Cardiovascular Benefits for Blood Donors? A Systematic Review.

It has been proposed that blood donation could be protective against cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study is to systematically summarize and evaluate existing observational and experimental studies on effects of blood donation on cardiovascular risk and disease in donor and general populations. The electronic databases PubMed and EMBASE were searched until March 2019 for experimental and observational studies on blood donation and cardiovascular risk or disease.

Cardiovascular risk in 159 934 frequent blood donors while addressing the healthy donor effect.

Objective: To investigate whether regular blood donation decreases cardiovascular risk.

Methods: All 159 934 Dutch whole-blood donors with an active donation career of at least 10 years were categorised into sex-specific donation tertiles based on the number of donations during this 10-year qualification period. Cardiovascular endpoints were based on hospital discharge diagnoses and death certificates from Dutch Hospital Data and Statistics Netherlands and occurring after the 10-year qualification period.

Blood donors' physical characteristics are associated with pre- and post-donation symptoms - Donor InSight.

Background: Observational data suggest that some donors might benefit from donating while others may be harmed. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and potential, routinely measured, determinants of pre- and post-donation symptoms.

Materials And Methods: In Donor InSight, questionnaire data from 23,064 whole blood donors (53% female) were linked to routinely measured data on donors' physical characteristics (haemoglobin, blood pressure, body mass index and estimated blood volume) from the Dutch donor database.

LONG-TERM OUTCOME OF MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY IN RECURRENTLY DEPRESSED PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT A DEPRESSIVE EPISODE AT BASELINE.

Background: In a previous randomized controlled trial in patients with three or more previous depressive episodes, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) appeared to be equally effective in those who were depressed and those who were in remission at the start of the trial.

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the 1-year outcome of MBCT in 124 remitted and 58 depressed patients who participated in the original trial and who were all offered MBCT either immediately or after a waiting period of 3 months.

Methods: The course of depressive symptoms, rumination, mindfulness skills, and quality of life over the course of treatment and the 1-year follow-up period was analyzed.

The effect of frequent whole blood donation on ferritin, hepcidin, and subclinical atherosclerosis.

Background: Iron catalyzes the formation of free radicals, which could lead to damaged vascular walls and subsequent atherosclerosis. Blood donation decreases iron stores and can thus decrease cardiovascular risk. Even within blood donors, differences in stored iron are observed.

Turbid plasma donations in whole blood donors: fat chance?

Background: Blood donations resulting in "nontransparent turbid milky" plasma must be discarded. The aim of this study was to objectively determine opacity and to identify risk factors for turbid plasma donations.

Study Design And Methods: This case-control study included 238 whole blood donors who provided turbid plasma (cases) and 309 random control subjects with normal plasma.