The prevalence of diabetes is increasing rapidly in China. However, evidence is limited about its effects on chronic liver diseases and liver cancer. We examined the associations of diabetes with chronic liver diseases and liver cancer and of random plasma glucose (RPG) with these liver diseases among participants without diabetes in Chinese adults and the possible interaction by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank recruited 512,891 adults. During 10 years of follow‐up, 2,568 liver cancer, 2,082 cirrhosis, 1,298 hospitalized nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and 244 hospitalized alcoholic liver disease (ALD) cases were recorded among 503,993 participants without prior history of cancer or chronic liver diseases at baseline. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for each disease by diabetes status (previously diagnosed or screen‐detected) and, among those without previously diagnosed diabetes, by levels of RPG. Overall 5.8% of participants had diabetes at baseline. Compared to those without diabetes, individuals with diabetes had adjusted HRs of 1.49 (95% confidence interval 1.30‐1.70) for liver cancer, 1.81 (1.57‐2.09) for cirrhosis, 1.76 (1.47‐2.16) for NAFLD, and 2.24 (1.42‐3.54) for ALD. The excess risks decreased but remained elevated in those with longer duration. Among those without previously diagnosed diabetes, RPG was positively associated with liver diseases, with adjusted HRs per 1 mmol/L higher RPG of 1.04 (1.03‐1.06) for liver cancer, 1.07 (1.05‐1.09) for cirrhosis, 1.07 (1.05‐1.10) for NAFLD, and 1.10 (1.05‐1.15) for ALD. These associations did not differ by HBV infection. Conclusion: In Chinese adults, diabetes and higher blood glucose levels among those without known diabetes are associated with higher risks of liver cancer and major chronic liver diseases.

Objective: Misophonia is a neurophysiological disorder, phenotypically characterized by heightened autonomic nervous system arousal which is accompanied by a high magnitude of emotional reactivity to repetitive and pattern-based auditory stimuli. This study identifies the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in misophonia sufferers, the association between severity of misophonia and psychiatric symptoms, and the association between misophonia severity and gender. Methods: Fifty-two misophonia sufferers, 30 females (mean age= 40.93 ± 15.29) and 22 males (mean age= 51.18 ± 15.91) were recruited in our study and they were diagnosed according the criteria proposed by Schröder et al The participants were evaluated by the A-MISO-S for the severity of misophonia and the MINI to assess the presence of psychiatric symptoms. Results: The most common comorbid symptoms reported by the misophonia patients were respectively PTSD (N = 8, 15.38%), OCD (N = 6, 11.53%), MDD (N = 5, 9.61%), and anorexia (N = 5, 9.61%). Misophonia severity was associated with the symptoms of MDD, OCD, and PTSD as well as anorexia. There was an indication of a significant difference between men and women in the severity of misophonic symptoms. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of recognizing psychiatric comorbidity among misophonia sufferers. The presence of these varying psychiatric disorders’ features in individuals with misophonia suggests that while misophonia has unique clinical characteristics with an underlying neurophysiological mechanism, may be associated with psychiatric symptoms. Therefore, when assessing individuals with misophonia symptoms, it is important to screen for psychiatric symptoms. This will assist researchers and clinicians to better understand the nature of the symptoms and how they may be interacting and ultimately allocating the most effective therapeutic strategies.

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer (PC) in Western populations. Uncertainty remains, however, about the relevance of plasma glucose for PC among people without diabetes and about the associations of diabetes and high blood glucose with PC in China where the increase in diabetes prevalence has been very recent. The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study recruited 512,000 adults aged 30‐79 years from 10 diverse areas of China during 2004‐2008, recording 595 PC cases during 8 years of follow‐up. Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for PC associated with diabetes (previously diagnosed or screen‐detected) and, among those without previously diagnosed diabetes, with levels of random plasma glucose (RPG). These were further meta‐analysed with 22 published prospective studies. Overall 5.8% of CKB participants had diabetes at baseline. Diabetes was associated with almost twofold increased risk of PC (adjusted HR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.48‐2.37), with excess risk higher in those with longer duration since diagnosis (p for trend = 0.01). Among those without previously diagnosed diabetes, each 1 mmol/L higher usual RPG was associated with a HR of 1.12 (1.04‐1.21). In meta‐analysis of CKB and 22 other studies, previously diagnosed diabetes was associated with a 52% excess risk (1.52, 1.43‐1.63). Among those without diabetes, each 1 mmol/L higher blood glucose was associated with a 15% (1.15, 1.09‐1.21) excess risk. In Chinese and non‐Chinese populations, diabetes and higher blood glucose levels among those without diabetes are associated with an increased risk of PC.

