INTRODUCTION: periodontal disease is a neglected bacterial infection that causes destruction of the periodontium in pregnant women. Yet its impact on the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes has not systematically evaluated and there is no clear statement on the relationship between periodontal disease and preterm low birth weight. The objective of this study was to summarize the evidence on the impact of periodontal disease on preterm low birth weight. METHODS: we searched the following data bases from January 2005 to December 2015: CINAHL (cumulative index to nursing and allied health literature), MEDLINE, AMED, EMBASE (excerpta medica database), Cochrane library and Google scholar. Only case-control studies with full text in English were eligible. Critical appraisal of the identified articles was done by two authors independently to provide the possible relevance of the papers for inclusion in the review process. The selected Case control studies were critically appraised with 12 items structured checklist adapted from national institute of health (NIH). Odds ratio (OR) or risk ratios (RR) were extracted from the selected studies. The two reviewers who selected the appropriate studies also extracted the data and evaluated the risk of bias. RESULTS: of 229 articles, ten studies with a total of 2423 participants with a mean age ranged from 13 to 49 years were met the inclusion criteria. The studies focused on preterm birth, low birth weight and /or preterm low birth weight and periodontitis. Of the selected studies, 9 implied an association between periodontal disease and increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and /or preterm low birth weight outcome (ORs ranging from 2.04 to 4.19) and only one study found no evidence of association. CONCLUSION: periodontal disease may be one of the possible risk factor for preterm low birth weight infant. However, more precise studies with randomized clinical trial with sufficient follow-up period must be done to confirm the association.

Diabetic mellitus and periodontal disease have bilateral associations. However, there is a dilemma on the effect of periodontal therapy on glycemic control and/or fasting plasma glucose level in type 2 diabetic patients with periodontitis. Therefore, this review aimed to assess the effectiveness of periodontal therapy versus no periodontal therapy on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose level in type 2 diabetic patients. Article searching was done using four databases (MEDLINE, Cochrane library (CENTRAL), EMBASE and CINAHL) and a manual search (until December 2015). We included randomized controlled trials testing the effectiveness of periodontal therapy on glycated hemoglobin and fasting plasma glucose level in patients with type 2 Diabetes mellitus with periodontal disease. Studies published in English between 2005 and 2015 were included. Risk of bias was assessed regarding randomization, allocation sequence concealment, blinding, incomplete outcome data, selective outcome reporting, and other biases. After the article selection process, seven Randomized controlled trials involving 940 participants with a primary outcome of change in glycated hemoglobin and/or fasting plasma glucose and having a minimum of 3 months follow-up were included. There was a reduction of glycated hemoglobin 0.48(95 % CI: 0.18–0.78) after 3 months follow-up and 0.53 (95 % CI: 0.24–0.81) at the end of the intervention period. There was also a significant reduction of fasting plasma glucose level, 8.95 mg/dl (95 % CI: 4.30–13.61) in the intervention group after the end of the intervention. The pooled analysis showed that patients with adjunctive antibiotic therapy and mouth wash had effect size of 0.51(0.03, 1.00, p = 0.04) and it was 0.53 (95 % CI: 0.19, 0.87; p = 0.002) in patients without adjunctive therapy. The publication bias of the studies was 0.066 according to Egger’s test. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, there is a significant reduction of Glycated hemoglobin and Fasting plasma glucose level on type 2 diabetic and periodontal patients with non-surgical periodontal therapy.

Scapular stabilization approaches have been a mainstay of therapeutic training programs in the recent past for patients with subacromial im-pingement syndrome, whereas its contributions solely in the clinical outcome of reducing shoulder pain and disability are largely unclear. This systematic review aims to evaluate and summarize the best evi-dence regarding the role of scapular stabilization interventions in allevi-ating shoulder dysfunction among subjects with subacromial impinge-ment syndrome. Six reviewers involved in this systematic review. Liter-ature was retrieved systematically through searching 5 electronic data-bases (PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Google Scholar). Articles published from the year 2010 up to and including 2019 were in-cluded. The literature search included clinical trials those intervened subjects with scapular exercises or scapular stabilization exercises or scapular rehabilitation, as an intervention for subacromial impingement syndrome. Seven studies, totaling 228 participants were included in this systematic review. Articles included in this review were graded ac-cording to Lloyd-Smith hierarchy of evidence scale and critically ap-praised with a tool developed by National, Heart, Lung and Blood Insti-tute (United States), named as quality assessment of controlled inter-vention studies tool. There was a significant effect on the scapular sta-bilization exercise program on improving pain and disability among sub-jects with subacromial impingement syndrome. This systematic review provides sufficient evidence to suggest that scapular stabilization exer-cises offers effectiveness in reducing pain and disability among sub-jects with subacromial impingement syndrome. However, more trials with larger sample are needed to provide a more definitive evidence on the clinical outcomes of scapular stabilization exercises among pa-tients with impingement.

