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"nBackground: CD14 is known as a receptor for bacterial LPS (Lipopolysaccharides) and is followed by inflammatory reactions. This receptor on macrophage surface has a major role for recognition and clearance was happen without inflammatory reaction. Prolonged exposure to microbial products decreases the risk of allergic reactions. This is related to high level of CD14 in blood cells. Although the causes of nasal polyposis is not obviously determined but allergy is a potential risk factor for nasal polyposis. CD14 is in 5q31 chromosomal position and CD14 variants have association with asthma. We try to assay association between CD14 polymorphism and nasal polyposis and severity of this disease."n "nMethods: We had 106 patients with nasal polyps with mean age 41 y old in case group and 87 with mean age 36.7 in control group. We obtained 3 ml whole blood from each patient and then extract DNA by PCR-RFLP method and determined variant genotypes of CD14. Although there is no previous study in this field, the results of this pilot study shown in more detailed below."n "nResults: There is significant relationship between C allele (CC + CT) in comparison with TT (p= 0.03, odds ratio= 1.87, CI 95% (0.99- 3.55)) and nasal polyposis. Further-more another significant relationship had been shown between asthmatic patients and C allele (CC) in comparison with (CT + TT). (p= 0.01, odds ratio= 3.8, CI (0.99- 13.9). In asthmatic patients with C allele of CD14 incidence of nasal polyposis increased."n "nConclusion: Based on the results of this study, C allele of CD14 could play a role in nasal polyposis.

General and electronic health literacy are important factors engaging in healthy behaviors and maintaining good health. The present study explored demographic factors associated with general and electronic health literacy in the Iranian adult population. Via stratified cluster sampling, trained interviewers visited adult residents in Qazvin Province, Iran between January, and April 2022. The participants (N = 9775; mean age = 36.44 years; 6576 [67.3%] females) completed the Health Literacy Instrument for Adults (HELIA) assessing health literacy and the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) assessing electronic health literacy. Demographic data, including age, gender, educational level, marital status, and living location (city or rural), were collected. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to classify the participants into different health literacy/electronic health literacy levels. The relationships between health literacy/electronic health literacy levels and demographic factors were examined using χ 2 or analysis of variance. The LCA used HELIA scores to suggest five classes of health literacy and eHEALS scores to suggest three classes of electronic health literacy. For general and electronic health literacy, similar relationships were with demographic factors: females as compared with males had better general/electronic health literacy; younger people as compared with older people had better general/electronic health literacy; higher educational level was associated with better general/electronic health literacy; and city residents as compared with rural residents had better general/electronic health literacy. In conclusion, Iranian governmental agencies may wish to target on males, older adults, people with low educational level, and rural residents to improve their health literacy., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Health literacy and e-health literacy are important factors helping people shape awareness of health behaviours in different aspects, including sleep hygiene behaviours. Good sleep hygiene behaviours promote sleep quality and are beneficial to overall mental wellbeing., Objective: We aimed to examine if sleep hygiene behaviours may mediate the association between health literacy/e-health literacy and mental wellbeing., Methods: Adult Iranian subjects (n = 9775; mean [SD] age = 36.44 [11.97] years; 67.3% females) completed the Health Literacy Instrument for Adults, eHealth Literacy Scale, three items on sleep hygiene behaviour that have been used in prior research and the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Data were then subjected to structural equation modelling (SEM) including 500 bootstrapping resampling to examine whether sleep hygiene is a mediator in the relationship between health literacy/e-health literacy and mental wellbeing., Findings: Both health literacy and e-health literacy were significantly associated with mental wellbeing (r = .63 for health literacy and .39 for e-health literacy; p < .001) and sleep hygiene behaviours (r = .58 for health literacy and .36 for e-health literacy; p < .001). Sleep hygiene behaviours were significantly associated with mental wellbeing (r = .42; p < .001). Moreover, SEM that incorporated bootstrapping approaches indicated that sleep hygiene behaviours were significant mediators in the association between health literacy/e-health literacy and mental wellbeing., Conclusions: We conclude that health literacy and e-health literacy are associated with mental health wellbeing in the Iranian population. Additionally, the association could be mediated via sleep hygiene behaviours., Patient or Public Contribution: The study was co-designed with healthcare providers from the vice-Chancellor's Office for Health Affairs of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences as equal partners. Moreover, the women's health volunteers were involved in the design of the study., (© 2023 The Authors. Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The collected data included socio-demographic information and measurements of health literacy, e-health literacy, mental well-being, and sleep hygiene behaviors. The study aimed to provide insights regarding health literacy status and related factors in the general population residing in Qazvin province, Iran. The findings of the study will assist health authorities and policy makers in developing and implementing effective interventions, which in turn, improving health literacy in the community. Additionally, the findings can also aid health sector workers, including non-communicable disease researchers, public health experts, health education specialists, epidemiologists, and sociologists, in their work to improve health literacy and overall health outcomes among general population. Therefore, the present study used paper-pencil method with multi-stage cluster sampling to collect data. Trained research associates (n=25) collected data from 9775 people living in Qazvin province between January and April 2022. All the participants completed the study questionnaires using self-reported paper-pencil mode., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Health literacy is important for health behavior engagement. Therefore, it is important to have a good instrument assessing health literacy with a theoretical framework. The present study aimed to examine the measurement invariance and differential item functioning (DIF) of a newly developed health literacy instrument; that is, the Health Literacy Instrument for Adults (HELIA). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch models were used to examine the data collected from a large Iranian sample ( N = 9775; 67.3% females; mean age = 36.44 years). All the participants completed the HELIA. CFA was used to examine if the HELIA had a five-factor structure (including reading, access to information, understanding, appraisal, and decision making/behavioral intention factors) and multigroup CFA to examine if the five-factor structure of HELIA was invariant across gender, educational level, accommodation, and age subgroups. Rasch models were used to examine whether each factor of HELIA was unidimensional and DIF contrast in Rasch to examine if the HELIA items were interpreted similarly across the aforementioned subgroups. The CFA results supported the five-factor structure of HELIA, and the Rasch models verified that each HELIA factor is unidimensional. Additionally, multigroup CFA supported the measurement invariance of HELIA across the following subgroups: male vs. female; highly educated vs. poorly educated; city residents vs. suburban residents; and younger age vs. older age. The DIF contrasts in the Rasch models additionally showed that there are no substantial DIF items in the HELIA across aforementioned subgroups. Therefore, the HELIA is a feasible and comprehensive instrument assessing health literacy across different populations in Iran., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The global issue of preventing the spread of COVID-19 is challenging. One of the most efficient ways to control the pandemic is to have a full coverage of COVID-19 vaccination. Therefore, this paper collected survey data to understand the intention and willingness of COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Qazvin, Iran. With the use of a paper-and-pencil method and multistage stratified cluster sampling, research personnel approached and interviewed a representative sample of adults in Qazvin ( n  = 10843) between February 19 and April 9, 2021. The survey asked questions regarding sociodemographic information, fear of COVID-19, perceived COVID-19 infectability, perceived behavioral control over COVID-19 vaccination, subjective norm of COVID-19 vaccination, attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination, and intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. The data collected from this survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics, which were carried out using the IBM SPSS version 17.0., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.)

One of the most efficient methods to control the high infection rate of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is to have a high coverage of COVID-19 vaccination worldwide. Therefore, it is important to understand individuals' intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. The present study applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explain the intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated among a representative sample in Qazvin, Iran. The TPB uses psychological constructs of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control to explain an individual's intention to perform a behavior. Fear and perceived infectability were additionally incorporated into the TPB to explain the intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. Utilizing multistage stratified cluster sampling, 10,843 participants (4092 males; 37.7%) with a mean age of 35.54 years (SD = 12.00) completed a survey. The survey assessed TPB constructs (including attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention related to COVID-19 vaccination) together with fear of COVID-19 and perceived COVID-19 infectability. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to examine whether fear of COVID-19, perceived infectability, and the TPB constructs explained individuals' intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. The SEM demonstrated satisfactory fit (comparative fit index = 0.970; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.962; root mean square error of approximation = 0.040; standardized root mean square residual = 0.050). Moreover, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, attitude, and perceived COVID-19 infectability significantly explained individuals' intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. Perceived COVID-19 infectability and TPB constructs were all significant mediators in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. Incorporating fear of COVID-19 and perceived COVID-19 infectability effectively into the TPB explained Iranians' intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated. Therefore, Iranians who have a strong belief in Muslim religion may improve their intention to get COVID-19 vaccinated via these constructs.