Introduction:
The correct nutrition and health information is given to all consumers by several world-renowned international databases with an important role in public health and global human health. The systematic review or SR needs to be updated from time to time by international databases, and the nutrition information should be free from errors or bias by healthcare professionals or nutrition experts practicing systematic reviews.
What Is Systematic Review (SR) In Nutrition Science?
A systematic review is a super-organized way of looking at a bunch of studies on a specific topic. Instead of just reading one study, researchers carefully gather, check, and put together all the relevant studies to get a clear and reliable picture of what is going on. It is like having a well-organized summary of all the important information about a particular subject.
Doctors and researchers see systematic reviews in medical, dental, or nutrition studies as the best way to base their decisions on evidence. It is like a gold standard for figuring out what works and what does not work in healthcare. Systematic reviewing in the field of nutrition refers to the method or the means to systematically collect, appraise, as well as synthesize the knowledge of current nutrition science or the body of evidence in an integrated approach. Systemic review focuses on specific research-based questions that help classify, differentiate, and establish a correct path for understanding nutrition science or literature.
SRs are carried out by narrative reviewing and follow a predefined methodological approach. These systematic reviews are meant to eliminate any risk of bias so that the consumers or the food industries themselves are not influenced by only health-based claims or pseudo-science theories.
How Systematic Reviews Can Prevent Errors or Misinformation About Health and Nutrition?
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The methodology of systematic reviews (SR) is crucial in scientific evidence reviews within the field of nutrition science.
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Conducting randomized controlled trials, placebo studies, and meta-analyses through SR provides comprehensive information on various aspects of diet, nutrition, and health claims.
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SR in nutrition minimizes errors, ensuring accurate health information for present-day health practitioners and consumers.
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Regular updates in systematic reviews contribute to keeping health and nutrition information about diet, food, and individual elements such as fruits, vegetables, whole foods, and grains.
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Systematic reviews play an important role in preventing potential errors that arise from health rumors, claims, or misinformation.
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They are considered the primary source of knowledge, offering insights for health and nutritional practitioners like dieticians and nutritionists.
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Systematic reviews are the foundation for evidence-based clinical practice in the current generation.
How Has the Concept of Systematic Review Evolved?
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International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): In 2011, PROSPERO became the first widely accepted international database for reporting accurate information in nutrition literature. Its purpose is to minimize duplication of author opinions on dietary and nutrition-based food elements, as well as reviews. Health practitioners can use PROSPERO to study previously submitted information on health and nutrition science written in international journals or by other authors, compare it with current evidence, and formulate the nutrition-based knowledge needed to eliminate misinterpreted terms, theories, or information.
However, PROSPERO is currently underused or undermined because it cannot consider many crucial elements of medical practice, such as workforce planning, education for general health practitioners, and methodological areas of a practical approach like developing food composition databases and dietary assessment tools, which are either not possible or difficult to include in this database.
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Consort and Strobe: Over the years, several essential guidelines have been formulated for reporting clinical trials and cohort studies through the last few decades. These can be seen when medical or nutrition research is presented in the form of consort and strobe statements respectively.
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Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA): In 2009, Moher et al. were credited for developing the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (also called or termed PRISMA). The Prisma database conveys information through checklists or flow diagrams. The information given by PRISMA allows for a consistent reporting of systematic reviews and also aids in improving the transparency of information. PRISMA database was known to be highly beneficial in the field of nutrition and dietetics in reducing the risk of bias.
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United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): According to the guidelines of the Nutrition Evidence Library of the USDA, a specific methodology will combine multiple SRs on current nutrition topics. It helps in understanding the relationship between dietary patterns and global health outcomes, the nutrition requirements and guidelines to be practiced at the community levels.
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World Health Organization (WHO): Similarly, nutrition recommendations also follow the guidelines developed by the WHO which use SRs. These are used in formulating global health and nutrition policies at national and international levels in various countries.
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Cochrane Review: Traditionally, for many decades, in the domain of medicine, Cochrane reviews have been the standard for nutrition science. The Cochrane reviews on nutrition topics are conducted regularly. A specific Cochrane nutrition group has also been launched in 2016. These systematic reviews or SRs through Cochrane reviews aim to continually update and integrate new scientific evidence about foods, diet, and health and are currently being carried out by the Cochrane collaboration.
What Is Practice-Based Evidence in Nutrition?
This international collaboration was developed between the Dietitians of Canada, the Dietetics Association of Australia, and the British Dietetic Association. Evidence-based nutrition can be contributed by medical practitioners in these databases regarding dietary guidelines, nutrient recommendations, or healthy diet plans or choices by experts and interdisciplinary health care professionals or working groups.
Conclusion:
The current framework in nutrition is based on evidence and research. It is crucial to continuously implement and update systematic reviews to provide healthcare practitioners, consumers, and food industries with accurate and relevant nutrition information. This is important because consumers can be easily influenced by pseudo-science, health claims, or diets that lack scientific evidence or benefits. Nutrition researchers and policymakers face a growing challenge to collaborate and synthesize correct information and facts in the field of nutrition science. This can be achieved through systematic reviewing of international databases, which can contribute to significant improvements in public and global health.
