Psychosocial risk factors for neck pain: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Neck pain, which is assumed to be a multifactorial disease, is a major problem in modern society. METHODS: To identify the most important psychosocial risk factors for neck pain, a systematic review of the literature was carried out. The methodological quality of all studies in the review was assessed. Four levels of evidence were defined to assess the strength of evidence for potential risk factors for neck pain (strong, moderate, some or inconclusive evidence). RESULTS: Some evidence was found for a positive relationship between neck pain and high quantitative job demands, low social (coworker) support, low job control, high and low skill discretion and low job satisfaction. Inconclusive evidence was found for high job strain, low supervisor support, conflicts at work, low job security, and limited rest break opportunities. CONCLUSIONS: The procedure of the assessment of the methodological quality and the rating system applied to distinguish between high- and low-score studies, had a considerable influence on the level of evidence, indicating that changes in this procedure may have a major impact on the overall conclusions of this review.     

Occupational risk factors for shoulder pain: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES—To systematically evaluate the available evidence on occupational risk factors of shoulder pain.
METHODS—Relevant reports were identified by a systematic search of Medline, Embase, Psychlit, Cinahl, and Current Contents. The quality of the methods of all selected publications was assessed by two independent reviewers using a standardised checklist. Details were extracted on the study population, exposures (physical load and psychosocial work environment), and results for the association between exposure variables and shoulder pain.
RESULTS—29 Studies were included in the review; three case-control studies and 26 cross sectional designs. The median method score was 60% of the maximum attainable score. Potential risk factors related to physical load and included heavy work load, awkward postures, repetitive movements, vibration, and duration of employment. Consistent findings were found for repetitive movements, vibration, and duration of employment (odds ratio (OR) 1.4-46 in studies with method scores  60%). Nearly all studies that assessed psychosocial risk factors reported at least one positive association with shoulder pain, but the results were not consistent across studies for either high psychological demands, poor control at work, poor social support, or job dissatisfaction. Studies with a method score 60% reported ORs between 1.3 and 4.0. Substantial heterogeneity across studies for methods used for exposure assessment and data analysis impeded statistical pooling of results.
CONCLUSIONS—It seems likely that shoulder pain is the result of many factors, including physical load and the psychosocial work environment. The available evidence was not consistent across studies, however, and the associations were generally not strong. Future longitudinal research should evaluate the relative importance of each individual risk factor and the role of potential confounding variables—such as exposure during leisure time—to set priorities for the prevention of shoulder pain in occupational settings.


Keywords: systematic review; shoulder pain; risk factors     

Radiotherapy for childhood cancer and subsequent thyroid cancer risk: a systematic review

Most of the pooled analyses and reviews reported an association between radiotherapy for childhood cancer and an increased thyroid cancer risk. Up to now this article presents the first systematic literature review on this association combined with a critical assessment of the methodological quality of the included articles. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant articles until May 2016. We included peer-reviewed cohort and case–control studies that investigated an association between radiotherapy for childhood cancer and the occurrence of subsequent thyroid cancer. A systematic overview is presented for the included studies. We identified 17 retrospective cohort studies, and four nested case–control studies, representing 100,818 subjects. The age range at first cancer diagnosis was 0–25.2 years. Considerable variability was found regarding study sizes, study design, treatment strategies, dose information, and follow-up periods. 20 of the 21 identified studies showed increased thyroid cancer risks associated with childhood radiation exposure. The large majority showed an increased relative risk or odds ratio confirming the association between radiotherapy and thyroid cancer although the variation in results was large. Additionally to a pooled analysis that has been published recently, we systematically included 17 further studies, which allowed us to cover information from countries that were not covered by large-scale childhood cancer survivor studies. The methodological limitations of existing studies and inconsistencies in findings across studies yielded a large study heterogeneity, which made a detailed comparison of study results difficult. There is a need to strengthen standardisation for reporting.     

