Validity of near-infrared light transillumination for the assessment of proximal caries in permanent teeth.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of DIAGNOcam (DC) in diagnosing proximal caries and to compare its effectiveness with the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) and bitewing radiography (BWR). METHODS: 118 premolars extracted for orthodontic reasons were included and examined using three detection methods and validated by histological sections as the gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity and areas under the ROC curve (Az value) at the outer half enamel (D1), inner half enamel (D2) and dentine (D3) thresholds were compared between different methods. RESULTS: At all categories, the specificity of DC was almost as high as ICDAS and BWR. DC showed a significantly higher sensitivity (0.68) than both visual (0.33) and radiographic examination (0.47) at the D1 threshold. DC presented the highest Az value (area under the ROC curve) at the D1 and D2 threshold (0.81, 0.86), while BWR showed the greatest Az values at D3 (0.94). Furthermore, DC had the highest association strength with the gold standard (Spearman's ρ = 0.80). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that DC could detect proximal caries effectively and showed comparable or even better performance than ICDAS and BWR.

[CT image quality assessment based on prior information of pre-restored images].

OBJECTIVE: We propose a CT IQA strategy based on the prior information of pre-restored images (PR-IQA) to improve the performance of IQA models. OBJECTIVE: We propose a CNN-based no-reference CT IQA strategy using the prior information of image quality features in the image restoration algorithm, which is combined with the original distorted image information into the two CNNs through the pre-restored image and the residual image. Multi-information fusion was used to improve the feature extraction ability and prediction performance of CNN. We built a CT IQA dataset based on spiral CT data published by Mayo Clinic. The performance of PR- IQA was evaluated by calculating the quantitative metrics and statistical tests. The influence of different hyperparameter settings for PR-IQA was analyzed. We then compared PR-IQA with the BASELINE model based on the single CNN to evaluate the original distorted image without reference image and other eight IQA algorithms. OBJECTIVE: The comparative experiment results showed that the PR-IQA model based on the prior information of 3 different image restoration algorithms (BF, NLM and BM3D) was better than all the tested IQA algorithms. Compared with the BASELINE method, the proposed method showed significantly improved performance, and the mean PLCC was increased by 12.56% and SROCC by 19.95%, and RMSE was decreased by 22.77%. OBJECTIVE: The proposed PR-IQA method can make full use of the prior information of the image restoration algorithm to effectively predict the quality of CT images.

[Regional and demographic differences on passive smoking among non-smokers aged 30-79 years in 10 regions of China].

Objective: To describe the regional and demographic differences on passive non-smokers from 10 regions involved in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study. Methods: Detailed information regarding passive smoking behaviors related to 317 486 non-smokers who were 30-79 years old from the 10 study regions were gathered and analyzed. Results: Following the standardization of the 2010 China national population, the prevalence rate of passive smoking was 56.7%, and the prevalence rate of living with smokers was 66.5% among the Chinese adults. Both of the aforementioned rates were higher in rural than in urban areas. Meanwhile, the regional distribution of weekly passive smoking frequency and cumulative duration of passive smoking per week and cumulative duration of passive smoking per day were significantly different. The cumulative passive smoking duration per week increased along with the weekly frequency in people living in urban areas. Among women, the weekly passive smoking frequency was the highest, and the cumulative durations per week and per day appeared the lowest in Hunan, opposite to the situation in Henan. The prevalence of passive smoking among participants living with smokers was 2.27 times (95%CI: 2.24-2.29) of those who were not and the association appeared stronger in women (OR=2.61, 95%CI: 2.58-2.64) but not in men (OR=1.01, 95%CI: 0.95-1.06). Almost all the indicators seemed higher in women than those in men, except for the cumulative duration per day. Furthermore, these indicators appeared higher among those who were at younger age or with less education. The prevalence rates of passive smoking and living with smokers were lower but the cumulative duration per day was higher among those with lower household income. And the two rates were higher in married women and lower in married men, as compared to their counterparts. Conclusion: Regional and demographic differences in passive smoking were noticed among study population of CKB in the 10 regions.

[Interpretation for the group standards in data management for large population-based cohorts].

Precision medicine became the key strategy in development priority of science and technology in China. The large population-based cohorts become valuable resources in preventing and treating major diseases in the population, which can contribute scientific evidence for personalized treatment and precise prevention. The fundamental question of the achievements above, therefore, is how to construct a large population-based cohort in a standardized way. The Chinese Preventive Medicine Association co-ordinated experienced researchers from Peking University and other well-known institutes to write up two group standards Technical specification of data processing for large population-based cohort study (T/CPMA 001-2018) and Technical specification of data security for large population-based cohort study (T/CPMA 002-2018), on data management. The standards are drafted with principles of emphasizing their scientific, normative, feasible, and generalizable nature. In these two standards, the key principles are proposed, and technical specifications are recommended in data standardization, cleansing, quality control, data integration, data privacy protection, and database security and stability management in large cohort studies. The standards aim to guide the large population-based cohorts that have been or intended to be established in China, including national cohorts, regional population cohorts, and special population cohorts, hence, to improve domestic scientific research level and the international influence, and to support decision-making and practice of disease prevention and control.

Tea consumption and bone health in Chinese adults: a population-based study.

