Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 36 in total

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  1. Sutan R, Miskam HM
    BMC Womens Health, 2012;12:15.
    PMID: 22708998 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6874-12-15
    Women of reproductive age are vulnerable to psychosocial problems, but these have remained largely unexplored in Muslim women in developing countries. The aim of this study was to explore and describe psychosocial impact and social support following perinatal loss among Muslim women.
  2. Kung AW, Fan T, Xu L, Xia WB, Park IH, Kim HS, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2013;13:7.
    PMID: 23410131 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6874-13-7
    BACKGROUND: A vast amount of literature describes the incidence of fracture as a risk for recurrent osteoporotic fractures in western and Asian countries. Osteoporosis evaluation and treatment after a low-trauma fracture, however, has not been well characterized in postmenopausal women in Asia. The purpose of this study was to characterize patient and health system characteristics associated with the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis among postmenopausal women hospitalized with a fragility fracture in Asia.
    METHODS: Patient surveys and medical charts of postmenopausal women (N=1,122) discharged after a fragility hip fracture from treatment centers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007 were reviewed for bone mineral density (BMD) measurement, osteoporosis diagnosis, and osteoporosis treatment.
    RESULTS: The mean (SD) age was 72.9 (11.5) years. A BMD measurement was reported by 28.2% of patients, 51.5% were informed that they had osteoporosis, and 33.0% received prescription medications for osteoporosis in the 6 months after discharge. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses, prior history of fracture decreased the odds of a BMD measurement (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.45-0.88). Having a BMD measurement increased the odds of osteoporosis diagnosis (OR 10.1, 95% CI 6.36-16.0), as did having health insurance (OR 4.95, 95% CI 1.51-16.21 for private insurance with partial self-payment relative to 100% self-payment). A history of fracture was not independently associated with an osteoporosis diagnosis (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.56-1.15). Younger age reduced the odds of receiving medication for osteoporosis (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.36-0.96 relative to age ≥65), while having a BMD measurement increased the odds (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.23-2.61).
    CONCLUSIONS: Osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment in Asian countries were driven by BMD measurement but not by fracture history. Future efforts should emphasize education of general practitioners and patients about the importance of fracture.
  3. Kamruzzaman M, Rabbani MG, Saw A, Sayem MA, Hossain MG
    BMC Womens Health, 2015;15:54.
    PMID: 26219633 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-015-0211-4
    Anemia is one of the most common public health problems globally, and high prevalence has been reported among women of reproductive age, especially in developing countries. This study was conducted to evaluate differentials in the prevalence of anemia among non-pregnant, ever-married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh, and to examine associations with demographic, socioeconomic, and nutritional factors.
  4. Chee H, Rashidah S, Shamsuddin K, Intan O
    BMC Womens Health, 2003 May 28;3(1):3.
    PMID: 12769827
    BACKGROUND: The Malaysian Ministry of Health promotes breast self-examination (BSE) for all women, and Pap smear screening every three years for all sexually active women ages 20 years and above. The objectives of this paper were to examine the practice of these two screening tests among women production workers in electronics factories, and to identify factors related to practice. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey of women production workers from ten electronics factories. Data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire from a total of 1,720 women. The chi-square test, odds ratio and binomial logistic regression were used in bivariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Prevalence rates were 24.4% for BSE once a month, and 18.4% for Pap smear examination within the last three years. Women who were significantly more likely to perform BSE every month were 30 years and older, Malays, with upper secondary education and above, answered the BSE question correctly, and had a Pap smear within the last three years. The proportion of women who had a Pap smear within the last three years were significantly higher among those who were older, married, with young children, on the contraceptive pill or intra-uterine device, had a medical examination within the last five years, answered the Pap smear question correctly, and performed BSE monthly. CONCLUSION: Screening practice rates in this study were low when compared to national rates. Socio-demographic and health care factors significantly associated with screening practice are indicative of barriers which should be further understood so that more effective educational and promotional strategies could be developed.
  5. Syed Alwi SAR, Brohi IB, Awi I
    BMC Womens Health, 2021 02 22;21(1):77.
    PMID: 33618693 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-021-01230-7
    BACKGROUND: Various factors, including menopausal status, educational and social background, culture, and physical and emotional health, may influence women's perceptions of menopause. This study documents the elements influencing attitudes towards menopause among women in Sarawak, Malaysia.

