Annals of medicine
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Meta Analysis
Statin therapy in chronic viral hepatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies with 195,602 participants.
Conflicting data suggest that statins could cause chronic liver disease in certain group of patients, while improving prognosis in those with chronic viral hepatitis (CVH). ⋯ Not only long-term treatment with statins seems to be safe in patients affected by hepatitis, but also it significantly improves their prognosis.
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Meta Analysis
Genetic variant in microRNA-146a gene is associated with risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
To investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in microRNA-146a (miR-146a) gene and susceptibility of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ In summary, this study supports that genetic variant in miR-146a gene is associated with RA risk.KEY MESSAGESThe association between SNPs in miR-146a gene and susceptibility of RA was unclear.We investigated the genetic association using GWASs data and a replication study.The SNP rs2431697 in miR-146a gene is associated with RA risk.
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This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of serum LDH to pleural ADA ratio (cancer ratio, CR)for malignant pleural effusion (MPE) through an original study and meta-analysis. ⋯ CR has a high diagnostic accuracy for predicting MPE, especially when used in combination with pleural CEA.
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Meta Analysis
Walnut intake, cognitive outcomes and risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Walnuts contain nutrients that are associated with improved cognitive health. To our knowledge, no review has systematically examined the effects of walnuts on cognitive function and risk for cognitive decline. ⋯ Due to the non-uniformity of tests for cognition-related outcomes, definitive conclusions regarding the effect of walnut consumption on cognition could not be reached. Additionally, evidence does not show associations between walnut intake and glucose homeostasis or inflammation, cognitive decline risk-factors. High-quality studies with standardized measures are needed to clarify the role of walnuts in cognitive health.KEY MESSAGESThis is a systematic review and meta-analysis of 5 randomized clinical trials and 7 observational study articles of the impact of walnut intake on cognition decline and 27 randomized clinical trials of the effect of walnut intake on risk factors for cognitive decline including glucose homeostasis and inflammation.The non-uniformity of tests performed to measure cognitive function in the various studies did not allow for a meta-analysis of these studies. A definitive conclusion could therefore not be reached regarding the effect of walnut intake on cognitive decline.The evidence available does not show an association between walnut intake and glucose homeostasis or inflammation.
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Meta Analysis
Performance of COPD population screener questionnaire in COPD screening: a validation study and meta-analysis.
This study aimed to validate the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Population Screener (COPD-PS) questionnaire as a screening tool in a cohort of Chinese subjects who underwent a health examination, and to summarise its overall performance through a meta-analysis. We enrolled 997 subjects aged ≥40 years who underwent a health examination, both lung function and COPD-PS data were collected. The screening performance of COPD-PS was evaluated with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, using the area under the curve (AUC) to assess the screening accuracy. ⋯ COPD-PS appears to be a useful tool for screening individuals with a high risk of COPD and guiding the selection of individuals for subsequent spirometry examination. KEY MESSAGESCOPD-PS is a simple and useful method to screen COPD. The combination of COPD-PS with other tools may improve the screen performance.