Investigation on iodine nutrition of pregnant women and thyroid function of newborn in Jiangbei District of Ningbo City / 上海预防医学

Objective To investigate and evaluate the iodine nutritional status of pregnant women and thyroid function of new born children in Jiangbei District, and provide the basis for rational iodine supplement. Methods From March 2014 to October 2014,three survey spots ( representing the city,the rural-urban continum,and the countryside) investigated a total of 161 pregnant women, whose urine were tested for urine iodine.Comparative analysis was done on iodine nutritional status in different geographical areas and different pregnancy.Blood of pregnant women and matching neonatal umbilical cord blood were tested for free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), with analysis on the relationship between the two. Results Median of the 161 pregnant women urine iodine level was 178.67μg/L.Among them,the iodine excess ( urine iodine,>500 mu g/L) accounted for 3.73%(6/161),iodine sufficiency (urinary iodine 250~499 μg/L) 33.54%(54/161),iodine moderacy (urinary iodine 150 ~249 μg/L) 22.36%(36/161),iodine deficiency (urinary iodine <150 μg/L) 40.37%(65/161).Urine iodine levels in pregnant women from three different geographical areas showed no statistical difference.Median urine iodine of pregnant women in third trimester was 148.23 μg/L.FT3 ,FT4 level of 36 neonatal was (2.60 ±0.35) and (13.81 ±1.63) pmol/L respectively,the average serum TSH level was 3.38 mIU/L.Pregnant women urine iodine level paired with FT3 , TSH level of neonatal serum showed no correlation (P>0.05),but were positively correlated in FT4 level (P<0.01). Conclusion Iodine nutritional status in most pregnant women in Jiangbei District is at appropriate levels,but there is still some iodine deficiency found in them.Urine iodine content of pregnant women in third trimester was low;FT4 levels were positively correlated in matched pregnant woman and newborn.In view of this situation,monitoring of the iodine nutritional status in pregnant women and neonatal thyroid function should be enhanced.

Study on the perception of gender role and decision-making regarding family affairs among married women and its impact on the utilization of perinatal care / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To understand the perception on roles of gender and decision-making regarding family affairs among married women and its impact on the utilization of perinatal care.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clustering sampling was conducted to select 1227 married women with at least a child aged from 0 to 7 years old, from Hebei, Hubei and Sichuan provinces. All women were interviewed using a uniform questionnaire during Nov.-Dec. 2004.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The overall proportion of women who had relatively poor perception of gender role was 65.1%. 59.3% of the women agreed that "husband's health is more important than wife's in the family" versus 39.7% of interviewed women agreed that "man is more suitable for leadership than woman". In 46.2% of the families, wife and husband shared the responsibility of decision making on family affairs. In 16.2% of the families women played a decisive role, while 67.1% of interviewed women had to get the approval of her husband when spending money on daily necessities. When there were different opinions between the couples, husband usually made the final decision in 20.5% of all the families versus 17.4% of families where wife made the final decision. In total,the proportion of women who had somehow rights on family affairs was 64.1%. The coverage rate of antenatal care was 91.0%, and 65.3% women who received antenatal care got the first antenatal visit during the first trimester and the proportion of women who had at least five antenatal visits was 39.7%. The institutional delivery was 59.3% among all the women. Perception of gender role was not a predictor for antenatal care utilization, but it was predictive of institutional delivery. Education was quite a significant predictor on perinatal care utilization.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Efforts should be strengthened to improve women's awareness and to increase their perception on gender role in the families so that more women could achieve quality perinatal care.</p>

Investigation on the patterns and knowledge regarding domestic violence among married women in rural areas of China / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To understand the knowledge and prevalence of domestic violence (DV) among married women in rural China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Proportional to Population Size(PPS) sampling method was conducted to select 3998 women aged 18 years old and above from Jilin, Anhui and Chongqing. All the women were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire during Nov. 2004-Jan. 2005.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The prevalence of spousal violence against women was 64.8 % in a lifetime and 42.6% in the past 12 months before the survey. Psychological violence was the most common type, followed by physical violence and sexual abuse. The prevalence rates for psychological, physical and sexual violence in a life time were 58.1%, 29.7%, 16.7%, while 37.2%, 14.0%, 7.7% in the past 12 months before the survey. All the total DV, psychological violence and sexual violence were more commonly seen in Jilin province, while physical violence was more prevalent in Chongqing city. The prevalence rate of violence was different among people with different social-demographic characteristics. Sexual abuse became more common with the improvement of education. In total, about 1/3 women suffered two or three categories of violence at the same time. Most sexually abused women suffered one kind of violence, while half of the physically and psychologically abused women suffering two and more kinds of violent behaviors at the same time. Married women had relatively little knowledge on domestic violence and 75.2 % of the women did not even know what domestic violence was referring to and some women suffered from DV themselves but knowing nothing about its implication. In general, physical violence was better understood among interviewed women while the knowledge about psychological violence was relatively poor. Conclusion Domestic violence, psychological violence in particular, was very common in rural China, while the knowledge of DV among married women was poor, effective actions should be taken to stop DV at no time.</p>

Survey on the situation of antenatal care in different regions of China, in 1971 - 2003 / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To comprehensively understand the situation of antenatal care in the last thirty years and to identify the existing problems and challenges.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>PPS method was used to select those women under study and face to face interview was carried out at the house.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The quality and coverage rate of antenatal care as well as the rate of hospital delivery had been continuously increasing over time and the coverage rate of antenatal checkup had increased from 38.7% in 1970s to 95.9%, while the institutional delivery rose from 20.1% to 87.4% in the last three years. However, problems and challenges were found refering to the of delay first antenatal care, inadequate timing and with incomplete contents. Only 71.7% of the pregnant women had received first checkup during the first three months. 64.1% of the women received 5 times or more of the checkups while only 29.1% of the women had received all the 7 basic checkup items. Rate of hospital delivery was unsatisfactory that most (79.5%) of the women had the delivery not in the hospitals when under the assistance of midwife/village doctors. Indicators showed that the worst was in the western regions.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Great progress had been made in the field of antenatal care in last thirty yeats in China. The coverage rate of antenatal checkup and institutional delivery had been improved. But the quality of antenatal care should be further improved, especially in the western regions.</p>