Performance of the 1 h oral glucose tolerance test in predicting type 2 diabetes and association with impaired β-cell function in Asians: a national prospective cohort study.

Background: Postprandial glucose concentration 1-h (1 h-PG) after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) has similar or superior performance to 2 h-PG in predicting type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in several populations, and is simpler to obtain in clinical practice. However, studies in Asians are scarce. We investigated the utility of elevated baseline 1 h-PG in predicting T2DM incidence within three years, and its relationship with β-cell function in 1250 non-diabetic Asian participants.

A systematic review of multimorbidity clusters in heart failure: Effects of methodologies.

Background: Clustering algorithms can identify distinct heart failure (HF) subgroups. The choice of algorithms, modelling process, and input variables can impact clustering outcomes. Therefore, we reviewed analytical methods and variables used in studies that performed clustering in patients with HF.

Comparing role of religion in perception of the COVID-19 vaccines in Africa and Asia Pacific.

Background: In the midst of the global COVID-19 vaccine distribution challenge, religion stands out as a key determinant of vaccine hesitancy and health choices. Notably, the multifaceted religious environments of Africa and the Asia Pacific remain under-researched in this context.

Methods: Utilizing data from two survey waves conducted between 2021 and 2022, this cross-sectional study investigated the effects of religious beliefs on perceptions of compatibility between religion and vaccines and COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Africa and Asia Pacific.

Mapping environmental suitability changes for arbovirus mosquitoes in Southeast Asia: 1960-2020.

Spatial epidemiology recognizes the impact of environmental factors on human infectious diseases through disease vectors. The expansion of and raises concerns about health risks due to their changing distribution. However, current mosquito mapping methods have low spatial resolution and limited focus on long-term trends and factors.

Advancing Colorectal Cancer Detection With Blood-Based Tests: Qualitative Study and Discrete Choice Experiment to Elicit Population Preferences.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most deadly form of cancer, inducing an estimated 1.9 million incidence cases and 0.9 million deaths worldwide in 2020.

Hourly step recommendations to achieve daily goals for working and older adults.

Background: The widespread use of physical activity trackers enables the collection of high-resolution health data, such as hourly step counts, to evaluate health promotion programmes. We aim to investigate how participants meet their daily step goals.

Methods: We used 24-h steps data from the National Steps Challenge Season 3, wherein participants were rewarded with vouchers when achieving specified goals of 5000, 7500, and 10,000 steps per day.

Do no harm: A call to action by nurses to dismantle structural violence against LGBTQ+ youth.

This commentary addresses structural violence - an overlooked and unrecognized harm within nursing. Structural violence within nursing practice refers to the violent impacts of racism, classism, homophobia, and transphobia as well as other biases on vulnerable and underprivileged groups. As one of the largest and most trusted health professions, collectively nursing has the power to leverage their influence to mitigate the harmful effects of structural violence when caring for LGBTQ+ youth.

The epidemiologic and economic burden of dengue in Singapore: A systematic review.

Background: Despite its well-regarded vector control program, Singapore remains susceptible to dengue epidemics. To assist evaluation of dengue interventions, we aimed to synthesize current data on the epidemiologic and economic burden of dengue in Singapore.

Methodology: We used multiple databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, international/national repositories, surveillance) to search for published and gray literature (2000-2022).

Combining wastewater surveillance and case data in estimating the time-varying effective reproduction number.

Wastewater surveillance has been increasingly acknowledged as a useful tool for monitoring transmission dynamics of infections of public health concern, including the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). While a range of models have been proposed to estimate the time-varying effective reproduction number (R) utilizing clinical data, few have harnessed the viral concentration in wastewater samples to do so, leaving uncertainties about the potential precision gains with its use. In this study, we developed a Bayesian hierarchical model which simultaneously reconstructed the latent infection trajectory and estimated R.

Feasibility of wastewater-based detection of emergent pandemics through a global network of airports.

Wastewater-based surveillance has been put into practice during the pandemic. Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in faeces of infected individuals, and high volume of passengers travelling by air, make it possible to detect virus from aircraft wastewater, lending itself to the potential identification of a novel pathogen prior to clinical diagnosis. In this study, we estimated the likelihood of detecting the virus through aircraft wastewater from the probabilities of air travel, viral shedding, defecation, testing sensitivity, and sampling.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its associated factors in the Western Pacific Region.

Background: COVID-19 vaccines effectively reduced the severity of the pandemic, but the mass rollout was challenged by vaccine hesitancy, which was related to heterogenous factors-such as religiosity, mistrust, and a lack of scientific knowledge-around the globe. Distinguishing these potential influencers and quantifying their impacts would help authorities to tailor strategies that boost vaccine confidence and acceptance.

Methods: We conducted a large-scale, data-driven analysis on vaccine acceptance and actual uptake in eight Western Pacific countries before (2021) and after (2022) the mass COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.

