Chronic non-specific widespread pain (CWP) including fibromyalgia (FMS) is characterized by widespread pain, reduced pain threshold, and multiple tender points on examination, causing disability and decreased quality of life. Vitamin D has been proposed as an associated factor in CWP. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the benefit of vitamin D supplementation in the management of CWP. A comprehensive search of the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and Embase databases was performed from inception through January 2017. The inclusion criterion was the randomized clinical trials' evaluating the effects of vitamin D treatment in adult subjects with CWP or FMS. CWP was defined as chronic recurrent musculoskeletal pain without secondary causes; FMS patients met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for FMS. Study outcome was assessed using visual analog scale (VAS) of pain intensity. Pooled mean difference (MD) of VAS and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effect meta-analysis. Meta-regression analysis using a random-effects model was performed to explore the effects of change in vitamin D in the treatment group on difference in the mean of VAS. Sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the robustness of results. The between-study heterogeneity of effect size was quantified using the Q statistic and I . Data were extracted from four randomized controlled trials involving 287 subjects. Pooled result demonstrated a significantly lower VAS in CWP patients who received vitamin D treatment compared with those who received placebo (MD = 0.46; 95% CI 0.09-0.89, I = 48%). Meta-regression analysis revealed no significant relationship between the changes of vitamin D and VAS (coefficient = 0.04 (95% CI -0.01 to 0.08), p = 0.10). In this meta-analysis, we conclude that vitamin D supplementation is able to decrease pain scores and improve pain despite no significant change in VAS after increasing serum vitamin D level. Further studies need to be conducted in order to explore the improvement of functional status, quality of life, and the pathophysiological change that improves chronic widespread pain.

Aim: Many randomized controlled trials have been performed on the efficacy and mechanism of action of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on psoriasis. However, contradictory results have been obtained. This study wants to assess the effects of n-3 PUFAs on the severity of psoriasis. Methods:The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for all randomized controlled trials and prospective observational studies comparing the efficacy of n-3 PUFAs versus control in adult patients with psoriasis. The primary outcome was psoriasis severity as measured by the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score. Results:The initial search yielded 732 articles, 720 of which were excluded. The data of the 12 remaining studies were extracted. Some studies found that n-3 PUFAs were associated with improvements in the PASI score, erythema, scaling, itching, area involved and infiltration. However, some studies did not find reduction in scaling, erythema, area involved or thickness in the treatment group. Conclusion:It is still inconclusive whether use of n-3 PUFAs in patients with psoriasis is associated with improvements in severity of psoriasis and other outcomes.

In rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, cardiovascular disease is frequently one of the leading causes of mortality or morbidity. Studies have shown that acute systemic inflammation and chronic systemic vasculitis are associated with endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic plaque formation, subsequently leading to cardiovascular disease. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the association of subclinical atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness in primary Sjogren's syndrome. A comprehensive search of the MEDLINE and Embase databases was performed from date of inception through August 2017. The inclusion criterion was observational studies evaluating the association between primary Sjogren's syndrome, subclinical atherosclerosis, and arterial stiffness by measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV) and intima-media thickness (IMT). Definitions of PSS and methods to assess PWV and IMT were recorded for each study. Different locations of IMT were evaluated including common carotid, internal carotid, and femoral arteries. The pooled mean difference (MD) of PWV and IMT and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effect meta-analysis. The between-study heterogeneity of effect size was quantified using the Q statistic and I. Data were extracted from eight observational studies involving 767 subjects. Pooled result demonstrated a significant increase in PWV in patients who have PSS compared with controls (MD = 1.30 m/s; 95% CI 0.48-2.12; p value = 0.002; I = 85%). Patients with PSS also have higher IMT (MD = 0.08 mm; 95% CI 0.04-0.11; p value < 0.01; I = 72%). Our study suggests that PSS is associated with arterial stiffness and subclinical atherosclerosis. Further studies need to be conducted to find the correlation of subclinical atherosclerosis in PSS with the cardiovascular event, the pathophysiological changes of arterial stiffness in PSS, and the benefit of statins, because controlling cardiovascular risk factors or disease activity could potentially help avoid progression of atherosclerosis to overt cardiovascular disease.