BackgroundThyroid nodules are a common clinical problem and some are potentially cancerous; however, little is known about the prevalence of thyroid nodules in China. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of thyroid nodules in a healthy Chinese population.MethodsWe reviewed electronic medical records of 13,178,313 participants from 30 provinces and regions who received health examinations and underwent thyroid ultrasound at Meinian Onehealth Healthcare in 2017. Among them, 6,192,357 were excluded based on predefined criteria. All thyroid nodules were diagnosed by ultrasonography, and standardized protocols were adopted for data collection, quality control, and data management.ResultsA total of 6,985,956 participants (mean age: 42.1 ± 13.1 years) were included in this study. The overall prevalence of thyroid nodules was 36.9% (95% CI, 35.7%–38.1%; age- and sex-standardized prevalence 38.0% [95% CI, 37.0%–39.1%]). The prevalence of thyroid nodules in females (44.7% [95% CI, 43.4%–45.9%], age-standardized prevalence: 45.2% [95% CI, 44.1%–46.4%]) was significantly higher than that in males (29.9% [95% CI, 28.8%–31.0%], age-standardized prevalence 31.2% [95% CI, 30.1%–32.2%]; P < 0.001). The prevalence of thyroid nodules decreased from <18 to 25 years, while increased with age over 25 years old. The top three provinces with the highest prevalence of thyroid nodules were Jilin (47.6%), Liaoning (44.8%), and Shandong (43.9%), whereas Guizhou (23.9%), Chongqing (26.2%), and Shaanxi (26.4%) had the lowest prevalence. Females had more than 10% higher rates of thyroid nodules than males in all included provinces and regions, except for Tianjin (8.0%). Based on the geographical regions of China, the northeast had the highest prevalence (46.8% [95% CI, 44.1%–49.2%]), whereas northwest had the lowest prevalence (28.9% [95% CI, 26.9%–31.6%]. Based on multivariable logistic regression analysis, factors including age, gender, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, uric acid, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins were significantly associated with the presence of thyroid nodules.ConclusionThis study provides the first nationwide analysis of the prevalence of thyroid nodules in China. Our results showed that the prevalence of thyroid nodules was high in health screening Chinese people with regional-specific patterns.

Other minorities 1000 213 21.30 (18.76-23.84) 1.00 reference 1.00 reference Maternal age(years) ≤25 4330 721 16.

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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is associated with mortality and many other adverse health outcomes. In 2021, the World Health Organization established a new NO2 air quality guideline (AQG) (annual average <10 μg/m3). However, the burden of diseases attributable to long-term NO2 exposure above the AQG is unknown in China. Nitrogen oxide is a major air pollutant in populous cities, which are disproportionately impacted by NO2; this represents a form of environmental inequality. We conducted a nationwide risk assessment of premature deaths attributable to long-term NO2 exposure from 2013 to 2020 based on the exposure-response relationship, high-resolution annual NO2 concentrations, and gridded population data (considering sex, age, and residence [urban vs rural]). We calculated health metrics including attributable deaths, years of life lost (YLL), and loss of life expectancy (LLE). Inequality in the distribution of attributable deaths and YLLs was evaluated by the Lorenz curve and Gini index. According to the health impact assessments, in 2013, long-term NO2 exposure contributed to 315,847 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 306,709–319,269) premature deaths, 7.90 (7.68–7.99) million YLLs, and an LLE of 0.51 (0.50–0.52) years. The high-risk subgroup (top 20%) accounted for 85.7% of all NO2-related deaths and 85.2% of YLLs, resulting in Gini index values of 0.81 and 0.67, respectively. From 2013 to 2020, the estimated health impact from NO2 exposure was significantly reduced, but inequality displayed a slightly increasing trend. Our study revealed a considerable burden of NO2-related deaths in China, which were disproportionally frequent in a small high-risk subgroup. Future clean air initiatives should focus not only on reducing the average level of NO2 exposure but also minimizing inequality.