Plos One
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Review Meta Analysis
Marine N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in Asians: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Prospective cohort studies in relation to the associations between n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) were inconsistent. Differences in tissue n-3 PUFA compositions in subjects with and without T2D were also inconsistent in both cohort and case-control studies. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies to examine the associations of fish and n-3 PUFA intake with T2D risk. The differences in tissue n-3 PUFA compositions in subjects with and without T2D were investigated based on cohort and case-control studies. ⋯ This systematic review and meta-analysis provides evidence that marine n-3 PUFA have beneficial effects on the prevention of T2D in Asian populations.
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Meta Analysis
Trends in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in China from 1981 to 2010: a meta-analysis.
Overweight/obesity is a serious public health problem that affects a large part of the world population across all age and racial/ethnic groups. However, there has not been a meta-analysis of the prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight/obesity in China during the past 30 years. ⋯ Toddlers and urban boys were at particularly high risk; the prevalence in these groups increased more rapidly than in their counterparts. Public health prevention strategies are urgently needed to modify health behaviors of children and adolescents and control overweight/obesity in China.
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Culture is becoming increasingly important in relation to end of life (EoL) care in a context of globalization, migration and European integration. We explore and compare socio-cultural issues that shape EoL care in seven European countries and critically appraise the existing research evidence on cultural issues in EoL care generated in the different countries. ⋯ This scoping review is the first comparative exploration of the cultural differences in the understanding of EoL care in these countries. The diverse body of evidence that was identified on socio-cultural issues in EoL care, reflects clearly distinguishable national cultures of EoL care, with differences in meaning, priorities, and expertise in each country. The diverse ways that EoL care is understood and practised forms a necessary part of what constitutes best evidence for the improvement of EoL care in the future.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Oral antimicrobial rinse to reduce mycobacterial culture contamination among tuberculosis suspects in Uganda: a prospective study.
Contamination by bacterial or fungal organisms reduces the effectiveness of mycobacterial culture for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). We evaluated the effect of an anti-microbial and an anti-fungal oral rinse prior to expectoration on culture-contamination rates. ⋯ Oral rinse prior to sputum expectoration is a promising strategy to reduce mycobacterial culture contamination in areas with high HIV prevalence, if strategies can be devised to reduce the adverse impact of oral rinse on smear- and culture-positivity.
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The American Diabetes Association and World Health Organization have recently adopted the HbA1c measurement as one method of diagnostic criteria for diabetes. The change in diagnostic criteria has important implications for diabetes treatment and prevention. We therefore investigate diabetes using HbA1c and glucose criteria together, and assess the prevalent trend in a developing southern Chinese population with 85 million residents. ⋯ Our results show that the diabetes epidemic is accelerating in China. The awareness of diabetes is extremely low. The glucose test and HbA1c measurement should be used together to increase detection of diabetes and pre-diabetes.