
Maurice Zeegers- phd
- Professor at Maastricht University
Maurice Zeegers
- phd
- Professor at Maastricht University
About
571
Publications
80,265
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
20,582
Citations
Introduction
Our team "meta-research" conducts meta-research, meta-analyses, pooled analyses of large datasets and systematic reviews. Our aim is to unravel causality in multi-causal situations. Research Themes: Nutritional and Genetic Epidemiology; Prenatal Programming; Forensic Epidemiology; Pragmatic Linkage; Responsible Research. Find out more at www.meta-research.nl
Current institution
Publications
Publications (571)
Background
Despite its relevance, the clinical progression of motor- and non-motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is poorly described and understood, particularly in relation to sex-specific differences in clinical progression.
Objective
Identification of differential aspects in disease progression in men and women with PD.
Met...
Objectives:
Evidence regarding the association between tea consumption and bladder cancer (BC) risk is inconsistent. This study aimed to increase our knowledge of the association by using international data from the Bladder Cancer Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants Consortium.
Methods:
Individual data on 2,347 cases and 6,871 controls fro...
Objective
To evaluate the impact of adding librarians and information specialists (LIS) as methodological peer reviewers to the formal journal peer review process on the quality of search reporting and risk of bias in systematic review searches in the medical literature.
Design
Pragmatic two-group parallel randomised controlled trial.
Setting
Thr...
Background
Insomnia characterised by difficulties in falling asleep and maintaining sleep, and early awaking, is a prevalent worldwide sleep disorder. While previous studies have suggested an association between insomnia and adverse glycaemic control, the evidence remains inconclusive. Therefore, this meta-analysis aims to explore this association....
Purpose
Although total dietary protein intake has been associated with bladder cancer (BC) risk, the effect of the origin (plant or animal) and the substitutions remain to be understood. This study aimed to investigate the effect of total dietary protein, animal-based protein, plant-based protein, and their substitutions with each other on the risk...
Modelling complex smoking histories, with more comprehensive and flexible methods, to show what profile of smoking behavior is associated with the risk of different cancers remains poorly understood. This study aims to provide insight into the association between complex smoking exposure history and pan-cancer risk by modelling both smoking intensi...
Background and aims
Several non-invasive tests for detecting bladder cancer (BC) are commercially available and are based on detecting small panels of BC-associated mutations and/or methylation changes in urine DNA. However, it is not clear which type of biomarker is best, or if a combination of the two is needed. In this study we address this ques...
Background
In Iran, not only the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing but also the age of patients at diagnosis is alarmingly dropping. We need urgent actions to better understand the epidemiology of CRC and the contributing factors for such pattern in Iranian population. The aim of our study was to determine the potential contributio...
There is growing interest among professional athletes and their support staff in utilising genetic testing to enhance sports performance. However, the perceptions of athletes and coaches regarding genetic testing for training purposes remain largely unexplored. To address this gap, the present interview study investigated the perceptions of athlete...
Objective: To evaluate the impact of adding librarians and information specialists (LIS) as methodological peer reviewers to the formal journal peer review process on the quality of search reporting and risk of bias in systematic review searches in the medical literature.Methods: A pragmatic two-group parallel randomized controlled trial of systema...
BACKGROUND As Parkinson’s disease (PD) progresses, mobility declines. Reserves (biological, physiological, cognitive, emotional, economical or relational) may help us to understand the phenomenon of unexpectedly stable trajectories of patient-reported functional mobility. OBJECTIVES To investigate reserves moderating the trajectories of patient-rep...
BACKGROUND
Heterozygous variants in the gene glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) causing Gaucher’s disease, a recessive lysosomal storage disorder, are involved in Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathogenesis. An association of those Gaucher-related GBA1 variants with the progression of non-motor symptoms in PD has been reported but the role of Parkinson’s-risk (PD...
Exercise scientists (especially in the field of biomolecular research) frequently classify athletic cohorts into categories such as endurance, strength, or mixed, and create a practical framework for studying diverse athletic populations between seemingly similar groups. It is crucial to recognize the limitations and complexities of these classific...
Purpose
High consumption of fruits and vegetables decrease the risk of bladder cancer (BC). The evidence of specific fruits and vegetables and the BC risk is still limited.
Methods
Fruit and vegetable consumptions in relation to BC risk was examined by pooling individual participant data from case–control studies. Unconditional logistic regression...
