Search Results (167)

Background/Objectives: The management of edentulism and severe alveolar bone loss in older adults remains a significant challenge in implant dentistry. Given the potential biological and therapeutic burden associated with extensive regenerative procedures, increasing interest has been directed toward treatment strategies that utilize available anatomy and reduce surgical complexity. This narrative review examined contemporary augmentation-avoidance approaches for implant rehabilitation in geriatric patients. Methods: A structured narrative literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, including studies published up to 30 May 2026. Clinical studies, systematic, umbrella and narrative reviews, meta-analyses that evaluate augmentation-avoidance approaches in implant dentistry were considered. The review examined evidence relevant to older adults, including clinical, prosthetic, functional, and patient-centered outcomes. Results: The available literature describes multiple strategies for managing reduced bone availability, including short and ultra-short implants, narrow-diameter implants, tilted implant concepts, pterygoid and trans-sinus implants, zygomatic implants, immediate loading protocols, flapless and computer-guided surgery, and implant-retained overdentures. These approaches have broadened the range of treatment options available for patients with reduced bone availability and may reduce the need for extensive regenerative procedures in selected clinical situations. In addition to implant and prosthetic outcomes, increasing attention has been directed toward oral health-related quality of life, masticatory function, treatment satisfaction, and maintenance requirements. However, evidence specifically focused on geriatric populations remains limited. Conclusions: Contemporary implant dentistry offers several alternatives to extensive bone regeneration in carefully selected geriatric patients, although current evidence is largely extrapolated from mixed adult populations. Treatment planning should integrate anatomical conditions with systemic health, functional status, frailty-related factors, and long-term maintenance considerations. Further geriatric-focused research is needed to support patient-centered decision-making and optimize long-term rehabilitation outcomes in aging populations. Full article

Background: Over the last decade, numerous studies have investigated the administration of monoclonal anti-amyloid antibodies (AAAs) as a therapeutic approach in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The purpose of this umbrella review is to summarize current knowledge concerning the efficacy and safety of FDA- and EMA-approved AAAs for AD, namely, lecanemab and donanemab. Methods: We conducted a literature search in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases in English, focusing on systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses, assessed by AMSTAR 2, concerning clinical and imaging efficacy, i.e., cognitive improvement and reduction of beta-amyloid on PET scan, as well as safety, i.e., adverse events and amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA). The extracted review-level dataset was entered into SPSS Version 26 for descriptive statistical analysis. Results: This umbrella review included 11 systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses. Patients treated with lecanemab or donanemab showed statistically significant changes on cognitive scales such as the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) (mean effect estimate −0.485, SD = 0.152, −0.70 to −0.34) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog), but most were below or around clinically meaningful thresholds. Lecanemab and donanemab showed a statistically significant decrease in amyloid PET outcomes, including centiloids or the standardized uptake value ratio. Both antibodies were linked to ARIA, including amyloid-related imaging abnormalities-edema (ARIA-E OR 8.32–12.26) and amyloid-related imaging abnormalities-hemorrhage (ARIA-H OR 2–5.77), especially in ApoEε4 carriers. Conclusions: Lecanemab and donanemab are biologically active drugs for the treatment of early AD, with cognitive benefits below or around the clinically meaningful threshold. They are, however, associated with increased ARIA risk. Their administration depends upon careful patient selection, shared decision-making, and clear communication regarding expectations. Full article