Risk and protective factors for breast cancer: a systematic review

This review aimed to investigate risk and protective factors for breast cancer and to analyze whether scientific evidence from the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research, published in 2007, was confirmed by new research. In May 2010 we reviewed cohort and case-control analytical studies from 2007 to 2010 in the PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases. We selected 27 articles (14 case-control and 13 cohort studies). Breastfeeding and physical activity were protective factors against breast cancer, and alcohol consumption was a risk factor. A direct proportional relationship was observed between larger waist circumference, weight throughout adulthood, and height and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The association between body fat and breast cancer is contradictory in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. According to the accumulated evidence, breastfeeding and healthy lifestyle are the factors most strongly associated with breast cancer prevention.     

Estimates of alcohol-related oesophageal cancer burden in Japan: systematic review and meta-analyses

ObjectiveTo refine estimates of the burden of alcohol-related oesophageal cancer in Japan.MethodsWe searched PubMed for published reviews and original studies on alcohol intake, aldehyde dehydrogenase polymorphisms, and risk for oesophageal cancer in Japan, published before 2014. We conducted random-effects meta-analyses, including subgroup analyses by aldehyde dehydrogenase variants. We estimated deaths and loss of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from oesophageal cancer using exposure distributions for alcohol based on age, sex and relative risks per unit of exposure.FindingsWe identified 14 relevant studies. Three cohort studies and four case-control studies had dose–response data. Evidence from cohort studies showed that people who consumed the equivalent of 100 g/day of pure alcohol had an 11.71 fold, (95% confidence interval, CI: 2.67–51.32) risk of oesophageal cancer compared to those who never consumed alcohol. Evidence from case-control studies showed that the increase in risk was 33.11 fold (95% CI: 8.15–134.43) in the population at large. The difference by study design is explained by the 159 fold (95% CI: 27.2–938.2) risk among those with an inactive aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme variant. Applying these dose–response estimates to the national profile of alcohol intake yielded 5279 oesophageal cancer deaths and 102 988 DALYs lost – almost double the estimates produced by the most recent global burden of disease exercise.ConclusionUse of global dose–response data results in an underestimate of the burden of disease from oesophageal cancer in Japan. Where possible, national burden of disease studies should use results from the population concerned.     

Carotenoids and the risk of developing lung cancer: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Carotenoids are thought to have anti-cancer properties, but findings from population-based research have been inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to conduct a systematic review of the associations between carotenoids and lung cancer. DESIGN: We searched electronic databases for articles published through September 2007. Six randomized clinical trials examining the efficacy of beta-carotene supplements and 25 prospective observational studies assessing the associations between carotenoids and lung cancer were analyzed by using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: The pooled relative risk (RR) for the studies comparing beta-carotene supplements with placebo was 1.10 (95% confidence limits: 0.89, 1.36; P = 0.39). Among the observational studies that adjusted for smoking, the pooled RRs comparing highest and lowest categories of total carotenoid intake and of total carotenoid serum concentrations were 0.79 (0.71, 0.87; P < 0.001) and 0.70 (0.44, 1.11; P = 0.14), respectively. For beta-carotene, highest compared with lowest pooled RRs were 0.92 (0.83, 1.01; P = 0.09) for dietary intake and 0.84 (0.66, 1.07; P = 0.15) for serum concentrations. For other carotenoids, the RRs comparing highest and lowest categories of intake ranged from 0.80 for beta-cryptoxanthin to 0.89 for alpha-carotene and lutein-zeaxanthin; for serum concentrations, the RRs ranged from 0.71 for lycopene to 0.95 for lutein-zeaxanthin. CONCLUSIONS: beta-Carotene supplementation is not associated with a decrease in the risk of developing lung cancer. Findings from prospective cohort studies suggest inverse associations between carotenoids and lung cancer; however, the decreases in risk are generally small and not statistically significant. These inverse associations may be the result of carotenoid measurements' function as a marker of a healthier lifestyle (higher fruit and vegetable consumption) or of residual confounding by smoking.     