Although the popularity of direct‐to‐consumer genetic tests (DTC‐GT) for disease‐related purposes increased, concerns persist whether consumers make well‐informed decisions about their purchase. To better target pre‐ and post‐test information materials, this study aims to determine the characteristics of people interested in undergoing DTC‐GT. In a...
A precise understanding of the latency to post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is necessary for optimal patient care. This precision is currently lacking despite a surprising number of available data sources that could address this pressing need. Following guidance from the Cochrane Collaboration and Joanna Briggs...
Background:
Observational studies suggests that diets and medications affect bladder cancer (BC) development, which are subject to confounding and difficult to make causal inference. Here we aimed to investigate whether those observational associations are causal and determining the potential directions and pathways.
Methods:
We used 2-sample Me...
BACKGROUND: Information on determinants of patient-reported functional mobility is lacking but would inform the planning of healthcare, resources and strategies to promote functional mobility in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). RESEARCH QUESTION: To identify the determinants of patient-reported functional mobility of people with PD. METHODS: E...
Background: A substantial proportion of individuals continue experiencing persistent symptoms following the acute stage
of their Covid-19 illness. However, there is a shortage of population-based studies on Long Covid risk factors.
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of Long Covid in the population of middle-aged and older Europeans having contra...
BACKGROUND: Despite its relevance, the clinical progression of motor- and non-motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is poorly described and understood, particularly in relation to sex-specific differences in clinical progression.
OBJECTIVES: Identification of differential aspects in disease progression in men and women with PD.
ME...
Background
Despite its relevance, the clinical progression of motor- and non-motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is poorly described and understood, particularly in relation to sex-specific differences in clinical progression.Objective
Identification of differential aspects in disease progression in men and women with PD.Methods...
A meta-analysis published in 2018 indicated a significant association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and risk of urologic cancers (UC). The number of included studies was limited, and more research has been published on this topic since then. The current study aimed to find a more precise estimate of the association between dietary in...
The development of inflammatory lung disorders in children may be related to maternal fatty acid intake during pregnancy. We therefore examined maternal fatty acid (FA) status during pregnancy and its associations with inflammatory markers and lung conditions in the child by analyzing data from the MEFAB cohort using multivariate canonical correlat...
Importance
Selenium and vitamin E have been identified as promising agents for the chemoprevention of recurrence and progression of non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Objective
To determine whether selenium and/or vitamin E may prevent disease recurrence in patients with newly diagnosed NMIBC.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This multicenter,...
Purpose
The increased burden of multimorbidity is restricting individuals’ ability to live autonomously, leading to a poorer quality of life. This study estimated trajectories of functional limitation and quality of life among middle-aged (ages 50 to 64 years) and older (aged 65 years and older) individuals with and without multimorbidity. We also...
Background
Evidence syntheses cite retracted publications. However, citation is not necessarily endorsement, as authors may be criticizing or refuting its findings. We investigated the sentiment of these citations—whether they were critical or supportive—and associations with the methodological quality of the evidence synthesis, reason for the retr...
Although GWASs have been conducted to investigate genetic variation of bladder tumorigenesis, little is known about genetic interactions that may influence bladder cancer (BC) risk. By leveraging large‐scale participants from UK Biobank, we established a discovery database with 4000 Caucasian participants (2000 cases vs 2000 non‐cases), a database...
Exercise genetics/genomics is a growing research discipline comprising several Strengths and Opportunities but also deals with Weaknesses and Threats. This “systematic SWOT overview of non-systematic reviews” (sSWOT) aimed to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats linked to exercise genetics/genomics. A systematic search was...
Purpose:
The purpose of the study was to assess incidence and severity of hospital reported injuries related to law enforcement Use of Force (UoF) in the US over time, and by race.
Methods:
Data from the National Emergency Department Sample from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (N...
The respiratory health effects of Synthetic Amorphous Silica (SAS) have been studied in human epidemiological research. This article presents a historical overview and review of nine occupational worker studies that have been conducted so far on this topic. The combined study population of all of these studies included 1,172 employees, and exposure...
Introduction
Functional mobility is an important outcome for people with Parkinson's disease (PwP). Despite this, there is no established patient-reported outcome measure that serves as a gold standard for assessing patient-reported functional mobility in PwP. We aimed to validate the algorithm calculating the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (...
Objective: To determine the reproducibility of biomedical systematic review search strategies.
Design: Cross-sectional meta-research study.
Population: Random sample of 100 systematic reviews indexed in MEDLINE in November 2021.
Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure is the percentage of systematic reviews for which all database searche...
