International journal of epidemiology
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Reports on serum uric acid (SUA) levels in Chinese populations are sparse, but there is evidence that hyperuricaemia and gout are not uncommon. This paper characterizes SUA levels, their correlates, and their relationship to blood pressure (BP) and prevalent high blood pressure (HBP) for urban and rural adult population samples in north China. ⋯ In addition to its strong association with body mass index, SUA is independently related to serum lipids, particularly triglycerides, and to serum glucose. While some of the univariate relation of SUA to BP is apparently due to the strong relation of body mass to both SUA and BP, a low order significant relation between SUA and BP remains with control for BMI.
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Child feeding recommendations include breastfeeding beyond 12 months, however, some researchers have reported increased rates of malnutrition in breastfed toddlers. A negative association between growth and breast-feeding may reflect reverse causality; that is, the outcome (growth) is a determinant of the predictor (breastfeeding), and not vice versa. We examined this question with data from 134 Peruvian toddlers. ⋯ The negative association between breastfeeding and linear growth reflected reverse causality. Increased breastfeeding did not lead to poor growth; children's poor growth and health led to increased breastfeeding. Children's health must be considered when evaluating the association of breastfeeding with anthropometric outcomes.
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Maternal mortality ratios in Kasama and Kaputa Districts, two remote rural areas of Northern Province, Zambia, were suspected to be very high. In order to evaluate the impact of a referral system baseline maternal mortality levels and additional maternal mortality risk arising from poor accessibility were estimated. ⋯ This study suggests that solving the accessibility problem would decrease the mortality burden from maternal causes with at least 29% in Kasama District and 65% in Kaputa District.