Factors influencing the hospitalization cost for stroke patients in J district, Shanghai. / 上海市JåŒºè„‘å’ä¸­æ‚£è€ ä½é™¢è´¹ç”¨çš„å½±å“å› ç´ .

OBJECTIVES: Stroke is the main cause of death in Chinese residents, bringing a heavy economic burden to patients. This study aims to explore the characteristics and the factors influencing the hospitalization cost for stroke, and to provide scientific evidence for reducing the economic burden on stroke patients. METHODS: The data were mainly obtained from the Shanghai Statistics Center for Health. Using the coding system of International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10, we retrospectively collected the stroke-related first hospitalization records of stroke patients in J district, Shanghai during January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019 whose main diagnostic disease codes were I61-I63. After cleaning and arranging the data, we counted the first hospitalization cost and length of hospital stay (LOS) of the patients. Univariate analysis was performed using non-parametric tests, and the factors influencing stroke hospitalization cost were further analyzed by multiple linear regression fitting path model. RESULTS: A total of 3 901 stroke patients were included. Ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients accounted for 92.59% and 7.41%, respectively, of which the mean hospitalization cost per patient were 12 397.35 yuan and 28 814.72 yuan, respectively, and the mean LOS per patient were 13 days and 19 days, respectively. Hospitalization cost for ischemic stroke mainly consisted of medicine fees, diagnosis fees, and service fees, accounting for 44.70%, 29.92%, and 15.42%, respectively, and hospitalization cost for hemorrhagic stroke mainly consisted of medicine fees, diagnosis fees, consumables fees, and service fees, accounting for 38.76%, 18.33%, 17.59%, and 15.38%, respectively. From 2016 to 2019, the proportion of medicine fees for ischemic stroke was decreased by 19.38 percentage points, and the diagnosis fees and service fees were increased by 8.43 percentage points and 9.04 percentage points, respectively; the proportions of medicine fees and consumables fees for hemorrhagic stroke were decreased by 7.54 percentage points and 13.43 percentage points, respectively, and the proportions of diagnostic fees and service fees were increased by 6.87 percentage points and 10.15 percentage points, respectively. Path analysis results showed that the main direct factors influencing hospitalization cost were the LOS, hospital level, operation, and year, and the main indirect factors were age and hospital level (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The cost burden of stroke patients in Shanghai is relatively heavy, and we should continue to promote the medical reform policy and consolidate the achievements of medical reform. Hospitals should strengthen clinical pathway management and patient health education to improve medical efficiency and reduce invalid hospitalization days. Government departments should continue to improve the medical insurance system, enhance the supervision to medical insurance, and promote health equity.

Prevalence of diabetes and hypertension and their interaction effects on cardio-cerebrovascular diseases: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and diabetes mellitus are two of the major risk factors for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs). Although prior studies have confirmed that the coexistence of the two can markedly increase the risk of CVDs, few studies investigated whether potential interaction effects of hypertension and diabetes can result in greater cardio-cerebrovascular damage. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes and whether they both affect synergistically the risk of CVDs. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by using a multistage stratified random sampling among communities in Changsha City, Hunan Province. Study participants aged > = 18 years were asked to complete questionnaires and physical examinations. Multivariate logistic regression models were performed to evaluate the association of diabetes, hypertension, and their multiplicative interaction with CVDs with adjustment for potential confounders. We also evaluated additive interaction with the relative excess risk ratio (RERI), attribution percentage (AP), synergy index (SI). RESULTS: A total of 14,422 participants aged 18-98 years were collected (men = 5827, 40.7%). The prevalence was 22.7% for hypertension, 7.0% for diabetes, and 3.8% for diabetes with hypertension complication, respectively. Older age, women, higher educational level, unmarried status, obesity (central obesity) were associated with increased risk of hypertension and diabetes. We did not find significant multiplicative interaction of diabetes and hypertension on CVDs, but observed a synergistic additive interaction on coronary heart disease (SI, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.03-1.97; RERI, 1.94; 95% CI, 0.05-3.83; AP, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.06-0.46). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes and hypertension were found to be associated with a significantly increased risk of CVDs and a significant synergistic additive interaction of diabetes and hypertension on coronary heart disease was observed. Participants who were old, women, highly educated, unmarried, obese (central obese) had increased risk of diabetes and hypertension.

