ObjectiveTo explore the effect of different drying conditions on the appearance and intrinsic quality indicators of Pinelliae Rhizoma for screening suitable drying conditions， so as to provide reference for its standardized production and quality evaluation. MethodsDifferent dried samples of Pinelliae Rhizoma were prepared by lime-assisted sweating method and intermittent drying method. Visual analysis was employed to measure the color brightness values（L^*） of the surface， cross-section and powder of the samples， texture analyzer was used to determine the hardness of the samples under different drying conditions. The total starch content was calculated by measuring the contents of amylose and amylopectin in the samples with ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. High performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） was used to determine the contents of seven nucleoside components（uracil， hypoxanthine， uridine， inosine， guanosine， β-thymidine and adenosine） in the samples. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between the external characteristics and intrinsic indicators of the different dried samples. Principal component analysis（PCA） was used to comprehensively rank the data of various indicators， and partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA） was used to screen differential components with variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1. Furthermore， the difference between the optimal drying condition for Pinelliae Rhizoma and the traditional sun-drying method was explored by independent samples t-test. ResultsWith the increase of temperature， the color of the intermittently dried samples gradually deepened， while their hardness gradually decreased. Concurrently， the contents of extract， total starch， uridine and adenosine exhibited an upward trend， whereas the contents of uracil， hypoxanthine and inosine displayed a downward trajectory. Compared with the intermittent drying group， the content of extract in the samples subjected to lime-assisted sweating increased. With the increase of lime dose， the hardness and the total content of nucleoside components in the samples showed a downward trend， while the total starch content showed an upward trend. Correlation analysis showed that the comprehensive score of L^* was negatively correlated with the contents of uracil， hypoxanthine and inosine， and positively correlated with the contents of uridine， guanosine and adenosine. Hardness was negatively correlated with adenosine content， and positively correlated with the contents of inosine， uracil and hypoxanthine. Through comprehensive consideration and comprehensive score of principal components， the method of 5% lime-mixed sweating for 6 days emerged as the top-ranking approach. Except for the extract， the results of independent samples t-test showed that there was no significant difference between the 5% lime-mixed sweating for 6 days and the traditional sun-drying in terms of other content indicators. ConclusionThe whiteness and firmness of Pinelliae Rhizoma exhibit significant correlations with its chemical composition， while uridine， uracil， guanosine， adenosine and inosine are the key constituents responsible for the quality difference of Pinelliae Rhizoma under different drying conditions. The lime-assisted sweating method optimized in this study can be proposed as a viable alternative to the traditional sun-drying method. This method not only ensures the quality of the medicinal material but also effectively reduces the drying time and prevents mold contamination， which provides a valuable reference for the standardization of drying conditions and the establishment of quality evaluation criteria for Pinelliae Rhizoma.

Objective:To investigate serum vitamin A and vitamin D status in children aged 2-<7 years in 20 cities in China.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 2 924 healthy children aged 2-<7 years were recruited from September 2018 to September 2019 from 20 cities in China, categorized by age groups of 2-<3 years, 3-<5 years, and 5-<7 years. The demographic and economic characteristics and health-related information of the enrolled children were investigated. Body weight and height were measured by professional staff members. The serum vitamin A and vitamin D levels were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Chi-square test and Logistic regression were applied to analyze the association between vitamin A and vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency as well as their underlying impact factors.Results:The age of the 2 924 enrolled children was 4.33 (3.42, 5.17) years. There were 1 726 males (59.03%) and 1 198 females (40.97%). The prevalences of vitamin A and vitamin D deficiency in enrolled children were 2.19% (64/2 924) and 3.52% (103/2 924), respectively, and the insufficiency rates were 29.27% (856/2 924) and 22.20% (649/2 924), respectively. Children with both vitamin A and vitamin D deficiencies or insufficiencies were found in 10.50% (307/2 924) of cases. Both vitamin A ( χ2=7.91 and 8.06, both P=0.005) and vitamin D ( χ2=71.35 and 115.10, both P<0.001) insufficiency rates were higher in children aged 3-<5 and 5-<7 years than those in children aged 2-<3 years. Vitamin A and vitamin D supplementation in the last 3 months was a protective factor for vitamin A and D deficiency and insufficiency, respectively ( OR=0.68 and 0.22, 95% CI 0.49-0.95 and 0.13-0.40, both P<0.05). The rates of vitamin A and D insufficiency was higher in children with annual household incomes <60 000 RMB than in those with annual household incomes ≥60 000 RMB ( χ2=34.11 and 10.43, both P<0.01). Northwest and Southwest had the highest rates of vitamin A and vitamin D insufficiency in children aged 2-<7 yeas, respectively ( χ2=93.22 and 202.54, both P<0.001). Conclusions:Among 20 cities in China, children aged 2-<7 years experience high rates of vitamin A and vitamin D insufficiency, which are affected by age, family economic level, vitamin A and vitamin D supplementation, and regional economic level. The current results suggest that high level of attention should be paid to vitamin A and vitamin D nutritional status of preschool children.