Spousal concordance for major coronary risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Spousal pairs permit assessment of determinants of diseasesrelated to environment, because they share the same lifestyleand environment. The authors reviewed spouses' concordance forthe major coronary risk factors. A search of the MEDLINE, PubMed,and EMBASE databases was performed. Seventy-one papers wereselected for a total of 207 cohorts of pairs and 424,613 correlationsin more than 100,000 couples. The most strongly correlated within-pairsfactors were smoking and body mass index, with overall correlationsof 0.23 (95% confidence interval: 0.12, 0.36) and 0.15 (95%confidence interval: 0.05, 0.25), respectively. Statisticallysignificant positive correlations were also found for diastolicblood pressure, triglycerides, total and low density lipoproteincholesterol, weight, and the waist/hip ratio. The overall oddsratios for concordance in hypertension, smoking, diabetes, andobesity were all statistically significant, ranging from 1.16to 3.25. Assortative mating influenced concordance for bloodpressure, smoking, glucose, low density lipoprotein cholesterol,weight, body mass index, and waist circumference. This systematicreview shows a statistically significant positive spousal concordancefor the majority of main coronary risk factors. However, thestrength of the concordance was markedly different among factorsand appeared to be quite modest for all of them. Interventionsto reduce cardiovascular risk factors should be addressed jointlyto both members of a marital couple. concordance; coronary disease; environment and public health; meta-analysis; risk factors; spouses     

Patient-reported outcomes in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a mixed-methods systematic review

Quality of Life Research - Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a chronic condition requiring repeated treatment and endoscopic examinations that can occur life-long. In this context,...     

宫颈癌发病风险预测模型的系统综述

目的 系统评价宫颈癌发病风险预测模型的现况,为实践工作选择最合适的模型提供证据,指导宫颈癌筛查。方法 以宫颈癌和风险预测模型相关的两组中英文关键词,分别检索中国知网、万方数据知识服务平台及PubMed、Embase、Cochrane Library,筛选截至2019年11月21日发表构建或验证宫颈癌发病模型相关文献。根据CHARMS清单制定提取表,以PROBAST工具评估偏倚风险。结果 共纳入12篇文献,涉及15个模型,其中5个模型在中国构建。预测结局包含从宫颈癌前病变到癌症发生的多个阶段宫颈涂片异常（1）、CIN的发生或复发（9）、宫颈癌发生（5）。使用较多的预测因素为HPV感染（12）、年龄（7）、吸烟（5）和文化程度（5）。有2个模型采用机器学习建模。模型表现上,区分度范围为0.53~0.87,而校准度只有2个模型正确评价。仅2个模型在中国台湾地区利用不同时间段的人群进行了外部验证。偏倚风险评价发现所有模型均为高风险,尤其分析领域,问题集中在缺失数据处理不当（13）、模型表现评价不完整（13）、内部验证使用不当（12）和样本量不足（11）。另外,预测因素和结局测量不一致（8）、结局测量盲法使用情况未报告（8）的问题较突出。相对而言,Rothberg等（2018）的模型质量较高。结论 宫颈癌发病风险预测模型有一定数量但质量较差,亟须提高预测因素与结局的测量以及缺失数据处理和模型表现评价等统计分析细节,对现有模型进行外部验证,以更好地指导筛查。     

