Ideal cardiovascular health and mortality: pooled results of three prospective cohorts in Chinese adults / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Evidence on the relations of the American Heart Association's ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) with mortality in Asians is sparse, and the interaction between behavioral and medical metrics remained unclear. We aimed to fill the gaps.@*METHODS@#A total of 198,164 participants without cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) were included from the China Kadoorie Biobank study (2004-2018), Dongfeng-Tongji cohort (2008-2018), and Kailuan study (2006-2019). Four behaviors (i.e., smoking, physical activity, diet, body mass index) and three medical factors (i.e., blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipid) were classified into poor, intermediate, and ideal levels (0, 1, and 2 points), which constituted 8-point behavioral, 6-point medical, and 14-point ICH scores. Results of Cox regression from three cohorts were pooled using random-effects models of meta-analysis.@*RESULTS@#During about 2 million person-years, 20,176 deaths were recorded. After controlling for demographic characteristics and alcohol drinking, hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) comparing ICH scores of 10-14 vs. 0-6 were 0.52 (0.41-0.67), 0.44 (0.37-0.53), 0.54 (0.45-0.66), and 0.86 (0.64-1.14) for all-cause, CVD, respiratory, and cancer mortality. A higher behavioral or medical score was independently associated with lower all-cause and CVD mortality among the total population and populations with different levels of behavioral or medical health equally, and no interaction was observed.@*CONCLUSIONS@#ICH was associated with lower all-cause, CVD, and respiratory mortality among Chinese adults. Both behavioral and medical health should be improved to prevent premature deaths.

Effects of electroacupuncture on NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis protein GSDMD in uterine tissue in rats with primary dysmenorrhea / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on NLRP3 inflammasome and its downstream protein gastermin D (GSDMD) in rats with primary dysmenorrhea (PDM), and to explore the potential mechanism of EA on the treatment of PDM.@*METHODS@#Forty healthy female SD rats without pregnancy were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, an EA group and an ibuprofen group, 10 rats in each group. PDM model was prepared by injection of estradiol benzoate and oxytocin. Except the control group, the rats in each group were subcutaneously injected with estradiol benzoate for 10 days, and oxytocin was injected on the 11th day. The rats in the EA group were intervened with EA (dense wave, frequency of 50 Hz) at "Guanyuan" (CV 4) and "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) at the same time of modeling, once a day, 20 min each time, for 10 consecutive days. The rats in the ibuprofen group were treated with 0.8 mL of ibuprofen by gavage (concentration of ibuprofen solution was 1.25 mg/mL) for 10 consecutive days. After modeling, the writhing reaction was observed. After intervention, the HE staining method was used to observe the histological morphology of uterus and evaluate the pathological damage score of uterus; ELISA method was used to detect the serum levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α); Western blot method was used to detect the protein expression of NLRP3, apoptosis related spot like protein (ASC), caspase-1, GSDMD, GSDMD-N and inflammatory factors (interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-18) in uterine tissue.@*RESULTS@#In the model group, a large number of vacuolar degeneration and death of endometrial epithelial cells, spiral arterioles congestion in lamina propria and neutrophil infiltration were observed. In the EA group, there was a small amount of vacuolar degeneration and death of endometrial epithelial cells, a small amount of spiral arterioles congestion in the lamina propria, and a small amount of neutrophils infiltration. In the ibuprofen group, there was very small number of degeneration and death of endometrial epithelial cells, and no obvious arterial congestion was found in lamina propria, and neutrophil infiltration was occasionally seen. Compared with the control group, in the model group the number of writhing was increased (P<0.01), the writhing reaction score and serum level of PGF2α and PGF2α/PGE2 value were increased (P<0.01), the level of PGE2 was decreased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, in the EA group and the ibuprofen group the number of writhing were decreased (P<0.05), the latency of writhing was prolonged (P<0.01), the writhing reaction scores and serum levels of PGF2α and PGF2α/PGE2 values were decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01), the levels of PGE2 were increased (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, GSDMD, GSDMD-N, IL-1β and IL-18 in the uterine tissues of rats was increased in the model group (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, GSDMD, GSDMD-N, IL-1β and IL-18 in the uterine tissues of rats was decreased in the EA group and the ibuprofen group (P<0.01, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the EA group and the ibuprofen group in the above indexes (P>0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#EA could alleviate pain and uterine tissue injury in rats with PDM. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in rat uterine tissues, thereby inhibiting pyroptosis and its inflammatory factors release.

Neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 Delta/Omicron variants and B cell response after inactivated vaccination among COVID-19 convalescents / 医学前沿

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have made COVID-19 convalescents susceptible to re-infection and have raised concern about the efficacy of inactivated vaccination in neutralization against emerging variants and antigen-specific B cell response. To this end, a study on a long-term cohort of 208 participants who have recovered from COVID-19 was conducted, and the participants were followed up at 3.3 (Visit 1), 9.2 (Visit 2), and 18.5 (Visit 3) months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. They were classified into three groups (no-vaccination (n = 54), one-dose (n = 62), and two-dose (n = 92) groups) on the basis of the administration of inactivated vaccination. The neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers against the wild-type virus continued to decrease in the no-vaccination group, but they rose significantly in the one-dose and two-dose groups, with the highest NAb titers being observed in the two-dose group at Visit 3. The NAb titers against the Delta variant for the no-vaccination, one-dose, and two-dose groups decreased by 3.3, 1.9, and 2.3 folds relative to the wild-type virus, respectively, and those against the Omicron variant decreased by 7.0, 4.0, and 3.8 folds, respectively. Similarly, the responses of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific B cells and memory B cells were boosted by the second vaccine dose. Results showed that the convalescents benefited from the administration of the inactivated vaccine (one or two doses), which enhanced neutralization against highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants and memory B cell responses. Two doses of inactivated vaccine among COVID-19 convalescents are therefore recommended for the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccination guidelines and policies need to be updated.

Associations between plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and gestational diabetes mellitus in the second trimester / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective: To examine the associations between plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the second trimester and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among Chinese pregnant women. Methods: Based on data from the Tongji-Shuangliu Birth Cohort enrolled from 2017 to 2019 in the Shuangliu Maternal and Child Health Hospital, it conducted a case-control study among 269 GDM cases who were diagnosed by 75 g oral glucose tolerance test, and 538 non-GDM controls matched at a 1∶2 ratio on maternal age and gestational weeks. The age range of the 807 women was 18-40 years. Fasting plasma n-3 PUFAs were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the second trimester (24-28 weeks). Participants were categorized into quartiles (Q1-Q4) of plasma n-3 PUFAs based on distributions in the control group. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to estimate the associations between plasma n-3 PUFAs and GDM. Results: The median (interquartile) relative concentrations of plasma n-3 PUFA C22∶5n-3 was significantly lower in women with GDM 0.87 (0.72, 1.07) compared with women without GDM 0.94 (0.75, 1.19)(P=0.001). Plasma n-3 PUFA C22∶5n-3 was inversely associated with GDM, with an OR (95%CI) of 0.75 (0.62-0.90) for each SD increase of relative concentration. Compared with the Q1 group, the OR values and 95%CIs of Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups were 0.97 (0.62-1.51), 0.72 (0.45-1.15), and 0.54 (0.32-0.90), respectively (Ptrend<0.05). However, there were no significant associations of C18∶3n-3, C20∶5n-3, C22∶6n-3, and total n-3 PUFAs with GDM. Conclusion: Plasma n-3 PUFA C22∶5n-3 was inversely associated with GDM during the second trimester.

Association between Higher Blood Pressure and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese Adults

