Heavy metals contamination in sediments may endanger ecosystems and human health via the food chain. In fact, there is little to no understanding about heavy metal accumulation in surface sediment of one of the most economically important marine bodies for Vietnam, the Thai Binh Coast, where ve large rivers co-discharge into the Gulf of Tonkin. Twenty-seven surface sediment samples were collected from the intertidal regions and analyzed for: arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The studied area exhibited a large spatial variation in the concentration of heavy metals, e.g., the dry sediment concentration of Cd was the least (0.05-0.49 mg.kg −1 ), whereas that of Zn was the greatest (45.4-252 mg.kg −1 ). Based on the geoaccumulation index (I geo ), most of the studied heavy metals were accumulated at low pollution levels, except four locations exhibited moderately and highly polluted levels of Hg with I geo Hg values from 1.92 to 2.66. Whereas the high contamination factor value implicated that not only Hg but also all other detected heavy metals in this area resulted from anthropogenic activities along the coast and the river upstream. This implied the need for quick action from the government.

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Purpose This study aimed to determine the occurrence rate of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) and its related factors in aged women with hydatidiform mole (HM) in Tu Du Hospital, Vietnam. Materials and Methods This retrospective cohort study included 372 women aged ≥40 years with HM diagnosed through post-abortion histopathological assessment in Tu Du Hospital from January 2016 to March 2019. Survival analysis was used for GTN cumulative rate estimation, log-rank test for group comparison, and Cox regression model for determining GTN-related factors. Results After a 2-year follow-up, 123 patients were found to have GTN at a rate of 33.06% [95% confidence interval (CI): 28.30–38.10]. GTN occurrence meant that the time was 4.15±2.93 weeks with peaks at week 2 and 3 after curettage abortion. The GTN rate was remarkably higher in the ≥46-year age group than in the 40-to-45-year age group [hazard ratio (HR)=1.63; 95%CI: 1.09–2.44], as was the vaginal bleeding group compared to the non-bleeding group (HR=1.85; 95%CI: 1.16–2.96). Preventive hysterectomy and preventive chemotherapy plus hysterectomy in the intervention group reduced the GTN risk compared to the no intervention group at HRs of 0.16 (95%CI: 0.09–0.30) and 0.09 (95%CI: 0.04–0.21), respectively. Chemoprophylaxis failed to decrease the GTN risk when comparing the two groups. Conclusion Post-molar pregnancy GTN rate in aged patients was 33.06%, much higher than that of the general population. Preventive hysterectomy or chemoprophylaxis plus hysterectomy are effective treatment methods to support GTN risk reduction.

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