Effect of adverse childhood experiences and DNA methylation on male sexual orientation. / 早期负性经历和DNA甲基化对男性性取向的影响.

The causes for male sexual orientation are complicated, which have not yet been clarified. Recent years have witnessed fruitful progress in the field of biology, while the impact of environment has received little attention. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), identified as a special environment in the early stage of development, can affect the individual phenotype by DNA methylation. Given the relationships among male sexual orientation, ACEs, and DNA methylation, as well as based on the existing theory, this article proposes the model "ACEs-DNA methylation-male sexual orientation"from the perspective of environment and epigenetics, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for future research.

Cost-effectiveness of Morse Fall Scale assessment in fall prevention care in hospitalized patients. / Morseè·Œå€’é‡è¡¨è¯„ä¼°åœ¨ä½é™¢æ‚£è€ é˜²è·Œå€’æŠ¤ç†ä¸­çš„æˆæœ¬æ•ˆæžœ.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the cost-effectiveness of the Morse Fall Scale by clinical big data for nurses in the prevention of falls in hospitalized patients. METHODS: A total of 59 358 hospitalized patients, who came from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in 1 year before nurses were trained by the Morse Fall Scale, served as a control, including 26 862 males and 32 496 females. While the 66 203 hospitalized patients served as an observation group in 1 year after nurses were trained by the Morse Fall Scale, including 29 881 males and 36 322 females. The time spent by clinical nurses in the fall-risk assessment and the fall number were recorded in the 2 groups, and the relationship was analyzed between the Morse Fall Scale assessment and the clinical ending along with the labor cost of nursing. The cost-effectiveness was analyzed. In addition, the incidence of fall in the observation group was compared between the falling high-risk patients and the non-high-risk patients. RESULTS: The Morse Fall Scale showed that the incidences of fall in the observation group and the control group were 3.39/100 000 and 3.82/100 000,respectively, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups (U=0.807, P>0.05); the injury rates of falls of Grade 2 and above in the observation group and the control group were 27.30% and 20.00%, respectively, with no significant difference (χ2=0.345, P>0.05); but the labor cost was increased by 130 641.82 Chinses Yuan, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was 43 547.27. However, the incidence of fall was significant higher in the falling high-risk patients by the assessment of the Morse Fall Scale than that in the non-high-risk patients (U=2.941, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of the Morse Fall Scale has a certain effect, but it is limited in the prevention of falls in adult hospitalized patients, and the cost-effectiveness analysis is not good. It is recommended to implement the intervention measures for high-risk patients after the assessment, which may improve the management level and efficiency of fall prevention.

Association Between Dietary Selenium Intake and the Prevalence of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: The aim was to examine the association between dietary selenium intake and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a large group of middle-aged and elderly Chinese persons.Method: The data included in this analysis were from a population-based study, the Xiangya Hospital Health Management Center Study. NAFLD was diagnosed by (1) imaging or histological evidence of hepatic steatosis; (2) absence of specific etiologies of NAFLD; and (3) no heavy consumption of alcohol. Dietary selenium intake was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The association between dietary selenium intake and the prevalence of NAFLD was evaluated using logistic and spline regression in a cross-sectional study of 5436 subjects.Results: The prevalence of NAFLD was 36.8%. Compared with the lowest quintile, the energy-adjusted odds ratios for NAFLD were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.52), 1.30 (95% CI, 1.09-1.55), and 1.58 (95% CI, 1.33-1.89) for the third, fourth, and fifth quintiles of selenium intake, respectively, and there was a positive dose-response relationship (r = 0.88, p for trend = 0.008). Similar results were observed for men and women separately. The findings were not materially altered by adjustment for potential confounders (i.e., age, gender, body mass index, smoking status, diabetes, hypertension, activity level, nutritional supplements, energy intake, fat intake, fiber intake, cholesterol and saturated fatty acid intake).Conclusions: In this middle-aged and elderly population, subjects with higher dietary selenium intake, even below the recommended nutrient intake in China, had higher prevalence of NAFLD in a dose-response relationship manner.

