ObjectiveTo study the correlation between neck artery vascular sclerosis and homocysteine levels in hypertensive patients. MethodsA total of 2 132 patients with hypertension participated in the program of "Stroke screening and prevention in Dongying city" were included from Sep. 2012 to Jan. 2013. Questionnaire, physical examination, biochemical blood tests and carotid artery ultrasound were conducted in all included patients. According to the level of homocysteine (Hcy), patients were divided into three groups:716 patients with Hcy level less than 12.3 mm/L were in Group 1, 703 patients with Hcy level 12.3 to 16.5 mm/L were in Group 2, and 713 patients with Hcy level more than 16.5 mm/L were in Group 3. The influence of Hcy levels on carotid atherosclerosis was analyzed. Results① The prevalence rate for carotid plaques in Groups 1, 2, and 3 were 50.28%, 60.03% and 65.36%, respectively. The prevalence rate for carotid plaques in Group 2 was higher than that in Group 1 with a statistical difference (OR=1.485, 95% CI 1.203 to 1.833, P=0.000). The prevalence rate in Group 3 was also higher than that in Group 1 with a statistical difference (OR=1.866, 95% CI 1.508 to 2.308, P=0.000). ② The prevalence rate for carotid plaques was 62.24% in the rural population, and 52.39% in the urban population. The difference between urban and rural populations was statistically significant (OR=1.500, 95% CI 1.259 to 1.788, P=0.000). ③ Using the presence of carotid plaques as a dependent variable and Hcy level as a covariant, logistic regression analysis found that the plaque formation in Group 2 was 1.491 times than in Group 1 and the plaque formation in Group 3 was 1.752 times than in Group 1. After adjusting the risk factors (gender, age, BMI, TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and blood sugar level), the results showed that the plaque formation in Group 2 was 1.388 times than in Group 1, and the plaque formation in Group 3 was 1.452 times than in Group 1. ConclusionThere is a correlation between the increased incidence of carotid plaque and homocysteine levels in patients with hypertension. The incidence of carotid plaque in the rural population with hypertension is higher than that in the urban population. In the population with hypertension, high homocysteine level is an independent risk factor for the formation of carotid plaques.
ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to investigate the medical postgraduates’ attitudes on scientific misconduct activities to provide support to scientific research integrity education.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey in 3 medical schools in Sichuan province in September 2020. Medical postgraduates were investigated to report the sociodemographic information and self-attitude on research activities.ResultsOf the 983 students completed, 73.14% were pursuing the master program and 27.9% had published SCI papers. For attitudes on scientific misconduct activities, 0.93% agreed to change negative results picture into positive by software and 5.08% consented to modify data when P value was above 0.05 slightly.ConclusionsThe results of this study show that a small portion of medical postgraduates are still not resolute on academic misconduct. We should further strengthen education and establish the bottom line thinking which cannot be touched by the academic misconduct of medical postgraduates.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the quality of life of residents in stricken area five years after Wenchuan earthquake, so as to explore the main influential factors such as gender, age, ethnic group, marriage status and the extent affected by the earthquake. MethodsUsing WHOQOL-BREF, 500 residents from Hanyuan county in Sichuan province were assessed in order to analyze their life quality and related factors. ResultsThe score on the overall WHOQOL-BREF and the level of each factor were significantly lower than the score on the normal people (P < 0.001). Male score in the factor of social relations significantly higher than female (t=3.963, P < 0.001). The overall score and the score of social factor were significantly lower in the minor than in the adults (t=-2.667, P < 0.01; t=-19.287, P < 0.001). And the quality score of social relationship was significantly lower in the single than in the married and cohabiting couples (P < 0.001; P < 0.01). ConclusionThe quality of life of residents in stricken area five years after Wenchuan earthquake was significantly lower than the national norm. There are significant differences in terms of gender, age, marriage status and earthquake damage on social relations. Steady intimate relationships with others help improve the quality of life of residents in stricken area. Besides, compared those with average damage or no damage, the residents with serious damage are relatively worse in the overall quality of life as well as environmental conditions.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the usage status of drugs in the treatment of senile cerebral infarction in Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University in 2011, and to provide references for rational usage of drugs for inpatients with senile cerebral infarction. MethodsMedical records of the elderly (≥60 years old) inpatients with cerebral infarction in Xuanwu Hospital in 2011 were collected. ATC codes were used to standardize names of drug and classifications. Patients' general information, number of patients' used drugs, Defined Daily Doses (DDDs), and Drug Utilization Index (DUI) were calculated by using Microsoft Excel 2007 to evaluate the rationality of drugs usage. ResultsA total of 430 patients were included. The average age was 70.61±7.29 years old. The average types of diseases were 5.39. The major combined disease was circulatory system disease, accounting for 42.45%. A total of 15 656 medication records were included, involving 243 kinds of drugs (including different administration routes). The average number of used drugs for each patient during the admission was 17.11. The top 5 drugs based on percentage of patients with drug use were Ginkgo Biloba Preparation (injection), clopidogrel (oral), prostaglandin E1 (injection), atorvastatin (oral) and cinepazide (injection). The top 5 drugs of DDDs were Ginkgo Biloba Preparation (injection), ipratropium bromide (inhalation), prostaglandin E1 (injection), folic acid (orla), and clopidogrel (oral). The top 5 drugs of DUI were vitamin B12 (injection), multi-vitamin (oral), nikethamide (injection), methylprednisolone (injection), and vitamin C (oral). ConclusionFor therapeutic drugs used among the elderly patients with cerebral infarction in Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, the choice, dosage and administration route of medication are rational. However, the drugs with higher DUI are not related with major diseases, which indicates that we should pay attention to the irrational drug use of clinical application, so as to ensure safety, effectiveness and economy of drug application.