Visual acuity of young men in China: Results from 3 national cross-sectional surveys from 1974 to 2012.

The prevalence of low vision has increased in China especially among youth population, which is an important public health issue. The trend on the prevalence of subnormal visual acuity and updated information is essential to quantify health effects and to prompt decision makers to prioritize action and assess the effectiveness of measures. Therefore, the study aimed to analyze the prevalence and geographical distribution of visual acuity level among young men in China based on 3 national cross-sectional surveys from 1974 to 2012.The data on visual acuity of young men were collected from 3 national surveys among military recruit youth conducted in 1974, 2001, and 2012 by using a stratified cluster sampling method in China. The prevalence of visual acuity among military recruit youth during this period was analyzed by region, year, age, and economic level.A total of 139,929, 72,894, and 58,106 young men were included, covering all 31 provinces of mainland of China, from the 3 national surveys respectively. The prevalence of subnormal visual acuity had geographic diversity and increased significantly from 1974 to 2012 (P < .05). The visual acuity level was negatively correlated with the age (17-23 years) in 2012 (P < .05). Furthermore, the prevalence of subnormal visual acuity was positively correlated with the gross domestic product in 31 provinces of China (P ≤ .001).The prevalence of subnormal visual acuity increased with economic development among young men from 1974 to 2012, with distinct variation among geographic areas in China. Furthermore, subnormal visual acuity was increasingly prevalent with age and warrant public health attention.

Betel quid chewing without tobacco: a meta-analysis of carcinogenic and precarcinogenic effects.

Betel quid without tobacco is an important factor influencing the incidences of oral cancer and precancer. This study systematically evaluated the associations between betel quid containing no tobacco and oral cancer and precancer, with implications for the prevention of oral cancer. We searched MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, and EMBASE (to April 2011) and retrieved studies that investigated the relationship between chewing betel quid and oral cancer (or precancer). We performed a meta-analysis to summarize the published data and describe the prevalence of betel quid use with regard to cancerous diseases. In all, 19 eligible studies that reported odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for oral cancer with respect to betel quid were included. The analysis identified an association suggesting that betel quid might be an important risk factor for oral cancer and precancer. The results of this review suggest that betel-chewing-cessation programs should be developed to help prevent oral diseases.

Factor analysis of a health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP): application to older adults in Mainland China.

UNLABELLED: This research reports preliminary psychometric properties, especially the factor structure, of a Chinese version of a health-promoting lifestyles profile designed for older adults; and examines the distribution of the health-promoting behavioral patterns - both for the purpose of developing culturally sensitive health advancement strategies for Chinese seniors. Responses to this questionnaire were used to measure health-promoting behaviors in a random sample of 1012 elderly Chinese from thirty communities in Xi'an Shaanixi-Province. DESIGN: Factor analysis relied on polychoric correlations with ordinal categorical data were used to evaluate reliability and validity of a revised Chinese version of the health-promoting lifestyles profile (HPLP-C). Because this revised version was used to assess elderly adults, we termed it the HPLP-CE. This factor analysis supported a six-factor model of the original HPLP-C scale. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit, with factors explaining 88.1% of the common variance of the HPLP-CE scores. Cronbach's α coefficients were 0.91 for the revised instrument, and ranged from 0.67 to 0.88 for six dimensions. The split-half reliability was 0.92, while the test-retest reliability was 0.68. Relationships between HPLP-CE, perceived health status, SF-36 scale scores, and associations with selected demographic variables were significantly positive. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that this revised scale, based on the 40-item HPLP-C, was considered suitable for measuring health-promoting lifestyles of older adults in China. Mental and inner self-reflection planes were the most salient factors for assessing health-promoting behaviors of seniors. Such factors need to be considered if preventive programs are to be designed to promote seniors' health.

[Selection of sentinel sites for death surveillance, using cluster or unequal probability sampling].

UNLABELLED: To compare the sampling errors from cluster or unequal probability sampling designs and to adopt the unequal probability sampling method to be used for death surveillance. Taking 107 areas from the county level in Shaanxi province as the sampling frame, a set of samples are drawn by equal probability cluster sampling and unequal probability designs methodologies. Sampling error and effect of each design are estimated according to their complex sample plans. Both the sampling errors depend on the sampling plan and the errors of equal probability in stratified cluster sampling appears to be less than simple cluster sampling. The design effects of unequal probability stratified cluster sampling, such as piPS design, are slightly lower than those of equal probability stratified cluster sampling, but the unequal probability stratified cluster sampling can cover a wider scope of monitoring population. CONCLUSIONS: Results from the analysis of sampling data can not be conducted without consideration of the sampling plan when the sampling frame is finite and a given sampling plan and parameters, such as sampling proportion and population weights, are assigned in advance. Unequal probability cluster sampling designs seems to be more appropriate in selecting the national death surveillance sites since more available monitoring data can be obtained and having more weight in estimating the mortality for the whole province or the municipality to be selected.

Body mass index of male youths aged 18-20 years of the Han nationality living in different regions of China.

