BACKGROUND Hallux valgus (HV) is a foot deformity commonly seen in medical practice, often accompanied by significant functional disability and foot pain. Despite frequent mention in a diverse body of literature, a precise estimate of the prevalence of HV is difficult to ascertain. The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate prevalence of HV in the overall population and evaluate t...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the evidence of the effect of pelvic floor muscle training on urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy. METHODS A bibliographic search was conducted in four databases. Studies were grouped according to the intervention program(muscle training versus control and individual home-based versus physiotherapist-guided muscle training)....

BACKGROUND It is estimated that there are about 25,000 people from UK ethnic minority groups with dementia. It is clear that there is an increasing need to improve access to dementia services for all ethnic groups to ensure that everyone has access to the same potential health benefits. The aim was to systematically review qualitative studies and to perform a meta-synthesis around barriers and ...

Human milk (HM) is the gold standard for feeding infants but has been associated with slower growth in preterm compared formula. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarises post-1990 literature to examine effect of HM on during neonatal admission birth weight ≤1500 g and/or born ≤28 weeks’ gestation. Medline, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus were searched, comparisons grouped as exclusive human (...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the evidence for strategies to prevent falls or fractures in residents in care homes and hospital inpatients and to investigate the effect of dementia and cognitive impairment. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analyses of studies grouped by intervention and setting (hospital or care home). Meta-regression to investigate the effects of dementia and of study quality and ...

OBJECTIVE To conduct a meta-analysis of observational studies to explore the relationships between cholecystectomy and the risk of esophageal and gastric cancer (GC). METHODS The study design was retrospective, and carried out in the First People's Hospital of Nantong, Jiangsu, China from January 2012 to April 2012. Studies were identified by a literature search of MEDLINE and EMBASE through ...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high amongst healthcare professionals and there is growing interest in delivering weight loss interventions in the workplace. We conducted a systematic review to (i) examine the effectiveness of workplace-based diet and/or physical activity interventions aimed at healthcare professionals and to (ii) identify and describe key components of e...

BACKGROUND Self-help interventions for psychiatric disorders represent an increasingly popular alternative to therapist-administered psychological therapies, offering the potential of increased access to cost-effective treatment. AIMS To determine the efficacy, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of self-help interventions for anxiety disorders. METHOD Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) o...

PURPOSE To determine the role of brain metastases (BM) and overall survival (OS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by performing a meta-analysis of the RCTs (randomized controlled clinical trials) and non-RCTs (non-randomized controlled clinical trials) published in the literature. METHODS A meta-analysis was performed using trials identified through PubMed, EMBASE and Cochr...