Bmc Med
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Meta Analysis
Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
It was urgent and necessary to synthesize the evidence for vaccine effectiveness (VE) against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide a comprehensive overview of the effectiveness profile of COVID-19 vaccines against VOC. ⋯ Full vaccination of COVID-19 vaccines is highly effective against Alpha variant, and moderate effective against Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants. Booster vaccination is more effective against Delta and Omicron variants. mRNA vaccines seem to have higher VE against Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants over others.
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Review Meta Analysis
Structured reporting to improve transparency of analyses in prognostic marker studies.
Factors contributing to the lack of understanding of research studies include poor reporting practices, such as selective reporting of statistically significant findings or insufficient methodological details. Systematic reviews have shown that prognostic factor studies continue to be poorly reported, even for important aspects, such as the effective sample size. The REMARK reporting guidelines support researchers in reporting key aspects of tumor marker prognostic studies. The REMARK profile was proposed to augment these guidelines to aid in structured reporting with an emphasis on including all aspects of analyses conducted. ⋯ A substantial part of prognostic factor studies is poorly reported and analyzed, with severe consequences for related systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We consider inadequate reporting of single studies as one of the most important reasons that the clinical relevance of most markers is still unclear after years of research and dozens of publications. We conclude that structured reporting is an important step to improve the quality of prognostic marker research and discuss its role in the context of selective reporting, meta-analysis, study registration, predefined statistical analysis plans, and improvement of marker research.
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Meta Analysis
Adiposity and risk of prostate cancer death: a prospective analysis in UK Biobank and meta-analysis of published studies.
The association of adiposity with prostate cancer specific mortality remains unclear. We examined how adiposity relates to fatal prostate cancer and described the cross-sectional associations of commonly used adiposity measurements with adiposity estimated by imaging in UK Biobank. We also conducted a dose-response meta-analysis to integrate the new data with existing prospective evidence. ⋯ Overall, we found that men with higher total and central adiposity had similarly higher risks of prostate cancer death, which may be biologically driven and/or due to differences in detection. In either case, these findings support the benefit for men of maintaining a healthy body weight.
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Meta Analysis
Dietary fibre in hypertension and cardiovascular disease management: systematic review and meta-analyses.
Higher dietary fibre intakes are associated with a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), and increasing intake has been shown to reduce blood pressure and other cardiometabolic risk factors. The extent to which dietary fibre can further reduce risk for those with CVD and treated with cardioprotective drugs has not been clearly established. We have examined the evidence for dietary fibre as adjunct therapy in those with CVD or hypertension. ⋯ These findings emphasise the likely benefits of promoting greater dietary fibre intakes for patients with CVD and hypertension. Further trials and cohort analyses in this area would increase confidence in these results.
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Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare multi-system genetic disorder characterised by the presence of benign tumours throughout multiple organs including the brain, kidneys, heart, liver, eyes, lungs and skin, in addition to neurological and neuropsychiatric complications. Intracardiac tumour (rhabdomyoma), neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and kidney disorders (KD) are common manifestations of TSC and have been linked with TSC1 and TSC2 loss-of-function mutations independently, but the dynamic relationship between these organ manifestations remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to characterise the nature of the relationship specifically between these three organs' manifestations in TSC1 and TSC2 mutation patients. ⋯ This study marks the first empirical investigation of the co-morbidity between congenital heart defects (CHD), NDDs, and KDs in TSC1 and TSC2 patients. This remains a unique first step towards the characterisation of the dynamic role between genetics, heart function, brain function and kidney function during the early development in the context of TSC.