The study was conducted to assess the nutritional status and levels of body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and to evaluate the geographical distribution of male youths of the Han nationality in China. In total, 60,773 male youths, aged 18-20 years, of the Han nationality, were categorized into underweight, normal-weight, overweight, and obesity according to the international adult BMI cut-offs. Different levels of nutritional status and BMI of male youths of the Han nationality were compared among different areas. The mean BMI for the whole country was 20.6 in urban areas and 20.0 in rural areas. BMI increased from 20.1 among 18-year old youths to 20.5 among 20-year old youths. The prevalence of underweight among the male youths was 21.6%, while the prevalence of overweight and obesity were 4.6% and 0.6% respectively. For urban youths, the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity were 21.0%, 6.8%, and 1.1% respectively, while these were, respectively, 21.9%, 3.3%, and 0.3% for rural youths. The nutritional status of the male youths in North-China was at the highest level (21.1) among the six areas, and the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity were 14.3%, 9.1%, and 1.4% respectively. The highest prevalence of underweight was 29.8% in the North-West region, and the lowest prevalence of overweight was 2.2% in the South-Middle region, while the lowest prevalence of obesity was 0.2% in the South-West region. The nutritional status of the male youths was significantly different among different areas. Underweight was still prevalent in all male youth groups. Nonetheless, overweight was more prevalent among urban youths than among rural youths and was more prevalent in the North region than in the South region.

[Artificial neural network in the prediction of nosocomial infection risk].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a model based on artificial neural network in the prediction of nosocomial infection risk. METHODS: Clinical data of 27,352 inpatients extracted from hospital information system were cleaned and coded, and the model of prediction in nosocomial infection risk was developed based on artificial neural network. RESULTS: The structure of artificial neural network is {16-6-1}-BP, and the fit rate of prediction was 0.9891. The area under ROC curve was 0.986. CONCLUSION: Artificial neural network model can be used as a tool for nosocomial infection forecasting, which can provide supplementary information for the diagnosis and control of nosocomial infection.

Body mass index reference curves for children aged 0-18 years in shaanxi, china.

OBJECTIVES: Health care professionals have recommended the use of age-related body mass index (BMI) to evaluate obesity in children. Until now, no age-related reference curves for BMI have been reported in China. Presented here are age-related BMI percentile curves for children aged 0~18 years in Shaanxi, China, 1995. METHODS: The Third Nationwide Growth Survey was performed in 1995 and from this survey, data of the Shaanxi population were retrieved to construct the age-related BMI percentile curves. A total of 27,200 healthy children aged 0~18 years were examined for height and weight, using the standardized methods. The λ-median-coefficient of variation (LMS) method was used for curve fitting; all analyses were carried out on the basis of different sexes and areas through a special program for LMS method. RESULTS: Median BMI increased steeply in early life, with a peak at 8 months, then declined, and then leveled off at about 6 years. The age of adiposity rebound for urban children was about two years earlier than that for rural children and one year earlier for boys than for girls. After adiposity rebound, BMI increased more rapidly in girls than in boys, and the increase in urban children was more rapid than that in rural children. As the onset of puberty, female BMI became higher than that of males, and the difference between boys and girls was larger for rural children than for urban children. The 95th, 50th and 5th percentiles for Shaanxi children were lower than those of comparable American children. Cut-off points for obesity was lower than those of international averages, suggesting the nutrition status of Shaanxi children is lower than that of children in developed countries, and has not reached the international average level. CONCLUSIONS: Using the LMS method, we constructed age-related BMI percentile curves for Shaanxi children aged 0~18 years, the first for Chinese children. Percentile curves and cut-off points for obesity can be used as a reference for assessing the nutrition status of Shaanxi children aged 0~18 years. The identified gender and residency differences may serve as guides to an understanding of the cause and prevention of obesity.

Chinese literature associated with diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori.

AIM: To synthetically analyze and probe into the diagnosis of H pylori infection, we followed the principles of evidence-based medicine. METHODS: A total of 22 papers of prevalence survey and case-control studies were selected for studying about diadynamic methods. Using meta-analysis, we analyzed the different diadynamic methods of H pylori in China. RESULTS: Through meta-analysis, among the five diadynamic methods, the accuracy of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was the highest (98.47%) and PCR was the most sensitive method (Sp: 99.03%). CONCLUSION: Among the five diadynamic methods, the accuracy of PCR is the highest and PCR is the most sensitive method to diagnose the infection of H pylori.

[Meta-analysis on Helicobacter pylori infection between sex and in family assembles].

OBJECTIVE: To understand and analyze the infection situation of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). METHODS: Extensively reviewing Chinese literature collecting the related with electronic documents in combination with manual retrieve and using Meta-analysis to do a quantitative analysis. RESULTS: Slight difference in the infection rate of H. pylori between men and women (95% CI: 0.0579-0.0963) was noticed. The infection rate of H. pylori in children whose parent was positive with infection of this bacteria was higher than that of children whose parent was negative (95% CI: 0.3378-0.5042). CONCLUSION: The infection rate of H. pylori showed gender difference with nature of family aggregation. Epidemiological studies of H. pylori was comprehensive and involved many aspects. Further investigation needs to be focused on infection rate and other risk factors.