Associations between disease activity, social support and health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: the mediating role of psychological symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have indicated that disease activity, psychological symptoms and social support were associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD). However, it is unclear how disease activity, psychological symptoms and social support interact to affect HRQoL. The main purpose of this study was to examine the mediation effect of psychological symptoms in the relationship between disease activity, social support and HRQoL. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, which collected data using convenience sampling, between December 2016 and March 2018, from the Third XiangyaHospital of Central South University in Changsha, China. An online self-administered questionnaire (including demographic and clinical information), Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire, Disease Activity Indices scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Social Support Rating Scale, were administered to each participant. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlations were used to summarize data, whereas PROCESS analysis was performed to examine the pre-specified mediation effect. RESULTS: A total of 199 patients with IBD were included. Disease activity indices (DAI) and hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) were negatively correlated with HRQoL (ß = - 3.37, - 2.54 respectively, P < 0.001), while social support was positively correlated with HRQoL (ß = 1.38, P < 0.01). HAD partially mediated the negative relationship between DAI and HRQoL (ß = - 0.83, P < 0.001) with the mediation effect ratio of 24.6%, and completely mediated the positive relationship between social support and HRQoL (ß = 1.20, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Psychological symptoms acted as a mediator in the relationship between disease activity, social support and HRQoL. Interventions to improve HRQoL in patients with IBD should take into account the mediation effect of psychological symptoms.

Birth prevalence of congenital heart disease in China, 1980-2019: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 617 studies.

To assess the birth prevalence and spatial distribution of congenital heart disease (CHD) in China by conducting a complete overview and using spatial epidemiological methods. Unrestricted searches were conducted on seven electronic databases, with an end-date parameter of May 2019. Data on the birth prevalence of CHD and its subtypes were collected and combined using either the random-effect model or fixed-effect model. Subgroup sensitivity analyses were performed to explore potential heterogeneity moderators. The three-dimensional trend analysis and a visualization of CHD birth prevalence among different provinces were performed to describe the spatial distribution characteristics. Total 617 studies involving 76,961,354 births and 201,934 CHD individuals were included. Overall, total CHD birth prevalence increased continuously over time, from 0.201‰ in 1980-1984 to 4.905‰ in 2015-2019. The study on the high-income provinces, population-based monitoring model, male births, and urban regions reported a significantly higher prevalence of total CHD compared with upper-middle-income provinces, hospital-based monitoring model, female births, and rural regions, respectively. National CHD birth prevalence increased gradually from western region to eastern region, but decreased gradually from southern to northern region. Relevant heterogeneity moderators including gender, geographic region, income levels, and monitoring models have been identified by subgroup analyses. Sensitivity analysis yielded consistent results. Total CHD birth prevalence in China increases continuously in the past 40 years. Significant differences in gender, geographical regions, income levels, and monitoring models were found. In the future, population wide prospective birth defect registries covering the entire Chinese population need to determine the exact birth prevalence.

Cancer risk among children conceived by fertility treatment.

