The association between leftover food consumption and depression among older adults: Findings from a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Leftover food consumption is very prevalent among the Chinese older adults, however, the potential effects of leftover eating consumption on depression have not yet been investigated. OBJECTIVES: The study aims to determine the association between leftover consumption on depression among older adults. METHODS: Data of leftover consumption frequency was collected in a cross-sectional study with a provincial representative sample of 5992 older adults (aged 60 or older) in 2019. Depression symptoms were assessed by the 9-item screener Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Multiple logistic regression models were applied to analyze the association of the frequency of leftover eating consumption and the presence and the severity of depression. RESULTS: After controlling for all the covariates, the participants who consume leftover food everyday had higher risk of having depression symptom comparing to those who had the lowest frequency of leftover eating (OR: 1.675, 95% CI: 1.435-1.956, p < 0.001). The participants who consume leftover food every day was also associated with more severe depression symptoms (OR: 1.621, 95% CI: 1.397-1.881, p < 0.001), when comparing to the reference group. The associations seemed stronger in men than women. LIMITATIONS: The causal relationship between leftover consumption behavior and depression could not be determined due to the cross-sectional design. Moreover, the variety or handling method of the leftover food was not specified. CONCLUSION: Leftovers eating frequency was associated with the presence and severity of depression symptoms among older adults.

A Case Series of Olfactory Dysfunction in Imported COVID-19 Patients: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study.

Objective: The scientific community knows little about the long-term influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on olfactory dysfunction (OD). With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing worldwide, the risk of imported cases remains high. In China, it is necessary to understand OD in imported cases. Methods: A prospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 11 self-reported patients with COVID-19 and OD from Xi'an No. 8 Hospital were followed between August 19, 2021, and December 12, 2021. Demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory and radiological findings, and treatment outcomes were analyzed at admission. We surveyed the patients via telephone for recurrence and sequelae at the 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Results: Eleven patients with OD were enrolled; of these, 54.5% (6/11) had hyposmia and 45.5% (5/11) had anosmia. 63.6% (7/11) reported OD before or on the day of admission as their initial symptom; of these, 42.9% (3/7) described OD as the only symptom. All patients in the study received combined treatment with traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and 72.7% (8/11) had partially or fully recovered at discharge. In terms of OD recovery at the 12-month follow-up, 45.5% (5/11) reported at least one sequela, 81.8% (9/11) had recovered completely, 18.2% (2/11) had recovered partially, and there were no recurrent cases. Conclusions: Our data revealed that OD frequently presented as the initial or even the only symptom among imported cases. Most OD improvements occurred in the first 2 weeks after onset, and patients with COVID-19 and OD had favorable treatment outcomes during long-term follow-up. A better understanding of the pathogenesis and appropriate treatment of OD is needed to guide clinicians in the care of these patients.

[Design and Development of Cloud Platform of Emergency COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Detection].

According to the characteristics of short time and large amount of samples for out of hospital emergency nucleic acid detection, this study introduces an out of hospital emergency nucleic acid detection cloud platform system, which realizes the functions of rapid identification of the detected person and one-to-one correspondence with the samples, and real-time upload of the detection results to Zhejiang Government service network for quick viewing and statistics, so as to complete the task of national nucleic acid screening efficiently and accurately that we must provide information support.

Supportive or Confining? The Impact of War Metaphors From the COVID-19 Pandemic on Persons With Disabilities in Mainland China.

Ensuring the well-being of persons with disabilities (PWDs) is a priority in the public sector during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To contain this unprecedented public crisis in China, a set of nationwide anti-epidemic discourse systems centered on war metaphors has guided the epidemic's prevention and control. While the public is immersed in the joy brought by the stage victory, most ignore the situation of the disadvantaged PWDs. Accordingly, this study adopts and presents a qualitative research method to explore the impact of war metaphors on PWDs. The results showed that while there was some formal and informal support for PWDs during this period, they were increasingly marginalized. Owing to the lack of a disability lens and institutional exclusion, PWDs were placed on the margins of the epidemic prevention and control system like outsiders. Affected by pragmatism under war metaphors, PWDs are regarded as non-contributory or inefficient persons; therefore, they are not prioritized and are thus placed into a state of being voiceless and invisible. This research can provide inspiration for improving public services for PWDs in the context of COVID-19.

