Association Between Cinnamon Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cinnamon has been used as a traditional herbal medication for decades. Several studies have investigated cinnamon consumption and cardiovascular risk. So far, the evidence remains inconclusive. Thus, we aim to systematically review the currently available literature and quantify the evidence, if possible. METHODS: We systematically searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, and Web of Science from database inception in 1966 through December 2020. The exposure of interest was cinnamon consumption, the outcome was cardiovascular risk defined as hemoglobin A1C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c). Two investigators independently reviewed the data. Conflicts were resolved through consensus. Random-effects meta-analyses were used. RESULTS: Of 23 studies (1070 subjects), the included studies were heterogeneous, generally of very poor quality. We found no difference in LDL-c levels in patients who consumed cinnamon vs those who did not, with a weighted mean difference (WMD) of 0.38 (confidence interval [CI], -6.07-6.83). We also found no difference in HDL-c between the 2 groups with WMD 0.40 (CI, -1.14-1.94). In addition, we found no statistical differences in hemoglobin A1C between the 2 groups with WMD of 0.0 (CI, -0.44-0.45). CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggests that there is no association between cinnamon consumption and differences in LDL-c, HDL-c, and hemoglobin A1C levels. Further randomized control trials studies using a robust design with long-term cinnamon consumption are needed to further investigate any potential effect.

Safety and Effectiveness of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin Combination Therapy for Treatment of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: A Propensity-Matched Study.

INTRODUCTION: We sought to determine the effectiveness and safety of hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin (HCQ-AZM) therapy in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 613 patients hospitalized (integrated health system involving three hospitals) for RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 infection between March 1, 2020 and April 25, 2020. Intervention was treatment with HCQ-AZM in hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Outcomes of interest were in-hospital all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, pulseless electrical activity (PEA) arrest, non-lethal arrhythmias, and length of hospital stay. Secondary measures included in-hospital corrected QT (QTc) interval parameters and serum biomarkers levels. RESULTS: Propensity-matched groups were composed of 173 patients given HCQ-AZM and 173 matched patients who did not receive treatment. There was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] 1.52; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.80-2.89; p = 0.2), PEA arrest (OR 1.68, CI 0.68-4.15; p = 0.27), or incidence of non-lethal arrhythmias (10.4% vs. 6.8%; p = 0.28). Length of hospital stay (10.5 ± 7.4 vs. 5.8 ± 6.1; p < 0.001), peak CRP levels (252 ± 136 vs. 166 ± 124; p < 0.0001), and degree of QTc interval prolongation was higher for the HCQ-AZM group (28 ± 32 vs. 9 ± 32; p < 0.0001), but there was no significant difference in incidence of sustained ventricular arrhythmias (2.8% vs. 1.7%; p = 0.52). HCQ-AZM was stopped in 10 patients because of QT interval prolongation and 1 patient because of drug-related polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. CONCLUSION: In this propensity-matched study, there was no difference in in-hospital mortality, life-threatening arrhythmias, or incidence of PEA arrest between the HCQ-AZM and untreated control groups. QTc intervals were longer in patients receiving HCQ-AZM, but only one patient developed drug-related ventricular tachycardia.

Meditation and Cardiovascular Health in the US.

The 2017 American Heart Association Scientific Statement on meditation and cardiovascular risk suggested that meditation may be considered as an adjunct to guideline-directed cardiovascular risk-reduction interventions. Meditation could potentially increase physical and mental relaxation, leading to improved outcomes after a major cardiovascular event. We hypothesized that meditation is associated with lower cardiovascular risk in the US general population. Using data from the 2012 and 2017 National Health Interview Survey, we identified all patients with hypercholesterolemia, systemic hypertension (SH), diabetes mellitus (DM), stroke, and coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as those who reported that they meditate. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between meditation and risk of hypercholesterolemia, SH, DM, stroke, and CAD, adjusting for potential confounders. Of 61,267 the National Health Interview Survey participants, 5,851 (9.6%) participated in some form of meditation. After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, race, marital status, cigarette smoking, sleeping duration, and depression, meditation was independently associated with a lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (odds ratio [OR] 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54 to 0.79; p = 0.001), SH (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.75 to 0.99; p = 0.04), diabetes (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.59 to 0.84; p = 0.0001), stroke (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.58 to 0.99; p = 0.04), or CAD (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.39 to 0.66; p <0.001), compared with those who did not meditate. In conclusion, using a large national database, we found that meditation is associated with a lower prevalence of cardiovascular risks factors and disease.