplastic lesions. The purpose of this study was to investigate prevalence and frequency of different histopathological patterns of ovarian lesions and their correlation with various parameters in Ahvaz, Iran.Materials and Methods: This is the retrospective study of patients with the ovarian masses at Ahvaz Imam Khomeini Hospital from 2010 - 2015. The relevant clinical details about the patient were retrieved from hospital data. Clinical characteristics of patients such as patient's age, presenting signs and symptoms, histopathological diagnosis, mass type, mass subtype, size of cysts and ovary which is involved were noted. Results: Two hundred sixty seven specimens of ovarian tumor obtained for histopathological examination. Of these, 163(61.0%) were tumor like, 96(36.0%) were benign tumor and 8(3.0%) were malignant. The most common tumor like conditions was Corpus luteum cyst (43.4% cases), among benign and malignant tumors, mature cystic teratoma (17.2% of total) and Epithelial tumors (n=4) were most common. There is a statistically significant positive relation between age and various ovarian masses. (P= 0.002). Histopathological diagnosis wasn't correlated with ovarian involvement.Conclusion: Benign tumors are more common than malignant tumors in all age groups. Germ cell tumors followed by surface epithelial cell tumors are the commonest tumor. Mature cystic teratoma was the most common tumor. Unilaterality is more frequently seen in ovarian tumors and various tumors are seen in various age groups.

Objective(s): Genital warts, in addition to being important as a sexually transmitted disease, can alter the emotional support of affected women and threaten couples' emotional relationships. This study was designed with a qualitative approach to investigate the challenges of emotional support for women with genital warts. Methods: The present qualitative study was performed from January 2019 to February 2020 in the dermatology clinic of Razi Hospital in Tehran, Iran, with purposive sampling of 16 women with genital warts. Data were collected through unstructured interviews and analyzed using conventional content analysis approach. Results: After data analysis, a total of 182 codes, 8 subcategories, 3 main categories and 1 theme were obtained. The theme namely "Emotional Support Challenges" included the three main categories of "emotional relationship change", "disclosing the disease to seek support" and "worry for labeling and judgment". Conclusion: The results of the present study showed the challenges of emotional support for women after contracting genital warts. After contracting genital warts, women experienced emotional deterioration. However, receiving emotional support from family members or friends instead of their partner accompanied by the worry of being judged and stigmatization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on new perspectives on women's reproductive rights. Topics include the intersection of reproductive rights with medical ethics and law, the impact of COVID-19 on maternal and neonatal outcomes, and the challenges faced by women with genital warts. The authors, experts in reproductive health, emphasize the importance of understanding and addressing these issues to improve women's health and rights.

Objective Chronic Multiple Sclerosis (MS) often occurs in middle-aged people, who are supposed to take their most important roles in the family and community and thus affect their self-advocacy. This study aimed to identify the barriers to self-advocacy in women with MS. Materials & Methods This study was conducted using a qualitative content analysis method. The participants were 10 female members of the MS Association of Khuzestan Province of Iran aged 30-40 years with different educational levels, marital status, and occupations. They were selected using a purposive sampling method. The study data were collected through semi-structured interviews and continued until data saturation from June to November 2019. The content analysis was performed using Lundman and Graneheim's qualitative content analysis method with an inductive approach conducted continuously and simultaneously with data collection. To evaluate the validity and reliability of qualitative data, we used Lincoln and Guba criteria (credibility, dependability, conformability, and transferability). Results The data analysis revealed 900 codes, 21 subcategories, and 6 themes of family barriers, medical barriers, job-related barriers, environmental barriers, sociocultural barriers, and psychological barriers. Conclusion Women with MS face a variety of barriers to self-advocacy; most of them are related to family, environment, and society, in addition to personal barriers. Social support and the availability of sufficient and appropriate information about MS can play an important role in confronting these women with mentioned barriers and realizing their self-advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the effect of shallomin (pure fraction of Allium hirtifolium) with podophyllin 25% solution on external genital human papillomavirus warts in women. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial which was performed on two groups of 25 Iranian women with external genital warts at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran. In the first group, shallomin was used once a day for six weeks at home. In the second group, 25% podophyllin solution, was applied on the lesion once weekly for six weeks. Results: Shallomin and podophyllin resulted in wart clearance in 13/23 (56.5%), and 12/24 (50%) of patients, respectively. The clearance rate for shallomin was not significantly different from that of podophyllin (P=0.082). Six weeks after the treatment, the sizes of the lesions in the shallomin group and the podophyllin group decreased by (1.43±0.53) mm and (1.64±0.70) mm, respectively. Conclusion: Shallomin is an effective treatment for genital warts, with similar efficacy to that of podophyllin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effect of anticoagulant medication in unexplained early recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) patients is controversial. This clinical trial evaluated the effect of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) on pregnancy outcomes in these patients. Materials and Methods: The study was performed as a single-blind randomized clinical trial between 2016 and 2018. Samples were selected from patients who were referred to Avicenna RPL clinic with a history of at least two previously happened early unexplained miscarriages. The eligibility was defined strictly to select unexplained RPL patients homogenously. One hundred and seventy-three patients who got pregnant recently were allocated randomly into two groups LMWH plus low-dose aspirin treatment (Group A = 85) and low-dose aspirin treatment only (Group B = 88)) and were followed up till their pregnancy termination (delivery/abortion). A per-protocol analysis was carried out and all statistical tests were two-sided with a P < 0.05 significance level. Results: The live birth rates (LBRs) in Groups A and B were 78% and 77.1%, respectively, which did not show any statistically significant difference between the two groups, neither in rates nor in time of abortion. In subgroup analysis for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients, the odds ratio for study outcome (intervention/control) was 2.25 (95% confidence interval: 0.65–7.73). There was no major adverse event whereas minor bleeding was observed in 18% of patients in Group A. Conclusion: LMWH does not improve the LBR in unexplained RPL patients, however, it is recommended to evaluate its effect separately in PCOS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vitamin D is associated with many functions of the human reproductive system. Accordingly, it seems that on infertile couples undergoing assisted reproduction technology (ART), treatment outcomes may be affected by the vitamin D. This overview aims to show the effect of vitamin D on infertility treatments outcomes in recent studies by concluding systematic reviews and meta-analyses to achieve a comprehensive result., Methods and Analysis: This overview protocol is being reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement and was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. We will include all peer-reviewed systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials published from inception until December 2022. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Embase will be searched from the time of publication of the first articles onwards with a comprehensive search strategy. Endnote V.X7 software (Thomson Reuters, New York, New York, USA) will be used to store and manage records. The results will align with guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the PRISMA statement., Ethics and Dissemination: This overview will be evaluating the effect of vitamin D status and vitamin D supplementing on results of ART in women and men who are undergoing treatment for infertility. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency worldwide and its effects on an important issue such as human fertility might be a very influential factor that leads scientists to strongly recommend its use. However, the more critical concern is that there is no definitive agreement in studies on the relationship between vitamin D and an increased chance of better fertility in men and women undergoing infertility treatment., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42021252752., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)