Search

Purpose: To assess the relationship of early pregnancy maternal diet quality (DQ) with maternal plasma lipids and indicators of cardiometabolic health, including blood pressure (BP), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and gestational weight gain (GWG). Methods: Women (n = 215) aged 18–40 years with singleton pregnancies were recruited at 10–20 weeks gestation. Diet quality was assessed by the Dietary Guideline Index, calculated at early ([mean ± SD]) (15 ± 3 weeks) and late (35 ± 2 weeks) pregnancy. Lipidomic analysis was performed, and 698 species across 37 lipid classes were measured from plasma blood samples collected at early (15 ± 3 weeks) and mid (27 ± 3 weeks)-pregnancy. Clinical measures (BP, GDM diagnosis, weight) and blood samples were collected across pregnancy. Multiple linear and logistic regression models assessed associations of early pregnancy DQ with plasma lipids at early and mid-pregnancy, BP at three antenatal visits, GDM diagnosis and total GWG. Results: Maternal DQ scores ([mean ± SD]) decreased significantly from early (70.7 ± 11.4) to late pregnancy (66.5 ± 12.6) (p < 0.0005). At a false discovery rate of 0.2, early pregnancy DQ was significantly associated with 13 plasma lipids at mid-pregnancy, including negative associations with six triglycerides (TGs); TG(54:0)[NL-18:0] (neutral loss), TG(50:1)[NL-14:0], TG(48:0)[NL-18:0], TG(52:1)[NL-18:0], TG(54:1)[NL-18:1], TG(50:0)[NL-18:0]. No statistically significant associations were found between early pregnancy DQ and BP, GDM or GWG. Conclusion: Maternal diet did not adhere to Australian Dietary Guidelines. Diet quality was inversely associated with multiple plasma TGs. This study provides novel insights into the relationship between DQ, lipid biomarkers and cardiometabolic health during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: COVID-19 caused the worst international public health crisis, accompanied by major global economic downturns and mass-scale job losses, which impacted the psychosocial wellbeing of the worldwide population, including Saudi Arabia. Evidence of the high-risk groups impacted by the pandemic has been non-existent in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study examined factors associated with psychosocial distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping strategies among the general population in Saudi Arabia. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in healthcare and community settings in the Saudi Arabia using an anonymous online questionnaire. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) were used to assess psychological distress, fear and coping strategies, respectively. Multivariate logistic regressions were used, and an Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) was reported. (3) Results: Among 803 participants, 70% (n = 556) were females, and the median age was 27 years; 35% (n = 278) were frontline or essential service workers; and 24% (n = 195) reported comorbid conditions including mental health illness. Of the respondents, 175 (21.8%) and 207 (25.8%) reported high and very high psychological distress, respectively. Factors associated with moderate to high levels of psychological distress were: youth, females, non-Saudi nationals, those experiencing a change in employment or a negative financial impact, having comorbidities, and current smoking. A high level of fear was reported by 89 participants (11.1%), and this was associated with being ex-smokers (3.72, 1.14–12.14, 0.029) and changes in employment (3.42, 1.91–6.11, 0.000). A high resilience was reported by 115 participants (14.3%), and 333 participants (41.5%) had medium resilience. Financial impact and contact with known/suspected cases (1.63, 1.12–2.38, 0.011) were associated with low, medium, to high resilient coping. (4) Conclusions: People in Saudi Arabia were at a higher risk of psychosocial distress along with medium-high resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, warranting urgent attention from healthcare providers and policymakers to provide specific mental health support strategies for their current wellbeing and to avoid a post-pandemic mental health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Enteral immunomodulatory nutrition is recommended as an adjuvant therapy for patients in intensive care units (ICU), but its effectiveness is incompletely understood. Aim: The aim of this review was to examine the effect of a commonly used immunomodulatory formula—omega‐3 fatty acids, γ‐linolenic acid, and antioxidants—on clinical outcomes and mortality risk in critically ill patients. Design: Systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Method: PubMed, Scopus, and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Knowledge databases were searched until 18 February 2021. RCTs that used the immunomodulatory formula in the ICU were included. Results: Ten RCTs (1166 participants) were included in the meta‐analysis. The immunomodulatory formula reduced the duration of ICU stay weighted mean difference [(WMD): −2.97 days; 95%CI: −5.59, −0.35)], mechanical ventilation (WMD = −2.20 days, 95%CI: −4.29, −0.10), sequential organ failure assessment and multiple