Background@#To examine the prospective association between higher blood pressure (BP) and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults. @*Methods@#A total of 9,642 middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults (≥45 years old; 47.30% men) without diabetes from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included for analyses. Participants were categorized into three groups: normal BP, prehypertension, and hypertension, according to the 2010 Chinese Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension. The incidence of T2DM was determined by self-reported physician diagnosis during two follow-up surveys conducted in 2013 to 2014 and 2015 to 2016. @*Results@#During the 4-year follow-up, 429 participants (4.45%) developed T2DM, including 3.51% of the men and 5.29% of the women. The incidence rates of T2DM were 2.57%, 3.75%, and 6.71% in the normal BP, prehypertension, and hypertension groups, respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, education level, residence, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index, waist circumference, and dyslipidemia, both prehypertension (odds ratio [OR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.77) and hypertension (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.54 to 2.64) were associated with increased risk of T2DM, compared to those with a normal BP. The ORs associated with T2DM were 1.08 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.13) for an increase of 10 mm Hg in systolic BP and 1.06 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.10) for an increase of 5 mm Hg in diastolic BP. @*Conclusion@#Higher BP is a risk factor for T2DM in middle-aged and elderly Chines. It may be a potential target for diabetes prevention.

Multiple Biomarkers Improved Prediction for the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Singapore Chinese Men and Women

Background@#Multiple biomarkers have performed well in predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk in Western populations. However, evidence is scarce among Asian populations. @*Methods@#Plasma triglyceride-to-high density lipoprotein (TG-to-HDL) ratio, alanine transaminase (ALT), high-sensitivity Creactive protein (hs-CRP), ferritin, adiponectin, fetuin-A, and retinol-binding protein 4 were measured in 485 T2DM cases and 485 age-and-sex matched controls nested within the prospective Singapore Chinese Health Study cohort. Participants were free of T2DM at blood collection (1999 to 2004), and T2DM cases were identified at the subsequent follow-up interviews (2006 to 2010). A weighted biomarker score was created based on the strengths of associations between these biomarkers and T2DM risks. The predictive utility of the biomarker score was assessed by the area under receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC). @*Results@#The biomarker score that comprised of four biomarkers (TG-to-HDL ratio, ALT, ferritin, and adiponectin) was positively associated with T2DM risk (P trend <0.001). Compared to the lowest quartile of the score, the odds ratio was 12.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.43 to 26.6) for those in the highest quartile. Adding the biomarker score to a base model that included smoking, history of hypertension, body mass index, and levels of random glucose and insulin improved AUC significantly from 0.81 (95% CI, 0.78 to 0.83) to 0.83 (95% CI, 0.81 to 0.86; P=0.002). When substituting the random glucose levels with glycosylated hemoglobin in the base model, adding the biomarker score improved AUC from 0.85 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.88) to 0.86 (95% CI, 0.84 to 0.89; P=0.032). @*Conclusion@#A composite score of blood biomarkers improved T2DM risk prediction among Chinese.

The application of energy adjustment models in nutritional epidemiology / 中华预防医学杂志

The energy adjustment models in nutritional epidemiological studies could substantially reduce the confounding effect of total energy intake from the intake of dietary components, and it could explore the real relationship between the intake of dietary component and research outcomes. Four energy adjustment models were introduced in this article, including the standard multivariate model, multivariate nutrient residual model, energy partition model, and multivariate nutrient density model. The four energy adjustment models were applied to analyze the association between the intake of saturated fatty acids and the risk of all-cause mortality based on the data of the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The consistent results of different energy adjustment models could indicate that the four models could better control the confounding effect of total energy intake.

Association between self-rated health and risk of cardiovascular disease among middle-aged and elderly Chinese / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective@#To analyze the association between the self-rated health (SRH) status and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among the middle-aged and eldly Chinese.@*Methods@#Data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), which enrolled 21 133 participants by using the probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling from 150 counties/districts of 28 provinces in China from 2011 to 2012. A total of 11 701 participants were included in the study. Basic information and SRH were obtained in the baseline survey via questionnaires. Information of CVD was self-reported during the follow-up. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to analyze the association between the baseline SRH and risk of CVD. Subgroup analyses were performed by age, sex and body mass index (BMI), and their interactions with SRH for risk of CVD were examined by using the likelihood ratio test. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the robustness of the association.@*Results@#Participants were (57.9±9.7) years old, and men accounted for 48.1% (5 626). SRH was reported as the excellent, very good, good, fair and poor among 4.2% (n=487), 13.5% (n=1 583), 33.6% (n=3 932), 35.4% (n=4 147) and 13.3% (n=1 552), respectively. During 42 104 person-years of followed up, 590 cases of CVD were identified. Cox regression analyses showed that compared with the excellent/very good SRH, the HR (95%CI) of CVD risk for the good, fair and poor SRH was 1.36 (1.02-1.80), 1.66 (1.26-2.19) and 1.89 (1.38-2.59), respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that compared with the excellent/very good SRH, HR (95%CI) of CVD risk for poor SRH in the group of 45-59 years old, equal to or over 75 years old, men, women and normal BMI were 2.00 (1.32-3.04), 3.87 (1.04-14.46), 1.76 (1.07-2.91), 1.92 (1.27-2.91) and 2.30 (1.42-3.72), respectively. There were no interactions between age, sex, BMI and SRH (P>0.05).@*Conclusion@#SRH is associated with risk of CVD among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. The CVD risk for good, fair and poor SRH is higher than that for excellent/very good SRH.

Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption in midlife and risk of late-life cognitive impairment in Chinese adults / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective@#To evaluate whether midlife consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), including juices and soft drinks, were associated with late-life cognitive impairment in Chinese adults.@*Methods@#Follow up was conducted for participants from Singapore Chinese Health Study, a population-based prospective cohort, for 16-23 (mean 20) years. The information about their SSBs consumption were collected at baseline survey from 1993 to 1998 by using a validated food frequency questionnaire and their cognition status were evaluated by using a Singapore-modified Mini-Mental State Examination Scale in the 3rd follow-up visit during 2014- 2016. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the ORs and 95%CIs.@*Results@#A total of 16 948 participants were included in the analysis and 2 443 of them were identified as cognitive impairment using education-specific cutoffs. Sex, age, ancestral home, education level, physical activity level, total diet fiber intake level, BMI, alcohol drinking were significantly associated with cognitive impairment (P<0.05). After adjusted the above variables, potential dietary variables and disease status, no significant association was observed between SSBs consumption and cognitive impairment (P>0.05). Compared with those who never or hardly ever drank soft drinks, no significant differences in cognitive impairment risk were observed for those who drank soft drinks 2 or more times a week (OR=0.91, 95%CI: 0.77-1.08), those who drank 1 time a week (OR=1.00, 95%CI:0.82-1.23) and those who drank 1-3 times a month (OR=0.94, 95%CI: 0.80-1.09) (trend P=0.306). Compared with those who never or hardly ever drank juices, no significant differences in cognitive impairment risk were observed for those who drank juices 2 or more times a week (OR=1.03, 95%CI:0.88-1.20), those who drank 1 time a week (OR=0.96, 95%CI: 0.82-1.12) and those who drank 1-3 times a month (OR=0.94, 95%CI: 0.82-1.08) (trend P=0.930). No significant interactions were found with age, sex, and BMI status.@*Conclusion@#SSBs consumption in midlife was not significantly associated with risk of late-life cognitive impairment in Singaporean Chinese adults with relatively low consumption levels. Further researches are needed to verify the results.

Association between self-rated health and risk of cardiovascular disease among middle-aged and elderly Chinese / 中华预防医学杂志

To analyze the association between the self-rated health (SRH) status and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among the middle-aged and eldly Chinese. Data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), which enrolled 21 133 participants by using the probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling from 150 counties/districts of 28 provinces in China from 2011 to 2012. A total of 11 701 participants were included in the study. Basic information and SRH were obtained in the baseline survey via questionnaires. Information of CVD was self-reported during the follow-up. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to analyze the association between the baseline SRH and risk of CVD. Subgroup analyses were performed by age, sex and body mass index (BMI), and their interactions with SRH for risk of CVD were examined by using the likelihood ratio test. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the robustness of the association. Participants were (57.9±9.7) years old, and men accounted for 48.1% (5 626). SRH was reported as the excellent, very good, good, fair and poor among 4.2% (487), 13.5% (1 583), 33.6% (3 932), 35.4% (4 147) and 13.3% (1 552), respectively. During 42 104 person-years of followed up, 590 cases of CVD were identified. Cox regression analyses showed that compared with the excellent/very good SRH, the (95) of CVD risk for the good, fair and poor SRH was 1.36 (1.02-1.80), 1.66 (1.26-2.19) and 1.89 (1.38-2.59), respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that compared with the excellent/very good SRH, (95) of CVD risk for poor SRH in the group of 45-59 years old, equal to or over 75 years old, men, women and normal BMI were 2.00 (1.32-3.04), 3.87 (1.04-14.46), 1.76 (1.07-2.91), 1.92 (1.27-2.91) and 2.30 (1.42-3.72), respectively. There were no interactions between age, sex, BMI and SRH (0.05). SRH is associated with risk of CVD among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. The CVD risk for good, fair and poor SRH is higher than that for excellent/very good SRH.

