BACKGROUND Uterine fibroids (UF), common benign tumors in women of reproductive age, confer substantial costs. The epidemiological characteristics of UF are unclear in China and Asia. OBJECTIVE This study investigated UF-associated imaging changes, and their prevalence, incidence, and risks in the Chinese population. METHODS This population-based retrospective analysis of multiyear (2017–2020) health examination data (n=33,915 female participants; age ≥15 years) from Nanchong, China included two expert consultation rounds to identify entries of UF-associated imaging changes and calculate prevalence and incidence of UF-associated imaging changes. Logistic regression estimated the association (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI]) of body mass index, high blood pressure, blood lipid profile, and fasting blood glucose level with UF-associated imaging changes. Age-stratified (≤40 and >40 years) risks were ascertained. RESULTS Besides “considering UF”, 17 entries of UF-associated imaging changes screened by the expert consultation were included, involving a total of 46,864 records (n=33,915), and crude prevalence=25.18%; crude incidence density/1000-woman-years=63.28. Incidence and prevalence increased with age during reproductive age (15–49 years) and decreased thereafter. The greatest burden was in 40–54 years women, the prevalence is 38.60%–45.38% and the incidence is 14.73%–17.96%. In the incident younger population (age ≤40 years), risk factors (OR [95% CI]) for UF-associated imaging changes were overweight, high blood pressure (1.48 [1.03–2.14] and 2.16 [1.10–4.24], respectively); in the >40 group, no association was observed. CONCLUSIONS UF incidence and prevalence in Asians were higher than previously reported, showed age-related increase in reproductive age, and UF incidence increased with overweight, high blood pressure in ≤40-year-old participants. Variation in UF burden and risk factors was noted in different age range, and risk factors identified in the younger women population make it possible to be early preventive measures for women with a higher risk of UF.
BACKGROUND Longitudinal patient-reported outcomes studies require questionnaire assessments to be administered remotely multiple times, burdening research staff. OBJECTIVE To define and quantify the burden that researcher may experience during patient follow-up. METHODS Data were collected via interviews and a questionnaire. This study is an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study. Traditional content analysis was used for the qualitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation, and significance was tested using the chi-square test. Learning curves of healthcare staff regarding follow-up calls were generated using cumulative summation analysis. RESULTS We constructed a three-dimension conceptual framework for staff burden: (a) time-related burden, (b) technical-related burden, and (c) emotional-related burden. The quantitative analysis found that follow-up time was significantly correlated with staff experience, workload, and learning curve periods. There was a significant difference between the lost-to-follow-up rate of staff with and without follow-up experience with this program. Staff working on a daily assessment schedule had a higher lost-to-follow-up rate than those on a twice-a-week schedule. Additionally, inexperienced follow-up staff needed 113 calls to achieve stable follow-up time and quality, while experienced staff needed only 55 calls. CONCLUSIONS Researchers in longitudinal PROs projects suffer from a multidimensional burden during remote follow-up. Our results may help establish a proper PROs follow-up protocol to reduce the burden on research staff without sacrificing data quality.
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