Participation in social activities is one of important factors for older adults’ health. The present study aims to examine the cross-sectional association between social activities and cognitive function among Chinese elderly. A total of 8966 individuals aged 60 and older from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were obtained for this study. Telephone interviews of cognitive status, episodic memory, and visuospatial abilities were assessed by questionnaire. We used the sum of all three of the above measures to represent the respondent’s cognitive status as a whole. Types and frequencies of participation in social groups were used to measure social activities. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between social activities and cognitive function. After adjustment for demographics, smoking, drinking, depression, hypertension, diabetes, basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and self-rated health, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that interaction with friends, participating in hobby groups, and sports groups were associated with better cognitive function among both men and women (p < 0.05); doing volunteer work was associated with better cognitive function among women but not among men (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that there is a cross-sectional association between participation in social activities and cognitive function among Chinese elderly. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine the effects of social activities on cognitive function.

Background Social support is an important factor for individual’s mental health. However, the association between social support and depressive symptoms among physicians in China’ tertiary hospitals has not been explored. This study aimed to investigate its association among physicians stratifying by sex. Methods Six hundred fifty-six physicians were enrolled from 12 tertiary hospitals of Shandong Province, China. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Social support was evaluated using the Social Support Rating Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms among physicians. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 42.3% and the average social support score was 38.82 ± 7.53 among physicians. Lower subjective social support scores (male: β = − 0.317, p < 0.001; female: β = − 0.241, p < 0.001) and lower objective social support scores (male: β = − 0.218, p = 0.038; female: β = − 0.277, p = 0.035) were associated with high depressive symptoms among physicians. Lower support utilization scores (β = − 0.472, p < 0.001) were associated with high depressive symptoms among male physicians. Conclusions Chinese physicians had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms and lower social support than the Chinese general population. Objective and subjective social support were inversely associated with depressive symptoms among male and female physicians while support utilization was inversely associated with depressive symptoms among male rather than female physicians. It is critical to improve physicians’ mental health through strengthening social support in China.

We aimed to assess the distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes in high-grade cervical lesions in Taiwan. The study included 1,086 paraffin-embedded, formaldehyde-fixed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3 specimens. HPV genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods. Multiple HPV types were validated by E6 type-specific PCR, direct sequencing and/or real-time PCR. HPV DNA was detected in 995 (91.6%) specimens, and multiple HPV types were identified in 192 (19.3%) samples. The leading HPV types were HPV16 (24%), HPV52 (20%), HPV58 (20%), HPV33 (13%), HPV31 (8%) and HPV18 (4.6%). Although the leading six types consisted of 87.6%, HPV16 or 18 comprised only 30.9%. The prevalence of different HPV types showed a significant association with age. In women older than 50 yr, HPV16 and 18 comprised 21.3% (83/389), while HPV52, 58 and 33 represented 55.5% (216/389). In women aged less than 50 yr, HPV16 and 18 comprised 32.1% (224/697, p < 0.0001), while HPV 52, 58 and 33 represented 47.9% (334/697, p 5 0.02). The distribution of HPV genotypes was compared with previously reported findings for Taiwanese women with cervical cancer (CC). The overall HPV16 positivity rate was significantly higher in CC than in CIN 2/3 (odds ratio: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.91-2.40). In addition, HPV18, 39 and 45 were significantly overrepresented in CC, whereas HPV52, 58, 33, 31, 35, 51 and 53 were underrepresented. We concluded that an effective vaccine against the most common HPV types could prevent a significant proportion of cervical cancer cases that occur in Taiwan.Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary etiologic agent of invasive cervical cancer (CC) and its precursors. 1 HPV DNA testing is a promising alternative or complementary test to improve the efficacy of cervical screening. 1,2 With the advent of the HPV vaccine, data on genotype-specific prevalence of HPV infection would be useful to predict the potential benefits of HPV vaccination. 3,4 Anogenital HPVs can be divided into high- (HPV16,18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68 and 82/MM4) and low-risk groups (HPV6,11, 40, 42, 43, 44, 54, 61, 70, 72, 81 and CP6108) according to the frequency of their presence in patients with cervical carcinoma. 5 In addition, HPV26, 53 and 66 are probably carcinogenic to humans. 5 The distribution of specific HPV genotypes in patients with CC varies greatly across populations. 6 The prevalence of HPV16, 18 and 45 is lower in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) than in invasive cancer (prevalence ratio for CC:HSIL 1.30, 95% CI: 1.26-1.34 for HPV16; and 1.76, 95% CI: 1.58-1.95 for HPV18). In contrast, the remaining highrisk types are significantly underrepresented in CC. These differences highlight the importance of HPV type in the risk of progression from HSIL to CC. 7,8 A meta-analysis including 7,094 cases of HSIL from all continents 8 has shown that the 8 most common HPV types in HSIL were broadly similar to those in invasive squamous cell carcinoma, the only exception being ...

