Bmc Med
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China experiences large variations in influenza seasonal activity. We aim to update and improve the current understanding of regional-based within-year variations of influenza activity across mainland China to provide evidence for the planning and optimisation of healthcare strategies. ⋯ This is the first systematic review to simultaneously examine the seasonal variation of multiple influenza-related health outcomes at multiple spatial scales across mainland China. The seasonality information provided here has important implications for the planning and optimisation of immunisation programmes and healthcare provision, supporting the need for regional-based approaches to address variations in local epidemiology.
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Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a commonly used test to detect prostate cancer. Attention has mostly focused on the use of PSA in screening asymptomatic patients, but the diagnostic accuracy of PSA for prostate cancer in patients with symptoms is less well understood. ⋯ Currently available evidence suggests PSA is highly sensitive but poorly specific for prostate cancer detection in symptomatic patients. However, significant limitations in study design and reference test reduces the certainty of this estimate. There is very limited evidence for the performance of PSA in primary care, the healthcare setting where most PSA testing is performed.
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Meta Analysis
The role of diet in renal cell carcinoma incidence: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies.
Evidence associating diet with the incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is inconclusive. We aimed to summarize evidence associating dietary factors with RCC incidence and assess the strength and validity of this evidence. ⋯ Although many meta-analyses have assessed associations between dietary factors and RCC, no high-quality evidence exists (classes I and II) in the overall analysis. Increased intake of vegetables and vitamin C is negatively associated with RCC risk. Moderate drinking might be beneficial for Europeans and North Americans, and cruciferous vegetables might be beneficial to North Americans, but the results should be interpreted with caution. More researches are needed in the future.
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We aimed to map and describe the current state of Mendelian randomization (MR) literature on cancer risk and to identify associations supported by robust evidence. ⋯ Despite the large amount of research on genetically predicted risk factors for cancer risk, limited associations are supported by robust evidence for causality. Most associations did not present a MR sensitivity analysis and were thus non-evaluable. Future research should focus on more thorough assessment of sensitivity MR analyses and on more transparent reporting.