Mitigating COVID-19 Infection Disease Transmission in Indoor Environment Using Physical Barriers (preprint)

During the normalized phase of COVID-19, droplets or aerosol particles produced by infected personnel are considered as the potential source of infection with uncertain exposure risk. As such, in densely populated open spaces, it is necessary to adopt strategies to mitigate the risk of infection disease transmission while providing sufficient ventilation air. An example of such strategies is use of physical barriers. In this study, the impact of barrier heights on the spread of aerosol particles is investigated in an open office environment with the well-designed ventilation mode and supply air rate. The risk of infection disease transmission is evaluated using simulation of particle concentration in different locations and subject to a number of source scenarios. It was found that a barrier height of at least 60cm above the desk surface is needed to effectively prevent the transmission of viruses. For workstations within 4m from the outlet, a 70cm height is considered, and with a proper ventilation mode, it is shown that the barriers can reduce the risk of infection by 72%. However, for the workstations further away from the outlet (beyond 4m), the effect of physical barrier cannot be that significant. In summary, this study provides a theoretical analysis for implementing physical barriers, as a low-cost mitigation strategy, subject to various height scenarios and investigation of their effectiveness in reducing the infection transmission probability.

Association of Overlapped and Un-overlapped Comorbidities with COVID-19 Severity and Treatment Outcomes: A Retrospective Cohort Study from Nine Provinces in China.

OBJECTIVE: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. METHODS: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of the associations between comorbidities (cardiometabolic or non-cardiometabolic diseases), clinical severity, and treatment outcomes of COVID-19. RESULTS: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. CONCLUSION: Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.

Association between ageing population, median age, life expectancy and mortality in coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

As of May 5, 2020, the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases has been more than 3.5 million with 243,540 deaths. We aimed to determine the associations between ageing population, median age, life expectancy at birth and COVID-19 mortality. The numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the European region were obtained from the World Health Organization database. The data on percentage of the population aged 65 and over, median age and life expectancy at birth were extracted from the World Factbook of Central Intelligence Agency. A total of 56 countries/areas in the Europe reported COVID-19 cases and deaths (1,121,853 cases and 100,938 deaths) on April 20, 2020. The results showed significant positive associations between COVID-19 mortality and ageing population (r =0.274; P =0.021), median age (r =0.255; P=0.029), male median age (r =0.284; P =0.017), female median age (r =0.224; P=0.049), life expectancy at birth (r =0.336; P=0.006), male life expectancy at birth (r =0.342; P=0.005), female life expectancy at birth (r =0.312; P=0.01) in the 56 European countries/areas. This study illustrated that COVID-19 mortality was positively associated with ageing population, median age, and life expectancy at birth.

Clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of COVID-19 patients with stroke in China: A multicenter retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies mainly reported the clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infections, but the research on clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of COVID-19 patients with stroke is still rare. METHODS: A multi-center retrospective study was conducted at 11 hospitals in 4 provinces of China, and COVID-19 patients with stroke were enrolled from February 24 to May 4, 2020. We analyzed epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of cases as well as the laboratory test results, treatment regimens and outcomes, and the clinical characteristics and therapeutic outcomes were compared between severe and nonsevere patients, and by age group, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 27 patients [mean age: 66.41 (SD 12.1) years] were enrolled. Among them, 9 (33.3%) were severe patients and 18 (66.7%) were nonsevere patients; 17 (63.0%) were female; 19 (70.4%) were aged 60 years and above. The most common symptoms were fever [19 (70.4%)], fatigue [12 (44.4%)] and cough [11 (40.7%)], respectively. Abnormal laboratory findings of COVID-19 patients with stroke included high levels of C-reactive protein [19 (73.1%)], D-dimer [14 (58.3%)], blood glucose [14 (53.8%)], fibrinogen [13 (50.0%)], and decreased lymphocytes [12 (44.4%)]. Comparing to nonsevere cases with stroke, severe patients with stroke were likely to be older, susceptible to receiving oxygen inhalation, and had more complications (p < 0.05). In addition, there were significant differences in lymphocytes, neutrophils, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, creatine kinase between the severe cases and nonsevere cases (p < 0.05). The older patients had a decreased platelet count and elevated fibrinogen, compared with the younger (p < 0.05). All patients (100%) received antiviral treatment, 12 (44.4%) received antibiotics treatment, 26 (96.3%) received Traditional Chinese Medicine (Lung cleansing & detoxifying decoction), and oxygen inhalation was in 18 (66.7%). The median duration of hospitalization was 16 days. By May 4, 2020, a total of 26 (96.3%) patients were cured and discharged, and 1 (3.7%) patients died. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 patients with stroke had poor indicators of coagulation system, and severe and older patients might have a higher risk of complications and unfavorable coagulation system. However, the overall treatment outcome is favorable.