OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) poses a major threat to global health. Evaluating atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals can help identify those at high risk of CVD. This study aims to establish an individualized nomogram prediction model to estimate the risk of vascular plaque formation in asymptomatic individuals. METHODS: A total of 5 655 participants who underwent CVD screening at the Health Management Center of The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, between January 2022 and June 2024 we retrospectively enrolled. Using simple random sampling, participants were divided into a training set (n=4 524) and a validation set (n=1 131) in an 8꞉2 ratio. Demographic and clinical data were collected and compared between groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent factors associated with vascular plaques and to construct a nomogram prediction model. The predictive performance and clinical utility of the model were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 52 years old. There were 3 400 males (60.12%). The overall detection rate of vascular plaque in the screening population was 49.87% (2 820/5 655). No statistically significant differences were observed in clinical indicators between the training and validation sets (all P>0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis identified age, systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), lipoprotein(a), male sex, smoking history, hypertension history, and diabetes history as independent risk factors for vascular plaque in asymptomatic individuals (all P<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram model for predicting vascular plaque risk were 0.778 (95% CI 0.765 to 0.791, P<0.001) in the training set and 0.760 (95% CI 0.732 to 0.787, P<0.001) in the validation set. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test indicated good model calibration (training set: P=0.628; validation set: P=0.561). The calibration curve plotted using the Bootstrap method demonstrated good agreement between predicted probabilities and actual probabilities. DCA showed that the nomogram provided a clinical net benefit for predicting vascular plaque risk when the threshold probability ranged from 0.02 to 0.99. CONCLUSIONS The nomogram prediction model for vascular plaque risk, constructed using readily available and cost-effective physical examination indicators, exhibited good predictive performance. This model can assist in the early identification and intervention of asymptomatic individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease.
Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Nomograms ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic/diagnosis* ; Aged ; Adult ; Physical Examination ; Logistic Models ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; ROC Curve

Rheumatic fever is an autoimmune disease characterized by recurring acute or chronic systemic connective tissue inflammation caused by group A streptococcal infection in the throat. Although rheumatic fever is common in China, there is a lack of standardized criteria for the diagnosis and treatment of this condition. Based on evidence and guidelines from China and other countries, the Chinese Rheumatology Association developed standardized criteria for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in China. The aim was to standardize rheumatic fever diagnosis methods, treatment opportunities, and strategies for both short-and long-term treatment, so as to reduce irreversible damage and improve prognosis.

Objective:To examine the association between working hours and urinary sodium and potassium excretion levels in a population undergoing health examinations and the potential mediating effect of timely eating behaviors.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 64 400 people who received health checkups from August 2017 to August 2022 at the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were recruited as study subjects. General information on socio-demographic characteristics of the enrolled subjects were collected using the health checkup self-assessment questionnaire in the Expert Consensus on Basic Items for Health Checkups. Urinary excretion levels of sodium and potassium were measured with the Kawasaki method. The association between working hours and urinary sodium and potassium excretion levels was checked by using Pearson′s correlation analysis. The relationships between timely eating behaviors, working hours, and urinary sodium and potassium excretion levels and their ratios were analyzed using logistic regression and linear regression models, while the mediating mechanisms involved was also examined.Results:Among the 64 400 subjects, there were 39 274 males (60.98%) and 25 126 females (39.02%), the mean age was (43.80±11.13) years. There were 16 980 individuals (26.37%) with an average working time exceeding 8 hours per day. Additionally, 4 332 subjects (6.73%) were unable to eat three meals on time. The mean urinary sodium and potassium excretion and their ratios were (4.12±1.86) g/d, (2.06±0.80) g/d, 2.05±0.66, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between working hours and urinary sodium excretion, urinary potassium excretion, and their ratios ( r=0.034, 0.021, 0.032, respectivley); it showed that timely eating behavior had a significant negative correlation with urinary sodium and potassium excretion ( r=-0.022, -0.019, respectivley) (all P<0.001). There was a partial mediating effect of timely eating behavior in the association between working hours and urinary sodium excretion (effect value of -0.006), and after stratifying the labor intensity, this mediating effect was only found among individuals engaged in light physical labor (both P<0.001). Conclusions:Prolonged working hours leads to increased levels of urinary sodium and urinary potassium excretion, and timely eating behavior facilitates salt/sodium reduction in light-duty workers.

