BackgroundHypertension and obesity are known to contribute, directly or indirectly, to the development of long-term complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Knowing the prevalence of these comorbidities is important for determining the size of the population that may benefit from strategies that reduce blood pressure and weight while controlling blood glucose.MethodsIn this systematic literature review, electronic searches of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were conducted to identify observational studies of hypertension and/or obesity prevalence in patients with T2DM throughout the world. The searches were limited to studies reported in English from January 1, 2001 to February 16, 2012.ResultsFrom a total of 2,688 studies, 92 observational studies provided prevalence rates for hypertension and/or obesity specifically in adults with T2DM. Fifteen studies of specific subtypes of hypertension or subpopulations with T2DM were subsequently excluded, leaving 78 studies (in 77 articles) for inclusion in this article. Of these, 61studies reported hypertension prevalence, 44 reported obesity prevalence, and 12 reported the prevalence of hypertension with obesity. Most studies had a low risk of bias regarding diagnosis of T2DM (70/78), hypertension (59/69), or obesity (45/47). The continental regions with the most observational studies of hypertension or obesity prevalence were Europe (n = 30) and Asia (n = 26). Hypertension rates typically were high in all regions; most studies presented rates above 50%, and many presented rates above 75%. Obesity rates exceeded 30% in 38 of 44 studies and 50% in 14 of 44 studies, especially those assessing central obesity (based on waist circumference). Among obese adults, hypertension rates were at or above 70% in Asia and above 80% in Europe; rates were lower in North and South America but still above 30%.ConclusionAround the world, hypertension and obesity, separately or together, are common comorbidities in adults with T2DM.

BackgroundInfertility has a negative impact on quality of life (QoL) and well-being of affected individuals and couples. A variety of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures to assess infertility-related QoL are available; however, there is a concern regarding potential issues with their development methodology, validation and use. This review aimed to i) identify PRO measures used in infertility interventional studies ii) assess validation evidence to identify a reliable, valid PRO measure to assess changes in QoL or treatment satisfaction in clinical studies with female patients following treatment with novel therapies iii) identify potential gaps in evidence for validity.MethodsA structured literature search of Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library (accessed in September 2015) was conducted using pre-defined search terms. The identified publications were reviewed applying eligibility criteria to select interventional female infertility studies using PROs. Infertility-specific PRO measures assessing QoL, treatment satisfaction or psychiatric health, and included in studies by ≥2 research groups were selected and critically reviewed in light of scientific and regulatory guidance (e.g. FDA PRO Guidance for Industry) for evidence of content validity, psychometric strength, and patient acceptability.ResultsThe literature search and hand-searching yielded 122 publications; 78 unique PRO measures assessing QoL, treatment satisfaction or psychiatric health were identified. Five PRO measures met the selection criteria for detailed review: Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL); Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI); Fertility Problem Stress (FPS); Infertility Questionnaire (IFQ); Illness Cognitions Questionnaire adapted for Infertility (ICQ-I). None of the PRO measures met all validation criteria. The FertiQoL was the most widely used infertility-specific PRO measure to assess QoL in interventional studies, with reasonable evidence for adequate content validity, psychometric strength, and linguistic validation. However, gaps in evidence remain including test-retest reliability and thresholds for interpreting clinically important changes. While the FPI demonstrated reasonable evidence for content and psychometric validity, its utility as an outcome measure is limited by a lack of recall period.ConclusionThe FertiQoL and the FPI are potentially useful measures of infertility-related QoL in interventional studies. Further research is recommended to address gaps in evidence and confirm both PRO measures as reliable assessments of patient outcomes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-017-0666-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The results suggest that hypoglycaemia, weight change, gastrointestinal side effects and efficacy are of primary importance to patients in their OAD preferences in T2DM. These four attributes comprised over 80% of the RI.

ResearchT he Term Breech Trial was a large multicentre, international randomized controlled trial that was conducted to determine whether planned cesarean was safer than planned vaginal birth for the delivery of the singleton fetus in frank or complete breech presentation at term. The study involved 2088 women from 121 centres in 26 countries. Participants were randomly assigned to either planned cesarean or planned vaginal birth. Data were received for 2083 women. Of the 1041 women assigned to the planned cesarean group, 941 (90.4%) actually delivered by cesarean; of the 1042 women assigned to the planned vaginal birth group, 591 (56.7%) delivered vaginally. The study's main findings were that the combined outcome of perinatal or neonatal death and serious neonatal morbidity, excluding lethal congenital anomalies, was significantly lower in the planned cesarean group than in the planned vaginal birth group (17/ In this study we sought to determine whether a policy of planned cesarean section in the event of breech presentation is more or less expensive than a policy of planned vaginal birth. We report the estimated cost of each management strategy and discuss the economic and policy implications of our findings. MethodsA detailed description of the Term Breech Trial and its findings can be found elsewhere.1,2 In brief, the study involved women with a singleton live fetus in a frank or complete breech presentation at term. Women were excluded if there was evidence of fetopelvic disproportion, if the fetus was judged to be clinically large or to have an estimated fetal The costs of planned cesarean versus planned vaginal birth in the Term Breech TrialBackground: The Term Breech Trial compared the safety of planned cesarean and planned vaginal birth for breech presentations at term. The combined outcome of perinatal or neonatal death and serious neonatal morbidity was found to be significantly lower among babies delivered by planned cesarean section. In this study we conducted a cost analysis of the 2 approaches to breech presentations at delivery.