Search results for " meta-analysis."

Nutritional supplements for neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2020

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of nutritional supplementation on neuropsychiatric symptoms among people with dementia. Methods/Design: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched in the Databases PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Clinicaltrials.gov from inception until January 31, 2020. Studies of RCTs carried out on people with any type of dementia who were taking nutritional supplements and had neuropsychiatric symptoms were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were assessed with the validated Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Effect sizes were calculated with standardized mea…

Urinary incontinence and quality of life: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021

AbstractBackgroundUrinary incontinence (UI) and low quality of life (QoL) are two common conditions. Some recent literature proposed that these two entities can be associated. However, no attempt was made to collate this literature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing data to estimate the strength of the association between UI and QoL.MethodsAn electronic search of major databases up to 18th April 2020 was carried out. Meta-analysis of cross-sectional and case–control studies comparing mean values in QoL between patients with UI and controls was performed, reporting random-effects standardized mean differences (SMDs) ± 95% confid…

Misguided Effort with Elusive Implications

2016

Good self-control has been linked to adaptive outcomes such as better health, cohesive personal relationships, success in the workplace and at school, and less susceptibility to crime and addictions. In contrast, self-control failure is linked to maladaptive outcomes. Understanding the mechanisms by which self-control predicts behavior may assist in promoting better regulation and outcomes. A popular approach to understanding self-control is the strength or resource depletion model. Self-control is conceptualized as a limited resource that becomes depleted after a period of exertion resulting in self-control failure. The model has typically been tested using a sequential-task experimental p…

Ejaculation Disorders in Male Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prevalence

2021

PURPOSE: Ejaculatory dysfunction (EjD) and erectile dysfunction after cancer treatment are clinically important complications, but their exact prevalence by various kinds of cancer site and type of treatment is unknown. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the available evidence and provide pooled estimates for prevalence of EjD and erectile dysfunction in relation to all cancer sites and identify characteristics associated with EjD in cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional and case-control studies. We searched 4 electronic databases (Medline®, CINAHL, PsychInfo and Embase®) until July 22, 2…

The impact of deep vein thrombosis in critically ill patients: a meta-analysis of major clinical outcomes

2015

Background. Critically ill patients appear to be at high risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism during their stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, little is known about the clinical course of venous thromboembolism in the ICU setting. We therefore evaluated, through a systematic review of the literature, the available data on the impact of a diagnosis of DVT on hospital and ICU stay, duration of mechanical ventilation and mortality in critically ill patients. We also tried to determine whether currently adopted prophylactic measures need to be revised and improved in the ICU setting. Materials and methods. MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched up…

Inflammation and sarcopenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2017

Inflammatory cytokines have been shown to prompt muscle wasting, ultimately stimulating protein catabolism and suppressing muscle synthesis. However, the possible association between inflammatory parameters and sarcopenia is poorly understood. We therefore aimed to summarize the current evidence about this topic with a meta-analysis of studies reporting serum inflammatory parameters in patients with sarcopenia vs. people without sarcopenia (controls). An electronic PubMed and Scopus search through to 09/01/2016 and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies comparing serum levels of inflammatory cytokines between patients with sarcopenia and controls was made, calculating random-effects stand…

Effect of Calcifediol on Physical Performance and Muscle Strength Parameters: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2022

There is general agreement that optimal vitamin D status is necessary for bones, muscles, and general health, particularly in older adults, who are at higher risk of negative consequences of vitamin D deficiency, including sarcopenia; vitamin D supplementation is proposed as a potential intervention to mitigate sarcopenia. Several RCTs have reported that calcifediol (25(OH)D) was more potent than cholecalciferol in increasing plasma 25(OH)D. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the effects of calcifediol on physical performance and muscle strength. We searched databases from inception to 1 January 2022 for studies investigating calcifediol on physical performan…

Microplastics and the functional traits of fishes: A global meta‐analysis

2021

Over the years, concern about the effects of microplastics has grown. Here, we answered the main question “What are the impacts of microplastics on the functional traits of fish species?” through a meta-analysis. The general impact of microplastic exposure on the functional traits of fishes and specifically on eight variables, namely, behaviour, development, fecundity, feeding, growth, health, hatching and survival was explored. Subgroup analyses were performed to detect correlations between the impact of microplastics and the following factors: species, life stage, habitat, water column habitat, day of exposure to microplastics and microplastic size, type and shape. A meta-regression analy…

Effects of Ocean Acidification on physiology, behaviour and ecology of fish

CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is increasing at unprecedented rate since the last 800,000 years due to rising fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes and land use by humans. By absorbing part of this gas from the atmosphere, Oceans contribute to the mitigation of climatic changes, but at the cost of greater modifications of their physical and chemical characteristics. CO2 dissolved in the seawater leads to increased bicarbonate (HCO3 -) and hydrogen ions (H+) concentrations with a consequent pH drop, a phenomenon known as Ocean Acidification (OA). If global policy will not put in force mitigation measures to reduce CO2 emissions, it is projected that partial pressure of dissolved …

Assessing the quality of studies in meta-research: Review/guidelines on the most important quality assessment tools

2020

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses pool data from individual studies to generate a higher level of evidence to be evaluated by guidelines. These reviews ultimately guide clinicians and stakeholders in health-related decisions. However, the informativeness and quality of evidence synthesis inherently depend on the quality of what has been pooled into meta-research projects. Moreover, beyond the quality of included individual studies, only a methodologically correct process, in relation to systematic reviews and meta-analyses themselves, can produce a reliable and valid evidence synthesis. Hence, quality of meta-research projects also affects evidence synthesis reliability. In this overview…