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Background:. Despite the acknowledgment of the importance of social determinants of health (SDOH) on clinical outcomes, few clinical trials provide information about SDOH. Including these markers in pediatric dermatologic clinical trials may lead to improved care and novel observations about the disease. Objective:. Using a systematic review, assess the use of SDOH in pediatric dermatology clinical trials. Methods:. CINAHL Plus, Cochrane: CENTRAL, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus were searched. English language randomized controlled trials about pediatric dermatology diseases published from January 2011 to May 2022 were included. Two authors independently screened all records using Covidence at 2 levels. Two authors independently collected data using Covidence and Microsoft Excel and assessed study quality. A protocol was registered at Open Science Framework: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/B93VY. Results:. A total of 6463 records were retrieved and 4298 were screened at title/abstract. Next, 1738 records were screened at full text and 1085 were included. Of these, 119 reported an SDOH factor for a pediatric dermatology disease. Income or socioeconomic status was the factor most reported followed by social support, location, and health insurance. Most of the studies were conducted outside of the United States. Limitations:. There are a limited number of dermatology clinical trials that include a pediatric population. Conclusion:. Despite including over 1000 pediatric dermatology clinical trials, only 119 used SDOH. Pediatric dermatology researchers must prioritize including and reporting additional SDOH in clinical trials if the goal is to impact and improve clinical care and innovate for diverse populations of patients.

Abstract Background Patient self-reporting of health-specific information, including symptoms, allows healthcare providers to provide more timely, personalized, and patient-centered care to meet their needs. It is critical to acknowledge that symptom reporting draws from the individual’s unique sociocultural background influencing how one perceives health and illness. This scoping review will explore whether racial groups with 4 chronic diseases (cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes) differ in self-reporting of psychoneurophysical (PNP) symptoms. The PNP symptoms of interest include depressive symptoms, fatigue, anxiety, pain, cognitive impairment, sleep impairment, mood impairment, irritability, and shortness of breath. Methods Four databases will be searched by a biomedical librarian: CINAHL Plus (EBSCOhost), Embase (Elsevier), PubMed (NLM), Web of Science: Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics), and limited to publications written in the English language. Two independent reviewers will screen the records’ title, abstract, and then full text and extract the data from included articles using Covidence. A third reviewer will be used for resolving disagreements. Included articles must comprise adult patients with at least one of the specified chronic diseases who self-report at least one of the specified PNP symptoms. Studies that used clinician-administered questionnaires or obtained symptom responses from primary caregiver or patient designee will be excluded. Articles on patient-reported functionality or perceived quality of life will also be excluded from the review. Two reviewers will independently extract data (e.g., demographics, study design, racial group, chronic disease, measure/scale used for self-report) from each included article using Covidence and Microsoft Excel for data cleaning and analyses. Discussion This scoping review may potentially identify the relevant and practical implications related to clinical decision-making and health outcomes for patients experiencing the psychoneurophysical symptoms included in this study. The authors will present how the results can be utilized in clinical practice, health policy, and research planning. Systematic review registration The protocol was registered on Open Science Framework (OSF) at: https://osf.io/ps7aw

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome with persistently high mortality. High-throughput proteomic technologies offer new opportunities to improve HF risk stratification, but their contribution remains to be clearly defined. We aimed to systematically review prognostic studies using high-throughput proteomics to identify protein signatures associated with HF mortality. Methods We searched four databases and two clinical trial registries for articles published from 2012 to 2023. HF proteomics studies measuring high numbers of proteins using aptamer or antibody-based affinity platforms on human plasma or serum with outcomes of all-cause or cardiovascular death were included. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. A third reviewer resolved conflicts. We assessed the risk of bias using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies—of Exposure tool. Results Out of 5131 unique articles identified, nine articles were included in the review. The nine studies were observational; three used the aptamer platform, and six used the antibody platform. We found considerable heterogeneity across studies in measurement panels, HF definitions, ejection fraction categorization, follow-up duration, and outcome definitions, and a lack of risk estimates for most protein associations. Hence, we proceeded with a systematic review rather than a meta-analysis. In two comparable aptamer studies in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction, 21 proteins were identified in common for the association with all-cause death. Among these, one protein, WAP four-disulfide core domain protein 2 was also reported in an antibody study on HFrEF and for the association with CV death. We proposed standardized reporting criteria to facilitate the interpretation of future studies. Conclusions In this systematic review of nine studies evaluating the association of proteomics with mortality in HF, we identified a limited number of proteins common across several studies. Heterogeneity across studies compromised drawing broad inferences, underscoring the importance of standardized approaches to reporting.

During recent decades, allergy related diseases have emerged as a growing area of concern in developing regions of the world, including Africa. Worldwide prevalence of allergic diseases has grown to an estimated 262 million for asthma, 400 million for allergic rhinitis (or hay fever), 171 million with atopic dermatitis (or eczema), and over 200 million for food allergy. In Africa, considerable variability exists in the data surrounding prevalence at the continent-wide, regional, and study site levels. Furthermore, research conducted in many rural areas and underdeveloped countries in Africa remains limited, and presently, little has been done to characterize and map the extremely heterogeneous body of literature which confounds research efforts. This scoping review will seek to identify studies examining the prevalence, management strategies, outcomes, and associated risk factors for allergy related diseases in Africa. The Joanna Briggs Institute's scoping review methods will be followed, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) was used for writing the protocol. Four databases (Embase, Global Health, PubMed, African Journals Online) will be searched for literature published from 2003 to 2023 in any language. Title and abstract screening and full-text screening will be completed by two independent reviewers using Covidence; conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be extracted using Covidence by two reviewers independently. To report the results, we will follow the PRISMA-ScR checklist and report descriptive statistics and a narrative summary.

