Pulmonary hypertension survival and hospitalisations in people living with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: People living with HIV (PLHIV) have a higher risk of developing pulmonary hypertension (PH) with subsequent poorer prognosis. This review aimed to determine the (1) survival outcomes and (2) proportion of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalisations of PLHIV and PH. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies reporting survival outcomes for PLHIV and PH. Electronic databases (Medline, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Global Index Medicus and Cochrane Library), trial registries and conference proceedings were searched until 22 July 2023. We pooled similar measures of effect, assessed apriori subgroups and used meta-regression to determine mortality and associated variables. RESULTS: 5248 studies were identified; 28 studies were included with a total of 5459 PLHIV and PH. The mean survival (95% CI) of PLHIV and PH was 37.4 months (29.9 to 44.8). Participants alive at 1, 2 and 3 years were 85.8% (74.1% to 95.0%), 75.2% (61.9% to 86.7%) and 61.9% (51.8% to 71.6%), respectively. ED visits and hospitalisation rates were 73.3% (32.5% to 99.9%) and 71.2% (42.4% to 94.2%), respectively. More severe disease, measured by echocardiogram, was associated with poorer prognosis (ß -0.01, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.00, p=0.009). Survival was higher in high-income countries compared with lower-income countries (ß 0.50, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.73, p<0.001) and in Europe compared with the America (ß 0.56, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.75, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our study confirms poor prognosis and high healthcare utilisation for PLHIV and PH. Prognosis is associated with country income level, geographic region and PH severity. This highlights the importance of screening in this population. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023395023.

Measures of retention in HIV care: A protocol for a mixed methods study.

INTRODUCTION: Retention in HIV care is necessary to achieve adherence to antiretroviral therapy, viral load suppression, and optimal health outcomes. There is no standard definition for retention in HIV care, which compromises consistent and reliable reporting and comparison of retention across facilities, jurisdictions, and studies. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to explore how stakeholders involved in HIV care define retention in HIV care and their preferences on measuring retention. METHODS: We will use an exploratory sequential mixed methods design involving HIV stakeholder groups such as people living with HIV, people involved in providing care for PLHIV, and people involved in decision-making about PLHIV. In the qualitative phase of the study, we will conduct 20-25 in-depth interviews to collect the perspectives of HIV stakeholders on using their preferred retention measures. The findings from the qualitative phase will inform the development of survey items for the quantitative phase. Survey participants (n = 385) will be invited to rate the importance of each approach to measuring retention on a seven-point Likert scale. We will merge the qualitative and quantitative findings phase findings to inform a consensus-building framework for a standard definition of retention in care. ETHICAL ISSUES AND DISSEMINATION: This study has received ethics approval from the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and among stakeholder groups. LIMITATIONS: This study has limitations; we won't be able to arrive at a standard definition; a Delphi technique amongst the stakeholders will be utilized using the framework to reach a consensus globally accepted definition.

Potential determinants of parental hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 infection: a cross-sectional investigation.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination hesitancy has emerged as a substantial concern among the adult population globally. However, limited evidence is available about parental hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 within the Pakistani context. Thus, the present investigation aimed to assess parental attitudes, perceptions, and willingness regarding vaccination hesitancy and associated predictors of getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional population-based, self-administered online questionnaire in Punjab, Pakistan, on randomly selected parents between October 2022 and February 2023. The data were collected based on socio-demographics, attitudes, perceptions, and willingness of parents regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for their children. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated to identify the predictors of vaccine hesitancy. The findings demonstrated that among 1,478 participants, a total of 40% believed that the COVID-19 vaccine may pose a greater risk to children than adults, while 38% exhibited no concerns. Around 13% of children were not vaccinated in our study sample. More than half expressed hesitancy toward vaccination, and only 35.25% were inclined to get their children vaccinated in our study sample. In addition, only 16% of the parents believed that the COVID-19 vaccination may cause an alteration in their children's DNA. A similar proportion of parents were aware of the significance of getting their children vaccinated and expressed their willingness to vaccinate their children to prevent the COVID-19 infection. However, a higher odds ratio was observed in females with a higher educational background and those in the healthcare profession. In conclusion, healthcare awareness-supporting programs for educating parents should be designed and implemented. These insights might aid in the development of strategies to eradicate barriers in existing coronavirus vaccination programs and may vaccinate a larger child population to reduce the adverse consequences of the pandemic.

