Urban Chinese Men Research Articles

Gender, Work, and Leisure in Old Age in China and India.

This paper examines how paid and unpaid work affects leisure differently for older women and men in China and India. We use data from the World Health Organization's Study on Global Aging and Health. We find that urban China, with higher levels of public welfare and gender equality, represents the best scenario for older adults' leisure life in developing countries. Although urban Chinese women are disadvantaged relative to urban Chinese men, they still enjoy longer hours of leisure and relaxing leisure than both men and women in rural China, urban India and rural India. Furthermore, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition results show gender disparities in unpaid housework to be the primary driver of gender inequalities in leisure in all societies, albeit to varying degrees. These findings highlight the role of public welfare, gender equality, and the gendered consequences of the family support model in shaping older adults' leisure life.

Real-world, anti-tobacco environmental impact upon price-induced smoking reduction among urban Chinese men: Evidence from China's 2015 cigarette tax increase.

Raising the price of cigarettes via taxation has been promoted by the World Health Organization as an important tobacco control strategy. Price elasticity of cigarettes is not uniform and is dependent upon individual and environmental determinants. Many studies have examined the determinants of price-induced smoking, taking into account sociodemographic characteristics and consumption patterns. Little research has been conducted on the association between anti-smoking environments and price-induced smoking behavior. This study addresses the deficit within the Chinese context. Participants were 2852 male smokers identified through a multi-stage survey sampling process encompassing 6 cities in China between July and December 2016. A standardized questionnaire tapped price-induced smoking reduction and related information. Both unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression methods were applied in the analyses. In all, 25.5% (95% CI: 22.5-27.9) of smokers in this study decreased their smoking expenditures following the 2015 excise tax increase. The adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that increased exposures to an anti-smoking information environment (AOR=1.39; 95% CI: 1.10-1.79), restricted smoking in their home (AOR=1.67; 95% CI: 1.32-2.08) and workplace (AOR=1.43; 95% CI: 1.09-1.85) were more likely to report diminished cigarette smoking following the tax increases. This study adds to understanding price-induced smoking behavior among urban male Chinese smokers. Strengthening of excise tax policies needs to intensify environmental smoking restrictions and public education campaigns to increase the sensitivity of cigarette price changes among smokers.

Walled cosmopolitanization: how China’s Great Firewall mediates young urban gay men’s lives

Abstract This article explores the role of censorship as a communication technology in shaping experiences of cosmopolitanization. Drawing on interviews with urban Chinese gay men who circumvent the country’s Great Firewall, the article studies how censorship shapes people’s media choices, practices, and social outlooks. It presents three findings. First, censorship produces a domesticated media ecology characterized by controlled exchanges with the outside world, constructing the perceived “localness” and “foreignness” of media artifacts. Second, censorship creates an exclusive “cosmopolitan digital class” that establishes a hierarchy of desirability based on people’s media practices. Third, censorship promotes a paradoxical intertwining of cosmopolitanization and encapsulation, popularizing a mindset that is at once open—willing to move across the Wall and access alternative information—and closed: subscribing to territorial understandings of selfhood. Based on these findings, the article proposes the concept of “walled cosmopolitanization” to describe the vulnerability of the cosmopolitan self in censored environments.

Gendering the second demographic transition: gender asymmetry, gendered tension, and cohabitation in contemporary urban China

The Second Demographic Transition (SDT) framework highlights individuals’ ideational shift toward greater individualism in explaining the rise of non-marriage unions. Contemporary China has seen a substantial increase in premarital cohabitation. Drawing on 65 in-depth interviews with highly educated young urban Chinese women and men, this article examines the gendered ways in which young Chinese adults perceive and make decisions about premarital cohabitation, as they envision their ideal lives and what autonomy and self-realization mean to them. I demonstrate that while male respondents predominantly view cohabitation positively as a risk-reduction strategy for avoiding incompatible marriages, female respondents still consider cohabitation to be a risk-amplification arrangement in practice that increases the possibility of uncertain marriage prospect, unsafe sex, and reputational damages. Young women, but not men, often have to strategize—through carefully managing information disclosure—about persistent parental expectations that discourage women’s premarital cohabitation. As a result, while male respondents regard marriage to be neither the necessary precondition nor the end goal of cohabitation, female respondents, who otherwise emphasize autonomy and individualistic fulfillment, continue to desire a close linkage between cohabitation and marriage. Leveraging the unique strength of qualitative data in demographic research, this article articulates the gender asymmetry in how women and men perceive cohabitation’s risks, benefits, and link to marriage. I elucidate the gendered tension between privately-held ideals of individualism vis-à-vis enduring social norms of female marriageability, as women and men differentially navigate parental expectations surrounding cohabitation. In so doing, this article makes a theoretical contribution by bringing a careful treatment of gender into the SDT framework.