Background::Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is an extremely lethal malignancy. Identification of the functional genes and genetic variants related to PAAD prognosis is important and challenging. Previously identified prognostic genes from several expression profile analyses were inconsistent. The regulatory genetic variants that affect PAAD prognosis were largely unknown.Methods::Firstly, a meta-analysis was performed with seven published datasets to systematically explore the candidate prognostic genes for PAAD. Next, to identify the regulatory variants for those candidate genes, expression quantitative trait loci analysis was implemented with PAAD data resources from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Then, a two-stage association study in a total of 893 PAAD patients was conducted to interrogate the regulatory variants and find the prognostic locus. Finally, a series of biochemical experiments and phenotype assays were carried out to demonstrate the biological function of variation and genes in PAAD progression process.Results::A total of 128 genes were identified associated with the PAAD prognosis in the meta-analysis. Fourteen regulatory loci in 12 of the 128 genes were discovered, among which, only rs4887783, the functional variant in the promoter of Ring Finger and WD Repeat Domain 3 ( RFWD3), presented significant association with PAAD prognosis in both stages of the population study. Dual-luciferase reporter and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that rs4887783-G allele, which predicts the worse prognosis, enhanced the binding of transcript factor REST, thus elevating RFWD3 expression. Further phenotypic assays revealed that excess expression of RFWD3 promoted tumor cell migration without affecting their proliferation rate. RFWD3 was highly expressed in PAAD and might orchestrate the genes in the DNA repair process. Conclusions::RFWD3 and its regulatory variant are novel genetic factors for PAAD prognosis.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and tumor necrosis factors-α (TNF-α) gene polymorphism and sarcoidosis. Methods: Meta analysis was carried out by retrieving the studies published up to July 2018 to evaluate the relationship between ACE and TNF-α gene polymorphism and sarcoidosis. RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software were used to analyze the combined OR value and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) by recessive model and dominant model. The stability of the results was judged by ethnic subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis. Results: A total of 28 articles and 30 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 7 888 cases, 2 992 cases of sarcoidosis and 4 896 healthy controls. No significant association was found between ACE I/D and sarcoidosis using any model (P>0.05). TNF-α-308A/G was significantly associated with sarcoidosis risk (OR=1.34, 95% CI=1.13-1.58, P=0.0007). Ethnic subgroup analysis showed that the results were significantly different in both the Caucasians (OR=1.36, 95% CI=1.13-1.64, P=0.001) and the Asians (OR=4.88, 95% CI=1.43-16.99, P=0.01). Conclusions The meta-analysis identified that AA/AG genotypes at TNF-α-308 were associated with susceptibility to sarcoidosis .However, no significant correlation was found between ACE I/D and the susceptibility of sarcoidosis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical features and influencing factors of renal artery involvement in patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA).Methods:One hundred and five TA patients were included and their clinical features, laboratory tests, echocardiographic findings were collected and analyzed. The t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Sperman's correlation and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Results:Of the 105 patients with Takayasu's arteritis, 21 (20%) patients were diagnosed to have renal artery involvement. They had higher frequency of hypertension [76%(16/21) vs 25%(21/84); χ2=19.291, P<0.01], syncope [19%(4/21) vs 4%(3/84); P=0.028] and headache [52%(11/21) vs 25%(21/84); χ2=5.944, P=0.019]. Patients with renal artery invol-vement had higher levels of creatinine [(67±30) mmol/L vs (50±14) mmol/L; t=2.436, P=0.023], lower levels of lymphocyte subsets CD3 +[1 299(1 261.5, 1 313.45)/μl vs 1 531 (1 330, 1 559.5)/μl; Z=-3.12, P=0.002], CD4 +[793.6(715, 804.32)/μl vs 914.88(794.3, 914.8)/μl; Z=-2.597, P=0.009], CD8 +[451.09(451.09, 489.5)/μl vs 552.39(459.75, 557.5)/μl; Z=-3.271, P=0.001] and glomerular filtration rate ( Z=-2.612, P=0.009). Comparison of echocardiographic parameters between the two groups showed that the diameters of left atrium [(35±4) mm vs (32±4) mm; t=3.065, P=0.003] and end-diastolic left ventricular [49.2(47.5, 52.5) vs 45.84(43.25, 47.75); Z=-3.795, P<0.01] were larger in renal artery involvement group. Abdominal aorta ( χ2=14.292, P<0.01), superior mesenteric artery ( P<0.01), inferior mesenteric artery ( P=0.038) and common iliac artery ( P=0.005), were more likely involved in patients with renal artery involvement; while the common carotid artery ( χ2=3.815, P=0.047) and subclavian artery ( P=0.022) were less affected. There was a positive correlation between creati-nine level ( r=0.282, P=0.004) and renal artery involvement in patients with arteritis, and the number of lymphocyte subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8) ( r=-0.306, P=0.002; r=-0.255, P=0.009; r=-0.321, P=0.001) was negatively correlated with renal artery involvement. Conclusion:The most common pattern of renal artery involvement is stenosis and occlusion. Hypertension, syncope, headache, kidney dysfunction and heart failure are more prevalent among patients with renal artery involvement. The number of lymphocyte subsets is low, and involvement of abdominal aorta is common. It should be assessed and treated as soon as it is discovered.

