IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic caused a healthcare crisis in China and continues to wreak havoc across the world. This paper evaluated COVID-19’s impact on national and regional healthcare service utilisation and expenditure in China.MethodsUsing a big data approach, we collected data from 300 million bank card transactions to measure individual healthcare expenditure and utilisation in mainland China. Since the outbreak coincided with the 2020 Chinese Spring Festival holiday, a difference-in-difference (DID) method was employed to compare changes in healthcare utilisation before, during and after the Spring Festival in 2020 and 2019. We also tracked healthcare utilisation before, during and after the outbreak.ResultsHealthcare utilisation declined overall, especially during the post-festival period in 2020. Total healthcare expenditure and utilisation declined by 37.8% and 40.8%, respectively, while per capita expenditure increased by 3.3%. In a subgroup analysis, we found that the outbreak had a greater impact on healthcare utilisation in cities at higher risk of COVID-19, with stricter lockdown measures and those located in the western region. The DID results suggest that, compared with low-risk cities, the pandemic induced a 14.8%, 26.4% and 27.5% reduction in total healthcare expenditure in medium-risk and high-risk cities, and in cities located in Hubei province during the post-festival period in 2020 relative to 2019, an 8.6%, 15.9% and 24.4% reduction in utilisation services; and a 7.3% and 18.4% reduction in per capita expenditure in medium-risk and high-risk cities, respectively. By the last week of April 2020, as the outbreak came under control, healthcare utilisation gradually recovered, but only to 79.9%–89.3% of its pre-outbreak levels.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic had a significantly negative effect on healthcare utilisation in China, evident by a dramatic decline in healthcare expenditure. While the utilisation level has gradually increased post-outbreak, it has yet to return to normal levels.

Objective To evaluate associations between traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, inflammatory markers, and markers of HIV disease activity with ultrasonographic measures of CVD risk in patients with HIV who are not receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Design Cross-sectional, baseline evaluation of ART-naïve HIV-infected individuals without known CVD or diabetes mellitus enrolled in a randomized ART treatment trial. Methods Prior to ART initiation, carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were measured. Additional parameters included CD4 cell count, HIV viral load, body composition, lipoproteins, and inflammatory markers. Associations with common CIMT, bifurcation CIMT, presence of carotid artery lesions, and brachial artery FMD were evaluated. Results The 331 enrolled subjects were a median (1st–3rd quartile) of 36 (28–45) years old. Common and bifurcation CIMT values were higher and lesions more prevalent with older age (p <0.001). FMD was lower with older age (p =0.009). Those with a Framingham Risk Score >6%/10 years (N =44) had higher common and bifurcation CIMT (p <0.001), carotid lesion prevalence (p <0.001), and lower FMD (p =0.035). Independent associations with common CIMT were identified for increasing age, height, weight, small LDL particles, and black race; these were similar for bifurcation CIMT. Presence of carotid artery lesions was associated with increasing age, presence of metabolic syndrome, interleukin-6, and lower HIV-1 RNA. Conclusions In a contemporary cohort of ART-naive HIV-infected individuals, ultrasonographic measures of CVD risk were more strongly associated with traditional risk factors than CD4 cell counts, HIV replication, or inflammatory markers.

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BackgroundPhysical activity and sedentary behavior are common factors influencing cardiovascular health. However, how school and leisure-time activity/sedentary behavior are associated with physical fitness and blood lipid levels in primary school children in consideration of gender disparity remains unclear.MethodsData was obtained from a health and nutrition survey on primary school children from nine areas in China. The association between physical activities/sedentary behaviors (school and leisure-time physical activity levels, screen time, and other sedentary behaviors) and anthropometric measurements/prevalence of dyslipidemia were examined by multilevel analysis (the individual level, class level, grade level, and investigation area level) adjusted for age, energy intake and family income.ResultsA total of 770 participants (average age = 9.4 ± 1.7 years) were included. Prevalence of dyslipidemia was 10.9%. Prevalence of dyslipidemia was associated with screen time in boys [OR = 3.04, 95% CI (1.24–7.45)] and inversely associated with leisure-time physical activity in boys [OR = 2.22, 95% CI (1.08–4.56)] and school-time activity in girls [OR = 5.34, 95% CI (1.18–24.16)].ConclusionsPhysical activity—but not sedentary behavior—was significantly associated with dyslipidemia in both genders. Increasing leisure-time physical activity for boys and school-time physical activity for girls may be critical.

