Urban-rural differences in the effect of empty-nest on mental health and behaviors of Chinese older population.

This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the effect of empty-nest on mental health and behaviors of the older population and explore the urban-rural differences. Data from the Cohort of Older People Health and Environment Controllable Factors were used, including 1071 older people aged 60 or over from a rural and an urban. Mental health, daily life behaviors, chronic physical diseases, and activities of daily living were evaluated. Logistic regression was used. The prevalence of empty-nest in older people was 55.0% in urban and 58.7% in rural. The empty-nest older people in urban were more likely to participate in physical exercise (OR[95%CI]: 1.55[1.03-2.31]), while the empty-nest older people in rural had lower rate of smoking (OR[95%CI]: 0.46[0.28-0.76]) and religious belief (OR[95%CI]: 1.61[1.01-2.58]), and higher prevalence of depression (OR[95%CI]: 1.55[1.03-2.35]) and higher level of total cholesterol (OR[95%CI]: 1.51[1.03-2.19]) compared with the non-empty-nest older people. In conclusion, the prevalence of empty-nest in older people was high both in rural and urban in China. Empty-nest exerts greater influences on the older people in rural than in urban, which should be given more attention, especially the depression and high total cholesterol.

The first reported outbreak of an undetermined species of human infection with spotted fever group Rickettsia in Lu'an, China.

OBJECTIVE: On May 2, 2017, an outbreak of unexplained fever with rashes was reported in Lu'an, China. In this study, we aimed to identify the possible pathogens, epidemiological characteristics, and risk factors of this outbreak. METHODS: We conducted descriptive field epidemiological studies. Blood samples were tested using an indirect immunofluorescence assay for Rickettsia rickettsii antibody, and nested polymerase chain reaction and gene sequencing assays were performed. RESULTS: We recruited 39 cases who had symptomatic onset from April 20 to June 8, 2017. Among these, 9 were suspected cases, 18 were probable cases, and 12 were confirmed cases. No one died. The main clinical manifestations were fever (100%), rash (100%), fatigue (97.3%), myalgia (83.8%), and anorexia (83.8%). None of the patients died. Thirty-seven patients who were treated with antibiotics during hospitalization showed significant improvement. The cases were distributed across 14 townships in 2 counties. The median age was 59 (43.0-81.0) years, of which 93.3% had a history of tea picking (28/30), and 77.3% (17/22) had a history of tick bites. The mean incubation period was 5.0 days (2.0-13.0 days). Serum IgG titers were higher in convalescent patients than in the general population (p = 0.016). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the ompA sequences of Rickettsia sp. Lu'an-2018 had an 86.8%-99.0% sequence identity with the 23 strains of Rickettsia found worldwide. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first reported outbreak of an undetermined species of a human infection with the spotted fever group of Rickettsia in China, which might be caused by ticks biting local residents when picking tea.

Outbreak of mumps in a student population with high vaccination coverage in China: time for two-dose vaccination.

In 2016, an outbreak of mumps occurred in a primary school in China with a student population having high vaccination coverage. An unmatched case-control study was performed to identify risk factors contributing to this outbreak, and a retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of mumps-containing vaccine (MuCV). A total of 97 cases were identified during the outbreak, and the overall attack rate was 8.2%. Among students with confirmed vaccination status, 90% had received at least one dose of MuCV. Cases were more likely than non-cases to report taking the school bus during the epidemic period (adjusted OR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.4-3.7). Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was higher for two-dose MuCV (76%, 95% CI:49â€"89%) than for one-dose MuCV (59%, 95% CI: 36â€"74%. The protection afforded by both one-dose and two-dose MuCV waned over time, from 82% among students vaccinated within 5 years to 41% among those vaccinated more than 10 years previously for one-dose VE, and from 90% to 25% over the same time period for two-dose VE. We found that outbreaks of mumps can occur in schools despite high coverage of one-dose MuCV vaccination. Although the VE of both two-dose and one-dose MuCV wanes over time, the overall VE for two-dose MuCV was superior than that of one-dose MuCV. Therefore, a two-dose MuCV schedule through routine services is likely needed in order to control mumps epidemics in China.

