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Background: The implication of gut microbiota in the gut-kidney axis affects the pathophysiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Gut microbiota composition changes during CKD. We aimed to determine the relative frequency of important gut microbiota members in end-stage renal disease (ERSD) patients before and after renal transplantation compared to healthy subjects. Methods: Fifteen kidney transplant patients and 10 healthy subjects were recruited in this case-control prospective study. Fecal samples were taken sequentially from all patients before kidney transplantation, 1 week, and 1 month after it. The relative frequency of Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides fragilis, Escherichia coli, and Faecalibacterium pruasnitzii were determined through quantitative PCR. The obtained data was statistically analyzed by Stata software (Stata Corporation, USA). Results: The mean log number of all bacteria was significantly higher in healthy individuals than kidney transplant recipients (p < 0.001) except for Lactobacillus where the mean levels were almost identical in the two groups (p = 0.67). Moreover, 20% (3) of patients developed a urinary tract infection. Besides, 2 (13.33%) patients were diagnosed with delayed graft function. There were no statistically significant differences regarding changing trends in bacteria log number of Akkermansia muciniphila (p = 0.12), Bacteroid fragilis (p = 0.75), Bifidobacterium (p = 0.99), Escherichia coli (p = 0.5), Faecalibacterium (p = 0.98), and Lactobacilli (p = 0.93) between patients with and without delayed graft function (DGF). Conclusion: Gut microbiota composition in patients with ESRD was significantly different from those without it. However, the microbiota profile did not significantly differ in patients with and without DGF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and low back pain (LBP) are among the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The need for investigation of regional and local patterns of these two MSDs seems inevitable for better policy‐making. The current study presents updated results of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 and reports the burden of RA and LBP in North Africa and Middle East (NAME) countries from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability‐adjusted life‐years (DALYs), and risk factors, including high body mass index, occupational ergonomic factors, and smoking, were extracted based on the GBD 2019 data. Results: The age‐standardized prevalence and mortality of RA were 120.6 (95% uncertainty interval [95% UI] 107.0–135.7) and 0.1 (95% UI 0.1–0.2) per 100 000 population in 2019 with 28.3% (95% UI 25.5%–30.9%) increase and 7.5% (95% UI −37.5% to 32.5%) decrease since 1990, respectively. Turkey had the highest age‐standardized incidence, prevalence, and DALYs of RA in 2019. All RA burden measures were higher for women; however, the incidence was almost the same at ages greater than 65 years. The age‐standardized prevalence and DALYs of LBP were 7668.2 (95% UI 6798.0–8636.3) and 862 (95% UI 605.5–1153.3) in 2019, which had decreased by 5.8% (95% UI −7.4% to −4.3%) and 6.0% (95% UI −7.7% to −4.2%) since 1990, respectively. Moreover, although Turkey had the highest incidence and prevalence in 1990, Iran was at the top in 2019. The regional age‐standardized DALY rates due to RA and LBP attributed to smoking were 1.7 (95% UI 0.5–3.2) and 139.4 (95% UI 87.3–198.8) in 2019, respectively, which had decreased 2.2% (95% UI −19.2% to 13.7%) and 15.4% (95% UI −19.4% to −10.5%) since 1990, respectively. Conclusion: RA still imposes a significant burden in the NAME region as the burden measures have increased from 1990 to 2019. On the other hand, regarding LBP, a decreasing pattern was observed. Differences among the countries and between ages and genders can have implications, and the results of this study may be helpful for policy‐makers in the NAME countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manifestations caused by coronavirus family have presented it in many ways during the previous years. The aim of this systematic review was to gather all possible cardiovascular manifestations of the coronavirus family in the literature. Adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane and ProQuest which were updated on May 1, 2020 for the last time. Regarding to the novelty and speed of publications on COVID-19, we searched Google Scholar and also references of included studies and review articles in the systematic search results were searched manually. The searched keywords were the combination of the following MeSH terms: "COVID-19", "SARS", "MERS" and "cardiovascular presentation". The systematic review was registered with ID CRD42020180736 in International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). After screening, 28 original articles and ten case studies (five case reports and five case series) were included. Most of the studies were focused on COVID-19 (20 original articles and five case studies) while the only studies about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was a case report. Almost all the cardiovascular presentations and complications including acute cardiac injury, arrhythmias and the thrombotic complications were more prevalent in COVID-19 than severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and MERS. The cardiac injury was the most common cardiovascular presentation and complication in COVID-19 whereas thrombotic complications were commonly reported in SARS. The cardiac injury was the predictor of disease severity and mortality in both COVID-19 and SARS. Coronavirus 2019 may present with cardiovascular manifestations and complications in signs and symptoms, laboratory data and other paraclinical findings. Also, cardiovascular complications in the course of COVID-19 may result in worse outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is threatening public health in many ways. The psychological situation of individuals is important and limited data is available from Iran. In this study, we aimed to illustrate the psychological distress of the general population and evaluate the factors affecting it. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted from 29th to 31st March 2020 in South Khorasan province, affected later than other parts of the country. We included sociodemographic questions, Hospital Anxiety, and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire, and questions addressing various symptoms and diseases. Most questions had multiple choices to select from and some were open questions. Univariate and multivariate analysis in SPSS software was used to find significant relationships. Results: A total of 844 responses were collected, of which 788 records were included in the analysis. The mean age of responders was 36.61±10.97 (age range: 18-88) and 484 (61.4%) of them were females. The mean scores in the anxiety and depression subscale of the HADS questionnaire were 7.01±3.68 and 6.72±3.71 respectively. Experiencing cardiovascular and COVID-19 related symptoms was significantly associated with a higher number of individuals having abnormal anxiety and depression results (p<0.001). Widowed individuals, females, and those experiencing the above-stated symptoms showed a significant association with increased anxiety and depression in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Although many existing elements influence the psychological well-being of society during a pandemic, experiencing symptoms related to other diseases or having multiple chronic diseases may cause an extra burden on the psychological state of the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Breast cancer survivors (BCSs) tend to have sleep disturbances such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, limited evidence exists on the role of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) in sleep disturbances and OSA. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the quality of sleep (QoS) and OSA risk among women with and without BCRL., Methods: The quality of life (QoL) was evaluated using the SF-12 and EORTC-QLQ C-30 questionnaires, while their sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. The STOP-bang questionnaire (SBQ) was utilized to quantify OSA risk. Sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Also, neck and waist circumference and the excessive volume in the affected limb were measured using a tape measure. The statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 21.0 software., Results: Seventy-one women with BCRL and 84 BCS without lymphedema were included. The comparison of PSQI, SBQ, ESS, SF-12, and EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaires exhibited no significant difference between these two groups. The overnight snoring and average neck circumference were significantly higher in the BCRL group than in the control. The BCRL stage significantly correlated with neck circumference and SBQ total score. Additionally, the mean volume difference indicated a significant correlation with the ESS total score and both physical and mental summary components of the SF-12 questionnaire., Conclusion: The prevalence of sleep disturbances among BCSs with and without BCRL is high. Women with advanced stages of BCRL might be at high risk for OSA. Therefore clinical evaluation of BMI, neck circumference, and, snoring overnight should be emphasized among this population., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Motamed Cancer Institute (MCI ID 4021721) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Conflict of interest: All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is threatening public health in many ways. The psychological situation of individuals is important and limited data is available from Iran. In this study, we aimed to illustrate the psychological distress of the general population and evaluate the factors affecting it., Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted from 29 th to 31 st March 2020 in South Khorasan province, affected later than other parts of the country. We included sociodemographic questions, Hospital Anxiety, and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire, and questions addressing various symptoms and diseases. Most questions had multiple choices to select from and some were open questions. Univariate and multivariate analysis in SPSS software was used to find significant relationships., Results: A total of 844 responses were collected, of which 788 records were included in the analysis. The mean age of responders was 36.61±10.97 (age range: 18-88) and 484 (61.4%) of them were females. The mean scores in the anxiety and depression subscale of the HADS questionnaire were 7.01±3.68 and 6.72±3.71 respectively. Experiencing cardiovascular and COVID-19 related symptoms was significantly associated with a higher number of individuals having abnormal anxiety and depression results (p<0.001). Widowed individuals, females, and those experiencing the above-stated symptoms showed a significant association with increased anxiety and depression in multivariate analysis., Conclusion: Although many existing elements influence the psychological well-being of society during a pandemic, experiencing symptoms related to other diseases or having multiple chronic diseases may cause an extra burden on the psychological state of the society.