The application of energy adjustment models in nutritional epidemiology / 中华预防医学杂志

The energy adjustment models in nutritional epidemiological studies could substantially reduce the confounding effect of total energy intake from the intake of dietary components, and it could explore the real relationship between the intake of dietary component and research outcomes. Four energy adjustment models were introduced in this article, including the standard multivariate model, multivariate nutrient residual model, energy partition model, and multivariate nutrient density model. The four energy adjustment models were applied to analyze the association between the intake of saturated fatty acids and the risk of all-cause mortality based on the data of the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The consistent results of different energy adjustment models could indicate that the four models could better control the confounding effect of total energy intake.

Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption in midlife and risk of late-life cognitive impairment in Chinese adults / 中华流行病学杂志

To evaluate whether midlife consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), including juices and soft drinks, were associated with late-life cognitive impairment in Chinese adults. Follow up was conducted for participants from Singapore Chinese Health Study, a population-based prospective cohort, for 16-23 (mean 20) years. The information about their SSBs consumption were collected at baseline survey from 1993 to 1998 by using a validated food frequency questionnaire and their cognition status were evaluated by using a Singapore-modified Mini-Mental State Examination Scale in the 3(rd) follow-up visit during 2014- 2016. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the and 95s. A total of 16 948 participants were included in the analysis and 2 443 of them were identified as cognitive impairment using education-specific cutoffs. Sex, age, ancestral home, education level, physical activity level, total diet fiber intake level, BMI, alcohol drinking were significantly associated with cognitive impairment (0.05). Compared with those who never or hardly ever drank soft drinks, no significant differences in cognitive impairment risk were observed for those who drank soft drinks 2 or more times a week (=0.91, 95: 0.77-1.08), those who drank 1 time a week (=1.00, 95:0.82-1.23) and those who drank 1-3 times a month (=0.94, 95: 0.80-1.09) (trend =0.306). Compared with those who never or hardly ever drank juices, no significant differences in cognitive impairment risk were observed for those who drank juices 2 or more times a week (=1.03, 95:0.88-1.20), those who drank 1 time a week (=0.96, 95: 0.82-1.12) and those who drank 1-3 times a month (=0.94, 95: 0.82-1.08) (trend =0.930). No significant interactions were found with age, sex, and BMI status. SSBs consumption in midlife was not significantly associated with risk of late-life cognitive impairment in Singaporean Chinese adults with relatively low consumption levels. Further researches are needed to verify the results.

Plasma Fetuin-A Levels and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in A Chinese Population: A Nested Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: Fetuin-A is a hepatokine that involved in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Previous epidemiological studies have found a positive association between blood fetuin-A and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk among Caucasians and African Americans. We aimed to investigate the prospective relationship between fetuin-A and T2DM in an Asian population for the first time. METHODS: A nested case-control study was established within a prospective cohort of Chinese living in Singapore. At blood collection (1999 to 2004), all participants were free of diagnosed T2DM and aged 50 to 79 years. At subsequent follow-up (2006 to 2010), 558 people reported to have T2DM and were classified as incident cases, and 558 controls were randomly chosen from the participants who did not develop T2DM to match with cases on age, sex, dialect group, and date of blood collection. Plasma fetuin-A levels were measured retrospectively in cases and controls using samples collected at baseline. Conditional logistic regression models were used to compute the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to examine a potential non-linear association between fetuin-A levels and T2DM risk. RESULTS: Compared with those in the lowest fetuin-A quintile, participants in the highest quintile had a two-fold increased risk of developing T2DM (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.21 to 3.51). A non-linear association was observed (P nonlinearity=0.005), where the association between fetuin-A levels and T2DM risk plateaued at plasma concentrations around 830 µg/mL. CONCLUSION: There is a positive association between plasma fetuin-A levels and risk of developing T2DM in this Chinese population.