Prior studies on the association between fertility treatment and childhood cancer risk have generated inconsistent results. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observation studies to summarize the evidence regarding the relation of fertility treatment with childhood cancer risk. A systematic literature search of several databases was conducted through April 2018 to identify relevant studies. The outcomes of interest included overall cancer, haematological malignancies, neural tumours, other solid tumours, and eight specific cancers. The overall risk estimates and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Sixteen cohort and thirteen case-control studies were included. Results showed that children conceived by fertility treatment had significantly higher risk for developing overall cancer (relative risk [RR]: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.32), haematological malignancies (RR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.60) and other solid tumours (RR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.16). For specific cancers, fertility treatment was associated with a significantly increased risk of leukaemia (RR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.57) and hepatic tumours (RR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.32, 3.85). Sensitivity analysis validated evidence of the robustness of the findings. The results may demonstrate a possible association between fertility treatment and an increased risk of cancer among the offspring. However, the findings cannot say whether this increased risk is due to the subfertility itself or to the fertility treatment. Further research is needed to address the underlying mechanisms.

Identification of autoimmune type 1 diabetes and multiple organ-specific autoantibodies in adult-onset non-insulin-requiring diabetes in China: A population-based multicentre nationwide survey.

AIMS: To investigate the prevalence of adult-onset autoimmune diabetes (ADM) and predisposition to autoimmune diseases by quantifying serum organ-specific autoantibodies in people with phenotype of type 2 diabetes (T2D). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included a nationally representative sample of 46 239 adults aged ≥20 years from 14 provinces, of whom 4671 had diabetes, plus 1000 control subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). Participants were screened centrally for autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), islet antigen 2 (IA2) and zinc transporter isoform-8 (Znt8) and were defined as having ADM where positive for these antibodies. We then assayed thyroid peroxidase (TPO), tissue transglutaminase (tTG) and 21-hydroxylase (21-OH) autoantibodies in randomly selected participants with ADM and in age-matched, sex-matched and non-ADM controls with T2D plus controls with NGT. RESULTS: Post-normalization, the standardized prevalence rate of ADM was 6.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.3-6.8) in initially non-insulin-requiring participants with ADM, corresponding to six million adults in China, in whom adjusted antibody positivity was: TPO autoantibodies 16.3% (95% CI 10.8-21.8), tTG autoantibodies 2.1% (95% CI 0.0-4.2), and 21-OH autoantibodies 1.8% (95% CI -0.2 to 3.8). Those participants with ADM who were GAD autoantibody-positive had high risk of TPO autoantibody positivity (odds ratio [OR] 2.39, P = 0.0031) and tTG autoantibody positivity (OR 6.98, P = 0.027), while those positive for IA2 autoantibodies had a high risk of tTG autoantibody positivity (OR 19.05, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A proportion of people with phenotype of T2D in China have ADM, with diabetes-associated autoantibodies, and may be at risk of developing other organ-specific autoimmune diseases; therefore, it may be clinically relevant to consider screening such Chinese populations.

Congenital malformations are associated with secondhand smoke among nonsmoking women: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The association between active maternal smoking and congenital malformations is well established, but little is known about the association between secondhand smoke and congenital malformations. Moreover, studies regarding the association between congenital malformations and secondhand smoke have not yielded consistent results. METHODS: In July 2018, we searched PubMed, EMBASE, and China Biology Medicine databases for observational studies characterizing the relationship between secondhand smoke and congenital malformations of offspring in nonsmoking women. Two reviewers independently decided on whether a study should be included, did data extraction, and assessed study quality. Pooled risks with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using either the fixed-effects models or random-effects models. Further subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore the potential source of heterogeneity and to examine the robustness of risk estimates. RESULTS: Thirty-three studies with a total of 31 944 cases and 32 335 controls were included. Secondhand smoke exposure was associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations (odds ratio = 1.92; 95% confidence interval 1.61-2.30). Secondhand smoke was correlated with significantly increased risk for digestive system (1.17 [1.05-1.32]), nervous system (1.74 [1.33-2.29]), and cardiovascular system (2.10 [1.32-3.35]) malformations and for oral clefts (1.87 [1.47-2.39]). CONCLUSIONS: Secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk for overall and several organ-system malformations. These findings highlight the necessity of improving community awareness to prevent secondhand smoke exposure during the preconception and conception periods.