Objective:To develop a deep learning model based on multimodal data for glaucoma diagnosis and severity assessment.Methods:A diagnostic test was conducted.A total of 145 normal eyes from 86 participants and 507 eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma from 314 participants were collected at the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from June to December in 2023.Fundus photographs and visual field data were obtained, and glaucoma eyes were divided into three groups based on the mean deviation value of the visual field, namely mild group (154 eyes), moderate group (113 eyes), and severe group (240 eyes).Three convolutional neural network (CNN) models, including DenseNet 121, ResNet 50 and VGG 19, were used to build an artificial intelligence (AI) model.The impact of single-modal and multimodal data on the classification results was evaluated, and the most appropriate CNN network architecture for multimodal data was identified.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University (No.2023L93).Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.Results:A total of 652 eyes had both fundus photographs and visual field test results.Images were randomly assigned to training and test datasets in a 4∶1 ratio by using computer random number method.AI models built with different CNN models showed high accuracy, with DenseNet 121 outperforming ResNet 50 and VGG 19 on various effectiveness measures.In the single-modal algorithm using fundus photographs, single-modal algorithm using visual field tests, and multimodal algorithm combining fundus photographs and visual field data, the area under the curve for early glaucoma detection was 0.87, 0.93 and 0.95, respectively.Conclusions:The use of multimodal data enables the development of a highly accurate tool for the glaucoma diagnosis and severity grading.

Objective:To systematically evaluate the risk factors of aspiration pneumonia (AP) in elderly patients, so as to provide evidence-based basis for clinical early prevention of AP.Methods:We systematically searched Chinese and English databases such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) , WanFang Data, VIP, China Biomedical Literature Database, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase. The search time limit was from the establishment of the database to December 31, 2021. After quality evaluation, RevMan 5.4.1 software was used for Meta-analysis.Results:A total of 20 articles were included, including 25 related risk factors. Meta-analysis results showed that the elderly [ MD=3.71, 95% CI (2.34, 5.09) , P<0.01], male [ OR=1.38, 95% CI (1.03, 1.58) , P<0.01], chronic underlying disease [ OR=0.13, 95% CI (0.04, 0.23) , P<0.01], Parkinson's disease [ OR=13.45, 95% CI (1.22, 148.88) , P<0.05], gastroesophageal reflux [ OR=2.47, 95% CI (2.03, 3.00) , P<0.01], history of aspiration [ OR=22.77, 95% CI (3.95, 31.36) , P<0.01], hypoalbuminemia [ OR=6.44, 95% CI (3.55, 11.66) , P<0.01], dysphagia [ OR=2.40, 95% CI (1.48, 3.88) , P<0.01], disorder of consciousness [ OR=3.39, 95% CI (2.18, 5.27) , P<0.01], cough disorder [ OR=9.62, 95% CI (2.84, 32.60) , P<0.01], cognitive disorder [ OR=3.50, 95% CI (1.06, 11.51) , P<0.05], use of sedatives [ OR=3.46, 95% CI (2.26, 5.30) , P<0.01], use of acid suppressants [ OR=3.42, 95% CI (1.32, 8.84) , P<0.05], nasal feeding [ OR=2.02, 95% CI (1.41, 2.89) , P<0.01], sputum aspiration [ OR=3.01, 95% CI (2.54, 3.57) , P<0.01], long-term bed rest [ OR=5.17, 95% CI (3.39, 7.87) , P<0.01], and improper posture [ OR=2.99, 95% CI (1.48, 6.05) , P<0.01] were risk factors for AP in elderly patients. Conclusions:AP in elderly patients is not the result of a single factor, but the result of a combination of individual factors, disease-related factors, treatment-related factors and other factors.