Background/Objectives: Exercise snacks—brief, purposeful bouts of physical activity distributed throughout the day—may modify postprandial metabolic regulation, particularly glucose handling and insulin responses, while reducing time barriers to structured exercise. However, repeated primary studies and variable definitions may overstate evidence maturity. We reappraised evidence on exercise snacks and acute postprandial metabolism using review-level evaluation and independent study families. Methods: We conducted an umbrella review with de novo meta-analyses when evidence was sufficiently comparable. Six bibliographic databases and three supplementary literature-discovery sources were searched through 5 August 2026. Exercise snacks were defined as active bouts ≤ 15 min, performed at least twice per intervention day, and distributed across the day. AMSTAR 2, ROBIS, and corrected covered area (CCA) assessed review quality, risk of bias, and overlap. Random-effects models used restricted maximum likelihood with Hartung–Knapp adjustment; paired crossover effects were Hedges’ g_z. RoB 2 and GRADE were applied. Results: Twenty-one systematic reviews were included; outcome-specific CCA ranged from 11.2% to 30.2%. After deduplication, only four study families contributed to acute plasma glucose iAUC, three to plasma insulin iAUC, and two to exploratory acute CGM glucose iAUC. Given these small evidence sets and the conservative Hartung–Knapp adjustment, the analyses had limited precision and statistical power to detect small-to-moderate effects. No statistically clear pooled effect was observed for plasma glucose (Hedges’ g_z = −0.127, 95% CI −1.111 to 0.857; I² = 77.9%) or insulin iAUC (Hedges’ g_z = −0.520, 95% CI −1.263 to 0.222; I² = 15.3%). The two-study CGM synthesis was descriptive and hypothesis-generating and neither supported nor refuted an acute glucose effect. Conclusions: Review-level abundance exceeded the independent quantitative evidence available for robust inference. The current analyses were underpowered to establish small-to-moderate pooled effects of exercise snacks on acute postprandial glucose or insulin metabolism; therefore, the findings indicate limited and statistically unstable evidence rather than evidence of no metabolic benefit. Full article

Depression has become a major concern for educational institutes due to its increasing incidence and detrimental impacts on students’ well-being. However, its global prevalence in the context of tertiary education remains unclear. This umbrella review summarised existing meta-analyses and systematic reviews to examine the worldwide prevalence of depression among university students. Several sociodemographic and methodological factors, including differences in depression prevalence before, during, and after COVID-19, were examined as moderators. Structured and exhaustive searches were conducted in five bibliographic databases and five journals, alongside two sources of grey literature. A total of 61 meta-analyses and systematic reviews were included in the final synthesis. Review-level sample sizes ranged from 823 to 8,238,954 (Mdn = 24,047), covering all inhabited continents and a broad range of countries across high-, middle-, and low-income settings. The global median prevalence of depression across the included reviews was 32.00%, with reported estimates ranging from 11.00% to 63.00%. Analysis of specific populations highlighted greater vulnerability among female students and those studying in Asia compared to Europe. The pandemic was shown to have contributed to the increase in depression prevalence among university students. Given this high prevalence of depression, there is an imperative need for educational institutions to prioritise mental well-being. Full article

Background and Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent sleep-related breathing disorder associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the standard treatment for OSA; however, its effects on cardiovascular outcomes remain incompletely established. This umbrella review synthesized and critically appraised the evidence regarding the effects of CPAP on surrogate, intermediate, and functional cardiovascular outcomes in adults with OSA. Materials and Methods: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses evaluating CPAP therapy in adults with OSA was conducted. A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from database inception to 28 February 2026. Eligible reviews assessed cardiovascular outcomes, including blood pressure, cardiac function, autonomic function, cardiovascular biomarkers, and functional cardiovascular measures. Methodological quality was evaluated using AMSTAR 2, and the certainty of evidence for the main outcomes was assessed using the GRADE framework. Results: Thirty-eight systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included. CPAP therapy was consistently associated with reductions in systolic blood pressure (mean difference [MD] −4.8 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (MD −3.0 mmHg), with additional improvements in 24 h ambulatory blood pressure. Favorable effects were also observed for left ventricular ejection fraction (MD 3.27), left ventricular diastolic function (weighted mean difference [WMD] 0.22), and sympathetic nervous system activity, reflected by lower circulating noradrenaline levels (standardized mean difference [SMD] −1.10) in randomized controlled trials. Improvements in BNP/NT-proBNP concentrations and New York Heart Association functional class were reported among patients with heart failure, whereas no significant effect was observed on body mass index. The certainty of evidence ranged from low to moderate, and methodological confidence of the included reviews was predominantly moderate, low, or critically low. Conclusions: CPAP therapy was associated with improvements in several surrogate, intermediate, and functional cardiovascular outcomes in adults with OSA, particularly blood pressure, left ventricular function, and sympathetic activity. However, the certainty of evidence ranged from low to moderate, and substantial heterogeneity and methodological limitations warrant cautious interpretation. Current evidence remains insufficient to demonstrate a consistent reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events or cardiovascular mortality. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials with longer follow-up are needed to clarify the long-term cardiovascular impact of CPAP therapy. Full article