Community level youth-led interventions to improve maternal-neonatal outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of randomised trials.

Background: Evidence on the effectiveness of youth-led interventions for improving maternal-neonatal health and well-being of women and gender diverse childbearing people in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is incomplete. We aimed to summarise the evidence on whether community level youth-led interventions can improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in LMICs. Methods: We included experimental studies of youth-led interventions versus no intervention, standard care, or another intervention. Participants were women and gender diverse childbearing people during antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods. MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Global Health, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, and grey literature were searched to January 2023. All interventions addressing and targeting maternal-neonatal health and well-being that were youth-led and community level were included. Primary outcomes of interest were maternal death and neonatal death. We excluded based on population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) and design. Two reviewers independently extracted key information from each included study and assessed risk of bias. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed where there were sufficient data. The certainty of evidence was assessed using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). A narrative synthesis was done for results that could not be pooled. Results: Of the 8054 records retrieved, four trials (21 813 enrolled participants) met the inclusion criteria. The Cooperative for Assistance and Relieve Everywhere, Inc. (CARE) Community Score Card intervention compared to standard reproductive health services control did not significantly improve Antenatal Care coverage (difference-in-differences estimate ß = 0.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.11, 0.18, P = 0.610; one study, low certainty of evidence). The multi-component social mobilisation interventions compared to standard of care had no effect on adolescent/youth pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio estimate = 1.08; 95% CI = 0.87, 1.33; three studies; low certainty of evidence). Conclusions: Youth-led interventions in LMICs did not show a significant improvement in maternal outcomes. More studies are required to make more precise conclusions. Registration: PROSPERO: CRD42021288798.

HIV and Black People in Canada: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Race-based health information is necessary to address disproportionate barriers racial communities face and to achieve optimal health outcomes. In Canada, Black people are disproportionately affected by HIV. There is an emerging body of literature on this topic, but a concise summary is lacking. There is a need to collectively and critically analyze research on HIV in the Black population in Canada to identify knowledge gaps and address this disproportionate burden. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this scoping review is to summarize the evidence on HIV and Black people in Canada. The main outcomes of interest are HIV prevalence, access to care, HIV prevention and treatment, the HIV care cascade, and related HIV outcomes. Through this scoping review, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing literature and highlight topics that need more investigation in future research. METHODS: We will conduct a scoping review of electronic databases using a systematic search strategy for qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods studies reporting on HIV and Black people in Canada. We will conduct our searches in MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Google Scholar for literature published between 1985 and 2023. Gray literature, including government reports, dissertations, and other reports, will be included. Search results will be screened, and the full text of relevant literature will be retrieved. The extraction of data will be conducted independently by 2 reviewers. Consensus meetings will be held to resolve conflicts. Our results will be reported according to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews). RESULTS: The initial title and abstract review identified 447 articles. These articles will be critically appraised, and relevant information will be extracted. Information from these articles will be compared using charts and tables. Screening will start in November 2023, and we anticipate publishing the scoping review in June 2024. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this scoping review will help inform policy, practice, and research on HIV and Black people in Canada. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/49066.

Predictors of Recovery Following Lumbar Microdiscectomy for Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Chronic post-surgical pain is reported by up to 40% of patients after lumbar microdiscectomy for sciatica, a complaint associated with disability and loss of productivity. We conducted a systematic review of observational studies to explore factors associated with persistent leg pain and impairments after microdiscectomy for sciatica. We searched eligible studies in MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL that explored, in an adjusted model, predictors of persistent leg pain, physical impairment, or failure to return to work after microdiscectomy for sciatica. When possible, we pooled estimates of association using random-effects models using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Moderate-certainty evidence showed that the female sex probably has a small association with persistent post-surgical leg pain (odds ratio (OR) = 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.63 to 2.08; absolute risk increase (ARI) = 1.8%, 95% CI = -4.7% to 11.3%), large association with failure to return to work (OR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.27 to 6.17; ARI = 10.6%, 95% CI = 1.8% to 25.2%), and older age is probably associated with greater postoperative disability (ß = 1.47 points on the 100-point Oswestry Disability Index for every 10-year increase from age (>/=18 years), 95% CI = -4.14 to 7.28). Among factors that were not possible to pool, two factors showed promise for future study, namely, legal representation and preoperative opioid use, which showed large associations with worse outcomes after surgery. The moderate-certainty evidence showed female sex is probably associated with persistent leg pain and failure to return to work and that older age is probably associated with greater post-surgical impairment after a microdiscectomy. Future research should explore the association between legal representation and preoperative opioid use with persistent pain and impairment after microdiscectomy for sciatica.