Objective:To explore the association between the changes in ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) indices and the renal function.Methods:The retrospective cohort study consisted of 837 Chinese individuals from Department of Health Management in the Third Xiangya Hospital.The general information,anthropometry and blood biochemistry were obtained for all subjects from 2008 to 2014,respectively.The 6-year changes of 7 ideal CVH metrics defined by American Heart Association and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were calculated.Linear regression analysis was used to study the association between the changes in the ideal CVH metrics and eGFR.Covariance analysis was used to compare the levels of changes in eGFR stratified by variations of the ideal CVH metrics.Results:After 6 years' follow-up,we did not find significant difference in ideal cardiovascular health indexes between 2014 and 2008 [(3.3±1.4) items vs.(3.2±1.3) items,respectively] (P＜0.05).However,the eGFR in 2014 was significantly lower than that in 2008 [(99.8±22.7) mL/(min.1.73 m2)vs (104.3±24.9) mL/(min.1.73 m2),respectively] (P＜0.01).After adjusting for age,sex,history of hypertension and diabetes,and history of drug usage (antihypertensive,cholesterol-lowering and blood glucose-lowering medication),the changes in ideal CVH metrics were positively associated with the changes in eGFR (β=0.701,P＜0.01).With the improved change in ideal CVH metrics from ≤-2 points,-1 point,0 point,1 point to ≥ 2 points,the magnitude of decline in eGFR was gradually decreased,with significant difference (F=21.71,P＜0.01).Conclusion:The changes in ideal CVH metrics are an independent risk factor for changes of eGFR.Positive changes in ideal CVH metrics exert a favorable effect on renal function evolution.

Objective To explore the application value of stepped screening on hypertension with self-report health measurement questionnaire by comparing the accuracy of the different levels of screening. Methods A total of 6 715 subjects with hypertension (average age of 53.47 ± 11.07 years) were selected from those who completed the physical examination in the department of health management in the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University for questionnaire survey, routine inspection and special inspection for hypertension. And the patients were divided into four groups based on their hypertension risk levels: the questionnaire survey group, routine inspection group, questionnaire + routine inspection group and questionnaire+routine inspection+special inspection group. The results were compared respectively to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and coincidence rate of single inspection and joint inspection. Results Nearly 90.00%of the subjects had hypertension associated with the risk factors, while 20.83% of the subjects had hypertension associated with other clinical diseases (the highest percentage was seen in hypertension with diabetes as 14.88%). According to the guidelines of stratification, 3.41% of the patients were at low risk, 23.78% at moderate risk, 47.85% at high risk, and 24.96% at extremely high risk. Sensitivity and specificity of routine inspection were 95.56%and 45.51%in judgment of moderate risk, which became 100.00%and 45.51%after addition of questionnaire survey;as a result, thesensitivity increased. Sensitivity and specificity of routine inspection were 15.03%and 96.28%in judgment of high risk, which became 30.03% and 99.14% after addition of questionnaire survey; as a result, the sensitivity doubled. Sensitivity and specificity of routine inspection were 15.03%and 100.00%in judgment of extremely high risk, and the sensitivity increased to 94.45%after addition of questionnaire survey, while the specificity remained unchanged. Conclusion Addition of questionnaire on the basis of routine physical examination could greatly increase the detection rate of hypertension patients at different risk levels, and increase the sensitivity as well as specificity for detection of moderate risk, high risk and extremely high risk. Therefore, health information and data acquired from the questionnaire and data obtained from the medical inspection equipment are equally important and suggest health management (physical examination) institutions to take questionnaire as a necessary and primary screening in physical examination and chronic disease screening.

Objective To investigate the preoperative psychological states of patients undergoing extracorporeal shockwave for osteonecrosis treatment of the femoral head inside out. Methods Purposive sampling method and semi-structured interviews were conducted in 12 patients who would be undergoing extracorporeal shockwave treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head in China-Japan Friendship Hospital. The data was analyzed using phenomenological method. Results The preoperative psychological states of patients were summarized into four themes: imperceptions of disease, insufficient understanding of extracorporeal shockwave treatment, uncertainties of treatment effects, and over expectation for the prognosis after treatment. Conclusions Nurse needs to provide specific preoperative propagandization and psychiatric mental health nursing for patients before extracorporeal shockwave treatment, and improve quality of nursing service.

Objective To prepare a targeted antitumor drug delivery system using large-inner-diameter multi-walled carbon nanotubes (LID-MWCNTs) for sustained release and to study its performance. Methods LID-MWCNTs were puri?fied and oxidized,then use nanocarriers and USTs as homologous blockers. Folic acid and fluorescent labels were conjugat?ed onto the external surfaces of nanocarriers. CDDP (cisplatin) was encapsulated and ultrashort tubes (USTs) were employed to block the drug entry/exit paths. The microstructure of resulted drug delivery system (DDS) was observed, while drug load?ing efficiency and drug release profile in vitro were determined. The tumor-targeting property and cytotoxicity of DDS were also assessed. Results LID-MWCNT based sustained release targeted drug delivery system was established. Drug loading efficiency of CDDP@UST-FA-LID-MWCNTs was as high as 70.97%. A typical biphasic sustained release pattern was dem?onstrated, and the accumulating release time was 18 h. DDS exhibited a certain kind of tumor-targeting property, and inhibit?ed proliferation of tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion CDDP@UST-FA-LID-MWCNT drug delivery system exhibited an improved drug loading efficiency and a sustained drug release profile. It could specifically target the tu?mor cells and had a significant antitumor effect.