scholarly journals Exploring the relationship between local food environments and obesity in UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: a systematic review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e018701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Fuentes Pacheco ◽  
Gabriela Carrillo Balam ◽  
Daryll Archibald ◽  
Elizabeth Grant ◽  
Valeria Skafida

IntroductionObesity is a global pandemic that affects all socioeconomic strata, however, the highest figures have been observed in the most disadvantaged social groups. Evidence from the USA and Canada showed that specific urban settings encourage obesogenic behaviour in the population living and/or working there. We aim to examine the evidence on the association between local food environments and obesity in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.MethodsSix databases from 1990 to 2017 will be searched: MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Scopus, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) and Web of Science. Grey literature will also be sought by searching Opengrey Europe, The Grey Literature Report and relevant government websites. Additional studies will be retrieved from the reference lists of the selected articles. It will include cohort, longitudinal, case study and cross-sectional studies that have assessed the relationship between local food environments and obesity in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand regardless of sex, age and ethnicity of the population. Two researchers will independently select the studies and extract the data. Data items will incorporate: author names, title, study design, year of study, year exposure data collected, country, city, urban/rural, age range, study exclusions, special characteristics of study populations, aims, working definitions of food environments and food outlets, exposure and methods of data collection, outcomes and key findings. A narrative synthesis and a summary of the results will be produced separately for children and adults, according to the type of food exposure–outcome. All the selected studies will be assessed using The Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.Ethics and disseminationThis study will be based on published literature, and therefore ethical approval has not been sought. Our findings will be presented at relevant national and international scientific conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Author(s):  
Menglin Jiang ◽  
Dandan Gong ◽  
Yu Fan

AbstractElevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels may increase the risk of prehypertension. However, the findings from these studies remain conflicting. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between SUA levels and risk of prehypertension by conducting a meta-analysis. We conducted a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, and the Wangfang database without language restrictions through May 2015. Observational studies assessing the relationship between SUA levels and prevalence of prehypertension were included. Pooled adjust odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of prehypertension were calculated for the highest vs. lowest SUA levels. Prehypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) ranging from 120 to 139 mmHg or diastolic BP ranging from 80 to 89 mmHg. Eight cross-sectional studies with a total of 21,832 prehypertensive individuals were included. Meta-analysis showed that elevated SUA levels were associated with increased risk of prehypertension (OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.42–2.38) comparing the highest vs. lowest level of SUA levels. Subgroup analyses showed that elevated SUA levels significantly increased the risk of prehypertension among men (OR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.12–2.21) and women (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.17–2.16). Elevated SUA levels are positively associated with the risk of prehypertension in the general population. However, more well-designed longitudinal studies are needed before a definitive conclusion can be drawn due to the cross-sectional studies included are susceptible to bias.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Phuong ◽  
Nathalia Carolina Fernandes Fagundes ◽  
Sahar Abtahi ◽  
Mary Roduta Roberts ◽  
Paul W Major ◽  
...  

Summary Objective A critical analysis of the literature to determine the prevalence and type of emergency/additional appointments, and discomfort levels associated with fixed Class II correctors. Methods Studies examining patient’s sources of discomfort or emergency appointments associated with compliance-free Class II correctors were included. Comprehensive searches up to July 2018 were conducted using the following databases: MEDLINE (OvidSP), PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. A partial grey literature search was taken using Google Scholar and OpenGrey. Two reviewers independently performed the selection process and risk of bias assessment. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cross-sectional studies were used. A summary of the overall strength of evidence was presented using ‘Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation’ (GRADE) tool. Included studies were evaluated according to their design, study quality, consistency, and directness. Results The selected studies were published between 2001 and 2018, and the number of patients per studied group ranged from 8 to 182. One thousand five hundred forty-two patients were evaluated in total. The patients’ mean age at start of treatment ranged from 10 to 16.9 years and the fixed Class II corrector treatment duration ranged from 4 to 12 months. The included studies in this systematic review were too clinically heterogeneous (different appliances, different data recollection processes) to justify a meta-analysis. Limitations This review was not previously registered. A low level of evidence was observed among the two randomized trials, the 10 cohorts and three cross-sectional studies identified. Conclusions The main source of discomfort from Forsus-type appliances appears to be soreness in the cheeks (low level of evidence with a weak recommendation strength). Most evaluated patients treated with a Herbst appliance, regardless of design, will experience complications (fractures and/or dislodging) requiring emergency appointments (low level of evidence with a weak recommendation strength). Registration The review protocol was not registered.


