BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) presents a significant health burden in Asia and remains a critical challenge. This study aims to delineate the PAH burden in Asia from 1990 to 2021. METHODS: Using the latest data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021, we evaluated and analyzed the distributions and patterns of PAH disease burden among various age groups, sexes, regions, and countries in Asia. Additionally, we examined the associations between PAH disease burden and key health system indicators, including the socio-demographic index (SDI) and the universal health coverage (UHC) index. RESULTS: In 2021, there were 25,989 new PAH cases, 103,382 existing cases, 13,909 PAH-associated deaths, and 385,755 DALYs attributed to PAH in Asia, which accounted for approximately 60% of global PAH cases. The age-standardized rates (ASRs) for prevalence and deaths were 2.05 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 1.66-2.52) per 100,000 population and 0.31 (95% UI: 0.23-0.38) per 100,000 population, respectively. From 1990 to 2021, Asia reported the lowest ASRs for PAH prevalence but the highest ASRs for deaths compared to other continents. While the ASRs for prevalence increased slightly, ASRs for mortality and DALYs decreased over time. This increasing burden of PAH was primarily driven by population growth and aging. The burden was especially pronounced among individuals aged ≥60 years and <9 years, who collectively accounted for the majority of deaths and DALYs. Moreover, higher SDI and UHC levels were linked to reduced incidence, but higher prevalence rates. CONCLUSIONS Although progress has been made in reducing PAH-related mortality and DALYs, the disease continues to impose a substantial burden in Asia, particularly among older adults and young children. Region-specific health policies should focus on improving early diagnosis, expanding access to treatment, and effectively addressing the growing PAH burden in the region.
Humans ; Global Burden of Disease ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Asia/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Aged ; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension/mortality* ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Infant ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/epidemiology*

Background::Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has potential risks for both clinically worsening pulmonary hypertension (PH) and increasing mortality. However, the data regarding the protective role of vaccination in this population are still lacking. This study aimed to assess the safety of approved vaccination for patients with PH.Methods::In this national prospective cohort study, patients diagnosed with PH (World Health Organization [WHO] groups 1 and 4) were enrolled from October 2021 to April 2022. The primary outcome was the composite of PH-related major adverse events. We used an inverse probability weighting (IPW) approach to control for possible confounding factors in the baseline characteristics of patients.Results::In total, 706 patients with PH participated in this study (mean age, 40.3 years; mean duration after diagnosis of PH, 8.2 years). All patients received standardized treatment for PH in accordance with guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of PH in China. Among them, 278 patients did not receive vaccination, whereas 428 patients completed the vaccination series. None of the participants were infected with COVID-19 during our study period. Overall, 398 patients received inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine, whereas 30 received recombinant protein subunit vaccine. After adjusting for baseline covariates using the IPW approach, the odds of any adverse events due to PH in the vaccinated group did not statistically significantly increase (27/428 [6.3%] vs. 24/278 [8.6%], odds ratio = 0.72, P = 0.302). Approximately half of the vaccinated patients reported at least one post-vaccination side effects, most of which were mild, including pain at the injection site (159/428, 37.1%), fever (11/428, 2.6%), and fatigue (26/428, 6.1%). Conclusions::COVID-19 vaccination did not significantly augment the PH-related major adverse events for patients with WHO groups 1 and 4 PH, although there were some tolerable side effects. A large-scale randomized controlled trial is warranted to confirm this finding. The final approval of the COVID-19 vaccination for patients with PH as a public health strategy is promising.

Objective To analyze the risk factors for renal function deterioration in patients with lupus nephritis. Methods Clinical data of patients with lupus nephritis admitted to the Third and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College from June 2013 to June 2015 were reviewed and retrospectively analyzed. Of them ,62 lupus nephritis patients with the rapid deterioration of renal function were selected as an observation group ,and 62 patients were selected randomly from 200 lupus nephritis patients with normal renal function and were considered as a control group.Risk factors for the rapid deterioration of renal function in patients with lupus nephritis were analyzed by univariate analysis. Furthermore ,multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors for the rapid deterioration of renal function in patients with lupus nephritis. Results Univariate analysis revealed that infection , lupus activity , anemia , hypoproteinemia and hypertriglyceridemia were risk factors for the rapid deterioration of renal function in patients with lupus nephritis (P ＜ 0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that infection ,lupus activity and hypoproteinemia were the independent risk factors for the rapid deterioration of renal function in patients with lupus nephritis(OR=3.109 ,3.669 and 2.691 ,P=0.003 ,0.004 and 0.033 , respectively ). Conclusions Infection ,lupus activity and hypoproteinemia are the independent risk factors for the rapid deterioration of renal function in patients with lupus nephritis. Early prevention and intervention can improve clinical outcome and quality of life in lupus nephritis patients.

Objective:To explore the protective effect of curcumin on type 2 diabetic nephropathy rats and the possible mechanism.Methods:30 Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group,the DN group and curcumin group,10 cases in each group,rats in DN and curcumin group were fed with high fat,after that they were used the streptozotocin injection to set up DN model.In addition,rats in curcumin group were given 200 mg/kg curcumin once a day,other two group were given sodium carboxymethylcellulose half-and-half.After 12 weeks,the 24 h urine were collected at the last delivery,the blood glucose(BG),total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),serum creatinine(Scr),microalbu minuria(mAlb) were tested,the urinary albumin excretion rate(UAER) was calculated.Furthermore,rats were sacrificed,kidney mass weighed,and the kidney index(KI) was calculated.Renal cortical was fixed with polymers cresol for hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining,renal cortical was also made renal cortex homogenate and the SOD activity,MDA were detected,the expression of nuclear factor related factor 2(Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1(HO-1) protein in the kidney tissues was detected with Western blot detection.Results:BG,TC,TG,KI,BUN,Scr,UAER,MDA of DN group and curcumin group were significantly higher than control group,and BM,KM,SOD was significantly lower than the control group,the amplitude raising or reducing in curcumin group were less than DN group,the difference had statistical significance(P<0.05);HE staining results showed that,compared with DN group,renal tubule degeneration in curcumin group was obviously reduced,inflammatory cells infiltration was decreased significantly;Western blot results showed that expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 protein in control group were significantly lower than DN group and curcumin group,and curcumin group was significantly higher than the DN group,the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion:Curcumin may play a role of kidney protection through the activation of Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway to reduce oxidative stress in diabetic nephropathy rats.