Psychological treatment of depression; a systematic review of meta-analyses

OBJECTIVE: To provide a review of the meta-analyses of the efficacy of psychological treatment of patients with a depressive disorder. DESIGN: Systematic review. METHOD: A search was performed in Pubmed, Psycinfo and DARE, in earlier reviews and in the lists of references of recovered articles. The inclusion criteria were: statistical meta-analyses of randomised studies that had been published in English in the period 2000-2004. 3 types of outcome measures were distinguished: effects on recovery, effects on the severity of the depressive symptoms, and dropping out. RESULTS: 10 meta-analyses were included with a total of 132 primary studies, of which 25 (19%) appeared in more than one meta-analysis. Psychological interventions in general appeared to have a significant effect on recovery (oddsratio: 3.01) and on the reduction of the depressive symptoms (standardized effect size: -0.90). Cognitive behaviour therapy had been especially thoroughly investigated; there was no convincing evidence that this type of therapy was more effective than other psychological treatments. Minimal psychological interventions also had major effects. Psychological treatment was also effective in children and adolescents. Treatment with antidepressants alone was less effective than combined therapy with antidepressants and psychological intervention. There were no indications that the drop-out rate during psychotherapy was different from that in controls. CONCLUSION: There is much empirical support for the efficacy of psychological treatment of patients with depressive disorders.     

Dietary factors in the risk of bladder cancer

The relationship between selected dietary factors and the risk of bladder cancer was investigated in a case-control study conducted in northern Italy. The study included 163 cases and 181 controls who were hospitalized for acute, nonneoplastic or urinary tract diseases. The frequency of consumption of green vegetables and carrots was lower in the cases; thus, the estimated relative risks for the upper vs. the lower tertiles were 0.6 for green vegetables and 0.5 for carrots. Significant inverse trends in risk emerged with estimated carotenoid (as well as retinoid) intake. The apparent protection conveyed by vitamin A was stronger in current smokers. The risk of bladder cancer was not related to scores of fat and measures of alcohol consumption; the risk was elevated in coffee drinkers (although there was no tendency to rise with higher consumption), but it was reduced in tea drinkers. These findings were not explainable in terms of selection, information, or confounding bias. Thus, although available information is too uncertain for any precise definition of specific (micro)nutrients related to bladder cancer risk, the confirmation that several aspects of a less-affluent diet adversely affect the risk is still of interest in terms of a better understanding of bladder carcinogenesis.     

HIV prevention cost-effectiveness: a systematic review

Background

After more than 25 years, public health programs have not been able to sufficiently reduce the number of new HIV infections. Over 7,000 people become infected with HIV every day. Lack of convincing evidence of cost-effectiveness (CE) may be one of the reasons why implementation of effective programs is not occurring at sufficient scale. This paper identifies, summarizes and critiques the CE literature related to HIV-prevention interventions in low- and middle-income countries during 2005-2008.

Methods

Systematic identification of publications was conducted through several methods: electronic databases, internet search of international organizations and major funding/implementing agencies, and journal browsing. Inclusion criteria included: HIV prevention intervention, year for publication (2005-2008), setting (low- and middle-income countries), and CE estimation (empirical or modeling) using outcomes in terms of cost per HIV infection averted and/or cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) or quality-adjusted life year (QALY).

Results

We found 21 distinct studies analyzing the CE of HIV-prevention interventions published in the past four years (2005-2008). Seventeen CE studies analyzed biomedical interventions; only a few dealt with behavioral and environmental/structural interventions. Sixteen studies focused on sub-Saharan Africa, and only a handful on Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Many HIV-prevention interventions are very cost effective in absolute terms (using costs per DALY averted), and also in country-specific relative terms (in cost per DALY measured as percentage of GDP per capita).

Conclusion

There are several types of interventions for which CE studies are still not available or insufficient, including surveillance, abstinence, school-based education, universal precautions, prevention for positives and most structural interventions. The sparse CE evidence available is not easily comparable; thus, not very useful for decision making. More than 25 years into the AIDS epidemic and billions of dollars of spending later, there is still much work to be done both on costs and effectiveness to adequately inform HIV prevention planning.

     

Exposure to silicon carbide and cancer risk: a systematic review

Purpose

To conduct a systematic review of epidemiologic studies on risk of cancer from exposure to silicon carbide (SiC).