Background and Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a major systemic modifier of oral infection, periodontal inflammation, and tissue healing. Persistent hyperglycemia may intensify oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, dysbiotic biofilm activity, and advanced glycation end-product/receptor signaling, thereby reducing the predictability of periapical and periodontal healing. In patients with endo-periodontal lesions, these mechanisms may interact with pulpal infection and periodontal breakdown, complicating diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic sequencing. This review summarizes current evidence on diabetes, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and endo-periodontal outcomes and proposes an HbA1c-guided clinical framework for risk stratification and treatment planning. Materials and Methods: A structured narrative review with an expert-informed clinical framework was conducted using the literature published between January 2016 and December 2025. Eligible sources included consensus reports, clinical practice guidelines, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, umbrella reviews, randomized and non-randomized clinical studies, observational studies, and selected mechanistic studies or contemporary narrative reviews with direct relevance to the framework. Case reports, animal studies, and in vitro investigations without direct relevance to the clinical framework were excluded from the main synthesis. Results: Diabetes is associated with increased periodontal severity, impaired periodontal treatment response, a higher prevalence of radiolucent periapical lesions in root-filled teeth, delayed periapical healing, and increased non-retention of endodontically treated teeth. Periodontal therapy is safe in diabetic patients and may be associated with modest reductions in HbA1c, especially when baseline metabolic control is poor. Conclusions: HbA1c should complement, not replace, pulpal testing, periodontal charting, and radiographic assessment. The proposed framework prioritizes endodontic infection control when pulpal necrosis or active intracanal infection is present, adapts periodontal intervention to metabolic risk, and postpones elective surgical or regenerative procedures in poorly controlled diabetes until medical stabilization is achieved. Full article

Background/Objectives: Internet gaming has become a widespread global activity, raising concerns about the prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). However, existing meta-analyses report highly variable prevalence estimates. This umbrella review aims to clarify the prevalence and variability of IGD by synthesizing evidence from meta-analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of IGD prevalence across populations, age groups, and regions. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, systematic searches were carried out across five published literature databases and two supplementary search sources. Title and abstract screening, followed by full-text eligibility assessment, were conducted independently by three authors. The same three authors then performed data extraction and quality assessment for the nine included meta-analyses. Results: After screening, nine eligible meta-analyses were included. The overall median prevalence of IGD was 6.20%, with an interquartile range of 4.25% to 8.30%. Subgroup analyses indicated a higher prevalence among males compared to females. Evidence for age differences between adolescents and adults was limited and should be interpreted cautiously because age groups were inconsistently defined across meta-analyses. Regional comparisons suggested higher prevalence estimates in Asia than in Europe, and gamer profile comparisons suggested higher prevalence estimates in gamers than in the general population, although evidence for these differences was limited and not consistent across meta-analyses. Conclusions: Overall, the findings indicate that IGD affects a sizeable proportion of the population, but prevalence estimates vary depending on demographic and regional characteristics. Greater consistency in diagnostic criteria, assessment tools, and reporting standards is needed to improve the comparability and interpretability of IGD prevalence research. Full article

