BACKGROUND: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a common liver disease and may become the leading cause of severe liver disease in the future. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study assesses MAFLD's impact in countries and regions worldwide, providing insights into its prevalence. METHODS: Prevalence data for MAFLD from 1990 to 2021 by country and region in all sex and age groups were collected from the Global Health Data Exchange. The categorization of countries and geographic areas by development was performed using the Sociodemographic Index (SDI). RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2021, the global crude prevalence rate of MAFLD increased from 10.6% to 16.1% (beta-coefficient: 0.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2-0.2%, P  <0.001), and the age-standardized prevalence rate was increased from 12.1% to 15.0% (beta-coefficient: 0.1%, 95% CI: 0.1-0.1%, P  <0.001). In 2021, MAFLD was estimated to have affected 1.3 billion people worldwide. Significant uptrends were observed in all regions, super regions, and SDI categories. The fastest increase from 1990 to 2021 and the highest prevalence rate in 2021 were experienced by countries and territories with high-middle and middle SDI. An increase in the prevalence of MAFLD from 1990 to 2021 was demonstrated in all but six countries. CONCLUSIONS In 2021, the number of patients affected by MAFLD was doubled compared to 1990, and the prevalence rate increased by over 50%. The burden of MAFLD, as measured by prevalence, was more prominent in countries and territories with middle SDI and in those located in North African and Middle Eastern, possibly due to changes in lifestyle in these areas over the past 30 years.
Humans ; Global Burden of Disease ; Prevalence ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Global Health ; Fatty Liver/epidemiology* ; Aged

Objective: To explore the facilitating and hindering factors of mental health promotion activities in junior and senior high schools from teachers perspectives, as well as coping strategies, so as to provide evidence for implementing teacher led mental health promotion programs. Methods: From September 2023 to September 2024, by using purposive sampling method, 5 junior high schools, 5 regular high schools, 2 vocational high schools in four provinces and municipalities (Tianjin, Shanxi, Shandong, and Jiangxi) were selected. A total of 92 teachers (78 homeroom teachers and 14 full time or part time psychological counselors) were interviewed using semi structured focus group discussions (one session per school, totaling 12 sessions). Thematic analysis was applied to code and analyze the interview transcripts. Results: The implementation of mental health promotion activities in middle schools was influenced by three levels: teachers, schools and society. Specifically, teachers exhibited a high support low capability phenomenon (81 participants supported conducting such activities, but 71 felt lacking in professional capacity); activity effectiveness and support systems were imbalanced (42 mentioned significant effects, while 78 reported insufficient support); there was a mismatch between student demand and activity content (9 mentioned students had psychological needs, but 11 indicated existing activities failed to meet these needs); administrative support and sustainability showed disparities (14 believed sufficient administrative support existed, while 37 noted sustainability issues); parental awareness and participation remained inadequate (11 highlighted parents need for mental health knowledge, and 37 perceived insufficient understanding of psychological issues among parents). Effective strategies included enhancing teachers effectiveness, providing essential skill training, focusing on the needs of teenagers,enhancing program sustainability, and eliminating misconceptions about mental health among parents. Conclusion Mental health promotion activities in junior and senior high schools should focus on enhancing teachers skills, improving activity sustainability, reducing stigma among parents, and establishing a collaborative network for school based mental health promotion.

