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Background: Stricture in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) carries a high risk of CD-related surgery in the course of the disease. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of occurrence of CD-related surgery and to determine baseline risk factors predicting subsequent surgery in this patient group. Methods: Patients registered with stricturing CD were included. All baseline and follow-up data were collected retrospectively. Patients attended the clinic for follow-up at week 14 to assess their response to infliximab (IFX). CD-related surgery was the observational endpoint. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used. Results: A total of 123 patients with stricturing CD were included in this study. The cumulative risk of CD-related surgery for years 1–5 after diagnosis was 18.0%, 26.7%, 32.6%, 40.7%, and 46.4%, respectively. Prior gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, low body mass index (BMI), and high platelet count might be risk factors for future CD-related surgery. With 97 participants treated by IFX, prior GI surgery and primary non-response (PNR) to IFX correlated with future CD-related surgery. Conclusion: Prior GI surgery, BMI, and platelet counts were related to future CD-related surgery. Patients who were PNR to IFX had a higher risk of CD-related surgery in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore motivators for and barriers to exercise rehabilitation in hemodialysis patients and the barriers perceived by the hemodialysis center staff. Design: A cross-sectional study was performed in five hemodialysis centers using patient questionnaires designed for this study to evaluate the motivators for and barriers to exercise rehabilitation. Questionnaires were not yet validated. Results: Of the 471 recruited patients, 63.3% were willing to participant in exercise rehabilitation. The greatest motivators included improving quality of life (98.0%) and wanting to be healthier (98.0%). Perceived barriers included discomfort (59.0%), concerns regarding safety (36.7%), and disinterest (27.0%). Among these, unwillingness, disinterest, and having peripheral arterial disease were independent risk factors of lack of participation in exercise rehabilitation. The most common perceived barriers among the 90 employees that participated were lack of professional guidance and advice from rehabilitation therapists (93.1%), lack of exercise rehabilitation knowledge (86.2%), and lack of special exercise equipment (86.2%). Conclusions: Most patients were willing to exercise to improve their health and quality of life. Barriers to exercise rehabilitation included patient and staff factors. It is essential to establish a rehabilitation team within dialysis centers, including general staff and rehabilitation therapists. These centers require improved rehabilitation policies and access to specialized rehabilitation equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The objective was to determine whether serum uric acid concentrations were associated with metabolic syndrome in a population from Wuhan.Methods and Study Design: 5,628 subjects (2,838 men, 2,790 women) aged 18-80 years were recruited in Wuhan, China. Biochemical parameters of venous blood were measured by standard methods and metabolic syndrome was defined by Chinese Diabetes Society criteria. Association analysis was performed by logistic regression.Results: 8.2% of the included subjects were confirmed as having metabolic syndrome and 14.4% were confirmed as having hyperuricemia. After multivariable adjustment, logistic regression showed the odds ratios of metabolic syndrome for subjects in the highest quartile of serum uric acid concentration was 2.84 (95% CI: 2.09-3.86) compared with those in the lowest quartile and no gender difference was found. For each component of metabolic syndrome, subjects in the highest quartile of serum uric acid concentrations had increased multivariable odds ratios for high BMI (OR: 3.29, 95% CI: 2.71-3.98), for hypertension (OR: 3.54, 95% CI: 2.93-3.86), for dyslipidemia (OR: 2.49, 95% CI: 1.98-3.14), but not for hyperglycemia (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 0.87-1.67).Conclusions: Odd ratio of metabolic syndrome was significantly positively associated with serum uric acid concentration among the present sample of 5,628 subjects in Wuhan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The aim was to investigate the association between peripheral circulating white blood cell count (WBC) and the metabolic syndrome among populations in central China.Methods and Study Design: In the present study, 5,278 subjects (2,412 women, 2,866 men) aged 18-75 years were recruited through a health check program in Wuhan, China. Biochemical and haematological parameters were measured by standard methods and the metabolic syndrome diagnosed as defined by the Chinese Diabetes Society criteria for Chinese.Results: Both WBC counts and prevalence of metabolic syndrome were significantly higher in men than in women (p<0.01). Participants in the highest quartile of white blood cell count had significantly higher odds ratio of metabolic syndrome (3.79, 95% CI: 2.64, 5.44), compared with subjects in the lowest quartile. The trend remained significant after adjustment for confounding factors and in further subgroup-analyses.Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome prevalence was significantly and positively correlated with the total white blood cell count in this Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]