Constructing Sexual Fields: Chinese Gay Men’s Dating Practices Among Pluralized Dating Apps

In this study, we draw on sexual field theory to examine the structural nature of metropolitan Chinese gay men’s mobile dating practices in a polymedia environment where one can access an array of dating apps. We define structures of desire in the sexual field as not only the transpersonal valuations of desirability but also the dominance of particular desires that coordinate actors’ expectations and practices. Based on interviews with 52 urban Chinese gay men, we discuss the differing structures of desire hosted by four dating apps: Aloha, Blued, Grindr, and Tinder. Our analysis indicates that factors such as design features of dating apps, marketing strategies of app companies, and internet regulations have shaped the structures of desire by unevenly distributing the platform access to users across social classes and territorial divisions and (dis)enabling particular communicative practices in collective sexual life to different extents. The distance-sorted display of nearby users contributes to the predominance of immediate hook-ups on Blued and Grindr, while the matching mechanism of Aloha and Tinder functions as a “speed bump” and nourishes users’ expectations for lasting connections. As Blued is the most popular gay dating app on the heavily guarded Chinese internet market, the diversity of its users drives away many metropolitan middle-class gay men who only desire their own kind. In comparison, Aloha, Grindr, and Tinder, with smaller user bases, are more specialized sexual sites where the dominant currency of sexual capital reflects the middle-class standard for “quality.”

Association between household physical activity level and type 2 diabetes among urban males in northern China.

Physical activity contributes to preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Doing housework is an unstructured mild-intensity physical activity. We aimed to investigate the association between household physical activity level (HPAL) and T2D in urban Chinese men. This is a cross-sectional study. This study contained 13,862 male adults aged 35-78 (48.4±7.1) years. According to the self-reported time (hours/day [h/d]) spent on housework, they were stratified into three levels: 0h/d, >0-2h/d, and >2h/d. The association of HPAL with T2D was investigated by logistic regression analysis. The odds ratios (ORs) for T2D across increasing categories of HPAL were 1.00 (reference), 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72-0.89), and 0.60 (95% CI 0.51-0.70), respectively (P for trend <0.001), after adjusting for confounding factors. Further adjustment for waist circumference or body mass index (BMI) had a minimal impact on these ORs. The inverse association of HPAL with T2D was persistent in subgroup analyses based on age, hypertension, family history of diabetes, smoking, BMI, waist circumstance, and fasting plasma glucose level. Our findings indicated that HPAL was inversely associated with the risk of T2D among urban males in northern China. This implied that household physical activity may contribute to long-term glucose control. Well-designed longitudinal studies are required to improve our understanding of this association.

Representations of Mental Health Among Middle‐Aged Urban Chinese Men

AbstractLittle is understood by the ideas that urban Chinese population holds about mental health. Insufficient research and recognition of mental illnesses, and a dearth of social resources for mental health support and promotion limit understandings of how daily life stresses restrict the quality of life of China's urban population. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with 15 middle‐age urban men, we map out men's accounts of how they battle to cope with the demands of everyday social, political, and familial pressures. The study reveals that the representations of mental health are shaped by notions of control over emotions, adherence to Confucian philosophy, familial obligations, and the need to demonstrate social obedience and conformity. Data also suggest that the participants represent stable family support along with healthy social interactions as important enabling factors of positive mental health, whereas pressures of modernity are regarded as significant disruptive factors in mental health. The theory of social representations guides the process as well as analytic interpretations of this research. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Gender and Job Satisfaction in Urban China: The Role of Individual, Family, and Job Characteristics

This study examines gender differences in job satisfaction in urban Chinese, whether individual achieved status, family and household characteristics, and job characteristics explain these differences, and whether these factors are associated with men’s and women’s job satisfaction differently using a national representative sample of 1,641 men and 1,375 women from the 2006 Chinese General Social Survey. Urban Chinese women are less satisfied with their jobs than urban Chinese men. This gender difference is largely explained by women’s underrepresentation in the Chinese Communist Party and their inferior jobs. Family and household characteristics have stronger impact on women’s job satisfaction than on men’s, but achieved status and job characteristics have similar associations with job satisfaction for men and women. These findings suggest that persistent gender inequality is detrimental to women’s well-being at the workplace.

