We examined the attributed fractions of all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality that were attributed to extreme and moderate cold and heat during 2010-2016 in Nanjing. Our results showed that 12.81%, 19.78%, and 25.33% of all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortalities, respectively, were attributed to temperature. The highest attributed fractions for three types of mortality were at 4 ℃ and the attributed fractions were high around 4 ℃, which falls within the moderate cold temperatures. Although moderate cold has lower RR than extreme cold, it occurred on more days than did extreme cold. Therefore, health burden caused by moderate cold requires further attention in the future.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; mortality ; China ; epidemiology ; Cities ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Mortality ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; mortality ; Risk Factors ; Temperature

OBJECTIVETo examine whether the implementation of Macao Medical Voucher Program has helped promote the health outcomes of the residents in the case of mortality from circulatory system diseases.

METHODSBased on 144 monthly observations of the mortality from circulatory system diseases in Macao during 2001-2012, we carried out a trend analysis of the time series to identify significant differences in the mortality data after the implementation of the Medical Voucher in Macao. This study was controlled for the compounding factors including medical resources (numbers of physicians, nurses and patient beds per thousand population and public healthcare expenditure), economic development level (GDP per capita), social human development level, population aging factor, natural seasonal effects and long-term trends.

RESULTSDuring 2010-2012 when the Medical Voucher Program in Macao was implemented, the annual mortality rates from circulatory system diseases were significantly lowered by 24% as compared with those recorded during 2001-2009 (P<0.01), which was equivalent to avoiding 123 deaths related of circulatory system diseases per year.

CONCLUSIONEvidence in this study suggests a robust connection between the timing of the implementation of Macao Medical Voucher Program and a significant decrease in the mortality from circulatory system diseases in Macao, but their causal relationship awaits confirmation in further research.

Aging ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; mortality ; Humans ; Macau ; epidemiology ; National Health Programs

Humans ; Temperature ; Cities/epidemiology* ; Hot Temperature ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Mortality

BACKGROUNDObstructive lung disease (OLD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma) is an important cause of death in older people. There has been no exhaustive population-based mortality study of this subject in Shanghai. The objective of this study was to use a multiple cause of death methodology in the analysis of OLD mortality trends in the Yangpu district of Shanghai, from 2003 through 2011.

METHODSWe analyzed death data from the Shanghai Yangpu District Center for Disease Control and Prevention for Medical Cause of Death database, selecting all death certificates for individuals 40 years or older on which OLD was listed as a cause of death.

RESULTSFrom 2003 to 2011, there were 8 775 deaths with OLD listed, of which 6 005 (68%) were identified as the underlying cause of death. For the entire period, a significantly decreasing trend of age standardized rates of death from OLD was observed in men (-6.2% per year) and in women (-5.7% per year), similar trends were observed in deaths with OLD. The mean annual rates of deaths from OLD per 100 000 were 161.2 for men and 80.8 for women from 2003 to 2011. While, as the underlying cause of death, the main associated causes of death were as follows: cardiovascular diseases (70.7%), cerebrovascular diseases (13.3%), diabetes (8.6%), and cancer (4.3%). The associated causes and the principal overall underlying causes of death were cardiovascular diseases (37.0%), cancer (30.3%), and cerebrovascular disease (15.3%). A significant seasonal variation, with the highest frequency in winter, occurred in deaths identified with underlying causes of chronic bronchitis, other obstructive pulmonary diseases, and asthma.

CONCLUSIONSMultiple cause mortality analysis provides a more accurate picture than underlying cause of total mortality attributed on death certificates to OLD. The major comorbidities associated with OLD were cardiovascular disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease. From 2003 to 2011, the mortality rate from OLD decreased substantially in the Yangpu district of Shanghai.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Cause of Death ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; epidemiology ; mortality ; China ; epidemiology ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Obstructive ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo explore the factors influencing cardio-cerebro vascular death events among people over 40 years of age in Shandong area, China.

METHODSBaseline survey was carried out in 1991. A total number of 11,008 adults over 40 years old had been studied in Shandong province. Data on cardiocerebro death was collected. The correlation between influencing factors and cardio-cerebro vascular death events was analyzed by Cox regression model.

