Morphology and epidemiological study of idiopathic scoliosis among primary school students in Chaozhou, China

BACKGROUND@#Idiopathic scoliosis (IS) affects patients' quality of life, yet there have been few reports of its morphology and epidemiological study in the southeast region of China. The aim of this study is to access the curve characteristics, prevalence, and factors associated with IS in Chaozhou city.@*METHODS@#A cross-sectional study was performed in 2018, in which scoliosis screening was conducted among 5497 primary school students in Chaozhou city. Then, a case-control study based on the screening involving 2547 children was followed for the exploration of the associated factors. The questionnaires covering demographic characteristics, postural habits, cognition and self-sensation of scoliosis, and physical conditions were addressed for the investigation. ORs with 95%CIs were calculated based on logistic regression analysis to evaluate the factors associated with scoliosis.@*RESULTS@#The prevalence of IS among primary school students was 6.15% in Chaozhou city, with 4.04% for males and 8.71% for females. The average Cobb angle was 15° (range 8 to 37°). Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that female (OR=2.45), BMI (OR=0.67), having myopia (OR=1.49), self-sensation of scoliosis with symptoms (OR=5.52), insufficient sleep time (OR=2.65, 3.33), and less exercise time (OR=7.09, 7.29) were significantly associated with IS.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The prevalence of IS among primary school students in Chaozhou was at an average level, and it was significantly higher in females than in males. Lower body mass, having myopia, insufficient sleep time, and lower physical activity were associated with IS.

Association between blood cadmium burden and clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Objective To explore the association between blood cadmium levels (BCLs) and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with breast cancer.Methods The clinicopathological characteristics and blood specimens of 186 patients diagnosed with breast cancer were collected between July and December 2009.BCLs were detected by graphite-furnace atomizer absorption spectrophotometer.Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to compare the BCLs of patients with different clinical characteristics.Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between BCLs and some indices of clinical characteristics.Results The BCLs was 2.280 (1.579) μg/L.The BCLs were significantly different in patients with different age and body mass index (BMI) (Z =-2.075,P =0.038;x2 =7.429,P =0.023).Also,there were significant differences in different T stages (x2 =10.137,P =0.017),M stages (Z =-2.225,P =0.026),clinical stages (x2 =16.060,P =0.001) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) status (Z=-2.072,P=0.038).Excepting for age (r =0.126,P =0.066),BCLs were positively associated with BMI,T stage,M stage,clinical stage and HER-2 status (r=0.159,P =0.030;r =0.171,P=0.020;r =0.166,P =0.044;r=0.154,P =0.040;r =0.152,P =0.038).Conclusion The BCLs are associated with some clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer,and high blood cadmium burden may promote the development of breast cancer.