Tea Consumption and Health Beneficences of Green Tea Drinking- A Community-based Cross-sectional Study in Urban Chinese Men

Tea Consumption and Health Beneficences of Green Tea Drinking- A Community-based Cross-sectional Study in Urban Chinese Men

Tea Consumption and Health Beneficences of Green Tea Drinking- A Community-based Cross-sectional Study in Urban Chinese Men

Aims: To understand the exposure experiences of tea consumption in community male adult population of urban China and its potential beneficences in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Communities in Shanghai, Chengdu and Hangzhou, China between July to September, 2006. Methodology: Face-to-face questionnaire interviews through household visit were carried out to collect information on tea consumption and health conditions in Chinese men. The amount of tea-leaves consumed per time was weighed in grams using identical balances. Results: In this study, 73.7% (2156/2927) subjects met the criteria of present tea Research Article British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 3(4): 1407-1417, 2013 1408 drinkers (PTDRs) at the time of interview, and the age-gender standardized proportion was 66.4%. Most of PTDRs drank tea every day and amounts of tea consumption did not vary over seasons. The average weekly amounts of tea consumption in grams for PTDRs varied from 55.2 grams green tea per week to 71.7 grams oolong tea per week. Also, green tea drinking was significantly inversely associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Conclusion: This study provides an informative and comprehensive description of tea drinking in urban Chinese male population. Findings from this study also present the possibility of health benefits of green tea for male Chinese population.

Women's Liberation and Gender Obligation Equality in Urban China: Work/Family Experiences of Married Individuals in the 1950s

Data from in-depth interviews of 80 elderly women and men, conducted during the 2000–2003 period in urban China, shed light on married individuals' lived experiences with women's liberation and gender equality under Chinese state socialism during the 1950s. When individuals' experiences are placed in a broad historical context, urban Chinese women's liberation appears as an integral part of nationalist and class campaigns and attendant freedom from family patriarchy. Subsequently, women's family autonomy and individual freedom yielded to renewed collective efforts channeled through the discursive space of gender obligation equality. This led to a dual gender configuration. At the state level, both genders were molded into state persons, whereas in the home, traditional gendered roles remained rather intact. The experiences of urban Chinese women and men marked different state–society relations and alternative trajectories of women's liberation and gender equality from those followed in the industrial West.

Sex difference of the prevalence and risk factors associated with prehypertension among urban Chinese adults from 33 communities of China

As a new category of blood pressure (BP) classification according to the Seventh Report of The Joint National Committee, prehypertension has aroused people's great concern in recent years due to its associations with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. However, there is little information about the epidemiology of prehypertension in urban China. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of prehypertension and to identify its risk factors among urban Chinese men and women. A cross-sectional survey in a representative sample of 25 196 Chinese adults aged 18-74 years was conducted in three cities of northeast of China during 2009 and 2010. Body weight, height, waist circumference, and BP were measured by trained observers. Overall, the prevalence of prehypertension was 56.9%, men 71.1% and women 44.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher education or a higher family income were risk factors of prehypertension among men, but shown as protective factors among women. Among men, high odds ratios (ORs) of prehypertension were found in overweight [OR 2.31; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.02-2.71] and obese (OR 7.92, 95% CI 4.36-14.42) adults (defined as body mass index), whereas abdominal obesity (OR 2.94, 95% CI 2.48-3.57) (defined as waist circumference) was the main determinant for prehypertension status in women. Our results indicate that hypertension is highly prevalent in urban China and there is a sex difference in the relationships between risk factors and prehypertension.

