Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and obesity among Chinese children

Objective

To investigate the relationships of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and physical activity (PA) with the risk of overweight/obesity in Chinese schoolchildren.

Methods

A total of 1795 children aged 8-13 years at baseline were followed-up for 18 months from 2006 to 2008 in Guangzhou, China. Children were categorized as “normal weight”, “overweight”, and “obese” using Chinese obesity cut-off points. Data on self-reported PA were obtained. CRF was determined by the 20-meter multistage fitness test, and the sex-specific median values were set as the cut-off points for the classification of high and low CRF.

Results

Significantly higher CRF was found in children with normal weight (from 6.55 to 8.65 ml/kg/min) or physically active children (from 0.42 to 1.22 ml/kg/min) compared with the reference group. CRF was inversely associated with the kg/m² change in BMI during the follow-up period (β = − 0.63 kg/m² and − 0.64 kg/m² for boys and girls, respectively, both p < 0.001). Significant association of baseline CRF with overweight/obesity was found in boys (odds ratio (OR) 8.71; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.59-29.26, p < 0.001), whereas the association was marginally insignificant in girls (OR 6.87; 95% CI 0.96-49.09, p = 0.055).

Conclusions

The results showed a strong negative association between CRF levels and children's BMI and weight gain.     

Deaths from nasopharyngeal cancer among waiters and waitresses in Chinese restaurants

Objective: Previous studies have shown that waiters have a high risk of developing cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx, but nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) has not been specifically studied. This study was carried out to investigate whether waiters/waitresses in Chinese restaurants have an increased risk of dying from NPC. Methods: A mortality odds ratio study was used to estimate the relative risk of dying from NPC for waiters/waitresses working in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong during the period 1986–1995, using the general population as the external comparison group and deceased kitchen workers as an internal comparison group. Cases were deaths from NPC and the controls were deaths from the selected sets of reference causes. Results: Seventeen deaths from NPC were identified among 415 deceased waiters and four NPC deaths occurred among 140 deceased waitresses. The adjusted mortality odds ratio (aMOR) for NPC was increased among waiters, being 3.02 (95% CI 1.82–5.00) and 2.61 (95% CI 1.02–6.69) in the external and internal comparisons, respectively. For waitresses, the aMOR was 4.58 (95% CI 1.63–12.86) in the external comparison. Analysis by duration of union membership suggested a dose–response relationship. Conclusions: An increased risk of dying from NPC was observed among waiters/waitresses and could not be fully explained by bias or confounding factors. Possible risk factors related to poor indoor air quality in the service areas of Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong should be further investigated.     

中学生意外伤害相关危险因素负二项回归分析

目的 了解马鞍山市中学生伤害的流行病学特征，为伤害干预措施提供线索和依据。方法 采用整群随机抽样的方法对马鞍山市的4043名中学在校生过去一年的伤害发生情况进行伤害回顾调查。结果 马鞍山市中学生伤害事件发生(次)率为28，05％，伤害人平均发生伤害次数为1．73次，负二项回归分析提示大家庭和重组家庭、父母亲从事的某些职业类别、家庭人均月收入、孩子每天的户外活动时间、不能集中精力是伤害发生的危险因素，母亲的文化程度为中学及以上、家庭与学校的距离很远可能为伤害发生的保护因素。结论 家庭情况、父母职业、文化程度及孩子的安全意识与伤害发生的关联显著，应在中学生中开展针对危险因素的健康教育干预。     

Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Lung Cancer Among Chinese Nonsmoking Males: Might Adenocarcinoma Be the Culprit?

No studies have specifically reported the association of lungadenocarcinoma with environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposureamong nonsmoking males. The objective of this study was to examinethe exposure-response relation between ETS exposure and lungcancer among nonsmoking males. In particular, the associationwith adenocarcinoma of the lung was studied. This is a population-based,case-referent study in Hong Kong during 2004–2006. A totalof 132 Chinese male nonsmokers with newly diagnosed primarylung cancer and 536 nonsmoking community referents were interviewedabout ETS exposures from the household and/or workplace, includingever ETS exposure, sources of exposure, number of smoking cohabitants/coworkers,and smoker-years. Univariate logistic regression analyses showeda weak association between all lung cancers and ever ETS exposurefrom the household and/or workplace (odds ratio (OR) = 1.11,95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74, 1.67), but an increasedrisk was restricted to adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.00,2.38). After adjustment for family cancer history and otherconfounders, excess risk (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 0.91, 2.88) stillpersisted for adenocarcinoma, although it was no longer statisticallysignificant. Exposure-response relations for adenocarcinomawere found with increasing levels of all ETS indices when exposuresfrom the household and workplaces were combined. The consistentexposure-response relations between ETS exposures and adenocarcinomasuggested a probable causal link, which would have to be confirmedby future larger studies. adenocarcinoma; lung neoplasms; tobacco smoke pollution     

广州地区儿童哮喘危险因素病例对照研究

目的探讨广州地区儿童哮喘的危险因素。方法从广州市海珠区、白云区和花都区8所小学7635名儿童中筛选出哮喘病患,按性别和年龄1∶1配对选取健康对照。通过家长问卷调查儿童家庭的社会经济特征、父母过敏和哮喘史及室内环境等因素。结果 Logistic回归分析显示,父亲、母亲有过敏史的儿童哮喘患病风险显著高于对照组,其OR值分别为5.05(95%CI:1.37～18.65)和5.38(95%CI:1.23～23.54),儿童自身过敏史与哮喘之间呈显著关联(OR=5.58,95%CI:1.53～20.36),室内新家具可显著增加儿童哮喘的患病风险(OR=6.42,95%CI:1.13～36.62)。结论父母过敏性疾病史、儿童自身过敏史和室内新家具是儿童哮喘的重要危险因素。     

Cluster of SARS among medical students exposed to single patient, Hong Kong

We studied transmission patterns of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) among medical students exposed exclusively to the first SARS patient in the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, before his illness was recognized. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 66 medical students who visited the index patient's ward, including 16 students with SARS and 50 healthy students. The risk of contracting SARS was sevenfold greater among students who definitely visited the index case's cubicle than in those who did not (10/27 [41%] versus 1/20 [5%], relative risk 7.4; 95% confidence interval 1.0 to 53.3). Illness rates increased directly with proximity of exposure to the index case. However, four of eight students who were in the same cubicle, but were not within 1 m of the index case-patient, contracted SARS. Proximity to the index case-patient was associated with transmission, which is consistent with droplet spread. Transmission through fomites or small aerosols cannot be ruled out.