Epidemiology
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Prior studies suggest that women who use antidepressants during pregnancy have an increased risk for preeclampsia, yet the comparative safety of specific antidepressants remains unclear. US nationwide Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) data have not been used to study medication safety during pregnancy. ⋯ In this population, SNRIs and tricyclics were associated with a higher risk of preeclampsia than SSRIs.
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There is accumulating evidence that air pollution causes lung cancer. Still, questions remain about exposure misclassification, the components of air pollution responsible, and the histological subtypes of lung cancer that might be produced. ⋯ Lung cancer incidence in this Canadian study was increased most strongly with NO2 and PM2.5 exposure. Further investigation is needed into possible effects of O3 on development of lung cancer.
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Adherence to a Mediterranean diet has been associated with lower risk of various age-related diseases including dementia. Although narrative reviews have been published, no systematic review has synthesized studies on the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and cognitive function or dementia. ⋯ Published studies suggest that greater adherence to Mediterranean diet is associated with slower cognitive decline and lower risk of developing Alzheimer disease. Further studies would be useful to clarify the association with mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia. Long-term randomized controlled trials promoting a Mediterranean diet may help establish whether improved adherence helps to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer disease and dementia.
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Nonrandomized pharmacoepidemiology generally compares one medication with another. For many conditions, clinicians can benefit from comparing the safety and effectiveness of three or more appropriate treatment options. We sought to compare three treatment groups simultaneously by creating 1:1:1 propensity score-matched cohorts. ⋯ Our matching approach offers an effective way to study the safety and effectiveness of three treatment options. We recommend its use over the pairwise or common-referent approaches.