Previous literature has reported that patients with diabetes in pregnancy (DIP) are at risk of developing antepartum depression but the results have been inconsistent in cohort studies. We conducted a systematic review and performed a meta-analysis to quantify the association between DIP and risk of antepartum depression in cohort studies. Medline, Cinahl, and PubMed databases were searched for studies investigating DIP involving pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus and their risk of antepartum depression that were published in journals from inception to 27 December 2019. We derived the summary estimates using a random-effects model and reported the findings as pooled relative risks (RR) and confidence interval (CI). Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and was quantified by Egger and Begg’s tests. Ten studies, involving 71,036 pregnant women were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled RR to develop antepartum depression was (RR = 1.430, 95% CI: 1.251–1.636) among women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Combining pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus, they had a significant increased risk of developing antepartum depression (RR = 1.431, 95% CI: 1.205–1.699) compared with those without it. In comparison, we found no association between pre-existing diabetes mellitus in pregnancy (RR = 1.300, 95% CI: 0.736–2.297) and the risk of developing antepartum depression. This study has a few limitations: first, different questionnaire and cut-off points were used in evaluation of depression across the studies. Second, there was a lack of data on history of depression prior to pregnancy, which lead to confounding bias that could not be solved by this meta-analysis. Third, data were dominated by studies in Western countries; this is due to the studies from Eastern countries failing to meet our inclusion criteria for statistical analysis. Women with gestational diabetes mellitus have an increased risk of developing antepartum depression compared to those without the disease. Therefore, more attention on the mental health status should be given on pregnant women diagnosed with pre-existing diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus.

A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition, though literature showed that there are various factors affecting the intention to purchase and consume healthy food. Technology integration is known to be useful in various aspects, but findings from studies on the efficacy of technology integration to improve healthy food consumption and purchase have largely been inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to examine the efficacy of interventions that use technology apps to improve healthy food purchasing and consumption in adults. Relevant studies were identified through PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, SportDiscuss and ACM Digital Library. Twenty studies were included in the systematic review. The majority of studies (n = 18) used a smartphone in the intervention, and only two studies used a personal digital assistant. The results showed that technology integration-based intervention favoured healthy changes in household food purchases, and increased consumption of healthy food and healthy eating outcomes – albeit to different extents. Overall, technology apps are convenient and user-friendly tools to encourage a change in healthy food purchase and consumption among people.

Older adults were advised to avoid social activities during the outbreak of COVID-19. Consequently, they no longer received the social and emotional support they had gained from such activities. Internet use might be a solution to remedy the situation. Therefore, this scoping review sought to map the literature on Internet use and mental health in the older population during the pandemic to examine the extent and nature of the research. A scoping review was conducted using eight databases—PubMed, Scopus, Ebscohost Medline, Ebscohost Academic Search, Ebscohost CINAHL Plus, Ebscohost Cochrane, Ebscohost Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Ebscohost SPORTDiscus, according to PRISMA guidelines. Two pre-tested templates (quantitative and qualitative studies) were developed to extract data and perform descriptive analysis and thematic summary. A total of ten articles met the eligibility criteria. Seven out of ten studies were quantitative, while the remainder were qualitative. Five common themes were identified from all the included studies. Our review revealed that Internet use for communication purposes seems to be associated with better mental health in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Directions for future research and limitations of review are also discussed.

The interaction of dietary and genetic factors may affect the development of bone deterioration. This study investigated whether the effects of dietary acid load (DAL) on bone loss in postmenopausal Chinese women were moderated by the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) single nucleotide polymorphism, a known gene that plays a role in the regulation of bone formation and bone remodeling. A total of 217 healthy participants were recruited from the National Council of Senior Citizens Organizations Malaysia. Serum collagen type 1 cross-linked C-telopeptide was used as a surrogate bone marker to assess bone resorption and Agena® MassARRAY genotyping analysis was used to identify the signaling of IGF-1 rs35767. The dietary acid load was measured by potential renal acid load score while physical activity was ascertained using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression was applied to test the main and interaction effects of DAL and IGF-1 genotypes in bone resorption. The result supported the diet-dependent acid-base balance theory that higher DAL was positively associated with bone resorption (β = 0.152, p = 0.031, F(6,207) = 2.11, sig-F = 0.036, R2 = 0.079). However, the results indicated that there was no significant correlation between IGF-1 and bone resorption, or any significant interaction between DAL and IGF-1. In conclusion, there was no moderating effect of IGF-1 on the relationship between DAL and bone resorption.