Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Vietnamese adult employees.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Metabolic syndrome (MtS) is associated with increased risk of many health disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases. In Vietnam, study examining MtS is meager and especially lacking for the workforce. We estimated the prevalence of MtS and its associated factors among Vietnamese employees. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed secondary data of annual health check of employees of 300 Vietnamese companies from the Vinmec Healthcare System. We used three definitions for MtS: International Diabetes Federation (IDF), National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III), and NCEP ATP III-Asia. Of 57,997 participants evaluated, 48.5 % were males and 66.2 % were younger than 40 years old. The unadjusted MtS prevalence was 8.4 % (IDF), 10.2 % (NCEP ATP III), and 16.0 % (NCEP ATP III-Asia). The age-sex adjusted prevalence of MtS (NCEP ATP III-Asia) was 21.8 % (95 % confidence interval (CI): 21.4 %, 22.2 %). MtS prevalence increased with age, reached 49.6 % for age ≥60. The aging related increase was more remarkable in females than males (prevalence ratio (PR) (95 % CI) for age ≥60 comparing to age <30 years old in males vs. females was 4.0 (3.6, 4.3) vs. 20.1 (17.7, 22.9)). High blood triglyceride (83.4 %) and abdominal obesity (74.5 %) were the predominant contributors to MtS. CONCLUSION: In this relatively young Vietnamese working population, 16 % had MtS with high triglyceride and abdominal obesity being the predominant contributors. These findings emphasize the need for developing effective high triglyceride and abdominal obesity prevention and control programs to curb the emerging epidemic of metabolic disorders in the workforce.

Determinants of condom use at sexual debut among young Vietnamese.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Condom use at sexual debut is associated with subsequent condom use and with decreased risk of sexually transmitted infections. There is a dearth of data on determinants of condom use at first sexual intercourse. We aimed to determine factors associated with condom use at first sexual intercourse before marriage among Vietnamese adolescents and youths. METHODS: The study involved the analysis of data from the Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth, 2003, the first nationally representative survey of young people in Vietnam. The survey included 7584 adolescents and youths aged 14-25 years. In this study, data of 605 adolescents and youths who had engaged in premarital sex were analyzed for factors associated with condom use using descriptive analyses, and regression techniques, allowing for sampling weights, clustering and stratification. RESULTS: Of 605 adolescents and youths who had engaged in premarital sex, 28.6% reported condom use at first sexual intercourse. Condom use at sexual debut was less common in females than males [odds ratio (OR)=0.15; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=0.07-0.30] and less common in those who experienced peer pressure to engage in social higher risk behaviors (OR=0.57; 95% CI=0.32-0.99). Condom use was more common if a friend/acquaintance or a stranger/sex worker was the first sexual partner (OR=2.20; 95% CI=1.16-4.17 and OR=17.90; 95% CI=6.88-46.54) respectively, each compared with fiancé/boyfriend/girlfriend as first sexual partner. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that approximately one in three unmarried Vietnamese youths used a condom at first sexual intercourse. Gender, peer pressure and the nature of the relationship to the first sexual partner were independently associated with condom use. These results can inform programs directed at preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among young Vietnamese.

The association between birth order and childhood brain tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The incidence of childhood brain tumors (CBT) has increased worldwide, likely resulting from the improvements of early diagnostics. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the association between birth order and CBT. We followed established guidelines to systematically search Ovid Medline, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library for English language studies, published before March 2018. Quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analysis provided pooled risk estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for birth order and CBT. We identified 16 case-control studies with a total sample of 32 439 cases and 166 144 controls and three prospective cohort studies (i.e. 4515 incident cases of CBTs among 5 281 558 participants). Compared with first birth order, the meta-odds ratio for second birth order in case-control studies was 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01-1.07), that for third birth order was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.90-1.06), and that for fourth order was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.78-0.92). The meta-hazard ratio for second or higher birth order compared with first birth order in cohort studies was 1.00 (95% CI: 0.96-1.05). We found no association between birth order and CBT in both case-control and cohort study designs; the small association observed for fourth birth order deserves further consideration.

Gastric cancer: epidemiology, biology, and prevention: a mini review.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The objective of this article is to review the epidemiology and biology of gastric cancer risk. This literature review explores the biological, clinical, and environmental factors that influence the rates of this disease and discuss the different intervention methods that may not only increase the awareness of gastric cancer but also increase screening in efforts to reduce the risk of gastric cancer. Helicobacter pylori infection is the primary risk factor for gastric cancer. Additional risk factors include geographical location, age, sex, smoking, socioeconomic status, dietary intake, and genetics. Primary and secondary prevention strategies such as dietary modifications and screenings are important measures for reducing the risk of gastric cancer. Interventions, such as H. pylori eradication through chemoprevention trials, have shown some potential as a preventative strategy. Although knowledge about gastric cancer risk has greatly increased, future research is warranted on the differentiation of gastric cancer epidemiology by subsite and exploring the interactions between H. pylori infection, genetics, and environmental factors. Better understanding of these relationships can help researchers determine the most effective intervention strategies for reducing the risk of this disease.

Racial/ethnic, age and sex disparities in leukemia survival among adults in the United States during 1973-2014 period.

There has been marked improvement in leukemia survival, particularly among children in recent time. However, the long-term trends in survival among adult leukemia patients and the associated sex and racial survival disparities are not well understood. We, therefore, evaluated the secular trends in survival improvement of leukemia patients from 1973 through 2014, using Surveillance Epidemiology and End-Result Survey Program (SEER) data. ICD-O-3 morphology codes were used to group leukemia into four types: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Survival analysis for each leukemia type stratified by race/ethnicity, age, sex was performed to generate relative survival probability estimates for the baseline time period of 1973 through 1979. Hazard ratios (HR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for survival within subsequent 10-year time periods by race, age and sex were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models. Of the 83,255 leukemia patients for the current analysis, the 5-year survival of patients with ALL, AML, CLL, and CML during 1973-1979 were 42.0%, 6.5%, 66.5%, and 20.9%, respectively. Compared to the baseline, there were substantial improvements of leukemia-specific survival in 2010-2014 among African-American (81.0%) and Asian (80.0%) patients with CML and among 20-49 year of age with CLL (96.0%). African-American patients, those with AML and those older than 75 years of age had the lowest survival improvements. Asians experienced some of the largest survival improvements during the study period. Others, including African-American and the elderly, have not benefited as much from advances in leukemia treatment.

Disparities by race, age, and sex in the improvement of survival for lymphoma: Findings from a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate improvement in survival of lymphoma patients from 1990 to 2014, stratified by age, sex and race using Surveillance Epidemiology and End-Result Survey Program (SEER) data. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We identified 113,788 incident lymphoma cases from nine SEER cancer registries were followed up for cause-specific mortality from lymphoma. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and their respective 95% confidence interval (CIs) for various time periods within groups stratified by race, age and sex. RESULTS: Five-year survival for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) was 89% for patients 20-49 years of age. For this age group, compared to 1990-1994, survival significantly improved in 2000-2004 (HR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.54-0.78), 2005-2009 (HR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.38-0.57) and 2010-2014 (HR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.20-0.41). Hodgkin's lymphoma patients aged 75-85 years had 5-year survival of 37% and in these patients, compared to 1990-1994, survival only improved from 2005 onward (HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.50-0.90). In patients with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), all age groups showed survival improvements between 1990-1994 period and 2010-2014 period. Improvements in HL and NHL survival were seen for all race categories and both genders. CONCLUSION: Survival among US lymphoma patients has improved substantially between 1990-1994 period and 2010-2014 period, though disease-specific mortality was still higher in older age groups.