To estimate the cancer incidence and mortality in 2012 in Guangdong province by analyzing the cancer data of selected population-based cancer registries in Guangdong province in 2012. Eight of nine population-based cancer registries submitted cancer data to the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Guangdong CDC), whose data met the data quality criteria were included for analysis. The statistics of selected registries, stratified by areas, gender, age and cancer types, were used to estimate the cancer incidence and mortality in 2012 in Guangdong province according to the population data in Guangdong province. Segi's population and the national census population in 2000 were used for calculating the age-standardized rates (ASR). A total of 15,084,942 people, accounted for 17.47% of all population in Guangdong province, were covered in 8 selected population-based cancer registries in 2012. The percentage of cases morphologically verified (MV%) and the percentage of death certificate-only cases (DCO%) were 72.84% and 0.87%, respectively, and the mortality/incidence (M/I) ratio was 0.56. It was estimated that there were 211,300 new cancer cases and 117,300 cancer deaths. The incidence crude rate (CR), the ASR by Chinese standard population (ASRC) and by world standard population (ASRW), and the accumulated rate (AR) (0.74 years) were 250.20/100,000 (265.39/100,000 in males, 234.29/100,000 in females), 207.04/100,000, 201.34/100,000 and 22.91%, respectively, in Guangdong province in 2012. The incidence CR and ASRC were 267.25/100,000 and 221.43/100,000 in urban areas, and 215.51/100,000 and 178.77/100,000 in rural areas, respectively. The death CR, ASRC, ASRW and AR (0.74 years) were 148.44/100,000 (190.95/100,000 in males, 105.06/100,000 in females), 103.73/100,000, 102.44/100,000 and 11.68%, respectively, in Guangdong province in 2012. The death CR and ASRC were 164.57/100,000 and 105.46/100,000 in urban areas, and 124.63/100,000 and 99.97/100,000 in rural areas, respectively. Top 5 cancers were lung cancer, liver cancer, female breast cancer, colon cancer and nasopharyngeal cancers (NPC), and top 5 death cancers were lung cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, stomach cancer, and NPC in Guangdong province in 2012. Lung cancer, liver cancer, female breast cancer, colon cancer and NPC were the major economic cancer burdens and health concerns in Guangdong province in 2012. Early prevention, diagnosis and treatment of different cancers, survival quality improvement and cancer burden reduction, are important issues we faced in cancer control and prevention.

While ambient formaldehyde (HCHO) concentrations are increasing worldwide, there was limited research on its health effects. To assess the association of long-term exposure to ambient HCHO with the risk of respiratory (RESP) mortality and the associated mortality burden in China. Annual and seasonal RESP death and tropospheric HCHO vertical columns data were collected in 466 counties/districts across China during 2013-2016. A difference-in-differences approach combined with a generalized linear mixed-effects regression model was employed to assess the exposure-response association between long-term ambient HCHO exposure and RESP mortality risk. Additionally, we computed the attributable fraction (AF) to gauge the proportion of RESP mortality attributable to HCHO exposure. This analysis encompassed 560,929 RESP deaths. The annual mean ambient HCHO concentration across selected counties/districts was 8.02×10¹⁵ ± 2.22×10¹⁵ molec.cm^-2 during 2013-2016. Each 1.00×10¹⁵ molec.cm^-2 increase in ambient HCHO was associated with a 1.61 % increase [excess risk (ER), 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.20 %, 2.03 %] in the RESP mortality risk. The AF of RESP mortality attributable to HCHO was 12.16 % (95 %CI:9.33 %, 14.88 %), resulting in an annual average of 125,422 (95 %CI:96,404, 153,410) attributable deaths in China. Stratified analyses suggested stronger associations in individuals aged ≥65 years old (ER=1.87 %, 95 %CI:1.43 %, 2.32 %), in cold seasons (ER=1.00 %, 95 %CI:0.56 %, 1.44 %), in urban areas (ER=1.65 %, 95 %CI:1.15 %, 2.16 %), and in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients (ER=1.95 %, 95 %CI:1.42 %, 2.48 %). This study suggested that long-term HCHO exposure may significantly increase the risk of RESP mortality, leading to a substantial mortality burden. Targeted measures should be implemented to control ambient HCHO pollution promptly.

Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death in children under 14 years of age in Guangdong, China. We developed a statistical model to classify the risk of drowning among children based on the risk factors. A multiple-stage cluster random sampling was employed to select the students in Grades 3 to 9 in two townships in Qingyuan, Guangdong. Questionnaire was a self-reported measure consisting of general information, knowledge, attitudes and activities. A univariate logistic regression model was used to preliminarily select the independent variables at a P value of 0.1 for multivariable model. Three-quarters of the participants were randomly selected as a training sample to establish the model, and the remaining were treated as a testing sample to validate the model. A total of 8390 children were included in this study, about 12.18% (1013) experienced drowning during the past one year. In the univariate logistic regression model, introvert personality, unclear distributions of water areas on the way to school, and bad relationships with their classmates and families were positively associated with drowning. However, females, older age and lower swimming skills were negatively associated with drowning. After employing the prediction model with these factors to estimate drowning risk of the students in the testing samples, the results of Hosmer-Lemeshow tests showed non-significant differences between the predictive results and actual risk (χ2 = 5.97, P = 0.65). Male, younger children, higher swimming skills, bad relationship with their classmates and families, introvert personality and unclear distributions of water areas on the way to school were important risk factors of non-fatal drowning among children. The prediction model based on these variables has an acceptable predictive ability.

