PLoS medicine
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Concerns have been raised about the quality of reporting in nutritional epidemiology. Research reporting guidelines such as the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement can improve quality of reporting in observational studies. Herein, we propose recommendations for reporting nutritional epidemiology and dietary assessment research by extending the STROBE statement into Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Nutritional Epidemiology (STROBE-nut). ⋯ When used appropriately, reporting guidelines for nutritional epidemiology can contribute to improve reporting of observational studies with a focus on diet and health.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The Effect of Sitagliptin on Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis in Type 2 Diabetes: The PROLOGUE Randomized Controlled Trial.
Experimental studies have suggested that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors provide cardiovascular protective effects. We performed a randomized study to evaluate the effects of sitagliptin added on to the conventional therapy compared with conventional therapy alone (diet, exercise, and/or drugs, except for incretin-related agents) on the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery, a surrogate marker for the evaluation of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). ⋯ In the PROLOGUE study, there was no evidence that treatment with sitagliptin had an additional effect on the progression of carotid IMT in participants with T2DM beyond that achieved with conventional treatment.
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Laboratory evidence suggests that reduced phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) expression increases the invasiveness of melanoma cells; hence, pharmacological inhibition of PDE5 could affect melanoma risk. Two major epidemiological studies have investigated this and come to differing conclusions. We therefore aimed to investigate whether PDE5 inhibitor use is associated with an increased risk of malignant melanoma, and whether any increase in risk is likely to represent a causal relationship. ⋯ Our results were not consistent with PDE5 inhibitors being causally associated with melanoma risk, and strongly suggest that observed risk increases are driven by greater sun exposure among patients exposed to a PDE5 inhibitor.
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The development of cognitive and socioemotional skills early in life influences later health and well-being. Existing estimates of unmet developmental potential in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are based on either measures of physical growth or proxy measures such as poverty. In this paper we aim to directly estimate the number of children in LMICs who would be reported by their caregivers to show low cognitive and/or socioemotional development. ⋯ The number of children globally failing to reach their developmental potential remains large. Additional research is needed to identify the specific causes of poor developmental outcomes in diverse settings, as well as potential context-specific interventions that might promote children's early cognitive and socioemotional well-being.