Hypertension, also known as elevated blood pressure (BP), is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease worldwide.^1-3 Hypertension also substantially contributes to mortality and disability.³ Globally, more than 1 billion adults were living with hypertension in 2015, among whom most were in low- and middle-income countries.^2,4

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), the primary retinal vascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is a leading cause of vision impairment and blindness in working-age population globally. Despite mounting concerns about the emergence of DM as a major public health problem in the largest developing country, China, much remains to be understood about the epidemiology of DR. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for DR, and estimate the burden of DR in China in 2010. China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database (CBM-SinoMed), PubMed, Embase and Medline were searched for studies that reported the prevalence of and risk factors for DR in Chinese population between 1990 and 2017. A random-effects meta-analysis model was adopted to pool the overall prevalence of DR. Variations in the prevalence of DR in different age groups, DM duration groups and settings were assessed by subgroup meta-analysis and meta-regression. Odds ratios (ORs) of major risk factors were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. The number of people with DR in 2010 was estimated by multiplying the age-specific prevalence of DR in people with DM with the corresponding number of people with DM in China. Finally, the national number of people with DR was distributed into six geographic regions using a risk factor-based model. A total of 31 studies provided information on the prevalence of DR and 21 explored potential risk factors for DR. The pooled prevalence of any DR, nonproliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR) was 1.14% (95% CI = 0.80-1.52), 0.90% (95% CI = 0.56-1.31) and 0.07% (95% CI = 0.02-0.14) in general population; In people with DM, the pooled prevalence rates were 18.45% (95% CI = 14.77-22.43), 15.06% (95% CI = 11.59-18.88) and 0.99% (95% CI = 0.40-1.80) for any DR, NPDR and PDR, respectively. The prevalence of any DR in DM patients peaked between 60 and 69 years of age, and increased steeply with the duration of DM. DM patients residing in rural China were at a higher risk to have DR than those in urban areas. In addition, insulin treatment, elevated FBG level and higher HbA1c concentration were confirmed to be associated with a higher prevalence of DR in people with DM, with meta-ORs of 1.99 (95% CI = 1.34-2.95), 1.33 (95% CI = 1.12-1.59) and 1.15 (95% CI = 1.09-1.20) respectively. In 2010, a total of 13.16 million (95% CI = 8.95-18.00) Chinese aged 45 years and above were living with DR, among whom the most were in South Central China and the least were in Northwest China. DR has become a serious public health problem in China. Optimal screening of and interventions on DR should be implemented. Improved epidemiological studies on DR are still required.

Yu J, et al. Diabetes Metab J. 2017 Aug;41(4):251-262. https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2017.41.4.251

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is generally defined as a cluster of metabolically related cardiovascular risk factors which are often associated with the condition of insulin resistance, elevated blood pressure, and abdominal obesity. During the past decades, MetS has become a major public health issue worldwide in both adults and children. In this study, data from the China Health and Nutrition Surveys (CHNS) was used to assess the prevalence of MetS based on both the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII) guidelines and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria, and to evaluate its possible correlates. A total of 831 children aged 7–18 years were included in this study, and 28 children were classified as having MetS as defined by the modified NCEP-ATPIII definition, which yielded an overall prevalence of 3.37%. Elevated blood pressure was the most frequent MetS component. The results of logistic regression models revealed that increased body mass index (BMI), hyperuricemia, and insulin resistance (IR) were all associated with the presence of MetS. To conclude, our study revealed the prevalence of MetS in Chinese children at the national level. Further large-scale studies are still needed to identify better MetS criteria in the general paediatric population in China.

Objectives: Emerging research interest focused on mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) as a complementary approach for the treatment of problematic eating behaviors. This systematic review aims to comprehensively evaluate current evidence from randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) that have used the MBIs as the treatment for problematic eating concerns. Methods: Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses method for systematic reviews, electronic databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, AMED, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Scopus, and The Cochrane Library, were systematically searched to identify up to June 2017. Hand search of the reference lists of related systematic reviews was also conducted for detecting additional studies. Eligible studies were RCTs that employed MBIs as the primary intervention for people with problematic eating or body image concerns. Results: A total of nine RCTs were included in this systematic review. In the majority of included studies, participants in MBI groups showed significant reduction in emotional eating, external eating, binge eating, and weight and shape concern. Findings also suggest that increasing mindful awareness of internal experiences and automatic patterns could be effective for the improvement of self-acceptance and emotional regulation, thereby reducing the problematic eating behaviors. Conclusion: This systematic review advances the understanding of MBIs as an complementary approach for problematic eating behavior treatment. Despite the variable trial qualities and some small sample sizes, this study provides initial evidence supporting the efficacy of the application of MBIs to a range of problematic eating concerns. The application of MBIs remains a promising approach for the treatment of problematic eating and merits further investigations.