Objective: To analyze the correlation between third molar agenesis and craniofacial morphology by studying the location and number of congenital missing third molars and results of craniofacial cephalometric measurement. Methods: A total of 123 patients were included, including 64 patients in the control group without congenital third molar absence and 59 patients in the absence group with at least one third molar absent. Cephalometric measurements included FMA, IMPA, AR-Go, GoGn-Sn, Co-A, Co-Gn, ANS-Me, Go-Me, SN-MP, Ar-Go-Me, SNA, SNB, ANB, Y-axis angle, Y-axis length, Ar-Go, Go-Me, MP-OP, FH-PP, FH-OP, a total of 18 bone tissue indicators, U1-SN, U1-L1, U1-NA, L1-NB, U1-APo and L1-APo, a total of 6 dental indicators, and UL-EP, LL-EP and nasolabial angle, a total of 3 soft tissue indicators. The correlation between congenital agenesis of third molars and craniofacial morphology was analyzed. Results: The most common missing location of the third molar occured in the upper jaw and the most common number of missing teeth was one. In control group, Ar-Go-Me and SN-MP were larger (P<0.05), U1-SN, U1-NA, L1-NB, UL-EP and LL-EP were larger (P<0.05), and U1-L1 was smaller (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in Ar-Go and Go-Me between the two groups(P>0.05). Conclusion Patients with four third molars are more likely to have backward and downward rotation of the mandible and are more likely to develop into a convex facial type than patients with missing third molars, which has a higher correlation with hyperdivergent growth pattern and convex facial type.

Objective:To investigate the status quo of anticoagulant therapy for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in Beijing community health centers and to analyze the affecting factors.Methods:From September to December 2020, 164 patients with NVAF in five community health service centers in Xicheng District of Beijing were selected for a face-to-face questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included basic information of patients, complications, CHA 2DS 2-VASc score, HAS-BLED score and oral anticoagulant therapy, et al. SPSS 23.0 software was used to analyze the status of anticoagulant therapy in patients with different risk stratification of stroke, and chi-square was used to analyze the factors affecting anticoagulant therapy in high-risk patients with stroke. Results:In 161 NVAF patients with indication, 86 received anticoagulation therapy (53.4%), and the utilization rates of rivaroxaban, dabigatran and warfarin were 64.0% (55/86), 26.7% (23/86) and 9.3% (8/86), respectively. In 140 patients (85.4%, 140/164) at high risk of stroke (CHA 2DS 2-VASc score ≥2 points in males or ≥3 points in females), 30.0% (42/140) had never received anticoagulant therapy, and 29.3% (41/140) was treated with antiplatelet therapy, 17.1% (24/140) did not use any antithrombotic medication. Univariate analysis showed that gender, age, symptoms at first diagnosis and complications were not significantly associated with the application of anticoagulant therapy in NVAF patients at high-risk of stoke ( P>0.05). The qualitative study showed that the reasons for not receiving anticoagulant therapy were spontaneous cardioversion or recovery of sinus rhythm after ablation (15 cases), adverse drug reactions (7 cases), self-withdrawal of drugs (10 cases), concern about bleeding (3 cases) and so on. Conclusion:A large proportion of NVAF patients in the community are at high risk of stroke, while the overall rate of anticoagulant treatment is relatively low. Clinician in the community should actively initiate anticoagulant therapy for patients with AF and strengthen the continuous management and compliance management of anticoagulant therapy.

Objective:To investigate the knowledge status and health education needs of patients with atrial fibrillation in the community.Methods:From September to December 2020, 277 patients with atrial fibrillation from 5 community health service centers in Xicheng District of Beijing were selected using typical sampling method for online questionnaire survey. The questionnaire mainly contained basic information of patients, the knowledge of atrial fibrillation and the health education needs. Factors affecting patients′ knowledge level and health education needs were analyzed.Results:The overall awareness rate of disease-related knowledge in 277 patients with atrial fibrillation was 67.1% (1 860/2 770), and in aspects of antithrombotic effect of aspirin [12.3% (34/277)], the benefits and risks of anticoagulation therapy [52.7% (146/277)] and atrial fibrillation discontinuation [55.2% (153/277)], the awareness rates were relatively low. Compared with patients in the age group of 66-79 years and ≥80 years old, those aged ≤65 years had higher awareness rates in knowledge of purpose of anticoagulantion therapy [89.7% (70/78)] and adverse reactions of anticoagulation drugs [89.7% (70/78)] (χ2=6.72, 8.77; P<0.05), but the awareness rate of the benefits and harms of anticoagulation therapy [43.6% (34/78)] was lower (χ2=6.11, P<0.05). The top three health education needs of patients were the impact of atrial fibrillation on the body (3.66±1.77), the method of treating atrial fibrillation (3.65±1.13) and the prognosis with different treatments (3.62±1.15). Further analysis showed that in patients with disease duration ≤5 years, the education needs for the purpose of anticoagulation therapy (3.60±1.17), exercise methods (3.62±1.12), dietary taboos (3.63±1.16), and how to communicate with family and friends(3.33±1.29) were higher than those with a disease duration of more than 5 years ( t=2.03, 2.88, 2.05, 2.07; P<0.05). Doctors [98.6% (273/277)], nurses [40.8% (113/277)] and health education lectures [36.8% (102/277)] were the main sources for patients to acquire knowledge about atrial fibrillation. Most patients had the strongest motivation to obtain health education at the time of disease diagnosis [70.0% (194/277)]. Conclusions:There is insufficient understanding of the disease in patients with atrial fibrillation in the community, and the needs for patients to get health education are high. It is necessary to pay more attention to the early health education in patients with younger age and shorter course of disease.