Representativeness issues in epidemiological studies (Ⅱ) / 中华疾病控制杂志

The review clarifies the relation of representativeness to multicenter intervention design, heterogeneity, response rate, and loss to follow-up. In addition, the implications of representativeness in the era of precision medicine and big data-based epidemiological studies are further discussed. In summary, population health researchers should have a fair understanding of the function and role of representativeness in epidemiology in order to conduct scientifically plausible studies to generate the best evidence for practice.

Representativeness issues in epidemiological studies / 中华疾病控制杂志

@# Representativeness has long been a contentious topic in epidemiology. The review starts with defining representativeness in epidemiology and describing fundamental epidemiological concepts including study population, source population, target population, internal validity, and external validity. In addition, it elaborates the role and practicality of representativeness in four major epidemiological study designs including cross-sectional, cohort, case-control, and intervention studies. In summary, representativeness is an important consideration in cross-sectional studies of investigating disease or health status in the target population, but cannot be overstated in epidemiological studies for causal inferences regarding exposure-outcome relationships or intervention effects.

The relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia in Chinese residents / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective@#To explore the relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia in Chinese residents.@*Methods@#Based on data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), residents with blood samples provided in the 2009 round (including information of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, medical history, and laboratory examinations etc.) were selected as the participants in the current analysis. Unconditional logistic regression models were utilized to compute the ORs and corresponding 95%CIs for assessing the relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia.@*Results@#Among the 8 785 subjects, 1 435 had hyperuricemia with a prevalence rate of 16.3%, consisting of 886 men and 549 women with prevalence rates of 21.6% (886/4 110) and 11.7% (549/4 675) , respectively. Compared with never smokers, the adjusted OR (95%CI) for hyperuricemia was 0.83 (0.70-0.98) among current smokers, 0.77 (0.63-0.94) among current smokers with 20-39 years of smoking, and 0.79 (0.65-0.97) among current smokers with 11-20 cigarettes per day. When stratified by gender and compared with non-smoker, the adjusted OR (95%CI) for hyperuricemia among current smokers compared with never smokers was 0.83 (0.70-0.98) among men, while no significant association was found in female current smokers (OR=0.73, 95%CI: 0.42-1.26, P=0.260).@*Conclusion@#In Chinese residents, there is an inverse association between smoking and hyperuricemia prevalence, and this association may be related to duration and intensity of smoking among current smokers. The findings need to be validated in large prospective cohort studies.

Self-Rated Health Status and Risk of Incident Stroke in 0.5 Million Chinese Adults: The China Kadoorie Biobank Study / 대한뇌졸중학회지

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Self-rated health (SRH) is a consistent and strong predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in various populations. However, the associations between SRH measures and risk of first-ever or recurrent stroke were rarely explored. We thus aim to prospectively investigate the associations between SRH measures and risk of total and subtypes of stroke in Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 494,113 participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank without prior heart diseases or cancer (486,541 without stroke and 7,572 with stroke) were followed from baseline (2004 to 2008) until December 31, 2013. General and age-comparative SRH were obtained from baseline questionnaires. First-ever stroke or recurrent events were ascertained through linkage to disease registry system and health insurance data. RESULTS: We identified 27,662 first-ever stroke and 2,909 recurrent events during an average of 7.0 years of follow-up. Compared with excellent general SRH, the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for first-ever stroke associated with good, fair, and poor general SRH were 1.04 (1.00 to 1.08), 1.19 (1.15 to 1.23), and 1.49 (1.42 to 1.56) in the multivariate model, respectively. Compared with better age-comparative SRH, the HRs (95% CIs) of same and worse age-comparative SRH were 1.13 (1.10 to 1.17) and 1.51 (1.45 to 1.58), respectively. The relations of SRH measures with ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and recurrent stroke were similar to that with total first-ever stroke. However, the magnitude of associations was much stronger for fatal stroke than for non-fatal stroke. CONCLUSIONS: This large-scale prospective cohort suggests that self-perceived health status is associated with incident stroke, regardless of stroke subtype.