Risk of congenital heart defects in offspring exposed to maternal diabetes mellitus: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) and its specific phenotypes associated with maternal diabetes mellitus (DM) including pregestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Medline, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Fulltext Database and China Biology Medicine disc were searched from the inception dates to 15 December 2018, to identify case-control or cohort studies assessing the association between maternal DM and risk of CHDs. The exposure of interest was maternal DM; the outcomes of interest were CHDs and its specific phenotypes. Either a fixed- or a random-effects model was used to calculate the overall combined risk estimates. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore potential heterogeneity moderators. RESULTS: Total 52 studies, which involved 259,917 patients with CHDs among 16,929,835 participants, were included for analysis. Overall, mothers with DM compared with those without DM had a significantly higher risk of CHDs in offspring [odds ratios (OR) = 2.71, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.28-3.23]. When data were restricted to different types of DM, a significantly increased risk of CHDs was observed among mothers with PGDM (OR = 3.18, 95% CI 2.77-3.65) and GDM (OR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.66-2.36). Our study suggested the risk of CHDs was significantly higher among mothers with PGDM than those with GDM. Additionally, this study suggested maternal DM was significantly associated with most phenotypes of CHDs; of these, double outlet of the right ventricle (OR = 10.89; 95% CI 8.77-13.53), atrioventricular septal defect (OR = 5.74; 95% CI 3.20-10.27) and truncus arteriosus (OR = 5.06; 95% CI 2.65-9.65) were identified as the first three of the most common phenotypes of CHDs associated with maternal DM. CONCLUSIONS: The maternal DM including PGDM and GDM are significantly associated with risk of CHDs and its most phenotypes. The PGDM seems to be more likely to cause CHDs in offspring than GDM. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms.

Multiple pregnancies achieved with IVF/ICSI and risk of specific congenital malformations: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Studies comparing risk of specific congenital malformations (CM) between multiple pregnancies resulting from IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and those conceived naturally report conflicting results; furthermore, there is a lack of a complete overview. This meta-analysis aimed to address which types of CM are increased in IVF/ICSI multiple pregnancies compared with those conceived naturally. All studies testing the association between IVF/ICSI multiple pregnancies and specific CM identified in various databases were considered. The literature search yielded 856 records, of which 21 cohort studies were included for analysis. Overall, multiple pregnancies achieved with IVF/ICSI experienced a significantly higher risk of chromosomal defects (relative risk [RR] = 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.77), urogenital (RR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.03-1.36) and circulatory (RR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.01-1.47) system malformations. However, the remaining specific CM, such as cleft lip and/or palate, eye, ear, face and neck, respiratory, musculoskeletal, nervous and digestive system malformations, were similar in the two groups. No substantial heterogeneity was observed for most outcomes except for digestive (P = 0.094; I2 = 38.3%) and circulatory (P = 0.070; I2 = 35.2%) system malformations. These findings provide additional information on risks of IVF/ICSI for use when counselling patients.

Birth prevalence of congenital malformations in singleton pregnancies resulting from in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the worldwide birth prevalence of total congenital malformations (CMs), major CMs, and specific CMs according to organs and systems classification associated with IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies. METHODS: Unrestricted searches were conducted, with an end-date parameter of 1 June 2017, of PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries, and Chinese databases, to identify cohort studies assessing CMs associated with IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies. The prevalence estimates were summarized and analyzed by meta-analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-four cohort studies comprising 159,021 IVF/ICSI and 6704,405 spontaneously conceived singleton pregnancies met the inclusion criteria. Among IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies, pooled estimates of total CMs and major CMs (per 10,000) were 484.3 (95% CI 363.8-641.9) and 475.8 (95% CI 304.9-735.2), respectively; for specific CMs, pooled estimates 13.04 (95% CI 9.90-17.18) for cleft lip and/or palate, 17.01 (95% CI 8.01-36.06) for eye, ear, face, and neck malformations, 16.51(95% CI 11.56-23.57) for nervous system malformations, 36.21 (95% CI 26.20-50.02) for chromosomal defects, 8.31 (95% CI 4.21-16.40) for respiratory system malformations, 38.01 (95% CI 24.06-60.00) for digestive system malformations, 110.25 (95% CI 66.92-181.12) for musculoskeletal system malformations, 108.92 (95% CI 68.73-172.21) for urogenital system malformations, and 77.20 (95% CI 53.25-111.80) for circulatory system malformations. The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies compared with those conceived naturally experienced higher prevalence of total CMs, major CMs, and most specific CMs. Significant differences across continents, countries, types of assisted conception, and diagnose time of CMs were observed for total CMs birth prevalence among IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies were significantly associated with high birth prevalence of CMs, representing a major global health burden. Significant differences across continents, countries, types of ART, and diagnose time of CMs were found. However, it remains uncertain whether detected differences represent true or methodological differences. In the future, population wide prospective CMs' registries covering the entire world population are needed to determine the exact birth prevalence.

