BackgroundIn recent years in China, the tense physician-patient relationship has been an outstanding problem. Empathy is one of the fundamental factors enhancing the therapeutic effects of physician-patient relationships and is significantly associated with clinical and academic performance among students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used the JSPE-S (The Student Version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy) to assess 902 medical students from 1st year to 4th year at China Medical University. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. We performed an exploratory factor analysis to evaluate the construct validity of the JSPE-S. Group comparisons of empathy scores were conducted via the t-test and one-way ANOVA. Statistic analysis was performed by SPSS 13.0.ResultsThe Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.83. The three factors emerging in the factor analysis of the JSPE-S are “perspective taking”, “compassionate care” and “ability to stand in patients’ shoes”, which accounted for 48.00%. The mean empathy score was 109.60. The empathy score of medical students had significant differences between different genders (p < 0.05) and academic year level (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThis study provided support for the validity and reliability of the Chinese translated version of the JSPE-S for medical students. Early exposure to clinical training and a curriculum for professional competencies help to enhance the empathy of medical students. We suggest that the curriculum within Chinese medical schools include more teaching on empathy and communicational skills.

BackgroundAssociations of dietary patterns in Chinese adolescents and children with later obesity have not previously been investigated. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of obesity in Chinese adolescents and children by using a longitudinal design.MethodsData from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), a nationally representative survey, were used for our analysis. 489 participants 6–14 years of age were followed from 2006 to 2011. Factor analysis was used to identify the dietary patterns in Chinese adolescents and children. Ordered logistic regression models were used to examine the association between dietary patterns and later obesity.ResultsTwo dietary patterns were revealed by factor analysis, the traditional Chinese dietary pattern (with high intake of rice, vegetables, poultry, pork and fish and the modern dietary pattern (with high intake of wheat, processed meat and fast food). Children in the highest quartile and the second-highest quartile of the traditional Chinese dietary pattern was inversely associated with later obesity compared with children in the lowest quartile over 5 years (OR = 0.19, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.40 for Q4; OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.33, 0.67 for Q3); Children in the highest quartile of the modern dietary pattern was positively associated with later obesity compared with children in the lowest quartile over 5 years (OR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.17, 3.48).ConclusionsDietary patterns in Chinese adolescents and children are associated with later obesity. These findings further confirm the importance of children’s dietary patterns in later obesity and lay groundwork for dietary culture-specific interventions targeted at reducing rates of obesity in children and adolescents.

Background Maternal body mass index is linked to short- and long-term unfavorable health outcomes both for child and mother. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based cohort studies to evaluate maternal BMI and the risk of harmful neonatal outcomes in China. Methods Six databases identified 2454 articles; 46 met the inclusion criteria for this study. The dichotomous data on maternal BMI and harmful neonatal outcomes were extracted. Pooled statistics (odds ratios, ORs) were derived from Stata/SE, ver. 12.0. Sensitivity analyses assessed the robustness of the results. Meta-regression and subgroup meta-analyses explored heterogeneity. Results The meta-analysis revealed that compared with normal BMI, high maternal BMI is associated with fetal overgrowth, defined as macrosomia ≥4000 g ( OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.75–2.09); birth weight ≥ 90% for gestational age ( OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.64–2.15); and increased risk of premature birth ( OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.25–2.52) and neonatal asphyxia ( OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.39–2.17). Maternal underweight increased the risk of low birth weight ( OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.33–1.93) and small for gestational age ( OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.51–2.02). Conclusions Raised as well as low pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. Management of weight during pregnancy might help reduce their adverse neonatal outcomes in future intervention studies or programmes. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-019-2249-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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