Cardiovascular risk profiling among South Asian adults in Hong Kong: a latent class analysis.

Background: South Asians living in urbanized settings are facing disproportionate cardiovascular burden largely attributable to modifiable risk factors. Given the rapid surge in South Asian population in Hong Kong, this study aims to identify and distinguish clusters of cardiovascular risk profiles among community-dwelling South Asian adults.

Methods: Between June 2022 and December 2023, 1181 South Asian adults were recruited through territory-wide outreach health assessments on lifestyle, psychological distress, obesity, clinical cardiovascular conditions, and sociodemographic factors.

Risk Factors Associated With General and Abdominal Obesity Among South Asian Minorities in Hong Kong.

South Asians have become a sizable ethnic minority in Hong Kong with unique health and social needs often being overlooked. Elevated obesity risk among South Asians has been highlighted in high-income Western settings; however, relevant local evidence is scarce. This cross-sectional study aims to explore the obesity prevalence and related risk factors among South Asians in Hong Kong.

Socioeconomic inequalities in psychosocial well-being among adolescents under the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-regional comparative analysis in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the Netherlands.

Background: Despite evidence on socioeconomic inequalities in psychosocial well-being of adolescents under the COVID-19 pandemic, the explanatory factors and their potential variations across contexts remained understudied. Hence, this cross-regional study compared the extent of inequalities and the mediating pathways across Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the Netherlands.

Methods: Between July 2021 and January 2022, 25 secondary schools from diverse socioeconomic background were purposively sampled from Hong Kong, Zhejiang (Mainland China), and Limburg (the Netherlands).

Impacts of income inequality and the mediation role of reporting delays on COVID-19 deaths during 2020 and 2021 in Hong Kong: an observational study.

Objective: To estimate the impacts of demographic factors and income disparities on the case fatality rate (CFR) of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, taking into account the influence of reporting delays (ie, the duration between symptom onset and case confirmation).

Design: Retrospective observational longitudinal study.

Participants: A total of 7406 symptomatic patients with residence information reported between 23 January 2020 and 2 October 2021.

Effect of Intermittent Fasting on Cardiometabolic Health in the Chinese Population: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

The efficacy of intermittent fasting (IF), as an emerging weight management strategy, in improving cardiometabolic health has been evaluated in various populations, but that among Chinese individuals has not been systematically studied. A comprehensive search on multiple databases was performed to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) up to October 2022. The primary outcome was post-intervention weight loss, and secondary outcomes included changes in cardiometabolic indicators.

Secular trends of life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy at age 65 and associated gender and area-level socioeconomic inequalities in Hong Kong: a serial cross-sectional study between 2007 and 2020.

Background: Despite Hong Kong's world leading longevity, little is known about its associated disability burden and social patterning. Hence, this study assessed the gender-specific secular trends and area-level inequalities in life expectancy (LE) and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) at age 65 in Hong Kong.

Methods: Population structure, death records, and disability data in 2007, 2013, and 2020 were retrieved from the Census and Statistics Department to estimate LE and DFLE using the Sullivan Method.

Experience of South and Southeast Asian minority women in Hong Kong during COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Background: Hong Kong has a relatively low incidence rate of COVID-19 across the globe. Nevertheless, ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, especially South Asians (SAs) and Southeast Asians (SEAs), face numerous physical, mental, social, economic, cultural and religious challenges during the pandemic. This study explores the experiences of SA and SEA women in a predominantly Chinese metropolitan city.

Socioeconomic inequality in the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing disrupted social conditions during COVID-19 among adolescents in Hong Kong: self-resilience matters.

Background: Adolescents, especially the socioeconomically disadvantaged, are facing devastating psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during their critical developmental period. This study aims to (i) examine the socioeconomic patterning of the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing, (ii) delineate the underlying mediating factors (i.e.

Monitoring socioeconomic inequalities in health in Hong Kong: insights and lessons from the UK and Australia.

In many developed countries such as the UK and Australia, addressing socioeconomic inequalities in health is a priority in their policy agenda, with well-established practices and authorities to collect and link selected health and social indicators for long-term monitoring. Nonetheless, the monitoring of socioeconomic inequalities in health in Hong Kong remains in a piecemeal manner. Also, the common international practice to monitor inequalities at area level appears to be unsuitable in Hong Kong due to its small, compact, and highly interconnected built environment that limits the variation of neighbourhood deprivation level.

The impact of trust in government on pandemic management on the compliance with voluntary COVID-19 vaccination policy among adolescents after social unrest in Hong Kong.

Background: The launch of COVID-19 vaccines among students provides an opportunity to re-open schools safely. Nonetheless, under the voluntary vaccination policy, the lack of trust in government since the unprecedented massive social unrest in Hong Kong may hinder the vaccination progress. This study aims to assess the impact of trust in government regarding pandemic management on the willingness, uptake, and intention of COVID-19 vaccination among students in Hong Kong.

Mitigating inequalities in community care needs of older adults with dementia: a qualitative case study of an integrated model of community care operated under the proportionate universalism principle.

Background: Population ageing and community care on older adults, as well as the marked social inequalities in health, have received growing concern by the government and the community. This study evaluated the medico-social integrated day care model of the Cadenza Hub for older adults with dementia. We also examined whether services subsidized by the publicly funded graded financial support of the Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly (CCSV) could mitigate social inequalities in community care needs, from the perspective of the caregivers.

