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We conducted an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) summarizing the best evidence regarding the effect of COVID-19 on maternal and child health following Cochrane methods and PRISMA statement for reporting (PROSPERO-CRD42020208783). We searched literature databases and COVID-19 research websites from January to October 2020. We selected relevant SRs reporting adequate search strategy, data synthesis, risk of bias assessment, and/or individual description of included studies describing COVID-19 and pregnancy outcomes. Pair of reviewers independently selected studies through COVIDENCE web-software, performed the data extraction, and assessed its quality through the AMSTAR-2 tool. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Each SR's results were synthesized and for the most recent, relevant, comprehensive, and with the highest quality, by predefined criteria, we presented GRADE evidence tables. We included 66 SRs of observational studies out of 608 references retrieved and most (61/66) had \"critically low\" overall quality. We found a relatively low degree of primary study overlap across SRs. The most frequent COVID-19 clinical findings during pregnancy were fever (28-100%), mild respiratory symptoms (20-79%), raised C-reactive protein (28-96%), lymphopenia (34-80%), and pneumonia signs in diagnostic imaging (7-99%). The most frequent maternal outcomes were C-section (23-96%) and preterm delivery (14-64%). Most of their babies were asymptomatic (16-93%) or presented fever (0-50%), low birth weight (5-43%) or preterm delivery (2-69%). The odds ratio (OR) of receiving invasive ventilation for COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 pregnant women was 1.88 (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.36-2.60) and the OR that their babies were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit was 3.13 (95%CI 2.05-4.78). The risk of congenital transmission or via breast milk was estimated to be low, but close contacts may carry risks. This comprehensive overview supports that pregnant women with COVID-19 may be at increased risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes and low risk of congenital transmission.

Previous evidence linked low socioeconomic status with higher smoking prevalence. Our objective was to assess the strength of this association in the world population, updating a previous work. Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Subgroup analyses included continents, WHO regions, country mortality levels, gender, age, risk of bias, and study publication date. Independent reviewers selected studies, assessed potential bias and extracted data. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, SOCINDEX, AFRICAN INDEX MEDICUS, and LILACS, and other sources from 1989 to 2013 reporting direct measurements of income and current cigarette smoking. We retrieved 13,583 articles and included 93 for meta-analysis. Median smoking prevalence was 17.8% (range 3-70%). Lower income was consistently associated with higher smoking prevalence (odds ratio [OR]: 1.45; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.35-1.56). This association was statistically significant in the subgroup analysis by WHO regions for the Americas (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.42-1.68), South East Asia (OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.10-2.00), Europe (OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.29-1.63), and Western Pacific (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.02-1.72), and in studies conducted during 1990s (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.24-1.62) and 2000s (OR: 1.48; 95%CI: 1.30-1.64). Likewise, it was noted in low-mortality countries (OR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.37-1.60) and for both genders. Prevalence was highest in the lowest income levels compared to the middle (OR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.49-1.92), followed by the middle level compared to the highest (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.20-1.43). Our results show that current cigarette smoking was significantly associated with lower income worldwide and across subgroups, suggesting a dose-response relationship. This unique updated systematic review shows a consistent inverse dose-response relationship between cigarette smoking and income level, present among most geographical areas and country characteristics. Public health measures should take into account this potential inequity and consider special efforts directed to disadvantaged populations.

The reported rates of HER2 positivity in cervical cancer (CC) range from 0% to 87%. The importance of HER2 as an actionable target in CC would depend on HER2 positivity prevalence. Our aim was to provide precise estimates of HER2 overexpression and amplification in CC, globally and by relevant subgroups. We conducted a PRISMA compliant meta-analytic systematic review. We searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane database, and grey literature for articles reporting the proportion of HER2 positivity in CC. Studies assessing HER2 status by immunohistochemistry or in situ hybridization in invasive disease were eligible. We performed descriptive analyses of all 65 included studies. Out of these, we selected 26 studies that used standardized American Society of Clinical Oncology / College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) Guidelines compliant methodology. We conducted several meta-analyses of proportions to estimate the pooled prevalence of HER2 positivity and subgroup analyses using geographic region, histology, tumor stage, primary antibody brand, study size, and publication year as moderators. The estimated pooled prevalence of HER2 overexpression was 5.7% (CI 95%: 1.5% to 11.7%) I 2 = 87% in ASCO/CAP compliant studies and 27.0%, (CI 95%: 19.9% to 34.8%) I 2 = 96% in ASCO/CAP non-compliant ones, p < 0.001. The estimated pooled prevalence of HER2 amplification was 1.2% (CI 95%: 0.0% to 5.8%) I 2 = 0% and 24.9% (CI 95%: 12.6% to 39.6%) I 2 = 86%, respectively, p = 0.004. No other factor was significantly associated with HER2 positivity rates. Our results suggest that a small, but still meaningful proportion of CC is expected to be HER2-positive. High heterogeneity was the main limitation of the study. Variations in previously reported HER2 positivity rates are mainly related to methodological issues.

