[Benefit of network education to college students' knowledge about sexual and reproductive health in Ningbo city].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how network education can improve college students' knowledge on sexual and reproductive health in Ningbo city. METHODS: From December 2012 to June 2013, we conducted a questionnaire investigation among college students in Ningbo city about the effects of network education on their knowledge about sexual psychology, sexual physiology, sexual ethics, and reproductive health. RESULTS: A total of 7 362 college students accomplished the investigation, of whom 2 483 (42.1% males and 57.9% females) received network education, while the other 4 879 (24.1% males and 75.9% females) did not. Approximately 47.1% of the male and 28.0% of the female students acquired sexual and reproductive knowledge via network education. Reproductive health-related network education significantly enriched the students' knowledge about the reproductive system and sex, pubertal development, sexual physiology, conception and embryonic development, methods of contraception, sexual psychology, sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention, pregnancy care and eugenics, and environment- and occupation-related reproductive health (P < 0.01). It also remarkably improved their cognitive attitude towards reproductive health knowledge (P < 0.01). Those who received reproductive health-related network education showed a significantly higher rate of masturbation (P < 0.01) but markedly later time of the first masturbation (P < 0.01) than those who did not. CONCLUSION: Network education can enhance the effect of reproductive health education among college students and improve their sexual experience and health.

[Sexual function and mental state in patients with redundant prepuce or phimosis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of sexual dysfunction with psychological abnormalities by analyzing the sexual function and mental state of the patients with redundant prepuce or phimosis. METHODS: This study included 216 randomly selected patients with redundant prepuce or phimosis and 85 normal male controls. We conducted investigations among the subjects using a questionnaire on the general data of the patients, Chinese Index of Sexual Function for Premature Ejaculation (CIPE), International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90). Then we assessed the status of premature ejaculation (PE) and erectile dysfunction (ED), calculated the incidence of psychological abnormalities, such as depression and anxiety, and analyzed the correlation of PE and ED with the mental state of the patients. RESULTS: The PE and ED patients scored significantly higher than normal controls on SCL-90, somatization, compulsion, depression, anxiety and other factors (P < 0.05). CIPE scores were correlated with the scores on SCL-90, somatization, compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety and other factors, while ED-related scores showed no correlation with the scores on SCL-90 and other factors. CONCLUSION: Patients with redundant prepuce or phimosis have poor mental health, and there is an interaction between PE and the mental state of the patient.

[The serum levels of cytokines in patients with rheumatoid arthritis associated interstitial lung disease and their clinical significance].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1) in the serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) associated interstitial lung disease (ILD). METHODS: Twenty-nine patients with RA only (the RA group) and 28 patients with RA associated ILD (the RA-ILD group) were included in the study. Patients in the RA-ILD group were divided into 2 subgroups, 16 in the early RA-ILD group and 12 in the late RA-ILD group. Twenty-nine healthy volunteers served as the control group. ELISA was used to detect the levels of MMP-9, TIMP-1, TGF-beta1 in the serum of the three groups. RESULTS: The TIMP-1 levels of both the RA and the RA-ILD groups [(645 +/- 220) microg/L, (536 +/- 188) microg/L] were significantly higher than that of the control group [(392 +/- 92) microg/L, F = 15.221, P < 0.01]. The TGF-beta1 level of the RA-ILD group [(13.1 +/- 10.0) microg/L] was significantly higher than those of the control group and the RA group [(3.9 +/- 2.9) microg/L, (2.4 +/- 1.7) microg/L, F = 26.455, P < 0.01]. There was no difference in the TIMP-1 level between RA-ILD and RA groups, the TGF-beta1 level between the control group and the RA group, the MMP-9 level and MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio among the three groups. The TIMP-1 level in the late RA-ILD group [(690 +/- 110) microg/L] was higher than that of the early RA-ILD group [(420 +/- 147) microg/L, t = -5.347, P < 0.01]. The TGF-beta1 level in the late RA-ILD group [(17.9 +/- 8.2) microg/L] was higher than that of the early RA-ILD group [(9.5 +/- 9.9) microg/L, t = - 2.39, P < 0.05]. The MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio of the late RA-ILD group (0.9 +/- 0.1) was lower than that of the early RA-ILD group (1.2 +/- 0.4, z = 4.307, P < 0.01). There was no statistic significance in the MMP-9 level between the early and the late RA-ILD groups [(537 +/- 309) microg/L, (595 +/- 110) microg/L, t = - 1.397, P = 0.174]. CONCLUSIONS: TGF-beta1, can be used as a diagnostic marker of ILD in RA patients and it also reflects the pathological change of the lung. The decrease of MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio in RA patients with ILD can reflect the severity degree of lung pathological changes.