Background: Post-partum depression (PPD) is a form of postnatal depression that affects mothers. Clinical manifestations usually appear within six months after delivery. Risk factors that influence the severity of post-partum depression are not fully known in the Iraqi population.
Objectives: We aim to evaluate the risk factors and identify potential predictors that may influence the symptom levels (severity) of post-partum depression among Iraqi women from Baghdad.
Subjects and Methods: The current study is cross-sectional, and we used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a cut-off value of 13 to differentiate patients into two those with lower symptom levels (LSL) and higher symptom levels (HSL). We also explored patients' attributes, newborn-related parameters, and socio-demographics.
Results: The total sample included almost one hundred patients (n=101), including females with lower symptom levels (EPDS<=13, 48.51%) and others with higher symptom levels (EPDS>13, 51.49%). There were two significant risk factors of PPD, including marital problems (OR=3.60, 95% CI=1.54 to 8.41, p=0.003) and perinatal mood disturbances (OR=3.23, 95% CI=1.40 to 7.46, p=0.005). The former results are congruent with our multivariable ordinal regression, while path analysis and structural modeling conveyed an additional risk factor: the personal history of depression. ROC analysis did not convey any significant difference between the two groups (LSL versus HSL) based on age. However, mothers with HSL were older than the other group (29.19±0.88 versus 27.08±0.79, p=0.099).
Conclusion: Post-partum depression with higher symptom levels is frequent among Iraqi mothers. Healthcare institutes should be vigilant concerning the underlying risk factors. Intervention requires integrating the role of social workers to understand the patient's family dynamics.
Background:Periodontal diseases are infectious diseases in which periodontalpathogens trigger chronic inflammatory and immune responses. Interleukine-6 is a multifunctional cytokine playing a central role in inflammation and tissue injury.The aim of the study IS to determine the level of Interleukin-6(IL-6) in saliva of patients with chronic periodontitis compared to healthy subjects. Materials and Methods:The total subjects of the present study is 60, divided into 3 groups; 20 patients with chronic periodontitis with pocket depth(PD ≥4 mm)(group I), 20 patients with pocket depth(PD <4 mm) with clinical attachment loss (group II), and 20 healthy controls with pocket probing depth (PPD ≤ 3 mm) without clinical attachment loss (g
... Show MoreSwarming is one of the most important virulence factors used by bacteria to invade new sites. This study aimed to test the effects of gentamicin on swarming motility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, both phenotypically and molecularly. The present results revealed that 11/25 isolates had gentamicin MIC of 1024 µg/ml. However, gentamicin at sub-minimal inhibitory concentration significantly (P< 0.05) reduced the diameter of swarming in all P. aeruginosa isolates. Noticeably the mean and median swarming diameter before treatment with gentamicin 5.557 and 5.816 cm respectively had significantly (P < 0.001) reduced to 0.871 and 0.766 cm respectively. At the molecular level, amrZ (a global regulator
... Show MoreIn this paper, two meshless methods have been introduced to solve some nonlinear problems arising in engineering and applied sciences. These two methods include the operational matrix Bernstein polynomials and the operational matrix with Chebyshev polynomials. They provide an approximate solution by converting the nonlinear differential equation into a system of nonlinear algebraic equations, which is solved by using
The process involved isolating E. faecium from the gut of honeybees, screening the bacterium for bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS), evaluating its impact on the expression of the mexA gene in multidrug-resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa, and determining the role of bacteriocin in treating infected wounds in mice through histopathological examination. After evaluating the best circumstances for producing BLIS, it was discovered that glucose was a superior carbon source and yeast extract was the best source of nitrogen. The pH was found to be 5, the ideal incubation time was 72 hours, and ammonium sulfate salt was used for partial purification at 80% saturation. The identification of MDR P. aeruginosa isolates from pus infection
... Show MoreVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar is one of the worlds most neglected tropical diseases in mortality and fourth in morbidity, rK39 dipstick was used to diagnose the suspected infected patients as cheapest simple technique which can differentiate recent from chronic infection, for disease out-coming, naïve T-lymphocyte cells should be differentiated into pathogen-specific immunity responses, such as T-helper 1(Th-1) or (Th-2). HLA-G is a special protein defined as nonclassical HLA class I molecule can suppress the immune system through prevention of T-cell function by foul all T-cell mechanisms. So, this study aimed to detect and evaluate the level of sHLA-G in the sera of patients infected with VL. The results showed that there was
... Show MoreLeishmaniasis is a global illness that is endemic in many countries, including Iraq. The characteristic of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the development of skin ulcers that are controlled by the immune system. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), a cytokine generated by the innate immune response to CL infection, can influence disease clearance in the human host. The effect of this pro-inflammatory cytokine in CL ulcer development during the infection is not well established. In this study TNF-α level was detected in the patients who suffered from cutaneous leishmaniasis. This level was also assessed in the newly diagnosed patients and others who were undergoing different stages of pentostam treatment. Notably the result
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