The Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Comfort Food Consumption over Time: The Mediational Role of Emotional Distress

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on populations at an economic, health, and on an interpersonal level, it is still unclear how it has affected health-risk behaviors, such as comfort food consumption over time. This study longitudinally examines the effect of the perceived impact of COVID-19 on comfort food consumption and whether this effect is mediated by emotional distress. A convenience sample of 1048 students and university staff (academic and non-academic) from two universities completed monthly online surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic across six waves (W; W1 to W6). Participants reported their perceived impact of COVID-19 (economic, interpersonal, and health), comfort food consumption, and emotional distress (DASS-21). Using structural equation models, we found an indirect longitudinal effect of the perceived impact of COVID-19 (W1) on comfort food consumption (W3 to W6) through increased emotional distress (W2). The perceived negative impact of COVID-19 on comfort food consumption was fully mediated by the emotional distress during the first waves (W3 and W4), ending in a partial mediation in the last waves (W5 and W6). These findings contribute to disentangling the mechanisms by which the perceived impact of COVID-19 affects comfort food consumption over time, and highlight the role of emotional distress. Future interventions should address comfort food consumption by focusing on handling emotional distress during a crisis.     

Estimate of Burden and Direct Healthcare Cost of Infectious Waterborne Disease in the United States

Provision of safe drinking water in the United States is a great public health achievement. However, new waterborne disease challenges have emerged (e.g., aging infrastructure, chlorine-tolerant and biofilm-related pathogens, increased recreational water use). Comprehensive estimates of the health burden for all water exposure routes (ingestion, contact, inhalation) and sources (drinking, recreational, environmental) are needed. We estimated total illnesses, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, deaths, and direct healthcare costs for 17 waterborne infectious diseases. About 7.15 million waterborne illnesses occur annually (95% credible interval [CrI] 3.88 million–12.0 million), results in 601,000 ED visits (95% CrI 364,000–866,000), 118,000 hospitalizations (95% CrI 86,800–150,000), and 6,630 deaths (95% CrI 4,520–8,870) and incurring US $3.33 billion (95% CrI 1.37 billion–8.77 billion) in direct healthcare costs. Otitis externa and norovirus infection were the most common illnesses. Most hospitalizations and deaths were caused by biofilm-associated pathogens (nontuberculous mycobacteria, Pseudomonas, Legionella), costing US $2.39 billion annually.     

Formal and Informal Costs of Care for People With Dementia Who Experience a Transition to Hospital at the End of Life: A Secondary Data Analysis

ObjectivesTo explore formal and informal care costs in the last 3 months of life for people with dementia, and to evaluate the association between transitions to hospital and usual place of care with costs.DesignCross-sectional study using pooled data from 3 mortality follow-back surveys.Setting and ParticipantsPeople who died with dementia.MethodsThe Client Service Receipt Inventory survey was used to derive formal (health, social) and informal care costs in the last 3 months of life. Generalized linear models were used to explore the association between transitions to hospital and usual place of care with formal and informal care costs.ResultsA total of 146 people who died with dementia were included. The mean age was 88.1 years (SD 6.0), and 98 (67.1%) were female. The usual place of care was care home for 85 (58.2%). Sixty-five individuals (44.5%) died in a care home, and 85 (58.2%) experienced a transition to hospital in the last 3 months. The mean total costs of care in the last 3 months of life were £31,224.7 (SD 23,536.6). People with a transition to hospital had higher total costs (£33,239.2, 95% CI 28,301.8-39,037.8) than people without transition (£21,522.0, 95% CI 17,784.0-26,045.8), mainly explained by hospital costs. People whose usual place of care was care homes had lower total costs (£23,801.3, 95% CI 20,172.0-28,083.6) compared to home (£34,331.4, 95% CI 27,824.7-42,359.5), mainly explained by lower informal care costs.Conclusions and ImplicationsTotal care costs are high among people dying with dementia, and informal care costs represent an important component of end-of-life care costs. Transitions to hospital have a large impact on total costs; preventing these transitions might reduce costs from the health care perspective, but not from patients' and families' perspectives. Access to care homes could help reduce transitions to hospital as well as reduce formal and informal care costs.     

《内经》对心理、行为医学的贡献

通过对《内经》“神”原分析,可见顺应自然,保持乐观舒达的情志,建立平衡的心理状态,建立健康的行为习惯是摄生长寿的要素。从中显示了中医顺应自然,天人合一观;七情、内因发病观;注重机体反应性的整体观;调神扶正的治疗观等优势理论,及其对临床、心理、行为医学的杰出贡献。     

Renal impairment and its impact on clinical outcomes in patients who are critically ill with COVID-19: a multicentre observational study

Renal impairment is common in patients who are critically ill with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). We examined the association between acute and chronic kidney disease with clinical outcomes in 372 patients with coronavirus disease-19 admitted to four regional intensive care units between 10 March 2020 and 31 July 2020. A total of 216 (58%) patients presented with COVID-19 and renal impairment. Acute kidney injury and/or chronic kidney disease was associated with greater in-hospital mortality compared with patients with preserved renal function (107/216 patients (50%) (95%CI 44–57) vs. 32/156 (21%) (95%CI 15–28), respectively; p < 0.001, relative risk 2.4 (95%CI 1.7–3.4)). Mortality was greatest in patients with renal transplants (6/7 patients (86%) (95%CI 47–100)). Mortality rates increased in patients with worsening renal injury according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes classification: stage 0 mortality 33/157 patients (21%) (95%CI 15–28) vs. stages 1–3 mortality 91/186 patients (49%) (95%CI 42–56); p < 0.001, relative risk 2.3 (95%CI 1.7–3.3). Survivors were less likely to require renal replacement therapy compared with non-survivors (57/233 patients (24%) vs. 64/139 patients (46%), respectively; p < 0.001, relative risk 1.9 (95%CI 1.4–2.5)). One-fifth of survivors who required renal replacement therapy acutely in intensive care continued to require renal support following discharge. Our data demonstrate that renal impairment in patients admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 is common and is associated with a high mortality and requirement for on-going renal support after discharge from critical care. Our findings have important implications for future pandemic planning in this patient cohort.     

