1.Implication of newborn Short-chain Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency screening and follow-up in Hainan Province for newborn screening strategies.
Peizhen ZHAO ; Zhendong ZHAO ; Haizhu XU
Chinese Journal of Medical Genetics 2026;43(4):248-252
OBJECTIVE:
To elucidate the epidemiological characteristics and genetic variant profile of Short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (SCADD) among newborns from Hainan Province and evaluate its significance within the local neonatal disease screening panel.
METHODS:
A total of 84 184 newborns born in Hainan Province from February to December 2024 were included. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was employed to detect butyrylcarnitine (C4) and propionylcarnitine (C3) levels in dried blood spots. Screening thresholds were set at C4 > 0.43 μ mol/L and C4/C3 ratio > 0.28. Suspected cases underwent confirmatory testing via urinary ethylmalonic acid analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and whole-exome sequencing for ACADS gene variants. This study was approved by the Medial Ethics Committee of the hospital (Ethics No.: HNWCMC-2024-55).
RESULTS:
Six SCADD cases (male-to-female ratio = 1:1) were diagnosed, with all carrying compound heterozygous variants at two loci, yielding a prevalence of 7.13 per 100,000 live births. Four known ACADS gene variants were identified, with both c.322G>A and c.625G>A detected at a frequency of 41.7%. Regular follow-up (as of January 2026) revealed that all diagnosed cases have remained asymptomatic with normal growth and development.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of SCADD among newborns in Hainan Province is relatively high, with c.322G>A and c.625G>A as the hotspot variants in the region. Given the absence of clinical phenotypes in all screen-detected cases during long-term follow-up, it is recommended to remove this condition from the routine neonatal screening program for this region to reduce unnecessary anxiety and medical cost.
Humans
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Infant, Newborn
;
Neonatal Screening/methods*
;
Female
;
Male
;
Lipid Metabolism, Inborn Errors/epidemiology*
;
Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase/genetics*
;
China/epidemiology*
;
Follow-Up Studies
2.The research agenda-setting for the Department of Health National Specialty Center for Eye Care.
Philippine Journal of Ophthalmology 2026;51(1):17-25
OBJECTIVE
To describe in detail the research agenda-setting process of the Department of Health National Specialty Center for Eye Care with the guidance of the National Institute of Health (NIH) - Department of Clinical Epidemiology.
METHODSA research agenda technical working group (TWG) was organized to spearhead the research agenda setting, in collaboration and guidance of the NIH. After identifying relevant internal and external stakeholders, the TWG drafted a contextual map that served as an overarching framework. Research topics were obtained from the stakeholders and the TWG collated, reviewed and summarized prior to ranking them systematically. Each topic was prioritized through a weighted ranking system evaluating its feasibility, public health benefit, and resource/cost requirements. A final en banc session including the stakeholders was held to formalize the approval of the research agenda. An infographic was developed to serve as a visual guide for consultants and trainees in initiating research.
RESULTSThe TWG tallied 85 unique research topics from both the internal and external stakeholders. These topics encompassed a broad range of areas, including epidemiology, surgical, and medical management, health systems research, economic evaluations of interventions, and occupational/environmental factors.
CONCLUSIONThe 2024-2027 research agenda of the Department of Health National Specialty Center for Eye Care was crafted, with the guidance of the NIH Department of Clinical Epidemiology. The goal was to improve the center's research output by aligning it with stakeholders thereby serving as a research benchmarking tool for the local ophthalmology community
Human ; Epidemiology ; Eye ; Health ; Research
3.A phenome-wide spectrum of morbidity and mortality risks related to the number of offspring among 0.5 million Chinese men and women: A prospective cohort study.
Meng XIAO ; Aolin LI ; Canqing YU ; Yuanjie PANG ; Pei PEI ; Ling YANG ; Yiping CHEN ; Huaidong DU ; Yujie HUA ; Junshi CHEN ; Zhengming CHEN ; Jun LYU ; Liming LI ; Dianjianyi SUN
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(22):2925-2937
BACKGROUND:
Prospective evidence on how offspring number influences morbidity and mortality remains limited. This study investigated the associations between number of offspring and morbidity and mortality risks among 0.5 million Chinese adults.
METHODS:
By using data from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB; n = 512,723, an approximately 12-year follow-up), sex-stratified phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) analyses were conducted to investigate associations between offspring number (without vs . with offspring; more than one vs . one offspring) and risks of ICD10-coded morbidity and mortality. Sex-specific adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional-hazards models.