Little prospective evidence exists about risk factors and prognosis of acute pancreatitis in China. We examined the associations of certain metabolic and lifestyle factors with risk of acute pancreatitis in Chinese adults. The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) recruited 512,891 adults aged 30 to 79 years from 5 urban and 5 rural areas between 25 June 2004 and 15 July 2008. During 9.2 years of follow-up (to 1 January 2015), 1,079 cases of acute pancreatitis were recorded. Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for acute pancreatitis associated with various metabolic and lifestyle factors among all or male (for smoking and alcohol drinking) participants. Overall, the mean waist circumference (WC) was 82.1 cm (SD 9.8) cm in men and 79.0 cm (SD 9.5) cm in women, 6% had diabetes, and 6% had gallbladder disease at baseline. WC was positively associated with risk of acute pancreatitis, with an adjusted HR of 1.35 (95% CI 1.27–1.43; p < 0.001) per 1-SD-higher WC. Individuals with diabetes or gallbladder disease had HRs of 1.34 (1.07–1.69; p = 0.01) and 2.42 (2.03–2.88; p < 0.001), respectively. Physical activity was inversely associated with risk of acute pancreatitis, with each 4 metabolic equivalent of task (MET) hours per day (MET-h/day) higher physical activity associated with an adjusted HR of 0.95 (0.91–0.99; p = 0.03). Compared with those without any metabolic risk factors (i.e., obesity, diabetes, gallbladder disease, and physical inactivity), the HRs of acute pancreatitis for those with 1, 2, or ≥3 risk factors were 1.61 (1.47–1.76), 2.36 (2.01–2.78), and 3.41 (2.46–4.72), respectively (p < 0.001). Among men, heavy alcohol drinkers (≥420 g/week) had an HR of 1.52 (1.11–2.09; p = 0.04, compared with abstainers), and current regular smokers had an HR of 1.45 (1.28–1.64; p = 0.02, compared with never smokers). Following a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, there were higher risks of pancreatic cancer (HR = 8.26 [3.42–19.98]; p < 0.001; 13 pancreatic cancer cases) and death (1.53 [1.17–2.01]; p = 0.002; 89 deaths). Other diseases of the pancreas had similar risk factor profiles and prognosis to acute pancreatitis. The main study limitations are ascertainment of pancreatitis using hospital records and residual confounding. In this relatively lean Chinese population, several modifiable metabolic and lifestyle factors were associated with higher risks of acute pancreatitis, and individuals with acute pancreatitis had higher risks of pancreatic cancer and death.

Background: We describe demographic features, treatments and clinical outcomes in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) COVID-19 cohort, one of the world's largest international, standardized data sets concerning hospitalized patients. Methods: The data set analysed includes COVID-19 patients hospitalized between January 2020 and January 2022 in 52 countries. We investigated how symptoms on admission, co-morbidities, risk factors and treatments varied by age, sex and other characteristics. We used Cox regression models to investigate associations between demographics, symptoms, co-morbidities and other factors with risk of death, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Results: Data were available for 689 572 patients with laboratory-confirmed (91.1%) or clinically diagnosed (8.9%) SARS-CoV-2 infection from 52 countries. Age [adjusted hazard ratio per 10 years 1.49 (95% CI 1.48, 1.49)] and male sex [1.23 (1.21, 1.24)] were associated with a higher risk of death. Rates of admission to an ICU and use of IMV increased with age up to age 60 years then dropped. Symptoms, co-morbidities and treatments varied by age and had varied associations with clinical outcomes. The case-fatality ratio varied by country partly due to differences in the clinical characteristics of recruited patients and was on average 21.5%. Conclusions: Age was the strongest determinant of risk of death, with a ∼30-fold difference between the oldest and youngest groups; each of the co-morbidities included was associated with up to an almost 2-fold increase in risk. Smoking and obesity were also associated with a higher risk of death. The size of our international database and the standardized data collection method make this study a comprehensive international description of COVID-19 clinical features. Our findings may inform strategies that involve prioritization of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who have a higher risk of death.

Background: Adiposity and weight change among patients with breast cancer are associated with mortality, but there is limited evidence on the associations with distant recurrence or other causes of death or on central adiposity. Moreover, the relationship with breast cancer subtypes and by menopause status is unclear. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies of breast cancer patients investigating the associations of general and central adiposity (body mass index [BMI] and waist circumference [WC], respectively), before and after diagnosis, and weight change, with all-cause mortality, breast cancer-specific mortality (BCSM), and recurrence. Results: 173 studies (519,544 patients, 60,249 deaths overall, and 25,751 breast cancer deaths) were included. For BMI < 1 year post diagnosis, compared with normal weight women, the summary relative risk (RR) for obese women was 1.21 (1.15–1.27) for all-cause mortality, 1.22 (1.13–1.32) for BCSM, 1.12 (1.06–1.18) for recurrence, and 1.19 (1.11–1.28) for distant recurrence. Obesity was associated with all-cause mortality and BCSM in patients with ER+ or HER2+ tumors, whereas no clear association was observed in patients with triple-negative tumors. Similar associations were observed by menopausal status. Stronger associations were observed in East Asians than Europeans. Central adiposity was associated with all-cause mortality, while large weight gain was associated with all-cause mortality, BCSM, and recurrence. Conclusion: Higher adiposity is associated with all-cause mortality, BCSM, recurrence, and distant recurrence in breast cancer patients, with similar associations by menopausal status and some evidence of heterogeneity by subtypes. Weight gain is also associated with recurrence and survival among breast cancer patients.