Point-Based Prediction Model for Bladder Cancer Risk in Diabetes: A Random Survival Forest-Guided Approach.

Previous epidemiological studies have shown that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of several cancers, including bladder cancer. However, prediction models for bladder cancer among diabetes patients remain scarce. This study aims to develop a scoring system for bladder cancer risk prediction among diabetes patients who receive routine care in general outpatient clinics using a machine learning-guided approach.

Comparison of safety and immunogenicity in the elderly after receiving either Comirnaty or Spikevax monovalent XBB1.5 COVID-19 vaccine.

Background: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants necessitates ongoing evaluation of vaccine performance. This study evaluates and compares the safety and immunogenicity of the Comirnaty and Spikevax monovalent XBB.1.

Association of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir with post-acute sequelae and mortality among patients who are immunocompromised with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The effect of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir on post-COVID-19 outcomes for individuals who are immunocompromised is understudied. We aimed to examine the association of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir with post-acute sequelae and mortality among patients who are immunocompromised and admitted to hospital with COVID-19.

Methods: We did a retrospective cohort study using territory-wide electronic health records from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and Hong Kong Department of Health.

COVID-19 vaccination modified the effect of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir on post-acute mortality and rehospitalization: a retrospective cohort study.

While previous research examined coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) antiviral-vaccine interactions through exploratory subgroup analysis, none specifically designed for examining this interaction or its impact on post-acute outcomes. This study examined the interaction between nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and complete COVID-19 vaccination on reducing the risk of post-acute outcomes among COVID-19 patients. We followed COVID-19 patients hospitalized between 11 March 2022 and 10 October 2023, until 31 October 2023 in Hong Kong.

Suitable temperature indicator for adverse health impacts in sub-tropical cities: a case study in Hong Kong from 2010-2019.

Heat-health warning systems and services are important preventive actions for extreme heat, however, global evidence differs on which temperature indicator is more informative for heat-health outcomes. We comprehensively assessed temperature predictors on their summer associations with adverse health impacts in a high-density subtropical city. Maximum, mean, and minimum temperatures were examined on their associations with non-cancer mortality and hospital admissions in Hong Kong during summer seasons 2010-2019 using Generalized Additive Models and Distributed Lag Non-linear Models.

Comparison of cardiac indices during pregnancy between noninvasive automated device and two-dimensional echocardiography: a longitudinal study.

Objective: To determine the correlation, precision, mean percentage difference and agreement between cardiac indices (stroke volume [SV], cardiac output [CO], SV index [SVI], and cardiac index [CI]) measured by noninvasive cardiac output monitor (NICOM, Cheetah Medical, Boston, MA, USA) and 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (2D-TTE) across gestations in Chinese pregnant women.

Methods: This was a prospective longitudinal study performed in women with singleton pregnancy at 11-14 ( = 152), 19-24 ( = 152), 30-34 ( = 141), and 35-37 ( = 103). Cardiac indices, including CO and SV, were obtained by NICOM, which uses thoracic bioreactance, and 2D-TTE.

Determination of T cell response against XBB variants in adults who received either monovalent wild-type inactivated whole virus or mRNA vaccine or bivalent WT/BA.4-5 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine as the additional booster.

Objectives: As the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolves more rapidly than vaccines are updated, T cell immunity potentially confers protection against disease progression and death from new variants. In this study, we aimed to assess whether the current boosting vaccination schemes offer sufficient T cell protection against new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Methods: A total of 292 adults who had received the second booster of either monovalent wild-type (WT) vaccines (inactivated virus or mRNA) (Cohort 1) or the second/third booster of bivalent WT/BA.

Predicting the risk of colorectal cancer among diabetes patients using a random survival forest-guided approach.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide. Diabetes and CRC share many overlapping lifestyle risk factors such as obesity, heavy alcohol use, and diet. This study aims to develop a risk scoring system for CRC prediction among diabetes patients using routine medical records.

Impact of compound warm and wet events on dengue fever infection in South and Southeast Asian countries.

Background: Multiple studies have reported the profound influence of various climate factors on dengue fever infection, while the effects of joint exposure to warm and wet environment, a condition favouring dengue vectors, on disease transmission were less evaluated. This study aims to investigate the impact of various compound temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity exposures on dengue fever infection in the South and Southeast Asia regions.

Methods: Weekly dengue fever surveillance data from 2012 to 2020 were collected from 48 locations in four countries named Singapore (1 location), Sri Lanka (15 locations), Malaysia (9 locations), and Thailand (23 locations, with 11 locations having different study periods).