Balance dysfunction and postural instability in Parkinson’s disease are among the most relevant determinants of an impaired quality of life. Physiotherapy interventions are essential to reduce the level of disability by treating balance dysfunction and postural instability. The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to test the effectiveness of conventional physiotherapy interventions in the management of balance dysfunction and postural instability in Persons with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. A systematic literature search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed/Medline, PEDro, Rehadat, and Rehab Trials were performed by 2 reviewers (AY and AT) independently. Eligible randomised controlled trials published from September 2005 to June 2015 were included. The selected RCTs, which investigated the effects of conventional physiotherapy treatments in the management of postural instability and balance dysfunction in Persons with Parkinson’s disease, were assessed on a methodological quality rating scale. Included studies differed clearly from each other with regard to patient characteristics, intervention protocol, and outcome measures. Important characteristics and outcomes were extracted, summarized and analyzed. Eight trials with a total of 483 participants were eligible for inclusion of which 5 trials provide data for meta-analysis. Benefits from conventional physiotherapy treatment were reported for all of the outcomes assessed. The pooled estimates of effects showed significantly improved berg balance scale (SMD, 0.23; 95 % CI, 0.10–0.36; P < 0.001) after exercise therapy, in comparison with no exercise or sham treatment. Exercise interventions specifically addressing components of balance dysfunction demonstrated the largest efficacy with moderate effect size (SMD, 5.98; 95 % CI, 2.29–9.66; P < 0.001). Little effects were observed for interventions that specifically targeted Falls efficacy scale. The pooled data indicated that physiotherapy exercises decreased the incidence of falling by 6.73 (95 % CI: −14.00, 0.54, p = 0.07) with the overall effect of Z = 1.81. Physiotherapy interventions like balance training combined with muscle strengthening, the range of movement and walking training exercise is effective in improving balance in patients with Parkinson’s disease and more effective than balance exercises alone. Highly challenging balance training and incremental speed-dependent treadmill training can also be part of a rehabilitation program for management of balance dysfunction and Postural instability in patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease.

Shoulder and neck pain are reported as the most common occupational-related health problem and cause of morbidity, absenteeism from work among school teachers worldwide. School teachers represent an occupational group, who are exposed and appears to have prevalent shoulder and/or neck pain due to their daily work tasks and the nature of work. There is a scant epidemiological study regarding shoulder and neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was set out to assess the prevalence and associated factors of shoulder and/or neck pain among school teachers of Gondar town in North West Ethiopia. An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to January 2017, a structured questionnaire adapted from the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was distributed to 848 primary and secondary school teachers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. To assess the burden of shoulder and/neck pain, data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and physical measures like height and weight were also measured during data collection. Independent variables which had significant association were identified using logistic regression model. A total of 754 teachers participated, with a mean age of 42 ± 9.73 years (88.9% response rate). Previous 12 months self-reported prevalence of shoulder and/ neck pain among school teachers was 57.3% with 95%CI (53.4–61.0%). Regular physical exercise (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.08–0.42), teaching experience (OR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.09–7.42), static head down posture (OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.55–3.33), elevated arm over shoulder (OR = 2.71, 95% CI: 1.86–3.95), prolonged sitting (OR = 1.50,95% CI: 1.02–2.23) and hypertension (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.24–3.82) were factors found to be significantly associated with shoulder and/neck pain. More than half of the study participants self-reported to have suffered shoulder and neck pain in the previous 12 months. Teaching experience, static head down posture, elevated arm over shoulder, and hypertension are likely to be significantly associated with shoulder and/ neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia. Engaging in regular physical exercise has a protective effect against the shoulder and/or neck pain. Therefore, school authorities are recommended to provide facilities to enhance physical activity among school teachers and also provide adjustable board and classroom materials.