Clozapine prescription and quality of life in Chinese patients with schizophrenia treated in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: Clozapine is frequently used to treat schizophrenia in China. Maintenance treatment for clinically stable patients with schizophrenia is usually provided by Chinese primary care physicians, but no study has investigated the frequency of its use prescribed by primary care physicians. This study described the frequency, demographic and clinical characteristics of clozapine treatment and its impact on insight and quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia treated in primary care in China. METHOD: A total of 623 patients with schizophrenia treated in 22 primary care services in Guangzhou, China in 2013 formed the study sample. Patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics including psychopathology, medication side effects and QOL were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection. RESULTS: The frequency of clozapine prescription was 35.6% with a mean daily dose of 127.7±88.2 mg. There were no significant differences between the patients with and without clozapine in either of the QOL domains after controlling the confounding factors. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that patients on clozapine had younger age of onset, more hospitalizations, more severe extrapyramidal side effects, but better insight and fewer prescriptions of first generation antipsychotics. CONCLUSIONS: Clozapine use was found to be common and associated with better insight in patients with schizophrenia treated in primary care in China. Further examination of the rationale and appropriateness of clozapine in primary care in China is warranted.

Common mental health problems in rural-to-urban migrant workers in Shenzhen, China: prevalence and risk factors.

AIMS: Rural-to-urban migrant workers are a large marginalised population in urban China. Prevalence estimates of common mental health problems (CMHPs) in previous studies varied widely and very few studies have investigated migration-related factors of CMHPs in migrant workers. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of CMHPs among Chinese migrant workers. METHODS: A random sample of 3031 migrant workers of ten manufacturing factories in Shenzhen, China, completed a standardised questionnaire containing socio-demographic and migration-related variables and the Chinese 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). A GHQ-12 score of three or higher was used to denote the presence of CMHPs. RESULTS: The prevalence of CMHPs was 34.4% in Chinese migrant workers. In multiple logistic regression, risk factors for CMHPs included being 16-25 years old (odd ratio [OR] 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28, 2.12), being 26-35 years old (OR 1.36, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.75), low monthly income (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.04, 1.92), poor living condition (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.22, 2.54), physical illness in the past 2 weeks (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.43, 2.05), having worked in many cities (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.03, 1.74), infrequently visiting hometown (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.22, 1.99), poor Mandarin proficiency (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.13, 2.01), a low level of perceived benefits of migration (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.14, 1.55) and working more than 8 h/day (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.14, 1.70). CONCLUSIONS: CMHPs are very prevalent among Chinese migrant workers. Given the large number of Chinese migrant workers, there is an urgent need to address the mental health burden of China's migrant worker population.

Identification of key genes involved in HER2-positive breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: As an invasive cancer, breast cancer is the most common tumour in women and is with high mortality. To study the mechanisms of HER2-positive breast cancer, we analyzed microarray of GSE52194. MATERIALS AND METHODS: GSE52194 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus including 5 HER2-positive breast cancer samples and 3 normal breast samples. Using cuffdiff software, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DE-lncRNAs) were screened. Functions of the DEGs were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses. Then, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the DEGs was constructed using Cytoscape and modules of the PPI network were screened by CFinder. Moreover, lncRNA-DEG pairs were screened. RESULTS: Total 209 lncRNA transcriptions were predicted, and 996 differentially expressed transcriptions were screened. Besides, FOS had interaction relationships with EGR1 and SOD2 separately in module E and F of the PPI network for the DEGs. Moreover, there were many lncRNA-DEG pairs (e.g. TCONS_00003876-EGR1, TCONS_00003876-FOS, lnc-HOXC4-3:1-FOS, lnc-HOXC4-3:1-BCL6B, lnc-TEAD4-1:1-FOS and lnc-TEAD4-1:1-BCL6B), meanwhile, co-expressed DEGs of TCONS_00003876, lnc-HOXC4-3:1 and lnc-TEAD4-1:1 were enriched in p53 signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and cancer-related pathways, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ANXA1, EGR1, BCL6, SOD2, FOS, TCONS_00003876, lnc-HOXC4-3:1 and lnc-TEAD4-1:1 might play a role in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Trial of deltamethrin impregnated bed nets for the control of malaria transmitted by Anopheles sinensis and Anopheles anthropophagus.

In 1985-1987, a field trial of malaria control using deltamethrin impregnated mosquito nets was carried out with 4,450 people in the Buji district, Bao'an County, Guangdong Province, China. The vectors were exophilic Anopheles sinensis (80%) and the endophilic and anthropophilic An. anthropophagus (20%). The first impregnation of the nets was in June 1985 and the second in April 1986. About 87% of the population slept under treated nets. The indoor vector density decreased by 93% and remained at the same level during the second year. During the second year the average monthly malaria incidence was 1.3% for January-June, a decrease of 74.6% as compared with pretreatment data, and 0.85% from July to December, a decrease of 92.7%. In April 1986 and April 1987, the treatment was extended to the whole Buji District, which has a total population of approximately 40,000. The average monthly malaria incidence (April-December 1986 and 1987) was 0.54% and 0.17%, a decrease of 64.7% and 89% respectively as compared with the same period for the previous year.