Perspectives of online surveys in dermatology.

The striking rise in the Internet utilization worldwide has led to major changes in the methods of data collection and processing. Online surveying has been used to assess different health services, explore patients' perceptions and measure interventions. The discipline of dermatology is one of the fields that gained benefits from surveying patients and dermatologists online; however, some disadvantages such as the low response rate and participation bias were suggested. This review summarizes the applications of online surveying in dermatology and discusses the methods of enhancing response to online surveys. It also offers a guide for dermatologists to formulate their online surveys and avoid the possibility of bias. The role of social network in data collection and the concerns about anonymity and data security have been discussed.

Thiamine deficiency and cardiovascular disorders.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, functions as a cofactor in the metabolism of carbohydrates and amino acids. Thiamine deficiency has been suggested to be associated with many cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and risk factors including type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T1D and T2D, respectively), obesity, chronic vascular inflammation, dyslipidemia, heart failure (HF), myocardial infarction (MI) and conduction defects, and depression. The aim of this review was to explore the evidence of thiamine deficiency among subjects with CVDs or risk factors, illustrate the theories explaining the thiamine-CVDs associations, and describe the effect of thiamine supplementation. METHODS: Human and animal studies were collected from various scientific databases following the PRISMA guidelines without limitation regarding the publication year. Studies investigating the prevalence of thiamine deficiency among patients with CVDs and the effect of thiamine supplementation on their conditions were summarized. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Thiamine deficiency could have a role in the development of CVDs. Future studies should focus on the impact of thiamine supplementation on reversing CVDs and risk factors associated with its deficiency.