Journal of general internal medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
SSRIs for hot flashes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Hot flashes are the most commonly reported vasomotor symptom during the peri- and early post-menopausal period. ⋯ SSRI use is associated with modest improvement in the severity and frequency of hot flashes but can also be associated with the typical profile of SSRI adverse effects.
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Previous studies found normal weight compared to overweight/obese adults with type 2 diabetes had a higher mortality risk, and body-mass index (BMI)-mortality studies do not typically account for baseline diabetes status. ⋯ Mortality increased with increasing BMI in adults without diabetes, but decreased with increasing BMI among their counterparts with diabetes. Future studies need to be better designed to answer the question of whether normal weight adults with diabetes have a higher risk of mortality, by minimizing the possibility of reverse causation. Future studies should also account for prevalent diabetes in all investigations of the BMI-mortality relationship.
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Multicenter Study
Sex, race, and consideration of bariatric surgery among primary care patients with moderate to severe obesity.
Bariatric surgery is one of few obesity treatments to produce substantial weight loss but only a small proportion of medically-eligible patients, especially men and racial minorities, undergo bariatric surgery. ⋯ African Americans and men were less likely to have considered bariatric surgery and were less likely to have been recommended surgery by their doctors. Differences in how obesity affects QOL appear to account for some of these variations. High perceived risk rather than financial barrier was the major deterrent for patients.
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Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) occurs when alcohol-dependent individuals abruptly reduce or stop drinking. Hospitalized alcohol-dependent patients are at risk. Hospitals need a validated screening tool to assess withdrawal risk, but no validated tools are currently available. ⋯ The admission AUDIT-PC score is an excellent discriminator of AWS and could be an important component of future clinical prediction rules. Calibration and further validation on a large prospectivecohort is indicated.
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Prior research has documented a high prevalence of conspiracy beliefs about the origin of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the role of the government in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Whether such beliefs are a barrier to participation in HIV prevention research is not known. ⋯ HIV conspiracy beliefs, while common among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, do not preclude willingness to participate in HIV prevention research.