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the conditions of activity of daily living (ADL) and influence factors of ADL of hospitalized elderly (≥60 years old) patients. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the health and ADL conditions of hospitalized elderly patients in the geriatric department of a tertiary hospital in Chongqing by ADL scale. The influence factors of ADL were analysed by using logistic regression analysis. ResultsA total of 375 hospitalized elderly patients were included. The ADL impairment rate of female was 59.60% (93/156), the one of male was 75.90% (166/219), and there was significant difference between different sex (χ2=11.169, P=0.001). The impairment rate by age were 95.40% at 60 to 69 years old, 91.40% at 70 to 79 years old, 87.20% at 80 to 89 years old, and 98.55% at above 90 years old, respectively; there was significant difference among different age groups (χ2=8.575, P=0.036). The result of logistic regression analysis showed that age was the individual risk factor of ADL (OR=0.188, 95%CI 0.085 to 0.416, P=0.000). The difficulty of walking up and down stairs occupied the highest proportion (68.80%) in 10 items of ADL scale. ConclusionHospitalized elderly patients should be equipped with specialized paramedics to minimize the difficulties of ADL, in order to improve their quality of life.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the willingness rate of the first consultation in primary health care institutions among Chinese residents.MethodsCNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, PubMed, Web of Science and EMbase databases were electronically searched to collect cross-sectional studies on the willingness rate of the first consultation in primary health care institutions of residents in China from January 2006 to November 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies; meta-analysis was then performed using Stata 14.1 software.ResultsA total of 26 cross-sectional studies involving 36 430 subjects were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the willingness rate of Chinese residents for the first consultation in primary health care institutions was 61.4% (95%CI 54.5% to 68.3%). The results of subgroup analysis showed that for the willingness rates of the first treatment at the grassroots level in male and female residents were 65.6% and 64.9%; urban and rural residents were 49.9% and 58.9%; <60 and ≥60 years old residents were 60.5% and 71.6%; primary school and below, junior high school, high school or technical secondary school, junior college or above educational level residents were 72.8%, 68.1%, 64.2%, and 52.8%; employees, residents, and other types of insurance residents were 74.1%, 75.9%, and 64.4%; residents with monthly income <3 000, 3 000-5 000, and >5 000 yuan were 65.8%, 65.3%, and 58.5%; high, medium, and poor levels of health status residents were 56.8%, 52.6%, and 48.8%; with and without chronic diseases residents were 61.0% and 56.9%; with and without spouse residents were 63.9% and 64.6%; with and without contracted family doctor residents were 87.1% and 62.6%; on duty, retired, and other employment status residents were 70.7%, 69.9% and 71.5%; primary medical institutions residents those were satisfied, average, and dissatisfied were 77.3%, 60.7%, and 49.4%.ConclusionsCurrent evidence suggests that it remains room for improvement in the level of willingness of Chinese residents for first consultation in primary health care institutions. Residence, age, educational level, type of medical insurance, income level, health level, family doctors contracted status, and satisfaction with primary medical institutions have an impact on residents' willingness to receive first treatment at primary hospitals. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify above conclusions.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the prevalence of asthma in adults (>14 years old) in China.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, CENTRAL, CINAHL, WanFang Data, CBM, CNKI, and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect cross-sectional studies on the prevalence of asthma in Chinese adults from January 2000 to December 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 15.0 software.ResultsA total of 67 cross-sectional studies, involving 1 381 673 subjects and 19 871 adult asthma patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the prevalence rate of asthma in adults in China was 1.81% (95%CI 1.59% to 2.01%). The subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence rates of asthma in males and females were 1.87% and 1.76%, respectively. The prevalence rates were 2.16% in the northeast region, 1.34% in the central region, 1.63% in the eastern region and 2.23% in the western region. The prevalence rates were 0.73%, 1.53%, and 2.81% in 15-40 years old, 41-60 years old, and >60 years old, respectively. The prevalence rates were 3.07% in illiteracy population, 1.69% in primary school population, 1.46% in junior middle school population, 1.01% in senior high school population and 0.98% in college and above population. The prevalence rates were 2.23%, 2.10%, 1.17%, 1.45%, 1.09%, and 1.41% in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry personnel, workers, public officials, business and service personnel, military personnel, and other occupations, respectively. The prevalence rates were 1.41% and 1.59% in Han and other ethnic populations, respectively. The prevalence rates were 2.03% in cities and 1.99% in rural areas. And the prevalence rates were 1.22% in 2000 to 2005, 2.07% in 2006 to 2010, 2.25% in 2011 to 2015, and 2.62% in 2016 to 2019.ConclusionsThe prevalence rate of asthma in Chinese adults is higher, which is different due to the influence of age, sex, region, education, and occupation.
