Based on a report by a whistleblower (March 2, 2022) about possible malpractices in ethics, we found significant similarities between the two below-mentioned articles (1, 2). Consequently, we started our investigations and collected details of explanations from all parties. Finally and because both papers used the same sample of cases and assessment methods, as well as many similarities in the results of both studies, the Committee of Ethics in Research and Publications in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences plus the secondary ethics committee of the publisher concluded to retract this article from our journal (Registration Number: #464858, Date: April 21, 2022). Respecting our policy, it is a definite case of redundancy and double-Publication. As a result of this, we apologize to our readers for any inconvenience. We also express our concerns about the difference between the number of authors in the two papers. The authors were already informed about this decision.
• Article 2: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27497776/
