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Context: Excessive weight is a health problem that can exacerbate multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms and its associated comorbidities such as depression and fatigue. In addition, weight may be a moderator of exercise effects on depression and fatigue symptoms., Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of exercise training on fatigue and depression in normal and overweight individuals with MS., Methods: Sixty-six persons with MS were randomly assigned into an exercise or control condition based on body weight status (overweight vs. normal weight). The exercise conditions involved 8-weeks of interval exercise at 60%-75% Watt peak , while the control condition did not involve any exercise. Fatigue, depression, aerobic capacity, time up and go (TUG) and body mass index were measured before and following the 8-week period., Results: There were no significant relationship's revealed for weight status interactions for any of the variables examined. There were significant condition main effects for fatigue, depression, aerobic capacity and TUG, and significant improvements were noted for the exercise conditions, but not in the non-exercising control group., Conclusion: The results from this study confirm that exercise is an effective therapeutic intervention for improving fatigue, depression and functional parameters, independent of initial weight status, in persons with MS., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease with a very high prevalence all over the world in recent years. Therefore, this research intended to examine the impact of resistance and aerobic exercises on selected functional capacities and cognitive indicators in depressed women with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: The current study was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design. In this survey, 30 women with MS (25-50 years old) with an expanded disability status scale range between 0-5.5, and depression among those who visited the neurology clinic at Guilan University of Medical Sciences (Bethat) were selected. The study included a control group (n=10) and two intervention groups: resistance (n=10) and aerobic (n=10) exercises. To evaluate the variables of stress, depression, fatigue, and functional capacities, the following questionnaires and tests were used: Perceived stress scale, Beck's depression inventory, fatigue severity scale, 10-meter walk test (10MWT), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), timed up and go (TUG), and 30-second chair stand (30 CST) tests. Exercises of aerobic were done at an intensity of 40_60% of the maximum rate of heart for 10-30 minutes. Home-based resistance training, including a hypertrophy phase (four weeks), and strength and power phase (four weeks) was conducted at an intensity of 0.5-1.5% of the subjects' body weight. The duration of the training for both groups was eight weeks. The data were analyzed by repeated-measures two-way ANOVA by SPSS software, version 26. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Both resistance and aerobic training had a significant intra-group impact on various factors (P=0.05). Specifically, perceived stress (P=0.01) and depression level (P=0.001), and 10- MWT (P=0.01), 6MWT (P=0.001), and 30 CST (P=0.001) results showed statistically notable improvements. Regarding the inter-group effect, notable dissimilarities were seen in depression and functional strength of lower limbs (30 CST) among the three groups (P=0.05). Noteworthy, variations were also found in fatigue and the timed up-and-go test. Conclusion: Both aerobic and resistance exercises can be considered effective interventions for improving depression, perceived stress, and functional capacity in individuals with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors (HPLBs) have a significant impact on disease management among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected lifestyle of all individuals, particularly patients with chronic diseases. The present study aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators to HPLBs among people with MS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in Iran. Participants were sixteen people with MS purposively selected from the central MS clinic of a referral specialty neuroscience hospital in Tehran, Iran. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews and concurrently analyzed through conventional content analysis. Findings: The mean of participants' age was 37.93 years and most participants were female (81.25%). The major barriers to HPLBs were lack of knowledge, limited access to resources, and poor health status, while the major facilitators were attention to inner abilities and social support. Conclusion: Many different factors such as lack of knowledge, limited access to resources, poor health status, awareness, and social support can influence engagement in HPLBs among people with MS. Healthcare authorities and policymakers need to use quality educational and supportive interventions to improve knowledge, health literacy, perceived support, self-efficacy, and self-care ability among people with MS during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological, physical, and psychosocial changes that occur during the aging process can negatively impact women's mental health and happiness at midlife. