BACKGROUND: The prevalence of asthma is gradually increasing worldwide, and there are socioeconomic inequalities in the risk of developing asthma. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the lifestyle is associated with asthma in adults, as well as whether and to what extent healthy lifestyles may modify socioeconomic status (SES) inequities in asthma. METHODS: This study included a total of 223,951 participants from the UK Biobank. Smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, healthy diet patterns, sedentary time, and sleep duration items were used to construct the lifestyle score. Income, education, and occupation were used to assess SES. Cases of adult-onset asthma were identified on the basis of electronic health records. The Cox proportional hazards regression was used to explore the association of socioeconomic inequality and lifestyle factors with asthma. RESULTS: Compared with the most healthy lifestyle category, the hazard ratios (95% CIs) of the moderately healthy lifestyle and least healthy lifestyle categories for asthma were 1.08 (1.01-1.15) and 1.29 (1.20-1.39), respectively. A significant interaction (Pinteraction < .05) was found between lifestyle categories and SES, and the association between them was more pronounced in participants with low SES (hazard ratioleast healthy vs most healthy, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.40-1.80). The joint analysis revealed that the risk of asthma was highest among participants with the lowest SES and the least healthy lifestyles (hazard ratio, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.74-2.33). CONCLUSIONS: Unhealthy lifestyle factors are associated with an increased risk of asthma in adults, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are more negatively affected by unhealthy lifestyles. Public health strategies for asthma prevention may need to be tailored according to SES, and social policies to reduce poverty are needed alongside lifestyle interventions in areas of deprivation.
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak has tremendously impacted the world. The number of confirmed cases has continued to increase, causing damage to society and the economy worldwide. The public pays close attention to information on the pandemic and learns about the disease through various media outlets. The dissemination of comprehensive and accurate COVID-19 information that the public needs helps to educate people so they can take preventive measures. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the dissemination of COVID-19 information by analyzing the information released by the official WeChat account of the People's Daily during the pandemic. The most-read COVID-19 information in China was summarized, and the factors that influence information dissemination were studied to understand the characteristics that affect its dissemination. Moreover, this was conducted in order to identify how to effectively disseminate COVID-19 information and to provide suggestions on how to manage public opinion and information governance during a pandemic. METHODS: This was a retrospective study based on a WeChat official account. We collected all COVID-19-related information, starting with the first report about COVID-19 from the People's Daily and ending with the last piece of information about lifting the first-level emergency response in 34 Chinese provinces. A descriptive analysis was then conducted on this information, as well as on Qingbo Big Data's dissemination index. Multiple linear regression was utilized to study the factors that affected information dissemination based on various characteristics and the dissemination index. RESULTS: From January 19 to May 2, 2020, the People's Daily released 1984 pieces of information; 1621 were related to COVID-19, which mainly included headline news items, items with emotional content, and issues related to the pandemic's development. By analyzing the dissemination index, seven information dissemination peaks were discerned. Among the three dimensions of COVID-19 information-media salience, content, and format-eight factors affected the spread of COVID-19 information. CONCLUSIONS: Different types of pandemic-related information have varying dissemination power. To effectively disseminate information and prevent the spread of COVID-19, we should identify the factors that affect this dissemination. We should then disseminate the types of information the public is most concerned about, use information to educate people to improve their health literacy, and improve public opinion and information governance.
COVID-19 , Information Dissemination , SARS-CoV-2 , Social Media , China , Humans , Retrospective Studies
