• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.177-184
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• 2023

Objective: Manual therapy is a commonly utilized approach in managing chronic pain, but its specific impact on pain catastrophizing remains uncertain. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effects of manual therapy on pain catastrophizing in individuals with chronic pain. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in electronic databases to identify relevant studies published from 2014 onwards. Studies that evaluated the impact of manual therapy on pain catastrophizing in individuals with chronic pain were incorporated. The risk of bias in the selected studies was evaluated using the Cochrane tool for risk of bias in qualitative analysis. For the quantitative analysis, RevMan 5.4 software was utilized, employing a random-effects model as the analysis model. The effect measure used in the analysis was the standardized mean difference (SMD). Results: In total, 26 studies were collected, and following the screening process, three of them were incorporated into the final analysis. The included studies involved a total of 153 patients with chronic pain. The interventions comprised various manual therapy techniques targeting different areas of the body. Pain catastrophizing and pain intensity were the primary outcomes of interest. The meta-analysis revealed a significant reduction in pain catastrophizing scores following manual therapy intervention compared to control conditions (SMD = -0.91, 95% CI: -1.25 to -0.58). However, heterogeneity between the studies was observed. Conclusions: Despite the limited quantity and heterogeneity of studies, it has been demonstrated that manual therapy intervention is effective in reducing pain catastrophizing in individuals with chronic pain.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.45-64
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• 2024

Objectives: This study is purposed to investigate the effect and safety of laser therapy for stroke patients by systematic review and meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: RCTs on the treatment of laser therapy for stroke patients were selected among the literature published from January 2000 to June 2022 in twelve domestic and foreign databases. The quality of the literature was evaluated using the Cochrane's Risk of Bias tool and RevMan 5.4 was used for the synthesis of results. Results: Total 2,598 patients with stroke were finally selected from 18 RCTs. Meta-analysis showed that laser therapy was effective in significantly improving activities of daily living (MBI), motor function (effective rate), upper motor function (FMA-UE), shoulder pain related factors (CGRP, ET-1, BK). Overall, the risk of bias was uncertain or low in the quality assessment of the literature. Conclusions: Although it is unclear that laser therapy is more effective than sham laser, laser therapy might be more effective in improving symptoms than conventional rehabilitation alone. Furthermore, no serious adverse events were founded in laser therapy studies. However, the quality of the selected literature was generally low. Therefore, further studies with high methodological quality on laser therapy for stroke patients would be required in the future.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.163-176
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• 2024

Purpose: This study conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of aromatherapy in reducing restless legs syndrome (RLS) in hemodialysis patients. Methods: Using the population, intervention, comparison, outcome, study design framework, a search was conducted of eight electronic databases: PubMed, Cochrane, Embase-Ovid, CINAHL, Web of science, Scopus, PQDT, and RISS. The population was hemodialysis patients, and the intervention included aromatherapy aiming at RLS, compared to control groups receiving placebo or usual care. The outcome measured was RLS, and the study design was randomized controlled trials. Results: The analysis included seven articles presenting results from 10 studies, and the pooled overall effect of aromatherapy on RLS in hemodialysis patients was shown by a Hedge's g of -1.84 (95% confidence interval: -2.45 to -1.23). Meta-regression analysis revealed greater effectiveness in studies that received funding. Age over 60, lavender oil use, intervention duration of less than 4 weeks, sessions longer than 30 minutes, a routine care control group, and quality assessment score of 10 or less were associated with RLS reduction. Conclusion: The study concluded that aromatherapy is effective for managing RLS in hemodialysis patients.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.16-28
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of Yukgunja-tang(YGJT, Rikkunshito, Liujunzi) on Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease(GERD). Methods: Sixteen electronic databases were used to search for studies published through March 2019, and a randomized controlled study was conducted to study the effects of YGJT or modified YGJT on GERD. Study quality was assessed using the risk bias tool provided by Cochran, and data analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3.0 software Results: Two-hundred and forty articles were initially searched, and 13 studies that satisfied the study criteria were evaluated qualitatively; 11 of the 13 were included in the meta-analysis. In the two studies, the effects of YGJT and a placebo were compared. Meta-analysis showed that YGJT significantly improved FSSG (Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD) scores, but not GSRS (Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale) scores (FSSG: MD -2.40, 95% CI [-5.31, 0.51], p=0.11, GSRS: MD 0.05, 95% CI [-0.12, 0.22], p=0.55). Meta-analysis of nine studies comparing the efficacies of YGJT and conventional medicine showed that YGJT had a significant clinical effect (OR 5.72; 95% CI [3.41, 9.61]; I2 p<0.00001). Conclusion: This study suggests that YGJT effectively relieves the symptoms of GERD. Unfortunately, owing to the small sample sizes, limitations of several methodological qualities, we believe large-scale clinical studies with less bias will provide evidence of qualitative improvement.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3417-3422
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• 2012

