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The affordances of social media, have significantly transformed how patients seek and process health information online, including those with chronic diseases like irritable bowel disease (IBD). Few studies have explored how information processing may impact symptom management. Guided by social cognitive theory, this study investigates how Chinese and U.S. patients (N = 838) process health information in a cross-cultural setting and the impact on symptom management. It finds that efficient information processing improves treatment understanding and symptom management for IBD patients, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. It also reveals a U-shaped quadratic relationship between IBD severity and emotional and peer support, indicating varying support needs at different IBD stages. These findings provide valuable insights for healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers in designing interventions for chronic diseases. The study underscores the importance of recognizing the dynamics of health information processing and the need for a more nuanced approach to patient support and care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in multiple populations identified several genetic loci for coronary heart diseases (CHD). Here we utilized a 2-stage candidate gene association strategy in Chinese Han population to shed light on the putative association between several metabolic-related candidate genes and CHD. At the 1(st) stage, 190 patients with CHD and 190 controls were genotyped through the MassARRAY platform. At the 2(nd) stage, a larger sample including 400 patients and 392 controls was genotyped by the High Resolution Melt (HRM) method to confirm or rule out the associations with CHD. MLXIP expression level was quantified by the real time PCR in 65 peripheral blood samples. From the 21 studied single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of seven candidate genes: MLXIPL, MLXIP, MLX, ADIPOR1, VDR, SREBF1 and NR1H3, only one tag SNP rs4758685 (T→C) was found to be statistically associated with CHD (P-value = 0.02, Odds ratio (OR) of 0.83). After adjustment for the age, sex, lipid levels and diabetes, the association remained significant (P-value = 0.03). After adjustment for the hypertension, P-value became 0.20 although there was a significant difference in the allele distribution between the CHD patients with hypertension and the controls (P-value = 0.04, 406 vs 582). In conclusion, among the 21 tested SNPs, we identified a novel association between rs4758685 of MLXIP gene and CHD. The C allele of common variant rs4758685 interacted with hypertension, and was found to be protective against CHD in both allelic and genotypic models in Chinese Han population.

Background and Aims: The incidence of Crohn's disease (CD) is increasing and has already become a refractory disorder in China. Data on extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs) in CD are rare, especially in Asians. We aimed to evaluate the trend of newly diagnosed CD and the prevalence and risk factors of EIMs in a clinical center in central China., Materials and Methods: A total of 153 patients with CD were selected from the center from 1986 to 2011. Demographic and clinical data were collected from the center. The prevalence and risk factors of EIMs were retrospectively analyzed., Results: The cases of CD increased from one in 1986 to 24 in 2011. It seemed to have two peaks for age at diagnosis: 21-25 and 36-40 years. Among these patients, 20 (13.07%) had one to three EIMs. The following EIMs were diagnosed: arthritis (4.58%), pyoderma gangrenosum (0.65%), erythema nodosum (1.31%), aphthous stomatitis (7.84%), ankylosing spondylitis (0.65%), and psoriasis (0.65%). In univariate analysis, patients with EIMs seemed to have shorter disease duration at diagnosis (P<0.001); those treated with intravenous injection of corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, and infliximab before or recently were the most susceptible to EIMs (P=0.012, 0.005, and 0.026, respectively). Multivariate analysis was performed by logistic regression to identify the risk factors of EIMs subsequently; however, no risk factors were identified (P>0.005)., Conclusion: The incidence of CD was increasing remarkably at our center, and the age distributions were concentrated in the 21-25- and 36-40-year age groups. EIMs seemed to be rare in our Chinese patients with CD, and no risk factors correlated with EIMs, which was quite different from Western countries.