Nutritional advice

Objectives:
Is fish or omega-3 fatty acids consumption associated with a lower risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE)?

Study design:
This review article included 8 prospective cohort studies.
The follow-up duration ranged from 0.5 to 19 years.
The sample size ranged from 595 to 80,263.
The fish and omega-3 fatty acids consumption was assessed by food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in all studies.
The diagnosis of venous thromboembolism was obtained in registered medical record (imaging or autopsy) and food was considered as the source of omega-3 fatty acids in all included studies.
Begg's rank-correlation test showed no evidence of publication bias.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found the overall multi-variable adjusted RR showed no significant relationship between fish consumption and the risk of venous thromboembolism [RR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.93 to 1.11, p = 0.709, I2 = 33%, p = 0.176].
The sensitivity analysis showed only minimal changes in magnitude of the pooled RR when any study was excluded from the meta-analysis, suggesting that no individual study had excessive influence on these robust aggregate results.

The investigators found the overall multi-variable adjusted RR showed that omega-3 fatty acids consumption was associated with a lower risk of 11% for venous thromboembolism [RR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.80 to 0.98, p = 0.024, I2 = 0%, p = 0.469].
The sensitivity analysis showed only minimal changes in magnitude of the pooled RR when any study was excluded from the meta-analysis, suggesting that no individual study had excessive influence on these robust aggregate results.

The investigators found the overall multi-variable adjusted RR showed that omega-3 fatty acids consumption was associated with a lower risk of 55% for recurrent venous thromboembolism [RR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.25 to 0.81, p = 0.008, I2 = 26.4%, p = 0.244].
Significant because RR of 1 was not found in the 95% CI of 0.25 to 0.81. RR of 1 means no risk/association.

The investigators concluded omega-3 fatty acids consumption is associated with a lower risk of both venous thromboembolism and recurrent venous thromboembolism.

Original title:
Associations of Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids Consumption With the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism. A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies by Zhang Y, Ding J, [...],Li Y.

Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7793732/

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on omega-3 and fish consumption and cardiovascular diseases right here.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a condition in which a blood clot forms most often in the deep veins of the leg, groin or arm (known as deep vein thrombosis, DVT) and travels in the circulation, lodging in the lungs (known as pulmonary embolism, PE).

Objectives:
Do melatonin supplements improve sleep quality as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in adults with various diseases?

Study design:
This review article included a total of 23 RCTs.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found that melatonin supplements had significant effects on sleep quality as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) [WMD = -1.24, 95% CI = -1.77 to -0.71, p = 0.000, I2 = 80.7%, p = 0.000].

The investigators found subgroup analysis based on health status revealed melatonin supplements in subjects with respiratory diseases [WMD = -2.20, 95% CI = -2.97 to -1.44, p = 0.000], metabolic disorders [WMD = -2.74, 95% CI = -3.48 to -2.00, p = 0.000] and sleep disorders [WMD = -0.67, 95% CI = -0.98 to -0.37, p = 0.000] had significant effects on sleep quality.

The investigators concluded the treatment with exogenous melatonin (melatonin supplements) has positive effects on sleep quality as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in adults, particularly with respiratory diseases, metabolic disorders, primary sleep disorders; however, not with mental disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and other diseases.

Original title:
Effect of melatonin supplementation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials by Fatemeh G, Sajjad M, […], Khadijeh M.

Link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33417003/

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find here more information/studies about RCTs/significant and chronic diseases.

Objectives:
Undernutrition is one of the most common problems among people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), contributing to premature death and the development of comorbidities within this population. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the impacts of these often inter-related conditions appear in a series of fragmented and inconclusive studies. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Does undernutrition increase the risk of mortality and morbidity among adults living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)?

Study design:
This review article included 53 studies (cohort and cross-sectional studies) with a total of 367,680 adults living with HIV (76.2% females).
Publication year of the included studies ranged from 2006 to 2019.
The sample size of the included studies ranged from 71 in Kenya to 68,378 in Tanzania. Most were cohort studies (n = 47, 88.7%). About 63.8% of the included cohort studies had a follow-up period of less than 5 years for mortality and/or less than 2 years for morbidities.
NOS quality scores ranged from 5 to 9 for cohort studies and 8 to 10 for cross-sectional studies.
The mean quality score of the included studies was 7.34 [SD = 0.14].
There was no publication bias.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found a meta-analysis of 23 cohort studies (involving 125,790 individuals) indicated that undernutrition significantly [AHR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.8 to 2.4, I2 = 66.4%, p  0.001] increased the risk of mortality among adults living with HIV, while severely undernourished adults living with HIV were at higher risk of death [AHR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.9 to 2.8) as compared to mildly undernourished adults living with HIV.

The investigators found, furthermore, the pooled estimates of 10 cohort studies (involving 104,387 adults living with HIV) revealed that undernutrition significantly increased the risk of developing tuberculosis [AHR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.6 to 2.7, I2 = 75.2%, p  0.001] among adults living with HIV.

The investigators concluded that undernutrition has significant effects on mortality and morbidity among adults living with HIV. As the degree of undernutrition became more severe, mortality rate also increased. Therefore, these findings may be used to update the nutritional guidelines used for the management of people living with HIV (PLHIV), by different stakeholders, especially in limited-resource settings.

Original title:
Effects of undernutrition on mortality and morbidity among adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Alebel A, Demant D, […], Sibbritt D.

Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7780691/

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on food fortification/malnutrition right here.

Objectives:
Although several epidemiological studies have investigated associations between poultry and fish consumption and pancreatic cancer (PC) risk, these findings have been inconsistent. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Do high dietary poultry or fish intakes increase risk of pancreatic cancer?

Study design:
This review article included 25 studies (cohort studies and case-control studies).

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found for the highest vs. lowest poultry intake category a significantly increased risk of 14% for pancreatic cancer [pooled RR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.26] in cohort studies.
Significant because RR of 1 was not found in the 95% CI of 1.02 to 1.26. RR of 1 means no risk/association.

The investigators found there was no association between fish intake and pancreatic cancer risk [RR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.93 to 1.07].
No association because RR of 1 was found in the 95% CI of 0.93 to 1.07. RR of 1 means no risk/association.

The investigators concluded that large amount of poultry intake increases pancreatic cancer risk, while fish intake is unlikely to be linked to pancreatic cancer risk. These findings require further investigation, particularly between poultry and pancreatic cancer.

Original title:
Poultry and Fish Intake and Pancreatic Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Gao Y, Ma Y, […], Wang X.

Link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33432844/

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on poultry and fish consumption and cancer right here.

Objectives:
Does dietary acrylamide intake increase risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer?

Study design:
This review article included 14 prospective cohort studies.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found no significant association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of breast [RR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.90 to 1.01], endometrial [RR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.89 to 1.19] and ovarian cancers [RR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.84 to 1.24].
In addition, no significant association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers in different subgroup analyses by smoking status, menopausal status, BMI status and different types of breast cancer.

The investigators concluded there is no significant association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers.

Original title:
Dietary acrylamide intake and risk of women's cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies by Benisi-Kohansal S, Salari-Moghaddam A, […], Esmaillzadeh A.

Link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33413725/

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on breast cancer right here.

Acrylamide is a chemical that naturally forms in starchy food products during high-temperature cooking processes, such as frying, roasting and baking. Acrylamide in food forms from sugars and an amino acid that are naturally present in food.