RESULTSTotally, 434 cardio-cerebro death events occurred among the 11,008 subjects during the 8-year follow-up study. Cardio-cerebro death events were related to systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, smoking, stroke history and age. Data from Cox regression analysis showed that the relative risk (RR) for cardio-cerebro vascular death events increased by 2.862 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.976-4.144] times for those people having stroke history. When systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure increased by every 10 mm Hg, the relative risk for cardio-cerebro vascular death events increased by 1.171 (95% CI: 1.033-1.328), 1.214 (95% CI: 1.044-1.413) respectively. it was found that a 1.239 (95% CI: 1.088-1.553) times higher in smokers than non-smokers on relative risk for cardio-cerebro vascular death events. However, the predictive values of the influencing factors for cardio-cerebro vascular death were different among population of different years of age. The relative risk for cardio-cerebro vascular death events increased by 1.366 (95% CI: 1.102-1.678) times for each 10 mm Hg increase of diastolic blood pressure in 40-59 years old population. However, the effect was taken place by systolic blood pressure in 60-74 years old population,with a relative risk of 1.201 (95% CI: 1.017-1.418) for each 10 mm Hg increase. Age seemed the only significant factor for cardio-cerebro vascular death events on population aged more than 75 years old. Conclusion The predictive values of the risk factors were different among age groups. The different risk factors should be taken care according to the difference of age.

Adult ; Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; mortality ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; mortality ; China ; epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Fine or ultrafine particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of solid and liquid particles, including carbon-centered combustion particles, secondary inorganics, and crustal-derived particles. Recently, ambient particulate matter has been regarded as a serious health problem in the Republic of Korea. This review focuses on the importance of PM-induced effects, and the adverse health effects from experimental and epidemiological studies. There is widespread evidence that short-term increases in particulate matter result in increased mortality and morbidity in adults and children, even at low levels. Considerable consistency between results from experimental and epidemiological studies has been observed for many health effects, including pulmonary diseases and cardiovascular diseases, although the biologic mechanisms of the health effects are unclear. The adverse health effects are reported to be more pronounced in susceptible population groups such as the elderly, children, or people with preexisting cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. In addition to short-term exposures, long-term exposure to particulate matter is also associated with an increase in total mortality, cardiopulmonary mortality, and respiratory morbidity. The present review suggests that despite a considerable amount of research over the last decades, both epidemiological and experimental studies are needed to further clarify the issues on the effects of fine and ultrafine particulate matter.
Adult ; Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Child ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; Mortality ; Particulate Matter* ; Population Groups ; Republic of Korea

INTRODUCTION: There is paucity of data on the occurrence of cardiovascular events (CVEs) in critically ill patients with sepsis. We aimed to describe the incidence, risk factors and impact on mortality of CVEs in these patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) between July 2015 and October 2016. The primary outcome was intra-hospital CVEs, while the secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality, ICU and hospital length of stay. RESULTS: Patients with sepsis (n=662) had significantly more CVEs compared to those without (52.9% versus 23.0%, P<0.001). Among sepsis patients, 350 (52.9%) had 1 or more CVEs: 59 (8.9%) acute coronary syndrome; 198 (29.9%) type 2 myocardial infarction; 124 (18.7%) incident atrial fibrillation; 76 (11.5%) new or worsening heart failure; 32 (4.8%) cerebrovascular accident; and 33 (5.0%) cardiovascular death. Factors associated with an increased risk of CVEs (adjusted relative risk [95% confidence interval]) included age (1.013 [1.007-1.019]); ethnicity-Malay (1.214 [1.005-1.465]) and Indian (1.240 [1.030-1.494]) when compared to Chinese; and comorbidity of ischaemic heart disease (1.317 [1.137-1.527]). There were 278 patients (79.4%) who developed CVEs within the first week of hospitalisation. Sepsis patients with CVEs had a longer median (interquartile range [IQR]) length of stay in the ICU (6 [3-12] vs 4 [2-9] days, P<0.001), and hospital (21 [10-42] vs 15 [7-30] days, P<0.001) compared to sepsis patients without CVEs. There was no difference in in-hospital mortality between the 2 groups (46.9% vs 45.8%, P=0.792). CONCLUSION CVEs complicate half of the critically ill patients with sepsis, with 79.4% of patients developing CVEs within the first week of hospitalisation, resulting in longer ICU and hospital length of stay.
Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; Critical Illness/epidemiology* ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis/epidemiology*

