0000000000254867
AUTHOR
Thomas Waldhoer
Tai Chi for Chronic Illness Management: Synthesizing Current Evidence from Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials
An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the existing evidence of Tai Chi as a mind-body exercise for chronic illness management. MEDLINE/PubMed and Embase databases were searched from inception until March 31, 2019, for meta-analyses of at least two RCTs that investigated health outcomes associated with Tai Chi intervention. Evidence of significant outcomes (P value < 0.05) was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. This review identified 45 meta-analyses of RCTs and calculated 142 summary estimates among adults living with 16 types of chronic …
Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults
Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions…
Neurological diseases and COVID-19: prospective analyses using the UK Biobank
COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease-19) may present with neurological signs, but whether people already affected by neurological conditions are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 is still not known. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the association of previously diagnosed neurological conditions with COVID-19. 502,536 community-dwelling UK Biobank participants (54.4% male, mean age 56.6 ± 10.3 years) were included. Among these, 57,463 participants had a diagnosis of neurological conditions (11.43%) and a total of 1326 COVID-19-positive cases were identified (0.26%). Neurological conditions were identified through medical history and linkage to data on hospital admissions (ICD-10 code G00–…
Telomere length and health outcomes: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies.
The aim of the present study was to map and grade evidence for the relationships between telomere length with a diverse range of health outcomes, using an umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses. We searched for meta-analyses of observational studies reporting on the association of telomere length with any health outcome (clinical disease outcomes and intermediate traits). For each association, random-effects summary effect size, 95% confidence interval (CI), and 95% prediction interval were calculated. To evaluate the credibility of the identified evidence, we assessed also heterogeneity, evidence for small-study effect and evidence for excess significance bias. Twenty-one…
Trends in Sexual Activity and Associations with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among US Adults
Abstract Background Sexual activity can be referred to as a health behavior and may also act as an indicator of health status. Aim To evaluate temporal trends in sexual activity and to examine associations of sexual activity with all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk. Methods We examined the trends and prevalence of sexual activity and association of sexual activity with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a nationally representative sample using data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2016 and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2014 Linked Mortality File (through December 31, 2015). Outcomes All-cause, cardiovascular…