Objectives:To evaluate the cost utility of cochlear implantation (CI) for severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) among children from rural settings in P.R. China (China).Research Design:A cost-utility analysis (CUA) was undertaken using data generated from a single-center substudy of the CochlearTM Pediatric Implanted Recipient Observational Study (Cochlear P-IROS). The data were projected over a 20-year time horizon using a decision tree model.Setting:The Chinese healthcare payer and patient perspectives were adopted.Intervention:Unilateral CI of children with a severe-to-profound SNHL compared with their preimplantation state of no treatment or amplification with hearing aids (“no CI” status).Main Outcome Measure/s:Incremental costs per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained.Results:The mean total discounted cost of unilateral CI was CNY 252,506 (37,876 USD), compared with CNY 29,005 (4,351 USD) for the no CI status from the healthcare payer plus patient perspective. A total discounted benefit of 8.9 QALYs was estimated for CI recipients compared with 6.7 QALYs for the no CI status. From the healthcare payer plus patient perspective, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for unilateral CI compared with no CI was CNY 100,561 (15,084 USD) per QALY. The healthcare payer perspective yielded an ICER of CNY 40,929 (6,139 USD) per QALY. Both ICERs fell within one to three times China's gross domestic product per capita (GDP, 2011–2015), considered “cost-effective” by World Health Organization (WHO) standards.Conclusions:Treatment with unilateral CI is a cost-effective hearing solution for children with severe to profound SNHL in rural China. Increased access to mainstream education and greater opportunities for employment, are potential downstream benefits of CI that may yield further societal and economic benefits. CI may be considered favorably for broader inclusion in medical insurance schemes across China.

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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common and complex skin disorder, and the 5q22.1 region had been reported to be associated with AD. To confirm the susceptibility gene for AD in the 5q22.1 region by haplotype and targeted capture sequencing. The haplotypes were reconstructed with the genotyping data of four SNPs and six deletions from 3624 Chinese Hans AD patients and 5076 controls. The targeted capture sequencing spanning 5q22.1 region was performed in the selected samples. The gene level enrichment analysis was done using loss of function variants. A total of 62 haplotypes were found, and the H15 haplotype had the strongest association with AD (P = 3.92 × 10−10, OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.09–0.32). However, no co-segregation mutation sites were found in the sequencing analysis within the 16 selected samples, while the enrichment analysis indicated that TMEM232 was significantly associated with AD (P = 7.33 × 10–5, OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.19–0.58). This study confirms previous findings that the TMEM232 gene is associated with AD by haplotype analysis and targeted capture sequencing.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease with high heritability. Two susceptibility loci have been confirmed in our previous AD genome-wide association study (GWAS). To look for additional genetic factors in Chinese Han ethnicity, we performed a large-scale GWAS follow-up study. Forty-nine top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that had never been reported previously were genotyped using Sequenom Massarray system in an independent cohort, which consist of northern Chinese (1634 cases and 1263 controls) and southern Chinese (2985 cases and 9526 controls). Association analyses were performed using PLINK 2 software. Three SNPs in northern and ten SNPs in southern were found exhibiting association evidence with AD (P < 0.05). Finally, SNP rs224108 on 10q21.2 showed high significance for AD in joint analysis of GWAS and replication study (Pmeta = 4.55 × 10−9, OR = 1.21), and was confirmed as an independent genetic marker by Linkage disequilibrium calculation and conditional logistic regression analysis. Bioinformatics analysis strongly suggested that rs224108 may have the potential to alter the target gene expression through non-coding epigenetic regulation effects. Meanwhile, SNP rs11150780 on 17q25.3 was also found suggestive association with AD (Pmeta = 7.64 × 10−7, OR = 1.18). Our findings confirmed a novel susceptibility signal on 10q21.2 for AD in Chinese Han population and advanced the understanding of the genetic contribution to AD.

We identified two susceptibility loci 5q31 and 5q22.1 for AD that might bear candidate genes conferring susceptibility to AD.

ObjectiveTo investigate the influence of family environment on the development of speech and language in pre‐school children after cochlear implantation.MethodsA total of 88 pre‐lingually deaf children, aged 2‐5 years, who received cochlear implantation, were included in this study. All families completed a self‐report family environment questionnaire (FES). The deaf children's linguistic progress was assessed by Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) at 0, 3, 6 and 12 months after implantation.ResultsThe family environment was the significant factor associated with CAP and SIR at 6 months post‐implantation. The children in families with higher levels of Cohesion, Intellectual‐Cultural Orientation and the ability to express emotion effectively had better auditory and speech abilities, while children in families with low intimacy and high incompatibility exhibited a delay in the development of auditory speech (P < .05).ConclusionsThe development of speech and language in pre‐lingually deaf children after cochlear implantation can be influenced by family environment and parents' roles.