Comparing the efficacy and tolerability of biologic therapies in psoriasis: an updated network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The rapid expansion of psoriasis biologics has led to an urgent need to understand their relative efficacy and tolerability to inform treatment decisions better and, specifically, to inform guideline development. OBJECTIVES: To update a 2017 meta-analysis on the comparative efficacy and tolerability of biologic treatments for psoriasis. METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published up to 7 September 2018, of 11 licensed, NICE-approved biologics targeting tumour necrosis factor (adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, certolizumab pegol), interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23p40 (ustekinumab), IL-17A (secukinumab, ixekizumab), IL-17RA (brodalumab) and IL-23p19 (guselkumab, tildrakizumab, risankizumab). A frequentist network meta-analysis ascertained direct or indirect evidence comparing biologics with one another, methotrexate or placebo. This was combined with hierarchical cluster analyses to consider efficacy (≥ 90% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 90) or Physician's Global Assessment 0 or 1; PASI 75; Dermatology Life Quality Index improvement) and tolerability (drug withdrawal due to adverse events) outcomes at 10-16 weeks, followed by assessments of study quality, heterogeneity and inconsistency. RESULTS: We identified 62 RCTs presenting data on direct comparisons (31 899 participants). All biologics were efficacious compared with placebo or methotrexate at 10-16 weeks. Hierarchical cluster analyses revealed that adalimumab, brodalumab, certolizumab pegol, guselkumab, risankizumab, secukinumab, tildrakizumab and ustekinumab were comparable with respect to high short-term efficacy and tolerability. Infliximab and ixekizumab clustered together, with high short-term efficacy but relatively lower tolerability than the other agents, although the number of drug withdrawal events across the network was low, so these findings should be treated with caution. CONCLUSIONS: Using our methodology we found that most biologics cluster together with respect to short-term efficacy and tolerability, and we did not identify any single agent as 'best'. These data need to be interpreted in the context of longer-term efficacy, effectiveness data, safety, posology and drug acquisition costs when making treatment decisions.

Decomposing the educational inequalities in the factors associated with severe acute malnutrition among under-five children in low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) have remained plagued with the burden of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The decomposition of the educational inequalities in SAM across individual, household and neighbourhood characteristics in LMIC has not been explored. This study aims to decompose educational-related inequalities in the development of SAM among under-five children in LMIC and identify the risk factors that contribute to the inequalities. METHODS: We pooled successive secondary data from the Demographic and Health Survey conducted between 2010 and 2018 in 51 LMIC. We analysed data of 532,680 under-five children nested within 55,823 neighbourhoods. Severe acute malnutrition was the outcome variable while the literacy status of mothers was the main exposure variable. The explanatory variables cut across the individual-, household- and neighbourhood-level factors of the mother-child pair. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method was used at p = 0.05. RESULTS: The proportion of children whose mothers were not educated ranged from 0.1% in Armenia and Kyrgyz Republic to as much as 86.1% in Niger. The overall prevalence of SAM in the group of children whose mothers had no education was 5.8% compared with 4.2% among those whose mothers were educated, this varied within each country. Fourteen countries (Cameroon(p < 0.001), Chad(p < 0.001), Comoro(p = 0.047), Burkina Faso(p < 0.001), Ethiopia(p < 0.001), India(p < 0.001), Kenya(p < 0.001), Mozambique(p = 0.012), Namibia(p = 0.001), Nigeria(p < 0.001), Pakistan(p < 0.001), Senegal(p = 0.003), Togo(p = 0.013), and Timor Leste(p < 0.001) had statistically significant pro-illiterate inequality while no country showed statistically significant pro-literate inequality. We found significant differences in SAM prevalence across child's age (p < 0.001), child's sex(p < 0.001), maternal age(p = 0.001), household wealth quintile(p = 0.001), mother's access to media(p = 0.001), birth weight(p < 0.001) and neighbourhood socioeconomic status disadvantage(p < 0.001). On the average, neighbourhood socioeconomic status disadvantage, location of residence were the most important factors in most countries. Other contributors to the explanation of educational inequalities are birth weight, maternal age and toilet type. CONCLUSIONS: SAM is prevalent in most LMIC with wide educational inequalities explained by individual, household and community-level factors. Promotion of women education should be strengthened as better education among women will close the gaps and reduce the burden of SAM generally. We recommend further studies of other determinate causes of inequalities in severe acute malnutrition in LMIC.