    METHODS: A face-to-face interview using a validated questionnaire was conducted with 324 Sarawakian women aged 40-65 to determine the mean age of menopause and perceptions and experiences of menopause among these women.

    RESULTS: The mean age ± standard deviation of the women was 51.37 ± 5.91 years. Ninety (27.8%) participants were premenopausal, 124 (38.5%) perimenopausal and 110 (33.7%) postmenopausal. The majority of these women (228; 70.4%) were local indigenous inhabitants of Sarawak. The findings show that 22.5% of the participants agreed that problems during menopause are a natural process. While 21.9% of the participants suggested that menopause should be treated medically, 32.3% argued that natural approaches for menopause symptoms are better than hormonal treatments. Seventy-five per cent of the women agreed that the absence of menses after menopause is a relief; meanwhile, 61.2% stated that menopause causes unpleasant symptoms. Notably, 51.7% were not sure whether women become less sexually attractive after menopause, and 51.1% were uncertain as to whether they feel less of a woman following menopause. Finally, 81.7% of participants were unsure if sexual activity is more enjoyable after menopause, and 71.9% were uncertain whether changes in life during menopause are more stressful. Among the different menopausal stages, the premenopausal group of women were noted to have more positive perceptions of menopause compared to the peri- and postmenopausal women. The study also observed that women with a better educational background generally had more positive perceptions of menopause.

    CONCLUSIONS: The women's perceptions of menopause in this study were found to correspond to those in other studies on Asian women. Women with higher levels of education and premenopausal women comparatively expressed more positive opinions regarding menopause. Lastly, most of the women noted that menopausal symptoms are unpleasant, but that the absence of menses after menopause is a relief.

  6. Islam A, Islam N, Bharati P, Aik S, Hossain G
    BMC Womens Health, 2016;16:58.
    PMID: 27561311 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-016-0338-y
    Early childbearing influences women's health. This study aims to examine the effects of socio-demographic factors on nutritional status of early childbearing mothers in Bangladesh based on Body Mass Index (BMI) as the indicator.
  7. Ghaffar R, Iqbal Q, Khalid A, Saleem F, Hassali MA, Baloch NS, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2017 Jul 25;17(1):51.
    PMID: 28743261 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-017-0411-1
    BACKGROUND: Anxiety and depression (A&D) are commonly reported among pregnant women from all over the world; however, there is a paucity of workable data from the developing countries including Pakistan. The current study, therefore, aims to find out the frequency and predictors of A&D among pregnant women attending a tertiary healthcare institutes in the city of Quetta, in the Balochistan province, Pakistan.

    METHODS: A questionnaire based, cross-sectional survey was conducted. The pre-validated Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to assess the frequency of A&D among study respondents. Anxiety and depression scores were calculated via standard scoring procedures while logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of A&D. SPSS v. 20 was used for data analysis and p 

  8. Mohamad Nor NS, Ambak R, Mohd Zaki N, Abdul Aziz NS, Cheong SM, Abd Razak MA, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2018 07 19;18(Suppl 1):114.
    PMID: 30066661 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0590-4
    BACKGROUND: Obesity is a global health burden in the non-communicable diseases and much efforts have been implemented in the past decade in response to the rise of obesity prevalence among the Malaysian population. These include the development of the national policies, health programmes and research activities. The main aim of the scoping review was to identify obesity research pattern among adults in Malaysia in terms of the scopes, topics and the research designs.

    METHODS: The scoping review was conducted based on the framework by Arksey and O'Malley. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis (PRISMA) diagram was used as a guide to record the review process. Articles from year 2008 until 2017 on overweight and obesity among adults aged 18 years and above were retrieved based on the keywords using electronic databases (Embase/Ovid, Pubmed, Cochrane library and Google Scholar). Local journals, Nutrition Research in Malaysia Biblography (2011 and 2016), online local theses databases, virtual library databases were also included in the searches. Consultations with relevant key informants from the National Institutes of Health and local universities were also conducted. Search activities were managed using Endnote software and MS Excelsheet.

