[Review on methods in the disease burden assessment attributable to household air pollution].

In the past decades, people's work and life styles have dramatically changed during the rapid economic development and urbanization in China. A national survey reported that Chinese adults spend an average of 81% of daily time in indoor environment. Exposure to indoor air pollution plays key roles for human health but is likely to be neglected due on the relatively lower concentration levels and lower awareness among common people. Till now, published studies focus more on the pollution levels or the toxicological effects of indoor air pollutants but there is a lack of disease burden assessment attributable to indoor air pollution. In this review, several international studies were introduced on the disease burden estimation attributable to indoor air pollution, as well as the estimation methods. The current situation of national study was also reviewed. The strengths and limitations of the representative international studies were discussed. This review is helpful in providing data to guide the research on disease burden assessment attributable to indoor air pollution in China, and further helps to prioritize the indoor air pollution control based on disease burden ranking among pollutants and motivate public policies to protect the public health.

[Assessment of biomechanical properties of paraspinal muscles in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis].

Objective: To assess the bio-mechanical properties of paraspinal muscles in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods: The MyotonPro® device and shear wave elasticity imaging(SWEI) technique were applied to detect the paraspinal muscle tone (F), stiffness (S), relaxation time (R), Deborah number (C) and elasticity (D) of paravertebral muscles on the concave side and convex side of scoliosis curvature at several points: apex of the curve (a), upper (b) and lower (c) limits of the curve in 23 cases of AIS treated from October to December 2017 in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital.Cobb angle of the main curve was measured on the standing anteroposterior whole spine radiograph.Pearson correlation analysis was applied to detect the relation between the bio-mechanical properties and Cobb angle of the main curve. Results: A total of 23 AIS patients [3 males and 20 females, mean age was (15±4) years] were assessed in this study.The mean Cobb angle was (66±33) degrees.The MyotonPro® data showed that the muscle tone on the concave side were all significantly greater than those on the convex side [a: (18.9±2.2) Hz vs (17.4±1.6) Hz, t=4.435, P<0.05; b: (18.2±2.0) Hz vs (16.7±1.7) Hz, t=4.183, P<0.05; c: (18.0±2.3) Hz vs (16.8±1.7) Hz, t=4.520, P<0.05]. The muscle stiffness on the concave side were all significantly greater than those on the convex side at the three points (t=1.974, 2.048, 1.749, all P<0.05). The relaxation time were all longer on the convex side (t=-3.422, -2.713, -2.380, all P<0.05). The Deborah number were greater on the convex side at a and b points (t=-2.939, -2.466, both P<0.05). No significant difference in elasticity was found between the muscles of the two sides.The SWEI results also indicated that the elasticity of the paraspinal muscles of the two sides were similar.The Pearson correlation analysis showed that stiffness on the concave side was moderate positively correlated with Cobb angle of the main curve (r=0.582, P<0.05). Deborah number on the two sides and relaxation time on the concave were moderate negatively correlated with Cobb angle of the main curve (r=-0.632, -0.432, -0.611, all P<0.05). Conclusions: The bio-mechanical properties of paraspinal muscles in AIS are different significantly between the concave and convex side and affected by the severity of scoliosis.

[Investigation on folic acid supplementation status among Chinese women in the first trimester of pregnancy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate folic acid (FA) supplementation status among Chinese rural reproductive women in their early pregnancy, and to provide evidence for the evaluation of FA supplementation project from national basic public health services. METHODS: The data on intake status of FA supplementation from "National Free Preconception Health Examination Project (NFPHEP)" database between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012 was used and analyzed.A total of 902 270 women who achieved follow-up during early pregnancy from 220 pilot counties of 31 provinces were recruited. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2012, the rate of FA intake among women recuited were 73.58% (134 131/182 289), 75.88% (329 288/433 970) and 76.53% (218 896/286 011), respectively, which increased year by year (χtrend(2)=13 371.8, P<0.001). Among 682 315 women who took FA, 350 738(51.40%) women began to take FA 3 months before amenorrhea; 130 683 (19.15%) women began to take FA 1-2 months before amenorrhea, and 200 894 (29.44%) began to take FA after amenorrhea.Among 682 315 women who took FA, 645 310 (94.58%) women took it regularly, and 342 418 (50.18%) women took FA in a standardized way. CONCLUSIONS: The status of FA intake among Chinese rural women in the first trimester of pregnancy was good, and 75.62% (682 315/902 270) of them took FA.It is also important for basic public health services to improve the rate of FA intake and increase the rate of taking FA in a standardized way in Chinese rural pregnant women.

Risk factors for suicide in China's youth: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is the most common cause of death among youth in China. METHOD: A case-control psychological autopsy study in 23 geographically representative disease surveillance points around China collected information from family members and close associates of 114 persons aged 15-24 years who died by suicide (cases) and 91 who died of other injuries (controls). RESULTS: Among the 114 suicides 61% were female, 88% lived in rural villages, 70% died by ingesting pesticides (most commonly stored in the home), 24% previously attempted suicide, and 45% met criteria of a mental illness at the time of death. Multivariate logistic regression identified several independent risk factors: severe life events within 2 days before death (OR 31.8, 95% CI 2.6-390.6), presence of any depressive symptoms within 2 weeks of death (OR 21.1, 95% CI 4.6-97.2), low quality of life in the month before death (OR 9.7, 95% CI 2.8-34.1), and acute stress at time of death (moderate: OR 3.1, 95% CI 0.8-11.9; high: OR 9.1, 95% CI 1.2-66.8). A significant interaction between mental illness at time of death and gender indicated that diagnosis was an important predictor of suicide in males (OR 14.0, 95% CI 2.6-76.5) but not in females (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.0-3.6). Prior suicide attempt was related to suicide in the univariate analysis (OR 57.5) but could not be included in the multivariate model because no controls had made prior attempts. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide prevention efforts for youth in China must focus on restricting access to pesticides, early recognition and management of depressive symptoms and mental illnesses, improving resiliency, and enhancing quality of life.

Assessment of autofluorescence to detect the remineralization capabilities of sodium fluoride, monofluorophosphate and non-fluoride dentifrices. A single-blind cluster randomized trial.

The purpose of the study was to determine if longitudinal measurements of enamel autofluorescence (quantitative light-induced fluorescence, QLF) could detect differences in remineralization of early enamel caries on buccal surfaces of anterior teeth following supervised daily brushing with either sodium fluoride (NaF; 1,450 ppm F), sodium monofluorophosphate (MFP; 1,450 ppm F) dentifrices or a herbal, non-fluoride placebo dentifrice. The study was a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial with schools as the unit of randomization. Twenty-one schools in Chengdu, China, comprised the clusters; 296 children with at least 1 visible white-spot lesion were examined using QLF at baseline and after 3 and 6 months. Each of the 21 clusters was randomly assigned 1 of the 3 dentifrices, and the children brushed under supervision once per day for 2 min. The primary outcome measure was deltaQ (product of fluorescence loss and area) at a 5% threshold after 6 months of product use. A multi-level model was fitted to the data at the site level, taking into account the hierarchical structure with baseline deltaQ, age and sex as covariates. After 3 months there was a significant difference between the MFP group and placebo (p = 0.02) and after 6 months between the NaF group (p = 0.002), MFP group (p < 0.001) and the placebo. QLF methodology could detect, within 3- and 6-month periods of supervised brushing, a difference in remineralization between fluoride-containing and non-fluoride-containing dentifrices. Typically lesions in all 3 treatment groups demonstrated improvement. Groups receiving fluoride experienced a more rapid and more substantial remineralization than those in the placebo group.