scholarly journals Evidence mapping to assess the available research on fiber, whole grains, and health

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 37-42
Author(s):  
Nicola M McKeown ◽  
Kara A Livingston ◽  
Caleigh M Sawicki ◽  
Kevin B Miller
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Dietary Fiber ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Whole Grains ◽  
Evidence Map ◽  
Evidence Mapping ◽  
The North ◽  
Literature Evidence ◽  
Labeling Requirements

Abstract Evidence mapping is a useful methodology for characterizing existing research on a broad topic and identifying gaps in the scientific literature. Evidence mapping entails conducting a systematic literature search and extracting information on study details, often in the form of a database. Researchers at Tufts University and the North American branch of the International Life Sciences Institute created the Diet-Related Fibers & Human Health Outcomes Database, which is publicly available and updated annually. The database captures intervention studies examining dietary fiber and 10 predefined physiological health outcomes, including weight/adiposity, blood pressure, gut microbiota, and bone health. The database and subsequent potential for evidence mapping may be particularly useful in light of new food labeling requirements by the US Food and Drug Administration that require fibers to have accepted scientific evidence of a physiological health benefit in order to be labeled as “dietary fiber.” Following the success of the fiber database, Tufts University and the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition collaborated to develop a whole grain database and evidence map. This work successfully highlighted the need for better consistency in how whole grains are reported with respect to amount and type of whole grains and intervention compliance.

scholarly journals Evaluating Whole Grain Intervention Study Designs and Reporting Practices Using Evidence Mapping Methodology

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleigh Sawicki ◽  
Kara Livingston ◽  
Alastair Ross ◽  
Paul Jacques ◽  
Katie Koecher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Whole Grains ◽  
Cardiometabolic Health ◽  
Whole Grain ◽  
Evidence Map ◽  
Evidence Mapping ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Study Protocols ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Wide Range

Consumption of whole grains have been associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases in many observational studies; yet, results of intervention studies are mixed. We aimed to use evidence mapping to capture the methodological and reporting variability in whole grain intervention studies that may contribute to this inconsistency. We conducted a reproducible search in OVID Medline for whole grain human intervention studies (published 1946 to February 2018). After screening based on a priori criteria, we identified 202 publications describing a total of 213 unique trials. Over half (55%) were acute trials, lasting ≤1 day, 30% were moderate duration studies (up to 6 weeks) and 15% were of longer duration (more than 6 weeks). The majority of acute trials (75%) examined measures of glycaemia and/or insulinemia, while most of the longer trials included measures of cardiometabolic health (71%), appetite/satiety (57%) and weight/adiposity (56%). Among the moderate and long duration trials, there was a wide range of how whole grains were described but only 10 publications referenced an established definition. Only 55% of trials reported the actual amount of whole grains (in grams or servings), while 36% reported the amount of food/product and 9% did not report a dose at all. Of the interventions that provided a mixture of whole grains, less than half (46%) reported the distribution of the different grain types. Reporting of subject compliance also varied and only 22% used independent biomarkers of whole grain intake. This evidence map highlights the need to standardize both study protocols and reporting practices to support effective synthesis of study results and provide a stronger foundation to better inform nutrition scientists and public health policy.

scholarly journals Health system responsiveness: a systematic evidence mapping review of the global literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gadija Khan ◽  
Nancy Kagwanja ◽  
Eleanor Whyle ◽  
Lucy Gilson ◽  
Sassy Molyneux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Feedback Loops ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
World Health ◽  
Evidence Map ◽  
Evidence Mapping ◽  
Mapping Review ◽  
System Responsiveness ◽  
Health System Responsiveness

Abstract Background The World Health Organisation framed responsiveness, fair financing and equity as intrinsic goals of health systems. However, of the three, responsiveness received significantly less attention. Responsiveness is essential to strengthen systems’ functioning; provide equitable and accountable services; and to protect the rights of citizens. There is an urgency to make systems more responsive, but our understanding of responsiveness is limited. We therefore sought to map existing evidence on health system responsiveness. Methods A mixed method systemized evidence mapping review was conducted. We searched PubMed, EbscoHost, and Google Scholar. Published and grey literature; conceptual and empirical publications; published between 2000 and 2020 and English language texts were included. We screened titles and abstracts of 1119 publications and 870 full texts. Results Six hundred twenty-one publications were included in the review. Evidence mapping shows substantially more publications between 2011 and 2020 (n = 462/621) than earlier periods. Most of the publications were from Europe (n = 139), with more publications relating to High Income Countries (n = 241) than Low-to-Middle Income Countries (n = 217). Most were empirical studies (n = 424/621) utilized quantitative methodologies (n = 232), while qualitative (n = 127) and mixed methods (n = 63) were more rare. Thematic analysis revealed eight primary conceptualizations of ‘health system responsiveness’, which can be fitted into three dominant categorizations: 1) unidirectional user-service interface; 2) responsiveness as feedback loops between users and the health system; and 3) responsiveness as accountability between public and the system. Conclusions This evidence map shows a substantial body of available literature on health system responsiveness, but also reveals evidential gaps requiring further development, including: a clear definition and body of theory of responsiveness; the implementation and effectiveness of feedback loops; the systems responses to this feedback; context-specific mechanism-implementation experiences, particularly, of LMIC and fragile-and conflict affected states; and responsiveness as it relates to health equity, minority and vulnerable populations. Theoretical development is required, we suggest separating ideas of services and systems responsiveness, applying a stronger systems lens in future work. Further agenda-setting and resourcing of bridging work on health system responsiveness is suggested.