    RESULTS: The characteristics of the results were described based on the objectives of the review. A total of 2004 articles and reports were retrieved, and 188 articles related to obesity in Malaysia were included in the final review. Scopes and topics of obesity research based on the Nutrition Research Priorities in Malaysia (NRPM) for 11th Malaysia Plan were obesity prevalence, weight loss intervention, association of physical activities and dietary factors with obesity. The majority of obesity research among adults in Malaysia was cross sectional studies and only a small number of intervention studies, qualitative studies and systematic review were indentified. Research gaps were identified in order to make useful recommendations to the stakeholders.

    CONCLUSIONS: In the past decade, there has been an emerging evidence on obesity research among adults in Malaysia. More obesity research needs to be conducted particularly on obesity intervention among specific gender, qualitative studies, economic cost and genetic factors of obesity.

  9. Abdul Aziz NS, Shahar S, Ambak R, Mohamad Nor NS, Jamil AT, Aris T
    BMC Womens Health, 2018 07 19;18(Suppl 1):115.
    PMID: 30066631 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0600-6
    BACKGROUND: Obesity is a risk factor for co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis and cardiovascular diseases. However, it is unclear if the presence of co-morbidities has any effect on the magnitude of body composition changes following weight reduction programmes. Thus, this study aimed to determine changes in body composition among obese housewives with and without co-morbidities after they participated in a weight loss intervention.

    METHODS: This is a follow-up study among 84 obese housewives without co-morbidities aged 18 to 59 years old who previously participated as a control group (delayed intervention, G1) in the My Body is Fit and Fabulous at Home (MyBFF@home) Phase II. Baseline data were obtained from 12 month data collection for this group. A new group of 42 obese housewives with co-morbidities (G2) were also recruited. Both groups received a 6 month intervention (July-December 2015) consisting of dietary counselling, physical activity (PA) and self-monitoring tools (PA diary, food diary and pedometer). Study parameters included weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure and body compositions. Body compositions were measured using a bioelectrical impedance analysis device, Inbody 720. Descriptive and repeated measures ANOVA analyses were performed using SPSS 21.

    RESULTS: There were reductions in mean body fat, fat mass and visceral fat area, particularly among obese women without co-morbidities. There were also decreases fat and skeletal muscle from baseline to month six with mean difference - 0.12 (95% CI: -0.38, 0.14) and visceral fat area from month three to month six with mean difference - 9.22 (- 17.87, - 0.56) for G1. G2 showed a decreasing pattern of skeletal muscle from baseline to month six with mean difference - 0.01(95% CI: -0.38, 0.37). There was a significant difference for group effect of visceral fat area (p 

  10. Cheong SM, Mohamad Nor NS, Ahmad MH, Manickam M, Ambak R, Shahrir SN, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2018 07 19;18(Suppl 1):99.
    PMID: 30066659 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0596-y
    BACKGROUND: Health literacy (HL) consists of different components and associates with several health outcomes, including obesity. It is linked to an individual's knowledge, motivation, competencies, behavior, and application to everyday life. The present study aimed to determine the change of HL scores and to investigate the difference of intervention outcomes at the weight loss (WL) intervention and WL maintenance phase between the HL groups.

    METHODS: A total of 322 participants from the MyBFF@home study completed the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) test at baseline. However, only data from 209 participants who completed the NVS test from baseline to WL intervention were used to determine the HL groups. Change of the NVS scores from baseline to WL intervention phase was categorized into two groups: those with HL improvement (increased 0.1 score and above) and those without HL improvement (no change or decreased 0.1 score and more). Independent variables in this study were change of energy intake, nutrient intake, physical activity, anthropometry measurements, and body composition measurements between baseline and WL intervention as well as between WL intervention and WL maintenance. An Independent sample t-test was used in the statistical analysis.

    RESULTS: In general, both intervention and control participants have low HL. The study revealed that the intervention group increased the NVS mean score from baseline (1.19 scores) to the end of the WL maintenance phase (1.51 scores) compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in sociodemographic characteristics between the group with HL improvement and the group without HL improvement at baseline. Most of the dietary intake measurements at WL intervention were significantly different between the two HL groups among intervention participants. Physical activity and body composition did not differ significantly between the two HL groups among both intervention and control groups.