Anaemia among intensive care unit survivors and association with days alive and at home: an observational study

Anaemia is highly prevalent at the time of intensive care unit discharge and is persistent for a high proportion of intensive care unit survivors. Whether anaemia is a driver of impaired recovery after critical illness is uncertain. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that, in adult intensive care survivors, anaemia at the time of intensive care unit discharge independently predicts decreased days at home-90. This retrospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary intensive care unit in Perth, Western Australia. All patients aged ≥ 16 years, discharged alive from their index intensive care unit admission and without documented treatment limitations were included. Median (IQR [range]) age of the 6358 participants was 61 (46–72 [16–95]) years and included 3385 (53.2%) unplanned admissions. Intensive care unit discharge with a haemoglobin concentration < 100 g.l^-1 occurred in 2886 (45.4%) patients, a threshold that identified a cohort with significantly lower days at home-90 (median (IQR [range]) 80 (64–85 [0–90]) days vs. 85 (77–88 [0–90]) days (median difference 5 days, 95%CI 4.4–5.5, p < 0.0001). The association followed a severity-response relationship with more severe anaemia predicting lower days at home-90. When accounting for prespecified covariates including admission haemoglobin concentration and red blood cell transfusion, anaemia at intensive care unit discharge remained a significant predictor of decreased days at home-90, relative risk 0.96 (0.93–0.98), p < 0.002. These findings support the need for interventional trials investigating whether this risk is modifiable.     

基于预防接种异常反应补偿的山东省卡介苗淋巴结炎经济负担测算

目的了解山东省卡介苗(BCG)淋巴结炎经济负担情况。方法以2011年5月至2019年12月山东省304例申请省级补偿的BCG淋巴结炎病例为对象,收集患者基本情况、预防接种相关情况、门诊(住院)病历和收费票据等相关资料,对其直接经济负担(包括直接医疗费用和直接非医疗费用)、间接经济负担和总经济负担进行测算,比较不同特征病例经济负担的差异。结果304例BCG淋巴结炎患者月龄的M(Q1,Q3)为3(2,4)月,其中男性239例(78.6%),淋巴结破溃71例(23.4%),手术227例(74.7%)。单纯门诊、单纯住院和门诊后住院病例分别占25.7%(78例)、7.2%(22例)和67.1%(204例)。贴现后单例直接、间接和总经济负担的M(Q1,Q3)分别为9910(5713,16074)、2081(1547,3122)和12262(7694,18571)元。直接医疗费用占直接经济负担的89.4%,直接经济负担占总经济负担的84.9%,80.0%病例的总经济负担仅占其补偿金额的20.0%左右,只有2.3%的病例总经济负担占补偿金额的60.0%以上。单纯住院和门诊后住院病例的直接、间接和总经济负担高于单纯门诊病例,手术病例的直接、间接和总经济负担高于非手术病例,淋巴结未破溃病例的直接和总经济负担高于破溃病例(均P<0.05)。结论山东省BCG淋巴结炎病例经济负担受诊疗方式的影响,且以直接医疗费用为主。     

2009—2019 年重庆市涪陵区15 岁以下人群流感病原学监测结果分析

目的 了解重庆市涪陵区2009—2019年15岁以下人群流感病原学的流行趋势及特征,为今后的流感防控工作提供科学依据。方法 分析2009—2019年涪陵区流感网络监测实验室获得的15 岁以下人群流感样病例（Influenza-like illness,ILI）监测结果。结果 女性ILI病毒分离阳性率（14.53%）和男性阳性率（13.74%）无统计学意义（〖XC小五号.EPSP〗=0.98,P＞0.05）;初中生阳性率最高（23.94%）,其次是小学生（19.69%）、幼儿园儿童（17.10%）,散居儿童最低（7.64%）,差异有统计学意义（〖XC小五号.EPSP〗=238.82,P＜0.05）;各学龄段儿童之间流感病毒类型构成差异有统计学意义（〖XC小五号.EPSP〗=40.71,P＜0.05）;ILI病毒检测阳性率的季节规律呈单、双峰交替出现,2010 年、2014 年、2015 年流行高峰出现在夏季,其余年份流行高峰均在冬春季;主要病原学类型为季H3（36.63%）、B型Victoria系（28.60%）、新甲H1（27.98%）、B型Yamagata系（6.44%）,流感病毒阳性率与ILI病例数变化趋势相关（rs=0.312,P＜0.05）; ILI发病后采样时间、采样后送检时间对标本阳性率有显著影响。结论 涪陵区15岁以下人群流感流行处于上升趋势,流行高峰时间处于动态变化,近年来主要在冬春季;初中生和小学生ILI病毒检测阳性率高于学龄前儿童,提示冬春季要加强中小学校学生流感防控工作。