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Introduction: This study measures the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (CVE) against hospital admission and severe COVID-19. Methods: This study is a test-negative case-control design using data from eight provinces in April, 2021 until March, 2022. The individuals were classified as cases and controls based on the results of the RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and matched based on the timing of the test being conducted as well as the timing of hospital admission. The measure of association was an odds ratio (OR) by univariate and multiple logistic regression. The multiple logistic regression has been carried out to take confounding factors and potential effect modifiers into account. The CVE was computed as CVE = (1 – OR)*100 with 95% confidence interval. Results: Among 19314 admitted patients, of whom 13216 (68.4%) were cases and 6098 (31.6%) were controls, 1313 (6.8%) died. From total, 5959 (30.8%) patients had received the vaccine in which one, two, and booster doses were 2443 (12.6%), 2796 (14.5٪), and 720 (3.7٪), respectively. The estimated adjusted effectiveness of only one dose, two doses and booter vaccination were 22% (95% CI: 14%-29%), 35% (95% CI: 29%-41%) and 33% (95% CI: 16%-47%), respectively. In addition, the adjusted vaccine effectiveness against severe outcome was 33% (95% CI: 19%- 44%), 34% (95% CI: 20%- 45%) and 20% (95% CI: -29%- 50%) for those who received one, two and booster vaccinations, respectively. Conclusion: Our study concluded that full vaccination, though less effective compared to similar studies elsewhere, decreased hospital admissions and deaths from COVID-19 in Iran, particularly during the Delta variant period, with an observed decline during the Omicron variant dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated the quality of inpatient care provided to Afghan immigrants in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic (February 2019 to March 2021). For this purpose, the services received by Afghan immigrants were compared with those received by Iranian citizens. Methods: Two emergency services (traumas with 8080 victims and 8,686 patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 infection) were taken into consideration. The records of all patients, including the Afghan immigrants, in two referral hospitals in Kerman were reviewed, and the main variables were the length of hospitalization (LoH), intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, and death rate. Quantile regression, multiple logistic regression, and Cox regression were used to analyze the data. Results: The median and interquartile range of LoH for Afghan and Iranian nationals admitted due to traumas were 3.0 ± 4.0 and 2.0 ± 4.0, respectively (P < 0.01). Moreover, the chance of Afghan nationals being admitted to the ICU (38%, odds ratio = 1.38; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12; 1.69) and the hazard of death (60%, hazard rate = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.03; 2.49) were higher compared to Iranian nationals, which is statistically significant. However, no significant differences were observed between the COVID-19 patients from the two nationalities in terms of the median LoH, the odds of being admitted to the ICU, and the hazard of death due to COVID-19. Conclusion: Afghan nationals admitted to the hospital due to traumas were more likely to be admitted to ICUs or die compared to Iranian citizens. It seems that Afghan patients who had traumas went to the hospitals with more serious injuries. There was no difference between Afghan and Iranian patients in terms of COVID-19 consequences. Following the findings of this study, it seems that justice in treatment has been fully established for Afghan patients in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Myocardial Infarction (MI) refers to the destruction and death of cells in the myocardium of the heart. Its prevalence increases with age due to changes in the cardiovascular system. The aim of the present study was to combine, summarize, standardize, resolve inconsistencies in the results of studies, and investigate the impact of potential factors on the prevalence rate of MI in the elderly through a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted from 1987 to March 2022. All relevant published studies were searched in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) databases, and Google Scholar search engine using related MeSH/Emtree and Free Text words. The heterogeneity among studies was quantified using the I2 index. RESULTS: In the initial search, 35453 studies were identified. After eliminating irrelevant studies, finally, 29 articles with a sample size of 3279136 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. After combining the results of the studies included in the meta-analysis, the total prevalence of MI in the elderly was estimated to be 17.6% (95% CI: 12.8 - 23.7%), 16.1% (95% CI: 11.0 - 22.8%) in males, and 12.5% (95% CI: 9.2 - 16.8%) in females. The prevalence of MI increased with the year of publication and the mean age of the elderly (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results showed that due to the high prevalence of myocardial infarction (MI) in the elderly, it should be addressed within healthcare systems and policy makers