Antimicrobial resistance is a pressing global health concern, leading to 4.95 million deaths in 2019. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the lethality attributed to infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in Latin America and the Caribbean. A comprehensive search of major databases retrieved relevant studies from 2000–2022. We included 54 observational studies, primarily from Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. The most commonly studied organism was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The overall unadjusted case fatality rate related to MDROs was 45.0%; higher adjusted lethality was observed in persons infected with MDROs than in those infected with other pathogens (adjusted odds ratio 1.93, 95% CI 1.58–2.37). A higher lethality rate was seen in patients who did not receive appropriate empirical treatment (odds ratio 2.27, 95% CI 1.44–3.56). These findings underscore the increased lethality associated with antimicrobial resistance in Latin America and the Caribbean.

COVID-19 is rapidly spreading causing extensive burdens across the world. Effective vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are urgently needed. Our objective was to assess the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines through analyses of all currently available randomized clinical trials. We searched the databases CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and other sources from inception to June 17, 2021 for randomized clinical trials assessing vaccines for COVID-19. At least two independent reviewers screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risks of bias. We conducted meta-analyses, network meta-analyses, and Trial Sequential Analyses (TSA). Our primary outcomes included all-cause mortality, vaccine efficacy, and serious adverse events. We assessed the certainty of evidence with GRADE. We identified 46 trials; 35 trials randomizing 219 864 participants could be included in our analyses. Our meta-analyses showed that mRNA vaccines (efficacy, 95% [95% confidence interval (CI), 92% to 97%]; 71 514 participants; 3 trials; moderate certainty); inactivated vaccines (efficacy, 61% [95% CI, 52% to 68%]; 48 029 participants; 3 trials; moderate certainty); protein subunit vaccines (efficacy, 77% [95% CI, -5% to 95%]; 17 737 participants; 2 trials; low certainty); and viral vector vaccines (efficacy 68% [95% CI, 61% to 74%]; 71 401 participants; 5 trials; low certainty) prevented COVID-19. Viral vector vaccines decreased mortality (risk ratio, 0.25 [95% CI 0.09 to 0.67]; 67 563 participants; 3 trials, low certainty), but comparable data on inactivated, mRNA, and protein subunit vaccines were imprecise. None of the vaccines showed evidence of a difference on serious adverse events, but observational evidence suggested rare serious adverse events. All the vaccines increased the risk of non-serious adverse events. The evidence suggests that all the included vaccines are effective in preventing COVID-19. The mRNA vaccines seem most effective in preventing COVID-19, but viral vector vaccines seem most effective in reducing mortality. Further trials and longer follow-up are necessary to provide better insight into the safety profile of these vaccines.

•COVID-19 during pregnancy imposes a risk of severe disease and adverse birth outcomes.•Data about the safety of vaccination against COVID-19 for pregnant women is limited.•COVID-19 vaccination coverage among pregnant persons is suboptimal.•We found no safety concerns for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.•Our findings support authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant persons. Assessment of COVID-19 vaccines safety during pregnancy is urgently needed. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, including their components and technological platforms used in other vaccines during pregnancy and animal studies to complement direct evidence. We searched literature databases from its inception to September 2021 without language restriction, COVID-19 vaccine websites, and reference lists of other systematic reviews and the included studies. Pairs of reviewers independently selected, data extracted, and assessed the risk of bias of the studies. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. (PROSPERO CRD42021234185). We retrieved 8,837 records from the literature search; 71 studies were included, involving 17,719,495 pregnant persons and 389 pregnant animals. Most studies (94%) were conducted in high-income countries, were cohort studies (51%), and 15% were classified as high risk of bias. We identified nine COVID-19 vaccine studies, seven involving 309,164 pregnant persons, mostly exposed to mRNA vaccines. Among non-COVID-19 vaccines, the most frequent exposures were AS03 and aluminum-based adjuvants. A meta-analysis of studies that adjusted for potential confounders showed no association with adverse outcomes, regardless of the vaccine or the trimester of vaccination. Neither the reported rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes nor reactogenicity exceeded expected background rates, which was the case for ASO3- or aluminum-adjuvanted non-COVID-19 vaccines in the proportion meta-analyses of uncontrolled studies/arms. The only exception was postpartum hemorrhage after COVID-19 vaccination (10.40%; 95% CI: 6.49–15.10%), reported by two studies; however, the comparison with non-exposed pregnant persons, available for one study, found non-statistically significant differences (adjusted OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.56–2.12). Animal studies showed consistent results with studies in pregnant persons. We found no safety concerns for currently administered COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. Additional experimental and real-world evidence could enhance vaccination coverage. Robust safety data for non-mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are still needed.

