Background: Consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) plays a potential role in the development of obesity and other diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), but no studies have systematically focused on this. This study aimed to summarize the evidence for the association between UPFs consumption and health outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science to identify all relevant studies. Epidemiological studies were included, and identified studies were evaluated for risk of bias.A narrative review of the synthesized findings was provided to assess the association between UPFs consumption and health outcomes. Results: 20 studies (12 cohort and 8 cross-sectional studies) were included in the analysis, with a total of 334,114 participants and 10 health outcomes. In a narrative review, high UPFs consumption was obviously associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, overall cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, overweight and obesity, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, overall cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, gestational obesity, adolescent asthma and wheezing, and frailty. It showed no significant association with cardiovascular disease mortality, prostate and colorectal cancers, gestational diabetes mellitus and gestational overweight. Conclusions: This study indicated a positive association between UPFs consumption and risk of several health outcomes. Large-scale prospective designed studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Background At present, novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a serious global public health problem. The current meta-analysis aimed to find risk factors for the COVID-19-related death, helping to enhance the efficacy and reduce the mortality of COVID-19. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, medRxiv, and Cochrane Library for articles published between January 1, 2020, and April 13, 2020. We statistically analyzed the risk factors of the COVID-19 deceased with meta-analysis. Results A total of 2401 patients in 15 articles were included in this study. Meta-analysis showed that 66.6% of COVID-19 deceased were male, with a median age of 69.9 years. Common symptoms of deceased included fever (70.6-100%), dyspnea (38.89-85.7%), cough (22.4-78%), and fatigue (22-61.9%). The incidence of hypertension, chronic cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic cerebrovascular disease among the COVID-19 deceased were 38.56% (95% confidence interval (CI) 25.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the advanced stage of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is emerging as a leading cause of progressive liver fibrosis and end-stage liver disease. Liver macrophages, mainly composed of Kupffer cells (KCs) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MoMFs), play a vital role in NASH progression and regression. Recent advances suggest that cell-cell communication is a fundamental feature of hepatic microenvironment. The reprogramming of cell-cell signaling between macrophages and surrounding cells contributes to the pathogenesis of NASH. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of NASH regarding the composition of liver macrophages and their communication with surrounding cells, which are composed of hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) and other immune cells. We also discuss the potential therapeutic strategies based on the level of macrophages.

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