The Interpretation of Verbal Probabilities: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Verbal probabilities such as "likely" or "probable" are commonly used to describe situations of uncertainty or risk and are easy and natural to most people. Numerous studies are devoted to the translation of verbal probability expressions to numerical probabilities. METHODS: The present work aims to summarize existing research on the numerical interpretation of verbal probabilities. This was accomplished by means of a systematic literature review and meta-analysis conducted alongside the MOOSE-guidelines for meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology. Studies were included, if they provided empirical assignments of verbal probabilities to numerical values. RESULTS: The literature search identified 181 publications and finally led to 21 included articles and the procession of 35 verbal probability expressions. Sample size of the studies ranged from 11 to 683 participants and covered a period of half a century from 1967 to 2018. In half of the studies, verbal probabilities were delivered in a neutral context followed by a medical context. Mean values of the verbal probabilities range from 7.24% for the term "impossible" up to 94.79% for the term "definite". DISCUSSION: According to the results, there is a common 'across-study' consensus of 35 probability expressions for describing different degrees of probability, whose numerical interpretation follows a linear course. However, heterogeneity of studies was considerably high and should be considered as a limiting factor.

Recommendation of Neurorehabilitation according to the Padovan-Method Neurofunctional Reorganization® for Treating Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: The Padovan-Method Neurofunctional Reorganization® is a promising approach in speech therapy treating neurodevelopmental disorders with traumatic or congenital origin. Its use is based on a long-time experience of certified therapists. However, its efficacy and safety has not been assessed in a systematic review. This report aims to gain evidence for the use of the therapy method. The review was registered (PROSPERO: CRD42020156124). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Guidelines of PRISMA, the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook, MECIR, and GRADE were followed. General databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, AWMF, Anthromedics, etc.) and further 38 databases including grey literature were searched. Hand search was done additionally and contact to experts used to retrieve unpublished manuscripts. All trials investigating the effect of the method in comparison to either no intervention, alternative as state of the art, or placebo intervention in English, Portuguese, and German language were included. No restriction regarding study design was applied. Data related to the intervention outcome and the study method was extracted and analyzed independently. Risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-I for non-RCTs, adherence to CARE-Guidelines was analyzed for case series or reports, and keeping the Declaration of Helsinki was checked for all items. Results are presented both in evidence profiles and summary of findings tables according to GRADE. RESULTS: Amongst 98 records assessed for eligibility, four studies and 14 case reports were identified with a total of n = 196 participants. Duration of reported interventions was between 2 days and 2 years. Microcephalia, down-syndrome, unspecified neurological disorders, and myofunctional disorders were main conditions of the patients with neurodevelopmental disorders. Only indirect overlapping of operationalized criteria was found. Conclusions are therefore limited. CONCLUSION: The Padovan-Method® is a holistic therapy approach claiming its feasibility to a large group of disorders making a proof of efficacy difficult. An application of therapy according to the Padovan-Method® by trained therapists might be considered by clinicians (weak recommendation) and a contribution to a relief of symptoms or improvements of condition of named conditions might be gained. Therefore, development and validation of therapy protocols and further investigation are required.

Effects of yoga on eating disorders-A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The question of whether yoga practice ameliorates or even aggravates eating disorders is currently under debate. The aim of this review was to systematically assess and the effectiveness and safety of yoga in patients with eating disorders. METHODS: Medline/PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Psychological and Behavioral Science Collection were screened through July 2018 for randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled trials and longitudinal observational studies on yoga for patients with eating disorders and other individuals with disordered eating and/or body dissatisfaction. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. RESULTS: Eight randomized trials and four uncontrolled trials involving a total of 495 participants were included. Risk of bias was mixed. Comparing yoga to untreated control groups, effect sizes ranged from negligible effects of d = 0.02 to very large effects of d = 2.15. However, most effects were small to moderately sized and in most cases not significant. No safety-related data were reported. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited evidence on the effectiveness and safety of yoga in patients with eating disorders. Yoga can be preliminarily considered as an additional treatment option in multimodal psychiatric treatment programs.

Effectiveness of yoga in eating disorders - A case report.

Eating disorders are among the most common psychosomatic diseases and are often associated with negative health consequences. The use of yoga as a treatment method in eating disorders is controversial discussed. The interviewee was a 38 year old female patient suffering on anorexia nervosa and various psychosomatic-psychiatric diagnoses in her medical history. The patient reported that yoga recovered the soul contact which she lost and she had learned to perceive and feel herself again. She stated that yoga helped her to find access to her body and its needs and to cope with her traumatic experiences. She also reported that attitudes have changed in relation to her stomach in the treatment of her anorexia. The case report confirmed the positive effect of yoga on eating disorders. Research should pay particular attention to taking into account the influence of individual's co-morbidities, as eating disorders usually occur in association with co-morbidities.

Verbal Probabilities: Linear or Logistic? - A Regression Analysis Approach.

Verbal probability expressions are quite intuitive and used in a variety of clinical important issues like adverse drug causality appraisal. However, there is insufficient evidence of their numerical meaning and whether they have a linear or logistic relationship with them. We aimed at contributing to answering these questions by means of a comparative regression analysis based on a sample of N=683 participants between 10 and 82 years (mean age 20.33±11.77; median: 18 years) who were asked to numerically rate a given set of sixteen verbal probability phrases on a visual analogue scale. With respect to the explained variance, we found an R2 for the linear model of 0.574 while R2 for the logistic model was only 0.392 indicating a superiority of linear model compared to the logistic model. Although we were able to show that ranked verbal phrases are more likely to behave in a linear that in a logistic way other regression options like the double logistic model should be taken into consideration for further research.