中国疾病预防控制中心周报最新文献

Introduction: Biological age (BA) can represent the actual state of human aging more accurately than chronological age (CA).

Methods: Using hematological data from 112,925 participants in southwestern China, collected between 2015 and 2021, this study constructed BA predictors using 7 machine learning (ML) methods (tailored separately for male and female populations). This study then analyzed the association between BA acceleration and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within this data using logistic regression. Additionally, it examined the impact of glycemic control on BA in individuals with diabetes.

Results: Among all ML models, deep neural networks (DNN) delivered the best performance in male [mean absolute error (MAE)=6.89, r=0.75] and female subsets (MAE=6.86, r=0.74). BA acceleration showed positive correlations with T2DM in both male [odds ratio (OR): 2.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.77-2.77] and female subsets (OR: 3.10, 95% CI: 2.16-4.46), while BA deceleration showed negative correlations in both male (OR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.27-0.39) and female subsets (OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.33-0.53). Individuals with diabetes with normal fasting glucose had significantly lower BAs than those with impaired fasting glucose in all CA groups except for patients older than 80.

Discussion: Artificial intelligence (AI)-based hematological BA predictors show promise as advanced tools for assessing aging in epidemiological studies. Implementing AI-based BA predictors in public health initiatives could facilitate proactive aging management and disease prevention.

What is already known about this topic?: Lipooligosaccharides from Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) have a mimicry antigen structure with gangliosides, which explains the mechanism by which C. jejuni caused Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

What is added by this report?: All 12 C. jejuni strains with class R LOSs and specific serotypes were isolated from seagulls in south China. These emerging C. jejuni strains had ganglioside-mimicry antigen structures and possessed a high potential for triggering GBS.

What are the implications for public health practice?: Sialylated lipooligosaccharides (LOS) class R with GBS-associated serotypes isolated from seagulls highlight the risk of induced GBS around coastal or lakeside areas.

What is already known about this topic?: The early onset of puberty increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Limited research has focused on the association between the onset of puberty, based on sudden increases in height, and obesity in late adolescence.

What is added by this report?: This report assessed the age at take-off and age at peak height velocity for children and adolescents in China from 2012 to 2020. The results indicated that age at take-off and age at peak height velocity were negatively associated with the risk of late adolescence obesity in boys, independent of childhood body mass index; however, no similar association was found in girls.

What are the implications for public health practice?: Puberty timing influences adiposity. Effective monitoring and management of pubertal development are necessary, and attention should be paid to sex differences.

Introduction: Kidney disease represents a significant public health issue in China, yet there is a lack of comprehensive knowledge regarding national and regional trends in its mortality and causes. This study evaluated the mortality, causes, and regional distribution of major kidney diseases in China from 2014 to 2021.

Methods: Data pertaining to kidney disease were obtained from the National Death Cause Surveillance System. Estimates were made for both the mortality rates and age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) for kidney cancer, glomerular disease, tubulointerstitial nephritis, and kidney failure. Additionally, the average annual percent change (AAPC) was calculated to illustrate trends by sex, urban/rural distinctions, and regional differences from 2014 to 2021.

Results: There was a significant reduction in the ASMR for all kidney diseases combined from 2014 to 2021. Analysis of age-specific mortality rates reveals a gradual increase beginning at age 35, with a sharp rise after age 60. However, the ASMR for glomerular disease and kidney failure in females, as well as for tubulointerstitial nephritis in males, displayed a notable decrease. Regionally, the ASMR for glomerular disease in the eastern region and kidney failure in the western region significantly decreased by AAPC of -4.6% and -2.3%, respectively. Conversely, the ASMR for kidney cancer in the central region rose significantly (AAPC=2.1%).

Conclusion: From 2014 to 2021, the ASMR for major kidney diseases remained high among men, urban residents, and individuals in western China. Future prevention and control initiatives should prioritize these disparities to mitigate the impact of kidney diseases.

What is already known about this topic?: Candida auris (C. auris) is an emerging multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen classified as a global public health threat with notable mortality and nosocomial transmission capacity. In China, the first C. auris case was reported from Beijing in 2018. However, large cases of nosocomial transmission have rarely been identified in this municipality.

What is added by this report?: During March-September 2023, C. auris was isolated from 17 patients admitted to CY Hospital in Beijing. All strains were resistant to fluconazole and amphotericin B. In addition, three isolates were resistant to echinocandins. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis revealed that all strains found in this hospital belonged to C. auris Clade I. These strains were genetically closely related to the C. auris strains reported in two other hospitals in Beijing since 2021, forming a new sublineage different from the Clade I strains causing previous outbreaks in the Eastern Provincial-level administrative divisions and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

What are the implications for public health practice?: The dissemination of C. auris has become an increasing threat to healthcare facilities in China. The WGS analysis indicates the spread of a unique sublineage of C. auris Clade I isolates in Beijing. Further, enhanced surveillance and hospital infection control of C. auris are warranted to resolve the public health challenge.

