Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability for adult men and women worldwide, and a number of studies have explored the influences of smoking on stroke. However, few studies have discussed the relationship between stroke and smoking with consideration of the following factors: sex, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, stroke subtype, and the follow-up duration. Consequently, we aimed to extend previous work by using a systematic review to explore the relationship between stroke and cigarette smoking in reference to the above factors. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register databases and the following search criteria: [“stroke” (MeSH) and “smoking” (MeSH)]. All analyses were conducted with Stata, and funnel plots and Egger regression asymmetry tests were used to assess publication bias. Results: The meta-analysis included 14 studies involving 303134 subjects. According to the meta-analysis, smokers had an overall increased risk of stroke compared with nonsmokers, with a pooled odds ratio (OR) of 1.61 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34–1.93, P < .001). A subgroup analysis conducted based on smoking status revealed ORs of 1.92 (95% CI: 1.49–2.48) for current smokers and 1.30 (95% CI: 0.93–1.81) for former smokers. In addition, the relationship between stroke of any type and smoking status was also statistically significant; current smokers had an increased risk of stoke compared with nonsmokers (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.04–2.07, P < .001), which was influenced by sex (men: OR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.11–2.13, P = .002; women: OR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.45–2.44, P < .023). From the analysis, we also observed that passive smoking increased the overall risk of stroke by 45% (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.0–2.11, P < .05). Based on the dose-response meta-analysis, the risk of stroke increased by 12% for each increment of 5 cigarettes per day.

Background:Several epidemiological studies had been carried out in different population cohorts to estimate the relationship between the shortened telomere length and stroke. However, the results still remained dispute. Consequently, we conducted this meta-analysis to estimate the relationship between them.Methods:PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were systematically searched for related articles to evaluate the association between “stroke” and “telomere length. STATA 12.0 software was used to perform the meta-analysis. The Cochran Q test and inconsistency index (I2) were used to assess the heterogeneity. Begg funnel plot and Egger test were used to assess publication bias.Results:The meta-analysis was composed of 11 studies, consisting of 25,340 participants. We found a significant relationship between shortened telomere length and stroke (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.13–2.0; P = .005); however, in the prospective and retrospective study subgroup, we did not find a statistical significant relationship between shortened telomere length and stroke (the prospective subgroup: OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1–1.98; P = .051) (the retrospective subgroup: OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 0.96–3.72; P = .067).

Background: Several epidemiological articles have reported the correlations between anti-osteoporosis medication and the risks of fractures in male and female subjects, but the specific efficacy of anti-osteoporosis medication for male subjects remains largely unexplored. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between anti-osteoporosis medication and the risk of fracture in relation to low bone mass [including outcomes of osteoporosis, fracture, and bone mineral density (BMD) loss] in male subjects analyzed in studies within the updated literature. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that analyzed the effectiveness of a treating prescription for male subjects with osteoporosis (or low BMD) and that focused on the outcomes of fracture were included. Relevant studies from Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Chinese database of CNKI were retrieved from inception to January 30th, 2019. Two staff members carried out the eligibility assessment and data extraction. The discrepancies were settled by consultation with another researcher. We calculated the pooled relative risks (RRs) based on 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Twenty-seven documents (28 studies) with 5,678 subjects were identified. For the category of bisphosphonates, significant results were observed in pooled analyses for decreased risk of the vertebral fracture domain (RR, 0.44 [95% CI, 0.31–0.62]), nonvertebral fracture domain (RR, 0.63 [95% CI, 0.46–0.87]), and clinical fracture domain (RR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.48–0.72]) compared with those of controls. Participants with bisphosphonates had a 56% (95% CI = 38–69%) lower risk of vertebral fractures, 37% (95% CI = 13–54%) lower risk of nonvertebral fractures, and 41% (95% CI = 28–52%) lower risk of clinical fractures. Furthermore, meta-analyses also demonstrated a decreased risk of the vertebral fracture domain via treatment with risedronate (RR, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.28–0.72]) and alendronate (RR, 0.41 [95% CI, 0.23–0.74]), but not with calcitriol, calcitonin, denosumab, ibandronate, monofluorophosphate, strontium ranelate, teriparatide, or zoledronic acid, compared with that of controls. Conclusions: This systematic review confirms that bisphosphonates were connected with a decreased risk of vertebral fractures, nonvertebral fractures, and clinical fractures for male subjects with osteoporosis. Future research is needed to further elucidate the role of nonbisphosphonates in treating fractures of osteoporosis subjects.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common disease in the elderly, which seriously reduces the quality of life of patients and increases the social burden. proximal fibula osteotomy (PFO) and high tibial osteotomy (HTO) are effective methods to treat KOA. However, it is not entirely clear which method has the advantage. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of HTO and PFO in the treatment of KOA. Methods: Randomized controlled trials from online databases including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Wanfang Data and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database that compared the efficacy of HTO and PFO in the treatment of KOA were retrieved. The main outcomes included hospital for special surgery (HSS) knee scores, knee society knee scoring system (KSS) score, visual analog scale (VAS) knee pain scores, western ontario and McMaster universities osteoarthritis index score, operation time, intraoperative bleeding volume, hospitalization time, complications. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess methodological quality. Results: The literature will provide a high-quality analysis of the current evidence supporting HTO for KOA based on various comprehensive assessments including HSS scores, KSS score, VAS scores, western Ontario and McMaster universities osteoarthritis index score, operation time, intraoperative bleeding volume, hospitalization time, and complications. Conclusion: This proposed systematic review will provide up-to-date evidence to assess the effect of HTO in the treatment for patients with KOA.

Background:Several studies have reported the benefits of traditional Chinese exercises (TCEs) on hypertension; however, a consensus regarding the effectiveness and safety of TCEs for patients with hypertension has not been reached.Methods and results:Only randomized controlled trials were included in our study. A total of 16 articles involving 1164 patients with hypertension met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that TCEs can reduce BP, blood lipids (including total cholesterol and triglyceride levels) and endothelin levels and improves quality of life in hypertensive patients, however, the low-quality of the included studies made the results be of questionable significance.Conclusions:The results of this review suggest that there is no firm evidence to support the objective effectiveness and safety of TCEs for hypertension because of the poor quality of the studies. Well-designed, randomized placebo-controlled trial with objective outcome measures should be conducted in the future.