BackgroundThe 2008 Wenchuan earthquake resulted in extensive loss of life and physical and psychological injuries for survivors. This research examines the relationship between social support and health-related quality of life for the earthquake survivors.MethodsA multistage cluster sampling strategy was employed to select participants from 11 shelters in nine counties exposed to different degrees of earthquake damage, for a questionnaire survey. The participants were asked to complete the Short Form 36 and the Social Support Rating Scale eight months after the earthquake struck. A total of 1617 participants returned the questionnaires. The quality of life of the survivors (in the four weeks preceding the survey) was compared with that of the general population in the region. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and canonical correlation analysis were performed to determine the association between social support and quality of life.ResultsThe earthquake survivors reported poorer quality of life than the general population, with an average of 4.8% to 19.62% reduction in scores of the SF-36 (p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that those with stronger social support were more likely to have better quality of life. The canonical correlation analysis found that there was a discrepancy between actual social support received and perceived social support available, and the magnitude of this discrepancy was inversely related to perceived general health (rs = 0.467), and positively related to mental health (rs = 0.395).ConclusionSocial support is associated with quality of life in the survivors of the earthquake. More attention needs to be paid to increasing social support for those with poorer mental health.

Debris flow susceptibility mapping is considered to be useful for hazard prevention and mitigation. As a frequent debris flow area, many hazardous events have occurred annually and caused a lot of damage in the Sichuan Province, China. Therefore, this study attempted to evaluate and compare the performance of four state-of-the-art machine-learning methods, namely Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and Boosted Regression Trees (BRT), for debris flow susceptibility mapping in this region. Four models were constructed based on the debris flow inventory and a range of causal factors. A variety of datasets was obtained through the combined application of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS). The mean altitude, altitude difference, aridity index, and groove gradient played the most important role in the assessment. The performance of these modes was evaluated using predictive accuracy (ACC) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The results of this study showed that all four models were capable of producing accurate and robust debris flow susceptibility maps (ACC and AUC values were well above 0.75 and 0.80 separately). With an excellent spatial prediction capability and strong robustness, the BRT model (ACC = 0.781, AUC = 0.852) outperformed other models and was the ideal choice. Our results also exhibited the importance of selecting suitable mapping units and optimal predictors. Furthermore, the debris flow susceptibility maps of the Sichuan Province were produced, which can provide helpful data for assessing and mitigating debris flow hazards.

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems in adolescents. The link between negative life events and depression has been well established. However, our understanding about the role of social support in the link, which is likely culture-dependent, is quite limited. This study aimed to determine the mediating effect of social support on the association between life events and depression in adolescents in Chongqing China. A total of 1512 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old in Chongqing of China were selected using a stratified cluster sampling strategy. Depression symptoms, negative life events, and perceived social support of the participants were measured using the Children's Depression Inventory, Adolescent Life Event Scale, and Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale, respectively. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to detect their associations. A multivariate linear regression model was established to determine the association between life events and depression after adjustment for variations in socio-demographic variables. The mediating effect of social support on the association between negative life events and depression was tested using the structural equation model. About 16.8% of the participants were detected with depression. Depression was associated with negative life events and low levels of social support ( P < .05). Both frequency and perceived importance of social support showed a mediating effect on the association between life events and depression. Social support has a mediating effect on the association between life events and depression. Strengthening social support may be considered as an effective interventional strategy on depression in adolescents.

Objective To examine the association between physician–patient treatments shared decision making (SDM), patient satisfaction, and adoption of a new health technology. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2016 to October 2016 in Fujian Province and Shanghai, in Eastern China. A total of 542 physicians and 619 patients in eleven hospitals were surveyed. Patients and their treating physicians completed self-reported questionnaires on patient–physician SDM, satisfaction with treatment decision making and adoption of a new health technology. Correlation analysis, multivariate logistic regression and multivariate linear regression were performed. Results The majority (68.20 percent) of patients preferred SDM. Involvement of patients in SDM was positively associated with their satisfaction with treatment decision making (p < .001) and adoption of a new health technology (p < .05). Better concordance between their preference and actual SDM was positively associated with patients' adoption behavior (p < .05), but no statistically significant association was found between concordance and satisfaction. Conclusion SDM was the most important predictor of patients' satisfaction with decision making and adoption of a new health technology. Therefore, better communication between physicians and patients is recommended to improve their SDM, increase patient satisfaction and to assist with the adoption of new technologies. Training healthcare provider and teaching communication skills in working with patients in the initial stage of technology diffusion is required.

of children aged 5-17 years old was obtained from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) for the year 2008. MEPS obtained information from parents about the health and sociodemographic characteristics of children. Logistic regression along with descriptive statistics was performed to explain racial and ethnic disparities among parent reported ADHD. Also, test for normality of residuals, homoscedasticity, goodness of fit and model specification were performed. All analysis was performed using STATA 11. RESULTS: Out of 6858 children between ages 5-17 years; parents reported ADHD for 633 (9.23%) children. Out of 6858 children 51% were female, 34% were whites and 43% had any public insurance. Hispanic (ORϭ 0.45 pϭ0.000) and Black (ORϭ0.77 pϭ0.025) parents were less likely to report ADHD than whites. Parents were more likely to report ADHD for Boys (ORϭ0.65 pϭ0.000), children with age more than 10 yrs (ORϭ1.85 pϭ0.000), with private (ORϭ1.37 pϭ0.013) and public insurance (ORϭ1.80 pϭ0.012) and from metropolitan statistical area (ORϭ 1.20 pϭ0.116). CONCLUSIONS: There are racial disparities among parent reported ADHD, whites are more likely to report ADHD than Hispanics and blacks. These differences continue to exist even after controlling for child's sociodemographic characteristics and other health related variables.OBJECTIVES: Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) experience a high degree of impairment that affects aspects of daily life including autonomy, relationships and employment. The Wide AmbispectiVE study of the clinical management and burden of bipolar disorder (WAVE-bd) aimed to describe functioning and quality of life (QoL) in a multinational BD cohort. METHODS: Multinational, multicenter, noninterventional, cohort study of patients diagnosed with BD-I or BD-II with Ն1 mood episode in the preceding 12 months (retrospective data collection) followed by a minimum 9 months' prospective follow-up. Functioning was measured using the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) tool (score range: 0-72, higher score indicates worse functionality, results presented from initial visit). QoL was measured with the EuroQoL-5D visual analogue scale (VAS) tool (score range: 0-100, higher score indicates better health), and the EQ-5D Index (score range: 0-1, higher score indicates better health) at every visit during the study. RESULTS: Overall, 2,896 patients were included in the analysis (1,989 BD-I, 907 BD-II). FAST total scores (meanϮSD) for BD-I and BD-II patients, respectively, were 50.1Ϯ17.2 and 48.8Ϯ16.5. QoL fluctuated with disease phase; in BD-I patients the EQ-5D VAS scores (meanϮSD) were 71.9Ϯ18.3 in hypomania, 70.4Ϯ18.7 in euthymia, 69.6Ϯ22.8 in mania, 56.5Ϯ18.5 in mixed episodes, and 53.5Ϯ22.0 in depression. In BD-II patients, EQ-5D VAS scores were 72.1Ϯ18.7 in hypomania, 70.0Ϯ17.8 in euthymia and 54.2Ϯ20.2 in depression. EQ-5D Index scores (meanϮSD) reflected a similar trend (BD-I: hypomania 0.70Ϯ0.28, mania 0.67Ϯ0.29, mixed episodes 0.53Ϯ0.28, depression 0.49Ϯ0.29, euthymia 0.41Ϯ0.27; BD-II: hypomania 0....