should pay more attention to prevention of MI. However, considering the inclusion of heterogeneous studies, the pooled estimation should be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: The lack of any definitive treatment or preventive method, and the prediction of some epidemiologists that most of the population will infected with Covid-19, has caused a lot of stress and anxiety in people. So study aimed to review the prevalence of fear and anxiety due to Covid-19 in medical staff and non-medical population. Method: in this study the databases including PubMed, Web of Science (ISI), Scopus, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and national databases such as Irandoc, Civilica, MagIran SID, using the keywords of fear, anxiety, prevalence, and covid-19 from the start of Covid-19 pandemic at December 2019 until July 2022 were searched in order to find the related articles. Results: Anxiety prevalence in women was higher than in men, in people who follow the news related to Covid-19 was more than those who didn't follow, among younger people was higher than older, in people in the region with the high epidemic of covid-19 was more than a low epidemic region, and in people who had an unchanging residence was higher than those who change. Also, anxiety prevalence among medical staff was higher than the non-medical. Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety in most people especially in medical staff was high. Special measures should be taken to reduce anxiety among the medical staff and non-medical population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Estimating the population who use drugs is essential for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of substance use prevention and treatment. This study aims to estimate the population who misuse tramadol in urban population in Iran. Methods: We used the wisdom of the experts (WOTE) and network scale-up (NSU) methods to calculate the population of tramadol misusers in 10 provincial capitals of Iran, in 2016. The WOTE was conducted among pharmacists in drugstores and the personnel of traditional medicinal herbs stores. They guessed the best estimation of tramadol misusers population in their cities. The NSU method was conducted among the general population and participants were questioned about ever and daily, non-medical use of tramadol during last 12 months in their network. The median of the methods was used to calculate the proportion of the adult population (15-49 years old). Findings: The population size of tramadol misusers in studied cities was 83300 [95% uncertainty limits (UL): 47960-256220]. This corresponded to 6.6 per 1000 (95% UL: 3.88-20.30) of the 15-49-year-old population. The projected number of tramadol misusers for all 31 provincial capitals was 118290 (95% UL: 68100-363130840) and 212440 (95% UL: 122310-653410) for all urban areas. NSU also estimated the number of people who misuse tramadol on daily basis. These numbers were 52000 (95% UL: 19940-176570) for studied cities, 73840 (95% UL: 28320-250740) for all 31 provincial capital cities, and 132610 (95% UL: 50860-450310) for all urban areas in Iran. Conclusion: This study presents information on high prevalence of tramadol misuse in urban population. We need national control measures and demand reduction programs to control tramadol misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study measures the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (CVE) against hospital admission and severe COVID-19., Methods: This study is a test-negative case-control design using data from eight provinces in April, 2021 until March, 2022. The individuals were classified as cases and controls based on the results of the RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and matched based on the timing of the test being conducted as well as the timing of hospital admission. The measure of association was an odds ratio (OR) by univariate and multiple logistic regression. The multiple logistic regression has been carried out to take confounding factors and potential effect modifiers into account. The CVE was computed as CVE = (1 - OR)*100 with 95% confidence interval., Results: Among 19314 admitted patients, of whom 13216 (68.4%) were cases and 6098 (31.6%) were controls, 1313 (6.8%) died. From total, 5959 (30.8%) patients had received the vaccine in which one, two, and booster doses were 2443 (12.6%), 2796 (14.5٪), and 720 (3.7٪), respectively. The estimated adjusted effectiveness of only one dose, two doses and booter vaccination were 22% (95% CI: 14%-29%), 35% (95% CI: 29%-41%) and 33% (95% CI: 16%-47%), respectively. In addition, the adjusted vaccine effectiveness against severe outcome was 33% (95% CI: 19%- 44%), 34% (95% CI: 20%- 45%) and 20% (95% CI: -29%- 50%) for those who received one, two and booster vaccinations, respectively., Conclusion: Our study concluded that full vaccination, though less effective compared to similar studies elsewhere, decreased hospital admissions and deaths from COVID-19 in Iran, particularly during the Delta variant period, with an observed decline during the Omicron variant dominance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Khosravi Shadmani, Moradi, Naghipour, Torkaman Asadi, Ahmadi, Mirahmadizadeh, Haghdoost, Mesgarpour, Zahraei, Goya, Mokhtari, Safari-Faramani, Zomorrodi Zare, Chegeni and Najafi.)

