The effects of policosanol supplementation on blood glucose: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Previous studies have assessed how supplementing with policosanol affects blood sugar levels. The outcomes, nevertheless, were not constant. Multiple electronic databases were searched including ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus until February 9, 2023. To assess the effects of policosanol on glucose, we employed a random-effects or fixed-effects meta-analysis approach to examine the weighted mean differences (WMDs) and associated 95 % confidence intervals (CI) before and after policosanol and placebo administration. The final analysis comprised a total of 25 trials with 2680 participants. Compared to the control group, policosanol supplementation significantly reduced blood glucose levels (WMD: -2.24 mg/dl; 95 % CI: -4.05, -0.42, P = 0.01). Findings from subgroup analysis revealed a significant reduction of policosanol supplementation on glucose levels in period of less than 24 weeks, and in individuals below 50 years of age. Additionally, the reduction was statistically significant in dosage of 10 mg/day. Our dose-response analysis indicates no evidence of a non-linear relationship between policosanol dose and duration and changes in glucose levels (P-nonlinearity = 0.52, and P-nonlinearity = 0.52, respectively). Policosanol supplementation might improve blood glucose. Further trials with more complex designs are required to confirm the findings.

Fast-Track Pathway: An Effective Way to Boost Diabetic Foot Care.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that challenges global health issues in many aspects. Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the most common causes of reduced quality of life and increased hospitalization, amputation, treatment costs, and mortality in patients. Improper patients' knowledge, unsatisfactory education and training of healthcare workers, and limited facilities are the major cause of delayed referral and downscale management in DFUs. The diabetic foot clinical pathway is pivotal in providing best practices based on the latest standards and patient preferences. In the diabetic foot clinical pathway provided by the Iran Ministry of Health, the common concepts and grading systems are well defined for diabetic foot specialists so that patients can be diagnosed correctly and referred properly. Based on clinical examination guidelines, patients with diabetes are classified into low-risk, moderate-risk, high-risk, and active diabetic foot ulcer groups. One of this Pathway's main objectives is to prevent the patient from getting the first ulcer, prevent frequent recurrence ulcers, and most importantly, prevent minor and major amputation.

The inverse association of body adiposity index and bone health in the older adults: A report from a developing country.

The ageing process influences body composition and could be related to bone health. The current study was set out to evaluate the association between body adiposity index (BAI) and bone health in older adults. This is a cross-sectional study performed on 178 elderly persons (51 men and 127 women) with a mean age of 67.04 (range: 60-83) who was referred to the determined 25 health centres in Tehran. The anthropometric measurements were done. Further, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D), parathormone (PTH), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), osteocalcin and urine C-terminal telopeptide I (CTX-I) were collected. The mean of body mass index (P < .001), body weight (P = .002), body fat (P < .001), waist circumference (P < .001), hip circumference (P < .001), urine CTX-I concentration (P = .011), 25(OH)D (P = .030), was higher in the highest BAI category in comparison with the lowest one. BAI was negatively correlated with urine CTX-I concentration (r=-0.165, P = .028). Moreover, linear regression showed an inverse association between BAI with urine CTX-I (ß = -0.165, P = .025) and 25(OH)D (ß = -0.039, P = .029). Moreover, the percentage of body fat was positively associated with serum hs-CRP (ß = 0.026, P = .002). Our study showed a significant inverse association between BAI with urinary CTX-I which shows the effect of obesity on bone health. This study suggests that more clinical and prospective studies for monitoring body fat may have some favourable impacts on bone health.