BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Folic acid supplementation has been suggested to reduce the risk of preeclampsia. However, results from few epidemiologic studies have been inconclusive. We investigated the hypothesis that folic acid supplementation and dietary folate intake before conception and during pregnancy reduce the risk of preeclampsia. SUBJECTS/METHODS A birth cohort study was conducted in 2010–2012 at the Gansu Provincial Maternity & Child Care Hospital in Lanzhou, China. A total of 10 041 pregnant women without chronic hypertension or gestational hypertension were enrolled. RESULTS Compared with nonusers, folic acid supplement users had a reduced risk of preeclampsia (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43–0.87). A significant dose–response of duration of use was observed among women who used folic acid supplemention during pregnancy only (P-trend = 0.007). The reduced risk associated with folic acid supplement was similar for mild or severe preeclampsia and for early- or late-onset preeclampsia, although the statistical significant associations were only observed for mild (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.30–0.81) and late-onset (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.42–0.86) preeclampsia. The reduced risk associated with dietary folate intake during pregnancy was only seen for severe preeclampsia (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.31–0.87, for the highest quartile of dietary folate intake compared with the lowest). CONCLUSIONS Our study results suggest that folic acid supplementation and higher dietary folate intake during pregnancy reduce the risk of preeclampsia. Future studies are needed to confirm the associations.
Octogenarians are more often viewed as high-risk surgical candidates. This increased risk is attributed to an age-related decline in physical function and reserve capacity coupled with the presence of various underlying diseases. There are no current guidelines or consensus on the optimal treatment strategy for this cohort of complex patients. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic colorectal resection versus open colorectal resection in octogenarians. The meta-analysis was conducted following all aspects of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. A systematic literature review was carried out using the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and OVID. Only studies comparing outcome of laparoscopic and open colorectal resections in the elderly population (≥80 years) were selected. The data collected included the patient demographics, interventions, observed outcome and sources of bias. When performing the statistical analysis, we used the odds ratio for categorical variables and the weighted mean difference for continuous variables. The results of this systematic review and pooled analysis demonstrated the safety and potential benefits of laparoscopic colorectal resection in octogenarians. LC can reduce the length of hospital stay, intraoperative blood loss, time to return of normal bowel function, and incidence of postoperative pneumonia, wound infection, and postoperative ileus.
Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and local excision (LE) are minimally invasive procedures that can be used to treat early rectal cancer. There are no current guidelines or consensus on the optimal treatment strategy for these lesions. A systematic review was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of ESD and LE. A meta-analysis was conducted following all aspects of the Cochrane Handbook for systematic reviews and preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. To perform the statistical analysis, the odds ratio (OR) was used for categorical variables and the weighted mean difference (WMD) for continuous variables. Four studies, involving a total of 307 patients, were identified. The length of hospital stay was longer in the group of patients undergoing LE [weighted mean difference (WMD) -1.94; 95% CI -2.85 to -1.02; p < 0.0001]. The combined results of the individual studies showed no significant differences as regards en-bloc resection rate (OR 0.82; 95% CI 0.25-2.70; p = 0.74), R0 resection rate (OR 1.53; 95% CI 0.62-3.73; p = 0.35), overall complication rate (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.26-1.69; p = 0.40), and tumor size (WMD 0.57; 95% CI -3.64 to 4.78; p = 0.79) between ESD and LE. When adopting the fixed effect model which takes into account the study size, ESD was associated with a lower recurrence rate than LE (OR 0.15; 95% CI 0.03-0.87; p = 0.03), while with the random-effect model the difference was not significant (OR 0.18; 95% CI 0.02-2.04; p = 0.17). Over the last decade improvements in technology have improved the technical feasibility of rectal ESD. In specialized centers with highly experienced endoscopists, ESD can provide high-quality en-bloc excision of rectal neoplasms equivalent to traditional local excision.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.