RESULTS:
Among 210,129 men and 302,284 women aged 30-79 years, 1,338,837 incident events were recorded. PheWAS results revealed that offspring number was associated with disease risks across multiple systems. Cox models showed that childless men ( vs . one offspring) had higher risks for nine of 36 diseases, while childless women for five of 37. Each additional offspring was associated with reduced risks of mental and behavioral disorders in men (aHR [95% CI] = 0.93 [0.87-0.98]) and both mental and behavioral disorders (aHR [95% CI] = 0.93 [0.89-0.97]) and breast cancer (aHR [95% CI] = 0.82 [0.78-0.86]) in women. However, each additional offspring was associated with a 4% increase in the risk of cholelithiasis and cholecystitis in women (aHR [95% CI] = 1.04 [1.02-1.07]). Among 282,630 patients, 44,533 deaths were documented. Childless patients had higher mortality risk in both men (aHR [95% CI] = 1.37 [1.28-1.47]) and women (aHR [95% CI] = 1.27 [1.15-1.41]). For men, each additional offspring reduced mortality by 4% (aHR [95% CI] = 0.96 [0.95-0.98]), while for women, the lowest risk was observed among those with three to four offspring ( Pnonlinear <0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS
Offspring number is closely linked to morbidity and mortality risks. Further research is warranted to verify our findings and clarify the underlying mechanisms involved.
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
;
Middle Aged
;
China/epidemiology*
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Morbidity
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Proportional Hazards Models
;
Prospective Studies
;
Risk Factors
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Family Characteristics
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Mortality
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East Asian People
4.Incidence, mortality, and burden of Parkinson's disease in China: A time-trend analysis and comparison with the global burden based on Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.
Fan GAO ; Xiaoyu CHENG ; Junyi LIU ; Yinlian HAN ; Chengjie MAO ; Chongke ZHONG ; Chunfeng LIU
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(23):3176-3183
BACKGROUND:
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and is associated with a significant Global Burden of Disease (GBD). We analyzed the trends in PD incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) burden in China, and compared them with global data.
METHODS:
Estimates and 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for incidence, mortality, DALYs, years lived with disability (YLDs), and years of life lost (YLLs) for PD were extracted from the GBD, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021. We describe the epidemiology of PD at global and Chinese levels, analyze trends in incidence and mortality from 1990 to 2021 by joinpoint regression models, and decompose PD burden according to population size, age structure, and epidemiological changes.
RESULTS:
GBD 2021 estimated 508,378 (95% UI: 430,499-592,748) incident cases of PD, 92,035 (95% UI: 75,908-108,133) deaths, and 2,159,514 (95% UI: 1,826,196-2,521,344) DALYs in China, with the higher age-standardized rate (ASR) in incidence, mortality and DALYs than the global levels. The DALY burden of PD in China increased slightly from 1990 to 2021, consistent with the global upward trend. Joinpoint regression analysis indicated that the ASR of incidence in China increased faster than the global average, while the ASR of mortality decreased, with the fastest decline in 2004-2014. Decomposition analysis revealed that men and the middle sociodemographic index (SDI) quintile (32.82%) were responsible for the most significant DALYs, whose changes were primarily driven by population growth and aging.
CONCLUSIONS
The burden of PD showed an overall increasing trend from 1990 to 2021, which was primarily driven by population growth and aging. This study highlights the significant challenges in controlling and managing PD, including the increase in cases and gender differences, which may provide guidance for comprehensive strategies to address the changing profiles of PD in China.
Humans
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Parkinson Disease/mortality*
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China/epidemiology*
;
Global Burden of Disease
;
Male
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Incidence
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Female
;
Disability-Adjusted Life Years
;
Middle Aged
;
Aged
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Adult
;
Quality-Adjusted Life Years
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Aged, 80 and over
;
Cost of Illness
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Adolescent
;
Pattern Analysis, Machine
5.Global, regional, and national prevalence and years lived with disability due to infertility, 1990-2021: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.
Rui LIN ; Yuan LIN ; Guangfu JIN ; Qiufen SUN ; Zhibin HU
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(23):3115-3123
BACKGROUND:
Infertility is a burdensome, often overlooked condition. This study aimed to investigate the global distribution and trends in the burden of infertility from 1990 to 2021.
METHODS:
We obtained data on the prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) related to infertility from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study and evaluated them by calculating the estimated annual percentage change in age-standardized rates. We investigated the relationship between sociodemographic index (SDI) and the burden of infertility on the global, regional, and national levels.