[Influential factors for hospitalization costs regarding the final phase of malignant tumor patients in Shanghai].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influential factors for hospitalization costs regarding the final phase of malignant tumor patients in Shanghai, and to explore the relevant policy for reasonable control of hospitalization costs.
 Methods: A total of 10 065 patients with malignant tumors were enrolled in this study. The multiple linear regression analysis was used to seek the determinants for hospitalization cost of malignant tumor patients during the final phase.
 Results: The median length of hospital stay was 43 days for the patients, with an average age of (70.73±12.87) years. Among them 61.66% of hospitalized patients were male and the median hospitalization cost of malignancy was 55 447.84 yuan. Hospitalization cost showed the linear regression relationship with type of health care, hospital level, hospital types, tumor types, length of hospital stay, surgery, age, gender, and time from hospital admission to death.
 Conclusion: Proximity to death in malignant tumor patients is an important factor for the hospitalization cost. Medical resources should be allocated rationally, and the comprehensive measures should be taken to control the cost reasonably.

[Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of transcription factors with congenital heart diseases in the Chinese population: a Meta analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of transcription factors (NKX2.5, GATA4, TBX5, and FOG2) with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the Chinese population. METHODS: PubMed, Google Scholar, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and Weipu Data were searched for articles on the association of SNPs of target genes with CHD in the Chinese population. If one locus was mentioned in at least two articles, the random or fixed effect model was used to perform a pooled analysis of study results and to calculate the pooled OR and its 95%CI. If a locus was mentioned in only one article, related data were extracted from this article to analyze the association between the SNPs of this locus and CHD. RESULTS: Twenty-three articles were included. The Meta analysis showed that there were significant differences between the CHD and control groups in the genotype and allele frequencies of GATA4 rs1139244 and rs867858 and the genotype frequency of GATA4 rs904018, while there were no significant differences in the SNPs of the other genetic loci between the two groups. The single-article analysis showed that there were significant differences between the two groups in the allele frequencies of NKX2.5 rs118026695/rs703752, GATA4 rs884662/rs12825/rs12458/rs3203358/rs4841588, and TBX5 rs6489956. There were no significant differences in the SNPs of FOG2 locus between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The SNPs of some loci in NKX2.5, GATA4, and TBX5 are associated with CHD in the Chinese population, but the association between the SNPs of FOG2 locus and the development of CHD has not been found yet.

Prevalence of HIV and syphilis co-infection and associated factors among non-commercial men who have sex with men attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Shenzhen, China.

