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Purpose Diabetic peripheral neuropathies are the common chronic complications of diabetes, but the diagnosis is insensitive by physical examination in busy outpatients. Here we evaluated the performance of SUDOSCAN in screening diabetic peripheral neuropathies in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients. Methods The study enrolled 180 patients for annually screening. All patients underwent neurological symptoms assessment, clinical examination, nerve conduction studies and cardiovascular autonomic reflex tests. SUDOSCAN was tested and evaluated with electrochemical skin conductance in hands and feet, asymmetry ratio in hands and feet and predicted cardiac neuropathy. Results Patients enrolled had an average age of 56.1 years, 9.8 years of diabetic duration. Patients with diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy showed significantly lower electrochemical skin conductance in feet and higher asymmetry ratio in feet compared with those without. Sensitivity and specificity of asymmetry ratio in feet for diagnosing diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy were 88.2 % and 46.9 % and area under ROC curve was 0.713. Patients with cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy showed significantly lower electrochemical skin conductance in hands and feet, and higher asymmetry ratio in feet and predicted cardiac neuropathy compared with those without. Sensitivity and specificity of electrochemical skin conductance in feet in diagnosing cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy were 85.6 % and 76.1 % with an area under ROC curve of 0.859. Conclusions SUDOSCAN is a sensitive test to detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy in China and could be an effective screening tool in in busy outpatients and primary health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Previous national survey suggested that dyslipidemia is an increasing burden in China and more severe in urban population. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the gender and age differences in lipids and lipoproteins in a large Chinese urban population in Nanjing city. Methods A total of 236, 945 adults (age ≥ 20 years old) who undertook a health check between 2009 and 2015 in our medical examination center were involved in the analysis. Fasting total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) were measured by standard methods. Results The age-standardized estimates of serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride were 4.77 (4.76-4.79), 1.19 (1.18-1.19), 2.53 (2.52-2.54) and 1.74 (1.72-1.76) mmol/L in males (n = 130954), and 4.79 (4.78-4.80), 1.46 (1.45-1.46), 2.44 (2.43-2.45) and 1.21 (1.19-1.22) mmol/L in females (n = 105991), respectively. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was significantly elevated in females above 50 years old, and the peak prevalence of dyslipidemia in males was in the age group of 40-59 years, earlier as compared to females (peaked at 60-69 years old). In addition, an increasing secular trend was observed in LDL cholesterol levels from 2009 to 2015 in both males and females. Conclusions Dyslipidemia is an increasing epidemic in China, characterized by a rising trend of LDL cholesterol. The gender and age differences in serum levels of lipid profile as well as prevalence of dyslipidemia suggested that the middle-age men and postmenopausal women should be the prioritized target for better control of dyslipidemia and early prevention of cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]