Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Mask Usability Scale: A Measure of the Perceived Usability of N95 Respirators Among Healthcare Students and Staff.

Aim: To test the reliability and construct validity of the Mask Usability Scale in healthcare students and staff.

Design: A methodological study involving repeated measures.

Methods: The study included two batches of participants: (1) 283 university nursing students and (2) 1753 participants composed of students (61%) and clinical staff (39%).

Corrigendum: Evaluation of N95 respirators on fit rate, real-time leakage, and usability among Chinese healthcare workers: study protocol of a randomized crossover trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.

Evaluation of N95 respirators on fit rate, real-time leakage, and usability among Chinese healthcare workers: study protocol of a randomized crossover trial.

Background: N95 respirators are used to limit the transmission of respiratory viruses in clinical settings. There are two to three major types of N95 available for all healthcare workers in Hong Kong. However, after the coronavirus outbreak and the consequent shortage of many commonly used respirators, several new N95 respirators were adopted temporarily in clinical settings without evaluation.

Dietary patterns and the risk of rhinitis in primary school children: a prospective cohort study.

This study was to investigate the association between dietary patterns and rhinitis in primary school children. 1,599 students without rhinitis at baseline survey were selected from a primary school children cohort. Information on food consumption, respiratory symptoms, and confounders was collected using questionnaires.

Frequent use of household cleaning products is associated with rhinitis in Chinese children.

Background: Despite the popular use of household cleaning products worldwide, there is no published study investigating the health effects of these products on rhinitis in children.

Objective: We sought to investigate the household use of cleaning products and rhinitis patterns in Chinese children.

Methods: A total of 2299 children were recruited from 21 primary schools with wide geographic coverage in Hong Kong.

Exposure-response estimate for lung cancer and asbestosis in a predominantly chrysotile-exposed Chinese factory cohort.

Background: Cumulative fiber exposures, predominantly chrysotile, were estimated in a Chinese asbestos worker cohort and exposure-response relationships with lung cancer mortality and cumulative incidence of asbestosis were determined.

Methods: Individual time-dependent cumulative exposures were estimated for 577 asbestos workers, followed prospectively for 37 years. Occupational history and smoking data were obtained from company records and personal interviews; vital status and causes of death were ascertained from death registries and hospital records.

Who is more vulnerable to death from extremely cold temperatures? A case-only approach in Hong Kong with a temperate climate.

The short-term effects of ambient cold temperature on mortality have been well documented in the literature worldwide. However, less is known about which subpopulations are more vulnerable to death related to extreme cold. We aimed to examine the personal characteristics and underlying causes of death that modified the association between extreme cold and mortality in a case-only approach.

Carbon monoxide and stroke: A time series study of ambient air pollution and emergency hospitalizations.

Background: Recent experimental and clinical studies suggested that exogenous carbon monoxide (CO) at low concentrations may have beneficial neuroprotective effects under certain circumstances. However, population-based epidemiological studies of environmentally relevant CO exposure generated mixed findings. The present study aimed to examine the short-term association of ambient CO with emergency stroke hospitalizations.

Air pollution and mortality: effect modification by personal characteristics and specific cause of death in a case-only study.

Short-term effects of air pollution on mortality have been well documented in the literature worldwide. Less is known about which subpopulations are more vulnerable to air pollution. We conducted a case-only study in Hong Kong to examine the potential effect modification by personal characteristics and specific causes of death.

Differential distributed lag patterns of source-specific particulate matter on respiratory emergency hospitalizations.

While different emission sources and formation processes generate mixtures of particulate matter (PM) with different physicochemical compositions that may differentially affect PM toxicity, evidence of associations between PM sources and respiratory events is scarce. We estimated PM10 sources contributed from 19 chemical constituents by positive matrix factorization, and examined association of short-term sources exposure with emergency respiratory hospitalizations using generalized additive models for single- and distributed lag periods. PM10 contributions from eight sources were identified.

Consumption of salted meat and its interactions with alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking on esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma.