Abstract 38: Tandem Effects of Specific Foods on Cardiometabolic Risk within the Context of Overall Dietary Patterns: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Feeding Trials

Circulation ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 133 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gitanjali M Singh ◽  
Marcia Otto ◽  
Dariush Mozaffarian
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Dietary Fiber ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Serum Lipids ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Whole Grains ◽  
Dietary Factors ◽  
Diet Patterns ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Insulin Homeostasis

Background: Cardiometabolic (CMB) risk factors are major mediators of the effects of diet on health. Multiple foods are often consumed in tandem, yet CMB effects of individual dietary factors are often studied in isolation, leading to estimates that may not represent true effects as part of diet patterns. Objective: To quantify the effects of major foods (fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, fish) and dietary fiber, when consumed within the context of overall diet patterns, on systolic BP, serum lipids, and glucose-insulin homeostasis. Methods: PubMed was searched through Oct 2015 to identify randomized controlled feeding studies evaluating effects of major dietary patterns on CMB factors. We included trials evaluating major dietary patterns including fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, fish, and dietary fiber as major components and evaluating effects on systolic BP, serum lipids (total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, or triglycerides), or markers of glucose-insulin homeostasis (fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, postprandial glucose, or fasting insulin). Multivariate metaregression was used to estimate food-specific effects on CMB factors. Results: Among 15 included trials, diet-pattern related decreases in SBP ranged from -2.2 to -9.5 mmHg; and in LDL-C, from -5.0 to -14.7 mg/dL. Each specific food had different, independent, and additive effects on these risk factors ( Figure ). Results for measures of glucose-insulin homeostasis are in progress. Conclusions: Each of these foods independently influences major CMB risk factors, even when consumed in tandem as part of overall diet patterns . Such quantification more accurately reflects the complementary effects of diverse dietary components and highlights the importance of integrated approaches to investigating dietary factors and implementing relevant dietary policies.

scholarly journals Health Risks Associated with the Consumption of Legumes Contaminated with Pesticides and Heavy Metals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motunrayo Ganiyat Akande
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Dietary Fiber ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Congenital Disabilities

Legumes have high nutritional value and they are important sources of protein, carbohydrates, fats and dietary fiber. The contamination of legumes with pesticides and heavy metals has been reported in scientific literature. Human beings are mainly exposed to the residues of pesticides and heavy metals through the dietary route. The purpose of this review chapter is to highlight the acute and chronic health risks that human beings may be exposed to as a result of the ingestion of legumes polluted with pesticides and heavy metals. Additionally, the mechanisms through which pesticides and heavy metals engender different undesirable health outcomes in human beings were stated. Scientific literature were perused and the information contained in them were collated to derive this chapter. Pesticides cause short-term health effects including hypersensitivity and mortality, while heavy metals induce acute effects like seizures and death. Some chronic untoward effects of pesticides are congenital disabilities and neurological damage. Heavy metals elicit disorders like anemia, hypertension and cancer. It is envisaged that the findings documented in this review will create awareness of the health risks posed by the contamination of legumes with the residues of pesticides and heavy metals so that food safety measures can be enforced globally.

scholarly journals Meditation: Evidence Map of Systematic Reviews

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caio Fábio Schlechta Portella ◽  
Ricardo Ghelman ◽  
Veronica Abdala ◽  
Mariana Cabral Schveitzer ◽  
Rui Ferreira Afonso
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Complementary Therapy ◽  
Evidence Map ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Key Word ◽  
Meta Analyses

Study Basis: This evidence map presents a summary of studies that addressed the effects of meditation on various clinical and health conditions. Meditation is a contemplative practice that has been used for the promotion of health, and the treatment of different conditions.Method: The study is based on the search of four electronic databases for the period 1994-November 2019 and includes systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, and integrative reviews. 3iE evidence gap map was the methodology of choice, and AMSTAR 2 was used for the analyses. Tableau was used to graphically display the confidence level, number of reviews, health outcomes, and intervention effects.Results: This map encompasses 191 studies, with Mindfulness being the key word that retrieved the highest number of results. Several meditation techniques were evaluated in different contexts, and the confidence levels of 22 studies were high, 84 were moderate, and 82 were low. Two 2 meta-syntheses and 1 integrative review were also included. Most of the studies reported positive effects and a beneficial potential of the practice of meditation. Health outcomes were divided into five groups out of which mental health and vitality, and well-being and quality of life stood out with the largest number of studies.Conclusions: Meditation has been applied in different areas. This Evidence Map intends to be an easy visual tool to access valuable evidence-based information on this complementary therapy for patients, health professionals, and managers.

