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Background: Population aging is an inevitable trend and previous studies have showed the relationship between social health related factors and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in the elderly. The objective of this study is to investigate the association of social health status with HR-QOL among community-dwelling elderly in Zhejiang.Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on community-dwelling elderly individuals from July 2018 to September 2018 in Zhejiang, China. HR-QOL was measured by the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Social health status was estimated by the long-form of the Social Health Scale for the Elderly (SHSE-L) and classified into three categories (poor, moderate and good). Multivariable linear regression models were conducted to evaluate the association between social health status and HR-QOL (PCS, MCS and SF-12 total score).Results: A total of 2952 elderly participants were included in this study. The mean age was 70.68 ± 7.75 years (mean ± SD); of the eligible participants, more than half (50.4%) were females; the mean scores were 48.10 ± 8.49, 47.70 ± 7.09 and 47.90 ± 5.86 for PCS, MCS and SF-12 total score, separately. Results from the multivariable models showed that social health status was positively related to HR-QOL after adjusting for covariates. Compared with individuals with a poor social health status, those who had a moderate or good social health status were more likely to report better HR-QOL (for moderate social health status: β = 1.90(95%CI: 1.09, 2.71) for PCS, β = 1.78(1.08, 2.48) for MCS, β = 1.84(1.29, 2.39) for SF-12 total score; for good social health status: β = 3.29(2.24, 4.34) for PCS, β = 3.10(2.12, 4.01) for MCS, β = 3.20(2.48, 3.91) for SF-12 total score).Conclusion: In our study, we found that social health status was positively associated with HR-QOL among the elderly in Zhejiang. Our findings could provide valuable information for decision-makers to develop interventions to improve the HR-QOL of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted by mobile phone and other machineries concerns half the world’s population and raises the problem of their impact on human health. The present study aims to explore the effects of electromagnetic field exposures on sleep quality and sleep duration among workers from electric power plant. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in an electric power plant of Zhejiang Province, China. A total of 854 participants were included in the final analysis. The detailed information of participants was obtained by trained investigators using a structured questionnaire, which including socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle variables, sleep variables and electromagnetic exposures. Physical examination and venous blood collection were also carried out for every study subject. Results: After grouping daily occupational electromagnetic exposure into three categories, subjects with long daily exposure time had a significantly higher risk of poor sleep quality in comparison to those with short daily exposure time. The adjusted odds ratios were 1.68 (95%CI: 1.18, 2.39) and 1.57 (95%CI: 1.10, 2.24) across tertiles. Additionally, among the subjects with long-term occupational exposure, the longer daily occupational exposure time apparently increased the risk of poor sleep quality (OR (95%CI): 2.12 (1.23∼3.66) in the second tertile; 1.83 (1.07∼3.15) in the third tertile). There was no significant association of long-term occupational exposure duration, monthly electric fee or years of mobile-phone use with sleep quality or sleep duration. Conclusions: The findings showed that daily occupational EMF exposure was positively associated with poor sleep quality. It implies EMF exposure may damage human sleep quality rather than sleep duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We conducted the serological investigation of Bordetella pertussis in among populations of different ages in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. • To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the immunity of pertussis with anti-PT, anti-FHA, and anti-PRN antibodies in China. • The prevalence of pertussis had decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there was still a certain proportion of adolescents and adults exhibiting evidence of recent pertussis infection. • The waning of antibody levels after pertussis vaccination were occurred, and an extra booster dose is highly recommended at the age of 6 years by replacing DT with DTP. In recent years, the resurgence of pertussis has posed a public health challenge in many countries. This study aimed to evaluate the immunity levels against pertussis among populations of different ages in China. We conducted a cross-sectional serological survey in Zhejiang Province, China in 2020. Serum IgG antibodies against pertussis toxin (anti-PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (anti-FHA), and pertactin (anti-PRN) were quantitatively measured. The