Prevalence of cataract and cataract surgery in urban and rural Chinese populations over 50 years old: a systematic review and Meta-analysis

AIM: To summarize the data of epidemiological studies on cataract prevalence over 50 years old in urban and rural areas of China from 2000 to 2020, and to analyze the prevalence of cataract and operation rate in China. METHODS: By searching PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Wanfang Data and CNKI, Chinese and English literatures on the prevalence of cataract in China were retrieved, and the relevant characteristic data were extracted. Then, Stata v15SE software was used for Meta-analysis and heterogeneity test. According to the results of heterogeneity, the corresponding effect models were selected to combine the extracted data. RESULTS: A total of 20 studies were included in this study, with a total of 111 434 cases. Meta-analysis showed heterogeneity. According to the random effect model, the overall prevalence of cataract in Chinese people over 50 years old was 27.45%, that in rural was 28.79%, and that in urban was 26.66%. The overall coverage rate of cataract surgery was 9.19%. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of cataract is high in China, and there is still room for improvement in surgical coverage, so it is very important to promote cataract screening and prevention.

Changing Food Consumption and Nutrition Intake in Kazakhstan

Food resource is an important bond that connects human beings and nature. In this study, we investigated the changes in food consumption and nutrition intake in Kazakhstan from a spatial and temporal perspective, from 2001 to 2018. The data were obtained from the Bureau of Statistics, international organizations and our social interview work. After the start of the 21st century, it was found that per capita food consumption significantly increased; however, the consumption of crop, vegetables and milk decreased. Per capita meat consumption was similar in both urban and rural areas. However, some food consumption showed differences between urban and rural areas. Changes of food consumption quantity and structure also had some effects on nutrient intake and the proportion of nutrients. Per capita energy intake in the national, urban and rural areas all increased remarkably. The energy intake changes in eastern states increased much more than that in western states. Protein intake in rural and urban areas was similar; however, the gap between carbohydrates and fat intake in urban and rural areas increased. The intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat in different states showed the same trend. Food consumption and nutrition intake are affected by economic, social and ecological factors.

Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Youth: The Influence of Rural and Urban Contexts on the Process of Building Identity and Disclosure

The study investigates how the territorial community can influence the individual and social well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) youth and especially the recognition of their feelings and the construction of their own identity as well as their needs to be socially recognized. This research focuses on the experiences of 30 LGB individuals (23 males and 7 females), with a mean age of 25.07 years (SD = 4,578), living in urban and rural areas of Southern Italy. Focalized open interviews were conducted, and the Grounded Theory Methodology, supported by the Atlas.ti 8.0 software, was used for data analysis. The textual material was first coded, and then codes were grouped into five macro-categories: Freedom of identity expression in the urban and rural context, identity construction and acceptance process, need of aggregation and identification with the LGB community, role of the interpersonal relationship in the process of identity acceptance, socio-cultural context, and LGB psychological well-being. The results showed a condition common to the two contexts that we can define as “ghettoization.” The young LGB is alone in the rural area due to a lack of places and people to identify with and greater social isolation. On the contrary, although there are more opportunities in the urban area, young people feel stigmatized and ghettoized because “their places” are frequented exclusively by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer (LGBTQ) community. The work will extensively discuss the limitations of the research, future proposals, and the practical implications of the results.

Identification of Risk Factors for Diabetes Disability among Bangladeshi Adults

The paper was to throw some light on the risk factors for diabetes disability among Bangladeshi adults of 18 years and above residing in both urban and rural areas. In investigating the adults, it was decided to cover 50.1% males and 49.9% females to maintain the national level of sex ratio in the sample. The respondents were interviewed when they were visiting some diagnostic centres in urban and semi-urban areas. The percentage of diabetic respondents included in the sample was 67% and 25.5% of them were suffering for 10 years and above, 6.4% were disable against 4.8% total disable respondents in the sample, and obese adults were 30.2%. Diabetic disable adults in the sample were 4.3%. The most responsible variable for diabetes disability was obesity followed by longer duration of diabetes, sedentary activity, smoking habit, being housewife, being married, etc. These variables were identified on the basis of risk ratio and correlation coefficients of variables and discriminant function scores. Beside these variables, rural people, Muslims, adults of ages 40 – 50 years, illiterate people had more risk of facing the problem of diabetes disability.

