Introduction: The adolescent diet is high in sugars compared with other age groups. Effective approaches to support sugar reduction by adolescents are needed as part of caries prevention. Objective: To systematically review peer-reviewed evidence (1990 to 2023) to identify effective behavior change techniques (BCTs) for sugars reduction in adolescents aged 10 to 16 y. Methods: Nine databases (CINAHL, Cochrane, Dental and Oral Sciences Source, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science) were searched. Identified articles were screened independently in duplicate for eligibility. Interventions were eligible if they aimed to change adolescent dietary behavior(s) and reported pre- and postsugar-relevant outcome measures. Interventions from included studies were coded using a 93-item BCT Taxonomy (Michie Taxonomy v1). Risk of bias was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Evidence synthesis by vote counting (number of studies showing positive versus null or negative effects) was applied to BCTs that were present in more than 5 interventions. Results: Of 16,271 articles identified, 764 were screened in full, yielding 35 studies (in 43 papers), of which 3 were uncodeable. BCTs coded in interventions covered 11 of 16 BCT clusters and 25 of 93 individual BCTs in the BCT taxonomy. The median number of BCTs applied per study was 3 (interquartile range 2-6). Evidence synthesis indicated that the BCTs most positively associated with a positive reduction in sugars were (with the percentage of strong-/moderate-quality studies applying these techniques that successfully reduced sugars intake in brackets) feedback on behavior (100%), information on social and environmental consequences (100%), problem solving (75%), and social comparison (75%). Conclusion: Notwithstanding limitations in available data, the current evidence most strongly supports the use of BCTs relating to feedback on behavior, providing information on the social and environmental consequences, include problem solving and making social comparisons, to lower sugars intake in adolescents. Knowledge transfer statement: The results of this study will enable clinicians to provide more effective dietary advice when supporting dietary behavior change to reduce sugars intake in adolescents. The results may also be used by researchers to guide future directions for research into effective sugars reduction in adolescents.

Introduction: The adolescent diet is high in sugars compared with other age groups. Effective approaches to support sugar reduction by adolescents are needed as part of caries prevention.Objective: To systematically review peer-reviewed evidence (1990 to 2023) to identify effective behavior change techniques (BCTs) for sugars reduction in adolescents aged 10 to 16 y.Methods: Nine databases (CINAHL, Cochrane, Dental and Oral Sciences Source, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science) were searched. Identified articles were screened independently in duplicate for eligibility. Interventions were eligible if they aimed to change adolescent dietary behavior(s) and reported pre- and postsugar-relevant outcome measures. Interventions from included studies were coded using a 93-item BCT Taxonomy (Michie Taxonomy v1). Risk of bias was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Evidence synthesis by vote counting (number of studies showing positive versus null or negative effects) was applied to BCTs that were present in more than 5 interventions.Results: Of 16,271 articles identified, 764 were screened in full, yielding 35 studies (in 43 papers), of which 3 were uncodeable. BCTs coded in interventions covered 11 of 16 BCT clusters and 25 of 93 individual BCTs in the BCT taxonomy. The median number of BCTs applied per study was 3 (interquartile range 2-6). Evidence synthesis indicated that the BCTs most positively associated with a positive reduction in sugars were (with the percentage of strong-/moderate-quality studies applying these techniques that successfully reduced sugars intake in brackets) feedback on behavior (100%), information on social and environmental consequences (100%), problem solving (75%), and social comparison (75%).Conclusion: Notwithstanding limitations in available data, the current evidence most strongly supports the use of BCTs relating to feedback on behavior, providing information on the social and environmental consequences, include problem solving and making social comparisons, to lower sugars intake in adolescents.Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this study will enable clinicians to provide more effective dietary advice when supporting dietary behavior change to reduce sugars intake in adolescents. The results may also be used by researchers to guide future directions for research into effective sugars reduction in adolescents.