Objective: Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is one of the pathways of repair of DNA double-strand breaks. A number of genes involved in NHEJ have been implicated as breast cancer susceptibility genes such as LIG4. However, some studies have generated conflicting results. The aim of this Human Genome Epidemiology (HuGE) review and meta-analysis was to investigate association between LIG4 gene polymorphisms in the NHEJ pathway and breast cancer risk. Methods: Studies focusing on the relationship between LIG4 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to breast cancer were selected from the Pubmed, Cochrane library, Embase, Web of Science, Springerlink, CNKI and CBM databases. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers and the meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager Version 5.1.6 and STATA Version 12.0 software, calculating odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). Results: According to the inclusion criteria, we final included seven studies with a total of 10,321 breast cancer cases and 10,160 healthy controls in the meta-analysis. The results showed no association between LIG4 gene polymorphisms (rs1805386 T>C, rs1805389 C>T, rs1805388 C>T and rs2232641 A>G) and breast cancer risk, suggesting that the mutant situation of these SNPs neither increased nor decreased the risk for breast cancer. In the subgroup analysis by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and ethnicity, we also found no associations between the variants of LIG4 gene and breast cancer risk among HWE, non-HWE, Caucasians, Asians and Africans. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that there is a lack of any association between LIG4 gene polymorphisms and the risk of breast cancer.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.71-84
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of advance care planning on end-of-life decision-making. Methods: Databases including RISS, KISS, KMbase, KoreaMed, PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, and CINAHL were searched for studies that examined the effects of advance care planning interventions. The inclusion criteria were original studies in English or Korean; adults ≥18 years of age (population); advance care planning (intervention); completion of advance directives (AD) or advance care planning (ACP) (outcomes); and randomized or non-randomized controlled trials (RCTs and non-RCTs, respectively) (design). Study quality was measured using the checklists of the Joanna Briggs Institute. Meta-analyses were conducted with the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis program. Results: Nine RCTs and nine non-RCTs were selected for the final analysis. The effect sizes (ES) of the outcome variables in nine RCTs were meta-analyzed, and found to range from 0.142 to 0.496 for the completion of AD and ACP (ES=0.496, 95% CI: 0.157~0.836), discussion of end-of-life care (ES=0.429, 95% CI: -0.027~0.885), quality of communication (ES=0.413, 95% CI: 0.008~0.818), decisional conflict (ES=0.349, 95% CI: -0.059~0.758), and congruence between preferences for care and delivered care (ES=0.142, 95% CI: -0.267~0.552). Conclusion: ACP interventions had a positive effect on the completion of AD and ACP. To apply AD or ACP in Korea, it is necessary to develop ACP interventions that reflect aspects of Korean culture.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.8-20
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• 2015