geometric mean concentration (GMC) of three antibodies was calculated. An anti-PT level < 5 IU/mL was considered undetectable, ≥20 IU/mL as seropositive and ≥80 IU/mL as an indicator of recent infection. Mathematical models were fitted for anti-PT concentrations over time in children after four doses of the pertussis vaccination. A total of 4459 participants aged 0–59 years were included in the analyses. The overall positivity rate of anti-PT was 29.80% with the highest (81.44%) rate in the 1–2 years old and the lowest (4.72%) in 10–14 years old. The GMCs of anti-PT, anti-FHA and anti-PRN for the whole participants were 9.67 (95%CI: 9.25–10.10),18.93 (18.24–19.67), and 8.99 (8.61–9.38) IU/mL, respectively. Over 50% of subjects aged ≥ 7 years had undetectable anti-PT IgG antibodies (<5IU/mL). The proportions of the populations with anti-PT IgG ≥ 80 IU/mL were approximately 0.9%, 0.3% and 1.1% among the 10–14, 15–29, and 40–59 years old groups, respectively. The power regression equation of the attenuation model after last dose of pertussis vaccine was y = 41.088x-1.238 (R2 = 0.935, p < 0.001). The fitted anti-PT concentrations was only 5.60 IU/mL at 5 years following the last vaccination dose. The prevalence of pertussis decreased during the study period in the COVID-19 pandemic; however, there was still a certain proportion of adolescents and adults with evidence of recent infection. The decline in antibody levels after pertussis vaccination was observed, and booster doses are in urgent need in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentrations and characteristics of trace metals in PM 2.5 vary in time and location and can result in various health impacts. The current study aimed to investigate the characteristics and distributions of PM 2.5 -bound trace metals and further identify the possible sources and conduct health risk assessment in Zhejiang, China. PM 2.5 samples were collected during 2015–2019 at seven monitoring sites in Zhejiang, China. Twelve trace metals in ambient PM 2.5 were determined. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was applied to quantify the potential sources of PM 2.5. The chemical daily intake (CDI) via ingestion, exposure concentration (EC) via inhalation and dermally absorbed dose (DAD) via contact were estimated to assess the health risks. The seasonal variations of both PM 2.5 and trace metals showed the highest in winter and the lowest in summer. Among the studied trace metals, Aluminum (Al), Lead (Pb) and Manganese (Mn) had the highest concentrations. Soil dust, coal combustion and traffic-related emissions were the main sources of the air pollution at most sites in Zhejiang. Health risk assessment showed that ingestion was the primary exposure pathway, and children were more likely to be affected by ambient trace metals. The non-carcinogenic risks of arsenic (As), Pb, Antimony (Sb) and Thallium (Tl) as well as carcinogenic risks of As, Pb and nickel (Ni) should be paid more attention to. PM 2.5 -bound trace metals are of great public health concern, particularly related to the potential health risks of As, Pb and Tl. Corresponding emission control measures of metal elements in PM 2.5 should be considered. • Temporal and spatial variation of PM 2.5 in Zhejiang, China over 5 years was characterized. • Soil dust, coal combustion and traffic-related emissions were major sources of PM 2.5. • Children may be more sensitive to ambient trace metals than adults. • As and Pb in PM 2.5 existed both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution has already become a serious public health concern worldwide, while evidence for the association between air pollution and digestive disease is not consistent. To examine the association between air pollution and peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB). We performed a time-stratified case-crossover study among 1,246,270 gastroscopy records in Zhejiang, China from January 1st, 2013 to June 30th, 2019. Individual exposure to air pollution for each subject was estimated by using data from 55 fixed-sites with an inverse distance weighted method. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for PUB associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in air pollution on the entire population. Subgroup analyses were performed for season, age and sex. Totally 3543 patients diagnosed with PUB were included in the analyses. Significant associations were observed between NO 2 , CO and PM 2.5 and the risk of PUB. The effect was observed strongest measured as lag 06 and an IQR increase of 7-day moving average concentrations of NO 2 resulted in a 24.0% increase of getting PUB (95% CI: 2.6%–50.0%). Our findings strengthen the hypothesis that short-term air pollution exposure has adverse health effects on digestive system. • Air pollution has adverse health effects on respiratory and cardiovascular systems. • The effects of air pollutants on peptic ulcer bleeding are still unclear. • Short-term exposure to some air pollutants contribute to peptic ulcer bleeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]