Empirical progression criteria thresholds for feasibility outcomes in HIV clinical trials: a methodological study.

INTRODUCTION: Pilot and feasibility trials use predetermined thresholds for feasibility outcomes to decide if a larger trial is feasible. These thresholds may be derived from the literature, observational data, or clinical experience. The aim of this study was to determine empirical estimates for feasibility outcomes to inform future HIV pilot randomized trials. METHODS: We conducted a methodological study of HIV clinical trials indexed in the past 5 years (2017-2021) in the PubMed database. We included trials of people living with HIV individually randomized to any type of intervention and excluded pilot trials and cluster randomized trials. Screening and data extraction were conducted in duplicate. We computed estimates for recruitment, randomization, non-compliance, lost to follow-up, discontinuation, and the proportion analyzed using a random effects meta-analysis of proportions and reported these estimates according to the following subgroups: use of medication, intervention type, trial design, income level, WHO region, participant type, comorbidities, and source of funding. We report estimates with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: We identified 2122 studies in our search, of which 701 full texts were deemed relevant, but only 394 met our inclusion criteria. We found the following estimates: recruitment (64.1%; 95% CI 57.7 to 70.3; 156 trials); randomization (97.1%; 95% CI 95.8 to 98.3; 187 trials); non-compliance (3.8%; 95% CI 2.8 to 4.9; 216 trials); lost to follow-up (5.8%; 95% CI 4.9 to 6.8; 251 trials); discontinuation (6.5%; 95% CI 5.5 to 7.5; 215 trials); analyzed (94.2%; 95% CI 92.9 to 95.3; 367 trials). There were differences in estimates across most subgroups. CONCLUSION: These estimates may be used to inform the design of HIV pilot randomized trials with careful consideration of variations due to some of the subgroups investigated.

Describing Engagement in the HIV Care Cascade: A Methodological Study.

Introduction: Engagement in the HIV care cascade is required for people living with HIV (PLWH) to achieve an undetectable viral load. However, varying definitions of engagement exist, contributing to heterogeneity in research regarding how many individuals are actively participating and benefitting from care. A standardized definition is needed to enhance comparability and pooling of data from engagement studies. Objectives: The objective of this paper was to describe the various definitions for engagement used in HIV clinical trials. Methods: Articles were retrieved from CASCADE, a database of 298 clinical trials conducted to improve the HIV care cascade (https://hivcarecascade.com/), curated by income level, vulnerable population, who delivered the intervention, the setting in which it was delivered, the intervention type, and the level of pragmatism of the intervention. Studies with engagement listed as an outcome were selected from this database. Results: 13 studies were eligible, of which five did not provide an explicit definition for engagement. The remaining studies used one or more of the following: appointment adherence (n=6), laboratory testing (n=2), adherence to antiretroviral therapy (n=2), time specification (n=5), intervention adherence (n=5), and quality of interaction (n=1). Conclusion: This paper highlights the existing diversity in definitions for engagement in the HIV care cascade and categorize these definitions into appointment adherence, laboratory testing, adherence to antiretroviral therapy, time specification, intervention adherence, and quality of interaction. We recommend consensus on how to describe and measure engagement.

Measures of Retention in HIV Care: A Study Within a Review.

People living with HIV (PLHIV) need lifelong medical care. However, retention in HIV care is not measured uniformly, making it challenging to compare or pool data. The objective of this study within a review (SWAR) is to describe the assortment of definitions used for retention in HIV care in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We conducted a SWAR, drawing data from an overview of systematic reviews on interventions to improve the HIV care cascade. Ethics review was not required for this analysis of secondary data. We identified RCTs of interventions used to improve retention in care for PLHIV, including all age groups and extracted the definitions used and their characteristics. We identified 50 trials that measured retention published between 2007 and 2021 and provided 59 definitions for retention in care. The definitions consisted of nine different characteristics with follow-up time (n = 47), and clinical visits (n = 36) most used. The definitions of retention in HIV care are highly heterogeneous. In this study, we present the pros and cons of characteristics used to measure retention in HIV care.

