Protein-energy malnutrition is a major health concern in home-dwelling older adults, particularly in the context of an ageing population. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken to determine the prevalence of malnutrition among older adults living independently in the community according to geographical region, sampling frame, rurality and sex. six electronic databases were searched until September 2016. Original research studies which used the Mini Nutritional Assessment, Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment or Subjective Global Assessment to determine nutrition status in community samples with a mean age of ≥65 years were critically appraised and pooled using meta-analysis. Meta-regression was used to explore predictors of malnutrition prevalence in pooled statistics with high heterogeneity. 111 studies from 38 countries (n = 69,702 participants) were included. The pooled prevalence of malnutrition in the older community setting ranged from 0.8% (95% CI: 0.2-1.7%) in Northern Europe to 24.6% (95% CI: 0.0-67.9%) in South-East Asia. Of all sampling frames, participants receiving homecare services had the highest prevalence at 14.6% (95% CI: 9.9-20.0%). Malnutrition prevalence in rural communities (9.9%; 95% CI: 4.5-16.8%) was double that in urban communities (5.7%; 95% CI: 4.2-7.3%) and higher among females than males (odds ratio = 1.45 [95% CI: 1.27-1.66]; P < 0.00001). the results of this review provide strategic insight to develop public and community health priorities for preventing malnutrition and associated poor health outcomes.

Telehealth offers a feasible method to provide nutrition support to malnourished older adults. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the efficacy of telehealth methods in delivering malnutrition-related interventions to community-dwelling older adults. Studies in any language were searched in five electronic databases from inception to 2nd November 2017. Quality of the evidence was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and the GRADE approach. Nine studies were identified, with results published across 13 included publications, which had mostly low to unclear risk of bias. There were two interventions delivered to disease-specific groups, one with kidney disease and one with cancer; the remaining seven interventions were delivered to patients with mixed morbidities following discharge from an inpatient facility. Seven studies delivered telehealth via telephone consultations and two used internet-enabled telemedicine devices. Ten meta-analyses were performed. Malnutrition-focused telehealth interventions were found to improve protein intake in older adults by 0.13 g/kg body weight per day ([95%CI: 0.01-0.25]; P = .03; n = 2 studies; n = 200 participants; I2 = 41%; GRADE level: low) and to improve quality of life (standardised mean difference: 0.55 [95%CI: 0.11-0.99]; P = .01; n = 4 studies with n = 9 quality-of-life tools; n = 248 participants; I2 = 84%: GRADE level: very low). There were also trends towards improved nutrition status, physical function, energy intake, hospital readmission rates and mortality in the intervention groups. Overall, this review found telehealth is an effective method to deliver malnutrition-related interventions to older adults living at home, and is likely to result in clinical improvements compared with usual care or no intervention. However, further research with larger samples and stronger study designs are required to strengthen the body of evidence.

Emerging evidence supports the health benefits of ginger for a range of conditions and symptoms; however, there is a lack of synthesis of literature to determine which health indications are supported by quality evidence. In this umbrella review of systematic reviews we aimed to determine the therapeutic effects and safety of any type of ginger from the Zingiber family administered in oral form compared with any comparator or baseline measures on any health and well-being outcome in humans. Five databases were searched from inception to April 2021. Review selection and quality were assessed in duplicate using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews–2 (AMSTAR-2) checklist and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) method, with results presented in narrative form. Twenty-four systematic reviews were included with 3% overlap of primary studies. The strongest evidence was found for the antiemetic effects of ginger in pregnant women (effect size: large; GRADE: high), analgesic effects for osteoarthritis (effect size: small; GRADE: high), and glycemic control (effect size: none to very large; GRADE: very low to moderate). Ginger also had a statistically significant positive effect on blood pressure, weight management, dysmenorrhea, postoperative nausea, and chemotherapy-induced vomiting (effect size: moderate to large; GRADE: low to moderate) as well as blood lipid profile (effect size: small; GRADE: very low) and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant biomarkers (effect size: unclear; GRADE: very low to moderate). There was substantial heterogeneity and poor reporting of interventions; however, dosage of 0.5–3 g/d in capsule form administered for up to 3 mo was consistently reported as effective. Dietary consumption of ginger appears safe and may exert beneficial effects on human health and well-being, with greatest confidence in antiemetic effects in pregnant women, analgesic effects in osteoarthritis, and glycemic control. Future randomized controlled and dose-dependent trials with adequate sample sizes and standardized ginger products are warranted to better inform and standardize routine clinical prescription.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been investigated for its potentially therapeutic effect on a range of chronic conditions and symptoms in humans. However, a simplified and easily understandable examination of the mechanisms behind these effects is lacking and, in turn, hinders interpretation and translation to practice, and contributes to overall clinical heterogeneity confounding the results. Therefore, drawing on data from nonhuman trials, the objective for this narrative review was to comprehensively describe the current knowledge on the proposed mechanisms of action of ginger on conferring therapeutic health effects in humans. Mechanistic studies support the findings from human clinical trials that ginger may assist in improving symptoms and biomarkers of pain, metabolic chronic disease, and gastrointestinal conditions. Bioactive ginger compounds reduce inflammation, which contributes to pain; promote vasodilation, which lowers blood pressure; obstruct cholesterol production, which regulates blood lipid profile; translocate glucose transporter type 4 molecules to plasma membranes to assist in glycemic control; stimulate fatty acid breakdown to aid weight management; and inhibit serotonin, muscarinic, and histaminergic receptor activation to reduce nausea and vomiting. Additional human trials are required to confirm the antimicrobial, neuroprotective, antineoplastic, and liver- and kidney-protecting effects of ginger. Interpretation of the mechanisms of action will help clinicians and researchers better understand how and for whom ginger may render therapeutic effects and highlight priority areas for future research.

In practice, nutrition recommendations vary widely for inpatient and discharge management of acute, uncomplicated diverticulitis. This systematic review aims to review the evidence and develop recommendations for dietary fibre modifications, either alone or alongside probiotics or antibiotics, versus any comparator in adults in any setting with or recently recovered from acute, uncomplicated diverticulitis. Intervention and observational studies in any language were located using four databases until March 2017. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and GRADE were used to evaluate the overall quality of the evidence and to develop recommendations. Eight studies were included. There was “very low” quality evidence for comparing a liberalised and restricted fibre diet for inpatient management to improve hospital length of stay, recovery, gastrointestinal symptoms and reoccurrence. There was “very low” quality of evidence for using a high dietary fibre diet as opposed to a standard or low dietary fibre diet following resolution of an acute episode, to improve reoccurrence and gastrointestinal symptoms. The results of this systematic review and GRADE assessment conditionally recommend the use of liberalised diets as opposed to dietary restrictions for adults with acute, uncomplicated diverticulitis. It also strongly recommends a high dietary fibre diet aligning with dietary guidelines, with or without dietary fibre supplementation, after the acute episode has resolved.