What is already known about this topic?: The investigations and analyses limited to epidemiological characteristics are insufficient to analyze the spread patterns of norovirus outbreaks in schools.

What is added by this report?: Norovirus outbreaks in primary schools are a dynamic process that spreads through social networks. The use of a social network analysis method to measure and identify key nodes for simulating control evolution was proven effective.

What are the implications for public health practice?: Infected students exhibit priority connection characteristics at different developmental stages in the network topology. Identifying and deliberately targeting key nodes could destroy network connectivity and help reduce the spread of the outbreak.

Brucellosis poses a significant threat to public health in China. This study utilized a range of epidemiological indices, including seroprevalence and the number of reported cases, to illustrate the epidemic profile of the disease. Although the seroprevalence of brucellosis in animals (including sheep, goats, cattle, and swine) steadily decreased from a severe epidemic level in the 1950s to a low endemic level by 1989, the disease reemerged in 2000. Subsequently, there has been a persistent increase in the frequency of outbreaks and the number of reported cases from 2006 to 2021, with over 98% of reported cases occurring in sheep and cattle. During this period, the culling rate declined, while infection rates increased, nearly reversing their respective trajectories. The decrease in the culling rate of positive animals coincided with an increase in infection rates, indicating that infection among these animals was persistent and circulating. In the southern regions of China, 6.34% (34,070 of 537,797) of cases were reported between 2006 and 2021, whereas in the northern regions, 93.67% (503,727 of 537,797) of cases occurred during the same timeframe. Each time cases increased in the south, they lagged 2 to 5 years behind those in the north, suggesting that stringent control measures for sheep and cattle in the north should be prioritized. These findings provide critical insights into developing control strategies to mitigate the spread of the disease.

Introduction: Common methods for assessing and responding to outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are usually applied in isolation and have limitations. This study aimed to integrate the risk matrix and Borda count methods to assess the importation risk of EIDs to China, using Lassa fever (LF) as an example.

Methods: This study used a mixed-methods approach combining multi-source data with an integrated risk matrix and Borda count method. Data were obtained from the World Health Organization, the Concise Statistics of International Students dataset, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and the Statistical Yearbook. Importation risk was assessed across two dimensions: possibility and severity. Total importation risk was then categorized into 4 levels (low, moderate, high, and extremely high), corresponding to green, yellow, orange, and red zones, respectively, in the risk matrix assessment index. The Borda count method was used to rank the risks.

Results: The importation risk for 9 countries that experienced LF outbreaks from 1996 to 2023 was scored and ranked by importation possibility and severity to derive overall importation risks. This study determined that Nigeria posed the highest LF importation risk to China, ranking first among West African countries with the highest Borda points. Countries with moderate importation risk included Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Ghana.

Discussion: An integrated risk matrix and Borda count method presented in this study may serve as a significant supplement to other risk assessment methods and enrich the current toolbox of public health countermeasures and inform future risk management of the importation of EIDs.

What is already known about this topic?: Pregnancy is associated with increased risk for severe illness and complications attributable to influenza infection. Information about the incidence of influenza hospitalization among pregnant and early postpartum women in China is limited.

What is added by this report?: Population-based data from a large city in southern China estimated the annual influenza hospitalization rate to be 2.1 per 1,000 live births. Among hospitalized pregnant and postpartum women with influenza, 86% were admitted to obstetrics rather than respiratory medicine wards; fewer than one third received antiviral treatment. Influenza vaccination coverage among hospitalized pregnant and postpartum women with influenza was <0.1%.

What are the implications for public health practice?: Increasing vaccination coverage among pregnant women can reduce influenza-associated morbidity. Raising awareness about early detection, treatment, and infection control of influenza in obstetrics wards is needed to reduce the adverse impact of influenza on pregnant women.

What is already known about this topic?: The prevalence of COPD in Chinese individuals aged 50 years and above was obviously higher than that in younger adults, but the risk factors for this age group were unclear.

What is added by this report?: The prevalence was estimated at 12.8% and 5.7% for males and females over 50 in 2020-2021, with confirmed risk factors of cigarette smoking, a family history of respiratory diseases, respiratory symptoms, and a history of cough or respiratory diseases during childhood.

What are the implications for public health practice?: The findings may help clinicians and the public identify individuals at high risk of COPD and take targeted measures in a timely manner.