Objective:To design and develop a swallowing function training system suitable for stroke patients with swallowing disorders, and investigate patients' acceptance of the system based on sufficient experience.Methods:This system was jointly designed by a multidisciplinary team, targeting stroke patients with swallowing disorders. By combining virtual reality (VR) technology, it achieved visual and interesting knowledge guidance, systematic and targeted swallowing function training, and real-time, feedback based on supervision and review. From March to May 2022, convenience sampling was used to select 39 stroke patients with swallowing disorders from Beijing Chaoyang Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University. On the basis of fully experiencing the system, the system was evaluated from seven dimensions, including perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived ease of learning, perceived applicability, perceived security, perceived satisfaction, and intention to use.Results:The acceptance evaluation score of the rehabilitation training system for 39 stroke patients with swallowing disorders was 162 (147, 170). There were statistically significant differences in the acceptance evaluation scores of the rehabilitation training system for patients with different levels of education, job types, cumulative time spent using smartphones every day, and willingness to learn swallowing training, whether they understood VR devices or technologies, and whether they considered swallowing training important ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:This system benefits from the visualization effect and a good sense of immersion of VR technology. Compared to traditional methods, it increases the fun, immersion, and feedback of the rehabilitation training process, and patients have a high acceptance of the system, which can be promoted and used.

Objective:To explore the influencing factors of Internet + nursing service quality.Methods:Using a convenience sampling method, 290 nursing staff who had implemented Internet+ nursing services in Beijing and Tianjin were selected for a questionnaire survey from January to February 2022, and structural equation model was used to analyze the influencing factors and the path of action of service quality.Results:The structural equations constructed fit well, with gender, degree of service difficulty and degree of service motivation being direct influences on the quality of Internet+ nursing services, with degree of service difficulty also having an indirect effect on service quality through degree of service motivation.Conclusions:The quality of Internet+ nursing services is influenced by multiple factors and pathways. The relevant authorities can conduct a comprehensive assessment of the factors and pathways and manage them in a targeted manner to improve the quality of services.

Objective:To investigate the epidemiological characteristics, diagnosis, treat-ment and prognosis of gallbladder cancer in China from 2010 to 2017.Methods:The single disease retrospective registration cohort study was conducted. Based on the concept of the real world study, the clinicopathological data, from multicenter retrospective clinical data database of gallbladder cancer of Chinese Research Group of Gallbladder Cancer (CRGGC), of 6 159 patients with gallbladder cancer who were admitted to 42 hospitals from January 2010 to December 2017 were collected. Observation indicators: (1) case resources; (2) age and sex distribution; (3) diagnosis; (4) surgical treatment and prognosis; (5) multimodality therapy and prognosis. The follow-up data of the 42 hospitals were collected and analyzed by the CRGGC. The main outcome indicator was the overall survival time from date of operation for surgical patients or date of diagnosis for non-surgical patients to the end of outcome event or the last follow-up. Measurement data with normal distribu-tion were represented as Mean±SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3) or M(range), and com-parison between groups was conducted using the U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test. Univariate analysis was performed using the Logistic forced regression model, and variables with P<0.1 in the univariate analysis were included for multivariate analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed using the Logistic stepwise regression model. The life table method was used to calculate survival rates and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves. Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. Results:(1) Case resources: of the 42 hospitals, there were 35 class A of tertiary hospitals and 7 class B of tertiary hospitals, 16 hospitals with high admission of gallbladder cancer and 26 hospitals with low admission of gallbladder cancer, respectively. Geographical distribution of the 42 hospitals: there were 9 hospitals in central China, 5 hospitals in northeast China, 22 hospitals in eastern China and 6 hospitals in western China. Geographical distribution of the 6 159 patients: there were 2 154 cases(34.973%) from central China, 705 cases(11.447%) from northeast China, 1 969 cases(31.969%) from eastern China and 1 331 cases(21.611%) from western China. The total average number of cases undergoing diagnosis and treatment in hospitals of the 6 159 patients was 18.3±4.5 per year, in which the average number of cases undergoing diagnosis and treatment in hospitals of 4 974 patients(80.760%) from hospitals with high admission of gallbladder cancer was 38.8±8.9 per year and the average number of cases undergoing diagnosis and treatment in hospitals of 1 185 patients(19.240%) from hospitals with low admission of gallbladder cancer was 5.7±1.9 per year. (2) Age and sex distribution: the age of 6 159 patients diagnosed as gallbladder cancer was 64(56,71) years, in which the age of 2 247 male patients(36.483%) diagnosed as gallbladder cancer was 64(58,71)years and the age of 3 912 female patients(63.517%) diagnosed as gallbladder cancer was 63(55,71)years. The sex ratio of female to male was 1.74:1. Of 6 159 patients, 3 886 cases(63.095%) were diagnosed as gallbladder cancer at 56 to 75 years old. There was a significant difference on age at diagnosis between male and female patients ( Z=-3.99, P<0.001). (3) Diagnosis: of 6 159 patients, 2 503 cases(40.640%) were initially diagnosed as gallbladder cancer and 3 656 cases(59.360%) were initially diagnosed as non-gallbladder cancer. There were 2 110 patients(34.259%) not undergoing surgical treatment, of which 200 cases(9.479%) were initially diagnosed as gallbladder cancer and 1 910 cases(90.521%) were initially diagnosed as non-gallbladder cancer. There were 4 049 patients(65.741%) undergoing surgical treatment, of which 2 303 cases(56.878%) were initially diagnosed as gallbladder cancer and 1 746 cases(43.122%) were initial diagnosed as non-gallbladder cancer. Of the 1 746 patients who were initially diagnosed as non-gallbladder cancer, there were 774 cases(19.116%) diagnosed as gallbladder cancer during operation and 972 cases(24.006%) diagnosed as gallbladder cancer after operation. Of 6 159 patients, there were 2 521 cases(40.932%), 2 335 cases(37.912%) and 1 114 cases(18.087%) undergoing ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination before initial diagnosis, respec-tively, and there were 3 259 cases(52.914%), 3 172 cases(51.502%) and 4 016 cases(65.205%) undergoing serum carcinoembryonic antigen, CA19-9 or CA125 examination before initially diagnosis, respectively. One patient may underwent multiple examinations. Results of univariate analysis showed that geographical distribution of hospitals (eastern China or western China), age ≥72 years, gallbladder cancer annual admission of hospitals, whether undergoing ultrasound, CT, MRI, serum carcinoembryonic antigen, CA19-9 or CA125 examination before initially diagnosis were related factors influencing initial diagnosis of gallbladder cancer patients ( odds ratio=1.45, 1.98, 0.69, 0.68, 2.43, 0.41, 1.63, 0.41, 0.39, 0.42, 95% confidence interval as 1.21-1.74, 1.64-2.40, 0.59-0.80, 0.60-0.78, 2.19-2.70, 0.37-0.45, 1.43-1.86, 0.37-0.45, 0.35-0.43, 0.38-0.47, P<0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that geographical distribution of hospitals (eastern China or western China), sex, age ≥72 years, gallbladder cancer annual admission of hospitals and cases undergoing ultrasound, CT, serum CA19-9 examination before initially diagnosis were indepen-dent influencing factors influencing initial diagnosis of gallbladder cancer patients ( odds ratio=1.36, 1.42, 0.89, 0.67, 1.85, 1.56, 1.57, 0.39, 95% confidence interval as 1.13-1.64, 1.16-1.73, 0.79-0.99, 0.57-0.78, 1.60-2.14, 1.38-1.77, 1.38-1.79, 0.35-0.43, P<0.05). (4) Surgical treatment and prognosis. Of the 4 049 patients undergoing surgical treatment, there were 2 447 cases(60.435%) with complete pathological staging data and follow-up data. Cases with pathological staging as stage 0, stage Ⅰ, stage Ⅱ, stage Ⅲa, stage Ⅲb, stage Ⅳa and stage Ⅳb were 85(3.474%), 201(8.214%), 71(2.902%), 890(36.371%), 382(15.611%), 33(1.348%) and 785(32.080%), respectively. The median follow-up time and median postoperative overall survival time of the 2 447 cases were 55.75 months (95% confidence interval as 52.78-58.35) and 23.46 months (95% confidence interval as 21.23-25.71), respectively. There was a significant difference in the overall survival between cases with pathological staging as stage 0, stage Ⅰ, stage Ⅱ, stage Ⅲa, stage Ⅲb, stage Ⅳa and stage Ⅳb ( χ2=512.47, P<0.001). Of the 4 049 patients undergoing surgical