The Effects of Being an Only Child, Family Cohesion, and Family Conflict on Behavioral Problems among Adolescents with Physically Ill Parents.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the parental physical illness' effect on behavioral problems among adolescents, and the effects of being an only child, family cohesion, and family conflict on behavioral problems among adolescents with physically ill parents in Liaoning province, China. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2009. A questionnaire including two dimensions of the Family Environment Scale (family cohesion and family conflict), self-reported Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and demographic factors was distributed to the subjects. RESULTS: Among the 5220 adolescents, 308 adolescents lived with physically ill parents. The adolescents with physically ill parents had more behavioral problems than adolescents with healthy parents. Among the girls who lived in families with physically ill parents, the SDQ score and the prevalence of SDQ syndromes were higher in the girls with siblings than the girls without siblings after adjusting for variables; the effect of family cohesion on SDQ was significant after adjusting for variables. CONCLUSION: Interventions targeting family cohesion may be effective to reduce behavioral problems of adolescents with physically ill parents.

The effects of psychological interventions on depression and anxiety among Chinese adults with cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.

BACKGROUND: Our previous studies found the high prevalence of depression and anxiety among Chinese cancer patients, and many empirical studies have been conducted to evaluate the effects of psychological interventions on depression and anxiety among Chinese cancer patients. This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis in order to assess the effects of psychological interventions on depression and anxiety in Chinese adults with cancer. METHODS: The four most comprehensive Chinese academic database- CNKI, Wanfang, Vip and CBM databases-were searched from their inception until January 2014. PubMed and Web of Science (SCIE) were also searched from their inception until January 2014 without language restrictions, and an internet search was used. Randomized controlled studies assessing the effects of psychological interventions on depression and anxiety among Chinese adults with cancer were analyzed. Study selection and appraisal were conducted independently by three authors. The pooled random-effects estimates of standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Moderator analysis (meta-regression and subgroup analysis) was used to explore reasons for heterogeneity. RESULTS: We retrieved 147 studies (covering 14,039 patients) that reported 253 experimental-control comparisons. The random effects model showed a significant large effect size for depression (SMD = 1.199, p < 0.001; 95% CI = 1.095-1.303) and anxiety (SMD = 1.298, p < 0.001; 95% CI = 1.187-1.408). Cumulative meta-analysis indicated that sufficient evidence had accumulated since 2000-2001 to confirm the statistically significant effectiveness of psychological interventions on depression and anxiety in Chinese cancer patients. Moderating effects were found for caner type, patients' selection, intervention format and questionnaires used. In studies that included lung cancer, preselected patients with clear signs of depression/anxiety, adopted individual intervention and used State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the effect sizes were larger. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that psychological interventions in Chinese cancer patients have large effects on depression and anxiety. The findings support that an adequate system should be set up to provide routine psychological interventions for cancer patients in Chinese medical settings. However, because of some clear limitations (heterogeneity and publication bias), these results should be interpreted with caution.

Prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms among Chinese male correctional officers.

OBJECTIVES: Chinese correctional officers (COs) consist of frontline COs in direct contact with the prisoners and non-frontline COs (including administrative staff and professionals). Male COs compose the majority of Chinese COs, especially for frontline COs. Although they are quite susceptible to depressive symptoms due to highly risky and stressful working environment, few studies focus on this issue. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and to explore its associated factors among Chinese male frontline and non-frontline COs. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed during the period of March/April 2011. The study population comprised of 1,900 male COs in four male prisons in a province of northeast China. A questionnaire including the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, demographic factors, work conditions, effort-reward imbalance questionnaire was distributed to these COs. A total of 1,494 effective respondents became our subjects (981 frontline COs and 513 non-frontline COs). Frontline and non-frontline COs were analyzed separately. RESULTS: Approximately 61.4% of Chinese male COs had depressive symptoms (63.5% in frontline COs and 57.3% in non-frontline COs). Multivariate logistic analyses showed that effort-reward ratio, overcommitment, chronic disease, and threat perception were associated with depressive symptoms in frontline and non-frontline COs, whereas weekly work time had an effect only in frontline COs. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese male COs, especially frontline COs, might have high-level prevalence of depressive symptoms. Moreover, this study had identified important risk factors that might be important in planning strategies for prevention and intervention of depressive symptoms for Chinese male COs.

A Bayesian meta-analysis on prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among Chinese volunteer blood donors.

BACKGROUND: Although transfusion-transmitted infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) threatens the blood safety of China, the nationwide circumstance of HBV infection among blood donors is still unclear. OBJECTIVES: To comprehensively estimate the prevalence of HBsAg positive and HBV occult infection (OBI) among Chinese volunteer blood donors through bayesian meta-analysis. METHODS: We performed an electronic search in Pub-Med, Web of Knowledge, Medline, Wanfang Data and CNKI, complemented by a hand search of relevant reference lists. Two authors independently extracted data from the eligible studies. Then two bayesian random-effect meta-analyses were performed, followed by bayesian meta-regressions. RESULTS: 5957412 and 571227 donors were identified in HBsAg group and OBI group, respectively. The pooled prevalence of HBsAg group and OBI group among donors is 1.085% (95% credible interval [CI] 0.859%~1.398%) and 0.094% (95% CI 0.0578%~0.1655%). For HBsAg group, subgroup analysis shows the more developed area has a lower prevalence than the less developed area; meta-regression indicates there is a significant decreasing trend in HBsAg positive prevalence with sampling year (beta = -0.1202, 95% -0.2081~-0.0312). CONCLUSION: Blood safety against HBV infection in China is suffering serious threats and the government should take effective measures to improve this situation.

Is sunlight exposure a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologists have recently investigated sunlight exposure as a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but there remains an ongoing dispute over this association due to insufficient evidence and unreliable data. OBJECTIVES: To analyse comprehensively the epidemiological literature concerning the association between AMD and sunlight exposure. METHODS: We systematically reviewed the epidemiological literature concerning the association between AMD and sunlight exposure. An electronic search was performed of PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI, which was supplemented by hand searching. The selection of studies, data abstraction and quality assessment were performed independently by three reviewers. After these steps, we performed a random-effects meta-analysis, followed by subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis, including a random-effects meta-regression for study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were identified. Twelve studies identified an increasing risk of AMD with greater sunlight exposure, six of which reported significant risks. The pooled OR was 1.379 (95% CI 1.091 to 1.745). The subgroup of non-population-based studies revealed a significant risk (OR 2.018, 1.248 to 3.265, p=0.004). We identified the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (p=0.048), but not the latitude (p=0.21), as a factor that led to heterogeneity according to the meta-regression. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological literature published to date indicates that individuals with more sunlight exposure are at a significantly increased risk of AMD. The OR significantly decreased with increasing GDP per capita.