NHS Evidence - Eyes on Evidence December 2012

. . . providing easy access to a comprehensive evidence base for everyone in health and social care who takes decisions about treatments or the use of resources.  A monthly bulletin is produced, Eyes on Evidence; the issue for December 2012 includes:

  1. Evaluating register-based chlamydia screening.  A trial involving young people aged 16 to 29 years in the Netherlands reported that individual invitations to order home sampling kits via the internet is a feasible option for chlamydia screening. However, the programme did not increase testing enough to significantly reduce chlamydia prevalence.
  2. Bullying and self-harm in young adolescents.  Research showed that bullying is associated with an increased risk of self-harm in young people. However, although anti-bullying campaigns could be more effective than they are currently, there is also a need to improve ways in which children cope with emotional stress.
  3. Cranberry products for the prevention of urinary tract infections.  Two large reviews evaluated the use of cranberry containing products for the prevention of urinary tract infections. This evidence reinforces current advice and does not provide strong enough evidence to change current practice.
  4.  The ORIGIN study found that supplementation with 1g per day of omega-3 fatty acids did not reduce the rate of cardiovascular events or the risk of dying from these events or from any cause in people with, or at high risk of, type 2 diabetes who also had evidence of cardiovascular disease.

Website:  NHS Eyes on Evidence