Background: Social media addiction (SMA) led to the formation of health-threatening behaviors that can have a negative impact on the quality of life and well-being. Many factors can develop an exaggerated tendency to use social media (SM), which can be prevented in most cases. This study aimed to explore the reasons for SMA., Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis. A total of 18 SM addicted subjects were included through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the Lundman and Graneheim qualitative content analysis method. A total of 18 SM addicted subjects were included through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the Lundman and Graneheim qualitative content analysis method., Results: The main category of "weakness in acquiring life skills" was extracted with three themes: "problems in socializing" (including communicating and escaping loneliness), "problems in resiliency" (including devastation in harsh conditions and inability to recover oneself and "lack of problem-solving skills" (including weaknesses in analysis and decision making and disorganization in planning)., Conclusions: Weakness in life skills plays an important role in individuals' addiction to SM and formation of the health-threatening behaviors. Since SMA can affect behavioral health, policymakers must adopt educational and preventive programs to increase the knowledge and skills of individuals in different societies in the modern world., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2021 Journal of Education and Health Promotion.)

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an important parasitic and vector-borne disease in Iran and can be transmitted to humans and animals through bites of infected female sand flies. The present study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of Leishmania major in sand flies in Iran. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed in the present study, so that databases, namely PubMed, Web of Sciences, Science Direct, ProQuest, Embase, Cochrane Reviews, and Scopus as well as IranDoc, SID, Elmnet, and Magiran were searched for finding Persian articles. Inclusion criteria of study contained the study in Iran and investigation of L. major parasite in sand flies. The quality of studies was examined by Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for studies that reported prevalence data; and the data were analyzed by Stata 14 software. In total, 42 studies were evaluated, all of which had investigated the infection of Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera: Psychodidae). The infection of Phlebotomus caucasicus group was investigated in 13 studies, Phlebotomus ansarii Lewis in four studies, Phlebotomus salehi Mesghali and Rashti in five studies, and the infection of other species of sandflies in seven studies. According to the meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of Ph. papatasi, Ph. caucasicus group, Ph. salehi, and Ph. ansarii were equal to 2.4, 6.2, 1.6, and 9.2%, respectively, with 95% confidence interval. According to reports of different rates of sand fly infection in different regions, all studies should have certain and standard forms and formats to determine the pooled prevalence of sand fly infection., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background and Aim: Measuring child abuse and adverse experiences is a critical task with regard to its long-term impact on the health of individuals and communities. The purpose of this study was to validate the Persian version of the International Adverse Childhood Experiences Abuse Short Form (ACE-ASF) in Iranian society., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Kerman, southeast of Iran, in 2019, on 494 students from Kerman University of Medical Sciences, selected by convenience sampling method. Psychometric properties of the questionnaire were examined after the forward and backward translation processes. The factor structure of the questionnaire was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The concurrent validity of the questionnaire was assessed using the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ). Cronbach's alpha and corrected item-total correlation were used to measure reliability., Results: The mean age of participants was 24.3 ± 5.3 years. Based on EFA, two physical-emotional abuse and sexual abuse factors were obtained. The CFA fit indices well supported two extracted factors. The CFA showed acceptable factor loadings. The internal consistency coefficient of Cronbach's alpha was 0.75 for the physical-emotional abuse factor and 0.77 for the sexual abuse factor. The correlation coefficient of ACE-ASF and CTQ was r = 0.56. The reliability index of intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.73 (95% confidence interval: 0.60-0.84)., Conclusion: The Persian version of the ACE-ASF questionnaire has acceptable psychometric properties., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Journal of Education and Health Promotion.)