organ dysfunction scores (Hedge's g: −0.42 U/L; 95% CI: −0.74, −0.11), decreased 8‐day overall mortality risk (RR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.91), and extended the ICU‐free days (WMD: 4.06 days, 95% CI: 0.02, 8.09). The improvement in respiratory function and reduction in mortality risk was more in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Furthermore, the reduction in mechanical ventilation and mortality risk was more evident in older (>60 years) vs young adults. Conclusion and Relevance to Clinical Practice: Taken together, the immunomodulatory formula may enhance clinical practice for critical care nurses, such that the prevalence and/or susceptibility to secondary conditions commonly encountered in the ICU (ie, ALI and ARDS) could be attenuated, ultimately allowing critical care nurses to focus their care on the primary reason for which a patient is in the ICU. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The timing of a woman's first birth is significant because motherhood involves a substantial commitment of time and resources. Early age at first birth is a factor that significantly influences the rapid population growth in Bangladesh. In addition, early age at first birth has a negative effect on occupational achievements, marital stability, and maternal and neonatal health. The aim of this study was to determine the factors influencing early age at first birth. Subjects and methods: Data were collected from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2014. The BDHS 2014 data were obtained from 17,863 ever-married women using two-stage stratified sampling. Chi-square test and two-level multiple binary logistic regression models were performed to analyze the data. Results: A total of 15,842 ever-married women with mean age of 18.22 ± 0.389 years were included in this study. Muslim women (AOR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.11–1.56, p < 0.001), early marriage (AOR = 13.25, 95% CI: 11.83–14.76, p < 0.001) and women currently using contraceptives (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.25–1.55, p < 0.01) were more likely to have early age at first birth, whereas women from higher income households (AOR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.57–0.91, p < 0.05), with higher education (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.21–0.31, p < 0.001), employed (AOR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.78–0.98, p < 0.05) and whose husbands had higher education levels (AOR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.48–0.76, p < 0.001) or were service holders (AOR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.58–0.93, p < 0.05) were less likely than their counterparts to have their first birth at an early age. Conclusion: The government should take the necessary steps to make policies to control the occurrence of women having their first birth at an early age by emphasizing the significant factors obtained from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression is a common disorder that can lead to suicidal behaviours among the geriatric population. Aim: We aimed to assess depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation among the elderly population of Kashmir. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in three districts of Kashmir between June and August 2019. The sample consisted of 200 persons aged >65 years. Beck's Depression Inventory, Beck's Hopelessness Scale, and the Beck Suicide Ideation scale were used to determine depression, hopelessness, and suicide ideation. Pearson's correlation was performed to assess the relationships between depression, hopelessness, and suicide. Results: The prevalence of severe depression with a score of ⩾31 on Beck's Depression Inventory was 56% among the studied population. Most of these elderly were found to have moderate levels of suicidal ideation (62.5%) and hopelessness (61%). Depression had a positive correlation with suicidal ideation (r = 0.35). Hopelessness and suicidal intent had a more significant positive correlation (r = 0.54), as compared to depression and hopelessness (r = 0.43). Conclusion: More than half of the older persons in Kashmir had depression with superimposed hopelessness which is an important risk factor of suicidal ideation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined the role of subject‐selection reasons and learning environment factors in students' depression and suicidality. Design and Methods: This study surveyed 960 students from five different Bangladeshi universities using questions concerning socio‐demographics, lifestyles, subject‐selection reasons, learning and academic environment, suicidal behaviors, and the Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire. Findings: Approximately half of the participants were depressed (47.7%), and just over a quarter reported past‐year suicidality (28.5%). Risk factors for both depression and suicidal behavior included not studying at their desired institute, selecting subjects based on future career prospects (rather than choosing what they want to study), not having a study‐friendly and research‐friendly environment, and unsupportive