Background Around 184,000 deaths per year could be attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumption worldwide. Epidemiological and decision models are important tools to estimate disease burden. The purpose of this study was to identify models to assess the burden of diseases attributable to SSBs consumption or the potential impact of health interventions. Methods We carried out a systematic review and literature search up to August 2018. Pairs of reviewers independently selected, extracted, and assessed the quality of the included studies through an exhaustive description of each model’s features. Discrepancies were solved by consensus. The inclusion criteria were epidemiological or decision models evaluating SSBs health interventions or policies, and descriptive SSBs studies of decision models. Studies published before 2003, cost of illness studies and economic evaluations based on individual patient data were excluded. Results We identified a total of 2766 references. Out of the 40 included studies, 45% were models specifically developed to address SSBs, 82.5% were conducted in high-income countries and 57.5% considered a health system perspective. The most common model’s outcomes were obesity/overweight (82.5%), diabetes (72.5%), cardiovascular disease (60%), mortality (52.5%), direct medical costs (57.35%), and healthy years -DALYs/QALYs- (40%) attributable to SSBs. 67.5% of the studies modelled the effect of SSBs on the outcomes either entirely through BMI or through BMI plus diabetes independently. Models were usually populated with inputs from national surveys -such us obesity prevalence, SSBs consumption-; and vital statistics (67.5%). Only 55% reported results by gender and 40% included children; 30% presented results by income level, and 25% by selected vulnerable groups. Most of the models evaluated at least one policy intervention to reduce SSBs consumption (92.5%), taxes being the most frequent strategy (75%). Conclusions There is a wide range of modelling approaches of different complexity and information requirements to evaluate the burden of disease attributable to SSBs. Most of them take into account the impact on obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, mortality, and economic impact. Incorporating these tools to different countries could result in useful information for decision makers and the general population to promote a deeper implementation of policies to reduce SSBs consumption. PROSPERO protocol number CRD42020121025 .

Background Globally, tobacco consumption continues to cause a huge burden of preventable diseases. Chile has been leading the tobacco burden ranking in the Latin American region for the last ten years; it has currently a 33. 3% prevalence of current smokers. Methods A microsimulation economic model was developed within the framework of a multi-country project in order to estimate the burden attributable to smoking in terms of morbidity, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and direct costs of care. We also modelled the impact of increasing cigarettes' taxes on this burden. Results In Chile, 16,472 deaths were attributable to smoking in 2017, which represent around 16% of all deaths. This burden corresponds to 416,445 DALYs per year. The country's health system spends 1.15 trillion pesos annually (in Dec 2017 CLP, approx. U$D 1.8 billion) in health care treatment of illnesses caused by smoking. If the price of tobacco cigarettes was to be raised by 50%, around 13,665 deaths and 360,476 DALYs from smoking-attributable diseases would be averted in 10 years, with subsequent savings on health care costs, and increased tax revenue collection. In Chile, the tobacco tax collection does not fully cover the direct healthcare costs attributed to smoking. Conclusion Despite a reduction observed on smoking prevalence between 2010 (40.6%) and 2017 (33.3%), this study shows that the burden of disease, and the economic toll due to smoking, remain high. As we demonstrate, a rise in the price of cigarettes could lead to a significant reduction of this burden, averting deaths and disability, and reducing healthcare spending.

Background Around 6% of total deaths are related to alcohol consumption worldwide. Mathematical models are important tools to estimate disease burden and to assess the cost-effectiveness of interventions to address this burden. Methods We carried out a systematic review on models, searching main health literature databases up to July 2017. Pairs of reviewers independently selected, extracted data and assessed the quality of the included studies. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. We selected those models exploring: a) disease burden (main metrics being attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life years, quality-adjusted life years) or b) economic evaluations of health interventions or policies, based on models including the aforementioned outcomes. We grouped models into broad families according to their common central methodological approach. Results Out of 4295 reports identified, 63 met our inclusion criteria and were categorized in three main model families that were described in detail: 1) State transition -i.e Markov- models, 2) Life Table-based models and 3) Attributable fraction-based models. Most studies pertained to the latter one ( n  = 29, 48.3%). A few miscellaneous models could not be framed into these families. Conclusions Our findings can be useful for future researchers and decision makers planning to undertake alcohol-related disease burden or cost-effectiveness studies. We found several different families of models. Countries interested in adopting relevant public health measures may choose or adapt the one deemed most convenient, based on the availability of existing data at the local level, burden of work, and public health and economic outcomes of interest.

Invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and health costs worldwide, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Surveillance about the distribution of serotypes causing IPD and the impact of pneumococcal vaccination is an important epidemiological tool to monitor disease activity trends, inform public health decision-making, and implement relevant prevention and control measures. To estimate the serotype distribution for IPD and the related disease burden in LAC before, during, and after implementing the pneumococcal vaccine immunization program in LAC. Systematic literature review following Cochrane methods of studies from LAC. We evaluated the impact of the pneumococcal vaccine on hospitalization and death during or after hospitalizations due to pneumococcal disease and serotype-specific disease over time. We also analyzed the incidence of serotyped IPD in pneumococcal conjugate vaccine PCV10 and PCV13. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023392097). 155 epidemiological studies were screened and provided epidemiological data on IPD. Meta-analysis of invasive diseases in children <5 years old found that 57%-65% of causative serotypes were included in PCV10 and 66%-84% in PCV13. After PCV introduction, vaccine serotypes declined in IPD, and the emergence of non-vaccine serotypes varied by country. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines significantly reduced IPD and shifted serotype distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean. PCV10/PCV13 covered 57-84% of serotypes in children under 5, with marked decline in PCV serotypes post-vaccination. Continuous surveillance remains crucial for monitoring evolving serotypes and informing public health action.