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Objective: To assess the clinical efficacy of fucoidan‐assisted standard quadruple therapy (SQT) in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication and the improvement of gut microbiota. Methods: An open‐label randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University in Shandong Province, China. Ninety patients who tested positive for H. pylori were randomized to the standard quadruple therapy (SQT) group (SQ), SQT + fucoidan combination group (SF), and fucoidan + sequential SQT group (FS), respectively. Stool samples were collected for gut microbiota composition at baseline and after treatment. Results: After H. pylori eradication, the relative abundances of most conditional pathogens in the SQ decreased, while those of several beneficial bacteria increased or decreased (P < 0.05). In FS, the abundances of most beneficial bacteria increased gradually from baseline to week 12, while those of the conditional pathogens decreased (P < 0.05). The abundance of Bifidobacterium had a decreasing trend in SQ, but remained unchanged in SF and increased in FS (P < 0.05). The abundances of most beneficial bacteria were significantly higher in FS than in SQ and SF (P < 0.05). Addition of fucoidan enhanced symptom improvement during H. pylori eradication compared with SQT alone. Conclusions: Fucoidan considerably improved gut dysbiosis during SQT for H. pylori eradication. Gut microbiota can be maintained by the addition of fucoidan before eradication therapy with SQT rather than by concomitant addition with therapy. Fucoidan‐assisted SQT could relieve gastrointestinal symptoms during H. pylori eradication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dyslipidaemia is a risk factor for abnormal blood glucose. However, studies on the predictive values of lipid markers in prediabetes and diabetes simultaneously are limited. This study aimed to assess the associations and predictive abilities of lipid indices and abnormal blood glucose. Methods: A sample of 7667 participants without diabetes were enrolled in this cross-sectional study conducted in 2016, and all of them were classified as having normal glucose tolerance (NGT), prediabetes or diabetes. Blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid parameters (triglycerides, TG; total cholesterol, TC; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C; non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-HDL-C; and triglyceride glucose index, TyG) were evaluated or calculated. Logistic regression models were used to analyse the association between lipids and abnormal blood glucose. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the discriminatory power of lipid parameters for detecting prediabetes or diabetes. Results: After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the TyG was the strongest marker related to abnormal blood glucose compared to other lipid indices, with odds ratios of 2.111 for prediabetes and 5.423 for diabetes. For prediabetes, the AUCs of the TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, TC/HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, non-HDL-C and TyG indices were 0.605, 0.617, 0.481, 0.615, 0.603, 0.590, 0.626 and 0.660, respectively, and the cut-off points were 1.34, 4.59, 1.42, 2.69, 3.39, 1.00, 3.19 and 8.52, respectively. For diabetes, the AUCs of the TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, TC/HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, non-HDL-C and TyG indices were 0.712, 0.679, 0.440, 0.652, 0.686, 0.692, 0.705, and 0.827, respectively, and the cut-off points were 1.35, 4.68, 1.42, 2.61, 3.44, 0.98, 3.13 and 8.80, respectively. Conclusions: The TyG, TG and non-HDL-C, especially TyG, are accessible biomarkers for screening individuals with undiagnosed diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Chinese Diabetes Risk Score (NCDRS) is one of the recommended tools for screening undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in China. However, its performance in detecting undiagnosed diabetes needs to be verified in different community populations. Also, it is unknown whether NCDRS can be used in detecting prediabetes. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the performance of NCDRS in detecting undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes among the community residents in eastern China. We applied NCDRS in 7675 community residents aged 18-65 years old in Jiangsu Province. The results showed that the participants with undiagnosed diabetes reported the highest NCDRS value, followed by those with prediabetes (P < 0.001). The best cut-off points of NCDRS for detecting undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes were 27 (with a sensitivity of 78.0% and a specificity of 57.7%) and 27 (with a sensitivity of 66.0% and a specificity of 62.9%). The AUCs of NCDRS for identifying undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes were 0.749 (95% CI: 0.739~0.759) and 0.694 (95% CI: 0.683~0.705). These results demonstrate the excellent performance of NCDRS in screening undiagnosed diabetes in the community population in eastern China and further provide evidence for using NCDRS in detecting prediabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objectives of this study were to investigate electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) and cigarette use in Jiangsu Province, China, by analyzing the two-year trends of e-cigarette using and to explore the factors influencing the experimentation and use of e-cigarettes., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study following the standard methodology of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey in 2019 and 2021. A three-stage cluster sampling design was applied. Eighty-two schools in 14 districts (counties) in Jiangsu Province were surveyed. All computations were performed using the SPSS 21.0 complex samples procedure. