Search

This article discusses a systematic review conducted by Van der Schoot et al on the effect of food, drinks, and diets on symptoms of chronic constipation. The review included 17 randomized clinical trials and 6 uncontrolled studies. The findings suggest that fruits, especially kiwifruit, and rye bread may be helpful for some symptoms of constipation. However, the available information was limited and the risk of bias in the trials was high. The article also discusses the use of the PICO (participants, intervention, comparators, outcomes, study design) process in conducting systematic reviews and highlights the need for more research in this area. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses a study conducted in Peru that aimed to assess the effectiveness of replacing sodium chloride with a salt substitute in reducing blood pressure and the incidence of hypertension in a community-wide setting. The study utilized a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial design, where the intervention was introduced in a phased manner across different villages. The results showed that the salt substitute was associated with a modest reduction in blood pressure and a lower incidence of hypertension, particularly among individuals with hypertension at baseline. The study suggests that this intervention could be implemented on a population-wide basis. However, it is important to note that the study design used does not provide the same level of evidence as a randomized controlled trial. [Extracted from the article]

A study published in the JPEN Journal of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition examined the effectiveness of individualized nutritional support (INS) compared to usual care in malnourished medical inpatients. The study found that INS significantly reduced adverse events, including mortality and loss of functional capacity, in the first 30 days. A secondary analysis of the study focused on the predictive value of low serum prealbumin levels, but found that it did not identify patients who would respond to INS. The authors called for further research to identify better nutrition markers for personalized interventions. The article also discusses the importance of prespecified outcomes in research studies and the potential pitfalls of data dredging. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses a study that examines the relationship between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM). The study used a large national database to identify patients with IBD who also had PCM and assessed their use of parenteral nutrition (PN) or enteral nutrition (EN). The study found that PCM is more common in hospitalized patients with IBD and has clinical and financial consequences. The use of nutrition support, such as PN or EN, was associated with a decreased risk of readmission, but higher mortality rates. However, the study has limitations, and more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of nutrition support in patients with IBD and PCM. [Extracted from the article]

A study published in the JPEN Journal of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition examined the effects of vitamin D supplementation on falls in elderly adults. The study, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, randomized community-dwelling adults aged ≥70 years who were at risk of falling to receive either high-dose vitamin D or a control dose. The trial used response-adaptive randomization (RAR) to assign participants to different doses based on their likelihood of being the most effective. The results showed that there was no improvement in falling propensity with higher doses of vitamin D compared to the control dose. The study also highlighted some limitations, including the lack of a true placebo in the control group and the inclusion of participants already taking supplemental vitamin D. The author of the article also discussed the concept of RAR and its advantages and disadvantages. [Extracted from the article]

Asssociation versus causation, Chemotherapy, Confidence interval, Confounding, Gastroesophageal cancer, Hazard ratio, Prognosis, Ramucirumab, Statistical adjustmen, Weight loss Mansoor and his colleagues wondered whether early weight loss during the first course of chemotherapy for advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (G/GEA) had particular prognostic information and noted that, if it did, there might be an opportunity to alter the disease course with some type of intervention. Although such patients have worse inflammatory disease than do rheumatoid arthritis patients without anemia, transfusing them does not make the arthritis better. For example, another plausible hypothesis is that more severe disease produces a worse outcome and, along the way, the patient loses more weight; the weight loss is simply an unrelated epiphenomenon that had no effect on the outcome. [Extracted from the article]

Supplementing dietary fibers with a low FODMAP diet in irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized controlled crossover trial. Blinding, confounding, fiber, irritable bowel syndrome, order effect, randomized crossover trial, resistant starch, sugarcane bagasse, washout period, low FODMAP diet Keywords: blinding; confounding; fiber; irritable bowel syndrome; low FODMAP diet; order effect; randomized crossover trial; resistant starch; sugarcane bagasse; washout period EN blinding confounding fiber irritable bowel syndrome low FODMAP diet order effect randomized crossover trial resistant starch sugarcane bagasse washout period 947 949 3 09/08/23 20230901 NES 230901 A diet that is low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) has become a primary intervention for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). One of the three was only the low-FODMAP diet (control diet), one also contained 10 g/day of fiber from sugarcane bagasse (sugarcane diet), and one contained 12 g of resistant starch (RS) as well as 10 g of sugarcane (combination diet). [Extracted from the article]

Whyte et al. concluded that blueberries did, at least over the short term, improve cognition in middle-aged healthy adults, especially for demanding tasks and/or when fatigue is becoming a problem. For the primary analyses, the fixed factors used included the beverage, the order of the beverage challenges, the time after the beverage was consumed, and a time/beverage interaction. When Whyte et al compared beverage and type of cue in this task, they concluded that the study beverage was better for the more cognitively challenging cues. The study beverage consisted of 25 g of freeze-dried whole blueberry powder that had been mixed with water, frozen concentrated lemonade and Kool-Aid, and the placebo was a similar beverage without the blueberry powder. [Extracted from the article]

Sohouli and colleagues concluded that EEN can provide important beneficial effects on CD activity, inflammatory markers, and growth factors. 8 Werkstetter KJ, Schatz SB, Alberer M, Filipiak-Pittroff B, Koletzko S. Influence of exclusive enteral nutrition therapy on bone density and geometry in newly diagnosed pediatric Crohn's disease patients. It has been touted as an effective therapy for active Crohn's disease (CD), particularly in children, perhaps because potential antigens in food have been removed.[1] To assess the effects of EEN, Sohouli and five Iranian colleagues undertook a systematic review. Keywords: control groups; Crohn's disease; exclusive enteral nutrition; gastroenterology; heterogeneity; measurements; pediatrics; regression to the mean; risk of bias; systematic review EN control groups Crohn's disease exclusive enteral nutrition gastroenterology heterogeneity measurements pediatrics regression to the mean risk of bias systematic review 686 688 3 07/07/23 20230701 NES 230701 Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is an intervention in which patients do not eat solid food but only consume liquid diets (usually commercial formulations) for a number of weeks. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a response to a letter to the editor regarding an article in the JPEN Journal of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition. The author thanks Dr. Schuetz for clarifying some issues raised in their previous article and acknowledges that there was a plan to measure serum prealbumin levels in the trial. The article discusses the danger of data dredging and the importance of pre-specifying what will be analyzed to avoid chance findings. The author also considers the value of measuring serum prealbumin levels for selecting patients for nutrition interventions and suggests that the efficacy of nutrition interventions may depend on the underlying causes of poor nutrition status. The author declares no conflicts of interest. [Extracted from the article]

De Niet et al concluded, as stated in their abstract, that "the clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization was improved by administration of vitamin D." Treatment with 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (calcifediol) is associated with a reduction in the blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio marker of disease severity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a pilot multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial. Positive effects of vitamin D supplementation in patients hospitalized for COVID-19: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eligible patients were adults admitted to one academic hospital in Liege, Belgium, with COVID-19 infections and low serum levels of vitamin D, defined as a serum calcifediol concentration <=20 ng/ml as determined by a commercially available rapid assay. [Extracted from the article]