teachers. Practical Implications: The findings will help in formulating policies for educational institutions as well as providing benchmark data for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study tools examining psychological distress, fear of COVID‐19 and coping amongst migrants and non‐migrants in Australia are very limited. The aim of this research was to assess the psychometric properties and correlation of the English version of Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K‐10), Fear of COVID‐19 Scale (FCSV‐19S), and Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) tools during the COVID‐19 pandemic situation in Australia. Data from a cross‐sectional survey (n = 516) were utilized to examine reliability; 299 (57.9%) were migrants. High internal consistency, as evidenced by Cronbach's alpha, was found for the K‐10 (0.92), FCV‐19S (0.87) and BRCS (0.66) tools. The corresponding values for migrants and non‐migrants were (0.92, 0.87, 0.67) and (0.92, 0.86, 0.63), respectively. Item‐total correlations ranged 0.57‐0.78 for K‐10, 0.62–0.69 for FCV‐19S, and 0.39–0.50 for BRCS tools. EFA retained a single factor for each tool with adequate factor loadings. The scoring of K‐10 was significantly predicted by the scoring of FCV‐19S (r = 0.284, P < 0.001) and BRCS tool (r = 0.132, P < 0.01). Therefore, these tools can be used reliably amongst both migrant and non‐migrant population in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the prevalence of, and reasons for, missed care by nurses and the factors associated with it in Iranian hospitals. Background: Despite providing high‐quality patient care in hospitals, nurses often fail to deliver optimum care, which jeopardizes the safety of patients and increases health care costs. Therefore, identifying missed nursing care is essential if the quality of health services is to be improved. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 215 nurses working in the medical–surgical wards of eight public and private hospitals in Tabriz, Iran. The 'MISSCARE' survey tool was used to collect data in relation to the extent of missed care and the related reasons. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between factors and missed nursing care. Results: Results showed that the mean score of overall missed nursing care was 2.57 and 72.1% of the nurses reported that they missed at least one nursing care item on their last shift. 'Patient discharge planning and teaching', 'emotional support to patient and/or family' and 'attend interdisciplinary care conferences whenever held' were the most common missed items by nurses in Iran. In a 5‐point Likert scale, the most important reasons identified by nurses for missed care were 'human resources', 3.11 (95% CI: 3.03–3.19); 'material resources', 2.7 (95% CI: 2.6–2.8); and 'communication', 2.4 (95% CI: 2.3–2.5), respectively. Missed nursing care was associated with sex (OR for males = 2.83, 95% CI: 1.01–7.89), age (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01–1.33) and the number of patients under care (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.01–1.22). A reverse association was found with the number of patients discharged (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.82–0.96) and satisfaction with teamwork (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.41–0.89). Conclusions: There is a need to identify the factors contributing to the incidence of missed nursing care in hospitals and to develop strategies to address these. Implications for Nursing Management: The results of this study highlighted the importance of addressing missed nursing care in Iranian public and private hospitals. Nursing management should consider improving communication between team members and units. Changes are required regarding task division and payments to the nursing staff. Further research is required to understand the reasons behind missed nursing care, and the development of appropriate policies to address better nursing care in hospitals is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Mobile phone SMS is increasingly used as a means of communication between patients and their healthcare providers in many countries of the world. We investigated mobile phone use and factors associated with willingness-to-pay (WTP) for diabetes SMS among patients with type 2 diabetes in Bangladesh. Methods As part of a randomized controlled study, in 515 patients with type 2 diabetes, socioeconomic status, mobile phone use, WTP for diabetes SMS, anthropometry and HbA1cwere measured. Multivariate regression was used to identify factors associated with WTP. Results The median (interquartile range [IQR]) of WTP for diabetes SMS was 20 (45) Bangladesh Taka (BDT) (1 BDT = 0.013 US$). WTP was significantly higher for males [OR 2.4, 95% CI (1.0-5.7)], patients with household income > 50 000 BDT [4.6(1.1-20.4)] and those with primary education [5.6 (1.2-26.6)] and secondary and higher education [5.2 (1.4-19.6)]. Conclusions The high proportion of mobile phone use and WTP for diabetes SMS are encouraging as possible strategy to use such technologies and deserve further evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]