Predictors of Persistent Post-Surgical Pain Following Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

OBJECTIVE: Approximately one in four total knee replacement patients develop persistent pain. Identification of those at higher risk could help inform optimal management. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, SPORTDiscus, and PsycINFO for observational studies that explored the association between risk factors and persistent pain (≥3 months) after total knee replacement. We pooled estimates of association for all independent variables reported by >1 study. RESULTS: Thirty studies (26,517 patients) reported the association of 151 independent variables with persistent pain after knee replacement. High certainty evidence demonstrated an increased risk of persistent pain with pain catastrophizing (absolute risk increase [ARI] 23%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 12 to 35), younger age (ARI for every 10-year decrement from age 80, 4%, 95% CI 2 to 6), and moderate-to-severe acute post-operative pain (ARI 30%, 95% CI 20 to 39). Moderate certainty evidence suggested an association with female sex (ARI 7%, 95% CI 3 to 11) and higher pre-operative pain (ARI 35%, 95% CI 7 to 58). Studies did not adjust for both peri-operative pain severity and pain catastrophizing, which are unlikely to be independent. High to moderate certainty evidence demonstrated no association with pre-operative range of motion, body mass index, bilateral or unilateral knee replacement, and American Society of Anesthesiologists score. CONCLUSIONS: Rigorously conducted observational studies are required to establish the relative importance of higher levels of peri-operative pain and pain catastrophizing with persistent pain after knee replacement surgery.

Community Level Youth-Led Interventions to Improve Maternal-Neonatal Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Introduction: On a global scale, women and childbearing people and neonates continue to die from preventable causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. Sustained and accelerated efforts are critical to improve maternal and neonatal health and well-being. Globally, youth are a growing population and have strength in their numbers. Youth are critical, key drivers of change in their communities. Young people hold the potential to affect positive change, and their meaningful engagement is important to improving maternal health and well-being in low- and middle-income countries. Objectives: To assess the effects of community level youth-led interventions for improving maternal-neonatal health and well-being compared with no interventions or another intervention. Methods: We will undertake a literature search that is comprehensive, complete, and exhaustive. This will include databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, as well as a grey literature search. In our systematic review, we will include experimental studies evaluating maternal-neonatal health and well-being associated with or because of the implementation of community level youth-led interventions. Participants will include women and childbearing people (of any age) during antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods (up to 42 days postpartum). We will examine all interventions addressing and targeting maternal-neonatal health and well-being that are youth-led and community-based and aimed at the members of the community. Our comparators will be no intervention or another intervention. Our primary outcomes are maternal deaths and neonatal deaths. Our review will include only studies in low- and middle-income countries conducted in urban or rural areas. Ethics and Dissemination. Ethics approval is not required as we will use secondary data that is publicly available. There are no active participants in our study. We will involve key stakeholders and experts in maternal-neonatal health regarding dissemination and knowledge mobilization strategies. Our findings will be disseminated as an open access publication, be presented publicly, and defended as part of a doctoral thesis. This trial is registered with CRD42021288798.

Developing Reporting Guidelines for Studies of HIV Drug Resistance Prevalence: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: HIV drug resistance is a global health problem that limits the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy. Adequate surveillance of HIV drug resistance is challenged by heterogenous and inadequate data reporting, which compromises the accuracy, interpretation, and usability of prevalence estimates. Previous research has found that the quality of reporting in studies of HIV drug resistance prevalence is low, and thus better guidance is needed to ensure complete and uniform reporting. OBJECTIVE: This paper contributes to the process of developing reporting guidelines for prevalence studies of HIV drug resistance by reporting the methodology used in creating a reporting item checklist and generating key insights on items that are important to report. METHODS: We will conduct a sequential explanatory mixed methods study among authors and users of studies of HIV drug resistance. The two-phase design will include a cross-sectional electronic survey (quantitative phase) followed by a focus group discussion (qualitative phase). Survey participants will rate the essentiality of various reporting items. This data will be analyzed using content validity ratios to determine the items that will be retained for focus group discussions. Participants in these discussions will revise the items and any additionally suggested items and settle on a complete reporting item checklist. We will also conduct a thematic analysis of the group discussions to identify emergent themes regarding the agreement process. RESULTS: As of November 2021, data collection for both phases of the study is complete. In July 2021, 51 participants had provided informed consent and completed the electronic survey. In October 2021, focus group discussions were held. Nine participants in total participated in two virtual focus group discussions. As of May 2022, data are being analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the development of a reporting checklist for studies of HIV drug resistance by achieving agreement among experts on what items should be reported in these studies. The results of this work will be refined and elaborated on by a writing committee of HIV drug resistance experts and external reviewers to develop finalized reporting guidelines. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/35969.