Liver Enzymes, Type 2 Diabetes, and Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged, Urban Chinese Men

We examined associations between elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) with physical activity and obesity measures in middle-aged urban Chinese men. The associations between elevated aminotransferases with impaired fasting glucose, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D), and metabolic syndrome were also evaluated in this population. The study included 3,978 urban Chinese men 40-74 years of age from a population-based cohort study, the Shanghai Men's Health Study, who were free of T2D at baseline and had provided fasting blood samples. Elevated AST and ALT levels were defined as >40 U/L. Anthropometric measurements and information on lifestyle factors and disease history were collected by in-person interviews. A total of 11.13% and 5.85% study participants had elevated serum ALT and AST levels, respectively. Both body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were positively associated with elevated ALT and AST. We found stronger associations between ALT and BMI/WHR than between AST and BMI/WHR. Physical activity was inversely associated with ALT and AST, but the association was attenuated after adjustment for BMI and WHR. Elevated serum aminotransferase levels were associated with T2D and metabolic syndrome. In this representative sample of middle-aged Chinese men, elevated ALT and AST were associated with a prevalence of metabolic syndrome and T2D. These findings suggest that the relationship between obesity and T2D might involve liver injury. Physical activity might reduce the levels of ALT and AST, probably mediated through weight reduction.

Lifestyle determinants of c-reactive protein in middle-aged, urban Chinese men

Background and Aim: Increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), common in aging populations, are associated with higher risk for chronic diseases, including diabetes and coronary heart disease. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between lifestyle factors and high CRP among middle-aged men living in Shanghai, China.Methods and Results: In this cross-sectional study, 3978 urban Chinese men aged 40–74 years who were free of type-2 diabetes at baseline provided fasting blood samples, anthropometric measurements and information on lifestyle factors and disease history.Dietary patterns were assessed by factor analysis. Participants were categorised into two groups according to CRP level: normal (≤3 mg/L) and high (>3 mg/L). Associations between CRP categories and lifestyle factors were investigated by using logistic regression.Obesity, weight gain, cigarette smoking and alcohol intake were positively associated with high CRP levels, while physical activity and a dietary pattern with high consumption of fruit were inversely related to high CRP levels. A positive trend of marginal significance between quintiles of a dietary pattern with high consumption of meat and high CRP levels was also observed. No association between tea intake and CRP level was observed.Conclusions: Components of an adverse lifestyle were associated with high CRP levels. Obesity, smoking and alcohol intake were associated with high CRP, a biomarker of low-grade inflammation in middle-aged men, while a dietary pattern rich in fruit and high physical activity were inversely associated with the prevalence of high CRP.

The risk of success: cultural determinants of chronic disease and sexually transmitted infections among urban Chinese men

During the 1950s and 1960s, the People's Republic of China successfully waged a series of public health campaigns to control the infectious diseases that were ravaging them as a nation. This included a campaign that targeted the social roots of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). China is now facing a new disease profile that includes emerging epidemics of chronic disease as well as reemerging epidemics of STIs. Many of these diseases are strongly associated with gender and occupation, suggesting need for a critical model of health literacy that recognizes the role of social risk in promoting risky behaviors rather than focusing on a simple model that disseminates knowledge about biomedical risk. Such a model is useful for explaining why people armed with knowledge about biomedical risk continue to engage in risky behaviors. This article focuses on the social risks that wealthy Chinese businessmen and government officials negotiate on a daily basis. It highlights the concept of guanxi that is so central to building relationships in China and explains the traditional process of yingchou used to establish and maintain relationships among this cadre of men who depend on one another for political and economic success. This process, which has become pervasive in China's era of market reform, requires men to engage in frequent practices of smoking, drinking, eating and female-centered entertainment that are contributing both to their success and to their increasing vulnerability to chronic disease and STIs. The paper concludes by offering some alternative approaches to addressing this emerging disease pattern among this particular segment of China's population.