Objective:To construct and validate an artificial intelligence diagnostic system based on multi-feature integration for diagnosing gastric whitish neoplastic lesions under white-light endoscopy.Methods:Gastroscopic images from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and the Seventh Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital were collected from November 2012 to July 2021. A total of 823 images of gastric whitish lesions from 267 patients were finally selected. Five white-light endoscopic features associated with gastric whitish lesions were selected through a literature search, including lesion location, boundary clarity, surface texture, roundness, and depression status. Images with manually annotated features were used to train machine learning models, with the optimal model selected as the multi-feature fitting diagnostic system, which assigned diagnostic weights to each feature. A conventional deep learning model was trained with the same dataset. The diagnostic performance of the two models were compared, and eight endoscopists of varying expertise were invited to participate in human-machine comparisons.Results:Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the multi-feature fitting diagnostic system were 82.11% (101/123), 78.43% (40/51), and 84.72% (61/72), respectively. Feature weights in descending order were depression (0.71), lesion location (0.11), surface roughness (0.08), boundary clarity (0.06), and subcircular shape (0.04). The diagnostic accuracy of the system was significantly higher than that of non-expert endoscopists (82.11% VS 74.31%, Z=-2.785, P=0.008) and comparable to that of expert endoscopists (82.11% VS 83.20%, Z=-0.696, P=0.700). There was no significant difference in accuracy between the multi-feature fitting diagnostic system and the traditional deep learning model [82.11% (101/123) VS 82.93% (102/123), P=1.000]. Conclusion:The feature-weighted artificial intelligence diagnostic system for gastric whitish neoplastic lesions demonstrates clinically relevant diagnostic accuracy under white-light endoscopy.

Objective:To analyze the application of Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes combined with endoscopic intervention on the prognosis of patients with acute esophageal and gastric variceal rupture and bleeding due to portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis, and to explore the impact of Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes combined with endoscopic intervention on the prognosis of patients.Methods:A retrospective study included patients with liver cirrhosis who visited the Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2023 to July 2024 due to acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, had no response to drug treatment and unstable hemodynamics, and received the Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes compression hemostasis. According to whether endoscopic intervention was received or not, the patients were divided into the endoscopic intervention group and the non-endoscopic intervention group. The medication and subsequent treatment of the patients were analyzed, and the survival of the patients 28 days after bleeding was followed up. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of endoscopic intervention on the 28-day mortality rate of patients.Results:A total of 31 cases successfully had three-lumen two-cystic tubes indwelled. Among them, 8 cases further received endoscopic examination and intervention, and 23 cases did not receive endoscopic examination. During the 28-day follow-up after bleeding, a total of 20 cases died. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the 28-day mortality rate in the endoscopic intervention group was significantly lower than that in the non-endoscopic intervention group (25.0% vs 78.3%, P=0.007). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that endoscopic intervention was an independent protective factor for 28-day mortality ( HR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.03-0.63, P=0.01). In addition, the severity of bleeding and prothrombin time were also important factors affecting the prognosis of patients. Conclusions:The Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes, as an important hemostasis method for acute esophageal and gastric variceal rupture and bleeding, can buy time for subsequent endoscopic treatment, but the risk of complications is relatively high. Creating conditions for early endoscopic intervention as early as possible can significantly reduce the mortality rate of patients and improve the prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Portal hypertension, as a clinical manifestation of the progression of various liver diseases, its concurrent rupture and bleeding of esophageal and gastric varices, ascites and hepatic encephalopathy, etc., seriously affect the prognosis of patients and have always been a key concern in clinical diagnosis and treatment. Although traditional imaging techniques play a key role in the diagnosis and evaluation of portal hypertension, their diagnostic efficacy is limited by subjective film reading, making it difficult to accurately quantify and deeply analyze the pathophysiological characteristics. In recent years, radiomics has gradually demonstrated its potential in the diagnosis and management of portal hypertension by extracting a large number of quantitative features from medical images and constructing predictive models in combination with artificial intelligence algorithms such as machine learning. This article systematically reviews the research progress of radiomics in portal hypertension, with a focus on discussing the current application status of radiomics characteristics in risk assessment, hemodynamic analysis, and prognosis prediction of portal hypertension, in order to promote the progress of radiomics from technical verification to clinical transformation.