Tea is a worldwide drink with controversial effect on bone health. The sex-specific associations are unrevealed among general population. This study showed that prolonged moderate tea consumption benefited bone health in women, while no additional benefit with stronger tea. However, tea consumption was not associated with bone health in men. INTRODUCTION: Tea consumption has been shown a potentially beneficial effect on bone health in postmenopausal women. However, little is known about such association in men, and whether stronger tea instead harms bone health due to elevated urinary excretion of calcium associated with caffeine in the tea. The aim of this study was to examine the association between various metrics of tea consumption and bone health. METHODS: The present study included 20,643 participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB), who have finished both baseline survey (2004-2008) and a re-survey (2013-2014). They were aged 38-86 years at re-survey. Tea consumption was self-reported at both baseline and re-survey. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound once at re-survey. RESULTS: Compared with non-consumers, prolonged weekly tea consumers in women was associated with higher calcaneus BMD measures, with ß (95% CI) of 0.98 (0.22, 1.74) for BUA, 4.68 (1.74, 7.61) for SOS, and 1.95 (0.81, 3.10) for SI. Among prolonged weekly tea consumers, no linear increase in BMD measures with the amount of tea leaves added was observed. The SOS and SI were higher in consumers with tea leaves 3.0-5.9 g/day than in those with < 3.0 g/day, but were reduced to non-significant for those with ≥ 6.0 g/day. Tea consumption was not associated with calcaneus BMD measures in men. CONCLUSION: Prolonged moderate tea consumption benefited bone health in women but not in men. For stronger tea consumption with more tea leaves added, neither benefit nor harm to bone health was observed.

Patterns and correlates of major depression in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study of 0.5 million men and women.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide 350 million people suffer from major depression, with the majority of cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries. We examined the patterns, correlates and care-seeking behaviour of adults suffering from major depressive episode (MDE) in China. METHOD: A nationwide study recruited 512 891 adults aged 30-79 years from 10 provinces across China during 2004-2008. The 12-month prevalence of MDE was assessed by the Modified Composite International Diagnostic Interview-short form. Logistic regression yielded adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of MDE associated with socio-economic, lifestyle and health-related factors and major stressful life events. RESULTS: Overall, 0.7% of participants had MDE and a further 2.4% had major depressive symptoms. Stressful life events were strongly associated with MDE [adjusted OR 14.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 13.7-15.7], with a dose-response relationship with the number of such events experienced. Family conflict had the highest OR for MDE (18.9, 95% CI 16.8-21.2) among the 10 stressful life events. The risk of MDE was also positively associated with rural residency (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.4-1.7), low income (OR 2.3, 95% CI 2.1-2.4), living alone (OR 2.6, 95% CI 2.3-3.0), smoking (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3-1.6) and certain other mental disorders (e.g. anxiety, phobia). Similar, albeit weaker, associations were observed with depressive symptoms. Among those with MDE, about 15% sought medical help or took psychiatric medication, 15% reported having suicidal ideation and 6% reported attempting suicide. CONCLUSIONS: Among Chinese adults, the patterns and correlates of MDE were generally consistent with those observed in the West. The low rates of seeking professional help and treatment highlight the great gap in mental health services in China.

Experiences from a school-based oral health promotion programme in Wuhan City, PR China.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of a six-year oral health promotion programme for school children of Wuhan City, PR China. METHODS: The programme group (P-group) comprised 233 children who had just entered grade 1 (1989). The programme provided an oral health promotion programme, and 215 12-year-old children from three schools participated as a control group (C-group). After the 6-year period of the programme (1995), all of the children had a clinical examination according to the criteria of the WHO and responded to a structured questionnaire on dental health behaviour. RESULTS: The results showed that attitudes to dental care, regular tooth brushing habits, use of fluoridated toothpaste, gingival health and dental visits, frequencies of consuming sugary drinks/foods were improved in the p-group when compared with the C-group. CONCLUSION: The school-based oral health promotion programme should be expanded.

Caries patterns and their relationship to infant feeding and socio-economic status in 2-4-year-old Chinese children.

AIMS: To describe the prevalence, severity and patterns of caries in 2-4-year-old children and to evaluate the association between caries experience of the children and their feeding patterns and socio-economic background in terms of mothers' education and family income. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Suburban area of Hanchuan in Hubei province, China. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 426 children (250 boys and 176 girls). METHODS: Dental-examinations were undertaken in kindergartens using World Health Organization diagnostic criteria for dental caries. Mothers completed a short questionnaire. OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of caries; rampant caries; caries in incisors; caries in incisors and/or canines and molars; mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth/surfaces (dmft/s). RESULTS: 36% of the children had caries, 7% had rampant caries. The more extensive pattern of caries involving primary molars as well as incisors and/or canines was seen in 12% of children. Children who had been wholly bottle-fed had five times the risk of having rampant caries compared to children who were breast-fed. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that infant feeding practice might be a key risk factor for the development of caries at an early age in this country as elsewhere.

Oral health services in PR China as evaluated by dentists and patients.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the function of oral health services and the delivery of oral health care in PR China. DESIGN: Cross-sectional surveys. Self-administered questionnaires gathered information on professional practices and attitudes of Chinese dentists. Patients were examined clinically for caries and services rendered. Patients were interviewed about oral health status, reason of dental visits and consumption of services, perceived need for care and self-care practices. SETTING: Wuhan City of the Hubei Province of China. SUBJECTS: Random samples of dentists (n = 250) working with child and adult patients in 1998 in Wuhan City. Each dentist had a representative sample of 20 patients attending consecutively for care enrolled in the study. RESULTS: On average, the dentists saw 12 patients per day, with most time devoted to restorative treatment and extraction. The majority of dentists held the opinion that in China little attention is given to preventive care. Forty per cent of the patients were new to the dentists and more than half attended care because of pain or acute symptoms. The reported mean number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth varied from 2.6 for 12-year-old patients to 10.7 for patients aged 65-74. Daily toothbrushing was practised by more than 90% of the patients in all age groups, however, the tradition of regular dental visits was weak. Most patients (51-75 per cent) attended for care due to acute problems or pain. CONCLUSION: The study indicated the need for reorientation of the Chinese oral health services towards prevention.