Prevalence and Determinants of Hyperuricemia in Middle-Aged, Urban Chinese Men

Hyperuricemia is associated with metabolic syndrome and has emerged as a marker for both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We estimated the prevalence and lifestyle risk factors of hyperuricemia in middle-aged, urban Chinese men. The study included 3,978 urban Chinese men 40-74 years of age from a population-based cohort study, the Shanghai Men's Health Study, who were free of type 2 diabetes at baseline and had provided fasting blood samples. Uric acid concentrations were measured by the uricase method. Hyperuricemia was defined as >7.0 mg/dL. Anthropometric measurements and information on lifestyle factors and disease history were collected by in-person interviews. One quarter of the study subjects had hyperuricemia. Participants with metabolic syndrome had a higher prevalence of hyperuricemia. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference, and weight gain (since age 20) were positively associated with the prevalence of hyperuricemia. Physical activity was inversely related to the prevalence of hyperuricemia. The odds ratios for hyperuricemia for quintiles of nonoccupational physical activity were 1.00, 0.80, 0.73, 0.75, and 0.57 (P trend <0.001). Participants with hyperuricemia were less likely to be current smokers, but were more likely to drink alcohol regularly. Beer consumption was associated with higher risk of hyperuricemia compared with consumption of wine or liquor. In this representative sample of middle-aged, urban Chinese men, hyperuricemia is highly prevalent. Obesity, weight gain in adulthood, and alcohol intake were associated with a higher prevalence of hyperuricemia, whereas daily physical activity and smoking were inversely related to the prevalence of hyperuricemia.

Prevalence and Determinants of Metabolic Syndrome According to Three Definitions in Middle-Aged Chinese Men

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome has varied markedly between different studies because of the lack of internationally agreed-upon criteria to define the condition. We estimated the prevalence and lifestyle risk factors of metabolic syndrome according to three definitions of metabolic syndrome in urban Chinese men participating in the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS). In this cross-sectional study, 3988 middle-aged, urban Chinese men 40-74 years of age who were free of type 2 diabetes at baseline provided fasting blood samples, anthropometric measurements, and information on lifestyle factors and disease history. The three definitions of metabolic syndrome used in this report are from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the U.S. Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III), and a modified version of the ATP III criteria for Asian populations (ATP III-modified criteria). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 18.63%, 18.36%, and 29.34% according to IDF, ATP III, and ATP III-modified criteria, respectively. Agreement between the IDF and ATP III criteria was moderate (kappa = 0.43), whereas agreement between ATP III-modified and the IDF and ATP III criteria was good (kappa = 0.71 and 0.70, respectively). Physical activity was associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome, whereas drinking more than three drinks per day was associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, regardless of the criteria employed. The association between smoking and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in this population failed to reach significance. Results from this representative sample of middle-aged, urban Chinese men show that metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in this population. Our data support the hypothesis that physical activity decreases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and that high alcohol consumption increases risk.

Differences in bone mineral status between urban and rural Chinese men and women

Background:Few studies have investigated differences in bone health and associated lifestyle factors between urban and rural populations in countries, such as China, undergoing rapid nutrition transition. Such a study may help to identify risk factors of osteoporosis and provide evidence for future preventive strategies. Objective:To determine primarily whether differences in bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) exist between urban and rural Chinese men and women and secondly whether any urban–rural differences could be explained by body size or lifestyle factors. Methods:In total, 490 men and 689 women aged 50–70 were included in the study. 535 of them were from urban Shanghai and 644 from surrounding rural areas. Anthropometric measurements were conducted and spine lumber 1–4 BMC measurements were determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Information on socioeconomic status, medical history, smoking and drinking habits and physical activity were collected. Results:Urban men and women had significantly higher spine BMC, BMD and bone area than their rural counterparts (P<0.01). After controlling body size, the differences between urban–rural spine BMC and BMD remained in women (P<0.001), but were no longer significant in men. The urban and rural differences of BMC and BMD in women could not be explained by including the lifestyle factors such as income, intake of milk, vitamin D and calcium, total physical activity level, walking and social activity. Conclusion:This study found the significant differences in both spine BMC and BMD between urban and rural men and women in Shanghai, China. This difference could be explained by the body size in men; however, it remained unexplained in women after adjusting for body size and certain lifestyle risk factors.

Preferences for Sex of Children in Thailand: A Comparison of Husbands' and Wives' Attitudes

Findings on sex preference for children from a Thai national survey show substantial differences for men and women. Married women appear to have a weak or moderate preference for sons, coexisting with a desire to have at least one child of each sex. Their husbands' preference for sons is noticeably more pronounced. Son preference is strongest among urban ethnic Chinese men but is also substantial among ethnic Thai men. There is also some evidence that men like to have at least one daughter. The contrasting patterns of sex preferences found for men and women in Thailand suggest that results can be misleading if studies of sex preferences for children are based exclusively on samples of married women.