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Objective: To review the literature on strategies implemented or identified to prevent or reduce gender bias in peer review of research grants. Methods: Studies of any type of qualitative or quantitative design examining interventions to reduce or prevent gender bias during the peer review of health-related research grants were included. Electronic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), PsycINFO, Joanna Briggs, the Cochrane Library, Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) Reviews, and the Campbell Library were searched from 2005 to April 2016. A search for grey (i.e., difficult to locate or unpublished) literature was conducted and experts in the field were consulted to identify additional potentially relevant articles. Two individuals screened titles and abstracts, full-text articles, and abstracted data with discrepancies resolved by a third person consistently. Results: After screening 5524 citations and 170 full-text articles, one article evaluating gender-blinding of grant applications using an uncontrolled before-after study design was included. In this study, 891 applications for long-term fellowships in 2006 were included and 47% of the applicants were women. These were scored by 13 peer reviewers (38% were women). The intervention included eliminating references to gender from the applications, letters of recommendations, and interview reports that were sent to the committee members for evaluation. The proportion of successful applications led by women did not change with gender-blinding, although the number of successful applications that were led by men increased slightly. Conclusions: There is limited research on interventions to mitigate gender bias in the peer review of grants. Only one study was identified and no difference in the proportion of women who were successful in receiving grant funding was observed. Our results suggest that interventions to prevent gender bias should be adapted and tested in the context of grant peer review to determine if they will have an impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a rare but important cause of ovarian hormone deficiency and infertility in women. In addition to causing infertility, POI is associated with multiple health risks, including bothersome menopausal symptoms, decreased bone density and increased risk of fractures, early progression of cardiovascular disease, psychologic impact that may include depression, anxiety, and decreased perceived psychosocial support, potential early decline in cognition, and dry eye syndrome. Appropriate hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to replace premenopausal levels of ovarian sex steroids is paramount to increasing quality of life for women with POI and ameliorating associated health risks. In this review, we discuss POI and complications associated with this disorder, as well as safe and effective HRT options. To decrease morbidity associated with POI, we recommend using HRT formulations that most closely mimic normal ovarian hormone production and continuing HRT until the normal age of natural menopause, ∼50 years. We address special populations of women with POI, including women with Turner syndrome, women with increased risk of breast or ovarian cancer, women approaching the age of natural menopause, and breastfeeding women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We completed a scoping review on the barriers and facilitators to use of systematic reviews by health care managers and policy makers, including consideration of format and content, to develop recommendations for systematic review authors and to inform research efforts to develop and test formats for systematic reviews that may optimise their uptake.Methods: We used the Arksey and O'Malley approach for our scoping review. Electronic databases (e.g., MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo) were searched from inception until September 2014. Any study that identified barriers or facilitators (including format and content features) to uptake of systematic reviews by health care managers and policy makers/analysts was eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers independently screened the literature results and abstracted data from the relevant studies. The identified barriers and facilitators were charted using a barriers and facilitators taxonomy for implementing clinical practice guidelines by clinicians.Results: We identified useful information for authors of systematic reviews to inform their preparation of reviews including providing one-page summaries with key messages, tailored to the relevant audience. Moreover, partnerships between researchers and policy makers/managers to facilitate the conduct and use of systematic reviews should be considered to enhance relevance of reviews and thereby influence uptake.Conclusions: Systematic review authors can consider our results when publishing their systematic reviews. These strategies should be rigorously evaluated to determine impact on use of reviews in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To systematically review health economic guidelines for information on how to present health economic evaluations and consider implications for nontechnical audiences such as policymakers.Methods: Electronic databases and supplementary sources were searched for economic evaluation guidelines. Guidelines were critically appraised. Descriptive characteristics, standard formats, supports for nontechnical audiences, presentation approaches, and common reporting recommendations were extracted. Frequencies were tabulated and trends identified.Results: Thirty-one guidelines were included. Twenty-two guidelines include a standard reporting format with some sample tables and graphs. Common presentation approaches include well-cited tables of data sources, transparent model diagrams and descriptions, disaggregated results, and tabular and graphical displays of sensitivity analyses. Despite most guidelines being funded by policymakers, only five guidelines provided advice on presenting economic evaluations to noneconomists. However, 11 guidelines included a glossary of economic terminology for nontechnical readers. Common concepts that may require further explanation include differences in economic perspectives, appropriateness of time horizons, how economic outcomes such as quality-adjusted life-years relate to their component clinical outcomes, and choice of sensitivity analyses.Conclusions: Health economists have consistent presentation formats and common reporting elements that should be considered when developing user-friendly explanations for general audiences. These overlap with policymakers' informational needs but may not be sufficient for understanding by nontechnical audiences. Developing presentation formats and tools that incorporate viewpoints of both economists and noneconomists will allow for better application of the results of economic evaluations and enhance the transparency and legitimacy of decision-making processes that are informed by economic evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study objective was to determine if mutations in mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma (POLG) are associated with spontaneous 46,XX primary ovarian insufficiency (sPOI) using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of genomic DNA. Of 201 women with 46,XX sPOI analyzed, we found only one case (0.5%, 95% confidence interval 0-3%) of heterozygosity for a POLG mutation, suggesting that this is not a common genetic etiology for this form of infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Higher physical activity (PA) has been associated with greater attenuation of body fat gain and preservation of lean mass across the lifespan. These analyses aimed to determine relationships of change in PA to changes in fat and lean body mass in a longitudinal prospective study of postmenopausal women. Methods: Among 11,491 women enrolled at three Women's Health Initiative clinical centers who were selected to undergo dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, 8352 had baseline body composition measurements, with at least one repeated measure at years 1, 3, and 6. PA data were obtained by self-report at baseline and 3 and 6 yr of follow-up. Time-varying PA effect on change in lean and fat mass during the 6-yr study period for age groups (50-59 yr, 60-69 yr, and 70-79 yr) was estimated using mixed effects linear regression. Results: Baseline PA and body composition differed significantly among the three age groups. The association of change in fat mass from baseline and time-varying PA differed across the three age groups (P = 0.0006). In women age 50-59 yr, gain in fat mass from baseline was attenuated with higher levels of PA. Women age 70-79 yr lost fat mass at all PA levels. In contrast, change in lean mass from baseline and time-varying PA did not differ by age group (P = 0.1935). Conclusions: The association between PA and change in fet mass varies by age group, with younger, but not older, women benefiting from higher levels of aerobic PA. Higher levels of aerobic activity are not associated with changes in lean mass, which tends to decrease in older women regardless of activity level. Greater attention to resistance training exercises mav be needed to prevent lean mass loss as women age [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]