CONTEXT Although premarital heterosexual relationships, especially those involving sexual contact, are discouraged in Iran, particularly for females, a considerable minority of young people are involved in such relationships. However, the determinants of such relationships have not been identified, especially those pertaining to family. METHODS In 2005-2006, a random sample of 1,378 unmarried...

Shelley Clark, Alissa Koski, Emily Smith-Greenaway Age at first marriage has been rising throughout sub-Saharan Africa for more than twenty-five years. The median age at first marriage has increased by an average of 1-2 years across the region but substantial variation in age at first marriage remains (Garenne 2004). In some western and eastern African countries including Burkina Faso, Guinea, ...

In the Arabian Peninsula, high percentages of consanguineous marriages and the tribal nature of marriages have resulted in high incidence of genetically based disorders. The successful management of these disorders incurs a high financial cost, which is a great burden on the health care system. The practical solution to this problem is through prevention. Prevention of genetic disorders should ...

BACKGROUND Alpha thalassemia (α-thal) is one of the most common hemoglobinopathies worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the spectrum of α-thal mutations among premarital Baluch couples in southeastern Iran. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We assessed 1215 individuals by multiplex gap polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) and amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS-PCR). RESULTS Of ...

BACKGROUND Cigarette/alcohol use and premarital sex, and their subsequent consequences on the well-being of college students, are international health promotion issues. However, little is known about the temporal relationship of these risk behaviors among Taiwanese college students. METHODS This study utilizes data from the Taiwan Youth Project, a cohort sample of 20-year-olds (N = 2,119) wit...

Sex is a universally developmental process in any society throughout the world. Recently, the numbers of reported cases of social problem specifically related to sexuality issues among adolescent keep on increasing yearly. In Malaysian context, issue of premarital sex become a growing public concern especially with the alarming of social issue problems. Premarital sex is considered as sexual in...

INTRODUCTION In this study, we aimed to compare the HBV seroprevalances of voluntary blood donors and the healthy persons who required premarital screening. METHODOLOGY HBsAg ELISA results were collected retrospectively from the records of 9,949 blood donors and 954 healthy persons who required premarital screening. RESULTS HBsAg was detected in 182 of 9,949 (%1.8) voluntary blood donors an...

During the past 20 years, substantial reductions have occurred in the proportion of young women who report marrying as teenagers in sub-Saharan Africa. An oft-stated consequence of a delay in age at marriage is a rise in the proportion of young women who engage in premarital sex. This paper investigates the links between changing age at marriage and premarital sexual behavior in 27 sub-Saharan ...