Economic burden and cost determinants of coronary heart disease in rural southwest China: a multilevel analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the economic burden of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a given year (2010), including direct and indirect costs, and examine the impact of contextual and individual socio-economic (SES) predictors on the costs of CHD among adults in rural southwest China. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional community survey. METHODS: In total, 4595 adults (aged ≥18 years) participated in this study. A prevalence-based cost-of-illness approach was used to estimate the economic burden of CHD. Information on demographic characteristics of the study population and the economic consequences of CHD was obtained using a standard questionnaire. Multilevel linear regression was used to model the variation in costs of CHD. RESULTS: In the study population, the overall prevalence of CHD was 2.9% (3.5% for males, 2.3% for females). The total cost of CHD was estimated to be US$17 million. Inpatient hospitalizations represented the main component of direct costs of CHD, and direct costs accounted for the greatest proportion of the economic burden of CHD. Males were more likely to have a higher economic burden of CHD than females. A positive association was found between the individual's level of education and the economic burden of CHD. Residence in a higher-income community was associated with higher costs related to CHD. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that both contextual and individual SES were closely associated with the costs of CHD. Future strategies for CHD interventions and improved access to affordable medications to treat and control CHD should focus on less-educated individuals and communities with lower SES.

Genetic imbalance related to cisplatin-based chemoresistance in epithelial ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: To identify genetic imbalance related to chemoresistance in epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS: We screened abnormal chromosomal regions in cisplatin-resistant and cisplatin-sensitive human ovarian cancer cell lines employing comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). We also documented non-random chromosome gains and losses with cisplatin-resistant and cisplatin-sensitive primary epithelial ovarian tumors from patients. RESULTS: There were extensive chromosome changes in cisplatin-resistant and cisplatin-sensitive cell lines. Gains of 1q12-22, 17q21-22 and loss of 3p21-24 were significantly more common in drug-resistant tumors from patients compared to the drug-sensitive group. CONCLUSIONS: The special chromosomal aberrances might provide us with a clue for further investigation of the dominant mechanism that leads to a drug-resistant phenotype.

Expression and significance of the protein and mRNA of metastasis suppressor gene ME491/CD63 and integrin alpha5 in ovarian cancer tissues.

PURPOSE: To investigate the expression and significance of the proteins and mRNA of metastasis suppressor gene Me491/cd63 and integrin alpha5 in ovarian cancer tissues. METHODS: RT-PCR and in situ hybridization were used to detect the expression of the proteins and mRNA of ME491/CD63 and integrin alpha5 in normal ovarian tissues (Group I), ovarian benign tumor tissues (Group II), ovarian borderline tumor tissues (Group III) and ovarian cancer tissues (Group IV), and the correlation between the expression and the age of patient, degree of differentiation, lymphatic metastasis, stage and pathological type was analyzed. RESULTS: There was a significant change in gene expression between the well and moderately differentiated tumors and poorly differentiated tumors. Gene expression in Groups III and IV was significantly weak, and significantly different from that in Group II and the early-stages of Groups III and IV. There was a significant difference in gene expression between each group. CONCLUSION: There is low expression of the proteins and mRNA of ME491/CD63 and integrin alpha5 in ovarian cancer. The lower the pathological differentiation is, the more significant the loss of expression is and the more likely metastasis is.