Methods

We followed established guidelines to search electronic databases for studies on populations exposed to SiC. We conducted meta-analyses when the data justified it.

Results

We identified two studies of SiC production workers and several studies of users. The studies of production workers indicated an increased risk of lung cancer. The increased risk was restricted to workers with elevated dust exposure and, in the most informative study from Norway, was linked to estimated cristobalite exposure, a form of crystalline silica. Increased risk was not linked to SiC particles, once cristobalite exposure was controlled for. Studies of SiC users in various industries did not reveal an increased risk of lung cancer.

Conclusions

The increased risk of lung cancer detected in the SiC production industry appears to be associated with high exposure levels to total dust, including crystalline silica and cristobalite which occurred in this industry in the past decades. It may not persist under current exposure circumstances, characterized by lower levels and use of personal protection equipment. Commercial users of SiC-based products were not affected.

     

Disease-specific health-related quality of life questionnaires for heart failure: a systematic review with meta-analyses

Background  Heart failure (HF) is an increasingly common condition affecting patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQL). However, there is little literature comparing HF-specific instruments. Our aim was to evaluate and compare data on the conceptual model and metric properties (reliability, validity and responsiveness) of HF-specific HRQL instruments, by performing a systematic review with meta-analyses. Methods and results  Of 2,541 articles initially identified, 421 were full-text reviewed. Ninety-four reported data on five questionnaires: Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), Chronic Heart Failure Questionnaire (CHFQ), Quality of Life Questionnaire for Severe Heart Failure (QLQ-SHF), Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and Left Ventricular Dysfunction (LVD-36) questionnaire. Metric properties (reliability, validity and responsiveness) were summarised using meta-analysis for pools above five estimates. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were generally high (0.83–0.95) for overall scores and scales measuring physical health. Associations with four validity criteria (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class, six-minute walk test [6MWT] and short form-36 [SF-36] ‘Physical’ and ‘Social Functioning’) were moderate to strong (0.41–0.84), except for those between two CHFQ domains (fatigue and dyspnoea) and the NYHA (0.19 and 0.22). Pooled estimates of change from eight meta-analyses showed the MLHFQ to be highly responsive, with changes in overall score ranging from −9.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: −4.1; −15.2) for placebo to −17.7 (95% CI: −15.3; −20.2) for pacing devices. The CHFQ and KCCQ also showed good sensitivity to change. Conclusions  Most of the questionnaires studied met minimum psychometric criteria, though current evidence would primarily support the use of the MLHFQ, followed by the KCCQ and CHFQ. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

School-based prevention for illicit drugs use: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of school-based interventions in preventing or reducing drug use. METHODS: The search strategy was conducted according to the Cochrane Collaboration method, and applied to MEDLINE, EMBASE, ERIC, PSYCHINFO, Cochrane Library, ACP Journal Club, Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group Register. RCTs and CCTs evaluating school-based interventions designed to prevent substance use were reviewed. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers. Quality was assessed. Interventions were classified as skills, affective, and knowledge focused. RESULTS: 29 RCTs were included; 28 were conducted in the USA; most were focused on 6th-7th grade students. Compared with usual curricula, skills-based interventions significantly reduce marijuana use (RR=0.82; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.92) and hard drug use (RR=0.45; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.85), and improve decision-making skills, self-esteem, peer pressure resistance (RR=2.05; 95% CI: 1.24, 3.42) and drug knowledge. Compared with usual curricula, affective interventions improve decision-making skills and drug knowledge, and knowledge-focused programs improve drug knowledge. Skills-based interventions are better than affective ones in improved self-efficacy. No differences are evident for skills vs. knowledge-focused programs on drug knowledge. Affective interventions improve decision-making skills and drug knowledge to a higher degree than knowledge-focused programs. CONCLUSION: Skills-based programs help to deter drug use. Well designed, long-term randomised trials, and evaluation of intervention components are required.