Background & aims:
Diet may play an essential role in the aetiology of bladder cancer (BC). Vitamin D is involved in various biological functions which have the potential to prevent BC development. Besides, vitamin D also influences the uptake of calcium and phosphorus, thereby possibly indirectly influencing the risk of BC. The aim of the present...
de Boer et al. criticize the conclusions in our 2020 paper on the validity of Excited Delirium Syndrome (ExDS) as "egregiously misleading." Our conclusion was that there "is no existing evidence that indicates that ExDS is inherently lethal in the absence of aggressive restraint." The basis for de Boer and colleague's criticism of our paper is that...
Objectives
Antimicrobial resistance poses a major public health threat. Despite Indian retail sector antibiotic consumption per capita increasing by approximately 22% between 2008 and 2016, empirical studies that examine policy or behavioural interventions addressing antibiotic misuse in primary healthcare are scarce. Our study aimed to assess perc...
Background
Globally, the rapid increase of obesity is reaching alarming proportions. A new approach to reduce obesity and its comorbidities involves tackling the built environment. Environmental influences seem to play an important role, but the environmental influences in early life on adult body composition have not been thoroughly investigated....
Inhalation toxicity testing of particulate materials is mandated for classification. According to CLP, particulate materials should be tested as marketed and many particulate materials are marketed as non-respirable particles. However, OECD TG 413 requires exposure to particle sizes that are respirable and reach the alveoli. The requirement for exp...
Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are important for brain development and functioning and with that, possibly school performance. Several cross-sectional studies have shown significant positive associations between fish consumption, an important source of LCPUFA and school grades in adolescents. The effect of LCPUFA supplementation on...
We assess Hans Radder's (2022) criticisms of the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (UNL 2018) and show that they either miss their mark or depend on controversial background assumptions about the purpose of the Code. Although Radder raises important questions about the broader roles and purposes of research in society, his conclusi...
Mutations at specific hotspots in non-coding regions of ADGRG6, PLEKHS1, WDR74, TBC1D12 and LEPROTL1 frequently occur in bladder cancer (BC). These mutations could function as biomarkers for the non-invasive detection of BC but this remains largely unexplored. Massively-parallel sequencing of non-coding hotspots was applied to 884 urine cell pellet...
There is little agreement on the factors influencing endurance performance. Endurance performance often is described by surrogate variables such as maximum oxygen consumption, lactate threshold, and running economy. However, other factors also determine success and progression of high-level endurance athletes. Therefore, the aim was to identify the...
BACKGROUND: Information on determinants of patient-reported functional mobility is lacking but would inform the planning of healthcare, resources and strategies to promote functional mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD).OBJECTIVE: To identify the determinants of patient-reported functional mobility of people with PD.METHODS: Eligible: R...
Proteomic profiling of extracellular vesicles (EVs) represents a promising approach for early detection and therapeutic monitoring of diseases such as cancer. The focus of this study was to apply robust EV isolation and subsequent data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) for urinary EV proteomics of prostate cancer and prostate infla...
Background
Glucose metabolism has been reported to be affected by dietary patterns, while the underlying mechanisms involved remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the potential mediation role of circulating metabolites in relation to dietary patterns for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Methods
Data was derived from The Maastricht Study...
Objectives
To investigate the association of polygenic risk score (PRS) and bladder cancer (BC) risk and whether this PRS can be offset by a healthy lifestyle.
Methods
Individuals with BC (n = 563) and non‐BC controls (n = 483 957) were identified in the UK Biobank, and adjusted Cox regression models were used. A PRS was constructed based on 34 ge...
Purpose
Diet may play an essential role in the aetiology of bladder cancer (BC). The B group complex vitamins involve diverse biological functions that could be influential in cancer prevention. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between various components of the B group vitamin complex and BC risk.
Methods
Dietary dat...
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been widely used and represent a class of environmental persistent chemicals. An association of a reduction of vaccination efficacy with PFAS serum levels in humans was used by the European Food Safety Authority as a key effect for PFAS risk assessment. The data support for using this association is r...
Objectives: The molecular landscape of non-muscle-invasive (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive (MIBC) bladder cancer based on molecular characteristics is essential but poorly understood. In this pilot study we aimed to identify a multi-omics signature that can distinguish MIBC from NMIBC. Such a signature can assist in finding potential mechanistic biomar...
Abstract The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to identify the genetic variants of (inter)national competing long‐distance runners and road cyclists compared to controls. The Medline and Embase databases were searched until 15 November 2021. Eligible articles included genetic epidemiological studies published in English. A homogen...
