Can oral health care be a gateway to improve cardiovascular disease? A scoping review

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, resulting in a high socioeconomic burden. Growing evidence has shown a link between oral diseases and several chronic conditions including CVDs. The focus of this review is to investigate and summaries the evidence surrounding oral health interventions and their potential impact on reducing both the risk and/or severity of CVDs.MethodsA scoping review was conducted to examine oral health interventions for managing CVD outcomes and risks. The review adhered to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework for evidence synthesis and followed the reporting standards outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis- extension to Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR). A systematic search across EBSCOhost, PubMed, and Scopus databases from 2012 to 2024 was utilized to identify relevant studies. Inclusion criteria focused on English language articles with a sample size of at least 50, evaluating the impact of oral health interventions on CVD outcomes.ResultsOut of the initial 2,154 studies identified in the search, 12 studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Overall, the studies revealed that along with surgical and non-surgical periodontal therapy, regular oral hygiene care practices, including toothbrushing, tongue brushing, and flossing, significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. These interventions in patients with or without CVD baseline have shown a decrease in CVD risk markers as well as a reduction in bacterial colonization. Similarly, consistent oral hygiene routines, combined with regular dental visits, were associated with a lower risk of heart failure and CVD risk mortality.ConclusionThe evidence extracted from this review suggests that periodontal therapy, regular dental cleaning, and re-enforcing of oral health regimes can stabilize oral health conditions and subsequently improve CVD progression/risks. However, limited to no evidence exists regarding the therapeutic effects of oral health promotion in managing CVD markers and its direct impact on disease outcomes, warranting further investigation

Challenges of Health Data Use in Multidisciplinary Chronic Disease Care: Perspective from Heart Failure Care

The healthcare sector generates approximately 30% of all the world’s data volume, mostly for record keeping, compliance and regulatory requirements, and patient care. Healthcare data often exist in silos or on different systems and platforms due to decentralised storage and data protection laws, limiting accessibility for health service research. Thus, both the lack of access to data and more importantly the inability to control data quality and explore post-trial (phase IV) data or data with translational relevance have an impact on optimising care and research of congestive heart failure (CHF). We highlight that for some diseases, such as CHF, generating non-traditional data has significant importance, but is hindered by the logistics of accessing chronic disease data from separate health silos and by various levels of data quality. Modern multidisciplinary healthcare management of cardiovascular diseases—especially when spanning across community hubs to tertiary healthcare centres—increases the complexities involved between data privacy and access to data for healthcare and health service research. We call for an increased ability to leverage health data across systems, devices, and countries

Burden from Study Questionnaire on Patient Fatigue in Qualitative Congestive Heart Failure Research

Mixed methods research forms the backbone of translational research methodologies. Qualitative research and subjective data lead to hypothesis generation and ideas that are then proven via quantitative methodologies and gathering objective data. In this vein, clinical trials that generate subjective data may have limitations, when they are not followed through with quantitative data, in terms of their ability to be considered gold standard evidence and inform guidelines and clinical management. However, since many research methods utilise qualitative tools, an initial factor is that such tools can create a burden on patients and researchers. In addition, the quantity of data and its storage contributes to noise and quality issues for its primary and post hoc use. This paper discusses the issue of the burden of subjective data collected and fatigue in the context of congestive heart failure (CHF) research. The CHF population has a high baseline morbidity, so no doubt the focus should be on the content; however, the lengths of the instruments are a product of their vigorous validation processes. Nonetheless, as an important source of hypothesis generation, if a choice of follow-up qualitative assessment is required for a clinical trial, shorter versions of the questionnaire should be used, without compromising the data collection requirements; otherwise, we need to invest in this area and find suitable solution

Barriers to cardiac rehabilitation among patients diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases - a scoping review

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a rising global burden. Preventative strategies such as cardiac rehabilitation (CR) have shown a marked reduction in disease burden. Despite this, CR is underutilized worldwide. This study aims to identify the barriers to CR among patients diagnosed with CVD. Methods: A scoping review of the literature was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines. Four major databases, including CINAHL, PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Scopus, were used to obtain studies published between 2010 and 2023. Search terms such as “Cardiac rehab*”, “Barrier*”, “Cardiovascular”, “Disease”, and “diagnosis*” were utilized in order to obtain subject-specific studies relevant to the research question. Results: From the initial 2098 studies, only 14 were included in the final analysis, consisting of both qualitative and quantitative designs. The thematic analysis included “healthcare system-related factors”, “Socioeconomic factors”, and “individual characteristics”. Healthcare system-related factors were mostly related to the poor availability of CR programs, lack of proper referral strategies, inadequate knowledge of CR provider and inter-provider communication issues, and lack of alternative methods of CR delivery. The socioeconomic barriers were lack of education, longer distance to CR facilities, high cost of care, unemployment, and poor income status. The identified individual characteristics were female gender, older age, and comorbidities. Conclusions: Lack of resources, poor access, educational attainment, and high cost of care were some of the barriers to CR, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Health policymakers and healthcare providers should implement strategies incorporating the issues identified in this scoping review. Systematic reviews may be required to confirm these findings

Mental health outcomes beyond the post-partum period among adolescent mothers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Adolescence is the most crucial part of life. The vulnerability of adolescent mothers is even more pronounced and can affect various health aspects. While they suffer from social and emotional stresses shortly after giving birth, the long-term effect after the post-partum period of adolescent pregnancy on the mental outcomes holds prime importance. Thus, this systematic review aims to ascertain the association between adolescent pregnancy on mental health outcomes.Methods: The search strategy was run in June 2023 on databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Psych Info, and Embase . Quality assessment of the studies was done using the National Institute of Health (NIH)\u27s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) tool for observational studies. For studies that measured similar outcomes, a meta-analysis was conducted.Findings: The search strategy yielded 21 results from all databases and cross-referencing. Of these, all except for one (case-control) were cross-sectional and cohort studies. The pooled analysis found a significant association between adolescent pregnancy and depression (RR 1.34; 95% CI 1.05, 1.72, 6 studies, heterogeneity: Chi2 P 0.01; I2 = 60%); however, no association was found in anxiety (RR 1.05; 95% CI 0.26, 4.14, 2 studies; heterogeneity: Chi² P = 0.0003; I2 = 93%) and suicidal ideation (RR 3.21; 95% CI 0.17, 59.33; 3 studies; heterogeneity: Chi2 P \u3c 0.00001; I2 = 98%).Implication: These findings suggest that the mental health needs of adolescent mothers must be addressed and innovative and effective interventions that support and address the mental health needs of adolescent mothers are needed to improve their mental health