COVID-19 vaccine reluctance and possible driving factors: A comparative assessment among pregnant and non-pregnant women.

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) constitutes a serious threat to pregnant women. One of the key strategies for preventing and managing the COVID-19 epidemic is vaccination. Herd immunity is significantly hampered by COVID-19 vaccine reluctance, which poses a potential threat to population health. Therefore, the present work intends to ascertain the incidence and severity of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Pakistani pregnant women, the determinants driving their decision, and a comparative assessment with non-pregnant participants. This cross-sectional survey was carried out from November 2021 to February 2022. The validated vaccination attitude examination (VAX) scale about vaccination reluctance was undertaken by participants, who were also required to indicate whether they would be inclined to acquire the COVID-19 vaccine along with the reasons for reluctance. In comparison to the non-pregnant category with 353 participants, the group of 372 pregnant participants who responded to the questionnaire had a much greater proportion of hesitant respondents. Likewise, contrasted to 31% of non-pregnant participants, about 40% of them attributed their willingness to get vaccinated against coronavirus to social media. They also demonstrated a considerably stronger mean score on all subcategories of the VAX measure. The adjusted odd ratio findings showed that the independent factors for vaccine reluctance appeared to be trusting rumors on social media (adj OR: 2.58), not being afraid of covid-19 (adj OR: 2.01), not believing in COVID-19 existence (adj OR: 2.53), and not believing in vaccines (adj OR: 4.25). Uncertainty about the COVID-19 vaccine is very prevalent among expectant mothers. The investigation accentuates the pressing need to administer COVID-19 vaccination to the general public, including expectant mothers who might be anxious about the vaccine.

Application of Grey-Based SWARA and COPRAS Techniques in Disease Mortality Risk Assessment.

The health industry is amongst the most affected systems in terms of multiobjective decision-making, rendering the final solution, vulnerable to errors; however, multicriteria decision analysis (MDCA) emerges as a supportive tool for the process of decision-making. Therefore, the present study seeks to offer an MCDA framework for assessing and identifying the potential influence of socioeconomic risk factors on noncommunicable disease mortality. We adopted a subjective approach of grey-based Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and COmplex PRoportional Assessment (COPRAS) approach to calculate weights of parameters and criteria, respectively, and then rank them based on their degree of significance. The findings reveal that CRD mortality is potentially affected by the selected socioeconomic risk variables followed by IHD and cancer. Implementing MCDA techniques in the present study will assist the public health practitioners and policymakers in drawing decisions on the best strategy to reduce CRD mortality, which contributes significantly to raising overall mortality.

Association of Mortality-Related Risk Factors in Patients with COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

COVID-19 is a rapidly disseminating infectious disease conferred by the World Health Organization (WHO) as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Epidemiological and clinical characteristics data have been identified for patients with COVID-19, but mortality-related risk factors and a comprehensive clinical course of disease in a developing country have not been specifically defined. This retrospective, single-center cohort study involved all successive inpatients having a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with deceased or discharged clinical outcomes from 1 January to 10 May 2021. Data were extracted from electronic medical records on demographic, clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings as well as complications faced and treatment provided during follow-up, involving serial samples for viral RNA identification, and compared between the dead and survivors. To investigate the risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality, we employed the multivariate logistic regression model. In this study, 2048 patients were involved, 1458 of whom were discharged, and 590 died in hospital. More than half of patients were identified as male with old age being the potential risk factor of mortality. Exactly 94.8% of all patients presented with fever at the time of admission. Several comorbidities were present in the study population, with the most frequent comorbidity being cardiovascular diseases (1177 of 2048) and hypertension (975 of 2048) followed by cerebrovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Mortality rates for infected patients were observed as higher in severe patients (46.3%) compared with non-severe cases (26.1%) during a follow-up. Multivariate regression analysis showed a significant association of in-hospital mortality of patients with older age, presence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases as underlying comorbidities, increased level of cardiac troponin I and d-dimer concentration on admission, as well as septicemia and ARDS as a complication during illness. To minimize the risk of death in COVID19 patients, as well as the risk of severe complications, urgent public health measures should be properly planned and implemented on those vulnerable populations. To detect early manifestations of clinical problems, thorough and regular follow-up is warranted.