ObjectiveTo explore the association between hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) and subclinical atherosclerosis among general Chinese population. MethodsPeople who took routine physical exam in the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital were randomly selected from June 2011 to June 2012. We included those who received carotid artery ultrasonography and denied having symptoms of arterial ischemia, and screened the risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among them, including waist circumstance (WC) and triglycerides (TG). According to levels of WC and TG, the subjects were divided into three groups:Group I (those with normal levels of WC and TG); Group II (those with elevated levels of WC or TG); and Group Ⅲ (those with elevated WC and TG). ResultsA total of 484 subjects were included with average age of 47.3±11.3 years, of which, 72.1% of the subjects were male. The risk factors of CVD in Group I, Group II and Group III orderly increased, with significant differences. Then the subjects were stratified by age. For the elderly (no less than 60 years, n=75), the morbidities of subclinical atherosclerosis was 73.7% in Group I, 79.3% in Group II, and 70.4% in Group Ⅲ, respectively; and the results of univariate analysis and multivariate analysis showed that, HTGW was poorly associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in the elderly. For the young and middle-aged (less than 60 years, n=409), the morbidities were 19.8% in Group I, 35.1% in Group II, and 36.1% in Group III, respectively; after adjusting the confounding factors, Group II and Group III showed close association with subclinical atherosclerosis in the young and middle-aged when taking Group I as referent, with ORs (Group Ⅱ:1.987, 95%CI 1.073 to 3.679, P=0.029; and Group Ⅲ:2.060, 95%CI 1.020 to 4.161, P=0.044). ConclusionHTGW population has high-level risk factors of CVD which also present a tendency of aggregation. HTGW is closely associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in the young and middle-aged; while in the elderly, HTGW is poorly associated with subclinical atherosclerosis, but the morbidity of subclinical atherosclerosis is higher.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the prevalence of diabetes in the elderly with frailty.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, VIP and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect cross-sectional studies on the prevalence of diabetes in the elderly with frailty from inception to November 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies; meta-analysis was then performed by using Stata 15.0 software.ResultsA total of 21 cross-sectional studies involving 22 403 subjects were included. The pooled prevalence of diabetes in the elderly with frailty was 34% (95%CI 26% to 43%). Subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of diabetes in patients with frailty in Asia and South America was higher than those in Europe and North America. The prevalence of diabetes in patients with frailty using physical frailty measures to evaluate frailty was higher than using multidimensional frailty measures. The prevalence of diabetes in patients with frailty in outpatient and hospital were higher than those in the community.ConclusionsCurrent evidence suggests that the prevalence of diabetes is high in the elderly with frailty.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the prevalence of senile pruritus (SP) in Chinese population.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect cross-sectional studies on the prevalence of SP in Chinese population from inception to May 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 11 studies involving 13 398 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, the overall prevalence of SP was 31.0% (95%CI 18.0% to 44.0%). Subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence rate of male was 34.9% (95%CI 18.6% to 88.5%). The prevalence rates of SP among 60, 70, 80 and 90 age groups were 20.0% (95%CI 14.2% to 25.7%), 48.4% (95%CI 21.5% to 75.3%), 53% (95%CI 12.4% to 93.5%), and 58.5% (95%CI 22.4% to 94.6%), respectively. The prevalence rates of SP in community, hospital and cadre relaxation club were 33.4% (95%CI 31.3% to 35.6%), 40.4% (95%CI 22% to 58.7%), and 14.4% (95%CI 1.1% to 27.7%), respectively. The prevalence rates of SP in southern China and northern China were 26.7% (95%CI 18.7% to 34.7%) and 36.8% (95%CI 21.8% to 51.7%), respectively.ConclusionsThe overall prevalence rate of SP in the Chinese population is high. The prevalence rates of SP among ages, regions and research sites are different.