Systematic Review of Health and Economic Burden Caused by Antibiotic Resistance in China / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To provide scientific basis for evaluating the burden caused by antibiotic resistance （AbR）and reference for policy making on crubing AbR in China. METHODS ：Databases including CNKI ，Wanfang database ，VIP，PubMed， Scopus，Medline and EconoLite from Jan. 1st 2016 to Aug. 10th 2020 were searched to collect studies on burden caused by AbR in China . After independent literature screening anddata extraction ，Newcastle-Ottawa scale （NOS）was used to evaluate the literature quality ，and a descriptive analysis was conduced to evaluate the health and economic burden caused by AbR. RESULTS ：A total of 27 Chinese and English literatures were included. The NOS scores of i ncluded literatures were 4-6，and all of them were retrospective case-control study ； the patients were divided into case group （resistance infection ） and control group （susceptible infection or non-infection ）； mortality，length of stay and medical expenditure were commonly applied as the measurement indexes. In the included studies ，the mortality of patients infected with AbR bacteria was 0.7-12.0 times that of patients infected with susceptible bacteria ；the mean or medium value of total length of stay was 0.9-2.5 times that of patients infected with susceptible bacteria ；the mean or medium of total medical expenditure was 1.0-2.7 times that of patients with susceptible bacteria infection. The differences in these indicators were greater between patients infected with AbR infections and those without becterial infections. CONCLUSIONS ：Bacterial drug resistance could increase the health and economic burden. However ，the existing relevant studies were mainly single center researches，the sample representation was insufficient ；the research design did not adjust for time-dependent bias ；the repeatability was low ，and the perspective of evalution was limited. It is urgent to carry out multicenter studies with higher quality to comprehensively evaluate the health and economic burden caused by AbR in China.

The Health Burden of Cancer Attributable to Obesity in Korea: A Population-Based Cohort Study / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: Considering the health impact of obesity and cancer, it is important to estimate the burden of cancer attributable to high body mass index (BMI). Therefore, the present study attempts to measure the health burden of cancer attributable to excess BMI, according to cancer sites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study used nationwide medical check-up sample cohort data (2002-2015). The study subjects were 496,390 individuals (268,944 men and 227,446 women). We first calculated hazard ratio (HR) in order to evaluate the effect of excess BMI on cancer incidence and mortality. Then, the adjusted HR values and the prevalence of excess BMI were used to calculate the population attributable risk. This study also used the Global Burden of Disease method, to examine the health burden of obesity-related cancers attributable to obesity. RESULTS: The highest disability-adjusted life year (DALY) values attributable to overweight and obesity in men were shown in liver cancer, colorectal cancer, and gallbladder cancer. Among women, colorectal, ovarian, and breast (postmenopausal) cancers had the highest DALYs values attributable to overweight and obesity. Approximately 8.0% and 12.5% of cancer health burden (as measured by DALY values) among obesity-related cancers in men and women, respectively, can be prevented. CONCLUSION: Obesity has added to the health burden of cancer. By measuring the proportion of cancer burden attributable to excess BMI, the current findings provide support for the importance of properly allocating healthcare resources and for developing cancer prevention strategies to reduce the future burden of cancer.

Spatial and Temporal Trends of Number of Deaths Attributable to Ambient PM(2.5) in the Korea

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the spatial and temporal trends of the health burden attributable to particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) in the metropolitan cities and provinces of the Korea. METHODS: We used modeled PM2.5 concentration data for the basic administrative levels, comprising the cities and the provinces of Korea, the corresponding annual population census data for each level, and the age and cause specific mortality data. We applied cause-specific integrated exposure-response functions to calculate the premature mortality attributable to ambient PM2.5 for four disease end points (ischemic heart disease [IHD], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], lung cancer [LC], and cerebrovascular disease [stroke]) for the year 2015. Moreover, the temporal trends of the health burden from 2006 to 2015 were assessed. RESULTS: The annual average PM2.5 concentration for Korea was 24.4 μg/m3, and 11,924 premature deaths were attributable to PM2.5 exposure in 2015. By simulating the reduction in the annual mean values of PM2.5 to 10 µg/m3, about 8,539 premature deaths were preventable. There was spatial variation in mortality burden attributable to PM2.5 across the sub-national regions of Korea. In particular, the high burden was concentrated at Seoul and Gyeonggi province due to the high population density. However, decreasing trends were noted for most of the metropolitan cities and provinces of Korea since 2006. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that further actions to improve air quality in Korea would substantially improve the health burden due to particulate matter.

Development-assistance Strategies for Stroke in Low- and Middle-income Countries

While communicable diseases still pose a serious health threat in developing countries, previously neglected health issues caused by non-communicable diseases such as stroke are rapidly becoming a major burden to these countries. In this review we will discuss the features and current status of stroke in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Overall the global burden of hemorrhagic stroke is larger than ischemic stroke, with a disproportionately greater burden, measured in incidence and disability-adjusted life-years, regionally localized in LMICs. Patients in poorer countries suffer due to insufficient primary care needed to control risk factors such as hypertension, and inadequate emergency care systems through which sudden events should be managed. In light of these situations, we emphasize two strategic points for development assistance. First, assistance should be provided for bolstering, integrating, and coordinating both the primary health and emergency care systems, in order to prevent stroke and strengthen stroke management, respectively. Second, the assistance needs to focus on programs at the community level, to reduce life-style risks of stroke in a more sustainable manner, and to improve stroke outcomes more effectively.

Lifestyle Advice and Management

Smoking cessation is a most cost-effective medical intervention and helping our patients stop smoking is a highly worthwhile endeavor. A doctor providing smoking cessation counseling will do well to first realise why many smokers are unwilling (or unable) to quit. This article focuses on why a doctor should emphasise smoking cessation in the prevention and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.