Guidelines are needed for studies of pre-treatment HIV drug resistance: a methodological study.

BACKGROUND: The expansion of access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been accompanied by an increase in pre-treatment drug resistance (PDR). While it is critical to monitor the increasing prevalence of PDR across countries and populations to inform optimal regimen selection, the completeness of reporting is often suboptimal, limiting the interpretation and generalizability of the results. Indeed, there is no formal guidance on how studies investigating the prevalence of drug resistance should be reported. Thus, we sought to determine the completeness of reporting in studies of PDR and the factors associated with sub-optimal reporting to ascertain the need for guidelines. METHODS: As part of a systematic review on the global prevalence of PDR in key populations (men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people, people who inject drugs and people in prisons), we searched 10 electronic databases until January 2019. We extracted information on selected study characteristics useful for interpreting prevalence data. Data were extracted in duplicate. Analyses of variance and correlation were used to explore factors that may explain the number of items reported. RESULTS: We found 650 studies of which 387 were screened as full text and 234 were deemed eligible. The included studies were published between 1997 and 2019 and included a median of 239 (quartile 1 = 101; quartile 3 = 778) participants. Most studies originated from high-income countries (125/234; 53.0%). Of 23 relevant data items, including study design, setting, participant sociodemographic characteristics, HIV risk factors, type of resistance test conducted, definition of resistance, the mean (standard deviation) number of items reported was 13 (2.2). We found that more items were reported in studies published more recently (r = 0.20; p < 0.002) and in studies at low risk of bias (F [2231] = 8.142; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Incomplete reporting in studies on PDR makes characterising levels of PDR in subpopulations across countries challenging. Hence, guidelines are needed to define a minimum set of variables to be included in such studies.

Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure and Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality Among Elderly in High Aging Asian Economies.

In the epidemiological literature, the impact of environmental pollution on cardiac mortality has been well documented. There is, however, a paucity of evidence on the impact of air pollution exposure on ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality among the Asian aged population. In response, this research seeks to investigate the degree of proximity between exposure to ambient PM2.5, household PM2.5, ground-level ozone (O3), and IHD mortality in the top seven Asian economies with the highest aging rates. This investigation is held in two phases. In the first phase, grey modeling is employed to assess the degree of proximity among the selected variables, and then rank them based on their estimated grey weights. In addition, a grey-based Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (G-TOPSIS) is adopted to identify the key influencing factor that intensifies IHD mortality across the selected Asian economies. According to the estimated results, South Korea was the most afflicted nation in terms of IHD mortality owing to ambient PM2.5 and ground-level O3 exposure, whereas among the studied nations India was the biggest contributor to raising IHD mortality due to household PM2.5 exposure. Further, the outcomes of G-TOPSIS highlighted that exposure to household PM2.5 is a key influencing risk factor for increased IHD mortality in these regions, outweighing all other air pollutants. In conclusion, this grey assessment may enable policymakers to target more vulnerable individuals based on scientific facts and promote regional environmental justice. Stronger emission regulations will also be required to mitigate the adverse health outcomes associated with air pollution exposure, particularly in regions with a higher elderly population.

Association of climatic factors with COVID-19 in Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION: Environmental factors such as wind, temperature, humidity, and sun exposure are known to affect influenza and viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) transmissions. COVID-19 is a new pandemic with very little information available about its transmission and association with environmental factors. The goal of this paper is to explore the association of environmental factors on daily incidence rate, mortality rate, and recoveries of COVID-19. METHODS: The environmental data for humidity, temperature, wind, and sun exposure were recorded from metrological websites and COVID-19 data such as the daily incidence rate, death rate, and daily recovery were extracted from the government's official website available to the general public. The analysis for each outcome was adjusted for factors such as lock down status, nationwide events, and the number of daily tests performed. Analysis was completed with negative binominal regression log link using generalised linear modelling. RESULTS: Daily temperature, sun exposure, wind, and humidity were not significantly associated with daily incidence rate. Temperature and nationwide social gatherings, although non-significant, showed trends towards a higher chance of incidence. An increase in the number of daily testing was significantly associated with higher COVID-19 incidences (effect size ranged from 2.17-9.96). No factors were significantly associated with daily death rates. Except for the province of Balochistan, a lower daily temperature was associated with a significantly higher daily recovery rate. DISCUSSION: Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, wind, and daily sun exposure were not consistently associated with COVID-19 incidence, death rates, or recovery. More policing about precautionary measures and ensuring diagnostic testing and accuracy are needed.