    CONCLUSION: There was an improvement of HL during the WL intervention and WL maintenance phase in intervention participants compared to control participants. HL shows positive impacts on dietary intake behavior among intervention participants. New research is suggested to explore the relationship between HL and weight loss behaviors in future obesity intervention studies.

  11. Ahmad MH, Salleh R, Mohamad Nor NS, Baharuddin A, Rodzlan Hasani WS, Omar A, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2018 07 19;18(Suppl 1):100.
    PMID: 30066635 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0599-8
    BACKGROUND: Several methods have been developed to determine a person's physical activity level. However, there is limited evidence in determining whether someone is physically active or not. This study aims to determine the level of physical activity and to compare the usage of short version International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) and pedometer among overweight and obese women who were involved in the My Body is Fit and Fabulous at home (MyBFF@home) study.

    METHODS: Baseline and sixth month data from the MyBFF@home study were used for this purpose. A total of 169 of overweight and obese respondents answered the IPAQ-SF and were asked to use a pedometer for 7 days. Data from IPAQ-SF were categorised as inactive and active while data from pedometer were categorised as insufficiently active and sufficiently active by standard classification. Data on sociodemographic and anthropometry were also obtained. Cohen's kappa was applied to measure the agreement of IPAQ-SF and pedometer in determining the physical activity level. Pre-post cross tabulation table was created to evaluate the changes in physical activity over 6 months.

    RESULTS: From 169 available respondents, 167 (98.8%) completed the IPAQ-SF and 107 (63.3%) utilised the pedometer. A total of 102 (61.1%) respondents were categorised as active from the IPAQ-SF. Meanwhile, only 9 (8.4%) respondents were categorised as sufficiently active via pedometer. Cohen's κ found there was a poor agreement between the two methods, κ = 0.055, p > 0.05. After sixth months, there was + 9.4% increment in respondents who were active when assessed by IPAQ-SF but - 1.3% reductions for respondents being sufficiently active when assessed by pedometer. McNemar's test determined that there was no significant difference in the proportion of inactive and active respondents by IPAQ-SF or sufficiently active and insufficiently active by pedometer from the baseline and sixth month of intervention.

    CONCLUSION: The IPAQ-SF and pedometer were both able to measure physical activity. However, poor agreement between these two methods were observed among overweight and obese women.

  12. Mohamad Nor NS, Ambak R, Aris T
    BMC Womens Health, 2018 07 19;18(Suppl 1):107.
    PMID: 30066634 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0589-x
    BACKGROUND: The national prevalence of overweight and obesity in Malaysia has been increasing in the past 10 years and many efforts have been implemented by the Malaysian government to combat obesity problem among the Malaysian population. The aim of this paper was to describe the background of the My Body is Fit and Fabulous at home (MyBFF@home) study (Phase II).

    DISCUSSION: The MyBFF@home (Phase II) was a quasi-experimental study and it was conducted among overweight and obese housewives living in the urban areas in Malaysia. In this phase, the study involved a weight loss intervention phase (6 months) and a weight loss maintenance phase (6 months). The intervention group received a standard weight loss intervention package and the control group received group seminars related to women's health. Measurements of weight, height, waist circumference, body composition, fasting blood lipids, dietary intake, physical activity, health literacy, body pain and quality of life were conducted during the study. Overweight and obese housewives from 14 People's Housing/Home Project (PHP) in Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (Klang Valley) were selected as control and intervention group (N = 328). Majority of the participants (76.1%) were from the low socioeconomic group. Data were analysed and presented according to the specific objectives and the needs for the particular topic in the present supplement report.

    CONCLUSION: MyBFF@home is the first and the largest community-based weight loss intervention study which was conducted among overweight and obese housewives in Malaysia. Findings of the study could be used by the policy makers and the researchers to enhance the obesity intervention programme among female adults in Malaysia.

  13. Liyana AZ, Appannah G, Sham SYZ, Fazliana M, Nor NSM, Ambak R, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2018 07 19;18(Suppl 1):126.
    PMID: 30066628 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0593-1
    BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of lifestyle intervention for weight loss on cardiometabolic risk factors among overweight and obese individuals in the community setting remains inconclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a 6-month weight loss lifestyle intervention on cardiometabolic risk factors among overweight and obese women and the sustainability of the changes in those markers at 12-month follow-up, comparing an intervention group with a control group.

