The discrimination of dyslipidaemia using anthropometric measures in ethnically diverse populations of the Asia-Pacific Region: the Obesity in Asia Collaboration.

Dyslipidaemia is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is only detectable through blood testing, which may not be feasible in resource-poor settings. As dyslipidaemia is commonly associated with excess weight, it may be possible to identify individuals with adverse lipid profiles using simple anthropometric measures. A total of 222 975 individuals from 18 studies were included as part of the Obesity in Asia Collaboration.

The effectiveness of Tai Chi for chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To determine whether Tai Chi improves pain, disability, physical performance, and/or health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Methods: Eight databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two independent reviewers rated trial quality and extracted trial data.

A randomized controlled trial of tai chi for long-term low back pain (TAI CHI): study rationale, design, and methods.

Background: Low back pain persisting for longer than 3 months is a common and costly condition for which many current treatments have low-moderate success rates at best. Exercise is among the more successful treatments for this condition, however, the type and dosage of exercise that elicits the best results is not clearly defined. Tai chi is a gentle form of low intensity exercise that uses controlled movements in combination with relaxation techniques and is currently used as a safe form of exercise for people suffering from other chronic pain conditions such as arthritis.

Blood pressure variables and cardiovascular risk: new findings from ADVANCE.

The relative importance of various blood pressure indices on cardiovascular risk in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus has not been established. This study compares the strengths of the associations between different baseline blood pressure variables (systolic blood pressure [SBP], diastolic blood pressure [DBP], pulse pressure [PP], and mean arterial pressure) and the 4.3-year risk of major cardiovascular events in the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron-Modified Release Controlled Evaluation Study.

Determinants of heterotopic ossification after total hip replacement surgery.

The ability of various pre- or peri-operative variables to determine the risk of developing moderate to severe heterotopic ossification (HO) six to twelve months after surgery was investigated among 407 patients undergoing elective total hip replacement (THR) surgery and allocated to placebo in a randomised controlled trial evaluating NSA IDs-based prophylaxis for HO. Overall, 11 (30%) of the 37 patients undergoing revision surgery developed moderate to severe HO compared with 58 (16%) of the 370 patients undergoing primary THR; odds ratio (OR) 2.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.

The lower extremity functional scale has good clinimetric properties in people with ankle fracture.

Background: There is limited information on the clinimetric properties of questionnaires of activity limitation in people after ankle fracture.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinimetric properties of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale, an activity limitation questionnaire, in people with ankle fracture.

Design: This was a measurement study using data collected from 2 previous randomized controlled trials and 1 inception cohort study.

An investigation of the reproducibility of ultrasound measures of abdominal muscle activation in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain.

Ultrasound (US) measures are used by clinicians and researchers to evaluate improvements in activity of the abdominal muscles in patients with low back pain. Studies evaluating the reproducibility of these US measures provide some information; however, little is known about the reproducibility of these US measures over time in patients with low back pain. The objectives of this study were to estimate the reproducibility of ultrasound measurements of automatic activation of the lateral abdominal wall muscles using a leg force task in patients with chronic low back pain.

Pain and dorsiflexion range of motion predict short- and medium-term activity limitation in people receiving physiotherapy intervention after ankle fracture: an observational study.

Question: What predicts short - and medium term activity limitation in people after ankle fracture?

Design: Inception cohort observational study.

Participant: Adults with ankle fracture recruited within days following cast removal from physiotherapy departments of teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia.

Outcome Measures: The predictive value of variables that were injury-related (fracture management, fracture severity, angle of the ankle during cast immobilisation, and time from cast removal to baseline) and performance-related (activity limitation, pain, mobility and dorsiflexion range of motion measured soon after cast removal) were examined in one dataset (n = 150) using univariate linear regression.

Factors affecting the severity of work related traffic crashes in drivers receiving a worker's compensation claim.

Aim: To examine factors that contribute to the severity of work related crashes in New South Wales, Australia.

Methods: Workers' Compensation data was linked to police crash records for the period 1998-2002. Multivariate analysis was carried out to assess the relationship between relevant risk factors and the severity of injury (permanent disability or death) in drivers who had received a claim for a work related crash.

Efficacy and safety of fixed combination of perindopril and indapamide in type 2 diabetes: results from ADVANCE in context of available evidence.

Objectives: The ADVANCE trial was designed to determine the effects of routine blood pressure lowering using a fixed combination of perindopril-indapamide on major vascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes, regardless of initial blood pressure levels or the use of other blood pressure-lowering drugs, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.

Methods: After a 6-week run-in period, 11,140 high-risk individuals with type 2 diabetes were randomized to fixed combination perindopril-indapamide or matching placebo, in addition to current therapy. The two primary outcomes were composites of major macrovascular and major microvascular events, analysed jointly and separately by intention to treat.

Effects of the end point adjudication process on the results of the Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study (PROGRESS).

Background And Purpose: End point adjudication committees (EPAC) are widely used in large-scale clinical trials to ensure the robustness of diagnosis for end points.

Methods: The Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study (PROGRESS) was a double-blind randomized trial of blood pressure lowering in 6105 participants with pre-existing cerebrovascular disease. Separate estimates of the effects of randomized treatment were determined using Cox regression models that were based on the unadjudicated events initially reported by the investigator and on the final events assigned by the EPAC.

Role of health insurance in averting economic hardship in families after acute stroke in China.