Etiology of esophageal cancer has not yet been clearly documented, especially in high-risk regions. To evaluate the association between salted meat intake and esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to explore its joint effects with alcohol drinking and smoking, a population-based case-control study was conducted in a high ESCC risk area in China, including 942 incident ESCC cases and 942 age- and sex-matching controls. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to collect information on dietary factors, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking.

Ambient carbon monoxide and the risk of hospitalization due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Data from recent experimental and clinical studies have indicated that lower concentrations of inhaled carbon monoxide might have beneficial antiinflammatory effects. Inhaled carbon monoxide has the potential to be a therapeutic agent for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). However, population-based epidemiologic studies of environmentally relevant carbon monoxide exposure have generated mixed findings.

Coarse particulate matter associated with increased risk of emergency hospital admissions for pneumonia in Hong Kong.

Background: Epidemiological research on the effects of coarse particles (PMc, particulate matter between 2.5 and 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter) on respiratory morbidity is sparse and inconclusive. Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of lung caused by infections, which may be triggered and exacerbated by PMc exposure.

Joint effects of smoking and silicosis on diseases to the lungs.

Smokers are subject to being more susceptible to the long-term effects of silica dust, whilst it remains unclear whether the joint effect of smoking and silicosis differs amongst diseases to the lungs; this study aims to address this knowledge gap. This was a historical cohort study comprised of 3202 silicotics in Hong Kong during 1981-2005 who were followed up till 31/12/2006. We estimated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) in the smoking and never smoking silicotics using the mortality rates of male general population indiscriminately by smoking status, but these SMRs were regarded as biased.

Exposure to air pollutants and mortality in hypertensive patients according to demography: a 10 year case-crossover study.

This study evaluated whether short term exposures to NO2, O3, particulate matter <10 mm in diameter (PM10) were associated with higher risk of mortality. A total of 223,287 hypertensive patients attended public health-care services and newly prescribed at least 1 antihypertensive agent were followed-up for up to 5 years. A time-stratified, bi-directional case-crossover design was adopted.

Exposure-specific lung cancer risks in Chinese chrysotile textile workers and mining workers.

Objective: Whether there is a difference in the exposure-response slope for lung cancer between mining workers and textile workers exposed to chrysotile has not been well documented. This study was carried out to evaluate exposure-specific lung cancer risks in Chinese chrysotile textile workers and mining workers.

Subjects And Methods: A chrysotile mining worker cohort and a chrysotile textile worker cohort were observed concurrently for 26 years.

Cancer mortality in Chinese chrysotile asbestos miners: exposure-response relationships.

Objective: This study was conducted to assess the relationship of mortality from lung cancer and other selected causes to asbestos exposure levels.

Methods: A cohort of 1539 male workers from a chrysotile mine in China was followed for 26 years. Data on vital status, occupation and smoking were collected from the mine records and individual contacts.

Noise exposure and hearing impairment among Chinese restaurant workers and entertainment employees in Hong Kong.

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a major concern in the non-manufacturing industries. This study aimed to investigate the occupational noise exposure and the NIHL among Chinese restaurant workers and entertainment employees working in the service industry in Hong Kong.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey involved a total of 1,670 participants.

Ambient carbon monoxide associated with reduced risk of hospital admissions for respiratory tract infections.

Rationale: Recent experimental and clinical studies suggest that exogenous carbon monoxide (CO) at lower concentrations may have beneficial effects under certain circumstances, whereas population-based epidemiologic studies of environmentally relevant CO exposure generated mixed findings.

Objectives: To examine the acute effects of ambient CO on respiratory tract infection (RTI) hospitalizations.

Methods: A time series study was conducted.

Predictors of return to work and duration of absence following work-related hand injury.

The aims of the study were to explore the situation and the potential determinants of return-to-work (RTW) and the absence duration following work-related hand injury, and to provide evidence for the future intervention strategy of improving RTW. A prospective cohort of workers with work-related hand injury from three selected hospitals in East China was followed up on the outcomes of RTW up to 8 months after discharge. Demographic and clinical data were collected during admission; economic factors, psychological factors and RTW outcomes were, respectively, investigated using a structured questionnaire via phone call after discharge from the hospitals in 0.