Factors affecting self-management behaviors among patients with gestational diabetes mellitus / 预防医学

Objective @#To investigate the status and influencing factors of self-management behaviors among pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), so as to provide insights into health management of GDM.@*Methods@#GDM patients admitted to Medical Community General Hospital of Shaoxing Second Hospital were sampled from January to June 2023, and basic characteristics were collected using questionnaire surveys, including age, parity, education level and gestational age. The self-management behaviors were evaluated among GDM patients using the self-management behavior scale, and the social support level was evaluated using the social support scale, while the modes of coping with diseases were identified using the medical coping modes questionnaire (MCMQ). Factors affecting the self-management behaviors were identified among GDM patients using a multiple linear regression model.@*Results@#A total of 120 GDM patients were enrolled, with a mean age of (27.58±3.73) years and gestational age of (22.16±5.82) weeks. The score for self-management behaviors was (118.19±24.86) points among GDM patients, including 15 cases with good self-management behaviors (12.50%), 61 cases with moderate behaviors (50.83%) and 44 cases with poor behaviors (36.67%). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that educational level (high school: β'=0.168; junior college and above: β'=0.187), per capita monthly household income (≥5 000 Yuan, β'=0.305), health education for GDM (β'=0.087), coping mode (avoidance: β'=0.168; acceptance: β'=0.375) and social support level (general: β'=0.184; high: β'=0.429) were factors affecting self-management behaviors among GDM patients.@*Conclusion@#The self-management behaviors of GDM patients are associated with educational level, per capita monthly household income, health education for GDM, coping mode and social support level.

Assessment spatio-temporal coupling coordination relationship between mountain rural ecosystem health and urbanization in Chongqing municipality, China.

Coercive and constraints mechanism analysis between rural ecosystem health (REH) and urbanization is required to comprehend spatio-temporal coupling coordination relationship and promote rural ecosystem health development under the pressure of urbanization, especially those with dramatic changes in Chinese countryside. This paper, taking Chongqing municipality as the case study, analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics of the coupling coordination between urbanization and REH of 38 districts and counties from 2010 to 2018 with support of coordination coupling degree (CCD) model, entropy method, and GIS spatial methods. The main conclusions were as follows: (1) the EUS (34.84%) and RSceS (35.64%) separately made the highest share contribution to urbanization and REH, the proportion of non-agricultural population in total population and consumption of farmland chemical fertilizer intensity were the main two indicators. (2) The study has confirmed the existence of an obvious differentiated U-shaped curves between urbanization and REH, a dynamic coupling coordination-X was found to exist, which conformed to a linear continuous growth curve, and has transitioned to "high quality coupling coordination" stage from "severe disorder" stage from 2000 to 2018; (3) the spatial differentiation characteristics of coupling coordination in 2018 have shown a significant regional differences pattern, and the coupling coordination in more developed areas was generally higher than most developed areas and less developed areas, namely western Chongqing > metropolitan areas > northeastern Chongqing and southeastern Chongqing. This report could provide policy implications for Chinese decision makers to formulate sustainable measures to balance urbanization development and REH protection.

Ultrasound-Guided Stellate Ganglion Block Combined with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Postherpetic Neuralgia.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block combined with extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on postherpetic neuralgia. METHODS: Thirty-six patients with craniofacial postherpetic neuralgia, whose skin lesions were healed and natural course more than 1 month, were selected for the study and then randomly divided into 3 groups: the ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block group (group A, n = 12), the extracorporeal shock wave therapy group (group B, n = 12), and the combined treatment group (group C, n = 12). Each group received basic drug treatment. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Pain Disability Index (PDI) were used to evaluate the clinical effects of the 3 groups of patients before treatment, after twice treatments, after treatment for four times, and after treatment for six times. RESULTS: The VAS and PDI were significantly declined in each group after the treatment (P < 0.05), and the declination in group C was more obvious than the other two groups (P < 0.05). After treatment for six times, the VAS score of group A, group B, and group C was 3.1 ± 1.2, 3.3 ± 1.3, and 1.9 ± 0.7, respectively. After treatment for six times, the PDI of group A, group B, and group C was 11.7 ± 8.4, 12.3 ± 7.8, and 4.6 ± 3.2, respectively. Three patients developed skin bruising and slight swelling, which were relieved by themselves. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block combined with shock wave therapy could significantly improve the pain symptoms of patients with postherpetic neuralgia, which is a safe and effective treatment for postherpetic neuralgia.