Religion, Spirituality and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Matched Case-Control Study and Meta-Analysis.

Although the association between religion/spirituality (R/S) and psychological outcomes is well established, current understanding of the association with cardiovascular disease remains limited. We sought to investigate the association between Islamic R/S and coronary heart disease (CHD), and place these findings in light of a meta-analysis. In this case-control study, 190 cases with non-fatal CHD were identified and individually matched with 383 hospital-based controls. R/S was measured by self-administered 102 items questionnaire. A tabular meta-analysis was performed of observational studies on R/S (high level versus low level) and CHD. In addition, a dose-response meta-analysis was conducted using generalized least-squares regression. Participants in the top quartile had decreased odds of CHD comparing to participants in the lowest quartile of religious belief (OR 0.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06-0.59), religious commitment (OR 0.36, CI 95% 0.13-0.99), religious emotions (OR 0.39, CI 95% 0.18-0.87), and total R/S score (OR 0.30, CI 95% 0.13-0.67). The meta-analysis study showed a significant relative risk of 0.88 (CI 95% 0.77-1.00) comparing individuals in high level versus low level of R/S. In dose-response meta-analysis, comparing people with no religious services attendance, the relative risks of CHD were 0.77 (CI 95% 0.65-0.91) for one times attendance and 0.27 (CI 95% 0.11-0.65) for five times attendance per month. R/S was associated with a significantly decreased risk of CHD. The possible causal nature of the observed associations warrants randomized clinical trial with large sample size.

Potato consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: A dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: High potato intake has been suggested as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. We aimed to investigate the association between potato consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted on PubMed and Embase from the database commencement until September 2017 (updated by June 2018) following the MOOSE guidelines. The random effect model dose-response meta-analysis method of Greenland and Longneck was used to estimate the maximally adjusted log hazard ratio (HR) for a unit (serving per day) increment of potato consumption. A restricted cubic spline model with three knots was used to evaluate the potential non-linear relationship. RESULTS: A total of 3544 citations were retrieved from the databases, of which six prospective cohort studies including 4545230 person-year of follow-up and 17,758 diabetes cases met the inclusion criteria. The pooled dose-response HR per an increment of 1 serving/day of total potato consumption was 1.20 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.127, P < 0.001, I2 = 27.1%, P for heterogeneity = 0.23) both in men and women. The larger risk were observed for 2 serving/day (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.28 to 1.63) and 3 serving/day (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.45 to 2.09). We found significant evidence of a non-linear association between total potato consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes (X2 = 17.5, P for linearity < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Long-term high consumption of potato (each serving a day increase) may be strongly associated with increased risk of diabetes. These findings suggest that diet-health policy may be of importance in the prevention of diabetes.

The association between tramadol hydrochloride misuse and other substances use in an adolescent population: Phase I of a prospective survey.

BACKGROUND: Tramadol hydrochloride is a common prescription pain reliever that is structurally similar to morphine and codeine with its analgesic effects identified as a mu-receptor agonist. Due to its opioid-like stimulant effects, the potential for tramadol misuse is a public health concern. As such, the aim of this investigation is to estimate the prevalence of tramadol misuse in a sample of Iranian adolescents and to assess the relationship between tramadol misuse and other substance use. METHODS: This is the first phase of a prospective survey examining the prevalence of adolescent smoking status, substances use and related factors in Ilam city, Iran. Grade 10 male and female students (n=2000) were recruited using multistage sampling. Self-administered multiple-choice questionnaires were conducted with data analysed using cross tabulations and logistic regression models. RESULTS: The prevalence of lifetime tramadol misuse was 4.8% (7.6% males; 1.8% females). Adjusted odds ratios and confidence intervals for lifetime tramadol misusers reporting substance use during the past month were 2.2 (1.1-4.4) for alcohol, 5.0 (1.5-21.9) for cannabis, 8.9 (2.7-29.4) for ecstasy, 0.5 (0.03-7.0) for methamphetamine and 2.3 (0.7-7.4) for opium. CONCLUSION: Tramadol could be a related factor or co-factor for adolescent alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy use. We recommend future longitudinal studies to investigate the possible role of tramadol as a gateway drug in the development of substance abuse.