Importance Large language models (LLMs) may facilitate the labor-intensive process of systematic reviews. However, the exact methods and reliability remain uncertain. Objective To explore the feasibility and reliability of using LLMs to assess risk of bias (ROB) in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Design, Setting, and Participants A survey study was conducted between August 10, 2023, and October 30, 2023. Thirty RCTs were selected from published systematic reviews. Main Outcomes and Measures A structured prompt was developed to guide ChatGPT (LLM 1) and Claude (LLM 2) in assessing the ROB in these RCTs using a modified version of the Cochrane ROB tool developed by the CLARITY group at McMaster University. Each RCT was assessed twice by both models, and the results were documented. The results were compared with an assessment by 3 experts, which was considered a criterion standard. Correct assessment rates, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 scores were calculated to reflect accuracy, both overall and for each domain of the Cochrane ROB tool; consistent assessment rates and Cohen kappa were calculated to gauge consistency; and assessment time was calculated to measure efficiency. Performance between the 2 models was compared using risk differences. Results Both models demonstrated high correct assessment rates. LLM 1 reached a mean correct assessment rate of 84.5% (95% CI, 81.5%-87.3%), and LLM 2 reached a significantly higher rate of 89.5% (95% CI, 87.0%-91.8%). The risk difference between the 2 models was 0.05 (95% CI, 0.01-0.09). In most domains, domain-specific correct rates were around 80% to 90%; however, sensitivity below 0.80 was observed in domains 1 (random sequence generation), 2 (allocation concealment), and 6 (other concerns). Domains 4 (missing outcome data), 5 (selective outcome reporting), and 6 had F1 scores below 0.50. The consistent rates between the 2 assessments were 84.0% for LLM 1 and 87.3% for LLM 2. LLM 1's kappa exceeded 0.80 in 7 and LLM 2's in 8 domains. The mean (SD) time needed for assessment was 77 (16) seconds for LLM 1 and 53 (12) seconds for LLM 2. Conclusions In this survey study of applying LLMs for ROB assessment, LLM 1 and LLM 2 demonstrated substantial accuracy and consistency in evaluating RCTs, suggesting their potential as supportive tools in systematic review processes.

BackgroundStudies of the associations between soft drinks and the risk of cancer showed inconsistent results. No previous published systematic reviews and meta-analysis has investigated a dose-response association between exposure dose and cancer risk or assessed the certainty of currently available evidence. Therefore, we aim to demonstrate the associations and assessed the certainty of the evidence to show our confidence in the associations.MethodsWe searched Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from inception to Jun 2022, to include relevant prospective cohort studies. We used a restricted cubic spline model to conduct a dose-response meta-analysis and calculated the absolute effect estimates to present the results. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to assess the certainty of the evidence.ResultsForty-two articles including on 37 cohorts enrolled 4,518,547 participants were included. With low certainty evidence, increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) per 250 mL/day was significantly associated with a 17% greater risk of breast cancer, a 10% greater risk of colorectal cancer, a 30% greater risk of biliary tract cancer, and a 10% greater risk of prostate cancer; increased consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs)re per 250 mL/day was significantly associated with a 16% greater risk of leukemia; increased consumption of 100% fruit juice per 250 mL/day was significantly associated with a 31% greater risk of overall cancer, 22% greater risk of melanoma, 2% greater risk of squamous cell carcinoma, and 29% greater risk of thyroid cancer. The associations with other specific cancer were no significant. We found linear dose-response associations between consumption of SSBs and the risk of breast and kidney cancer, and between consumption of ASBs and 100% fruit juices and the risk of pancreatic cancer.ConclusionsAn increment in consumption of SSBs of 250 mL/day was positively associated with increased risk of breast, colorectal, and biliary tract cancer. Fruit juices consumption was also positively associated with the risk of overall cancer, thyroid cancer, and melanoma. The magnitude of absolute effects, however, was small and mainly based on low or very low certainty of evidence. The association of ASBs consumption with specific cancer risk was uncertain.