    METHODS: A total of 243 participants from MyBFF@home were included in this study. Fasting blood samples at baseline, 6- and 12-month were assessed for fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides. The effect of the intervention on cardiometabolic risk markers were investigated within and between study groups using t-test and general linear model (GLM) repeated measure ANOVA.

    RESULTS: Results from repeated measures ANOVA showed intervention effect only in TC where significant reduction was found in the intervention group (- 0.26 mmol/L [95% CI: - 0.47 to - 0.06], p 

  14. Techatraisak K, Hestiantoro A, Ruey S, Banal-Silao MJ, Kim MR, Seong SJ, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2019 05 16;19(1):68.
    PMID: 31096979 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-019-0758-6
    BACKGROUND: Dienogest has been shown to substantially improve endometriosis-associated symptoms such as debilitating chronic pelvic pain, and in turn, health-related quality of life (HRQoL). To date, there is no data on patient-reported outcomes reflecting the real-world practice in Asia where endometriosis is a relevant health, social and economic burden. This non-interventional, multi-center, prospective study aims to investigate the influence of dienogest on HRQoL.

    METHODS: Asian women received dienogest (2 mg/daily) and were followed for 24 months. The effectiveness of dienogest to improve HRQoL and endometriosis-associated pelvic pain (EAPP) was assessed by patient-reported outcomes. HRQoL, especially the "pain" domain as primary endpoint, was evaluated with the Endometriosis Health Profile-30 (EHP-30) questionnaire. The numeric rating scale served to determine changes in the severity of EAPP. Within the presented interim analysis (data cut-off: 2017-11-27), the mean changes in EHP-30 and EAPP scores from baseline to 6 months upon availability of the data were evaluated. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and bleeding profiles were documented.

    RESULTS: Dienogest therapy decreased EHP-30 scores in all assessed domains (score 0-100, lower scores indicate better HRQoL). Primarily, the "pain" domain was improved in 78.4% of patients. EAPP was reduced (score 0-10, lower scores reflect less pain), highlighted by a mean reduction of the pain score by - 4.5 points. Patients with a higher EAPP score at baseline had an increased response to dienogest (- 6.2 points mean change) compared to patients with low baseline EAPP severity (- 1.4 points mean change). Both surgically and clinically diagnosed patients described comparable pain reduction, as well as women with or without prior treatment. Drug-related TEAEs were documented for 31.5% of patients, with amenorrhoea (5.9%) and metrorrhagia (5.1%) being the most common events. The bleeding pattern was changed upon dienogest, characterized by decreased normal bleeding (84.2 to 28.8%) and increased amenorrhea (3.2 to 42.9%) at 6 months.

    CONCLUSION: The data indicate an amelioration of HRQoL and EAPP upon dienogest therapy. No new safety signals were observed. Therefore, its use as first-line therapy for long-term management of debilitating and chronic endometriosis-associated pain represents an interesting option that remains to be further investigated.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION: Name of registry: Clinical Trials Clinicaltrials.gov registration number: NCT02425462 Registration date: 2015-04-24. Registration timing: prospective.

  15. Michael J, Iqbal Q, Haider S, Khalid A, Haque N, Ishaq R, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2020 01 06;20(1):4.
    PMID: 31906921 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-019-0874-3
    BACKGROUND: The current study is aimed to assess menstruation-related knowledge and practices of adolescent females visiting a public health care institute of Quetta city, Pakistan.

    METHODS: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted. Nine hundred and twenty three female adolescents attending general out-patient departments of Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital Quetta, Balochistan, was approached for data collection. Based on the objectives of the study, descriptive analysis was conducted and SPSS v. 21.0 was used for the data analysis.

    RESULTS: Demographic characteristics revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 15 years. Mothers' (67%) were the main source of menstruation-related information. Majority (77.7%) of our respondents never had a class or session regarding menstruation-related education in their schools. About (44%) knew that menstruation is a physiological phenomenon while 60.2% knew that menstrual blood comes from the vagina. Nearly 40% of our study respondents missed their schools because of menarche. The use of absorbent material was frequent (90%) among the adolescent females and (68.7%) used commercially available sanitary napkins/pads. Although majority of the respondents (58.2%) were not taking baths during menstruation, 80.5% do cleaned their genitalia with water during menstruation.