Background And Purpose: Stroke is a major health burden in China, but there are limited data on its economic effects on households. We aimed to examine the economic impact of stroke and to assess the influence of health insurance.

Methods: In a nationwide, prospective, 62-hospital registry study of acute stroke in China, we recorded information on patient demographics, clinical features, socioeconomic factors, management, and costs of medical care.

The impact of dietary and lifestyle risk factors on risk of colorectal cancer: a quantitative overview of the epidemiological evidence.

Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer mortality and is considered to be largely attributable to inappropriate lifestyle and behavior patterns. The purpose of this review was to undertake a comparison of the strength of the associations between known and putative risk factors for colorectal cancer by conducting 10 independent meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies. Studies published between 1966 and January 2008 were identified through EMBASE and MEDLINE, using a combined text word and MESH heading search strategy.

Enhancing HIV prevention requires addressing the complex relationship between prevention and treatment.

Globally each year, HIV continues to infect millions of people, and the number of people living with HIV and AIDS grows. While there has been an increase in funding for HIV and AIDS, there is a growing gap between the funds available and the funds needed for both prevention and treatment. Yet, one of the means of closing that gap - preventing new infections - has slipped down the agenda.

Fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease and the use of therapies for secondary prevention in a rural region of India.

Background: The rate of cardiovascular disease is widely considered to be increasing throughout India. Precise and reliable data on fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease, however, are few, and little is known about the use of preventive therapies. This is particularly true for rural regions.

Alcohol consumption and 5-year onset of chronic kidney disease: the AusDiab study.

Background: Excessive alcohol consumption is a risk factor for hypertension and stroke; however, evidence for an association with chronic kidney disease is conflicting.

Methods: A total of 6259 adults >or=25 years of age, without a history of alcohol dependence, participating in baseline (1999-2000) and follow-up (2004-2005) phases of an Australian population-representative study (AusDiab) were the subject of this analysis. Alcohol consumption status and volume/frequency were collected by standardized interviewer administered questionnaires and self-administered food frequency questionnaires.

Risks of cardiovascular events and effects of routine blood pressure lowering among patients with type 2 diabetes and atrial fibrillation: results of the ADVANCE study.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate serious clinical outcomes associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and the effects of routine blood pressure lowering on such outcomes in the presence or absence of AF, among individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Methods And Results: About 11 140 patients with type 2 diabetes (7.6% of whom had AF at baseline) were randomized to a fixed combination of perindopril and indapamide or placebo in the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: preterAx and diamicroN-MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) study.

Cochrane reviews used more rigorous methods than non-Cochrane reviews: survey of systematic reviews in physiotherapy.

Objective: To describe the quality and methods of systematic reviews of physiotherapy interventions, compare Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews, and establish the interrater reliability of the Overview Quality Assessment Questionnaire (OQAQ) quality assessment tool.

Study Design And Setting: A survey of 200 published systematic reviews was done. Two independent raters assessed the search strategy, assessment of trial quality, outcomes, pooling, conclusions, and overall quality (OQAQ).

The RENAL (Randomised Evaluation of Normal vs. Augmented Level of Replacement Therapy) study: statistical analysis plan.

Background: The Randomised Evaluation of Normal vs. Augmented Level of Replacement Therapy (RENAL) study is the largest interventional trial ever conducted in patients with acute renal failure.

Objective: To develop and report a pre-determined statistical analysis plan which the investigators will adhere to in analysing the data from the trial.

The NICE-SUGAR (Normoglycaemia in Intensive Care Evaluation and Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation) Study: statistical analysis plan.

Background: The Normoglycaemia in Intensive Care Evaluation and Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation (NICE-SUGAR) Study is the largest study to date of glycaemic control in critically ill patients.

Objective: To describe in detail and make public the study's pre-determined statistical analysis plan, which was finalised while data collection was still ongoing, and to which the investigators will adhere in analysing the data from the trial.

Methods: The data collected by researchers as part of the trial protocol were reviewed and formally assessed.

Adult height and the risks of cardiovascular disease and major causes of death in the Asia-Pacific region: 21,000 deaths in 510,000 men and women.

Background: In Caucasian populations, adult height is inversely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and positively related to some cancers. However, there are few data from Asian populations and from women. We sought to determine the sex- and region-specific associations between height and cardiovascular outcomes, and deaths due to cancer, respiratory and injury in populations from the Asia-Pacific region.

Evidence-based medication use among Chinese patients with acute coronary syndromes at the time of hospital discharge and 1 year after hospitalization: results from the Clinical Pathways for Acute Coronary Syndromes in China (CPACS) study.

Background: Coronary heart disease has emerged as a leading cause of death in China. Although there is strong evidence for the use of antiplatelet, blood pressure-lowering, and lipid-lowering therapy in patients with acute coronary syndromes, the extent to which these medications are used in China remains uncertain.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter prospective study using data from consecutive patients diagnosed with suspected acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina pectoris admitted to the inpatient wards during the recruitment period.

Routine blood pressure lowering and intensive glucose control in patients with Type 2 diabetes: the ADVANCE trial.

The Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial investigated the effects of routine blood pressure lowering and intensive blood glucose control on major vascular events in people with Type 2 diabetes. In this factorial randomized study, 11,140 individuals with Type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to a fixed combination of perindopril and indapamide or matching placebo, and to intensive glucose control with the use of modified-release gliclazide plus other drugs required to achieve a hemoglobin A1c of 6.5% of less, or standard guideline-based glucose control.