Prevalence of depression among medical students in a private medical school: A cross-sectional study / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#Medical students are susceptible to depression due to the constant exposure to stressful situations and almost 30% of medical students suffer from depression. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression among first- to third-year medical students in a private medical institution.@*METHODS@#A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed on first- to third-year medical students selected through simple random sampling. They were asked to answer the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for the assessment of depression. @*RESULTS@#The prevalence of moderate to severe depression was 19.1%. Almost 15% of the first-year medical students, 23.7% of the second-year medical students and 18.3% of the third-year students were found to have a risk of having depression. Twenty-one percent of the male students and 18.4% of the females were classified to have depression.@*CONCLUSION@#Almost one-fifth of the first- to third-year medical students in the private medical institution have depression. The highest prevalence of having depression was among second-year medical students, males, 20 to 22 years old.

Study on self-rated health and related factors in centenarians in Hainan province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the self-rated health and related factors in centenarians in Hainan province. Methods: A cross-sectional study in centenarians from 18 cities and counties was carried out in Hainan between June 2014 and December 2016. They data about their demographics, chronic diseases, ability of daily life, mental health and sleep quality were collected in a household interview. Self-rated health status was classified into 5 degrees according to the subjective assessment by centenarians. Results: Of 991 centenarians in this study, 157 (15.8%) were in good self-rated health and 228 (23.0%) were in poor self-rated health. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that chronic pain, visual impairment, depression, limited ability of daily life and poor sleep quality were the factors associated with poor self-rated health in centenarians in Hainan (P<0.05). Conclusion: The proportion of centenarians in good self-rated health was low in Hainan, the influencing factors included chronic pain, visual impairment, depression, poor sleep quality and limited ability of daily life. It is necessary to conduct targeted intervention in centenarians in Hainan.

Evaluation of activities of daily living and related factors in community elderly people in urban and rural areas of Beijing / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To evaluate the activities of daily living (ADL) and related factors in community elderly people in urban and rural areas of Beijing. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Haidian and Miyun districts of Beijing using two-stage random cluster sampling method between 2011 and 2014. Results: A total of 4 499 community elderly people (1 815 males, 2 684 females) aged 60-95 years were included in the study. The mean age was (70.3±6.7) years. Compared with the participants from urban area, the participants from rural area had lower education level (85.2% had education level primary school), but higher level of smoking (22.8%) and drinking (43.1%). The ADL disability rate was higher in rural area than in urban area (12.4% vs. 11.8%, P=0.039). And it increased significantly with age (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed besides urban-rural difference (P=0.031), age (P=0.013), education level (P=0.015), physical activity (P=0.001) and stroke (P<0.001) were related factors influencing ADL disability. Conclusions: The ADL disability was relatively low in the community elderly people in Beijing, and there was significant difference between rural area and urban area. Older age, lower education level and physical inactivity and stroke were related factors.

Investigation of a measles outbreak caused by genotype D8 virus in Pinghu city of Zhejiang province, 2017 / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of measles outbreak caused by genotype D8 virus in Pinghu city of Zhejiang province, and provide evidence for the control of the outbreak. Methods: The measles outbreak data were collected through National Measles Surveillance System. The outpatient records and admission records were checked, field investigation and outbreak response were conducted. Blood samples in acute phase and swab specimens were collected from the patients for laboratory testing, including serology test, RNA extraction and amplification, measles virus isolation and genotype identification. Software SPSS 17.0 and Excel 2016 were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 10 confirmed measles cases were reported in Pinghu city, and 8 cases were aged >40 years. Six blood samples were collected, in which 5 were measles D8 virus positive and 1 was negative in measles virus detection. There were epidemiological links among 10 cases which occurred in a factory, a hospital and a family at the same time. There was no statistical difference in symptoms among cases caused by D8 virus and H1a virus. After the emergent measles vaccination, the measles outbreak was effectively controlled. Conclusion: Untimely response due to the uneasy detection of measles cases in the early stage, nosocomial infection and weak barrier of measles immunity in adults might be the main reasons for this outbreak. Measles vaccination is effective in the prevention of measles D8 virus infection. It is necessary to strengthen measles genotype monitoring for the tracing of infection source and control of outbreaks.