Spatial Patterns and Driving Factors of Rural Population Loss under Urban–Rural Integration Development: A Micro-Scale Study on the Village Level in a Hilly Region

Under the background of urban–rural integration, balanced development between urban and rural areas has been increasingly advocated. Rural population loss (RPL) is not only due to the laws of social and economic development but also the comprehensive action of natural, social, and economic factors. Taking 774 administrative villages in Laiyang County, which is in a hilly region, as our research area, we comprehensively used spatial analysis and geographic detectors to explore the spatial characteristics and driving factors of RPL, which was significantly correlated with rural planning. The research demonstrated that: (1) The rural population in Laiyang County generally had a low level of RPL (1.9%), but each village varied greatly. The village with the greatest RPL had a rate of 56%. The RPL between urban and rural areas, towns and streets, and villages and villages were unbalanced, and rural population flow mainly occurred between urban and rural areas. (2) RPL in Laiyang County was generally low in the central urban area and high in the northern and southern areas. Population loss presents agglomeration globally and high–low agglomeration locally. (3) The distance from village to county, elevation, cultivated land quantity, collective economic income, village area, and ecological service value were the key factors influencing RPL in Laiyang County. When comparing the dominant factors, the interaction between collective income and elevation was the strongest. Exploring the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of RPL provided us with ideas for the classified promotion of rural revitalization, preparation of rural development planning, and promotion of the integrated development of urban and rural areas.

Clinical Characteristics of Vulnerable Populations Hospitalized and Diagnosed with COVID‑19 during Second Wave in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

There are a few in Argentina publications regarding the presentation of patients with COVID-19 requiring hospitalized and emergency care in vulnerable populations that compares the first and second wave, and it has few reports in developing countries. The objective is to determine whether in the care of vulnerable patients, to succeed against COVID-19, multiple public health tools and interventions necessary to minimize morbidity and mortality. The study is a prospective cohort investigation of 3028 patients during second wave with lab-confirmed COVID-19, who required any of the Health Centers response from April 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021. In a previous publication, our group analyzed the situation of hospitalized patients during the first wave in the same region, "Southeast Network" (SN), Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). SN with 1.8 million inhabitants residing in urban and rural areas. A total of 14 health centers with different levels of care complexity provide care to patients in the region. The information of each patient with COVID-19 evaluated by SN, was incorporated in an Epidemiological Dashboard. The investigation was designed and reported with consideration of observational studies in epidemiology. A total of 57.9% patients were men, and the mean age (SD) was 52.1 (13.5) years. Sixty four percent patients with pre-existing diseases, most frequent hypertension and diabetes, but diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease presented higher risk. A total of 24.7% were hospitalized in Intensive Therapy Unit. The mortality of the cohort was 22.9%. Mortality was higher for patients aged 65 or more, and for those had some pre-existing disease. But, it was a slightly more than double that in the first wave, it is possible mainly due to the fact that more than doubled of patients in Second wave required hospitalization in ITU, compared to First wave. The patients presented greater severity of their medical condition at the time of their hospitalization. These findings were similar to those reported by other authors. Another possible cause of the high number of patients in the period studied is due to the fact that most of the hospitalized population had not been vaccinated. The health system was able to respond to the demand.