Background: There is a significant global lack of policy action on consumption of sustainable diets. Application of political science theories such as theories of the policy process can help in understanding policy inaction. Applying these theories could provide a more in-depth understanding of how various influences on the policy process shape decision making for consumption of sustainable diet policy. Methods: A systematic review to examine application of eight key political science theories of the policy process to research on consumption of sustainable diets was conducted. Results: The review identified no papers applying a theory of the policy process although 17 papers did mention or discuss influences on the policy process that are common elements within theories of the policy process. Most notably these elements were the influence of coalitions/networks, evidence use, narratives and framing, institutional and political system factors, and the importance of value and belief systems and socio-cultural norms. However, in most papers these influences were not examined in a detailed or in-depth way and often presented as suggestions for lack of policy action without the support of empirical data or application of any theory. Conclusions: Most research discussing policy inaction on the consumption of sustainable diets fails to utilise political science theories of the policy process, although a small number of papers include mention of or discussion of influences on the policy process. Application of political science theories could provide a more in-depth understanding of how different determinants might shape decision making at various points in the policy process. This could help identify key reasons for policy inaction on the consumption of sustainable diets and suggest possible ways to increase attention and action on the issue from policy decision makers.

Adequate food intake and relative abundance of dietary nutrients have undisputed effects on the brain function. There is now substantial evidence that dietary nutrition aids in the prevention and remediation of neurologic symptoms in diverse pathological conditions. The newly described influences of dietary factors on the alterations of mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic modification and neuroinflammation are important mechanisms that are responsible for the action of nutrients on the brain health. In this review, we discuss the state of evidence supporting that distinct dietary interventions including dietary supplement and dietary restriction have the ability to tackle neurological disorders using Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis as examples. Additionally, it is also highlighting that diverse potential mechanisms such as metabolic control, epigenetic modification, neuroinflammation and gut-brain axis are of utmost importance for nutrient supply to the risk of neurologic condition and therapeutic response. Finally, we also highlight the novel concept that dietary nutrient intervention reshapes metabolism-epigenetics-immunity cycle to remediate brain dysfunction. Targeting metabolism-epigenetics-immunity network will delineate a new blueprint for combating neurological weaknesses.

Health care organizations are leveraging machine-learning techniques, such as artificial neural networks (ANN), to improve delivery of care at a reduced cost. Applications of ANN to diagnosis are well-known; however, ANN are increasingly used to inform health care management decisions. We provide a seminal review of the applications of ANN to health care organizational decision-making. We screened 3,397 articles from six databases with coverage of Health Administration, Computer Science and Business Administration. We extracted study characteristics, aim, methodology and context (including level of analysis) from 80 articles meeting inclusion criteria. Articles were published from 1997-2018 and originated from 24 countries, with a plurality of papers (26 articles) published by authors from the United States. Types of ANN used included ANN (36 articles), feed-forward networks (25 articles), or hybrid models (23 articles); reported accuracy varied from 50% to 100%. The majority of ANN informed decision-making at the micro level (61 articles), between patients and health care providers. Fewer ANN were deployed for intra-organizational (meso- level, 29 articles) and system, policy or inter-organizational (macro- level, 10 articles) decision-making. Our review identifies key characteristics and drivers for market uptake of ANN for health care organizational decision-making to guide further adoption of this technique.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is considered one of the fastest growing diseases in Canada, representing a serious public health concern. Thus, clinicians have begun targeting modifiable risk factors to manage type 2 diabetes, including dietary patterns such as a plant-based diets (PBDs). The Canadian Diabetes Association has included PBDs among the recommended dietary patterns to be used in medical nutrition therapy for persons with type 2 diabetes. To support knowledge translation, this review summarizes the current literature relating to PBDs and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, its clinical applications and its acceptability in the management of type 2 diabetes as well as its application in community settings. This comprehensive review seeks to close the literature gap by providing background and rationale to support the use of PBDs as medical nutrition therapy. Within this review is support from large observational studies, which have shown that PBDs were associated with lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes. As well, intervention studies have shown that PBDs were just as effective, if not more effective, than other diabetes diets in improving body weight, cardiovascular risk factors, insulin sensitivity, glycated hemoglobin levels, oxidative stress markers and renovascular markers. Furthermore, patient acceptability was comparable to other diabetes diets, and PBDs reduced the need for diabetes medications. Diabetes education centres in Canada could improve patients' perceptions of PBDs by developing PBD-focused education and support as well as providing individualized counselling sessions addressing barriers to change. The development of more standardized and user-friendly PBD practice guidelines could overcome the disparity in recommendations and, thereby, increase how frequently practitioners recommend PBDs. Based on current published research, PBDs lend support in the management of type 2 diabetes.