Association of depression with all-cause and cancer-specific mortality in older adults with cancer: Systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression.

Introduction: The incidence and mortality of cancer is increasing worldwide with studies reporting that cumulative risk of cancer rises as age increases. Against the backdrop of the increasing prevalence of cancer amongst older patients, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the depression-mortality relationship in older adults with cancer (OAC).

Materials And Methods: This PRISMA-adherent systematic review involved a systematic search of PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO for prospective and retrospective cohort studies comparing the risk of all-cause and cancer-related mortality among OAC with depression.

Association of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo with Depression and Anxiety-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the extent to which Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is associated with a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients.

Data Sources: Three databases including PubMed, Embase, and The Cochrane Library were searched by two independent authors from inception to June 12, 2022 for observational studies and randomized controlled trials investigating the association between BPPV and depression and anxiety. We included studies published as full-length articles in peer-reviewed journals with an adult population aged at least 18 years who have BPPV, detected through validated clinical methods like clinical diagnosis, interview and Dix-Hallpike test.

Depression and anxiety in older adults with cancer: Systematic review and meta-summary of risk, protective and exacerbating factors.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the risk factors of depression and anxiety in older adults with cancer.

Method: This PRISMA-adherent systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42022372747) involved a systematic database search for prospective and retrospective cohort studies.

Results: We included 33 cohort studies with 31 evaluating depression and seven evaluating anxiety.

A Review of the Effectiveness, Feasibility, and Acceptability of Art Therapy for Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Art therapy has been widely offered to reduce symptoms of psychological disturbance. Pooled evidence about its effectiveness in epidemic contexts, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has not been yet established. This study reviewed the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of art therapy on children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic and past epidemics.

A qualitative study exploring experiences and support needs of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Singapore.

Aims And Objective: To explore the experiences and support needs of parents of children with recently diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Singapore.

Background: Raising a child with ASD is challenging for parents, especially in the initial period following the diagnosis. Limited studies have focused on parents' perspectives.

Commonalities in biomarkers and phenotypes between mild cognitive impairment and cerebral palsy: a pilot exploratory study.

Clinically, individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) experience symptoms of accelerated biological aging. Accumulative deficits in both molecular underpinnings and functions in young adults with CP can lead to premature aging, such as heart disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is an intermediate stage between healthy aging and dementia that normally develops at old age.

Comparison of postoperative cognitive decline in patients undergoing conventional vs miniaturized cardiopulmonary bypass: A randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Neurocognitive dysfunction is a common complication of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with incidence of 19-38%. The miniaturized cardiopulmonary bypass (MCPB) system was developed to reduce hemodilution and inflammation and provides better cerebral protection than conventional cardiopulmonary bypass (CCPB). In a meta-analysis, MCPB was associated with a 10-fold reduction in the incidence of strokes.

Mindfulness improves inflammatory biomarker levels in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial.

Few randomized controlled trials investigated the effects of mindfulness intervention on older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Furthermore, there have been hypotheses and theoretical mechanisms on the benefits of mindfulness intervention on biomarkers of stress, inflammation, and neuroplasticity implicated in MCI that warrant empirical evidence. We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to examine whether Mindful Awareness Practice (MAP) improved biomarker levels in older adults with MCI.

The Global Prevalence of Anxiety Among Medical Students: A Meta-Analysis.

Anxiety, although as common and arguably as debilitating as depression, has garnered less attention, and is often undetected and undertreated in the general population. Similarly, anxiety among medical students warrants greater attention due to its significant implications. We aimed to study the global prevalence of anxiety among medical students and the associated factors predisposing medical students to anxiety.

Decreased Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Levels in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Findings from previous studies reporting the levels of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have been conflicting. Hence, we performed a meta-analysis to examine the aggregate levels of serum BDNF in patients with AD and individuals with MCI, in comparison with healthy controls. Fifteen studies were included for the comparison between AD and healthy control (HC) ( = 2067).

The Effects of Temperament on Depression According to the Schema Model: A Scoping Review.

: Recent studies have shown that not every depressed patient responds to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and some of those who do relapse upon termination. Due to its dual focus on the past and present, Schema Model (SM) represents a promising alternative model to understand depression. However, studies examining SM often operationalize the same construct differently, resulting in inconsistent evidence of change.

Effects of horticultural therapy on elderly' health: protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Due to a rapidly ageing population in the world, it is increasingly pertinent to promote successful ageing strategies which are cost-effective, easily accessible, and more likely to be acceptable to the elderly. Past research associates exposure to natural environments and horticultural therapy (HT) with positive psychological, social and physical health benefits. This Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is designed to evaluate the efficacy of HT in promoting Asian elderly' mental health, cognitive functioning and physical health.

Topical versus oral antibiotics, with or without corticosteroids, in the treatment of tympanostomy tube otorrhea.

Objective: Antibiotic treatment is the standard of care for tympanostomy tube otorrhea. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of topical antibiotics with or without corticosteroids versus oral antibiotics in the treatment of tube otorrhea in children.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ProQuest.

Mental health issues amongst medical students in Asia: a systematic review [2000-2015].