Background: Seasonal influenza remains a major public health challenge worldwide, causing significant morbidity each year and imposing substantial burdens on individuals, healthcare systems, and national economies. Vaccination is considered the most effective available strategy for prevention; however, uptake rates vary considerably across countries, with many failing to achieve the recommended coverage levels. The aim of this umbrella review is to systematically synthesize and critically appraise the existing evidence on healthcare professionals’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors regarding seasonal influenza vaccination. Methods: This umbrella review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 statement. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. The following search terms were used: beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, influenza vaccination, flu vaccine, healthcare professionals and primary healthcare. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) Reviews, (2) Published after 1 January 2000, (3) English language, (4) Healthcare professionals as the target-population. Results: Twenty-five studies met the selection criteria and were included in this review. Twelve out of 25 studies were systematic reviews. Globally, vaccination uptake remains below recommended levels, with reported coverage ranging from approximately 2% to 44% in several settings, while rates can exceed 90% in countries with mandatory vaccination policies. North America demonstrates the highest vaccination coverage, while the lowest coverage is reported in Africa and South America. Overall, low- and middle-income countries show significantly lower vaccination behavior compared with high-income countries. Attitudes and beliefs appear to shape vaccination behavior in high-income countries. The main driver of acceptance is perceived protection of oneself and family, whereas hesitancy is mainly driven by concerns about side effects and vaccine safety. Across studies, non-physician healthcare professionals consistently demonstrated lower influenza vaccine acceptance compared with physicians, while pediatricians and general practitioners were found to receive the influenza vaccine more frequently. In addition, younger physicians and those with fewer years of professional experience showed higher vaccination coverage and a greater likelihood of recommending influenza vaccination to patients. Conclusions: Vaccination coverage, worldwide, is lower than what is recommended by the World Health Organization. Healthcare professionals working in hospital settings tend to be vaccinated at a higher rate compared with those working in primary care or community-based healthcare settings. The recommendations that healthcare professionals give are influenced by whether they accept influenza vaccines themselves. Beliefs and attitudes seem to influence behavior in countries where structural barriers, such as limited access to primary healthcare and socio-economic status are absent. Full article

Objective: This umbrella review aimed to evaluate the strength and consistency of evidence linking genetic variants to dental caries susceptibility. Methods: An umbrella review was conducted, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was performed across six databases. Eligibility criteria included systematic reviews and meta-analyses of human subjects. Study selection, data extraction, and methodological quality assessment were performed systematically, with quality evaluated using the AMSTAR-2 tool. Multilevel meta-analyses were conducted to assess variant-specific and grouped genetic effects. Results: The search identified 29 eligible systematic reviews and meta-analyses for inclusion. The multilevel meta-analysis showed statistically significant associations for polymorphisms in TAS2R38 rs713598 (OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.09–0.73) and VDR Cdx-2 rs11568820 (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46–0.95), both indicating lower odds of dental caries, while MBL2 rs1800450 was associated with increased odds (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.03–2.14). However, pooled effects across the main gene categories, including tooth development and mineralization, salivary composition and function, immune and inflammatory response, taste perception, and signaling, were not statistically significant. Findings were heterogeneous across studies. Conclusions: Current evidence on the association between genetic variants and dental caries susceptibility remains limited and inconsistent, providing insufficient support for the use of genetic markers in risk assessment or personalized prevention. The significant single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations identified in this review are hypothesis-generating and require validation in larger and more diverse populations using standardized caries definitions and gene–environment approaches. Full article

Background/Objectives: Penile rehabilitation (PR) techniques are claimed to counteract chronic degenerative processes of cavernous tissue, such as penile hypoxia, neurovascular damage, and cavernous fibrosis. The objective of this umbrella review is to synthesize findings from existing meta-analyses to evaluate the efficacy of traditional and emerging PR strategies, providing an evidence-based roadmap for clinical management after surgery for prostate cancer. Methods: Conducted in accordance with PRIOR guidelines, a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Scopus was performed through April 2026. The review included primarily systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating pharmacological, physical, surgical, and regenerative interventions for post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction (ED). Methodological quality was independently assessed using standardized tools. Results: PDE5 inhibitors (PDE5-is) significantly improve erectile function during active treatment, yet evidence supporting their role in promoting spontaneous, “unassisted” recovery remains limited. Vacuum erectile devices demonstrate high efficacy for assisted intercourse but show minimal impact on returning to baseline function compared to placebo. Penile prosthesis (PP) implantation maintains robust efficacy with exceptionally high satisfaction rates (83–85%), proving independent of prior pelvic surgery. Although early-phase trials suggest clinical potential for regenerative therapies like low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy, platelet-rich plasma, and stem cell interventions, the evidence is currently undermined by substantial heterogeneity in study protocols and concerns regarding methodological quality. Conclusions: PR following radical prostatectomy remains a complex challenge characterized by poor evidence. While PDE5-Is are established first-line therapy for assisted function, PP remains the most reliable definitive treatment for refractory ED cases. Regenerative approaches show promise but remain investigational until standardized protocols and large-scale trials are established. Full article

