Social media is a powerful tool in providing information and support for minority groups such as patients with chronic diseases. We aimed to assess the link between using online social media and depression in a sample population of Iranian Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. In this cross-sectional study, a number of MS patients between 18-55 years were recruited. The Persian-language version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II-Persian) was used to screen MS patients for depression. We selected a cutoff point of 16 to identify depressed MS patients, who answered the self-administered questionnaire designed by the authors (the validity and reliability was confirmed before). Patients, whose interaction with social networks and communication tools was limited to < 1 h/day for < 5 times/month, were allocated as controls. A two-sided p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We compared the depression score between patients who used internet and social media (16.38 ± 8.35) with those who did not (25 ± 13.98). We found out there was a significant difference (p = 0.046). However, there were no significant differences between the type (r = 0.098, p = 0.513) and duration (r = − 0.102, p = 0.564) of social media with depression score. Also, based on a cutoff of 3 number of social media there was no significant difference in the status of depression among patients (p = 0.921). Based on the experience of patients, it is helpful to implement a source using online social media to facilitate patients' access to rehabilitation support and establish support groups with standard supervised information delivery.

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Background. Multiple sclerosis (MS) threatens the patients’ independency and ability to effectively participate in the society. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between using social networks on the general health of multiple sclerosis patients. Methods. This study was performed on 80 MS patients referring to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Chamran, and Imam Reza Hospital in 2017, whose condition had improved and were treated by a specialist physician. Tools for data collection were general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) and social networks use questionnaires. Results. Amongst the 80 individuals with MS, 65 (81.3%) were female and 15 (18.8%) were male. Our results suggest that patients with higher levels of education had higher levels of health (P=0.01). Telegram and WhatsApp, respectively, had a positive correlation with general health (P=0.007, P=0.007), anxiety (P=0.003, P=0.028), and social dysfunction (P=0.007, P=0.007). WhatsApp with 33.64% was the most popular application among MS patients. The correlation between general health and duration of using social networks was not statistically significant (r=0.22, P=0.06). Also, no significant correlation was found between the duration of using social networks and the general health (P=0.62). Conclusion. Our findings suggest that social networks, especially Telegram and WhatsApp, had a positive correlation with general health, anxiety, and social dysfunction of patients. Therefore, the use of social networks can be considered as a suitable option in reducing the aforementioned concerns among patients with MS. On the other hand, general health and mood status might as well influence the use of social network in MS patients.

Introduction little is known about social media (SM) use among breast cancer (BC) patients and their general health (GH). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of SM and sociodemographic characteristics associated with GH in BC patients during the treatment phases. Methods a retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on BC patients at Shiraz University from December 2017 to August 2020. Data on clinical, epidemiological, and GH information were collected using a general health questionnaire (GHQ-28). Univariate analysis was performed to determine the impact of SM on GH. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression models [odds ratio (OR)] were performed to identify sociodemographic factors that affect the GH of BC patients. Results amongst the 353 individuals with BC, 339 (96%) were female. Their mean age was 48.98 ± 11.57 years. Two hundred and thirty (65.2%) patients used SM; the most frequent SM application was WhatsApp by 209 participants (59.2%). Univariate analysis showed a significant social dysfunction among SM nonusers compared to their users (6.68 ± 2.87 vs. 7.87 ± 3.22) and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). The use of SM for 3 hours or less was associated with less social dysfunction. However, the difference was not statistically significant (22.80± 12.48 vs. 25.21 ± 10.17, p =0.415). Multivariate logistic regression showed that using SM and working outdoors was positively associated with GH (OR = 0.68, 95% CI =0.29-1.59) and (OR =0.92, 95% CI = 0.54-1.57), respectively. However, female gender and use of chemotherapy were negatively associated with GH (OR = 2.96, 95% CI = 0.74-11.72, and OR =1.47, 95% CI = 0.83-2.57), respectively. Age, marital status, educational level, and disease duration were not statistically associated with GH. Conclusion using SM and working outdoors directly and positively impact the behavior of people who have BC, while the female gender and those under chemotherapy were negatively associated with GH in BC patients.