Objective:To analyze the application of Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes combined with endoscopic intervention on the prognosis of patients with acute esophageal and gastric variceal rupture and bleeding due to portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis, and to explore the impact of Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes combined with endoscopic intervention on the prognosis of patients.Methods:A retrospective study included patients with liver cirrhosis who visited the Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2023 to July 2024 due to acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, had no response to drug treatment and unstable hemodynamics, and received the Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes compression hemostasis. According to whether endoscopic intervention was received or not, the patients were divided into the endoscopic intervention group and the non-endoscopic intervention group. The medication and subsequent treatment of the patients were analyzed, and the survival of the patients 28 days after bleeding was followed up. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of endoscopic intervention on the 28-day mortality rate of patients.Results:A total of 31 cases successfully had three-lumen two-cystic tubes indwelled. Among them, 8 cases further received endoscopic examination and intervention, and 23 cases did not receive endoscopic examination. During the 28-day follow-up after bleeding, a total of 20 cases died. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the 28-day mortality rate in the endoscopic intervention group was significantly lower than that in the non-endoscopic intervention group (25.0% vs 78.3%, P=0.007). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that endoscopic intervention was an independent protective factor for 28-day mortality ( HR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.03-0.63, P=0.01). In addition, the severity of bleeding and prothrombin time were also important factors affecting the prognosis of patients. Conclusions:The Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes, as an important hemostasis method for acute esophageal and gastric variceal rupture and bleeding, can buy time for subsequent endoscopic treatment, but the risk of complications is relatively high. Creating conditions for early endoscopic intervention as early as possible can significantly reduce the mortality rate of patients and improve the prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Portal hypertension, as a clinical manifestation of the progression of various liver diseases, its concurrent rupture and bleeding of esophageal and gastric varices, ascites and hepatic encephalopathy, etc., seriously affect the prognosis of patients and have always been a key concern in clinical diagnosis and treatment. Although traditional imaging techniques play a key role in the diagnosis and evaluation of portal hypertension, their diagnostic efficacy is limited by subjective film reading, making it difficult to accurately quantify and deeply analyze the pathophysiological characteristics. In recent years, radiomics has gradually demonstrated its potential in the diagnosis and management of portal hypertension by extracting a large number of quantitative features from medical images and constructing predictive models in combination with artificial intelligence algorithms such as machine learning. This article systematically reviews the research progress of radiomics in portal hypertension, with a focus on discussing the current application status of radiomics characteristics in risk assessment, hemodynamic analysis, and prognosis prediction of portal hypertension, in order to promote the progress of radiomics from technical verification to clinical transformation.

Objective:To construct and validate an artificial intelligence diagnostic system based on multi-feature integration for diagnosing gastric whitish neoplastic lesions under white-light endoscopy.Methods:Gastroscopic images from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and the Seventh Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital were collected from November 2012 to July 2021. A total of 823 images of gastric whitish lesions from 267 patients were finally selected. Five white-light endoscopic features associated with gastric whitish lesions were selected through a literature search, including lesion location, boundary clarity, surface texture, roundness, and depression status. Images with manually annotated features were used to train machine learning models, with the optimal model selected as the multi-feature fitting diagnostic system, which assigned diagnostic weights to each feature. A conventional deep learning model was trained with the same dataset. The diagnostic performance of the two models were compared, and eight endoscopists of varying expertise were invited to participate in human-machine comparisons.Results:Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the multi-feature fitting diagnostic system were 82.11% (101/123), 78.43% (40/51), and 84.72% (61/72), respectively. Feature weights in descending order were depression (0.71), lesion location (0.11), surface roughness (0.08), boundary clarity (0.06), and subcircular shape (0.04). The diagnostic accuracy of the system was significantly higher than that of non-expert endoscopists (82.11% VS 74.31%, Z=-2.785, P=0.008) and comparable to that of expert endoscopists (82.11% VS 83.20%, Z=-0.696, P=0.700). There was no significant difference in accuracy between the multi-feature fitting diagnostic system and the traditional deep learning model [82.11% (101/123) VS 82.93% (102/123), P=1.000]. Conclusion:The feature-weighted artificial intelligence diagnostic system for gastric whitish neoplastic lesions demonstrates clinically relevant diagnostic accuracy under white-light endoscopy.