Mobile health applications are increasingly used in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to improve their self-management, nonetheless, without firm evidence of their efficacy. This meta-analysis was aimed to assess the efficacy of mobile health applications in supporting self-management as an intervention to reduce hospital admission rates and average days of hospitalization, etc. PubMed, Web of Science (SCI), Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched for relevant articles published before November 14th, 2017. A total of 6 reports with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were finally included in this meta-analysis. Patients using mobile phone applications may have a lower risk for hospital admissions than those in the usual care group (risk ratio (RR) = 0.73, 95% CI [0.52, 1.04]). However, there was no significant difference in reducing the average days of hospitalization. Self-management with mobile phone applications could reduce hospital admissions of patients with COPD.

Stroke is a major cause of disability and mortality worldwide; yet; prior to this study; there had been no sufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of various transitional care interventions (TCI) on the disability and mortality of stroke survivors. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of TCI in reducing mortality and improving the activities of daily life (ADL) of stroke patients. PubMed; Web of Science; OVID; EMBASE; CINAHL; and Sino-Med were searched for articles published before November 2016. Thirty-one randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified in the study. This analysis showed that the total effect of TCI on reducing mortality was limited (Risk Ratio (RR) = 0.86; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.75–0.98); that only home-visiting programs could reduce mortality rates (RR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.17–0.67) compared with usual care; and that the best intervention was led by a multidisciplinary team (MT) ≤3 months (RR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.05–0.71). In addition; home-visiting programs also produced ADL benefit (RR = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.31–0.81). Overall; there was a statistically significant difference in improving patients’ independence between TCI and usual care (RR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.02–1.23). However; none of the interventions was effective when they were differentiated in the analysis. It is the conclusion of this study that home-visiting programs; especially those led by MTs; should receive the greatest consideration by healthcare systems or providers for implementing TCI to stroke survivors.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a risk indicator for some eye diseases. However, the association between BMI and Visual Impairment (VI) was not quite certain in Chinese students. Our aim was to assess the relationship between BMI and VI with a cross-sectional study. A total of 3771 students aged 6–21 years, including 729 with VI, were sampled from 24 schools in Huangpi District of central China to participate in the study. A multistage stratified cluster random sampling was adopted. Each of the students answered a questionnaire and had physical and eye examinations. The association between BMI and VI was examined with logistic regression and threshold effect analysis. The prevalence of VI was 19.33% (729/3771). Compared to normal and underweight, overweight/obese students showed a stronger relation with VI in age- and sex-adjusted (Odds Ratio (OR) = 16.16, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 12.37–21.09, p < 0.001) and multivariable models (OR = 8.32, 95% CI: 6.13–11.30, p < 0.001). There was a nonlinear dose–response relation between levels of BMI and the prevalence of VI (p < 0.001). A high level of BMI (≥19.81 kg/m²) was associated with a higher VI prevalence (adjusted OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.15–1.25, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the study demonstrated BMI levels were significantly associated with the prevalence of VI.

Background. Cutoff scores of the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) for screening mild cognitive impairment in older adults differ across the world and within the Chinese culture. It is argued that to seek a cutoff score is essential to classify test participants. It was unknown how taking a classifying approach might reveal the cutoff score for identifying mildly cognitively impaired older adults. Methods. Participants, selected from 13 communities in Wuhan, China, were tested with the Chinese version of MoCA and rated with the Activities of Daily Living and the Clinical Dementia Rating scales. Mixture modeling was applied to the data with certain covariates and MoCA sum scores as the outcome of the latent class. Models with different numbers of classes were compared in terms of information criteria, likelihood ratio test, entropy, and interpretability. Results. A 3-class model (normal, mildly impaired, and severely impaired) was found to fit the data best. The normal class averaged a MoCA score of 24, while the severely impaired class averaged a score below 18. For those cases with MoCA scores above 18 and below 24, it is not certain if they are in the normal or the severely impaired classes. Conclusion. Latent variable classification modeling provides another option to identify MCI in older adults. Some categorically different cases of MCI cannot be captured with any single MoCA sum score. A range of 1824 MoCA scores might serve as a better screening criterion of MCI. Older adults who scored within this gray zone should be monitored for potential interventions.

Cultural and historical contexts shape parenting practices, yet little is known about their variability in China pior to recent societal changes. This study uses historical data collected from 471 mothers and their preschool children in urban China before the early 21st century to examine parenting patterns and their co-occurring links to child behavior. We confirmed a multidimensional structure of parenting in this sample. Further, using latent profile analysis (LPA) with the mother–child dyad as the unit of analysis, we identified five profiles based on 11 mother-rated parenting dimensions and six teacher-rated child behaviors: (1) Balanced-Competent, (2) Traditional-Competent, (3) Controlling-Maladaptive, (4) Disengaged-Maladaptive, and (5) Inconsistent-Maladaptive. Complementing past, relatively uniform conceptualizations of historical Chinese socialization practices, these profiles represent culturally specific combinations of parenting and child adjustment. By applying a person-centered approach to historical data, this study provides a culturally grounded snapshot of Chinese parenting and child functioning around the turn of the century, offering a baseline for future comparison studies.