Objective To investigate gender differences of plasma glial cell line-derived neurotro-phic factor (GDNF) levels in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods MDD subjects (male 20,female 36) and healthy controls (HCs) (male 35,female 45) were divided into four groups by gender. Plasma levels of GDNF were measured and compared in different gender groups. The clinical symp-tom severity of MDD patients was evaluated by 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) and Hamil-ton Anxiety Scale (HAMA-17). Results (1)The plasma GDNF level in male patients with major depres-sive disorder (( 1. 55 ± 0. 43 ) pg/ml ) was significantly lower than that in healthy controls (( 1. 86 ± 0. 50)pg/ml,F=4. 64,P=0. 036). There was no significant difference in GDNF level between female de-pression patients((1.62±0.46)pg/ml)) and female healthy control((1. 64±0. 48)pg/ml,F=0. 18,P=0. 672). In HCs,the GDNF level of male was significantly higher than that of female((1. 86±0. 50)pg/ml, (1. 64±0. 48)pg/ml,F=2. 04,P=0. 045). There was no significant difference in GDNF level between male and female patients(P>0. 05). (2) GDNF level in male patients with major depressive disorder was nega-tively correlated with HAMA score(r=-0. 388,P=0. 034). Conclusion The expression of GDNF is affect-ed by sex factors,which may be related to the different pathogenesis of MDD.

Objective: To investigate craniofacial differences in individuals with hypodontia and explore the relationship between craniofacial features and the number of congenitally missing teeth. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 261 Chinese patients (males, 124; females, 137; age, 7–24 years), divided into four groups (without hypodontia: no teeth missing, mild: one or two missing teeth, moderate: three to five missing teeth, severe: six or more missing teeth) according to the number of congenitally missing teeth. Differences in cephalometric measurements among the groups were analyzed. Further, multivariate linear regression and smooth curve fitting were performed to evaluate the relationship between the number of congenitally missing teeth and the cephalometric measurements. Results: In patients with hypodontia, SNA, NA-AP, FH-NA, ANB, Wits, ANS-Me/N-Me, GoGn-SN, UL-EP, and LL-EP significantly decreased, while Pog-NB, AB-NP, N-ANS, and S-Go/N-Me significantly increased. In multivariate linear regression analysis, SNB, Pog-NB, and S-Go/N-Me were positively related to the number of congenitally missing teeth. In contrast, NA-AP, FH-NA, ANB, Wits, N-Me, ANS-Me, ANS-Me/N-Me, GoGn-SN, SGn-FH (Y-axis), UL-EP, and LL-EP were negatively related, with absolute values of regression coefficients ranging from 0.147 to 0.357. Further, NA-AP, Pog-NB, S-Go/N-Me, and GoGn-SN showed the same tendency in both sexes, whereas UL-EP and LL-EP were different. Conclusions Compared with controls, patients with hypodontia tend toward a Class III skeletal relationship, reduced lower anterior face height, flatter mandibular plane, and more retrusive lips. The number of congenitally missing teeth had a greater effect on certain characteristics of craniofacial morphology in males than in females.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have explored the impact of perchlorate, nitrate, and thiocyanate (PNT) on kidney function. This study aimed to evaluate the association of urinary levels of PNT with renal function as well as the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among the general population in the United States. METHODS: This analysis included data from 13,373 adults (≥20 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 to 2016. We used multivariable linear and logistic regression, to explore the associations of urinary PNT with kidney function. Restricted cubic splines were used to assess the potentially non-linear relationships between PNT exposure and outcomes. RESULTS: After traditional creatinine adjustment, perchlorate (P-traditional) was positively associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (adjusted β: 2.75; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.25 to 3.26; P  < 0.001), and negatively associated with urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) (adjusted β: -0.05; 95% CI: -0.07 to -0.02; P  = 0.001) in adjusted models. After both traditional and covariate-adjusted creatinine adjustment, urinary nitrate and thiocyanate were positively associated with eGFR (all P values <0.05), and negatively associated with ACR (all P values <0.05); higher nitrate or thiocyanate was associated with a lower risk of CKD (all P values <0.001). Moreover, there were L-shaped non-linear associations between nitrate, thiocyanate, and outcomes. In the adjusted models, for quartiles of PNT, statistically significant dose-response associations were observed in most relationships. Most results were consistent in the stratified and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS Exposures to PNT might be associated with kidney function, indicating a potential beneficial effect of environmental PNT exposure (especially nitrate and thiocyanate) on the human kidney.
Adult ; Humans ; United States/epidemiology* ; Nitrates/adverse effects* ; Nutrition Surveys ; Thiocyanates/urine* ; Perchlorates/urine* ; Creatinine ; Environmental Exposure ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/epidemiology* ; Logistic Models