Adhering to a vegetarian diet may create a greater risk of depressive symptoms in the elderly male Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: A vegetarian diet may be a risk factor for depression, but this relationship was unclear in the elderly Chinese population. METHODS: Self-report data were gathered from 1051 elderly persons using the Cohort of Elderly Health and Environment Controllable Factors, which was created in West Anhui, China. The depressive symptoms were set as binary, ordinal, and continuous outcomes, respectively, whereas the dietary structures were computed as an ordinal variable and a dummy variable. Multiple logistic regression, ordinal regression, and linear regression were used to assess the relationship by adjusting the potential confounding variables with p-values of <0.1 in univariate analysis. RESULTS: The elderly participants who had a vegetable-based diet had the highest GDS scores of 8.78 ±â€¯6.894 (p = 0.001) and the highest rate of depression (32.9%, p = 0.003). After adjustment for the potential confounders, elderly men who had a vegetable-based diet had a higher rate of depression (OR[95%CI]: 1.62[1.07-2.46], 4.71[1.38-16.03]), more severe symptoms of depression (OR[95%CI]: 8.85[2.94-34.12]), and higher GDS scores (ß[95%CI]: 1.46[0.70-2.22], 2.97[1.28-4.67]) than male participants who had a meat-based diet, but this was not the case in women. LIMITATIONS: All data were self-reported. The study lacked quantitatively evaluated dietary intake. The duration of the current dietary structures and comorbidities were not reported. The cross-sectional study made the causal role uncertain. CONCLUSIONS: Vegetarian diets may pose a greater risk of depressive symptoms among the elderly Chinese population, especially elderly men. Given the cross-sectional nature of this study, the causal role was uncertain. Further prospective studies, in particular among elderly women, are needed.

Seroprevalence and risk factors of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection in endemic areas.

BACKGROUND: To determine the seroprevalence, latent infection rate and risk factors for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) infection, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the general population of the Western region of Anhui Province of China from 1 September to 31 December 2014. METHODS: Twelve villages with the highest rates of endemic SFTS infection were selected from six towns in two counties in the western region of Anhui Province. Blood samples were collected and tested for the presence of SFTSV-IgG antibodies by ELISA. Each participant was interviewed using a structured questionnaire before blood collection. Participants with seropositive specimens were further investigated using another structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 2126 blood specimens collected, 99 (4.66%) were seropositive for SFTSV. None of the participants had been diagnosed with SFTS before the blood collection or were accompanied by fever, thrombocytopenia and leukocytopenia after blood collection. Multivariate logistic regression model analysis revealed living in areas of uncontrolled vegetation growth, long-term residents of the locality and tick bites as high risk factors for SFTSV infection. CONCLUSIONS: The overall seroprevalence of SFTSV is higher in the western region of Anhui, possibly due to latent infection, with the main risk factors being living in areas of uncontrolled vegetation growth, long-term residents of the locality and tick bites. Further investigations are warranted to clarify the modes of SFTS virus transmission, while vector management, education on tick bite prevention and personal hygiene management should be implemented for high risk groups in endemic areas.

Refining and validating a two-stage and web-based cancer risk assessment tool for village doctors in China.

The big gap between efficacy of population level prevention and expectations due to heterogeneity and complexity of cancer etiologic factors calls for selective yet personalized interventions based on effective risk assessment. This paper documents our research protocol aimed at refining and validating a two-stage and web- based cancer risk assessment tool, from a tentative one in use by an ongoing project, capable of identifying individuals at elevated risk for one or more types of the 80% leading cancers in rural China with adequate sensitivity and specificity and featuring low cost, easy application and cultural and technical sensitivity for farmers and village doctors. The protocol adopted a modified population-based case control design using 72, 000 non-patients as controls, 2, 200 cancer patients as cases, and another 600 patients as cases for external validation. Factors taken into account comprised 8 domains including diet and nutrition, risk behaviors, family history, precancerous diseases, related medical procedures, exposure to environment hazards, mood and feelings, physical activities and anthropologic and biologic factors. Modeling stresses explored various methodologies like empirical analysis, logistic regression, neuro-network analysis, decision theory and both internal and external validation using concordance statistics, predictive values, etc..

[Blood lipid adsorption of polyethylene glycol/montmorillonite nanocomposite].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of polyethylene glycol/montmorillonite (PEG/MMT) nanocomposite material in adsorption of triglyceride (TG), cholesterin and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). METHODS: The structure of PEG/MMT nanocomposite was analyzed by means of X ray diffraction and its effect of blood lipid and albumin adsorption was evaluated in comparison with Na-MMT. RESULTS: The interval distance was larger when the PEG of greater molecular weight was used for preparing the nanocomposite, and PEG/MMT nanocomposite had greater adsorption rate of TG, cholesterin and LDL-C in serum than that of serum albumin. MMT material had poor adsorption effect. CONCLUSION: PEG/MMT nanocomposite possesses the potential as a novel adsorbent of blood lipid for clinical use.