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is considered a primary driver of global mortality and is estimated to be responsible for approximately 17.9 million deaths annually. Consequently, a substantial body of research related to CVD has developed, with an emphasis on identifying strategies for the prevention and effective treatment of CVD. In this review, we critically examine the existing CVD literature, and specifically highlight the contribution of Mendelian randomization analyses in CVD research. Throughout this review, we assess the extent to which research findings agree across a range of studies of differing design within a triangulation framework. If differing study designs are subject to non-overlapping sources of bias, consistent findings limit the extent to which results are merely an artefact of study design. Consequently, broad agreement across differing studies can be viewed as providing more robust causal evidence in contrast to limiting the scope of the review to a single specific study design. Utilising the triangulation approach, we highlight emerging patterns in research findings, and explore the potential of identified risk factors as targets for precision medicine and novel interventions.
Artifacts ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Mendelian Randomization Analysis ; Mortality ; Precision Medicine ; Random Allocation ; Risk Factors

Objective: To analyze the North-South difference of the relationship between cold spells and mortality risk of cardiovascular diseases in China. Methods: The time series analysis method was used to collect the daily counts of cardiovascular mortality data, meteorological data and PM_2.5 concentration in the cold season (November to March of the following year) from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2018 in 280 districts and counties in China. The non-constrained distributed lag linear model was used to analyze the relationship between cold spells and mortality risk of cardiovascular diseases and its North-South difference in China. Results: From 2013 to 2018, the mean of daily average temperature of the cold season in 280 districts and counties was 5.4 ℃. The mean of daily average relative humidity was 64.4%, and the mean of daily average PM_2.5 concentration was 73.7 μg/m³. The average cold spell days in each county was 11.7 days per year,the mean of daily average temperature on cold spell days was (-2.4±6.7) ℃, and M (Q₁, Q₃) was -1.5 (-5.1, 1.1) ℃. The average of daily number of cardiovascular disease deaths in each county/district was (6±5) cases, and M (Q₁, Q₃) was 5 (2, 8) cases. The percentage change (95%CI) in the South was 4.94% (3.69%, 6.20%) (lag 0 d), higher than that in the North [the percentage change (95%CI) was 1.49% (1.14%-1.84%) (lag 0-7 d)]. In the North, the mortality risk of ≥75 years old was relatively low among three age groups, with a percentage change (95%CI) about 1.63% (1.33%-1.93%) (lag 0-21 d). In the South, the mortality risk of ≥ 75 years old was relatively high among three age groups, with a percentage change (95%CI) about 5.18% (3.78%-6.59%) (lag 0 d). Conclusion: The mortality risk of cardiovascular diseases caused by cold spells in the South is higher than that in the North of China, and the risk peak occurs earlier in the South.
Humans ; Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cold Temperature ; Temperature ; China/epidemiology* ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Mortality

OBJECTIVEIn order to analyze multiple statistic tables more efficiently Excel Visual Basic for Application (VBA) was introduced through the use of an example of calculating standardized mortality rates (SMRs).

METHODSMortality data of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, by sex and age, have been collected from 1991 to 2003 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Shanghai Huangpu District. Standard population composition was defined as Chinese census statistics in 2000. The male's SMRs were calculated, using Excel VBA for each year and classification of cancers.

RESULTSThe male's SMRs were obtained by year and different cancers. At the same time, the results were listed in the cancer's SMRs table for male.

CONCLUSIONSExcel is more flexible than general database on the combination of data and annotation. Excel VBA is better than the basic Excel in operating multiple tables simultaneously and man-machine conversation. Statistic analysis can be efficiently completed by using Excel VBA.

Age Factors ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; mortality ; China ; epidemiology ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Database Management Systems ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasms ; mortality ; Sex Factors