Shift work and health outcomes: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of epidemiological studies.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Shift work is commonly increasing, and some physiological changes occur as workers sleep less and their circadian rhythms are disrupted. This umbrella review not only summarizes the evidence but also evaluates the validity of the associations of shift work with different health outcomes. METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase databases from their inception to April 25, 2020. For each systematic review and/or meta-analysis, we estimated the summary effect size, the 95% confidence interval, the 95% prediction interval, the between-study heterogeneity, evidence of small-study effects, and evidence of excess-significance bias. RESULTS: Eight eligible systematic reviews and meta-analyses were identified, providing data on 16 associations. We observed highly suggestive evidence for associations between shift work and myocardial infarction (having ever vs having never done shift work) and diabetes mellitus incidence (per 5-year increment in shift work). Furthermore, we observed suggestive evidence for an association between shift work and diabetes mellitus incidence (having ever vs having never done shift work). Two health outcomes, including prostate cancer incidence (having ever vs having never done shift work and rotating night shift work vs daytime work) and colorectal cancer incidence (longest vs shortest shift work time), were only supported by weak evidence. CONCLUSIONS: This umbrella review found that shift work was associated with several health outcomes with different levels of evidence. Associations for myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus incidence were supported by highly suggestive evidence. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Registry: PROSPERO; Identifier: CRD42020188537. CITATION: Wu Q-J, Sun H, Wen Z-Y, et al. Shift work and health outcomes: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of epidemiological studies. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(2):653-662.

Pre-diagnosis Cruciferous Vegetables and Isothiocyanates Intake and Ovarian Cancer Survival: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The associations of the consumption of cruciferous vegetables (CVs) and their bioactive components, isothiocyanates (ITCs), with ovarian cancer (OC) mortality have been unclear, owing to limited studies and inconsistent findings. To date, no studies have evaluated these associations among Chinese patients with OC. This study aims to provide more evidence indicating the relationships of pre-diagnosis CVs and ITC intake with OC survival. Methods: We examined the associations of pre-diagnosis CV and ITC intake with OC mortality in a hospital-based cohort (n = 853) of Chinese patients with epithelial OC between 2015 and 2020. Pre-diagnosis dietary information was evaluated with a validated food frequency questionnaire. Deaths were ascertained until March 31, 2021 via medical records and active follow-up. The associations were examined with the Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted for potential confounders, and stratified by menopausal status, residual lesions, histological type, and body mass index (BMI). Results: During a median follow-up of 37.2 months (interquartile: 24.7-50.2 months), we observed 130 deaths. The highest tertile of total CV intake was associated with better survival than the lowest tertile intake [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.33-0.98, p trend < 0.05]. In addition, higher intake of ITCs from CVs was associated with better survival (HRT3VS.T1 = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.36-0.99, p trend = 0.06). Significant inverse associations were also observed for subgroup analyses stratified by menopausal status, residual lesions, histological type, and BMI, although not all associations showed statistical significance. Conclusion: Increasing pre-diagnosis consumption of CVs and ITCs was strongly associated with better survival in patients with OC.

The Association Between Dairy Product Consumption and Asthenozoospermia Risk: A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study.

Background: Evidence of an association between dairy product and main related dairy nutrient intake, and the asthenozoospermia risk have been limited and controversial. Methods: A hospital-based case-control study including 549 men with asthenozoospermia and 581 normozoospermic controls was carried out in the infertility clinics of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University between June, 2020 and December, 2020. Dietary intake was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire. According to the World Health Organization guidelines, semen parameters were collected through masturbation and were measured with WLJY9000 instrument and flow cytometry. The daily intake of dairy products and related nutrients was categorized into three groups according to control distribution, and the lowest tertile was used as the reference category. An unconditional multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for asthenozoospermia risk. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, we found no statistically significant associations between the intake of total dairy products and asthenozoospermia risk (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.19, 95%CI = 0.85-1.67). Additionally, we generated null findings regarding the main related nutrients from dairy, including protein (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.19, 95%CI = 0.85-1.68), fat (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.28, 95%CI = 0.91-1.80), calcium (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.20, 95%CI = 0.85-1.68), saturated fatty acids (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.30, 95%CI = 0.92-1.83), and phosphorous (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.18, 95%CI = 0.84-1.67), and the asthenozoospermia risk. Of note, after stratification by body mass index (BMI), and the saturated fatty acids consumption from dairy was significantly associated with a higher asthenozoospermia risk (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.76, 95%CI = 1.01-3.09) among participants with a BMI below 25 kg/m2. Conclusion: This study provided limited evidence of an association between the intake of total dairy products and the main related dairy nutrients including protein, fat, calcium, saturated fatty acids, and phosphorus, and the asthenozoospermia risk. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings in the future.