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacopuncture in the treatment of acute peripheral facial paralysis (APFP) through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to assess the clinical evidence for pharmacopuncture as a treatment for PFP. Methods: Literature was searched using databases. The search terms used were "pharmacopuncture," "sweet BV," "apipuncture," "apitoxin," "injection acupuncture," and "herbal acupuncture" in English and "bongchim," "bongyakchim," and "yakchim" in Korean. The RevMan 5.2 program was used for meta-analysis. Results: In all, 1902 studies were screened and the full texts of 219 articles were reviewed. Of these, nine studies were included in the systematic review and nine studies were included in the meta-analysis. Treatments utilizing bee venom, sweet bee venom (SBV), Soyeom, Calculus Bovis Fel Ursi Moschus (BUM), Hominis Placenta, and Suseunghwagang (SSHG) were observed in nine RCTs. In the forest plot, the diamond favors the PA treatment against the control treatment. (95% CI: 0.34 [0.08, 0.60], Z = 2.57, P = 0.01), which Our meta-analysis in RevMan 5.2 confirmed the significant efficacy of PA in treating APFP. Conclusion: Our systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that treatments using Soyeom, bee venom, and BUM are effective in APFP and they reduce the duration of postauricular pain occurring at the acute stage of APFP. However, due to small effect size, further investigation is needed.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.251-264
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the factors related to quality of life in heart transplant recipients. Methods: To identify studies that suggested the factors related to the quality of life in heart transplant recipients, we searched the articles published from 1974 to November 2018 using Six databases, PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane, KMBASE and RISS. A total of 22 studies were selected out of 5,234 for the systematic review and meta-analysis on the basis of the PRISMA flow. The quality of study was assessed by assessment tool form the NIH and meta-analysis was performed using the 'R 3.5.2' version to analyze the correlated effect sizes. Results: Factors related to quality of life in heart transplant recipients were categorized into six domains based on the health-related quality of life model introduced by Ferrans: individual, environmental, biological function, symptoms, functional status, and general health perception. In the meta-analysis, 34 factors were used and 17 factors having significant effect sizes were as follows: self-efficacy, demoralization, perceived control, current occupational status, age, marital status, health promotion life style in the individual characteristics; stress in environmental characteristics; physical function status, creatinine level, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in biological function; anxiety, depression, symptom frequency and distress in symptoms domain; coping, self-care compliance in functional status. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the multi-dimensional factors influencing the quality of life in heart transplant recipients and provide the evidence for developing effective interventions for improving the quality of life of recipients.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.329-345
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• 2021

BACKGROUD/OBJECTIVES: Evidence has suggested an association between serum vitamin D and metabolic syndrome (MetS), but prospective studies are very limited. The objective was to assess the dose-response association between serum vitamin D concentration and MetS risk using a systematic review and meta-analysis of updated observational studies. MATERIALS/METHODS: Using MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase, a systematic literature search was conducted through February 2020 and the references of relevant articles were reviewed. A random-effects model was used to estimate the summary odds ratio/relative risk and 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity among studies was evaluated with I² statistic. In total, 23 observational studies (19 cross-sectional studies, and four cohort studies) were included in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: The pooled estimates (95% CI) for MetS per 25-nmol/L increment in serum vitamin D concentration were 0.80 (95% CI, 0.76-0.84; I² = 53.5) in cross-sectional studies, and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.72-0.98; I² = 85.8) in cohort studies. Similar results were observed, irrespectively of age of study population, study location, MetS criteria, and adjustment factors. There was no publication bias for the dose-response meta-analysis of serum vitamin D concentrations and MetS. CONCLUSIONS: Dose-response meta-analysis demonstrated that a 25-nmol/L increment in the serum vitamin D concentration was associated with 20% and 15% lower risks of MetS in cross-sectional studies and cohort studies, respectively.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.427-440
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• 2021

This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effects of eating behaviors intervention programs for female university students. The papers to be analyzed were studies from 2015 to February 29, 2020, and were systematically collected according to PRISMA. A total of 9 papers were finally selected for meta-analysis, and analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0 to estimate the effect size. The overall effect size of the eating behaviors intervention programs studies applied to female university students was found to be large, and the effect size was found to be larger in six studies of problematic eating behaviors female university students. All and problematic eating behaviors female university students showed significant effect size in eating behavior-related and psychosocial-related variables. Therefore, the results of this study are meaningful as basic data for developing differentiated eating behaviors intervention programs for female university students in the future.