BMJ : British medical journal
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To systematically review associations between intake of saturated fat and trans unsaturated fat and all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD) and associated mortality, ischemic stroke, and type 2 diabetes. ⋯ Saturated fats are not associated with all cause mortality, CVD, CHD, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes, but the evidence is heterogeneous with methodological limitations. Trans fats are associated with all cause mortality, total CHD, and CHD mortality, probably because of higher levels of intake of industrial trans fats than ruminant trans fats. Dietary guidelines must carefully consider the health effects of recommendations for alternative macronutrients to replace trans fats and saturated fats.
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Review Meta Analysis
Comparative efficacy of interventions to promote hand hygiene in hospital: systematic review and network meta-analysis.
To evaluate the relative efficacy of the World Health Organization 2005 campaign (WHO-5) and other interventions to promote hand hygiene among healthcare workers in hospital settings and to summarize associated information on use of resources. ⋯ Promotion of hand hygiene with WHO-5 is effective at increasing compliance in healthcare workers. Addition of goal setting, reward incentives, and accountability strategies can lead to further improvements. Reporting of resources required for such interventions remains inadequate.
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To investigate the impact of smoking and smoking cessation on cardiovascular mortality, acute coronary events, and stroke events in people aged 60 and older, and to calculate and report risk advancement periods for cardiovascular mortality in addition to traditional epidemiological relative risk measures. ⋯ Our study corroborates and expands evidence from previous studies in showing that smoking is a strong independent risk factor of cardiovascular events and mortality even at older age, advancing cardiovascular mortality by more than five years, and demonstrating that smoking cessation in these age groups is still beneficial in reducing the excess risk.
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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global health problem that can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although HBV vaccination has reduced the prevalence Of HBV infection, the burden of disease remains high. Treatment with antiviral drugs reduces the risk of liver disease and the development of HCC, and it can even reverse liver fibrosis. ⋯ Monitoring of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels may help to predict the likelihood of response to treatment, particularly for pegylated interferon. Prolonged treatment is usually needed with oral antiviral agents, and relapse is common if treatment is discontinued. New treatments that result in sustained clearance of HBV DNA and the clearance of HBsAg are needed.