Research progress about molecular identification of DNA barcoding in medicinal animal / 中国中药杂志

The use of animal medicine has a long history in China, it has the characteristics of high curative effect,strong activity, wide application and great potential. However,the circulation of animal medicine in current market mixed counterfeit variety and complex. Molecular identification technology of DNA barcoding is an emerging molecular biotechnology in recent years, it is a powerful supplement to traditional identification methods. This method can well identify animal species at the molecular level and has high accuracy, it can identify animal medicines quickly and monitor the medicine market effectively. This article summarizes the research process of molecular identification of DNA barcoding, the application of DNA barcoding in medicinal animals identification in recent years, and the limitations of DNA barcoding technology.

Oral-appliance combined with tadalafil for erectile dysfunction induced by severe obstructive sleep apneahypopnea syndrome / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>Objective</b>To evaluate the effect of the oral-appliance combined with tadalafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) induced by severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We equally randomized 90 patients with severe OSAHS-induced ED to groups A, B, and C to be treated with the oral-appliance, tadalafil (10 mg daily qd), and oral-appliance plus tadalafil, respectively, all for 3 months. Then we compared the therapeutic effects among the three groups of patients using the IIEF-5 questionnaire, Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP) diaries, and the intercourse satisfaction rate of the patients' partners.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally 87 of the patients accomplished the treatment, 29 in group A, 30 in B, and 28 in C. After treatment, group C, as compared with A and B, showed significant increases in the IIEF-5 score (4.18±1.19 vs 2.66±1.63 and 2.77±1.74, P=0.009 and P=0.026), the success rate of penile intromission (SEP2) (85.7% vs 58.6% and 53.3%, P=0.023 and P=0.008), and the success rate of intercourse (SEP3) (64.3%% vs 37.9% and 33.3%, P=0.047 and P=0.018). The overall satisfaction of the female partners was remarkably higher in groups A and C than in B (P=0.027 and P=0.007).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Oral-appliance combined with tadalafil can improve erectile function in patients with severe OSAHS-induced ED, with a better efficacy than either of them used alone.</p>

Preliminary establishment of cytological examination and the normal reference values for hypertonic saline solution-induced sputum of healthy children in Guangzhou / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish the method of cytological examination and the normal reference values for hypertonic saline solution-induced sputum of healthy children (age range from 5 to 15 years) with physical examination in Guangzhou.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>A total of 352 children, 5 to 15 years old, were enrolled from primary school and middle school in Guangzhou from January to December, 2010. All subjects completed a standardized questionnaire on the presence of respiratory, allergic symptoms and family history, the medical history and the physical examination was performed by doctors, lung function (forced expiratory volume at 1 s in predicted normal, FEV(1)%) was determined. There were 266 healthy children (137 males, 129 females) who were selected and undergone hypertonic saline solution induction of sputum, and cytological examination was performed. Hypertonic saline (5%) was nebulized and inhaled for 15 - 30 min. No expectoration within 30 min was defined as failure, and the procedure was terminated. The part of opaque and higher density sputum samples was detected by cytology. The proportion of neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, macrophages and monocytes was calculated. This study was approved by the institutional Ethics Review Committee of First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College. Informed consent was obtained from the legal guardians of all participants following a detailed description of the purpose and potential benefits of the study.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>There were 175 subjects' induced sputum specimens (175/266, 65.8%), non-qualified sputum samples were obtained from 16 of the subjects. The proportions of median (IQR) of lymphocytes were 0.012 (0.020), 95%CI were ranged from 0.015 to 0.022; neutrophils 0.207 (0.330), 95%CI 0.266 - 0.356 macrophages 0.761 (0.327), 95%CI 0.607 - 0.699; eosinophils 0.004 (0.019), 95%CI 0.013 - 0.022. There were no significant differences in proportions of cytological findings of female or male, different age groups and second-hand smoking or not (all P > 0.05). The incidence of adverse event was 4.40% (7/159).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The method and the preliminary data may be used for research, diagnosis and treatment of patients with chronic cough and airway inflammation.</p>