Dietary Inflammatory Index and Risk of Asthenozoospermia: A Hospital-Based Case-Controlled Study in China.

Background: Evidence of associations between a pro-inflammatory diet and asthenozoospermia risk is limited. We therefore performed a case-controlled study to investigate associations between pro-inflammatory diet using dietary inflammatory index (DII) scores and asthenozoospermia risk in China. Methods: Our hospital-based case-controlled study comprised 549 incident asthenozoospermia men and 581 healthy controls. All were interviewed at the infertility clinic in Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from June 2020 to December 2020. DII scores were calculated based on dietary intake which were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Semen parameters were analyzed according to World Health Organization guidelines. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for asthenozoospermia risk. The lowest tertile served as the reference category for regression analyses. Results: After adjustment for age in the primary multivariable model, we failed to determine a significant negative association between DII and asthenozoospermia risk (for the highest tertile of DII scores compared to the lowest tertile) (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.57-1.03). Similarly, non-significant associations were also identified in the multivariable model after adjusting for more potential confounders (OR = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.58-1.27). Additionally, in subgroup analyses stratified by age, body mass index, and smoking status, non-significant results were consistent with the main findings. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study exploring this particular topic. Our research does not support an association between DII scores and asthenozoospermia risk. Further prospective studies with more DII relevant foods and nutrients are warranted to confirm our findings.

Global, regional, and national endometriosis trends from 1990 to 2017.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease defined as the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus that causes pelvic pain and infertility. We used the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017 to comprehensively analyze the burden of endometriosis between 1990 and 2017. DisMod-MR 2.1 was used to estimate the incidence and prevalence in some countries/territories with sparse or absent data. Annual percent changes were calculated to quantify endometriosis burden estimate trends. Furthermore, the sociodemographic index (SDI) was used to assess the relationship between endometriosis burden estimates and development level. Between 1990 and 2017, endometriosis age-standardized incidence and prevalence and years of life lived with disability (YLDs) decreased globally by 0.21% (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.23% to -0.20%), 0.29% (95% CI: -0.31% to -0.28%), and 0.28% (95% CI: -0.30% to -0.27%) per year, respectively. Apart from the high SDI quintiles with increasing trends of endometriosis incidence rate, prevalence rate, and YLDs, decreasing trends were observed in all SDI quintiles for all burden estimates. In conclusion, it appears that all endometriosis burden estimates have decreased globally between 1990 and 2017. However, these results are based on limited data and highlight the need for increased data collection on the incidence and prevalence of endometriosis.

[Characterization of the Effect of Anion on the Complex of Oat ß-Glucan and Congo Red with UV-Vis Absorption Spectroscopy].

The effects of concentration and type of anions on aggregation of Congo red in solution were studied with UV-Visible spectroscopy. And the influence of anions on the complex of Congo red and oat ß-glucan was further studied. The results showed that the maximum absorption wavelength of Congo red in aqueous solution shifted toward the shorter wavelength, and the absorbency lowered considerably with increasing ionic concentration. There was a significant linear correlation between logarithm of anion concentration and the maximum absorption wavelength, with the peak absorbance, and the absorbance at 499 nm. The influence of anions on aggregation of Congo red was in accordance with Hofmeister series, indicating that hydrophobic interaction is an important driving force for Congo red molecules to assemble into micelles. As for the complexation of Congo red and oat ß-glucan, when the concentration of anions exceeded the first critical concentration, the micelle of Congo red began to form and then combined to ß-glucan. The absorption peak of the complex presented at 556 nm. When the concentration of anions exceeded the second critical concentration, the complex was developed into supramolecular structure through aggregation of Congo red micelles on Congo red/ß-glucan complex, which resulted in the shift of absorption peak toward 583 nm. And the presence of Mie scattering effects at the longer wavelength indicated the formation of larger supramolecular structure. The effect of anions on the above supramolecular structures also followed the order of Hofmeister series, showing that the aggregation of Congo red/ß-glucan complex into supramolecular structure was mainly driven through hydrophobic interactions between Congo red micelles on the complex. The research indicated that ions had an important effect on the aggregation of Congo red and the interaction between biopolymers and Congo red.