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to analyze the current status of outcome indicators in randomized controlled trials （RCT） of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） for treating chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG）， so as to provide references for constructing the core outcome set （COS） of TCM in the treatment of CAG. MethodChina National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）， Wanfang， VIP， SinoMed， PubMed， Embase， and Cochrane Library databases were searched for RCTs of TCM in the treatment of CAG in the last five years. The risk of bias of included studies was evaluated， and the selection status of outcome indicators was statistically analyzed. ResultA total of 150 RCTs were included， with a sample size of 44-398 cases. 164 outcome indicators were reported， with an application frequency of 1 229 times. The outcome indicators were classified into seven indicator domains according to functional attributes， followed by physical and chemical examination （69.41%）， TCM syndrome （12.69%）， symptoms and signs （11.15%）， safety indicators （5.37%）， quality of life （0.65%）， long-term prognosis （0.65%）， and economic evaluation （0.08%）. According to the statistical analysis， there were problems in the selection of outcome indicators in RCTs of TCM for treating CAG， including various indicators， non-standard name reports， unclear primary and secondary indicators， random combination of subjective and objective indicators， neglected patient report outcome indicators， missing long-term prognosis and economic indicators， insufficient reporting of safety indicators， and inconsistent measurement tools and measurement time points. ConclusionIn the past five years， there have been many problems in the selection of outcome indicators in RCTs of TCM for treating CAG. It is necessary to actively promote the construction of the COS of TCM in the treatment of CAG and promote the high-quality development of clinical research of TCM.

Objective:To investigate the current status of endoscopic treatment for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension in China, and to provide supporting data and reference for the development of endoscopic treatment.Methods:In this study, initiated by the Liver Health Consortium in China (CHESS), a questionnaire was designed and distributed online to investigate the basic condition of endoscopic treatment for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension in 2022 in China. Questions included annual number and indication of endoscopic procedures, adherence to guideline for preventing esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EGVB), management and timing of emergent EGVB, management of gastric and isolated varices, and improvement of endoscopic treatment. Proportions of hospitals concerning therapeutic choices to all participant hospitals were calculated. Guideline adherence between secondary and tertiary hospitals were compared by using Chi-square test.Results:A total of 836 hospitals from 31 provinces (anotomous regions and municipalities) participated in the survey. According to the survey, the control of acute EGVB (49.3%, 412/836) and the prevention of recurrent bleeding (38.3%, 320/836) were major indications of endoscopic treatment. For primary [non-selective β-blocker (NSBB) or endoscopic therapies] and secondary prophylaxis (NSBB and endoscopic therapies) of EGVB, adherence to domestic guideline was 72.5% (606/836) and 39.2% (328/836), respectively. There were significant differences in the adherence between secondary and tertiary hospitals in primary prophylaxis of EGVB [71.0% (495/697) VS 79.9% (111/139), χ2=4.11, P=0.033] and secondary prophylaxis of EGVB [41.6% (290/697) VS 27.3% (38/139), χ2=9.31, P=0.002]. A total of 78.2% (654/836) hospitals preferred endoscopic therapies treating acute EGVB, and endoscopic therapy was more likely to be the first choice for treating acute EGVB in tertiary hospitals (82.6%, 576/697) than secondary hospitals [56.1% (78/139), χ2=46.33, P<0.001]. The optimal timing was usually within 12 hours (48.5%, 317/654) and 12-24 hours (36.9%, 241/654) after the bleeding. Regarding the management of gastroesophageal varices type 2 and isolated gastric varices type 1, most hospitals used cyanoacrylate injection in combination with sclerotherapy [48.2% (403/836) and 29.9% (250/836), respectively], but substantial proportions of hospitals preferred clip-assisted therapies [12.4% (104/836) and 26.4% (221/836), respectively]. Improving the skills of endoscopic doctors (84.2%, 704/836), and enhancing the precision of pre-procedure evaluation and quality of multidisciplinary team (78.9%, 660/836) were considered urgent needs in the development of endoscopic treatment. Conclusion:A variety of endoscopic treatments for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension are implemented nationwide. Participant hospitals are active to perform emergent endoscopy for acute EGVB, but are inadequate in following recommendations regarding primary and secondary prophylaxis of EGVB. Moreover, the selection of endoscopic procedures for gastric varices differs greatly among hospitals.