Association of life events and depressive symptoms among early postmenopausal Chinese women in Hong Kong.

Objective: This study examined the occurrence of stressful life events (SLEs) and its association with the risk of developing depressive symptoms in midlife women.

Methods: A total of 518 Hong Kong Chinese postmenopausal women aged 50 to 64 years were recruited through random telephone dialing. Information on sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle variables was obtained through face-to-face interviews at baseline, and at 3-year (T1) and 5-year (T2) follow-up.

Relationship between menopause status, attitude toward menopause, and quality of life in Chinese midlife women in Hong Kong.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relationship between menopause status and attitude toward menopause, and also its relationship with quality of life (QoL) of Chinese midlife women in Hong Kong.

Methods: Hong Kong Chinese women aged 40 to 59 years were recruited through computer-generated random telephone dialing. Information was obtained through telephone interviews based on a structured questionnaire.

Relationship between dietary intake and the development of type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population: the Hong Kong Dietary Survey.

Objective: To study the relationship between dietary intake and the development of type 2 diabetes among Chinese adults.

Design: A prospective cohort study. Dietary assessment was carried out using a validated FFQ.

Haplotype effect in the IGF1 promoter accounts for the association between microsatellite and serum IGF1 concentration.

Objective: Systemic insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) level is an important risk factor for various diseases. The inter-individual variation of serum IGF1 is determined by environmental and genetic factors, which are attributed to a microsatellite in IGF1 promoter. However, the exact nature of the underlying regulatory elements accounting for this association has not been characterized.

Utilization of emergency room and hospitalization by Chinese nursing home residents: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study determined factors associated with increased use of emergency room (ER) and hospitalization of Chinese nursing home residents.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: The setting was 14 nursing homes in Hong Kong.

Defining sarcopenia in terms of risk of physical limitations: a 5-year follow-up study of 3,153 chinese men and women.

Objectives: To examine the definition of sarcopenia in Chinese subjects by relating the value of appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) divided by height squared to physical functional outcomes after 4 years.

Design: Four-year prospective study.

Setting: A Chinese community in Hong Kong SAR China.

Impact of caregiving on health and quality of life: a comparative population-based study of caregivers for elderly persons and noncaregivers.

This study aims to investigate the impact of caregiving on the health status and quality of life (QOL) of primary informal caregivers (PCGs) of elderly care recipients in Hong Kong. A total of 246 PCGs and 492 matched noncaregiver (NCG) controls were identified in a population-based cross-sectional study through random telephone dialing. Their health status and QOL were assessed based on structured questionnaires and Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey.

Influence of different health-care systems on health of older adults: a comparison of Hong Kong, Beijing urban and rural cohorts aged 70 years and older.

Objective: To explore the hypothesis that better health status of elderly populations is primarily determined by the provision of freely accessible health service at low or no cost to the user and a social welfare system.

Method: Information was collected by questionnaire from surveys of three cohorts of elderly (70 years and older) Chinese. Data from two health-care systems were compared: the low-cost or free government-subsidized system in Hong Kong, and the market-orientated user-pays system in urban (Beijing), and rural China.

Effects of soy isoflavone supplementation on cognitive function in Chinese postmenopausal women: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate whether soy-derived isoflavone extract improves performance in cognitive function and quality of life in Chinese postmenopausal women.

Design: The study was a 6-month double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial. Participants were community-dwelling women aged 55 to 76 years; 191 eligible women were randomly assigned to receive a daily oral intake of 80 mg soy-derived isoflavones or an identical-appearing placebo for 6 months.

A prospective study of the effects of 1-year calcium-fortified soy milk supplementation on dietary calcium intake and bone health in Chinese adolescent girls aged 14 to 16.

The Chinese diet is low in calcium, including among adolescent girls, with an average intake around 500 mg per day. In this study, we compared the percentage change in bone mineral density and content of the spine and hip region in a 1-year follow-up study between 104 adolescent girls aged 14 to 16 years receiving 375 ml calcium-fortified soymilk supplementation and 95 girls in the control group. The mean percentage changes of bone mineral density/content (BMD/BMC) and standard deviation (SD) at 1 year for the supplementation and control groups were as follows: neck of the femur BMD 2.

Frailty index as a measure of biological age in a Chinese population.

Background: The concept of a frailty index, developed in Canadian elderly populations as an indicator of biological age as opposed to chronological age, was tested in an elderly Chinese population to determine whether it is applicable in a different ethnic and cultural setting.

Methods: A data set including 62 physical, psychological, and socioeconomic variables from a cohort of 2,032 persons 70 years and older (999 men, 1,033 women) was used. The distribution of the index was evaluated using the Cramer-von Mises goodness-of-fit test, and multiple linear regression was used to assess its relationship with age and sex.

The prevalence of Apo E4 genotype and its relationship to bone mineral density in Hong Kong Chinese.

Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) polymorphism has been implicated in many chronic diseases, including Alzheimer disease and osteoporosis. Significant association of the Apo E4 allele to low bone mineral density (BMD) has been repeatedly reported. We here examined the Apo E genotype frequencies in the Chinese population (n = 692) and its relationship to BMD.

Impact of osteoarthritis on quality of life in a Hong Kong Chinese population.

Objective: To measure the impact of osteoarthritis (OA) on quality of life in the Hong Kong Chinese population.

Methods: This was a cross sectional, retrospective, non-random, cohort design stratifying disease severity and presence or absence of joint prostheses. Patients with OA (n = 574; 136 men and 438 women) were recruited from rheumatology, family medicine, orthopedics, and geriatric medicine clinics.

Osteoporosis in Chinese patients with anorexia nervosa.

Objective: A case-control study was conducted to determine whether bone mass is reduced in Chinese patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and to study the risk factors for low bone mass in the same population.

Method: Bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine and hip was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 42 AN patients and 221 controls.

Results: Patients with AN had a significantly lower BMD in the total hip and spine compared with controls (p <.

Soy protein consumption and bone mass in early postmenopausal Chinese women.

Recent interest has been shown in the potential beneficial effects of phytoestrogens on bone health. As the early years of menopause are a period of rapid bone loss, and the risk for osteoporosis increases substantially, the habitual intake of soy protein and isoflavones may play a role in the retardation of bone loss. This paper reports the results of the baseline cross-sectional analysis of the association between dietary soy protein intake and bone mineral density/content in a population-based study of Chinese women.

Comparison of Pueraria lobata with hormone replacement therapy in treating the adverse health consequences of menopause.

Objective: Pueraria lobata (PL) is used as a traditional Chinese herbal remedy for menopausal symptoms, as well as an ingredient in preparations for conditions affecting menopausal women, such as osteoporosis, coronary heart disease, and some hormone-dependent cancers. The scientific basis for its action may be its action as a phytoestrogen.

Design: To examine the effects of PL in comparison with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on lipid profile, sex hormone levels, bone turnover markers, and indices of cognitive function.

Factors associated with menopausal symptom reporting in Chinese midlife women.

Objectives: this paper examines whether menopausal status, sociodemographic factors, self-perceived health, and social stress are related to symptom reporting in a community-based sample of Chinese women in midlife.

Methods: a random telephone survey of perimenopausal women aged 44-55 years was conducted in 1996. Eligible subjects were identified through telephone dialing of a random sample of the numbers listed in the residents' telephone directory.