As the fourth leading cause of death, injury is an important public health concern in Guangdong Province, China. The epidemiological characteristics of injury mortality is changing along with the social development. This study described the epidemiological characteristics of injury mortality in Guangdong Province by analyzing the death surveillance data in a few areas in Guangdong Province in 2015. Using the mortality data from the Disease Surveillance Points (DSP) system, injury deaths were classified according to the International Classification of Disease-10th Revision (ICD-10). The data were stratified by areas (urban/rural), gender, age groups, injury types, and then overall and type-specific injury mortality rates were estimated for the whole Guangdong Province, China. We estimated that about 38,200 individuals died from injury in Guangdong Province in 2015, producing a mortality rate of 43.11/100,000. The overall age-standardized injury mortality in men was higher in rural areas compared with urban areas (41.29/100,000 versus 24.89/100,000). In terms of injury intent, unintentional injuries were the commonnest injury type, which accounted for 83.93% of the overall injury deaths, however, the deaths caused by suicide should not be ignored, which occupied 12.67% of the total injury deaths. In terms of injury cause type, falls, road-traffic accidents, suicide, drowning, and accidental poisoning were the top five leading types of injury deaths. In Guangdong Province, injury is an important cause of death. Road-traffic accidents, falls, suicide, drowning, and accidental poisoning should be the priorities of intervention. Moreover, in rural areas, the men were the most targeted subpopulation of the prevention activities.

Background: The Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. This study aimed to estimate the mortality risk attributable to the Spring Festival.Methods: Between 2013 and 2017, daily meteorological, air pollution, and mortality data were collected from 285 locations in China. The Spring Festival was divided into three periods: pre-Spring Festival (16 days before Lunar New Year's Eve), mid-Spring Festival (16 days from Lunar New Year's Eve to Lantern Festival), and post-Spring Festival (16 days after Lantern Festival). The mortality risk attributed to the Spring Festival in each location was first evaluated using a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM), and then it was pooled using a meta-analysis model.Results: We observed a dip/rise mortality pattern during the Spring Festival. Pre-Spring Festival was significantly associated with decreased mortality risk (ER: −1.58%, 95%CI: −3.09% to −0.05%), and mid-Spring Festival was unrelated to mortality risks, while post-Spring Festival was significantly associated with increased mortality risk (ER: 3.63%, 95%CI: 2.15–5.12%). Overall, a 48-day Spring Festival period was associated with a 2.11% (95%CI: 0.91–3.33%) increased mortality. We also found that the elderly aged over 64 years old, women, people with cardiovascular disease (CVD), and people living in urban areas were more vulnerable to the Spring Festival.Conclusion: Our study found that the Spring Festival significantly increased the mortality risk in China. These findings suggest that it is necessary to develop clinical and public health policies to alleviate the mortality burden associated with the Spring Festival.

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of 15 years in Guangdong Province, China. This serious public health issue also exists in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which have few value-integrated intervention programs. The current study presents an integrated intervention project that aims to explore an effective pattern of prevention for child drowning in rural areas and feasibility to perform in other LMICs. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial by comparing the incidence of non-fatal drowning among children in two groups in rural areas of southern China. We recruited the participants in two phases and reached a total of 10 687 students from 23 schools at two towns in Guangdong Province, China. At the first and second phases, 8966 and 1721 students were recruited, respectively. The final evaluation questionnaires were collected after 18 months of integrated intervention, where we obtained 9791 data from Grades 3–9. The incidence of non-fatal drowning between the intervention and control groups after intervention did not differ significantly from the baseline according to the total number of students, male students, female students and Grades 6–9 [0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI): [0.66, 1.00]; p = 0.05, 1.17; 95% CI: [0.90, 1.51]; p = 0.25, 1.40; 95% CI: [0.97, 2.02]; p = 0.07 and 0.97; 95% CI: [0.70, 1.34]; p = 0.86], except for Grades 3–5 (1.36; 95% CI: [1.02, 1.82]; p = 0.037). The study observed a significantly positive benefit of awareness and risk behaviours of non-fatal drowning between the intervention and control groups (0.27, 95% CI: [0.21, 0.33]; p = 0.00, −0.16; 95% CI: [−0.24, −0.08]; p = 0.00). The integrated intervention exerted a significant impact on the prevention and management of child non-fatal drowning, especially in rural areas.