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Objectives: To examine the factors associated with smoking cessation among adult Chinese males in rural China. Methods: The data were collected by face-to-face interviews at the respondents' household using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Results: The factors associated with quitting were being residents of Guiyang, having received junior or high school education, being unmarried, being a farmer or other job holder, smoking fewer than 20 cigarettes per day, starting smoking late, smoking for shorter duration, and having a high mean score on hedonism seeking. Conclusions: Several predictors of successful quitting were identified that could help improve smoking cessation programs in China. The findings also have implications for the need for future surveys on the quitting process among rural Chinese.

Objective: The School-based Education Program to Reduce Salt Intake in Children and Their Families study was a cluster randomized control trial among grade five students in 28 primary schools and their families in Changzhi, China. It achieved a significant effect in lowering systolic blood pressure (SBP) in all family adults by 2.3 mmHg and in elderlies (aged > = 60 years) by 9.5 mmHg. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of this salt reduction program. Methods: Costs of the intervention were assessed using an ingredients approach to identify resource use. A trial-based incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was estimated based on the observed effectiveness in lowering SBP. A Markov model was used to estimate the long-term cost-effectiveness of the intervention, and then based on population data, extrapolated to a scenario where the program is scaled up nationwide. Findings were presented in terms of an incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). The perspective was that of the health sector. Results: The intervention cost Int$19.04 per family and yielded an ICER of Int$2.74 (90% CI: 1.17–12.30) per mmHg reduction of SBP in all participants (combining children and adult participants together) compared with control group. If scaled up nationwide for 10 years and assumed deterioration in treatment effect of 50% over this period, it would reach 165 million families and estimated to avert 42,720 acute myocardial infarction deaths and 107,512 stroke deaths in China. This would represent a gain of 635,816 QALYs over 10-year time frame, translating into Int$1,358 per QALY gained. Conclusion: Based on WHO-CHOICE criteria, our analysis demonstrated that the proposed salt reduction strategy is highly cost-effective, and if scaled up nationwide, the benefits could be substantial. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Average sodium intake and stroke mortality in northern China are both among the highest in the world. An effective, low-cost strategy to reduce sodium intake in this population is urgently needed. Objective: We sought to determine the effects of a community-based sodium reduction program on salt consumption in rural northern China. Design: This study was a cluster-randomized trial done over 18 months in 120 townships (one village from each township) from five provinces. Sixty control villages were compared to 60 intervention villages that were given access to a reduced-sodium, added-potassium salt substitute in conjunction with a community-based health education program focusing on sodium reduction. The primary outcome was the difference in 24-hour urinary sodium excretion between randomized groups. Results: Among 1,903 people with valid 24-hour urine collections, mean urinary sodium excretion in intervention compared with control villages was reduced by 5.5% (-14mmol/day, 95% confidence interval -26 to -1; p = 0.03), potassium excretion was increased by 16% (+7mmol/day, +4 to +10; p<0.001), and sodium to potassium ratio declined by 15% (-0.9, -1.2 to -0.5; p<0.001). Mean blood pressure differences were -1.1 mm Hg systolic (-3.3 to +1.1; p = 0.33) and -0.7 mm Hg diastolic (-2.2 to +0.8, p = 0.35) and the difference in the proportion with hypertension was -1.3% (-5.1 to 2.5, p = 0.56). Conclusion: There were clear differences in population sodium and potassium intake between villages that were most likely a consequence of increased use of salt substitute. The absence of effects on blood pressure reflects the moderate changes in sodium and potassium intake achieved. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]