Global burden of enteric infections related foodborne diseases, 1990-2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Background: Understanding the global burden of enteric infections is crucial for prioritizing control strategies for foodborne and waterborne diseases. This study aimed to assess the global burden of enteric infections in 2021 and identify risk factors from One Health aspects.

Methods: Leveraging the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database, the incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and deaths of enteric infections and the subtypes were estimated, including diarrheal diseases, typhoid and paratyphoid fever, invasive non-typhoidal (iNTS) infections, and other intestinal infectious diseases.

Scoring System for Predicting the Risk of Liver Cancer among Diabetes Patients: A Random Survival Forest-Guided Approach.

Background: Most liver cancer scoring systems focus on patients with preexisting liver diseases such as chronic viral hepatitis or liver cirrhosis. Patients with diabetes are at higher risk of developing liver cancer than the general population. However, liver cancer scoring systems for patients in the absence of liver diseases or those with diabetes remain rare.

Association between asthma and COVID-19 severity during Omicron epidemic: a retrospective cohort study using real-world data.

Background: The available evidence presented inconsistencies and inconclusive findings regarding the associations between co-existing asthma and mortality among COVID-19 patients. The objective of the current study is to investigate the relationship between asthma and severe outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection in an infection-naïve population.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using propensity score matching was conducted.

Relationship between parental acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and attitudes towards measles vaccination for children: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to decreased measles vaccination rates globally, exacerbating vaccine hesitancy. This study examines the relationship between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and childhood measles vaccination among parents in Hong Kong.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Hong Kong from March to September 2022.

Air pollutants, seasonal influenza, and acute otitis media in children: a population-based analysis using 22-year hospitalization data.

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is a prevalent childhood acute illness, with 13.6 million pediatric office visits annually, often stemming from upper respiratory tract infections (URI) and affected by environmental factors like air pollution and cold seasons.

Methods: Herein, we made use of territory-wide hospitalization data to investigate the relationships between meteorological factors, air pollutants, influenza infection, and AOM for children observed from 1998 to 2019 in Hong Kong.

Effect of environmental exposome and influenza infection on febrile seizure in children over 22 years: a time series analysis.

Febrile seizures are convulsions predominately occurring in young children. The effects of various exposomes, including influenza infection and external environmental factors, on febrile seizures have not been well-studied. In this study, we elucidated the relationships between ambient temperature, air pollutants, influenza infection, and febrile seizures using 22-year territory-wide hospitalization data in Hong Kong.

Association between meteorological variations and the superspreading potential of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Background: While many investigations examined the association between environmental covariates and COVID-19 incidence, none have examined their relationship with superspreading, a characteristic describing very few individuals disproportionally infecting a large number of people.

Methods: Contact tracing data of all the laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong from February 16, 2020 to April 30, 2021 were used to form the infection clusters for estimating the time-varying dispersion parameter (k), a measure of superspreading potential. Generalized additive models with identity link function were used to examine the association between negative-log k (larger means higher superspreading potential) and the environmental covariates, adjusted with mobility metrics that account for the effect of social distancing measures.

Aspirin versus metformin in pregnancies at high risk of preterm pre-eclampsia in China (AVERT): protocol for a multicentre, double-blind, 3-arm randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Pre-eclampsia (PE) affects about 5% of Chinese pregnant women and is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The first trimester screening model developed by the Fetal Medicine Foundation, which uses the Bayes theorem to combine maternal characteristics and medical history together with measurements of biomarkers, has been proven to be effective and has superior screening performance to that of the traditional risk factor-based approach for the prediction of PE. Prophylactic use of low-dose aspirin in women at risk for PE has resulted in a lower incidence of preterm-PE.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated profiles and subsequent site-specific risk of obesity-related cancers among Chinese patients with diabetes: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To compare metabolic dysfunction-associated profiles between patients with diabetes who developed different obesity-related site-specific cancers and those who remained free of cancer during follow-up.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Public general outpatient clinics in Hong Kong.

Exposure to Neighborhood Greenness and Hypertension Incidence in Adults: A Longitudinal Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Background: There are few studies on the health effects of long-term exposure to neighborhood greenness in a longitudinal setting, especially in Asian countries with high population densities.

Objectives: This study investigates the association between long-term exposure to neighborhood greenness and hypertension among adults in Taiwan.

Methods: We selected 125,537 participants ( of age) without hypertension from Taiwan who had joined the standard medical examination program between 2001 and 2016.

Inferring Incidence of Unreported SARS-CoV-2 Infections Using Seroprevalence of Open Reading Frame 8 Antigen, Hong Kong.

We tested seroprevalence of open reading frame 8 antigens to infer the number of unrecognized SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infections in Hong Kong during 2022. We estimate 33.6% of the population was infected, 72.