The complex relationships among social support, experienced stigma, psychological distress, and quality of life (QOL) among tuberculosis (TB) patients are insufficiently understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the interrelationships among social support, experienced stigma, psychological distress, and QOL and to examine whether experienced stigma and psychological distress play a mediating role. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2020 and March 2021 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Northeast China. Data were obtained from 473 TB patients using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the hypothetical model. The research model provided a good fit to the measured data. All research hypotheses were supported: (1) social support, experienced stigma and psychological distress were associated with QOL; (2) experienced stigma fully mediated the effect of social support on psychological distress; (3) psychological distress fully mediated the effect of experienced stigma on QOL; and (4) experienced stigma and psychological distress were sequential mediators between social support and QOL. This study elucidated the pathways linking social support, experienced stigma, and psychological distress to QOL and provides an empirical basis for improving the QOL of TB patients.

Purpose Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is the cause of serious health and economic burdens worldwide. The present study aimed to explore the initial and acquired drug-resistance rates among TB patients from 2012 to 2019 in Dalian, China. The effectiveness of MDR-TB prevention and control strategies were then evaluated. Patients and Methods Drug susceptibility testing (DST) was performed for 6429 diagnosed, culture-positive, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains, including 4661 new cases and 1768 previously treated cases. Descriptive statistics were employed to calculate the frequencies and percentages of TB strains, and the average annual growth rates (AAGRs) for each strain were calculated. The Chi-square test was applied to examine the significance of linear drug-resistance trends over time during the study period. Results Over the eight-year study period, the percentages of both initial (from 9.01% to 4.82%) and acquired (from 40.85% to 9.09%) MDR-TB cases decreased significantly, AAGRs of 8.55% and 19.32%, respectively. Among new and previously treated TB patients, significant downtrends were observed for the rates of both initial and acquired MDR-TB among young and middle-aged individuals ( P < 0.05). Additionally, among both new and previously treated TB patients, the percentages of individuals with drug resistance against isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RFP), ofloxacin (OFX), and amikacin (AMK) decreased significantly ( P < 0.05) from 2012 to 2019 in Dalian, China. Conclusion The initial and acquired multidrug resistance rates exhibited significantly decreasing trends from 2012 to 2019, suggesting that MDR-TB prevalence has been controlled effectively in Dalian, China. The MDR-TB epidemic was reversed in the short term by establishing feasible strategies for detection, diagnosis, treatment, and infection control.

Background Psychological distress, a major comorbidities of tuberculosis (TB) patients, has posed a serious threat to the progress being made in global TB programs by affecting treatment adherence and health outcomes. However, the magnitude and associated factors of psychological distress have not been fully studied in China. The aim of the current study was to assess the prevalence of psychological distress in TB patients and to further determine the effects of socio-demographic characteristics, health-related variables, substance use status, social support, and experienced stigma on psychological distress. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among TB patients attending three medical institutions in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Northeast China from November 2020 to March 2021. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data on patients’ socio-demographic characteristics, health-related information, substance use status, psychological distress, family function, doctor-patient relationship, policy support, experienced stigma and so on. The binary logistics regression model was used to determine the associated factors of psychological distress. Results A total of 473 TB patients were enrolled in this study, and the prevalence of psychological distress was 64.1%. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with a middle school education level or above (OR: 0.521, 95%CI: 0.279–0.974), no adverse drug reactions (OR: 0.476, 95%CI: 0.268–0.846), and regular physical exercise (OR: 0.528, 95%CI: 0.281–0.993) were more likely to stay away from psychological distress. However, patients who had a high economic burden (OR: 1.697, 95%CI: 1.014–2.840), diabetes (OR: 2.165, 95%CI: 1.025–4.573), self-rated illness severe (OR: 3.169, 95%CI: 1.081–9.285), perceived poor resistance (OR: 2.065, 95%CI: 1.118–3.815), severe family dysfunction (OR: 4.001, 95%CI: 1.158–13.823), perceived need for strengthen psychological counseling (OR: 4.837, 95%CI: 2.833–8.258), and a high experienced stigma (OR: 3.253, 95%CI: 1.966–5.384) tended to have a psychological distress. Conclusions The study found that the proportion of psychological distress among TB patients was high in Northeast China, and it was influenced by a variety of factors. Effective interventions to reduce psychological distress in TB patients urgently need to be developed, and greater attention should be given to patients with risk factors.

This study was conducted to investigate (1) the association between solid fuel use for cooking and cognitive function; (2) the moderating effects of gender and residential area on cognitive scores among solid fuel users; and (3) the effects of solid fuel use on cognitive decline among different gender and age subgroups in 2011–2018. A total of 5140 Chinese middle-aged and elderly participants were successfully followed for 7 years (2011–2018). Solid fuel use was self-reported as using solid fuel for cooking at home, and cognitive function was assessed by 4 parts: episodic memory, time orientation, numerical ability and picture drawing. After adjusting for covariates, solid fuel users had lower cognitive scores, and the moderation effects of gender and residence on cognitive function were significant among the solid fuel users. In addition, compared with the group of clean fuel users, solid fuel users had a faster decline rate of cognitive function among the subgroups of female and elderly people.

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