BACKGROUND While patient-reported instruments are less costly and invasive than the administration of physical performance tests, there is no gold standard for a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) of functional mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwP). METHODS We designed the PROM functional mobility composite score (FMCS) and investi...
Background
Three-quarters of bladder cancer patients present with early-stage disease (non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, NMIBC, UICC TNM stages Ta, T1 and Tis); however, most next-generation sequencing studies to date have concentrated on later-stage disease (muscle-invasive BC, stages T2+). We used exome and transcriptome sequencing to comprehen...
Background
To improve colorectal cancer (CRC) survival and lower incidence rates, colonoscopy and/or fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) screening is widely implemented. Although candidate DNA methylation biomarkers have been published to improve or complement FIT, clinical translation is limited. Here, we describe technical and methodological problem...
Human epidemiological studies have shown inconclusive results over the effects of diisocyanates on respiratory health problems. A meta-analysis combined evidence on the association between occupational asthma (OA), respiratory function, and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) inhalation exposure. Sixty-one articles on occupational toluene diisocyanate expos...
Introduction:
Clinical effort against secondhand smoke exposure (CEASE) is an evidence-based intervention that prepares child healthcare clinicians and staff with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to ask family members about tobacco use, provide brief counseling and medication assistance, and refer to free cessation services.
Aim:
This...
Background
Mutations in STAG2 cause complete loss of STAG2 protein in approximately one-third of non–muscle-invasive bladder cancers (NMIBCs). STAG2 protein expression is easily determined via immunohistochemistry (IHC) and published data suggest that loss of STAG2 expression is a good prognostic indicator in NMIBC.
Objective
To confirm the relati...
Background
There is an unmet need for an accurate, validated, noninvasive test for diagnosing and monitoring bladder cancer (BC). Detection of BC-associated mutations in urinary DNA via targeted deep sequencing could meet this need.
Objective
To test the ability of mutational analysis of urinary DNA to noninvasively detect BC within the context of...
Background & aims
Tea has been shown to be associated with reduced risk of several diseases including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. However, the results on the relationship between tea consumption and bladder cancer are conflicting. This research aimed to assess the association between tea consumption and risk of...
The effects of fat intake from different dietary sources on bladder cancer (BC) risk remains unidentified. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the association between fat intakes and BC risk by merging world data on this topic. Data from 11 cohort studies in the BLadder cancer Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants (BLEND) study, p...
Although evidence suggests that a positive family history of bladder cancer in first-degree relatives is an important risk factor for bladder cancer occurrence, results remain unclear. The influence of family history of nonbladder cancers and more distant relatives on bladder cancer risk is inconsistent. This research, therefore, aims to increase t...
Background: This review aims to investigate the association of sex with the risk of multiple COVID-19 health outcomes, ranging from infection to death.
Methods: Pubmed and Embase were searched through September 2020. We considered studies reporting sex and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes. Qualitative and quantitative data were extracte...
Background
Problems continue to exist with the reporting quality and risk of bias in search methods and strategies in systematic reviews and related review types. Peer reviewers who are not familiar with what is required to transparently and fully report a search may not be prepared to review the search components of systematic reviews, nor may the...
Introduction Early literature on the COVID-19 pandemic indicated striking ethnic inequalities in SARS-CoV-2-related outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to describe the presence and magnitude of associations between ethnic groups and COVID-19-related outcomes.
Methods PubMed and Embase were searched from December 2019 through S...
There is controversy whether IL-6 (receptor) antagonists are beneficial in treating COVID-19 patients. We therefore update our systematic review to answer the following research questions: (1) Do patients hospitalized for COVID-19 treated with IL-6 (receptor) antagonists have lower mortality compared to standard of care? (2) Do patients hospitalize...
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely recognised as a global health threat, which is projected to account for more deaths than cancer by 2050. The Government of India has formulated a National Action Plan to tackle AMR (NAP-AMR), largely modelled on the World Health Organization's Global Action Plan on AMR. While the NAP-AMR successfully mirrors...
Objective:
This study examines the association between 8-h time weighted N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) air exposure and potential hepatocellular injury in a retrospective study among fibre-production workers in four European factories.
Methods and results:
Twenty-nine (1.5%) of 1844 alanine aminotransferase (ALT) observations had liver values tw...
Evidence on the effects of meat consumption from different sources on the risk of bladder cancer (BC) is limited and controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the associations between meat consumption and BC risk using a pooled data approach. Individual data from 11 prospective cohorts comprising 2848 BC cases and 515,697 non-cases wit...