Thriving in the 21st Century: Outcome Assessment, Practice Parameters, and Accountability

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 831-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Bergman
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Practice Guidelines ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Health Care Outcomes ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Care Outcomes

The past two decades have brought about major health care changes that have been driven by an ever-increasing cost of health care, practice variability, and medical malpractice litigation. These changes pose a challenge to pediatricians to contain costs, to reduce inappropriate use of health care services, and to demonstrate improved health care outcomes. To meet this challenge, a new "clinical tool kit" is required, one that will allow the pediatrician to analyze current practices and to document effective interventions. Two of the major tools in this kit are practice guidelines and outcomes assessment instruments. Practice guidelines are optimal care specifications that provide an analytic framework for defining high-quality care and measuring health care outcomes. Ideally, these guidelines should be developed from scientific evidence. In practice, however, scientific evidence to support the majority of recommendations made in guidelines is insufficient. Consequently, these recommendations are instead developed by expert consensus. Measurement of health outcomes includes clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, cost and use, and quality of life. Health care organizations have become very sophisticated in measuring cost and use, but considerably less work has been done in the patient-centered areas of satisfaction and quality of life. This is particularly true for children, because measures are dependent on the viewpoint chosen (parent, child, or teacher), the age of the child, and the adjustment for severity of illness. Analyzing practice patterns and improving health outcomes will not be easy tasks to accomplish. For the pediatrician to use these tools in an efficient and effective manner, a new research agenda and new skills will be required.

scholarly journals Association between psychosocial factors at work and health outcomes after retirement: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. e030773
Author(s):  
Kotaro Imamura ◽  
Akizumi Tsutsumi ◽  
Yumi Asai ◽  
Hideaki Arima ◽  
Emiko Ando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Psychosocial Factors ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Included Study ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Registration Number ◽  
Q Statistic ◽  
Work And Health

IntroductionThe world’s population is rapidly ageing, and health among older people is thus an important issue. Several previous studies have reported an association between adverse psychosocial factors at work before retirement and postretirement health. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to examine the association between psychosocial factors at work and health outcomes after retirement, based on a synthesis of well-designed prospective studies.Methods and analysisThe participants, exposures, comparisons and outcomes of the studies in this systematic review and meta-analysis are defined as follows: (P) people who have retired from their job, (E) presence of adverse psychosocial factors at work before retirement, (C) absence of adverse psychosocial factors at work before retirement and (O) any physical and mental health outcomes after retirement. Published studies were searched using the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and Japan Medical Abstracts Society. The included studies will be statistically synthesised in a meta-analysis to estimate pooled coefficients and 95% CIs. The quality of each included study will be assessed using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies-of Interventions. For the assessment of meta-bias, publication bias will be assessed by using Egger’s test, as well as visually on a funnel plot. Heterogeneity will be assessed using the χ² test with Cochran’s Q statistic and I2.Ethics and disseminationResults and findings will be submitted and published in a scientific peer-reviewed journal and will be disseminated broadly to researchers and policy-makers interested in the translatability of scientific evidence into good practices.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018099043.

scholarly journals The changing epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in North West England

2005 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 785-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. SOPWITH ◽  
K. OSBORN ◽  
R. CHALMERS ◽  
M. REGAN
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Foot And Mouth Disease ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Genotype 2

Between 1996 and 2000, rates of cryptosporidiosis in North West England were significantly higher than overall in England and Wales, particularly during the first half of each year. In addition, during the second quarter of each year in this period, up to 40% of all cases recorded in England and Wales were from the North West Region. In 2001, cryptosporidiosis dramatically decreased throughout the United Kingdom and the springtime excess of cases formerly seen in the North West was no longer apparent. This changed epidemiology was due to a decline in cases of Cryptosporidium parvum (formerly genotype 2), associated with zoonotic transmission. Although the initial loss of a spring peak of infection corresponded with the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease throughout the United Kingdom, its continued absence relates to major structural changes in the North West public water supply. This study highlights the far-reaching public health benefit of local working relationships in addressing re-occurring disease issues.

Positive Emotion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica M. Black
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Late Adulthood ◽  
Physical Resources ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Scientific findings from social sciences, neurobiology, endocrinology, and immunology highlight the adaptive benefits of positive emotion and activity to both mental and physical health. Positive activity, such as engagement with music and exercise, can also contribute to favorable health outcomes. This article reviews scientific evidence of the adaptive benefits of positive emotion and activity throughout the life course, with examples drawn from the fetal environment through late adulthood. Specifically, the text weaves together theory and empirical findings from an interdisciplinary literature to describe how positive emotion and activity help to build important cognitive, social, and physical resources throughout the life course.

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