Socio-economic status and overweight or obesity among school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa - a systematic review.

Childhood overweight and obesity have emerged as a public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a systematic review with the aim to examine the association between socio-economic status (SES) and overweight or obesity among school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa. In March 2014 we searched five electronic databases for reports which presented cross-sectional data on prevalence levels of overweight or obesity stratified by SES groups among school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa. We used a random-effect model to pool the relative indexes of inequality of the association from the individual studies. In total, 20 reports satisfied the inclusion criteria providing results of 21 datasets. The risk of overweight or obesity in children from highest SES households was 5.28 times as high as that of children from lowest SES households (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.62 to 10.66). On subgroup analysis, this association was statistically significant for household income and composite SES measures but not for parental educational attainment and occupation type. Similarly, the risk of overweight or obesity in children attending affluent (private) schools was 15.94 times as high as that of children going to either urban or rural public schools (95% CI 5.82 to 43.68). The magnitude of the association tended to be stronger for area or school-type compared with composite measures. In summary, children from higher SES households and those attending private schools tended to be overweight and obese.

Evidence of increased blood pressure and hypertension risk among people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Owing to antiretroviral drug-induced endothelial dysfunction, HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) may have elevated blood pressure. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the effects of ART on blood pressure levels and hypertension risk among HIV-infected populations worldwide. We sought articles that compared the mean blood pressure measurements and hypertension prevalence between HIV-infected adults naive and exposed to ART. Thirty-nine studies comprising 44 903 participants met the inclusion criteria. Overall, systolic (mean difference (MD) 4.52 mm Hg, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.65-6.39, I(2)=68.1%, 19 studies) and diastolic blood pressure levels (MD 3.17 mm Hg, 95% CI 1.71-4.64, I(2)=72.5%, 16 studies) were significantly higher among ART-exposed patients compared with treatment-naive patients. Similarly, the risk of hypertension was significantly higher among ART-exposed patients, such that among 28 908 ART-exposed patients, 4195 (14.5%) had hypertension compared with 950 of 9086 (10.5%) in those who were treatment-naive (odds ratio 1.68, 95% CI 1.35-2.10, I(2)=81.5%, 32 studies). In summary, exposure to ART is significantly associated with increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, and increased risk of hypertension, regardless of study-level sociodemographic differences. This meta-analysis supports the need for population-based strategies to reduce the risk of high blood pressure among people living with HIV on ART.

Malnutrition among women in sub-Saharan Africa: rural-urban disparity.

INTRODUCTION: Malnutrition is a serious public health problem, particularly in developing countries, linked to a substantial increase in the risk of mortality and morbidity. Women and young children are most often affected. Rural disadvantage is a known factor, but little attention has been paid to rural-urban disparity among women. To provide a reliable source of information for policy-makers, the current study used nationally representative data from 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to update knowledge about the prevalence malnutrition and its rural-urban disparities among women. The data sources were the demographic and health surveys of 26 countries conducted between 1995 and 2006. METHODS: The methods included meta-analysis, meta-regression, sub-group and sensitivity. RESULTS: Overall, rural women were 68% more likely to be malnourished compared with their urban counterparts. In the meta-regression analysis, sub-region, sample size, and the year the study was conducted explained the observed heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provided usable data for women in sub-Saharan Africa. The magnitude of rural-urban malnutrition disparity revealed provides a baseline that will be of assistance to clinicians, researchers, and policy-makers in the detection, prevention and treatment of malnutrition among rural women.