treatment, there were 2 988 cases(73.796%) with resectable tumor, 177 cases(4.371%) with unresectable tumor and 884 cases(21.833%) with tumor unassessable for resectabi-lity. Of the 2 988 cases with resectable tumor, there were 2 036 cases(68.139%) undergoing radical resection, 504 cases(16.867%) undergoing non-radical resection and 448 cases(14.994%) with operation unassessable for curative effect. Of the 2 447 cases with complete pathological staging data and follow-up data who underwent surgical treatment, there were 53 cases(2.166%) with unresectable tumor, 300 cases(12.260%) with resectable tumor and receiving non-radical resection, 1 441 cases(58.888%) with resectable tumor and receiving radical resection, 653 cases(26.686%) with resectable tumor and receiving operation unassessable for curative effect. There were 733 cases not undergoing surgical treatment with complete pathological staging data and follow-up data. There was a significant difference in the overall survival between cases not undergoing surgical treatment, cases undergoing surgical treatment for unresectable tumor, cases undergoing non-radical resection for resectable tumor and cases undergoing radical resection for resectable tumor ( χ2=121.04, P<0.001). (5) Multimodality therapy and prognosis: of 6 159 patients, there were 541 cases(8.784%) under-going postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and advanced chemotherapy, 76 cases(1.234%) under-going radiotherapy. There were 1 170 advanced gallbladder cancer (pathological staging ≥stage Ⅲa) patients undergoing radical resection, including 126 cases(10.769%) with post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy and 1 044 cases(89.231%) without postoperative adjuvant chemo-therapy. There was no significant difference in the overall survival between cases with post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy and cases without postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy ( χ2=0.23, P=0.629). There were 658 patients with pathological staging as stage Ⅲa who underwent radical resection, including 66 cases(10.030%) with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and 592 cases(89.970%) without postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. There was no significant difference in the overall survival between cases with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and cases without postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy ( χ2=0.05, P=0.817). There were 512 patients with pathological staging ≥stage Ⅲb who underwent radical resection, including 60 cases(11.719%) with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and 452 cases(88.281%) without postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. There was no significant difference in the overall survival between cases with postoperative adjuvant chemo-therapy and cases without post-operative adjuvant chemo-therapy ( χ2=1.50, P=0.220). Conclusions:There are more women than men with gallbladder cancer in China and more than half of patients are diagnosed at the age of 56 to 75 years. Cases undergoing ultrasound, CT, serum CA19-9 examination before initial diagnosis are independent influencing factors influencing initial diagnosis of gallbladder cancer patients. Preoperative resectability evaluation can improve the therapy strategy and patient prognosis. Adjuvant chemotherapy for gallbladder cancer is not standardized and in low proportion in China.

Objective:To construct the "Internet +" nurse core competency evaluation index system.Methods:Combined with the policy analysis and literature research, a preliminary item pool was formed. The semi-structured interview was conducted to form a preliminary "Internet+" nurse core competency evaluation index system. From June to August 2021, the Delphi method was used to conduct three rounds of consultation with 19 experts, and finally determine the contents of the index system. The weights of indicators at all levels were calculated in combination with analytic hierarchy process.Results:Among three rounds of expert consultation, the questionnaire recovery rates were 100%, 100%, and 94.7% respectively, and the expert authority coefficients were 0.862, 0.857, and 0.841, and the Kendall coefficients were 0.228, 0.296, and 0.295 with statistical differences ( P<0.001) . The finally established "Internet +" nurse core competency evaluation index system included 4 first-level indicators, 16 second-level indicators and 59 third-level indicators of professional knowledge, professional skills, comprehensive ability and personal characteristics. Conclusions:The constructed "Internet +" nurse core competency evaluation index system is reliable, scientific and practical, and can be used as a basis for evaluating "Internet +" nurses' service capabilities.

