China ; Humans ; Occupational Health Services

ObjectiveThe aim is to understand the current situation of death literacy among Chinese residents in the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area and explore educational approaches to enhance the death literacy of the social public. MethodThe Death Literacy Index was conducted among 2，002 residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area， which included 29 items from four dimensions namely practice， experience， fact， and community. ResultsThe average score of death literacy among the respondents was moderate （6.70）， with scores for practical and experiential knowledge （7.32， 7.50） higher than those for factual and community knowledge （6.20， 6.10）. The weakest content included discussing bereavement with people who have just lost loved ones （5.07）， laws and regulations related to death at home （5.35）， and providing support for the terminal person and their families in the community. ConclusionThe death literacy of the Chinese residents in the Greater Bay Area was moderate， in which community knowledge was the weakest with a lack of concern and support for the terminal person and the caregivers. Therefore， community health promotion strategies were proposed to strengthen death education for the public and promote the death literacy of the residents.

ObjectiveTo assess the predictive performance of four creatinine-based equations for estimated glomerular filtration rate （eGFR）： 2012 chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration （CKD-EPIcr） equation ， 2021CKD-EPIcr equation， Xiangya equation and European kidney function consortium （EKFC） equation. MethodsA total of 198 patients with chronic kidney disease from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and the Kiang Wu Hospital in Macau were enrolled. We compared the GFR measured （mGFR） by iohexol plasma clearance and the eGFR calculated by four equations. The agreement between mGFR and eGFR was analyzed by Bland-Altman plots， concordance correlation coefficient （CCC）， coverage probability （CP） and total deviation index （TDI）. The performance of eGFR equations， including their bias， precision， root square mean error （RSME）， and percentage of estimates within 30% deviation of measured GFR （P₃₀）， were evaluated. Bootstrap method （2 000 samples） was used to calculate bias， interquartile range （IQR）， RSME， and 95% confidence intervals （CI） for P_30. After selecting the optimal eGFR equation as the reference， we statisticlly tested other equations by ① Wilcoxon signed-rank test for bias； ② McNemar-Bowker test for P₃₀； ③ comparing RMSE and IQR with independent samples t test after 2 000 bootstrap samples were obtained. ResultsThe median mGFR and four eGFR equations （EKFC， 2012CKD-EPIcr， 2021CKD-EPIcr and Xiangya equation） in the overall population were 56.2 mL·min^-1·（1.73m²）^-1， 67.1 mL·min^-1·（1.73m²）^-1， 73.0 mL·min^-1·（1.73m²）^-1， 66.9 mL·min^-1·（1.73m²）^-1 and 63.8 mL·min^-1·（1.73m²）^-1， respectively. The Bland-Altman plots showed that EKFC equation had the lowest mean difference and the narrowest 95% limit of agreement. The EKFC equation had the optimal performance on CCC， TDI and CP with values of 0.90， 24.41 and 0.50， respectively. Overall， the bias， accuracy， P₃₀ and RSME from the EKFC equation was -0.99， 14.64， 0.80， and 14.68， respectively， with 95% CI ranging from -2.53 to 0.94， 11.82 to 17.35， 0.73 to 0.85， and 12.69 to 17.35， respectively， which were superior to those values from other three eGFR equations. The differences were statistically significant （all P < 0.05）. The results in the mGFR subgroups were basically consistent with the overall trend. ConclusionsOf the four eGFR equations validated in this study， the EKFC equation comprehensively surpasses 2012CKD-EPIcr equation， 2021CKD-EPIcr equation， and Xiangya equation. With P₃₀>75%， the EKFC equation can meet clinical diagnostic needs. Therefore， the EKFC equation is recommended for estimating GFR in a Chinese population， but more participants need be included to further support this conclusion.

ObjectiveTo compare the level of testosterone between type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and healthy controls and to investigate the status of hypogonadism and the influence of hypopgonadism on the quality of life.

METHODSWe collected serum total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and other clinical data from 166 T2DM patients aged over 30 years and 186 age-matched healthy controls. We investigated the quality of life (QoL) of the two groups of subjects using the questionnaires of Androgen Deficiency in Aging Males (ADAM), Aging Male Symptoms (AMS), 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Special Quality of Life for Diabetes Mellitus (DSQL).

RESULTSThe level of calculated FT (cFT) was remarkably lower in the T2DM patients than in the healthy controls (P<0.05), but no statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in the levels of TT, bio-available testosterone (Bio-T), and SHBG. The T2DM males with hypogonadism showed significant differences from those without in age, height, systolic blood pressure, and creatinine (P<0.05). Based on the criteria of cFT <0.3 nmol/L and AMS score ≥27, the incidence rate of hypogonadism was 51.81% in the T2DM patients, 31.58% in the 30－39 yr group, 32.50% in the 40－49 yr group, 50% in the 50－59 yr group, 69.23% in the 60－69 yr group, and 77.27% in the ≥70 yr group, elevated by 77.4% with the increase of 10 years of age (OR = 1.774, P<0.001). The AMS score was significantly correlated with the scores of DSQL (r = 0.557, P<0.001) and SF-36 (r = －0.739, P<0.001) in the T2DM patients.

CONCLUSIONST2DM patients have lower levels of cFT than healthy men, accompanied with a higher incidence of hypogonadism. Age is a main risk factor of hypogonadism. Severer testosterone deficiency symptoms are associated with lower scores of QoL in T2DM males.