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to determine the level of psychological well-being and happiness among middle-aged women in Tabriz. Data were collected from December 2017 to February 2018 by face-to-face interviews, using structured questionnaires of happiness and psychological well-being. The participants were 40-60-year-old middle-aged women (n = 300) selected by clustered random sampling allocation. A total of 167 (55.7%) out of all the women had decreased levels of psychological well-being. Psychological well-being was found to be significantly lower among the women with low levels of happiness (B: 24.43, CI (18.57 to 30.29), p < 0.001). Health care centers should implement more comprehensive mental health promotion programs for middle-aged women, including free of charge recreational opportunities (e.g., walking, swimming, dancing) to improve psychological health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case-control study aimed to investigate the relationship of indoor radon gas concentration and residential building characteristics with mental health with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Yazd City, Iran. The participants included 45 patients with MS and 100 healthy individuals. The participants' socio-economic status and residential building characteristics were investigated using a questionnaire. The radon gas concentration was also measured by CR-39 detectors over a 6-month period. Furthermore, the participants' mental health data were collected using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The mean concentrations of radon gas were 66.77 and 65.33 Bq/m3 in the homes of patients with MS and healthy individuals, respectively, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.882). However, the radon gas concentration had a significant relationship with the building's age (p = 0.038), ventilation (p = 0.053), and cooling system (p = 0.021). A significant difference was observed between the two study groups in terms of the mental health (p = 0.018), depression (p = 0.037), somatic symptoms (p ≤ 0.001), and physical activity (p = 0.030). Since the indoor radon gas concentration did not have any significant relationship with MS prevalence, more studies are required in this regard, especially in long-term exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite many benefits of the physical activity on physical and mental health of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the activity level in these patients is still very limited, and they continue to suffer from impairment in functioning ability. The main aim of this study is thus to closely examine exercise's effect on fatigue of patients with MS worldwide, with particular interest on Iran based on a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods: The studies used in this systematic review were selected from the articles published from 1996 to 2019, in national and international databases including SID, Magiran, Iranmedex, Irandoc, Google Scholar, Cochrane, Embase, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science (ISI). These databases were thoroughly searched, and the relevant ones were selected based on some plausible keywords to the aim of this study. Heterogeneity index between studies was determined using Cochran's test and I2. Due to heterogeneity in studies, the random effects model was used to estimate standardized mean difference.Results: From the systematic review, a meta-analysis was performed on 31 articles which were fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The sample including of 714 subjects was selected from the intervention group, and almost the same sample size of 720 individuals were selected in the control group. Based on the results derived from this meta-analysis, the standardized mean difference between the intervention group before and after the intervention was respectively estimated to be 23.8 ± 6.2 and 16.9 ± 3.2, which indicates that the physical exercise reduces fatigue in patients with MS.Conclusion: The results of this study extracted from a detailed meta-analysis reveal and confirm that physical exercise significantly reduces fatigue in patients with MS. As a results, a regular exercise program is strongly recommended to be part of a rehabilitation program for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We designed and ran an empowerment‐oriented social group work intervention to assess whether the intervention could improve the quality of life of older Iranians. The intervention consisted of nine group sessions that focused on capacity building and increasing individual competences, environmental resources and opportunities. Using a randomised controlled trial (RCT), 60 elderly people (30 men and 30 women in the intervention and control groups) from Social Services Centres in Tehran Municipality participated in this study. The WHOQOL‐BREF instrument was used to measure quality of life, comparing before, after and follow‐up measures between the groups and within each group. ANOVA and GEE tests were applied to analyse the data. The results showed significant progress in overall quality of life of the participants, particularly in the domains of physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environmental health. In pretest, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of quality of life and its domains, but there were significant differences in the post‐ and follow‐up tests. This study provides support for the empowerment‐oriented social group work intervention with Iranian elderly people. This kind of intervention can be a useful model for empowering older people, especially in countries where social support and health services for seniors are not yet freely available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The present study was done to assess the cultural adaption and psychometric properties of Persian version of VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire in Iranian patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Methods: This cross-cultural psychometrics study was conducted in 2016. About 270 DVT patients completed a Persian version of the VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire. The face, content, and construct validity were assessed. Internal consistency, test–retest, and construct reliability (CR) were used to assess reliability. Results: Three-factor solution was extracted that explaining 71.373% of the total variance. Goodness-of-fit indices (GFI; χ2(68) =332.037, p <.05, χ2/ df = 4.882, GFI =.862, CFI =.928, NFI =.914, IFI =.928, RMSEA (90% confidence interval) =.091 [.081,.110]) in the final VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire structure demonstrated the adequacy of the three-domain structure. The reliability was greater than.70. Conclusions: The VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire was found to be a valid and reliable assessment tool for quality of life in Iranian patients with DVT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]