Objective:To investigate the differential expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in placental tissues of women with preeclampsia (PE) and the effect of MIR210HG on the biological function of HTR8/SVneo cells.Methods:A total of 39 cases of PE women (PE group) and 39 cases of normal pregnant women (CTL group) admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from July 2018 to July 2019 were collected. (1) Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to analyze the differentially expressed lncRNAs in the placental tissues of the two groups. (2) The expression level of MIR210HG, one of the differentially expressed lncRNAs, in the placental tissues of the two groups was detected by real-time quantitative PCR. And the correlations between the expression level of MIR210HG and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and neonatal birth weight were analyzed. (3) The constructed small interfering RNA and negative control (NC) RNA were transfected into the HTR8/SVneo cells. The cells were divided into MIR210HG knockdown (KD) group and NC group. The effects of living cell counting (CCK-8) and transwell assay on the proliferation and migration of HTR8/SVneo cells were detected. (4) RNA interacting with MIR210HG was predicted using the Encyclopedia of RNA Interactomes (ENCORI) database. Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes (KEGG) and BioCarta pathway enrichment analysis were performed.Results:(1) A total of 26 significantly differentially expressed lncRNAs were found by RNA-seq, among which 21 lncRNAs were up-regulated and 5 lncRNAs were down-regulated. (2) The relative expression level of MIR210HG in the PE group was significantly higher than that in the CTL group (9.30±1.90 and 1.10±0.20, respectively; t=4.425, P<0.01). The relative expression level of MIR210HG had positive linear correlation with systolic blood pressure ( r2=0.234, P<0.05) and diastolic blood pressure ( r2=0.190, P<0.05), but had a negative linear correlation with newborn birth weight ( r2=0.157, P<0.05). (3) Compared with the NC group, the proliferation and migration ability of HTR8/SVneo cells in the KD group were increased (all P<0.05). (4) A total of 38 RNAs that might interact with MIR210HG were predicted by ENCORI database. GO functional annotation analysis showed that MIR210HG might be involved in the functions of 27 pathways, including the regulation of production of molecular mediator of immune response, etc; KEGG pathway analysis showed that MIR210HG might be involved in the function of 8 pathways including allograft rejection, etc; Biocarta pathway analysis showed that MIR210HG may be involved in the functions of 8 pathways, including the eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) pathway, etc. Conclusion:The expression of MIR210HG is up-regulated in the placental tissue of PE women, and MIR210HG might be a regulator of the biological behavior of trophoblast cells.

Objective:To investigate the physical indices and growth status of preterm children aged 0 to 4 years with different birth weight.Methods:Following the real world research approach, the current study retrospectively collected e-chart information of 8 496 preterm children from the child health care system of the Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from December 2010 to December 2017, with 203 123 full-term children followed up during the same period as controls. Premature children were divided into normal birth weight (NBW) group, low birth weight (LBW) group, and very low birth weight (VLBW) group based on their birth weights. The weight and length development within 48 months of age of preterm boys and girls in each group were measured and recorded to establish a numerical table and analyze the growth levels, growth rate, and proportionality. The t-test or chi-square test was used for between-group comparison. Results:Of the 8 496 preterm children, 4 839 were girls and 3 657 boys, including 525 in the VLBW group, with an average birth weight of (1.28±0.14) kg, 3 862 in the LBW group, with an average birth weight of (2.07±0.28) kg, and 4 109 in the NBW group, with an average birth weight of (2.86±0.35) kg. The weight at the actual age of 2-<3 months ((5.61±0.96) vs. (5.64±0.78) kg in boys, (5.11±0.67) vs. (5.18±0.71) kg in girls) and the length at the actual age of 8-<10 months ((70.3±2.4) vs. (70.6±2.4) cm in boys, (68.9±2.2) vs. (68.9±2.4) cm in girls) in the NBW group reached the average weight and length of full-term children. The difference of physical growth before 24 months of age between LBW and control group decreased as children age, with that of LBW group approaches the average of full-term children after 24 months of age, with a weight difference of 0.64-0.95 kg and height difference of 1.3-1.7 cm. The weight and height of the VLBW group were lower than those of full-term infants (2.80-2.86 kg and 3.3-4.3 cm, respectively) at 48 months of age. During 2-12 months of age, the corresponding values of the VLBW group were higher than that of the LBW and NBW groups by 0.35 kg and 0.71 kg, respectively. However, the corresponding values of the VLBW group were lower than that of the LBW and NBW groups(0.64 kg and 0.76 kg at 0-2 months of age, 1.04 kg and 1.49 kg at 12-48 months of age, respectively). The rates of delayed development, underweight, and emaciation were the highest in the VLBW group (all P<0.01), while the rates of overweight and obesity were the highest in the NBW group, with that of the VLBW group being lower than LBW group ( P<0.01) at the age of 24-<36 months. Conclusions:Prior to 4 years of age, the time for preterm children to reach the average physical indices of full-term children differ by birth weights, hence warranting further examination of the corrected gestational age for preterm children. Normal birth weight preterm children present with the highest incidence of overweight and obesity and very low birth weight preterm children present with the highest incidence of growth disorders, marking both groups at high risks of malnutrition.