Effect of docosahexenoic acid supplementation on infant's growth and body mass index during maternal pregnancy / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the effects of docosahexenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on infant's growth and BMI during pregnancy. Methods: A total of 1 516 healthy pregnant women delivered their babies in two maternal and child health care hospitals in Beijing and were chosen as the subjects in this cohort study from May to October 2015. Self-developed questionnaires were used to gather general information of the subjects, including age, height, weight, weight gain during pregnancy, delivery mode, DHA supplementation etc., before giving birth. Information on body length, weight, head circumference and BMI at birth and 6 months postnatal, of the infants were recorded. Breast milk was collected to test the fatty acid profiles by using the gas chromatography (GC) method at one to three months postnatally. Results: The overall rate of DHA supplementation was 47.76% among the pregnant women, in which introduction of DHA from the early and second stage of the pregnancy accounted for 49.31% and 39.64% respectively. When DHA supplementation began from the early pregnant stage, the DHA concentration showed an increase in the milk (P<0.05), whereas the supplementation began from the second and third stages did not affect the milk DHA concentration (P>0.05). Higher height and lower BMI were seen in the infants at birth and 6 months in the supplementation group when comparing to the non-supplementary group (P<0.05), with the greatest effects noticed in the earliest supplementation group. Specifically, the head circumference appeared larger from the early pregnant stage in the DHA supplementary group, than that in the non-supplement group (P=0.001). The increment of head circumference was larger than that in the other groups when the infants were 6-month old (P<0.01). Results from the partial regression analysis showed that during pregnancy, there were positive correlations between DHA supplementation and height (r=0.324, r=0.216), head circumference (r=0.221, r=0.302) as well as the increment of head circumference (r=0.276) at birth and 6 months (P<0.05). Whereas, a negative correlation was shown between DHA and the infants' BMI (r=-0.310, r=-0.371) (P<0.05) when supplementation was given during maternal pregnancy. Conclusions: When DHA supplementation program was carried out during maternal pregnancy, it could increase the height and head circumference and inhibit the rapid increase of BMI in the infants BMI. Our findings seemed helpful in promoting brain development and preventing the childhood obesity.

Study on sleep quality and related determinants among centenarians in Hainan province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the sleep quality and related determinants among centenarians in Hainan. Methods: A cross-sectional study of centenarians from 16 cities/counties was carried out in Hainan province between June 2014 and June 2016. Data related to demography, chronic diseases and lifestyles of the centenarians were collected. Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI) was used to assess the quality of sleep while multivariable logistic Regression model was used to determine the risk factors on the quality of sleep. Results: Of the 730 centenarians in this study, 225 suffered from sleep disorders (30.8%). The average score of PSQI was (6.44±3.05), with the top three problems related to sleep as sleep inefficiency (48.5%), sleep latency (35.5%), and daytime dysfuntion (20.6%) among the centenarians. Results from the multivariate logistic analysis showed that incontinence, cardiovascular disease and chronic pain were risk factors, while habitual afternoon nap, and regular diet appeared as protective factors (P<0.05), related to sleep disorder. Conclusions: Quality of sleep had been a problem to the centenarians in Hainan. Intervention on risk factors of sleep disorder should be helpful on these centenarians.

Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and related factors in female greenhouse workers in Shandong province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To study the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and related factors in female greenhouse workers. Method: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 851 female greenhouse workers in Shandong province in 2015. Results: The incidence of MSDs among the female greenhouse workers was 82.79%. For the MSDs in female greenhouse workers, the top four affected body sites were low back (65.82%), knees (49.10%), neck (25.75%) and shoulder (23.47%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥50 years (OR=2.098, 95%CI: 1.353-3.252), working years ≥20 (OR=1.703, 95%CI: 1.116-2.599), repetitive work (OR=1.903, 95%CI: 1.183-3.061), standing for prolonged time (OR=2.902, 95%CI: 1.183-7.120) and frequent slightly bending down (OR=2.979, 95%CI: 1.823-4.867) were the main risk factors for MSDs in female greenhouse workers. Aiding tools was the protective factor (OR=0.400, 95%CI:0.229-0.697). Conclusions: The findings showed a relatively higher prevalence of MSDs in female greenhouse workers. It is necessary to take appropriate measures to prevent and control the incidence of MSDs in female greenhouse workers.