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Objective: Depression is a common mental disorder in older adults. We examined the prevalence and risk factors for depression in older adults in the Beijing area. Method: We used data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in July 2006 in Beijing. As part of the national survey for older Chinese adults, 2002 older adults were interviewed. The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depression. Demographics as well as other personal information were also collected. Results: Among Beijing older adults, 13.01% were categorized as depressed. Prevalence rates of depression in rural and urban older adults were 26.63% and 10.79%, respectively. Poor economic status, high activities of daily living (ADL) score, poor physical health, impious offspring, and feeling old were important predictors of depression in older adults in Beijing. For the urban sample, poor economic status, poor physical health, high ADL score, and impious offspring were risk factors for depression. For the rural sample, depression was significantly associated with poor economic status and poor physical health. Conclusions: Depression is a common mood disorder among older adults in the Beijing area. Filial piety is a unique predictor for depression in older Chinese adults, compared with findings in Western cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to establish a standardized procedure for white light gastroscopy (WLG) to screen gastric lesions including early gastric cancer (EGC) in China and to verify its efficacy and feasibility in clinical practice. Methods: A standardized WLG procedure for outpatients at nine tertiary hospitals in Beijing was established. Clinical information of the participants and details of the endoscopic procedures were recorded. Results: A total of 1051 participants were enrolled in a baseline conventional endoscopic survey between March 2014 and December 2015, while 2156 patients were enrolled in the standardized WLG operation from January 2016 to June 2017. The procedure time of the standardized procedure was significantly longer than that of the baseline conventional procedure (P = 0.003). More images were obtained during the standardized procedure compared with the baseline conventional procedure (P < 0.001). The overall detection rate of gastric lesions in the standardized procedure group was significantly higher than that in the baseline procedure group (52.5% vs 38.4%, P < 0.01). The satisfaction scores of both participants and endoscopists in the standardized procedure group were significantly higher than in the baseline procedure group. Conclusions: Compared with the conventional procedure, standardized WLG procedure significantly improves the detection rate of gastric lesions as well as the satisfaction score of participants and endoscopists despite its longer procedure time. It is effective and feasible in clinical practice in China for the use of currently available endoscopic equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the association between maternal reproductive age and their children’ refractive error progression in Chinese urban students. Methods: The Beijing Myopia Progression Study was a three-year cohort investigation. Cycloplegic refraction of these students at both baseline and follow-up vision examinations, as well as non-cycloplegic refraction of their parents at baseline, were performed. Student’s refractive change was defined as the cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) of the right eye at the final follow-up minus the cycloplegic SE of the right eye at baseline. Results: At the final follow-up, 241 students (62.4%) were reexamined. 226 students (58.5%) with completed refractive data, as well as completed parental reproductive age data, were enrolled. The average paternal and maternal age increased from 29.4 years and 27.5 years in 1993–1994 to 32.6 years and 29.2 years in 2003–2004, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, students who were younger (β = 0.08 diopter/year/year, P<0.001), with more myopic refraction at baseline (β = 0.02 diopter/year/diopter, P = 0.01), and with older maternal reproductive age (β = -0.18 diopter/year/decade, P = 0.01), had more myopic refractive change. After stratifying the parental reproductive age into quartile groups, children with older maternal reproductive age (trend test: P = 0.04) had more myopic refractive change, after adjusting for the children's age, baseline refraction, maternal refraction, and near work time. However, no significant association between myopic refractive change and paternal reproductive age was found. Conclusions: In this cohort, children with older maternal reproductive age had more myopic refractive change. This new risk factor for myopia progression may partially explain the faster myopic progression found in the Chinese population in recent decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To report the refractive error difference (RED) between parents and their children and the estimated single generational myopic shift in an urban area in China. Methods 395 children aged 6-17 years and their parents, who had been enrolled in the Beijing Myopia Progression Study were included. Cycloplegic and non-cycloplegic refraction of the children and parents were performed, respectively. RED was defined as the difference between the average parental spherical equivalent (SE) and the average SE of their children. Binomial fitted curves of RED were plotted as a function of the children's age. Generational myopic shift was defined as the estimated RED according to the prediction model at the age of 18 years. Results 395 families were enrolled. The RED was positively correlated with the children's age (rspearman=0.58, p<0.001). The RED (median (25th and 75th percentile)) was -1.88 (-3.23 to -1.00) dioptres (D) in children at 6.0-7.9 years of age, and it increased to 1.53 (-0.12 to 3.44) D in children at 16.0-17.9 years of age. The SE of the children approached the average SE of their parents at the age of 11 years. At the age of 18 years, the children's estimated myopic shift would be 1.94 D. Conclusions In this sample, children's refractive errors at the age of 11 years were already similar to their parents. Moreover, the estimated myopia in children at the age of 18 years would be up to 2.0 D higher than their parents. This remarkable single-generation myopic shift indicates that there are likely effects of environmental factors on myopia development in urban Chinese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]