Background: Studies have shown that the stress experienced by medical students is far greater than that experienced by other university students. In this study, we aim to understand the consequent mental health issues that are experienced by medical students, particularly in Asia, via a systematic review of the current literature.

Methods: Initial searches on MEDLINE, Embase and SpringerLink came up with a total of 1,033 unique articles.

Early cerebral volume reductions and their associations with reduced lupus disease activity in patients with newly-diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus.

We examined if cerebral volume reduction occurs very early during the course of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and observed prospectively whether gray (GMV) and white matter volumes (WMV) of the brain would improve with lowered SLE disease activity. T1-weighted MRI brain images were obtained from 14 healthy controls (HC) and 14 newly-diagnosed SLE patients within 5 months of diagnosis (S1) and after achieving low disease activity (S2). Whole brain voxel-based morphometry was used to detect differences in the GMV and WMV between SLE patients and HC and those between SLE patients at S1 and S2.

An association between neuropeptide Y levels and leukocyte subsets in stress-exacerbated asthmatic mice.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was recently proposed to be associated with stress and airway inflammation; however, this has rarely been studied in animal models of asthma. Twenty-four C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups of 8 each: naive control group, asthma group (with an established asthma model), and stressed asthma group (with established asthma and stress models). Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was collected for total cell counts using a hemocytometer and for cytological examinations by Wright stain.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Deficiency Independently Predicts Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objectives: Cognitive dysfunction has been reported in 20-80% of SLE patients. Converging evidence has indicated the importance of vitamin D as a neuroimmunomodulator for cognitive function. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between vitamin D and cognitive dysfunction.

Intratympanic steroids as a salvage treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss? A meta-analysis.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is typically treated with systemic steroids. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of salvage intratympanic steroid treatment in patients who have initial treatment failure with systemic steroids. A MEDLINE literature search was performed, supported by searches of Web of Science, Biosis, and Science Direct.

Views on the peer review system of biomedical journals: an online survey of academics from high-ranking universities.

Background: Peer review is the major method used by biomedical journals for making the decision of publishing an article. This cross-sectional survey assesses views concerning the review system of biomedical journals among academics globally.

Methods: A total of 28,009 biomedical academics from high-ranking universities listed by the 2009 Times Higher Education Quacquarelli Symonds (THE-QS) World University Rankings were contacted by email between March 2010 and August 2010.

Dysfunctional cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuit and altered hippocampal-amygdala activity on cognitive set-shifting in non-neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To explore sequential brain activities throughout cognitive set-shifting, which is critical to understanding the basic pathophysiology of cognitive dysfunction, in patients with new-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Methods: Fourteen patients with new-onset SLE but without neuropsychiatric symptoms and 14 healthy controls matched for age, sex, education level, and intelligence quotient with the patients performed a cognitive set-shifting task derived from the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test while they were undergoing event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Blood oxygen level-dependent signals were compared between different stages of cognitive set-shifting in the lupus patients and in the healthy subjects.

Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescents with asthma: a meta-analysis and meta-regression.

It remains unclear whether anxiety and depressive symptoms are more prevalent in adolescents with asthma when compared with healthy individuals. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the difference in the aggregate prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms between adolescents with asthma and healthy controls and to explore the underlying moderators that potentially explain the heterogeneity of the effect size. A meta-analysis of published work was performed using the random effects model.

The role of interleukin (IL)-17 in anxiety and depression of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Pro-inflammatory cytokines are found to be elevated in patients with anxiety and depression but whether their serum levels are related to anxiety and depression is unknown. We used rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as an inflammatory disease model to explore such relationships.

Methods: Eighteen RA patients and 18 healthy controls matched for age and gender were assessed for the severity of anxiety and depression with the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS).

Significantly higher estimated 10-year probability of fracture in lupus patients with bone mineral density comparable to that of healthy individuals.

This study aimed at comparing the FRAX 10-year fracture risk between SLE patients and demographically- and anthropometrically matched healthy individuals. Consecutive SLE patients aged ≥ 40 were analyzed for the FRAX 10-year probability of major osteoporotic and hip fractures and their risk was compared with healthy controls matched for age, gender and body mass index. Potential determinants associated with higher 10-year fracture probability in the SLE patients were studied by regression models.

The associations of asthma symptoms with active and passive smoking in Hong Kong adolescents.

Background: Tobacco smoke has detrimental effects on the respiratory system. This study investigated the associations of active and passive smoking with asthma symptoms in Hong Kong adolescents.

Methods: A total of 6,494 Hong Kong secondary school students, with a mean ± SD age of 15.

Global trend of survival and damage of systemic lupus erythematosus: meta-analysis and meta-regression of observational studies from the 1950s to 2000s.

Objective: To assess systemically with meta-analysis the trend of survival and its determinants, which are hindering further improvement of survival of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) over the past 5 decades.

Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional, and prospective observational studies addressing survival and damage in SLE patients published between 1 January 1950 and 31 July 2010 were identified in electronic databases. Using the random-effects model, effect size was calculated based on the logit of the overall 5- and 10-year survival rates.