Subjective Social Status, Area Deprivation, and Gender Differences in Health among Chinese Older People.

This study examined the gender differences in the main and interactive effects of subjective social status and area deprivation on health among older adults in Hong Kong. Data for this study came from the baseline of MrOs and MsOs studies, including 4000 Chinese men and women ≥ 65 in Hong Kong. Subjective social status was assessed using the MacArthur Scale of subjective social status scale.

The ultrastructural organization of endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane contacts is conserved in epithelial cells.

Contacts between the endoplasmic reticulum and the plasma membrane (ER-PM contacts) have important roles in membrane lipid and calcium dynamics, yet their organization in polarized epithelial cells has not been thoroughly described. Here we examine ER-PM contacts in hepatocytes in mouse liver using electron microscopy, providing the first comprehensive ultrastructural study of ER-PM contacts in a mammalian epithelial tissue. Our quantitative analyses reveal strikingly distinct ER-PM contact architectures spatially linked to apical, lateral, and basal PM domains.

Inequalities in Psychiatric Morbidity in Hong Kong and Strategies for Mitigation.

This study explores the social gradient of psychiatric morbidity. The Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey (HKMMS), consisting of 5719 Chinese adults aged 16 to 75 years, was used. The Chinese version of the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) was employed for psychiatric assessment of common mental disorders (CMD).

Tricalbin proteins regulate plasma membrane phospholipid homeostasis.

The evolutionarily conserved extended synaptotagmin (E-Syt) proteins are calcium-activated lipid transfer proteins that function at contacts between the ER and plasma membrane (ER-PM contacts). However, roles of the E-Syt family members in PM lipid organisation remain incomplete. Among the E-Syt family, the yeast tricalbin (Tcb) proteins are essential for PM integrity upon heat stress, but it is not known how they contribute to PM maintenance.

Prognostic significance of abdominal obesity and its post-diagnosis change in a Chinese breast cancer cohort.

Purpose: It is well-known that obesity has an adverse impact on breast cancer prognosis; nonetheless, the prognostic role of abdominal obesity, especially its post-diagnosis change, has been understudied. This study aims to examine the prospective associations of general and abdominal obesity and their post-diagnosis changes with all-cause mortality, breast cancer-specific mortality, and breast cancer recurrence in Chinese breast cancer patients.

Methods: From 2011 to 2014, 1460 Chinese breast cancer patients were recruited and followed up at 18, 36, and 60 months after diagnosis.

Psychological Distress and Protective Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Different Populations: Hong Kong General Population, Taiwan Healthcare Workers, and Taiwan Outpatients.

Purpose: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused psychological distress and changed human living styles. However, rare studies have examined the psychological distress and protective behaviors across different populations. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess psychological distress, protective behaviors, and potential predictors of psychological distress and protective behaviors across the Hong Kong general population, Taiwan healthcare workers, and Taiwan outpatients.

Socioeconomic inequality in mental well-being associated with COVID-19 containment measures in a low-incidence Asian globalized city.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposes and amplifies pre-existing inequalities even in places with relatively well-controlled outbreaks such as Hong Kong. This study aimed to explore whether the socioeconomically disadvantaged fare worse via various types of worry in terms of their mental health and well-being. Between September and October 2020, 1067 adults in Hong Kong were recruited via a cross-sectional population-wide telephone survey.

Gender-specific trends of educational inequality in diagnosed diabetes from 1999 to 2014 in Hong Kong: a serial cross-sectional study of 97,481 community-dwelling Chinese adults.

Background: Gender differences in the trend of educational inequality in diabetes have been widely observed in the Western populations, indicating the increasing importance of educational attainment as a social determinant of diabetes among women. Nonetheless, relevant evidence is scarce in developed Asian settings for comparisons. This study examined the gender-specific trends of educational inequality in diagnosed diabetes in Hong Kong between 1999 and 2014.

The mediating role of individual-level social capital among worries, mental health and subjective well-being among adults in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially induced worries and affected individual mental health and subjective well-being. Nonetheless, a high level of social capital could potentially protect individuals who suffer from mental health problems and thus promote their subjective well-being, especially under the social distancing policies during the pandemic. To this end, based on a random sample of 1053 Hong Kong adults, structural equation modeling was applied to study the path relationships between the worries of COVID-19, social capital, mental health problems, and subjective well-being.

Long Working Hours, Precarious Employment and Anxiety Symptoms Among Working Chinese Population in Hong Kong.

This study aimed to examine the association between working hours and anxiety of a working population in Hong Kong. We used a cross sectional data from a population-based household survey of Hong Kong Chinese adults. Key measures included employment status, skill level, working hours, length of stay at current job and anxiety level.

Differential Impacts of Multimorbidity on COVID-19 Severity across the Socioeconomic Ladder in Hong Kong: A Syndemic Perspective.

The severity of COVID-19 infections could be exacerbated by the epidemic of chronic diseases and underlying inequalities in social determinants of health. Nonetheless, there is scanty evidence in regions with a relatively well-controlled outbreak. This study examined the socioeconomic patterning of COVID-19 severity and its effect modification with multimorbidity in Hong Kong.

Non-skilled occupation as a risk factor of diabetes among working population: A population-based study of community-dwelling adults in Hong Kong.

Diabetes among working population brings to society concerns on productivity and social welfare cost, in addition to healthcare burden. While lower socio-economic status has been recognised as a risk factor of diabetes; occupation, compared with other socio-economic status indicators (e.g.