BackgroundTo evaluate the changes of choroidal vascular structures in patients after phacoemulsification surgery.MethodsA self-control study was conducted on 36 eyes of 36 patients who had uneventful phacoemulsification. Choroidal images were acquired preoperatively, 7 days (D7), 1 month (M1), and 3 months (M3) after surgery from enhanced depth imaging (EDI) optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was used to assess vascular status of the choroid using image binarization by the Niblack method. The postoperative values of mean CVI were compared with baseline by paired t-test. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to determine the associations between CVI and other factors.ResultsThe mean age of the recruited patients was 63.1 ± 6.9 years. The mean CVI at baseline was 60.1 ± 5.5%. After surgery, the CVI significantly increased to 61.7 ± 5.3% at D7, 63.6 ± 4.4% at M1 and 64.8 ± 4.0% at M3 (p = 0.035, 0.0006, < 0.0001, respectively). Univariate and multiple regression analysis revealed a positive association between CVI and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) at pre-operation and no significant association with age, axial length (AL), intraocular pressure (IOP) and gender at all timepoints.ConclusionsPhacoemulsification induced increased CVI in patients diagnosed with cataract. Evaluation of the long-term change of CVI following surgery may provide valuable information for studying the relationship between phacoemulsification and disorders of the choroid.

The surgical approach for managing intussusception is controversial. In this study, a retrospective analysis of patients undergoing surgical reduction for intussusception over a period of five years was conducted. All patients received either open surgery or laparoscopic approach after failing enema reduction of intussusception. The clinical and operative data were collected and analyzed. Eight patients received open surgery (OPEN group), and 37 patients received laparoscopic surgery, while two (5.4%) of them converted to open surgery. The remaining 35 patients were included in the LAP group. There was no difference in age, gender, clinical symptoms and signs, duration of symptoms, level of intussusception, and complications between the OPEN and LAP groups. In contrast, the operation time and length of hospital stay in the LAP group were significantly shorter than those in the OPEN group (P = 0.013 and P = 0.001 respectively). No recurrence was disclosed in the OPEN group but three patients in the LAP group had recurrent intussusception (8.6%); however, the difference of the recurrence rate between these two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.40). In conclusion, reducing intussusception with the laparoscopic approach is highly successful and can be performed first for stable patients requiring surgical intervention.

Background: Little is known about the effects of dietary quality on the risk of ischemic stroke among Southwest Chinese, and evidence from prospective studies is needed. We aimed to evaluate the associations of ischemic stroke with dietary quality assessed by the Chinese Diet Balance Index 2016 (DBI-2016). Methods: The Guizhou Population Health Cohort Study (GPHCS) recruited 9280 residents aged 18 to 95 years from 12 areas in Guizhou Province, Southwest China. Baseline investigations, including information collections of diet and demographic characteristics, and anthropometric measurements were performed from 2010 to 2012. Dietary quality was assessed by using DBI-2016. The primary outcome was incident ischemic stroke diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD-10) until December 2020. Data analyzed in the current study was from 7841 participants with complete information of diet assessments and ischemic stroke certification. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the risk of ischemic stroke associated with dietary quality. Results: During a median follow-up of 6.63 years (range 1.11 to 9.53 years), 142 participants were diagnosed with ischemic stroke. Participants with ischemic stroke had a more excessive intake of cooking oils, alcoholic beverages, and salt, and had more inadequacy in meats than those without ischemic stroke. (p < 0.05). Compared with participants in the lowest quartile (Q1), those in the highest quartile (Q4) of the higher bound score (HBS) and of the dietary quality distance (DQD) had an elevated risk for ischemic stroke, with the corresponding hazard ratios (HRs) of 3.31 (95%CI: 1.57–6.97) and 2.26 (95%CI: 1.28–4.00), respectively, after adjustment for age, ethnic group, education level, marriage status, smoking and waist circumference, and the medical history of diabetes and hypertension at baseline. In addition, excessive intake levels (score 1–6) of cooking oils, excessive intake levels (score 1–6) of salt, and inadequate intake levels (score −12 to −7) of dietary variety were positively associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke, with the multiple HRs of 3.00 (95%CI: 1.77–5.07), 2.03 (95%CI: 1.33–3.10) and 5.40 (95%CI: 1.70–17.20), respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that unfavorable dietary quality, including overall excessive consumption, excessive intake of cooking oils and salt, or under adequate dietary diversity, may increase the risk for ischemic stroke.