Background Vitamin D may enhance immune system function and provide a protective effect against infections. Feto-maternal circulation plays an important role in supplying the developing fetus with nutrients and antibodies for its development and health during pregnancy and for its early years of life after birth. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effectiveness of maternal vitamin D supplementation in preventing respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children.
Methods We searched the Central and MEDLINE databases and went through all the reference lists in the related articles. We also searched for ongoing trials at http://www.who.int/ictrp/en/ and www.clinicaltrials.gov. Randomized controlled trials comparing vitamin D supplementation with a placebo or no treatment in pregnant women published in the English language up to March 2019 were included. Two reviewers extracted data independently using a predefined protocol and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, with differences agreed upon by consensus. The predefined primary outcome was the number of offspring who had RTIs. The secondary outcome was the presence of measurable serum immunoglobulin E levels.
Results Three trials involving 3,224 participants (mother–child pairs) met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The present analysis reported that maternal supplementation with vitamin D had no effect on RTIs among children (n=1,486 offspring; risk ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.82–1.11; random effects; I2 statistics, 0%).
Conclusion Maternal vitamin D supplementation had no effect on RTIs in children. Therefore, consideration of other prevention methods in this regard is recommended.
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Vitamin D for preventing acute respiratory infections in children up to five years of age Marisa van Arragon, Cameron C Grant, Robert KR Scragg, Vanessa MB Jordan Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.2026;[Epub] CrossRef
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Background Intimate partner violence is a severe life-threatening criminal and public health problem affecting the well-being of individuals, families, and society. Planning interventions to reduce the burden of this persistent and criminal violence should be relevant culturally and socially.
Methods In this randomized control trial, 150 pregnant women residing in slum areas of Hamadan were randomly assigned to two groups (intervention group: n=50 and control group: n=100). Interventional strategies included educating the victims based on local cultural norms, culturally sensitive individual and group counseling, and educating health care providers. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews at baseline and again at 3 months after the intervention. We used a paired t-test to evaluate the effect of the intervention by comparing changes in the outcomes measured.
Results There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups at baseline in terms of sociodemographic characteristics. Post-test scores of knowledge (7.50±2.65 vs. 5.14±3.51, P=0.001), communication skills (18.38±4.25 vs. 16.2±3.83, P=0.04), and family support and social expectation of obedience (15.79±4.45 vs. 13.40±4.57, P=0.005) of the victims were statistically significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group. Moreover, physical (0.74±2.28 vs. 1.20±2.60, P=0.06), psychological (2.80±4.10 vs. 4.52±5.43, P=0.06), and sexual (0.11±0.58 vs. 0.61±1.22, P=0.04) violence reduced in the experimental group compared to the control group.
Conclusion Culturally relevant interventions can reduce intimate partner violence.
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Background Iron is an essential element for women of reproductive age, especially in the period before and during the pregnancy. This study investigates the consumption of iron to prevent iron deficiency anemia among pregnant women visiting Neyshabur healthcare centers based on the theory of planned behavior.
Methods In this experimental study, data were collected through a questionnaire survey. It included 160 pregnant women who were receiving maternity services at twelve healthcare centers in the city of Neyshabur in Iran between 2015 and 2017. The participants’ demographic and anthropometric characteristics, Using the theory of planned behavior, and blood lab examination results, including ferritin levels were measured and the data were analyzed using IBM SPSS ver. 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).
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Conclusion Based on the experimental effects of education encouraging iron supplementation in pregnant women, it is suggested that workshops promoting iron supplementation should be conducted in health centers with the aim of preventing widespread iron deficiency anemia.
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