BACKGROUND: Although HIV and syphilis co-infection has been frequently observed in men who have sex with men (MSM), only few studies have focused on it. Different subgroups of MSM might exhibit heterogeneous HIV and syphilis risk profiles, indicating that interventions for HIV and HIV-related co-infections may vary with different subgroups of MSM. However, no previous study has investigated HIV and syphilis co-infection among non-commercial MSM (ncMSM) attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the prevalence of HIV and syphilis co-infection and associated factors among ncMSM attending an STD clinic in Shenzhen, China. METHODS: NcMSM attending the STD clinic of Shenzhen Center for Chronic Disease Control were recruited in this cross-sectional study every Monday between March 2013 and August 2015 using a site based convenience sampling method. An anonymous questionnaire was used to collect data regarding socio-demographic characteristics, risky sexual behaviors and HIV-related knowledge. Blood samples were collected to perform HIV and syphilis tests. RESULTS: Totally 533 participants were enrolled in this study and the prevalence of HIV and syphilis co-infection among them was 13.13%. Multivariable analyses indicated that having lived in Shenzhen for less than one year (aOR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.30-6.05), having first anal sexual intercourse before the age of 18 (aOR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.29-5.89), having 3 to 5 anal sexual partners in the past six months (aOR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.19-5.40), playing exclusively receptive (aOR = 6.87, 95% CI = 3.02-15.61) or both insertive and receptive (aOR = 3.65, 95% CI = 1.64-8.09) roles in anal sexual intercourse and not always using condom in anal sexual intercourse (aOR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.08-4.19) were associated risk factors for HIV and syphilis co-infection, relative to the non-infected ncMSM. Compared with the mono-infected ncMSM, associated risk factors for the co-infection were being unmarried (aOR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.03-5.89) and playing exclusively receptive role (aOR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.04-5.73) in anal sexual intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: HIV and syphilis co-infection is quite prevalent among the study participants in Shenzhen. Integrated and intensified intervention strategies, specifically targeting at the non-infected and mono-infected ncMSM attending the STD clinic, are needed to reduce HIV and syphilis co-infection. Most importantly, non-infected and mono-infected ncMSM attending the STD clinic with the aforementioned associated risk factors should be given special concern.

Factors associated with syphilis treatment failure and reinfection: a longitudinal cohort study in Shenzhen, China.

BACKGROUND: The treatment failure and reinfection rates among syphilis patients are high, and relevant studies in China are limited. The aim of this study was to detect the rates of treatment failure and reinfection after syphilis treatment and to explore the potential associated factors. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study in a sexually transmitted disease clinic, the Department of Dermatology and Venereology in Nanshan Center for Chronic Disease Control. Serological testing was performed at baseline and throughout the 2-year follow-up for syphilis patients. To identify potential predictors of treatment outcomes, multivariate logistics analyses were utilized to compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with serological failure/reinfection to those with serological cure/serofast. RESULTS: From June 2011 to June 2016, a total of 1133 patients were screened for syphilis. Among the 770 patients who completed the 2-year follow-up, 510 first-diagnosed patients were included in the final analysis. Multivariate logistics analysis revealed the stage of syphilis (secondary syphilis VS. primary syphilis: adjusted odds ratio, 3.50; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-15.47; p = 0.04), HIV status (positive VS. negative: adjusted odds ratio, 3.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-8.04; p = 0.02) and frequency of condom use (always use VS. never use: adjusted odds ratio, 0.28; 95% confidence interval 0.08-0.75; p = 0.02) were significantly associated with the serological outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical implications of our findings suggest that it is very important to perform regular clinical and serologic evaluations after treatment. Health counseling and safety education on sex activity should be intensified among HIV-infected patients and secondary syphilis patients after treatment.

Lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among men who have sex with men: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a leading cause of death among men who have sex with men (MSM) and suicidal ideation may put individuals at higher risk of suicide. A great disparity of lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM was observed across studies, indicating the importance of a reliable estimation of the pooled lifetime prevalence. However, the only one published meta-analysis estimating the pooled lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM was conducted in 2008 with only 2 eligible studies. Subsequently, there was a rapid increase of publications about lifetime suicidal ideation among MSM, suggesting that an update on the pooled lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM was necessary. Therefore, this study aimed to update the estimation of the pooled lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM. METHODS: Electronic databases of PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus (social science), Embase and PsycInfo were searched until September 2017 to identify relevant studies. Cross-sectional studies exploring the lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM were enrolled. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the Cochran Q test and quantified using the I 2 statistic. The possibility of publication bias was assessed using both Begg's rank test and Egger's linear test, and an Egger's funnel plot for asymmetry was presented. Subgroup analyses were performed according to the geographic area, sample source and HIV status. RESULTS: Nineteen studies with a total of 26,667 MSM were included, of which 9374 were identified with suicidal ideation. A high degree of heterogeneity (P ≤ 0.001, I 2 =99.2%) was observed among the eligible studies, with the reported prevalence ranging from 13.18 to 55.80%. The pooled lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM by a random effects model was 34.97% (95% confidence interval: 28.35%-41.90%). Both the Begg's rank test and Egger's linear test indicated low possibility of publication bias. Subgroup analyses showed that the lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM differed significantly by geographic area, sample source and HIV status (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The high pooled lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation among MSM found in this meta-analysis significantly underscores the importance of early assessment of suicidal ideation among MSM, as well as the need for strengthening the psychological interventions.

Worldwide prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection among multiple births: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on cohort studies.

PURPOSE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of reported estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes among multiple births conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). METHODS: PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries and Chinese databases were searched through May 2016 for cohort studies assessing adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with IVF/ICSI multiple births. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate pooled estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes and, where appropriate, heterogeneity was explored in group-specific analyses. RESULTS: Sixty-four studies, with 60,210 IVF/ICSI multiple births and 146,737 spontaneously conceived multiple births, were selected for analysis. Among IVF/ICSI multiple births, the pooled estimates were 51.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 48.7-54.3] for preterm birth, 12.1% (95% CI: 10.4-14.1) for very preterm birth, 49.8% (95% CI: 47.6-52.0) for low birth weight, 8.4% (95% CI: 7.1-9.9) for very low birth weight, 16.2% (95% CI: 12.9-20.1) for small for gestational age, 3.0% (95% CI: 2.5-3.7) for perinatal mortality and 4.7% (95% CI: 4.0-5.6) for congenital malformations. When the data were restricted to twins, the pooled estimates also showed a high prevalence of adverse outcomes. There was a similar prevalence of poor outcomes among multiple births conceived with IVF/ICSI and naturally (all P ≥ 0.0792). Significant differences in different continents, countries, and income groups were found. CONCLUSIONS: The IVF/ICSI multiple pregnancies have a high prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, population-wide prospective adverse outcomes registries covering the entire world population for IVF/ICSI pregnancies are needed to determine the exact perinatal prevalence.

Worldwide prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes among singleton pregnancies after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The worldwide prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) in singleton pregnancies after in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is suggested to vary; however, a complete overview is missing. The aim of this review is to estimate the worldwide prevalence of APOs associated with IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies. METHODS: PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries, and Chinese databases were searched for studies assessing APOs among IVF/ICSI singleton births through March 2016. The prevalence estimates were summarized and analyzed by meta-analysis. RESULTS: Fifty-two cohort studies, with 181,741 IVF/ICSI singleton births and 4,636,508 spontaneously conceived singleton births, were selected for analysis. Among IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies, pooled estimates were 10.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 10.0-11.8] for preterm birth, 2.4% (95% CI 1.9-3.0) for very preterm birth, 8.7% (95% CI 7.4-10.2) for low birth weight, 2.0% (95% CI 1.5-2.6) for very low birth weight, 7.1% (95% CI 5.5-9.2) for small for gestational age, 1.1% (95% CI 0.9-1.3) for perinatal mortality, and 5.7% (95% CI 4.7-6.9) for congenital malformations. The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies have higher prevalence of APOs compared with those conceived naturally (all P = 0.000). Significant differences in different continents, countries, income groups, and type of assisted conception were found. CONCLUSIONS: The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies are at a higher prevalence of adverse perinatal outcomes compared with those conceived naturally. Important geographical differences were found. Yet, population-wide prospective APO registries covering the entire world population for IVF/ICSI pregnancies are needed to determine the exact perinatal prevalence.