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The main objective of this systematic review was to assess cancer risk, and mortality after cancer diagnosis, for exclusive users of Swedish snus, compared with non‐users of tobacco. We followed international standards for systematic reviews and graded our confidence in the risk estimates using the GRADE approach. Our search gave 2450 articles, of which 67 were assessed in full text against our inclusion criteria. Of these, 14 cohort‐studies and one case‐control study were included in the review. The studies investigated risk of cancer in the oral cavity or oropharynx (3 studies), esophagus (1 study), stomach (1 study), pancreas (2 studies), colorectum (2 studies), anus (1 study) and lung (1 study), as well as malignant lymphoma (1 study), leukemia and multiple myeloma (1 study), melanoma (1 study), any cancer (1 study) and mortality after cancer diagnosis (4 studies). Cancer risk could only be evaluated in men as there was a general lack of data for women. All included studies were evaluated to have a moderate risk of bias, mostly related to validity of exposure information. An increased risk of cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, stomach and rectum as well as an association between use of snus and increased mortality after a cancer diagnosis was reported. Our confidence in the various risk estimates varied from moderate through low to very low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Smokeless tobacco is a heterogeneous product group with diverse composition and prevalence globally. Tobacco use during pregnancy is concerning due to the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and effects on child health. Nicotine may mediate several of these effects. This systematic review measured health outcomes from Swedish smokeless tobacco (snus) use during pregnancy. Method: Literature search was conducted by an information specialist in May 2022. We included human studies of snus use during pregnancy compared with no tobacco use, assessed risk of bias, conducted a meta‐analysis and assessed confidence in effect‐estimates using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE). Results: We included 18 cohort studies (42 to 1 006 398 participants). Snus use during pregnancy probably (moderate confidence in risk estimates) increase the risk of neonatal apnea, adjusted odds ratio 95% confidence interval [aOR (95% CI)] 1.96 (1.30 to 2.96). Snus use during pregnancy possibly (low confidence in risk estimates) increase the risk of stillbirths aOR 1.43 (1.02 to 1.99), extremely premature births aOR 1.69 (1.17 to 2.45), moderately premature birth aOR 1.26 (1.15 to 1.38), SGA aOR 1.26 (1.09 to 1.46), reduced birth weight mean difference of 72.47 g (110.58 g to 34.35 g reduction) and oral cleft malformations aOR 1.48 (1.00 to 2.21). It is uncertain (low confidence in risk estimates, CI crossing 1) whether snus use during pregnancy affects risk of preeclampsia aOR 1.11 (0.97 to 1.28), antenatal bleeding aOR 1.15 (0.92 to 1.44) and very premature birth aOR 1.26 (0.95 to 1.66). Risk of early neonatal mortality and altered heart rate variability is uncertain, very low confidence. Snus using mothers had increased prevalence of caesarean sections, low confidence. Conclusions: This systematic review reveals that use of smokeless tobacco (snus) during pregnancy may adversely impact the developing child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Worldwide, an estimated 125 million girls and women live with female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). We aimed to systematically review the evidence for physical health risks associated with FGM/C. Design: We searched 15 databases to identify studies (up to January 2012). Selection criteria were empirical studies reporting physical health outcomes from FGM/ C, affecting females with any type of FGM/C, irrespective of ethnicity, nationality and age. Two review authors independently screened titles and abstracts, applied eligibility criteria, assessed methodological study quality and extracted full-text data. To derive overall risk estimates, we combined data from included studies using the Mantel-Haenszel method for unadjusted dichotomous data and the generic inverse-variance method for adjusted data. Outcomes that were sufficiently similar across studies and reasonably resistant to biases were aggregated in meta-analyses. We applied the instrument Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation to assess the extent to which we have confidence in the effect estimates. Results: Our search returned 5109 results, of which 185 studies (3.17 million women) satisfied the inclusion criteria. The risks of systematic and random errors were variable and we focused on key outcomes from the 57 studies with the best available evidence. The most common immediate complications were excessive bleeding, urine retention and genital tissue swelling. The most valid and statistically significant associations for the physical health sequelae of FGM/C were seen on urinary tract infections (unadjusted RR=3.01), bacterial vaginosis (adjusted OR (AOR) =1.68), dyspareunia (RR=1.53), prolonged labour (AOR=1.49), caesarean section (AOR=1.60), and difficult delivery (AOR=1.88). Conclusions: While the precise estimation of the frequency and risk of immediate, gynaecological, sexual and obstetric complications is not possible, the results weigh against the continuation of FGM/C and support the diagnosis and management of girls and women suffering the physical risks of FGM/C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Organised follow-up is a common feature of several strategies at the primary health care level to promote health behaviour change, e.g. to increase physical activity. In Norway, municipal 'healthy living' centres run by health care personnel are established to offer counselling and organised follow-up of health behaviour change during a 12-week programme. We report the results of a systematic review commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate of Health concerning organised follow-up to improve physical activity. Methods We searched ten electronic databases up to June 2012, reference lists of included publications, and relevant journals. Study selection and quality risk of bias assessment were carried out independently. Data were synthesised narratively due to heterogeneity of measurements of physical activity. The GRADE approach was used to assess our confidence in the effect estimate for each outcome in each comparison. Results Fourteen randomised controlled trials from seven countries and with a total of 5,002 participants were included in the systematic review. All studies were carried out in primary care or community settings. The interventions comprised referral to supervised group physical activity (2 studies), referral to local resources with follow-up (6 studies), and selforganised physical activity with follow-up (6 studies). The narrative synthesis, comprising a total of 39 comparisons, indicated effects of self-organised physical activity with follow-up (compared to both advice and no treatment) and referral to local resources with follow-up (compared to advice) in some of the comparisons where we rated our confidence in the effect estimates as moderate. However, the results indicated no difference between intervention and control groups for the majority of comparisons. Follow-up in the studies was mainly shortterm with the longest follow-up 9 months post-treatment. We rated our confidence in the effect estimates as low or very low in most comparisons, both for positive and neutral results. Conclusions The results of this systematic review indicate considerable uncertainty concerning effects of organised follow-up during 10-14 weeks on physical activity. Major methodological problems concerning the measurement of physical activity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various forms of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) have been performed for millennia and continue to be prevalent in parts of Africa. Although the health consequences following FGM/C have been broadly investigated, divergent study results have called into question whether FGM/C is associated with obstetric consequences. To clarify the present state of empirical research, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature and quantitative meta-analyses of the obstetric consequences of FGM/C. We included 44 primary studies, of which 28 were comparative, involving almost 3 million participants. The methodological study quality was generally low, but several studies reported the same outcome and were sufficiently similar to warrant pooling of effect sizes in meta-analyses. The meta-analyses results showed that prolonged labor, obstetric lacerations, instrumental delivery, obstetric hemorrhage, and difficult delivery are markedly associated with FGM/C, indicating that FGM/C is a factor in their occurrence and significantly increases the risk of delivery complications. There was no significant difference in risk with respect to cesarean section and episiotomy These results can make up the background documentation for health promotion and health care decisions that inform work to reduce the prevalence of FGM/C and improve the quality of services related to the consequences of FGM/C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on a study on the efficiency of artichoke leaf extract for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, a condition described by an increase in the level of cholesterol in the bloodstream. The author cites some results artichoke extract may have, such as, making little or no variation in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Several tables which list study results such as meta-analysis findings and confidence intervals are also presented.

