Six key behavioural risk factors (risky alcohol use, smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour and unhealthy sleep patterns) have been identified as strong determinants of chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers. School-based interventions targeting these multiple health risk behaviours among adolescents have the potential to halt...
Several studies have reported on factors influencing adolescent pregnancies and the associated outcomes, but evidence from a systematic review is limited, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where the greater burden lies. Establishment of accurate epidemiological data on the rates of adolescent pregnancy, its predictors, and adverse outcomes (maternal and neonatal) may have...
Treatment intensity scores can predict mortality and estimate resource use. They may therefore be of interest for essential neonatal care in low resource settings where neonatal mortality remains high. We sought to systematically review neonatal treatment intensity scores to (1) assess the level of evidence on predictive performance in predicting clinical outcomes and estimating...
The simultaneous increase in geographically dispersed families and general decrease in engagement in local communities is resulting in fewer opportunities for youth and older adults interact in meaningful ways. Technology is becoming increasingly pervasive and flexible and providing new opportunities to foster intergenerational connection that can be implemented and evaluated...
Synthesizing outcomes of underreported primary studies can pose a serious threat to the validity of outcomes and conclusions of systematic reviews. To address this problem, the Cochrane Collaboration recommends reviewers to contact authors of eligible primary studies to obtain additional information on poorly reported items. In this protocol, we present a cross-sectional study...
Recent advances in cancer therapeutics have resulted in significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival for patients. Targeted oral systemic anticancer therapies (SACT) offer a range of treatment approaches that differ from traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy: non-cytotoxic oral SACT target malignant disease continuously, have less broad and more favourable...
Within systematic reviews, when searching for relevant references, it is advisable to use multiple databases. However, searching databases is laborious and time-consuming, as syntax of search strategies are database specific. We aimed to determine the optimal combination of databases needed to conduct efficient searches in systematic reviews and whether the current practice in...
Treatment intensity scores can predict mortality and estimate resource use. They may therefore be of interest for essential neonatal care in low resource settings where neonatal mortality remains high. We sought to systematically review neonatal treatment intensity scores to (1) assess the level of evidence on predictive performance in predicting clinical outcomes and estimating...
Immunosuppressive drugs have to be taken through the whole duration of kidney transplant survival to avoid rejection. Low adherence can increase the risk of allograft rejection. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of adherence-enhancing interventions (AEI) in kidney transplantation recipients taking immunosuppressive drugs. A search was performed in Medline, Embase...
The number of systematic reviews of economic evaluations is steadily increasing. This is probably related to the continuing pressure on health budgets worldwide which makes an efficient resource allocation increasingly crucial. In particular in recent years, the introduction of several high-cost interventions presents enormous challenges regarding universal accessibility and...
Animal research suggests that neural reward activation may be systematically modulated by sleep and circadian function. Whether humans also exhibit sleep and circadian modulation of neural reward pathways is unclear. This area is in need of further research, as it has implications for the involvement of sleep and circadian function in reward-related disorders. The aim of this...
The indications for and the number of tracheostomy procedures has increased with advances in critical care. Studies are indicating likely continued increase in number of tracheostomies. Despite the important benefits of a tracheostomy, its presence is associated with adverse health complications and lowered patient quality of life. Hence, it must be decannulated as soon as it is...
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening condition common after major surgery. Although the high incidence (0.3–30%) and mortality rate (16.9–31%) of PE in patients undergoing major surgical procedures is apparent from findings of contemporary observational studies, there is a lack of a summary and meta-analysis data on the epidemiology of postoperative PE in this same...
Preterm birth is the most common cause of death and harm to newborn babies. Babies that are born early may have difficulties at birth and experience health problems during early childhood. Despite extensive study, there is still uncertainty about the effectiveness of progestogen (medications that are similar to the natural hormone progesterone) in preventing or delaying preterm...
The purpose and contribution of supplementary search methods in systematic reviews is increasingly acknowledged. Numerous studies have demonstrated their potential in identifying studies or study data that would have been missed by bibliographic database searching alone. What is less certain is how supplementary search methods actually work, how they are applied, and the...
Immunosuppressive drugs have to be taken through the whole duration of kidney transplant survival to avoid rejection. Low adherence can increase the risk of allograft rejection. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of adherence-enhancing interventions (AEI) in kidney transplantation recipients taking immunosuppressive drugs. A search was performed in Medline, Embase...
The number of systematic reviews of economic evaluations is steadily increasing. This is probably related to the continuing pressure on health budgets worldwide which makes an efficient resource allocation increasingly crucial. In particular in recent years, the introduction of several high-cost interventions presents enormous challenges regarding universal accessibility and...
Animal research suggests that neural reward activation may be systematically modulated by sleep and circadian function. Whether humans also exhibit sleep and circadian modulation of neural reward pathways is unclear. This area is in need of further research, as it has implications for the involvement of sleep and circadian function in reward-related disorders. The aim of this...
Preterm birth is the most common cause of death and harm to newborn babies. Babies that are born early may have difficulties at birth and experience health problems during early childhood. Despite extensive study, there is still uncertainty about the effectiveness of progestogen (medications that are similar to the natural hormone progesterone) in preventing or delaying preterm...
The purpose and contribution of supplementary search methods in systematic reviews is increasingly acknowledged. Numerous studies have demonstrated their potential in identifying studies or study data that would have been missed by bibliographic database searching alone. What is less certain is how supplementary search methods actually work, how they are applied, and the...