As the global population continues to age, mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and social isolation among older adults are receiving increasing attention. The built environment is closely associated with older adults’ daily mobility, environmental perception, social participation, and mental health and well-being, but the evidence remains heterogeneous across spatial contexts, environmental indicators, and study designs. Previous umbrella reviews have summarized broad links between the built environment and healthy aging, but less attention has been paid to recent original empirical studies published after the COVID-19 pandemic, the distinction between objective environmental exposure and subjective environmental perception, and the role of social participation as a pathway linking environmental conditions to mental health and well-being. This study employs a systematic literature review approach, searching and screening peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2015 and January 2026 that focus on the associations between the built environment and older adults’ mental health and well-being. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were used for searching, supplemented by manual searching. After title and abstract screening and full-text evaluation, a total of 60 studies were included. Subsequently, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on aspects such as research design, spatial scale, environmental indicators, types of mental health outcomes, and potential pathways of action. In this review, core mental health and well-being outcomes included negative outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, stress, psychological distress, loneliness, and social isolation, and positive outcomes, such as life satisfaction, subjective well-being, psychological well-being, and mental well-being. Social participation was examined as a behavioral and psychosocial pathway rather than as a core outcome. Emerging methods, including street-view image analysis, FCN-based semantic segmentation, and XGBoost-SHAP, were examined because they can refine environmental exposure measurement and support variable-importance interpretation, rather than because they provide causal evidence. The main synthesis suggests that several built environment factors are associated with older adults’ mental health and well-being, although the strength and consistency of evidence vary across outcome types, spatial contexts, and study designs. (1) Exposure to green and blue spaces, quality of public open spaces, walkability and accessibility, accessibility of neighborhood facilities and services, housing and living conditions, and positive environmental perception are mostly associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness, as well as higher levels of life satisfaction, subjective well-being, and psychological well-being. (2) Conversely, adverse environmental exposures such as proximity to roads, pollution, non-vegetated spaces, and high-intensity urbanization are more likely to exacerbate negative psychological outcomes. Existing evidence also suggests that social participation is one of the important behavioral pathways through which the built environment is linked to the mental health of older adults, but it is not the only mechanism. (3) In addition, the direction and intensity of environmental associations remain heterogeneous under different spatial scales, indicator types, and research methods. Overall, this review contributes by organizing recent empirical evidence into a built environment–social participation–mental health and well-being framework, while emphasizing that most findings should be interpreted primarily as evidence of association rather than as stable or uniform causal effects. Full article

Over the past two decades, dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) has evolved from an emerging concept into a widely adopted approach within sustainable sample preparation. In parallel, a substantial body of review literature has accumulated, highlighting diverse applications and methodological developments. This umbrella review provides a structured synthesis of 59 review and systematic review articles published between 2006 and 2025, with the aim of examining how the review literature itself has shaped current understanding of DLLME. Methodological quality was appraised using the AMSTAR 2 framework, revealing considerable variability in review design and reporting practices. Key elements such as the transparent reporting of pre-defined review methods, fully reproducible search strategies, and structured assessments of bias were not routinely reported, and the majority of reviews were classified as critically low according to AMSTAR 2 criteria. To contextualize these findings, evidence redundancy was examined through structured overlap analysis, yielding a very low Corrected Covered Area (CCA = 0.0188), which indicates that existing reviews largely address complementary rather than repetitive aspects of DLLME. Thematic synthesis identified three dominant domains: methodological and mechanistic developments, green and sustainable extraction strategies, and application-driven advances in environmental and pharmaceutical analysis. Together, these findings provide a structured basis for improving future review design, evaluation, and editorial assessment in analytical chemistry, supporting more transparent, reproducible, and methodologically aligned evidence synthesis. Full article

