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This study aimed to identify symptom clusters of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to examine the relationship between symptom clusters and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It included 154 hospitalized patients with COPD. The majority of the participants (88.6%) were aged 60 years and above, and the numbers of men and women were approximately equal (men: 55.2%). The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS), and the Chinese version of the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) were used to evaluate comorbidity, participant's symptoms, and HRQoL, respectively. Five symptom clusters were identified using exploratory factor analysis, and symptom clusters, especially the Psychological, Pain and Fatigue, GI, and Dyspnea-Sweat symptom clusters, had negative effects on HRQoL in patients with COPD. Understanding the patterns and occurrences of symptom clusters could be essential for developing effective interventions to manage COPD symptoms and improve the patients' HRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prehypertension is common in China, but its causes and associated factors have not been well studied. This study aimed to examine the age and gender-specific associations between CVD risk factor clustering and prehypertension among adults in China. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from participants (n = 8735) aged over 45 in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) Baseline conducted from 2011–2012. The participants' data were collected using standard questionnaires, anthropometric, and biochemical tests. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between cardiovascular risk factors, their clustering and prehypertension. Results: Overall, 21.1%, 39.5%, 27.6% and 11.8% participants had 0, 1, 2, ≥ 3 CVD risk factors in prehypertension group, respectively. Diabetes and overweight/obesity were significantly associated with prehypertension (OR, 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06–1.44; OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.38–1.75) in the overall population, and diabetes was associated with prehypertension only in men (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.00–1.58) and older adults (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.03–1.69). Moreover, participants with 1, 2 and ≥3 risk factors had increased odds of having prehypertension (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.12–1.49; OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.31–1.78; OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.66–2.53, respectively) and existed dose-response relationship, regardless of age and gender. Conclusions: This study indicated that CVD risk factor clustering was significantly associated with prehypertension and hypertension. These results provide valuable information for health professionals to better understand the impact of CVD risk factor clustering on prehypertension and hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]