Impact of maternal reproductive factors on cancer risks of offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: A number of studies have reported on associations between reproductive factors, such as delivery methods, number of birth and breastfeeding, and incidence of cancer in children, but systematic reviews addressing this issue to date have important limitations, and no reviews have addressed the impact of reproductive factors on cancer over the full life course of offspring. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive search in MEDLINE, and Embase up to January 2020 and Web of Science up to 2018 July, including cohort studies reporting the association between maternal reproductive factors of age at birth, birth order, number of births, delivery methods, and breastfeeding duration and cancer in children. Teams of two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias. We conducted random effects meta-analyses to estimate summary relative estimates, calculated absolute differences between those with and without risk factors, and used the GRADE approach to evaluate the certainty of evidence. RESULTS: For most exposures and most cancers, we found no suggestion of a causal relation. We found low to very low certainty evidence of the following very small possible impact: higher maternal age at birth with adult multiple myeloma and lifetime uterine cervix cancer incidence; lower maternal age at birth with childhood overall cancer mortality (RR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.01-1.30; AR/10,000 = 1, 95% CI = 0 to 2), adult leukemia and lifetime uterine cervix cancer incidence; higher birth order with adult melanoma, cervix uteri, corpus uteri, thyroid cancer incidence, lifetime lung, corpus uteri, prostate, testis, sarcoma, thyroid cancer incidence; larger number of birth with childhood brain (RR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.06-1.52; AR/10,000 = 1, 95% CI = 0 to 2), leukemia (RR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.62-2.75; AR/10,000 = 9, 95% CI = 5 to 14), lymphoma (RR = 4.66, 95% CI = 1.40-15.57; AR/10,000 = 11, 95% CI = 1 to 44) incidence, adult stomach, corpus uteri cancer incidence and lung cancer mortality, lifetime stomach, lung, uterine cervix, uterine corpus, multiple myeloma, testis cancer incidence; Caesarean delivery with childhood kidney cancer incidence (RR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.01-1.55; AR/10,000 = 0, 95% CI = 0 to 1); and breastfeeding with adult colorectal cancer incidence. CONCLUSION: Very small impacts existed between a number of reproductive factors and cancer incidence and mortality in children and the certainty of evidence was low to very low primarily due to observational design.

Reduction of Red and Processed Meat Intake and Cancer Mortality and Incidence: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cohort Studies.

This article has been corrected. The original version (PDF) is appended to this article as a Supplement. Background: Cancer incidence has continuously increased over the past few centuries and represents a major health burden worldwide. Purpose: To evaluate the possible causal relationship between intake of red and processed meat and cancer mortality and incidence. Data Sources: Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, CINAHL, and ProQuest from inception until July 2018 and MEDLINE from inception until April 2019 without language restrictions. Study Selection: Cohort studies that included more than 1000 adults and reported the association between consumption of unprocessed red and processed meat and cancer mortality and incidence. Data Extraction: Teams of 2 reviewers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias; 1 reviewer evaluated the certainty of evidence, which was confirmed or revised by the senior reviewer. Data Synthesis: Of 118 articles (56 cohorts) with more than 6 million participants, 73 articles were eligible for the dose-response meta-analyses, 30 addressed cancer mortality, and 80 reported cancer incidence. Low-certainty evidence suggested that an intake reduction of 3 servings of unprocessed meat per week was associated with a very small reduction in overall cancer mortality over a lifetime. Evidence of low to very low certainty suggested that each intake reduction of 3 servings of processed meat per week was associated with very small decreases in overall cancer mortality over a lifetime; prostate cancer mortality; and incidence of esophageal, colorectal, and breast cancer. Limitation: Limited causal inferences due to residual confounding in observational studies, risk of bias due to limitations in diet assessment and adjustment for confounders, recall bias in dietary assessment, and insufficient data for planned subgroup analyses. Conclusion: The possible absolute effects of red and processed meat consumption on cancer mortality and incidence are very small, and the certainty of evidence is low to very low. Primary Funding Source: None. (PROSPERO: CRD42017074074).