Background Fear of workplace violence has become a critical issue worldwide, which can lead to burnout, low levels of job satisfaction, and turnover. However, to date, little attention has been directed toward fear of workplace violence among nurses. Accordingly, this study investigated the level of fear of future workplace violence and its influencing factors among nurses in Shandong, China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 30 through September 30, 2020 in Shandong Province, China. A total of 1898 nurses were enrolled from 12 tertiary hospitals. Fear of future workplace violence was measured using the Fear of Future Violence at Work scale. Demographic information, employment characteristics, social support, and experience of workplace violence were assessed. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of fear of future workplace violence. Results The average score of fear of future violence at work was 67.43 ± 17.20 among nurses. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that higher fear of future violence at work scores were reported among nurses who were female (B = 7.10, p < 0.001), married (B = 3.50, p = 0.028), with a monthly income ≥5000 Chinese yuan (CNY) (B = 3.14, p = 0.007), working in the department of internal medicine (B = 2.90, p = 0.032), surgery (B = 5.03, p < 0.001), pediatrics (B = 5.38, p = 0.003), or emergency department (B = 4.50, p = 0.010), working as a contract employee (B = 2.41, p = 0.042), or who had experienced workplace violence (B = 7.02, p < 0.001). Lower fear of future violence at work scores were found among nurses who took vacations (1–14 days: B = − 2.52, p = 0.047; ≥15 days: B = − 3.69, p = 0.007) and had a high-level of social support (B = − 2.03, p = 0.020). Conclusions There was a high level of fear of future workplace violence among nurses in Shandong, China. This should be considered an important issue by hospital administrators and government officials. Effective interventions need to be enacted to address the influencing factors of fear of future workplace violence.

No abstract

Background Participation in social activities has positive health effects among older adults; however, few studies have investigated the association between social activity and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults. This study aimed to examine the association between social activities and depressive symptoms among older adults in China regarding urban-rural differences. Methods Data were collected from 8255 respondents from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Type and frequency of social activities were collected via a questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between social activities and depressive symptoms. Results In our study, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was lower in urban older adults compared with rural older adults (25.2% vs. 40.7%). After adjustment for all covariates, our results indicated that interacting with friends almost weekly or almost daily (almost weekly: OR = 0.568, 95%CI: 0.337–0.955; almost daily: OR = 0.664, 95%CI: 0.453–0.973) and participating in community organizations almost daily were inversely associated with depressive symptoms among urban older adults (OR = 0.107, 95%CI: 0.012–0.952). Interacting with friends almost daily (OR = 0.847, 95% CI: 0.720–0.996) and participation in hobby groups either almost every week or almost daily were both inversely associated with depressive symptoms among rural older adults (almost weekly: OR = 0.683, 95%CI: 0.518–0.902; almost daily: OR = 0.567, 95%CI: 0.440–0.731). Participating in sports groups almost daily was inversely associated with depressive symptoms among both urban and rural older adults (urban: OR = 0.664, 95%CI: 0.445–0.991; rural: OR = 0.506, 95%CI: 0.366–0.700). Conclusions Our findings indicated that there is a cross-sectional association between participation in social activities and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults, and the association differed between urban and rural older adults. This implies that participation in social activities may be significant for alleviating depressive symptoms of older adults. When encouraging older adults to participate in social activities, the government should consider urban-rural differences and take effective measures accordingly. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine the causal relationships between social activities and depressive symptoms among older adults.

Introduction: We investigated cognitive function and its influencing factors in empty-nest and non-empty-nest elderly adults in China. Results: Cognitive function was better in empty-nest elderly living as a couple but worse in those living alone than in non-empty-nest elderly. Older age, rural habitation, poorer instrumental activities of daily living, and depression were risk factors for cognitive decline, while higher education was protective. Women had poorer cognitive function than men among non-empty-nest elderly and empty-nest elderly living as a couple. Among non-empty-nest elderly, those who were divorced/widowed/never married, underweight or economically active exhibited poorer cognitive function. Having two or more chronic diseases and being overweight were associated with better cognitive function among empty-nest elderly living as a couple. Conclusion: These findings suggest that cognitive function is poorest in empty-nest elderly living alone and best in empty-nest elderly living as a couple. The factors influencing cognitive function differed according to empty-nest status, which should be considered in interventions. Methods: 5549 elderly from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included in this study. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status, episodic memory tests and visuospatial ability assessments. Factors influencing cognitive function were determined via multiple linear regression analysis.

No abstract