2013 ◽  
Vol 202 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. S. Anglin ◽  
Zainab Samaan ◽  
Stephen D. Walter ◽  
Sarah D. McDonald

BackgroundThere is conflicting evidence about the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and depression, and a systematic assessment of the literature has not been available.AimsTo determine the relationship, if any, between vitamin D deficiency and depression.MethodA systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomised controlled trials was conducted.ResultsOne case-control study, ten cross-sectional studies and three cohort studies with a total of 31 424 participants were analysed. Lower vitamin D levels were found in people with depression compared with controls (SMD = 0.60,95% Cl 0.23–0.97) and there was an increased odds ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories in the cross-sectional studies (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.0–1.71). The cohort studies showed a significantly increased hazard ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories (HR=2.21, 95% CI 1.40–3.49).ConclusionsOur analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that low vitamin D concentration is associated with depression, and highlight the need for randomised controlled trials of vitamin D for the prevention and treatment of depression to determine whether this association is causal.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Talita Farias Feitosa ◽  
Moelisa Queiroz Dos Santos Dantas ◽  
Cássia Brito Da Silva ◽  
Álvaro Pereira

Aim: To verify, in the scientific production, the degree of reliability of the  Semmens-Weinstein  monofilament  as  a  risk  assessment  tool  for  diabetic  foot. Method:  This  is  an  integrative  literature  review  conducted  from  consultation  of  the electronic  databases  CINAHL,  MEDLINE,  SCOPUS  and  SCIELO.  Results:  Six  articles comprising  five  cross-sectional  studies  and  one  cohort  study  were selected.  The  six articles included in the review were taken from medical journals; no nursing publication was  found  that  met  the  goal.  Conclusion:  The  Semmens-Weinstein  monofilament  is  a reliable tool which has the best performance for assessing the risk for diabetic foot and its applicability is extremely important in consultations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte EL Evans ◽  
Janet E Cade

AbstractObjectiveIn England, standards for school meals included both foods and nutrients until 2015. School policies for packed lunches are generally food based; research is needed to determine whether these are adequate or whether a small number of nutrients would potentially improve their quality.DesignFrom dietary data obtained using a weighed dietary assessment tool, a diet quality score (DQS) for packed lunches was calculated using the number of standards met out of twenty-one (eight foods and thirteen nutrients). Multilevel regression analysis determined the foods and nutrients contributing to variation in the DQS.SettingEighty-nine primary schools across the four regions of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).SubjectsBritish schoolchildren (n 1294), aged 8–9 years, taking a packed lunch.ResultsThe optimal model included all eight foods and seven of the thirteen nutrients, explaining 72 % of the variance in DQS. Folate, Fe and vitamin C, together with the eight food groups, explained 70 % of DQS variation.ConclusionsIdeally, policies for school packed lunches should include food-based standards plus recommendations based on a small number of nutrients.


Author(s):  
Michelle F. Wright

The first objective of the present study was to describe the nature of cyber aggression and victimization among emerging adults by focusing on what digital technologies are used and the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. The second objective of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal, reciprocal relationships between cyber victimization, cyber aggression, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm, depression, loneliness, anxiety, and grade point average among emerging adults over four years, using cross-lagged modeling. The findings of the study were consistent with cross-sectional studies, with the present study revealing longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between cyber aggression, cyber victimizations, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm, depression, anxiety, and GPA over four years. Additional research attention should be given to understanding more about these associations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3471-3491
Author(s):  
Anthony E. Coy ◽  
Jody L. Davis ◽  
Jeffrey D. Green ◽  
Paul E. Etcheverry

A dyadic approach to studying relationship dynamics yields considerably more insights than examining each partner separately. Yet relatively little research has examined dyadic models of commitment, despite commitment being essential to relationship persistence. Accordingly, we tested a dyadic version of the investment model of commitment. In two cross-sectional studies of couples and one experiment, we tested the role of partner investments and perceived partner investments as novel antecedents of commitment. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that greater partner investments were related to greater levels of individuals’ commitment, while controlling for individuals’ own satisfaction with, investments in, and alternatives to the relationship. Study 3 revealed that partner-reported investments predicted commitment independent of perceived partner investments. The findings advance the investment model beyond the individual level, emphasizing the need to examine dyadic elements of relationships.


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