Study on the prevalence rate and risk factors of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in rural community population in Hubei province / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its risk factors in rural area in the southern part of Hubei province and to provide evidence for prevention and treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using uniform scheme, procedures and questionnaire, a multistage survey for 1883 people in rural area in southern part of Hubei province was performed, and physical examinations and lung function tests were conducted for every participant.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In this survey, 186 COPD cases were identified with a overall prevalence of 9.88%. The prevalence for male was 13.68% while in female it was 6.46%. The prevalence was higher in males than in females (chi2 = 27.48, P< 0.001) and higher with the increase of age (chi2 = 79.22, P<0.001). Factors associated with COPD were identified in one-way variance model as follows: sex, age, smoking, time for cooking, using biomass fuels for in-door cooking, family history, frequent cough before age 14, low body index and having house remodelling in the last five years. Results from multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that sex (OR= 1.3010), age (OR = 1.8506), smoking (OR= 3.0118), cooking time (OR= 1.7651), family history (OR = 1.5278), frequent cough before age 14 (OR = 2.8965) were risk factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prevalence of COPD in the southern part of Hubei province was high, suggesting that comprehensive intervention measures should be taken.</p>

Effects of Zinc Deficiency on Th1/Th2 Cytokine in Asthmatic Rats / 实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of zinc deficiency on the expressions of Th1/Th2 cytokine interferon-?(IFN-?) and interleukin-4(IL-4)in asthmatic rats.Methods Animal models of asthma and zinc deficiency were established.Thirty-two SD rats were divided into 4 groups according to weight:zinc deficient diet with ovalbumin(OVA) challenge group(group A),zinc normal diet with OVA challenge group(group B),zinc normal pair-fed diet with OVA challenge group(group C) and zinc normal diet with saline challenge group(group D).The contents of IFN-? and IL-4 in lung homogenate were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The levels of IFN-? and IL-4 mRNAs were observed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results Compared with group D,the content and mRNA expression of IFN-? of lung in group A,group B and group C all decreased significantly(all P0.05).No marked difference was found between group B and group C in all the results.Conclusions Zinc deficiency reduces the expression of IFN-? but have no influence on IL-4.The imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokine may be associated with the increasing airway inflammatory reaction in zinc deficient asthmatic rats.