Background/Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare. Its integration into community health nursing—a discipline centered on population-level prevention, health promotion, and primary care in community settings—remains insufficiently explored. This narrative review examines the opportunities, ethical challenges, and future directions for integrating AI into community health nursing education and practice. Methods: A literature search was conducted across PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore for publications between January 2017 and March 2026. The initial search yielded 612 records; after the removal of duplicates and screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts against predefined criteria, 58 sources were retained for thematic synthesis, comprising empirical studies, systematic and umbrella reviews, scoping reviews, meta-analyses, and authoritative policy documents. Screening and data extraction were performed by two reviewers, with disagreements resolved by discussion. Results: AI offers opportunities for community health nursing across four interconnected domains: clinical decision support for community-based assessments, predictive analytics for population health management, enhanced disease surveillance and outbreak detection, and personalized health education delivery. Significant challenges persist, including algorithmic bias, data privacy concerns, threats to the therapeutic nurse–client relationship, inadequate AI literacy among nursing faculty, and regulatory gaps. Most empirical evidence originates from hospital or general nursing settings; transferability to community contexts is therefore inferred rather than directly demonstrated. Conclusions: Responsible integration of AI into community health nursing requires curriculum reform, ethical governance frameworks, faculty development, equitable access, and interdisciplinary collaboration. AI should augment, not replace, the relational and culturally sensitive care that defines this discipline. Given the narrative nature of the review and the limited community-specific evidence, conclusions are framed as a vision of the AI–community health nursing interface rather than a definitive synthesis. Full article

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an emerging public health challenge in Africa, driven by rapid urbanisation, changing lifestyles and socio-economic transitions. As the global prevalence rises, evidence on the burden and determinants of DM across African countries remains fragmented and inconsistent. Objective: We aimed to synthesize evidence from existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the prevalence and determinants of diabetes mellitus across African populations, thereby informing targeted interventions and policy actions. Methods: This umbrella review followed the PRISMA guidelines and included systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies, published up to December 2024, that reported on DM prevalence and/or risk factors for DM in adults across four African countries. The literature was retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and African Journals Online (AJOL). Quality assessment was conducted using the AMSTAR 2 (A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews, version 2) tool, and only moderate- to high-quality reviews were retained. Random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled prevalence and odds ratios (ORs), while heterogeneity, publication bias and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Findings: Seven reviews were included, covering four countries: Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana. The pooled prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 9.0% (95% CI: 6.0–12.0%), with significant heterogeneity (I² = 99.8%). Among the determinants, only family history of DM (OR:5.11, 95% CI: 2.96–8.85), hypertension (OR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.65–3.83), obesity (OR: 3.04; 95% CI: 1.92–4.82), physical inactivity (OR: 3.32; 95% CI: 1.99–5.54), smoking (OR: 2.59; 95% CI: 1.23–5.47), unhealthy diet (OR: 4.77; 95% CI: 1.73–13.18) and urban residence (OR: 5.81; 95%CI: 4.41–7.65), showed a statistically significant association. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of pooled prevalence, and no significant publication bias was detected. Conclusions: Diabetes mellitus prevalence in Africa is rising and approaching the global averages. The heterogeneity in risk factors underscores the need for localised, context-specific strategies. Full article

Artificial intelligence is transforming agriculture from a mechanized, labor-intensive sector into a data-driven, perception-enabled, and increasingly autonomous production system. In this review, AI serves as an umbrella term encompassing machine learning, computer vision, and robotic control, among other technologies. We synthesize recent advances across the tillage–sowing–management–harvesting (TSMH) workflow, covering intelligent tillage, precision sowing, field management, and robotic harvesting. The literature shows that AI has significantly improved agricultural perception, prediction, and task-level decision-making. However, large-scale adoption remains constrained by data heterogeneity, limited cross-scene generalization, environmental uncertainty, and insufficient integration across operational stages. Future progress will depend on multimodal data fusion, lightweight and interpretable models, cloud-edge collaboration, and full-chain decision architectures. By framing current research within the TSMH pipeline, this review highlights both technical advances and the critical bottlenecks that must be addressed to move smart agriculture from stage-specific intelligence toward system-level autonomy. Representative studies indicate that AI models can improve soil-property prediction and reduce sowing miss-detection rates to below 3% under controlled or bench-top conditions. However, field deployment may be affected by environmental variability, including illumination changes, dust, vibration, occlusion, and hardware constraints. These limitations highlight the need for robust and edge-compatible architectures. Full article