Impact of menarche age on the near-term and long-term obesity of adult females / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To study the relationship between the age of menarche and the near-term/long-term obesity in adult women. Methods: We analyzed the baseline data of 30 895 women with complete data on menarche and body measurement that was from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study from 2004 to 2008. The age of menarche was divided into three groups: ≤12, 13-16 and ≥17 years old. Prematurity was set at age ≤12 years. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the effects of menarche age on the near/long-term obesity in female adults. Results: The average menarche age of respondent appeared as (15.64±1.92) years old, with prematurity number as 1 421, accounting for 4.6% of the total numbers. Regarding the postponing of dates of birth, the age of menarche in women showed an advancing tendency. Among all the adult women under study, 803 developed near-term obesity, with the prevalence as 2.6%, while the number of long-term obesity was 3 738, accounting for 12.1%. Refining factors of age, lifestyle, menopausal status, hypertension and diabetes showed that the menarche age was related to the risks of both short-term and long-term obesity in women and the ORs (95%CI) were 2.45 (1.74-3.45) and 1.99 (1.69-2.34), respectively. There was no multiplicative interaction shown between the menarche age and menopausal status on long-term obesity (P=0.324). Conclusion: Premature menarche appeared a risk factor for near-term/long-term obesity in adult females.

Clinical characteristics and economic burden of influenza among children under 5 years old, in Suzhou, 2011-2017 / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To understand the clinical characteristics and economic burden of influenza-like illness (ILI) children aged 0-59 months in the outpatient settings in Suzhou, China, 2011-2017. Methods: From March 2011 to February 2017, we conducted a prospective surveillance program on ILI for children aged less than 5 years at Soochow University Affiliated Children's Hospital. Through standard questionnaires and follow-up survey via telephone, we collected information regarding the demographic characteristics, medical history, clinical symptoms and both direct and indirect costs associated with influenza, of the patients. We then compared clinical characteristics and economic burden of influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B infections among children with ILI. Results: We enrolled 6 310 patients with ILI from March 2011 to February 2017 and collected all their throat swabs. 791 (12.9%) of the swabs showed positive for influenza virus, including 88 (11.1%) subtype influenza A/H1N1, 288 (36.4%) subtype influenza A/H3N2, and 415(52.5%) type influenza B. The proportions of cough, rhinorrhea, wheezing, vomiting and convulsion in influenza-positive children were higher than those influenza-negative children. Except for the prevalence rates of cough (χ(2)=9.227, P=0.010), wheezing (χ(2)=7.273, P=0.026) and vomiting (χ(2)=8.163, P=0.017), other clinical symptoms appeared similar between the three viral subtypes. Among all the ILI children, the average total cost per episode of influenza was 688.4 Yuan (95%CI: 630.1-746.7) for influenza-negative children; 768.0 Yuan (95%CI: 686.8-849.3) for influenza-positive children and 738.3 Yuan (95%CI: 655.5-821.1) for influenza B. Children with influenza A/H1N1 spent much more than those with influenza A/H3N2 or influenza B in the total cost (χ(2)=7.237, P=0.028). Conclusion: Children infected influenza showed higher prevalence rates of cough, rhinorrhea, wheezing, vomiting and convulsion than those without influenza. Influenza A/H1N1 subtype caused heavier economic burden than the other two influenza subtypes.

Reduced glomerular epithelial protein 1 expression and podocyte injury in immunoglobulin A nephropathy.

Expression of glomerular epithelial protein 1 (GLEPP1), a receptor tyrosine phosphatase present on the apical cell surface of the glomerular podocyte, and podocyte morphology were investigated in renal specimens from 51 patients with biopsy-diagnosed immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and 11 controls. Clinical parameters, such as daily proteinuria were obtained from the patients' records and pathological manifestations of IgAN in the specimens were graded. GLEPP1 was strongly expressed and diffusely distributed in the glomeruli of control specimens. GLEPP1 expression was reduced in IgAN, especially in patients with nephrotic proteinuria and severe pathological manifestations. Podocyte injury was evident in IgAN and was associated with lower GLEPP1 expression and higher pathological grade. GLEPP1 expression was also significantly associated with clinical parameters. The results of this study suggest that GLEPP1 expression may be a useful marker of podocyte injury in IgAN, and may be predictive of clinical and pathological severity.