Search

Objective: To explore the risk factors underlying congenital syphilis (CS) and to build a hazards model to assess the risk of CS in offspring born to mothers with syphilis treated in gestation. Methods: This prospective study observed 554 pregnant women with syphilis and their offspring recruited from August 2002 to May 2007 in Shenzhen Centre for Chronic Disease Control and Prevention. After treatment, all the women were followed up until the diagnosis of CS in their offspring was confirmed or denied. Comparisons were made between women bearing infants with CS and women bearing infants without CS to reveal the risk factors for CS. ORs and their 95% CI were calculated for each risk factor by using logistical regression analysis. Results: Twenty-nine (5.2%) infants were diagnosed with CS. Univariable analyses showed that the reciprocal logarithm of the titre of non-treponemal antibodies in mothers (log (1/T); OR=11.18, p<0.001), gestational week (GW) at treatment (OR=1.10, p<0.001) and the interaction between these two variates (OR=1.09, p<0.001) was associated with CS. Multivariable analysis showed that only the interaction was significantly associated with CS (OR=1.09, p=0.047). Conclusions: The risk of CS could be predicted by the interaction between GWílog (1/T). Early treatment given to women with syphilis during antenatal care may be the only effective method to decrease the risk of CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that evaluates the efficacy of syphilis screening in the prevention of mother-child transmission. It states that 159,017 gravidas in China where screened for syphilis using serologic methods in which 827 or 0.52% were positive of syphilis and were treated with three injections of benzathine penicillin. The 200 ended in miscarriage while only 4 babies were positive of congenital syphilis. It concludes that screening with intervention is effective in China.

Although several studies have assessed the association between total fluid intake, specific drinks and bladder cancer, no firm conclusions can yet be drawn. Four hundred thirty two bladder cancer cases and 392 frequency matched hospital-based controls recruited in the South and East of China between October 2005 and June 2008 were interviewed on their intake of 6 nonalcoholic and 3 alcoholic drinks. Age, sex, smoking and hospital-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95 percent confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for all drinks and for total fluid intake using logistic regression. For 381 cases (81.9% men) and 371 controls (76.3% men), total fluid intake could be calculated. In men, an increase in total fluid intake was associated with a significantly decreased bladder cancer risk (OR 0.93, 95% CI: 0.88-0.99, per cup fluid consumed). Neither green nor black tea consumption was associated with bladder cancer. Daily consumption of milk significantly reduced the risk of bladder cancer by a half (OR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.32-0.76), which strengthens earlier suggestions that milk is probably associated with a decreased bladder cancer risk. Consumption of wine (OR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.34-0.70) and liquor/spirits (OR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.47-0.92) were associated with a significantly reduced risk. Consumption of water, fruit juice and beer appeared not associated with bladder cancer. There is no clear indication that the risks observed in this Chinese population are substantially different from those observed in Caucasian populations.

Objectives: To investigate the associations of prostate enlargement with obesity and hypertension in Chinese men., Methods: A total of 649 men from Zhejiang, China were invited to the Family Planning Station of Wenlin to undergo prostate volume measurement with transrectal ultrasonography. Benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) has been defined as a prostate volume larger than 20 cm3. The associations between BPE and prostate volume with body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure were evaluated by multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses., Results: Overweight (BMI of 25 or more but less than 28 kg/m2) and obese (BMI of 28 kg/m2 or more) men experienced a significantly increased age-adjusted risk of BPE compared with men with a lower BMI (odds ratio 1.63, 95% confidence interval 1.16 to 2.30, and odds ratio 2.26, 95% confidence interval 1.11 to 4.59, respectively). Each 0.37-kg/m2 increase (95% confidence interval 0.18 to 0.57, P <0.01) in the BMI was associated with a 1-cm3 increase in prostate volume. No associations were observed between hypertension and BPE., Conclusions: This is the first study to provide evidence that the BMI is positively associated with prostate volume in the Chinese population. Obese Chinese men are at increased risk of an enlarged prostate compared with nonobese Chinese men.