    CONCLUSION: Female adolescents of our study had certain misconception regarding menstruation because of poor access to health-related education. Education can be provided at healthcare facilities, residential area as well as religious centers. Adolescent reproductive health should be included in the school curriculum; this will influence general reproductive health of females.

  16. Muhammad J, Yusof Y, Ahmad I, Norhayati MN
    BMC Womens Health, 2022 Jan 15;22(1):14.
    PMID: 35033041 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-022-01596-2
    BACKGROUND: Elagolix is effective and safe for treating menorrhagia in women with uterine fibroid. However, it is reported to be associated with hypoestrogenism that can be alleviated by adding estradiol/norethindrone acetate. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effectiveness of elagolix treatment in women with heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroid by comparing: elagolix versus placebo and elagolix versus estradiol/norethindrone acetate.

    METHODOLOGY: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2021, Issue 3 of 12), MEDLINE databases (1980 to December week 1, 2020), and trial registries for relevant randomized clinical trials were used. All randomized clinical trials were reviewed and evaluated. Random effects models were used to estimate the dichotomous outcomes and mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Data for risk of bias, heterogeneity, sensitivity, reporting bias and quality of evidence were assessed.

    RESULTS: Four randomized controlled trials with 1949 premenopausal women from 323 locations were included. Elagolix improved menstrual blood loss of less than 80 ml (RR 4.81, 95% CI 2.45 to 9.45; four trials, 869 participants; moderate quality evidence) or more than 50% reduction from baseline (RR 4.87, 95% CI 2.55 to 9.31; four trials, 869 participants; moderate quality evidence) compared to placebo. There was no difference in menstrual blood loss of less than 80 ml (RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.16; five trials, 1365 participants; moderate quality evidence) or more than 50% reduction from baseline between the elagolix (RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.15; five trials, 1365 participants; high quality evidence) and elagolix with estradiol/norethindrone acetate. In both comparisons, elagolix has reduced the mean percentage change in uterine and fibroid volume, improved symptoms, and health-related quality of life. More patients had hot flush, and bone mineral density loss in the elagolix treatment compared to both placebo and elagolix with estradiol/norethindrone acetate.

    CONCLUSIONS: Elagolix appeared to be effective in reducing heavy menstrual bleeding caused by uterine fibroid and combination with estradiol/norethindrone acetate was able to alleviate the hypoestrogenism side effects in premenopausal women. Review registration PROSPERO CDR 42021233898.

  17. Azzani M, Ba-Alawi E, Atroosh WM, Yadav H
    BMC Womens Health, 2023 Jan 16;23(1):19.
    PMID: 36647066 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-023-02172-y
    BACKGROUND: Studies have revealed that a higher proportion of women affected by cervical cancer are from some minority groups of immigrant women. Hence, this study was conducted to assess Yemeni immigrant women's awareness of cervical cancer and its associated socio-demographic factors.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 370 Yemeni women in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data on the awareness of symptoms/signs, risk factors, and screening programme were collected using Cervical Cancer Awareness Measurement (Cervical CAM) questionnaire.

    RESULTS: More than 74% of the study participants were unable to recall any warning symptoms/signs, and 73% were unable to recall any risk factors. The factors associated with the awareness of symptoms and risk factors were age (95% CI 4.22-5.22, p = 0.039), marital status (95% CI 4.05-7.87, p = 0.021), employment (95% CI 3.89-5.77, p = 0.046) and the number of children (95% CI 5.33-6.54, p = 0.041).

    CONCLUSION: The findings underline the need for public awareness campaigns to improve public awareness of cancer symptoms and risk factors among underserved communities.

  18. Otegbayo BE, Omar N, Danaee M, Mohajer S, Aghamohamadi N
    BMC Womens Health, 2023 Jul 21;23(1):383.
    PMID: 37480050 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-023-02520-y
    BACKGROUND: Teenage pregnancies continue to disrupt teenage girls' academic development. As a result, teenage mothers are at risk of unemployment, maternal death, and poverty. Previous research, however, has shown that both individual and environmental factors can have a significant impact on the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy. However, there has been little rigorous research on the impact of these factors on pregnant students' academic performance.

    OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between environmental (neighbourhood) and individuals (sexual attitudes, peer attachment) factors. It also examined the influence of individual factors on the academic performance of pregnant teens.

    METHODS: The study included a cross-sectional study of 400 pregnant adolescent students aged 15-19 years. The target groups were drawn from three major cities in Nigeria. Respondents were identified through targeted snowballing. Pregnant participants were a combination of married and unmarried girls attending school from home. Data were collected using a structured and self-completed questionnaire. Thus, frequency, mean and standard deviation were used for descriptive analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to show the relationship between variables.

    RESULTS: The study found that neighbourhood (r=-.125, p = .12) had a negative and significant relationship with peer attachment. However, there was no significant evidence of a relationship between sexual attitudes and neighbourhood (r=-.040, p = .422). There was, however, a significant relationship between sexual attitudes and academic performance (r = .236, p = .000). There was also a relationship between peer attachment and academic performance (r=-.401, p = 

  19. Sultana S, Muhammad F, Chowdhury AA, Tasnim T, Haque MI, Hasan BakiBillah A, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2023 Aug 18;23(1):437.
    PMID: 37596580 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-023-02584-w
    OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between depressive symptoms among mothers and the eating behaviors of their school-going children in Urban Bangladesh.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in the context of the urban area of Bangladesh. A multistage sampling technique was applied to select 324 children's mothers in Dhaka City. Data were collected from both city corporation settings in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Semi-structured questionnaires were used in this study. We estimated the depressive symptoms among mothers using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. We examined the association of mothers of school-going children's socio-demographic variables and eating behaviors of school-going children with their mother's depression by using chi-square and evaluating the impact of these variables on mothers' depression through univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression.

    RESULTS: In our study, 57.7% of the mothers of school-going children had depressive symptoms, and 42.3% had no depressive symptoms. The study explored that consuming fewer vegetables (AOR = 0.237, 95% CI: 0.099-0.569), taking fewer fruits (AOR = 0.177, 95% CI: 0.093-0.337), and interestingly, taking fast food less than 4 days per week (AOR = 3.024, 95% CI: 1.517-6.031) were significantly associated with mothers' depressive symptoms.

    CONCLUSION: Mothers with depressive symptoms of school-going children in Dhaka city are alarmingly high as a grave concern. The eating behaviors of children are associated with their mothers' depressive symptoms. With an aim to build rigorous awareness on depression and child's healthy eating behaviors, it is imperative to arrange health education and awareness related programs.

  20. Ari ES, Dioso RIP, Sotunsa JO
    BMC Womens Health, 2023 Jul 04;23(1):356.
    PMID: 37403114 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-023-02353-9
    INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally and the second most common cancer in low- to middle-income countries, and its screening rate is yet to reach the 70% WHO target. Most interventions that proved effective in improving screening participation in some communities did not achieve the desired behavioral outcome in some settings.

    AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of care-seeking behavior interventions on cervical cancer screening participation.

    METHOD: A pragmatic multiphase mixed methods design was adopted for this study, and three phases of the human-centered design process were used for data collection. Deductive thematic analysis was used for qualitative data, while SPSS was used for quantitative data analysis.

    RESULTS: The findings show a significant relationship between participants' tribes p values (0.03) 0.05 and screening participation. Before the intervention, most (77.4%) were afraid of exposing their private parts; 75.9% were afraid of being diagnosed with cervical cancer; and the majority felt the procedure was embarrassing and painful. Free screening, awareness, and knowledge, offering transport, the use of influencers, and sample collection by a female care provider are among other facilitators to screening. Screening participation improved from 11.2% preintervention to 29.7% postintervention (average mean screening score from 1.890.316 to 1.70000.458). All participants who were screened postintervention said the procedure was not embarrassing or painful and that they were not afraid of the procedure or the screening environment.

    CONCLUSION: In conclusion, screening habits in the community were low before intervention, as this may have resulted from women's feelings and past experiences with screening services. Sociodemographic variables may not directly predict screening participation. Care-seeking behavior interventions have significantly increased screening participation postintervention.

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