The notable increase in number of individuals reaching advancing ages over the past decades resulted in the emergence of various physical and mental disorders that necessitate intervention. Two of the major illnesses encountered at this age group include depression and malnutrition. Depression and malnutrition are prevalent among geriatric population and seem to be strongly associated. The relationship between those two conditions is interactive. Depression leads to appetite and weight changes that results in malnutrition, and poor nutrition predispose old individuals to psychiatric upset (depression, agitation, and irritability). Loss of appetite and weight and major criteria for diagnosis of depression. It is suggested that the neurotransmitters and hormonal changes occurring in depressing are responsible for alteration in appetite. On the other hand, dietary supplements are essential for mood regulation. Carbohydrates, proteins, vitamin B, selenium, zinc, lithium, chromium, calcium, and other trace elements are protective against depression. Depression and malnutrition have common risk factors such as loneliness, lack of social support, physical illness, functional impairment, financial paucity, and endocrinal disturbances. There is a vicious circle between depression and malnutrition. Therefore, clinicians should pay attention to both psychological and physical aspects during treating elderly with depression, malnutrition, or both. This article aims to discuss the relationship between depression and malnutrition among geriatric population.

Type 2 diabetes is a major global public health issue, and the rapid increase in prevalence over the past decades is expected to continue. The present analysis aimed to investigate the relation between egg consumption and type 2 diabetes risk in older adults. We conducted this meta-analysis using a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials till 01 February 2018 for prospective observational studies that assessed the relationship of the dietary fat and cholesterol and risk of diabetes in older adults. We identified 15 prospective studies that could be included in the meta-analysis. When comparing the highest with the lowest category of egg intake, pooled multivariate RRs of incident diabetes mellitus were 1.25 (95% CI: 1.13, 1.44) using a fixed-effect model and 1.12 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.56) using a random-effect model. There was evidence for heterogeneity (I2=75.8%, p<0.001). Our meta-analysis shows no relation between infrequent egg consumption and diabetes mellitus risk but suggests a modest elevated risk of diabetes mellitus with ≥3 eggs/wk that is restricted to US studies.

Griseofulvin has been the normal treatment for tinea capitis. However, newer antifungal agents, mainly terbinafine, are increasingly being used due to the short period of treatment and more reliable absorption rates. We pursued to compare the efficacy of oral terbinafine and oral griseofulvin in the treatment and management of tinea capitis. A systematic search of PubMed and the Cochrane Library was conducted up to July 2017 to recognize relevant trials. We also searched for additional trials included in published systematic reviews and bibliographies of all relevant studies comparing terbinafine and griseofulvin in the treatment and management of tinea capitis in immunocompetent patients. Five studies comprising 2035 subjects were included. There was no significant difference in efficacy between griseofulvin (mean duration of treatment 8 weeks, range 6-12 weeks) and terbinafine (mean duration of treatment 4 weeks, range 2-6 weeks); odds ratio=1.2 favoring terbinafine (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.79-1.9; p=0.4). Subgroup analysis revealed that terbinafine was more efficacious than griseofulvin in treating Trichophyton species (1.7; 95% CI=1.28-2.1; p<0.001) and griseofulvin was more efficacious than terbinafine in treating Microsporum species (0.4; 95% CI=0.3-0.7; p<0.001). Both griseofulvin and terbinafine demonstrated good safety profiles in the studies. The present meta-analysis recommends that terbinafine is more efficacious than griseofulvin in treating tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton species, while griseofulvin is more efficacious than terbinafine in treating tinea capitis caused by Microsporum species.