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Background: South and South-East Asian countries report a great liability for the world's road traffic injuries (RTIs) and deaths. A vast number of research studies tested various interventions including specific protective devices to prevent accidents, but no review papers have been conducted to find out the prevalence of RTIs in South-East and South Asian countries. Objective: This review paper was an attempt to find out the prevalence of RTIs and their associated factors in South-East and South Asian countries. Methods: Following the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), we searched the articles in the electronic databases of PubMed/Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, ProQuest, and Web of Science. Articles were selected if they reported the prevalence of RTI, or road traffic accident (RTA) deaths. In addition, a data quality assessment was done. Results: Out of the 10,818 article hits from the literature search, ten articles found the eligibility and inclusion criteria. Most of the studies reported that males are involved in the RTIs more than females. The male mortality rate is more than the female mortality in RTI mortality. Young adult males are the major victims when compared with the different age groups of male victims. Two-wheelers are the major contributors to the accident rate. Religious or national festivals are not free from accident-prone times. Climatic seasons and nighttime have a major influence on the RTIs. RTIs are increasing due to the sudden and huge increase in the number of motor vehicles and the development of cities and towns. Conclusion: Accidents are non-predictable but controllable disasters in society. Overspeeding, bad conditions on road, the vulnerability of the vehicles, and careless driving are the major reported reasons for RTIs. Making and implementing strict laws can help us to control RTAs. The major effect on the reduction of RTI can be assured only with the presence of responsible people. That can be achieved only by creating awareness in society about traffic rules and responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess technical factors and audience preferences before attending orthodontic online learning activity, the demand for which increased dramatically in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional study. Online survey. Global orthodontic residents and specialists. A validated and anonymous survey comprising 17 online questions was sent to 3000 individuals. The data were collected three months later. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were applied. The participants' response rate was 19.9%, with almost equal gender participation. Most of the responders were based in Asia (51.4%). Almost half of the participants were aged 25–35 years with less than 5 years of clinical experience. Regardless of the age, gender or global distribution, 57.3% of respondents opted to share limited personal information with the host. One-third of the respondents preferred receiving webinar reminders via email, ideally a day and/or one hour before the webinar, especially being exportable to their calendars. Age played a major role in shaping this trend, as young participants favoured the one hour (1-h) pre-webinar reminder more than other age groups (P=0.02). Receiving information about the speaker, learning outcomes and pre-webinar reading material (WRM) were preferable, particularly among young participants in comparison with the older age groups (P<0.05). Male participants from Asia and Africa preferred to attend online lectures during the mid-evening on weekends compared with women who were in favour of early evening sessions (P<0.05). It must be borne in mind during the interpretation of the results that the data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to take into consideration the gender, age, cultural background and level of experience while setting up virtual orthodontic learning sessions. Organisers need to tailor their events to meet the needs of the attendees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The performance of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations in the Asian population has been widely questioned. The primary objective of this study was to gather evidence regarding optimal GFR equations in Asia for various age groups, disease conditions, and ethnicities. The secondary objective was to see whether the equations based on the combination of creatinine and cystatin C biomarkers if employed are satisfactory across different age groups and disease conditions in various ethnicities in Asia compared to those based on either of the single biomarkers. (2) Methods: Validation studies that had both creatinine and cystatin C-based equations either alone or in combination, validated in specific disease conditions, and those which compared the performance of these equations with exogenous markers were eligible only. The bias, precision, and 30% accuracy (P30) of each equation were recorded accordingly. (3) Results: Twenty-one studies consisting of 11,371 participants were included and 54 equations were extracted. The bias, precision, and P30 accuracies of the equations ranged from −14.54 to 9.96 mL/min/1.73 m2, 1.61 to 59.85 mL/min/1.73 m2, and 4.7% to 96.10%. The highest values of P30 accuracies were found for the JSN-CKDI equation (96.10%) in Chinese adult renal transplant recipients, for the BIS-2 equation (94.5%) in Chinese elderly CKD patients, and Filler equation (93.70%) also in Chinese adult renal transplant recipients. (4) Conclusions: Optimal equations were identified accordingly and it was proven that combination biomarker equations are more precise and accurate in most of the age groups and disease conditions. These can be considered equations of choice for the specific age groups, disease conditions, and ethnicities within Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wasting and stunting commonly coexist, supposedly due to biological and social mechanisms. In under-five children, low-ponderosity is defined as <—2SD of WHO standards for either weight for height (wasted) or body mass index for age (thin) metrics. Unlike body mass index for age, weight for height ignores physiological changes in ponderosity with age, resulting in overestimation of wasting in comparison to thinness in under-5 populations with high stunting prevalence. This suggests a plausible statistical explanation for the wasting-stunting association. Aim: To test the null hypothesis that wasting-stunting (WaSt) and thinness-stunting (ThSt) associations are similar. Methods: Demographic Health Survey datasets (2010–2020) from South and South-East Asia (7 countries) and Sub-Saharan Africa (13 countries) were evaluated. WaSt and ThSt associations were estimated as odds ratio (OR) for individual datasets, which was pooled (random-effects meta-analysis). Stratified analyses were done for sex, age and region. Results: Young infants (0–6 months) comprised 8–14% of under-five children, with equal representation of boys and girls. Participants, especially Asians, were mostly shorter with lower ponderosity than WHO standards. WaSt prevalence was higher than ThSt in the 6–59 months age group, but lower in young infants. Pooled WaSt estimates were not significant: Asia (OR 0.95; 95% CI 0.75–1.14), Africa (1.17; 0.95–1.40), and combined (1.09; 0.93–1.24). In contrast, pooled ThSt associations were significantly negative: Asia (0.63; 0.50–0.76), Africa (0.82; 0.68–0.96), and combined (0.75; 0.65–0.85). In girls, these associations were attenuated for WaSt (0.96; 0.8–1.1), but enhanced for ThSt (0.6; 0.5–0.7). Conclusion: WaSt and ThSt associations are dissimilar. This suggests a primary statistical explanation for the reported wasting-stunting association, originating from ignoring physiological changes with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many studies have reported that the thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) reference interval is susceptible to external factors, such as age, sex, race, region and iodine intake. However, no meta‐analysis has comprehensively explored the effect of these factors on the TSH reference interval. Methods: Articles published from January 1960 to January 2020 were searched in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, Medline English databases and CNKI, WanFang and CQVIP Chinese databases. In total, 19 studies were ultimately included. All data were analysed using Review Manager 5.3, STATA 16.0 software, GraphPad Prism 8.0 and Microsoft Excel 2010 to draw the TSH concentration curve. Results: The TSH reference interval was significantly influenced by sex and age. The mean of TSH concentration in females was 0.27 mIU/L higher than that in males. Reference interval of TSH is divided into 20–59 years old and >60 years old age groups in males, and 20–39 years old and >40 years old age groups in females. Regardless of sex, TSH concentrations all increase with age. In iodine‐deficient areas, TSH reference intervals were generally lower than those in iodine‐sufficient or iodine‐excessive areas. The TSH reference interval in Asia and North American countries was generally higher than that in most European countries. In the subgroup analyses of sample size, region and assay methods and manufacturers, the between‐group differences were significant. Conclusion: The TSH reference interval was significantly influenced by sex, age, iodine intake, sample size, region, and assay methods and manufacturers, but other factors should not be ignored. Therefore, it is necessary for each laboratory to validate an appropriate TSH reference interval based on local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]