Is antenatal or early-life vitamin D associated with eczema or food allergy in childhood? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To summarise the associations between antenatal or early-life blood vitamin D and the development of eczema/food allergy in childhood. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted to synthesize the published literature. Two reviewers independently performed the study selection and data extraction on Covidence. We assessed the risk of bias for observational studies by using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for clinical trials. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE). DATA SOURCES: We systematically searched PubMed and Embase from inception and April 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Human studies that investigated prospective associations between antenatal or early-life blood vitamin D levels, dietary intake or supplementation and childhood eczema/food allergy. RESULTS: Forty-three articles including six randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Four RCTs of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy showed no evidence of an effect on the incidence of eczema (pooled odds ratio [OR] = 0.85; 0.67-1.08, I2  = 6.7%, n = 2074). Three RCTs reported null associations between supplementation in pregnancy/infancy and food allergy. From six cohort studies, increasing cord blood vitamin D levels were associated with reduced prevalence of eczema at/close to age one (OR per 10 nmol/L increase = 0.89; 0.84-0.94, I2  = 0%, 2025 participants). We found no evidence of an association between maternal antenatal or infant vitamin D level or dietary intake and the development of food allergy or eczema in offspring. CONCLUSIONS: We found an association between higher vitamin D levels in cord blood and reduced risk of eczema in cohort studies. Further trials with maternal and infant supplementation are needed to confirm if vitamin D supplementation can effectively prevent eczema or food allergy in childhood. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO, No. CRD42013005559.

Effectiveness of TCM cauterization in recurrent tonsillitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Recurrent tonsillitis (RT) is often treated with antibiotic therapy and surgery. Although these treatments have advantages, they are also controversial. The purpose of this study is to analyze the safety and effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) cauterization in the treatment of RT, so as to provide an alternative for the clinicians and to cover the shortage of therapeutic methods. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol is guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) and by the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook. We will formulate strict inclusion and exclusion criteria in English databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science), Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang databases, CBM, and VIP), and search literatures in different clinical registration platforms (Cochrane Library, Chinese Cochrane Centre's Clinical Trial Registry Platform). The included articles will be evaluated using Cochrane RCT evaluation criteria. Stata 15.0 will be used for data analysis. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and meta-regression will detect sources of heterogeneity. Egger's Test or Begg's Test will detect publication bias quantitatively. CONCLUSION: Cauterization can effectively control the recurrence of tonsillitis through clinical trials, but evidence-based medicine needs to be adopted to provide strong evidence for its effectiveness. The purpose of our research is to provide the evidence. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/PZ69Q.

Clinical research linking Traditional Chinese Medicine constitution types with diseases: a literature review of 1639 observational studies.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze clinical studies on correlations between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) body constitution types and diseases published in the past 10 years, and to provide an evidence base to support the use of such correlations for health maintenance and disease prevention. METHODS: We searched five databases for the period April 2009 to December 2019: China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, PubMed and Embase. Three types of observational studies on correlation between constitution types and diseases were included: cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies. Descriptive statistical methods were employed for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1639 clinical studies were identified: 1452 (88.59%) cross-sectional studies, 115 (7.02%) case-control studies and 72 (4.39%) cohort studies covering 30 regions of China and five other countries (Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and France). The collection of studies comprised 19 disease categories and 333 different diseases. The 10 most commonly studied diseases were hypertension, diabetes, stroke, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAHD), sleep disorders, neoplasm of the breast, dysmenorrhea, fatty liver disease, chronic viral hepatitis B and dyslipidemia. We found high distributions for each biased constitution type in different patient populations as follows: Qi-deficiency constitution in stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and hypertension; Yang-deficiency constitution in female infertility, osteoporosis, irritable bowel syndrome, gonarthrosis and dysmenorrhea; Yin-deficiency constitution in hypertension, diabetes, constipation, female climacteric states and osteoporosis; phlegm- dampness constitution in hypertension, stroke, fatty liver disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome; damp-heat constitution in acne, chronic gastritis, chronic viral hepatitis B, human papillomavirus infection and hyperuricemia; blood-stasis constitution in CAHD, endometriosis and stroke; Qi-stagnation constitution in hyperplasia and neoplasms of the breast, insomnia, depression and thyroid nodules; and inherited-special constitution in asthma and allergic rhinitis. CONCLUSION: Eight biased TCM constitutions were closely related to specific diseases, and could be used to guide individualized prevention and treatment. More rigorously designed studies are recommended to further verify the constitution-disease relationship.

Effect of Zhizhu Kuanzhong capsule on functional dyspepsia: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a gastrointestinal disorder affecting people in the globe. Spleen-deficiency syndrome is one of its basic syndromes. Zhizhu Kuanzhong capsule was the most frequent Chinese herbal formula used in the spleen-deficiency researches. We aim to assess the effectiveness and safety of Zhizhu Kuanzhong capsule on FD. METHODS: A systematic literature search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from their inception until December 31, 2017 will be conducted using 7 databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, VIP Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and Chinese BioMedical Database. Inclusion the trials of Zhizhu Kuanzhong capsule which evaluate motilin level, clinical syndrome, and side effect in people with FD. The primary outcome measures will be motilin level, clinical syndrome integral, and clinical total effective rate. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments will be performed by 2 reviewers independently. Methodological and reporting quality of included studies will be assessed by the consolidated standards of reporting trials for Chinese herbal medicine formulas. All statistical analyses will be conducted using RevMan V.5.3 software. Funnel plots, Begg's test, and Egger's test will be developed to evaluate reporting bias. RESULTS: This review will assess the effect of Zhizhu Kuanzhong capsule on clinical total effective rate, symptom remission rate, plasma motilin level, and safety of FD in patients. CONCLUSION: The conclusion of our study will provide updated evidence to judge whether Zhizhu Kuanzhong capsule is an effective intervention for patients with FD.

Spatiotemporal distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus in alpine lakes in the Sanjiangyuan Region of the Tibetan Plateau.

To provide a theoretical basis for alpine source lake protection, ten samples were taken from each lake annually from 2012 to 2015. Each year, the various species of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients were measured. The average contents of nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen in the four lakes are 0.195-0.0 mg/L, 0.038-0.143 mg/L, 0.004-0.168 mg/L, 0.006-0.740 mg/L, and 0.050-0.547 mg/L, respectively. The total phosphorus contents in Eling Lake, Longbao Lake and Sea Star were higher than Class I water quality standards, and the total nitrogen contents in Eling Lake, Sea Star and Zhaling Lake were higher than Class I water quality standards as well. The concentration contour maps of the nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, total phosphorus and total nitrogen showed that the indicators of the four lakes in the east, the west, and the center of the lake did not have the same trend. From 2012 to 2015, each of the measured nutrients showed a rising trend year by year. The four lakes are polluted by both endogenous and exogenous pollution, and it is necessary to limit the exogenous pollution and protect the alpine lakes immediately.