Description: Objectives To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of uncorrected refractive error (URE) in an elderly urban Chinese population in China. Design A population-based cross-sectional study. Methods The study was conducted using a cluster random sample of residents aged 50 years or older living in the Jiangning Road subdistrict, Shanghai, China. All participants underwent a standardised interview and eye examinations, including presenting visual acuity (PVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between November 2012 and February 2013. URE was defined as an improvement of two lines or more in the BCVA compared with the PVA in the better eye of 〈20/40. Results A total of 1999 subjects (an 82.5% response rate) completed both the questionnaire and ophthalmic examination. The prevalence of URE was 20.1% (95% CI 18.0% to 22.2%) in the study sample. After age standardisation, the prevalence of URE in Chinese people aged 50 years or older was 18.7% (95% CI 17.0% to 20.4%). Under multiple logistic regression analysis, older age (per 1-year increase, OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.05) and a lower level of education (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.69) were significantly related to URE. A history of ocular diseases (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.92) was a protective factor for URE. Conclusions URE is highly prevalent among the elderly urban Chinese population, which should raise awareness of the URE burden in China to meet the Vision 2020 goal to eliminate preventable blindness.

Description: Objective To explore the risk factors of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) among Chinese patients with diabetes. Design, setting and participants A cross-sectional investigation was performed in eight screening clinics in six provinces across mainland China. Information about the risk factors was recorded in screening clinics. Some risk factors (sex, age, diagnosis age, diabetes duration, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c)) were recorded in all eight clinics, while others were collected only in a subset of the clinics. The relationships between the risk factors and DR and between the risk factors and STDR were explored for the eight factors mentioned above and for all factors studied. Main outcomes and measures Risk factors of DR and STDR were assessed, and a nomogram of the results was produced. Results Younger age, longer diabetes duration, higher SBP, higher FBG and higher HbA1c were found to be independent risk factors for both DR and STDR in the eight-factor analyses. In the all-factor analysis, younger age, longer diabetes duration, higher SBP, oral medicine use and insulin use were independent risk factors for both DR and STDR; higher postprandial blood glucose (PBG), HbA1c, triglyceride andlow-density lipoprotein were independent risk factors for DR only, and higher FBG was a risk factor for STDR only. Conclusions In this cross-sectional investigation, several risk factors were found for DR and STDR. Notably, FBG, PBG and HbA1c were all risk factors for DR or STDR, suggesting that stricter blood glucose control in clinical practice is required.

Description: Objectives Infant body mass index (BMI) peak has proven to be a useful indicator for predicting childhood obesity risk in American and European populations. However, it has not been assessed in China. We characterised infant BMI trajectories in a Chinese longitudinal cohort and evaluated whether BMI peak can predict overweight and obesity at age 2 years. Methods Serial measurements (n=6–12) of weight and length were taken from healthy term infants (n=2073) in a birth cohort established in urban Shanghai. Measurements were used to estimate BMI growth curves from birth to 13.5 months using a polynomial regression model. BMI peak characteristics, including age (in months) and magnitude (BMI, in kg/m 2 ) at peak and prepeak velocities (in kg/m 2 /month), were estimated. The relationship between infant BMI peak and childhood BMI at age 2 years was examined using binary logistic analysis. Results Mean age at peak BMI was 7.61 months, with a magnitude of 18.33 kg/m 2 . Boys (n=1022) had a higher average peak BMI (18.60 vs 18.07 kg/m 2 , p〈0.001) and earlier average achievement of peak value (7.54 vs 7.67 months, p〈0.05) than girls (n=1051). With 1 kg/m 2 increase in peak BMI and 1 month increase in peak time, the risk of overweight at age 2 years increased by 2.11 times (OR 3.11; 95% CI 2.64 to 3.66) and 35% (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.50), respectively. Similarly, higher BMI magnitude (OR 2.69; 95% CI 2.00 to 3.61) and later timing of infant BMI peak (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.68) were associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity at age 2 years. Conclusions We have shown that infant BMI peak is valuable for predicting early childhood overweight and obesity in urban Shanghai. Because this is the first Chinese community-based cohort study of this nature, future research is required to examine infant populations in other areas of China.

Description: Objectives Hysterectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on women in developed countries; however, little is known about the epidemiology of hysterectomy in low-income to middle-income regions. This study seeks to evaluate the prevalence of hysterectomy and its risk factors in rural China. Methods Questionnaires were collected from 3328 female adults aged 25â"69 years in rural Anyang, China, in 2009â"2011. Hysterectomy status was ascertained by the gynaecologist at the time of cytological test. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess the risk factors for hysterectomy. Results The overall prevalence of hysterectomy was 3.31% (110/3328). Women above the age of 40 years had a higher prevalence of prior hysterectomy, compared with those aged 25â"39 years (5.01% vs 0.33%). Obesity was marginally related with a higher risk of hysterectomy (adjusted OR=1.59; 95%âCI 0.99 to 2.56; body mass index (BMI) â¥28.0 vs 18.5 ⤠BMI 〈24.0). History of prior pregnancy loss conferred a greater risk for hysterectomy (adjusted OR=1.51; 95%âCI 1.02 to 2.23). Of the 75 (68.18%, 75/110) cases who provided further information on hysterectomy, 84.00% (63/75) had undergone total abdominal hysterectomy and 70.67% (53/75) had received surgery for leiomyoma. Conclusions Rural Chinese women had a relatively low prevalence of hysterectomy, and the majority of reported hysterectomies were performed abdominally for leiomyoma. Hysterectomy prevalence differed significantly by age, BMI and history of pregnancy loss. This study expands the current understanding of the epidemiology of hysterectomy in lower resource areas.

Description: Introduction Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a worldwide healthcare burden that is associated with the ageing population. Elderly patients with AF with multiple comorbidities usually present with a high risk of thromboembolism and bleeding. Limited prospective data are available from Asian cohorts on the epidemiology and complications of AF. The present prospective cohort study aims to explore contemporary antithrombotic strategies among the elderly Chinese population in the new era of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants and to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes between Chinese and European AF populations. Methods and analysis The Optimal Thromboprophylaxis in Elderly Chinese Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (ChiOTEAF) registry will recruit 5000 patients with AF over 65 years of age in China. AF-related risks, including stroke/systemic thromboembolism and bleeding outcomes, will be assessed. Medical history, risk factors, demographic information and management will be collected at baseline, and clinical events during 1 year follow-up will be recorded. Follow-up will be conducted for at least 1 year and then annually thereafter. As our registry has a common protocol to the European Society of Cardiology EURObservational Research Programme AF general registry programme, preplanned analyses comparing the clinical profiles and outcomes will be performed. The ChiOTEAF registry offers an opportunity to provide a better understanding of the clinical profiles and adverse outcomes of patients with AF in China and allow for comparisons with a contemporary European population. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval was granted by the Central Medical Ethic Committee of Chinese PLA General Hospital (approval no S2014-065-01). The (inter)national research presentations, peer-reviewed publications and media coverage of the research will be sued for dissemination of the results.