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic effects on worldwide mental health and laid bare health disparities and inequities among marginalised groups and racial/ethnic minoritised communities in the USA. This is especially the case among Hispanic/Latino/a immigrants who face numerous structural and socioeconomic barriers to well-being. The increased mental health burden on Hispanic/Latino/a immigrants may have far reaching effects if left unaddressed. Thus, by understanding further Hispanic/Latino/a immigrant mental health during the pandemic, communities and health providers may be able to better address this growing issue. This scoping review aims to assess and outline the current literature on the pandemic’s effects on Hispanic/Latino/a immigrant mental health in the USA, identify research gaps and areas of urgent concern, and inform future research and public health interventions and guidelines.Methods and analysis A scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology will be conducted. The PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science: Core Collection databases and five grey literature sources will be searched for articles published in English from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. Two independent reviewers will screen the search results at title and abstract and then full text using Covidence with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. Data collection will also be performed in duplicate using Microsoft Excel with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer and consensus discussion.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval is not required for this scoping review. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal as well as presented at local and national conferences and meetings relevant to our field. Furthermore, to make our findings accessible to non-scientific audiences, we will use various mediums, such as graphical abstracts, policy briefs and fact sheets to share the results in both English and Spanish on different platforms.

Abstract Objective This scoping review describes the relationship between tooth retention, health, and quality of life in older adults. Methods Seven databases were searched for English language articles for subjects ≥ 65 y from 1981 to 2021. Exposure was tooth retention (≥ 20), and outcomes were general/systemic health and quality of life. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. Results 140 articles were included, only four were randomized trials. Inter-rater agreement (κ) regarding study inclusion was 0.924. Most were assessed with low risk of bias (n = 103) and of good quality (n = 96). Most studies were conducted in Japan (n = 60) and Europe (n = 51) and only nine in the US. Tooth retention was referred to as “functional dentition” in 132 studies and “shortened dental arch” in 19 studies. Study outcomes were broadly synthesized as (1) cognitive decline/functional dependence, (2) health status/chronic diseases, (3) nutrition, and (4) quality of life. Discussion There is a positive relationship between tooth retention, overall health, and quality of life. Older adults retaining ≥ 20 teeth are less likely to experience poorer health. Having

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by cells throughout the body have been implicated in diabetes pathogenesis. Understanding the role of EVs in regulation of β-cell function and viability may provide insights into diabetes etiology and may lead to the development of more effective screening and diagnostic tools to detect diabetes earlier and prevent disease progression. This review was conducted to determine what is known from the literature about the effect of EV crosstalk on pancreatic β-cell function and viability in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, to perform a gap analysis for future research directions, and to discuss implications of available evidence for diabetes care. The literature search yielded 380 studies from which 31 studies were determined to meet eligibility criteria. The majority of studies had the disease context of autoimmunity in T1DM. The most commonly studied EV crosstalk dynamics involved localized EV-mediated communication between β-cells and other islet cells, or between β-cells and immune cells. Other organs and tissues secreting EVs that affect β-cells include skeletal muscle, hepatocytes, adipocytes, immune cells, bone marrow, vascular endothelium, and mesenchymal stem cells. Characterization of EV cargo molecules with regulatory effects in β-cells was conducted in 24 studies, with primary focus on microRNA cargo. Gaps identified included scarcity of evidence for the effect on β-cell function and viability of EVs from major metabolic organs/tissues such as muscle, liver, and adipose depots. Future research should address these gaps as well as characterize a broader range of EV cargo molecules and their activity in β-cells.

ObjectiveIn Peru, the past three decades have witnessed impressive growth in biomedical research catalyzed from a single research university and its investigators who secured international partnerships and funding. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of publications by Peruvian authors to understand the roots of this growth and the spread of research networks within the country.MethodsFor 1997-2016, publications from Web of Science with at least one author affiliated with a Peruvian institution were examined by year, author affiliations, funding agencies, co-authorship linkages, and research topics.ResultsFrom 1997-2016, the annual number of publications from Peru increased 9-fold from 75 to 672 totaling 6032. Of these, 56% of the articles had co-authors from the US, 13% from the UK, 12% from Brazil, and 10% from Spain. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) was clearly the lead research institution noted on one-third of publications. Of the 20 most published authors, 15 were Peruvians, 14 trained at some point at UPCH, and 13 received advanced training abroad. Plotting co-authorships documented the growth of institutional collaborations, the robust links between investigators and some lineages of mentorship.ConclusionsThis analysis suggests that international training of Peruvian physician-scientists who built and sustained longstanding international partnerships with funding accelerated quality research on diseases of local importance. The role of a single research university, UPCH, was critical to advance a culture of biomedical research. Increased funding from the Peruvian Government and its Council for Science, Technology and Innovation will be needed to sustain this growth in the future. Middle-income countries might consider the Peruvian experience where long-term research and training partnerships yielded impressive advances to address key health priorities of the country.

A number of publishers and funders, including PLOS, have recently adopted policies requiring researchers to share the data underlying their results and publications. Such policies help increase the reproducibility of the published literature, as well as make a larger body of data available for reuse and re-analysis. In this study, we evaluate the extent to which authors have complied with this policy by analyzing Data Availability Statements from 47,593 papers published in PLOS ONE between March 2014 (when the policy went into effect) and May 2016. Our analysis shows that compliance with the policy has increased, with a significant decline over time in papers that did not include a Data Availability Statement. However, only about 20% of statements indicate that data are deposited in a repository, which the PLOS policy states is the preferred method. More commonly, authors state that their data are in the paper itself or in the supplemental information, though it is unclear whether these data meet the level of sharing required in the PLOS policy. These findings suggest that additional review of Data Availability Statements or more stringent policies may be needed to increase data sharing.