Xiaomei Li

Background: Perceived stress is a significant risk factor for depression among healthcare professionals. While this fundamental relationship is well-documented, the potential mediating mechanisms—specifically the role of psychological flexibility and its distinct components—in buffering the impact of perceived stress on depression within the nursing community remain poorly understood. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 3,920 nurses from three tertiary Grade A public hospitals in Xi’an, China, using convenience sampling, of whom 3,611 were included in the final analysis. Data were collected online using the Chinese versions of Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale and the Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes, as well as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Pearson correlation analyzes and mediation analysis were conducted to examine the associations among perceived stress, psychological flexibility, and depression. Results: Depression was positively correlated with perceived stress ( r = 0.63, p < 0.01). Mediation analysis indicated that perceived stress was significantly associated with depression both directly ( b = 0.47, 95% CI : 0.45 to 0.49) and indirectly via psychological flexibility ( b = 0.12, 95% CI : 0.11 to 0.13) and its components, including acceptance and cognitive defusion ( b = 0.14, 95% CI : 0.13 to 0.15), and values and committed action ( b = 0.06, 95% CI : 0.04 to 0.08). The indirect association through mindfulness and self-as-context was not significant ( b = 0.01, 95% CI : 0.00 to 0.02). Conclusions: Psychological flexibility and some of its components were involved in partial indirect associations between perceived stress and depression among Chinese nurses. These findings suggest that psychological flexibility may help understand how perceived stress is statistically associated with depression in this population. Given the cross-sectional design, however, the results should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than evidence of causal relationships.

Our aim was to investigate whether polymorphisms in the interleukin-4 (IL-4) gene are associated with the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in a Chinese Han population. Six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IL-4 were genotyped by Agena MassARRAY in 248 CRC patients and 463 healthy controls. The association of IL-4 polymorphisms with CRC risk was assessed by genetic models, linkage disequilibrium, and haplotype analyses. The results suggested that the CC genotype of rs2243250 confers a lower risk of CRC in the recessive model [odds ratio (OR) = 0.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.19–0.92, P = 0.020]. Similarly, rs2227284 GG was associated with a reduced risk of CRC in the codominant (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.04–0.82, P = 0.027) and recessive (OR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.04–0.83, P = 0.008) models adjusted for age. Our findings suggested that rs2243250 and rs2227284 in IL-4 are associated significantly with reduced CRC risk, which may facilitate the identification of CRC patients in Chinese populations.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors. Many people may be unaware of their risk for MetS. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among hospitalized patients with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor in Mainland China. This study assessed the MetS knowledgelevel(through MetS Knowledge Scale, MSKS) and examined the potential predictors by regression analysis. A total of 204 patients aged 58.5 ± 10.1 years (55% males) participated in this study. The majority of participants had no history of hypertension (54%), dyslipidemia (79%), or diabetes (85%). However, 56% of these participants had at least three cardiometabolic risk factors, indicating the presence of MetS. The average MSKS was very low (mean = 36.7±18.8, possible range = 0–100), indicating the urgent needs of MetS education in current practice. Predictors of better MetS knowledge included higher educational level, history of dyslipidemia, and normal high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (F (8, 195) = 9.39, adjusted R² = 0.192, p< 0.001). In conclusion, adults with cardiometabolic risk factors are at risk of developing MetS, but with a low level of knowledge. Specific health education on MetS should be provided, particularly for those with limited formal education or inadequate lipid management.

Menopause is an inevitable stage affecting every middle-aged woman. China has a large and increasing group of post-menopausal women. Most post-menopausal women suffer from increased risks for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and sleep problems. Previous studies have demonstrated the associations between sleep disorders and increased CVD risks in general population. The current study is to examine the relationship between sleep quality and CVD risks among Chinese post-menopausal women. This study was a sub-study nested in a cross-sectional study that investigated the sleep quality of community-dwelling adults in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China. The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Framingham 10-year risk score (FRS) were used to measure sleep quality and CVD risk among 154 Chinese post-menopausal women. Multivariate regression and logistic regression were used to determine the association between sleep quality and CVD risk. The participants (age: 63.65 ± 4.47 years) experienced poor sleep quality (mean score of global PSQI = 8.58) and a 10-year risk of CVD of 12.54%. The CVD risk was significantly associated with sleep duration (β = − 0.18, p = 0.04) and sleep disturbance (β = 0.33, p < 0.001). Women with good sleep quality (PSQI ≤5) were less likely to be at high risk for CVD (FRS > 10%) (odds ratio = 0.51, p = 0.04). Poor sleep quality might increase the CVD risk in post-menopausal women. Interventions to promote the cardiovascular health of Chinese post-menopausal women may need to include sleep promotion strategies.

Social support has been considered one of the most important factors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) evaluations among different populations; however, few studies have explored the relationships of both received and perceived social support to HRQoL among patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Thus, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to clarify these relationships. Participants were patients admitted at the two largest privately and publicly funded MMT clinics in Xi’an. The main explanatory variable was social support, both received (i.e., social network support and professional support services) and perceived (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). The outcome was HRQoL, which was evaluated using the Short-Form 36 Health Survey version 2 (SF-36v2) and the Quality of Life Scale for Drug Addicts (QOL-DAv2.0). We carried out independent samples t-tests and multiple linear regression analysis to examine the relationships between received and perceived social support and HRQoL. The study findings revealed that patients with good social support had significantly higher scores on the SF-36v2 and QOL-DAv2.0 (p < 0.05). After controlling for individual characteristics, the significant factors predicting HRQoL were good family relationships, usually communicating with others, a convenient service time, appropriate treatment charges, and good perceived social support (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that received and perceived social support influences HRQoL among individuals receiving MMT. Thus, these variables should be considered during health management efforts and interventions directed at this patient population.

Breast cancer and its treatment-related adverse effects are harmful to physical, psychological, and social functioning, leading to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impairment in patients. Many programs have been used with this population for HRQoL improvement; however, few studies have considered the physical, psychological, and social health domains comprehensively, and few have constructed multimodal standard nursing interventions based on specific theories. The purpose of this trial is to examine the effect of a health belief model (HBM)-based multimodal standard nursing program (MSNP) on HRQoL in female patients with breast cancer. This is a two-arm single-blind cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) in clinical settings. Twelve tertiary hospitals will be randomly selected from the 24 tertiary hospitals in Xi’an, China, and allocated to the intervention arm and control arm using a computer-generated random numbers table. Inpatient female patients with breast cancer from each hospital will receive either MSNP plus routine nursing care immediately after recruitment (intervention arm), or only routine nursing care (control arm). The intervention will be conducted by trained nurses for 12 months. All recruited female patients with breast cancer, participating clinical staff, and trained data collectors from the 12 hospitals will be blind with respect to group allocation. Patients of the control arm will not be offered any information about the MSNP during the study period to prevent bias. The primary outcome is HRQoL measured through the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast version 4.0 at 12 months. Secondary outcomes include pain, fatigue, sleep, breast cancer-related lymphedema, and upper limb function, which are evaluated by a visual analogue scale, the circumference method, and the Constant-Murley Score. This trial will provide important evidence on the effectiveness of multimodal nursing interventions delivered by nurses in clinical settings. Study findings will inform strategies for scaling up comprehensive standard intervention programs on health management in the population of female patients with breast cancer. Chictr.org.cn ChiCTR-IOR-16008253 (April 9, 2016)