Efficacy of Wolbachia-mediated sterility to reduce the incidence of dengue: a synthetic control study in Singapore.

Background: Due to the absence of available therapeutics and good vaccines, vector control solutions are needed to mitigate the spread of dengue. Matings between male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the wAlbB strain of Wolbachia and wildtype females yield non-viable eggs. We evaluated the efficacy of releasing wAlbB-infected A aegypti male mosquitoes to suppress dengue incidence.

Optimising HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and testing strategies in men who have sex with men in Australia, Thailand, and China: a modelling study and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Asia-Pacific region have a disproportionately high burden of HIV infection compared with the general population. Although pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV is highly effective at preventing new HIV infections, the cost-effectiveness of PrEP for MSM in different countries in the Asia-Pacific region with varying PrEP coverage and HIV testing frequencies remains unstudied. We aimed to analyse the economic and health benefits of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) compared with oral PrEP in high-income countries and low-income and middle-income countries within the Asia-Pacific region.

Informing Public Health Policies with Models for Disease Burden, Impact Evaluation, and Economic Evaluation.

Conducting real-world public health experiments is often costly, time-consuming, and ethically challenging, so mathematical models have a long-standing history of being used to inform policy. Applications include estimating disease burden, performing economic evaluation of interventions, and responding to health emergencies such as pandemics. Models played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing early detection of SARS-CoV-2's pandemic potential and informing subsequent public health measures.

Preferences and willingness-to-pay for a blood pressure telemonitoring program using a discrete choice experiment.

This study aimed to elicit the preferences and willingness-to-pay for blood pressure (BP) telemonitoring programs. This study also investigated the different factors or participant characteristics that could influence preferences and choice behaviors. Participants with hypertension were identified from an online survey panel demographically representative of Singapore's general population.

A qualitative exploration of factors that influence the uptake of tuberculosis services by low-skilled migrant workers in Singapore.

Introduction: Singapore relies heavily on migrant workers to build its country and harbours a relatively large population of these workers. Importantly, tuberculosis (TB) remains a pernicious threat to the health of these workers and in line with the United Nations High-Level Meeting in 2023, this paper aims to uncover the qualitative discourse facing migrant workers' uptake of TB services and provide policy recommendations to enable more equitable access to TB services for this population.

Methods: In-depth interviews were carried out with the migrant worker population recruited from a non-governmental organisation in Singapore that serves migrant workers through the provision of primary healthcare services, counselling, and social assistance.

Positive association of SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater and reported COVID-19 cases in Singapore - A study across three populations.

Wastewater testing of SARS-CoV-2 has been adopted globally and has shown to be a useful, non-intrusive surveillance method for monitoring COVID-19 trends. In Singapore, wastewater surveillance has been widely implemented across various sites and has facilitated timely COVID-19 management and response. From April 2020 to February 2022, SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater monitored across three populations, nationally, in the community, and in High Density Living Environments (HDLEs) were aggregated into indices and compared with reported COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations.

EpiMix: A novel method to estimate effective reproduction number.

Transmission potential of a pathogen, often quantified by the time-varying reproduction number , provides the current pace of infection for a disease and indicates whether an emerging epidemic is under control. In this study, we proposed a novel method, EpiMix, for estimation, wherein we incorporated the impacts of exogenous factors and random effects under a Bayesian regression framework. Using Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation, EpiMix is able to efficiently generate reliable, deterministic estimates.

Use of Bluetooth contact tracing technology to model COVID-19 quarantine policies in high-risk closed populations.

Containment measures in high-risk closed settings, like migrant worker (MW) dormitories, are critical for mitigating emerging infectious disease outbreaks and protecting potentially vulnerable populations in outbreaks such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The direct impact of social distancing measures can be assessed through wearable contact tracing devices. Here, we developed an individual-based model using data collected through a Bluetooth wearable device that collected 33.

What measures are needed to achieve a tobacco endgame target? A Singapore-based simulation study.

Background: An increasing number of countries are pursuing a tobacco 'endgame'. We sought to determine the combination of measures it would take to achieve a tobacco endgame in the city-state of Singapore.

Methods: Using an open-cohort microsimulation model, we estimated the impact of existing measures (quit programmes, tobacco taxes, flavours ban) and more novel measures (very low nicotine cap, tobacco-free generation, raising the minimum legal age to 25 years), and combinations thereof, on smoking prevalence in Singapore over a 50-year horizon.

Effectiveness of chatbots on COVID vaccine confidence and acceptance in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Chatbots have become an increasingly popular tool in the field of health services and communications. Despite chatbots' significance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, few studies have performed a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of chatbots in improving vaccine confidence and acceptance. In Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore, from February 11th to June 30th, 2022, we conducted multisite randomised controlled trials (RCT) on 2,045 adult guardians of children and seniors who were unvaccinated or had delayed vaccinations.