title: The effect of olive oil and the Saj® cream in prevention of striae gravidarum: A randomized controlled clinical trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the clinical efficacy of olive oil and the Saj(®) cream on the occurrence and severity of striae gravidarum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parallel randomized controlled clinical trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  West Health Centre, Lolagar and Akbarabadi Hospitals, Tehran, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  360 Nulliparous women at their second trimester of pregnancy randomly (simple randomization) allocated into three groups of olive oil, the Saj(®) cream, and control that finally 150 of them (50 subjects in each group) completed the study. Control group did not receive any medication/intervention. At gestational age of 38-40 weeks the participants were evaluated regarding the occurrence of striae on abdominal skin and its severity that were primary outcome of the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the olive oil group, striae occurred in 72% of the participants, which were mild, moderate, and severe in 32%, 26%, and 6% of the cases, respectively. In those who received Saj(®) cream, striae occurred in 64% of the cases, which were mild, moderate and severe in 16%, 34%, and 14% of the cases, respectively. With regard to the control group, striae occurred in 60% of the participants, among which striae were mild, moderate, and severe in 22%, 24%, and 14% of the cases, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences among the three studied groups regarding the incidence or severity of striae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neither olive oil nor the Saj(®) cream were effective in preventing the occurrence of striae gravidarum or affecting its severity. Further studies to examine the effect of other herbal/chemical preparations on occurrence of striae gravidarum are recommended.
authors.affiliation: Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Soltanipour
authors.affiliation: Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. Electronic address: swt_f@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delaram
authors.affiliation: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taavoni
authors.affiliation: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haghani
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D063465:Skin Cream / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D057896:Striae Distensae / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000069463:Olive Oil; D010938:Plant Oils
keywords: Olive oil; Prevention; Striae of pregnancy; The Saj(®) cream; Treatment