How Do Population Flows Promote Urban–Rural Integration? Addressing Migrants’ Farmland Arrangement and Social Integration in China’s Urban Agglomeration Regions

China’s urban–rural relationships have been changed dramatically by the intensifying population flows, especially in urban agglomeration regions. This study contributes to the interpretation of urban–rural integration mechanisms in urban agglomeration by constructing a conceptual framework of migration-related resource flows. Taking the Wuhan urban agglomeration as an example, migrants’ farmland arrangement, migration pattern, and social integration have been investigated to uncover the spatial and temporal characteristics of the urban–rural interaction, based on the data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2012–2017. The findings indicate that the farmland circulation in the Wuhan urban agglomeration was generally low, but slightly higher than that of the national average. The central city, Wuhan, had a high degree of family migration and social integration, indicating stronger resource flows in developed areas. However, its farmland circulation level was lower than that of non-central cities. The unsynchronized interaction of resources in urban and rural areas should be taken seriously, especially in areas with a relatively developed urban economy. The advantages of the central city in absorbing and settling migrants confirmed the positive impact of the urban agglomeration on promoting urban–rural integration.

Comparison of Characteristics of Suicide Attempts Registered in Urban and Rural Areas in China

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the characteristics of suicide attempts registered in general hospitals in urban and rural areas in China.Methods: From January 2007 to December 2011, suicide attempts registered in hospitals in five rural counties and in the Beijing Municipality were included. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to compare the characteristics of rural and urban suicide attempts in China.Results: A total of 5,515 episodes of suicide attempts were included, 1,966 (35.6%) of them were from rural counties and 3,549 (64.4%) were from Beijing. Compared with urban counterparts, the rural suicide attempters had lower proportion of females (61.9% vs. 72.3%), more likely reporting previous suicide attempt history (56.9% vs. 16.4%), and staying in hospital for more than 1 day (81.5% vs. 44.6%). The most common methods of suicide attempts were pesticide ingestion in rural areas (52.1%) and taking medications in urban area (39.2%). Results of multivariate analysis indicated that suicide attempt registered in rural areas, pesticide ingestion, and previous suicide attempts history were associated with longer treatment in hospitals.Conclusions: Suicide attempts registered in rural areas were different from those in urban areas in China. It is essential to improve the equipment and ability of medical resuscitation for pesticide ingestion in rural hospitals in China.

TOPOI – A method for analysing settlement units and their linkages in an urban–rural fabric

Many years, urbanisation research has largely focused the development of urban agglomerations and megacity regions, whereas less attention was paid on the development of medium-sized cities, small towns, villages, or rural areas. Yet many interrelations and spatial linkages between urban and rural areas exist. In this paper, we present a novel method called ‘TOPOI’ for the integrated analysis and description of settlement units in an urban–rural setting. The TOPOI-method enhances the understanding of the built environment by clustering and describing settlement units of similar characteristics with view to their physical form, function, and connectivity. The method is built on known planning parameters, but does not limit the analysis of settlement units to their administrative boundaries. Based on 11 indicators, 13 TOPOI-classes were identified in two exemplary study regions revealing new insights into urban–rural settlement types. This allows a better understanding of urban–rural linkages and therefore opens up new pathways for a more sustainable development.

Dog Ecology and Demographics in Several Areas in the Philippines and Its Application to Anti-Rabies Vaccination Programs

Understanding dog population dynamics plays a vital role in planning both rabies and dog management interventions. Establishing a human to dog ratio and an understanding how the urban/rural nature of the community might affect the overall dog population estimate provides an easy-to-use reference to estimate approximate dog populations in a range of communities. A total of 10,664 households were interviewed in 10 locations in the Philippines (2017 and 2018) to understand the dog population variations among the urban, semi-urban and rural areas. Epicollect5 and OSM tracker applications were used to conduct household interviews using a predesigned fixed set of questions. All answers were recorded directly using mobile phone applications. The survey results showed that for every 1000 humans, there are 256.3 dogs in rural areas, 213.8 dogs in semi-rural areas, 208.7 dogs in urban areas and 170.0 dogs on small islands of the Philippines. We estimate a total dog population in the Philippines of 23.29 million dogs (CI 95%, 22.51–24.07 million). Based on the survey findings from Quezon City and Cebu City, targets, resources allocations and vaccination approach were adjusted for the anti-rabies vaccination program at two locations in 2018, which lead to a 3- to 4-fold increase in the total number of dogs vaccinated in each city compared to previous years.