Short-term effects of particulate matter exposure on emergency room visits for cardiovascular disease in Lanzhou, China: a time series analysis.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been the leading cause of death in China. Identifying the relationship between particulate matter (PM) and CVD in China is a significant challenge. In this study, daily CVD emergency room visit, environmental monitoring, and weather data from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018, in Lanzhou were collected. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were constructed to estimate the short-term effects of daily PM2.5, PMC, and PM10 concentrations on CVD emergency room visits with different lag structures after controlling for the influence of meteorological elements and gaseous pollutants. Stratified analyses were conducted according to age (≥ 65 years and < 65 years), sex (male and female), cold season (from November to April), and warm season (from May to October). The results showed that each 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with a 1.93% (95% CI 0.12-3.78%) increase in CVD emergency room visits at lag03, and no single lag model was statistically significant. The excess relative risks (ERRs) of PM10 and PMC were not statistically significant at any lag pattern. The exposure-response curves demonstrated a nonlinear upward trend for these three PM pollutants. When adjusting for other gaseous pollutants, such as NO2, SO2, CO, and O3, in the two-pollutant models, the associations between PM10 and PMC and CVD emergency room visits did not change compared with the single-pollutant models. The ERRs of PM2.5 were 1.67% (95% CI 0.03-3.34%) at lag02 after adjustment for NO2 and 1.65% (95% CI 0.02-3.30%) at lag02 after adjustment for SO2. The ERRs of PM2.5 were still statistically significant at lag03 when we adjusted for any one of the gaseous pollutants. Susceptibility to PM2.5 was increased in people aged < 65 years, in males, and in the warm season. The findings are very important for local governments to develop environmental policies and strategies to reduce ambient PM2.5 levels.

Risk factors for Blastocystis infection in HIV/AIDS patients with highly active antiretroviral therapy in Southwest China.

BACKGROUND: Blastocystis is a widespread zoonotic protozoan of mammalian species, especially in HIV/AIDS individuals. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and risk factors related with Blastocystis infection among HIV/AIDS patients in Southwest China. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was performed in 311 HIV/AIDS cases in Tengchong City, Yunnan Province from July 2016 to March 2017. For each subject, stool specimen was collected to detect the Blastocystis, and the blood sample was used to detect HIV virus load and CD4+ T cell count, in addition, structured questionnaire was used to collect the basic information and risk factors. FINDINGS: The result showed that the detection rate of Blastocystis was 3.86% (95% CI: 2.22-6.62) among HIV/AIDS patients. Both raising animal (OR = 12.93, 95% CI: 1.54-108.36) and drinking un-boiled water (OR = 8.17, 95% CI: 1.76-37.90) were risk factors for Blastocystis infection in HIV/AIDS individuals. In addition, the interaction of CD4+ T cell count and HIV virus load was also contribution to Blastocystis infection (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of Blastocystis infection was found in HIV/AIDS patients in Tengchong. Poor hygienic habits, the interaction of HIV virus load and CD4+ T cell count were identified as main risk factors for infection. These results will help us to develop efficient control strategies to intervene with and prevent the occurrence of Blastocystis among HIV-infected individuals.