As part of its efforts to disseminate the results of Cochrane reviews to a wider audience, the Cochrane Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Field develops Summary of Findings (SoF) tables and then uses those tables as a basis for its plainlanguage summaries. Each SoF table presents the most important outcomes for the review as well as the effect of the intervention and the quality of the evidence for each outcome. The process of developing the SoF table involves deciding which out comes to present for which time points and evaluating the strength and quality of the evidence for the outcomes. In this article, we present a Cochrane review about the effects of the use of cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections. The Cochrane CAM Field contacted the authors of the Cochrane review to request clarification on points that we did not understand and to have them review the SoF tables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review on the effect of music therapy for acquired brain injury by review authors in the Cochrane Collaboration. It mentions that music therapy is intended to exert direct effects through the autonomic nervous system, which thereby stimulate brain functions. It states that the interventions used in the therapy ranges from listening to music to reduce pain to the use of rhythmic auditory stimulation to induce motor function.

The article presents a summary of the findings of several studies which examine the effect of Serenoa repens for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) vs placebo. It notes that serenoa repens is a plant extract which is widely used as an alternative therapy to BPH, along with the prescribed medication as the first line of treatment. The therapeutic effects of this plant extract include a decrease in nocturnal polyuria episodes. Meanwhile, a table is presented on the summary of the findings.

BACKGROUND Patient volume is assumed to affect quality, whereby complex procedures are best performed by those who perform them frequently. We have conducted a systematic review of the research on the association between patient volume and quality of vascular surgery. In this article we describe the outcomes for abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery.MATERIAL AND METHOD We undertook systematic searches in relevant databases. We searched for systematic reviews, and randomised and observational studies. The search was concluded in December 2015. We have summarised the results descriptively and assessed the overall quality of the evidence.RESULTS Forty-six observational studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria. We found a possible association for both hospital and surgeon volume. Higher patient volume may possibly be associated with lower 30-day mortality and lower hospital mortality for both open and endovascular surgery. Although the association appears to apply to both elective and acute hospitalisations, there is greater uncertainty with regard to the most ill patients. For hospital volume there may also be fewer complications for open and endovascular surgery, as well as for all surgery assessed as a whole. We considered the evidence base to be medium to very low quality.INTERPRETATION We found a possible correlation between patient volume and quality indicators such as mortality and complications. It may be advantageous to allocate planned procedures to institutions and surgeons with high volume, while this is less certain with regard to acute hospitalisations.

As part of its efforts to disseminate the results of Cochrane reviews to a wider audience, the Cochrane Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Field develops Summary of Findings (SoF) tables and then uses those tables as a basis for its plain-language summaries. Each SoF table presents the most important outcomes for the review as well as the effect of the intervention and the quality of the evidence for each outcome. The process of developing the SoF table involves deciding which outcomes to present for which time points and evaluating the strength and quality of the evidence for the outcomes. In this article, we present a Cochrane review about the effects of the use of probiotics for preventing acute upper respiratory tract infections. We contacted the authors of the Cochrane review to request clarification on points that we did not understand and to have them review the SoF table.

As part of its efforts to disseminate the results of Cochrane reviews to a wider audience, the Cochrane Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Field develops Summary of Findings (SoF) tables and then uses these tables as a basis for its Plain Language Summaries. In each SoF table, the most important outcomes of the review, the effect of the intervention on each outcome, and the quality of the evidence for each outcome are presented. The process of developing the SoF table involves deciding which outcomes to present for which time points and evaluating the strength and quality of the evidence for the outcomes. The Cochrane CAM Field contacted the authors of this review to request clarification on any points that are not understood in the Cochrane review and also to request their review of the SoF. In this article, review authors in the Cochrane Collaboration reviewed the effects of horse chestnut seed extract for chronic venous insufficiency.