RESULTS:
In 2021, there were 143,261,562 female and 55,481,380 male infertility cases worldwide, respectively. In China, female and male infertility cases accounted for 23.59% and 21.47% of the global totals, reaching 33,795,944 and 11,909,889, respectively. Compared with 2019, the global number of female and male infertility cases increased by 5,286,227 in females and 2,017,271 in males. In contrast, China saw a decline in both female and male infertility cases, with reductions of 698,735 and 154,591, respectively. From 1990 to 2021, the age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) and age-standardized YLDs rate (ASYR) for female infertility both increased by 0.59% annually, whereas these two corresponding indicators for male infertility increased by 0.50% annually worldwide. The burden of female infertility was consistently higher than that of male infertility and demonstrated a faster rate of increase. East Asia had the highest ASPR and ASYR for female infertility, whereas Eastern Europe had the highest metrics for male infertility. A horizontal S-shaped association was observed between the SDI and ASPR and ASYR of infertility, with a rapid decline in the infertility burden when the SDI exceeded 0.7.
CONCLUSIONS
The global burden of infertility has increased over the years, with a higher burden on women and underdeveloped regions. These findings emphasize the need to prioritize healthcare for patients with infertility to address the rising burden.
Humans
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Female
;
Male
;
Global Burden of Disease
;
Prevalence
;
Infertility/epidemiology*
;
Adult
;
Infertility, Male/epidemiology*
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Persons with Disabilities/statistics & numerical data*
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Middle Aged
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Infertility, Female/epidemiology*
;
China/epidemiology*
;
Disability-Adjusted Life Years
6.2024 annual report on cardiovascular health and diseases in China: Data and trend.
Mingbo LIU ; Xinye HE ; Xiaohong YANG ; Zengwu WANG
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(23):3037-3049
The incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) together with their associated risk factors increasingly impact public health. According to the data provided in the 2024 Annual Report on Cardiovascular Health and Diseases in China, the crude incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases among Chinese residents aged ≥18 years, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI), angina pectoris treated by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty/stent implantation and/or coronary artery bypass grafting, stroke, and sudden cardiac death was 620.33 per 100,000 population, with 87.6 for AMI. Stroke had an incidence of 491.0 per 100,000 population. The prevalence of adult coronary heart disease (CHD, aged ≥18 years) was 758 per 100,000 population. The CVD mortality in 2021 remained the highest, exceeding that of cancer and other causes. The crude mortality rate of CVD in 2021 was 364.16 per 100,000 population in rural areas and 305.39 per 100,000 population in urban areas. The crude mortality rates of cerebrovascular diseases and CHD among urban and rural residents in 2021 were 140.02 and 175.58, 135.08 and 148.19 per 100,000 population, respectively. In addition to interpreting the key findings of CVD incidence and mortality in China, we also update the data of associated risk factors, including tobacco use, physical activity, diet and nutrition, overweight and obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, sleep and psychological factors, environmental factors, and the diagnostic conditions of CVD diseases, aiming to provide a scientific foundation for advancing CVD prevention and control, and to inform relevant public health policy development.
Humans
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China/epidemiology*
;
Cardiovascular Diseases/mortality*
;
Risk Factors
;
Adult
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Male
;
Female
;
Middle Aged
;
Incidence
;
Cerebrovascular Disorders/epidemiology*
;
Aged
7.Dyslipidemia in asthma: Treatable trait, or just a common comorbidity?
Ke DENG ; Ji WANG ; Brian G OLIVER ; Lisa G WOOD ; Gang WANG
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(23):3097-3114
Asthma is a diverse disease that can be categorized into various phenotypes and endotypes, including obesity-re-lated asthma and allergic asthma. "Treatable traits (TTs)" represent a new approach to managing asthma. Asthma accompanied by dyslipidemia would be a distinct asthma phenotype that is becoming increasingly common. Therefore, dyslipidemia can potentially serve as a target for the management of asthma. Nevertheless, it remains highly under-researched compared to other observable traits. Gaining knowledge about the clinical and inflammatory characteristics, underlying mechanisms, and potential therapeutic medications for asthma with dyslipidemia is crucial for its effective management. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of asthma with dyslipidemia, consolidating existing knowledge and ongoing research.
Humans
;
Asthma/complications*
;
Dyslipidemias/epidemiology*


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