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the factors influencing e-cigarette experimentation and use., Results: A total of 12,410 and 12,880 students were surveyed in 2019 and 2021, respectively. E-cigarette experimentation increased from 9.34% in 2019 to 13.07% in 2021 ( P < 0.001). E-cigarette use increased from 2.23% in 2019 to 3.74% in 2021 ( P < 0.001). The main factors associated with e-cigarette use were cigarette experimentation (OR = 2.700, P < 0.001); male gender (OR = 1.416, P = 0.011); junior high school students (OR = 1.551, P = 0.005) and vocational high school students (OR = 1.644, P = 0.001); more pocket money per week (OR 1 = 1.214, P = 0.187; OR 2 = 1.686, P = 0.001); exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) at home (OR = 1.239, P < 0.001); exposure to e-cigarette advertising (OR = 1.855, P < 0.001); believe SHS is harmful (OR = 0.933, P = 0.026); closest friends smoking (OR = 2.501, P < 0.001); believe smoking makes youth look more attractive (OR 1 = 1.469, P = 0.040; OR 2 = 1.305, P = 0.049); believe tobacco helps youth feel more comfortable in social situations (OR 1 = 2.161, P < 0.001; OR 2 = 1.635, P = 0.001); will use an e-cigarette product if offered by best friends (OR = 1.322, P < 0.001); intend to use an e-cigarette product in the next 12 months (OR = 1.486, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: E-cigarette use among adolescents has been on the rise in recent years. E-cigarette use is associated with past cigarette use and a strong desire to smoke. It is crucial to take health education and tobacco control efforts to reduce adolescents' e-cigarette use rate., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Fan, Mao, Zhen, Xu and Qu.)

To strengthen rural health services, the Chinese government has launched a series of policies to promote health workforce development. This study aims to understand the current status of village doctors and to explore the factors associated with village doctors' job satisfaction in western China. It also attempts to provide references for further building capacities of village doctors and promoting the development of rural health service policy.A multistage stratified sampling method was used to obtain data from a cross-sectional survey on village doctors across 2 provinces of western China during 2012 to 2013. Quantitative data were collected from village doctors face-to-face, through a self-administered questionnaire.Among the 370 respondents, 225 (60.8%) aged 25 to 44 years, and 268 (72.4%) were covered by health insurance. Their income and working time calculated by workloads were higher than their self-report results. Being healthy, working fewer years, and having government funding and facilities were the positive factors toward their job satisfaction. Village doctors working with government-funded village clinics or facilities were more likely to feel satisfied.Problems identified previously such as low income and lack of insurance, heavy workload and aging were not detected in our study. Instead, village doctors were better-paid and better-covered by social insurance than other local rural residents, with increased job satisfaction. Government policies should pay more attention to improving the quality of rural health services and the income and security system of village doctors, to maintain and increase their job satisfaction and work enthusiasm. Further experimental study could evaluate effects of government input to improve rural health human resources and system development.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) in Qingdao., Methods: Two hundred and four PI-IBS and 2068 non-PI-IBS patients were investigated with questionnaire including general information, symptoms and quality of life scores with microecological study before and after therapy., Results: (1) The morbidity rate of PI-IBS in female was 2. 2 times of that in male, which was similar to that in non-PI-IBS. (2) Brain work labors dominated in both PI-IBS and non-PI-IBS patients. (3) As to the simultaneous presence of extra-gastrointestinal symptoms, there was no statistical difference between the rate of physical symptoms in PI-IBS and non-PI-IBS patients (chi2 =10.5, P > 0.05), but the rate of mental symptoms was higher in PI-IBS than in non-PI-IBS patients, and the difference was significant (chi2 = 28.7, P < 0.05). (4) The alteration of intestinal microflora rate in PI-IBS was obviously higher than that in non-PI-IBS patients. (5) The quality of life scores in PI-IBS was improved after treatment with Birid Triple Viable , and there was significant difference (t = 3.8, P < 0.01), but there was no statistical difference in non-PI-IBS (t = 1.5, P > 0.05)., Conclusion: There was some difference in certain clinical characteristics between PI-IBS and non-PI-IBS patients in Qingdao.