Publications by authors named "Laura E Bedford"

Aims/introduction: Two Hong Kong Chinese non-laboratory-based prediabetes/diabetes mellitus (pre-DM/DM) risk models were developed using logistic regression (LR) and machine learning, respectively. We aimed to evaluate the models' validity in case finding of pre-DM/DM in a Chinese primary care (PC) population. We also evaluated the validity of a risk-scoring algorithm derived from the LR model.

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Article Synopsis
  • A risk prediction model for pre-diabetes and diabetes developed for the Hong Kong Chinese population showed good discrimination in primary care settings but was poorly calibrated, meaning it underestimated actual risk levels.
  • The study involved analyzing data from 919 Chinese adults to recalibrate the model using a structured methodology, leading to a slight improvement in its accuracy without changing the predictors.
  • The recalibrated model is now suitable for use as an initial screening tool in primary care, helping track changes in pre-diabetes/diabetes risk over time or following interventions.
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Early detection of pre-diabetes (pre-DM) can prevent DM and related complications. This review examined studies on non-laboratory-based pre-DM risk prediction tools to identify important predictors and evaluate their performance. PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL were searched in February 2023.

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Objectives: To highlight the prevalence of sleep problems and identify associated risk factors among a representative sample recruited from the general population of Hong Kong.

Design, Setting And Participants: Participants included 12 022 individuals (aged 15 or above) who took part in the Population Health Survey 2014/15, a territory-wide survey conducted by the Department of Health of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Primary And Secondary Outcome Measures: Outcomes were the prevalence of (1) insufficient sleep (<6 hours sleep per day) and (2) any sleep disturbance (difficulty initiating sleep, intermittent awakenings, early awakening) ≥3 times per week in the past 30 days.

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Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major non-communicable disease with an increasing prevalence. Undiagnosed DM is not uncommon and can lead to severe complications and mortality. Identifying high-risk individuals at an earlier disease stage, that is, pre-diabetes (pre-DM), is crucial in delaying progression.

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Introduction: More than half of diabetes mellitus (DM) and pre-diabetes (pre-DM) cases remain undiagnosed, while existing risk assessment models are limited by focusing on diabetes mellitus only (omitting pre-DM) and often lack lifestyle factors such as sleep. This study aimed to develop a non-laboratory risk assessment model to detect undiagnosed diabetes mellitus and pre-diabetes mellitus in Chinese adults.

Methods: Based on a population-representative dataset, 1,857 participants aged 18-84 years without self-reported diabetes mellitus, pre-diabetes mellitus, and other major chronic diseases were included.

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Background: Electronic measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) may facilitate timely and regular assessments in routine clinical practice. This study evaluated the validity and psychometric properties of an electronic version of the EQ-5D-5L (e-EQ-5D-5L) in Chinese patients with chronic knee and/or back problems.

Methods: 151 Chinese subjects completed an electronic version of the Chinese (Hong Kong) EQ-5D-5L when they attended a primary care or orthopedics specialist out-patient clinic in Hong Kong.

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Promoting healthy eating habits can prevent adolescent obesity in which family may play a significant role. This review synthesized findings from qualitative studies to identify family barriers and facilitators of adolescent healthy eating in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). A literature search of four databases was completed on 31 July 2020; qualitative studies that explored family factors of adolescent (aged 10 to 19 years) eating habits were included.

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Unintentional injuries are major causes of mortality and morbidity. Although generally perceived as accidents, it is possible to identify those at higher risk and implement appropriate prevention measures. This study aims to investigate the common causes of unintentional injuries and their associated risk factors among a large representative sample.

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Background: Missing data is a pervasive problem in clinical research. Generative adversarial imputation nets (GAIN), a novel machine learning data imputation approach, has the potential to substitute missing data accurately and efficiently but has not yet been evaluated in empirical big clinical datasets.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of GAIN in imputing missing values in large real-world clinical datasets with mixed-type variables.

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Background: Patient enablement is a core tenet of patient-centred and holistic primary care. The Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) is a transitional measure limited in its ability to measure changes over time. A modified version, PEI-2, has been developed to measure enablement at a given time-point without comparison to a recalled baseline.

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Purpose: To revisit the population norms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health utility for the Hong Kong general population, compare these scores over past health surveys, and assess the association of scores with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors.

Methods: HRQoL data measured by the standard Short Form 12 Health Survey-version 2 (SF-12v2) were extracted from the surveys in 1998, 2003/2004, 2008/2009 and 2014/2015. SF-12v2 data were mapped to the Short-form 6-dimension (SF-6D) preference-based measure to generate the health utility scores.

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A large proportion of cases with chronic conditions including diabetes or pre-diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia remain undiagnosed. To include reproductive factors (RF) might be able to improve current screening guidelines by providing extra effectiveness. The objective is to study the relationships between RFs and chronic conditions' biomarkers.

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Background: People with dementia (PwD) face unique challenges with medicines management, yet little is known about these challenges from the perspectives of primary healthcare professionals, particularly general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists. Few medicines management interventions have been developed which are aimed at community-dwelling PwD. This study sought to develop an intervention to improve medicines management for PwD in primary care using a theory-informed approach.

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A cross-sectional analysis of a dataset of 156 participants in a health assessment program explored whether negative emotional states mediated the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Compared with IPV screen-negative participants, those who screened positive had significantly lower HRQoL and significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. The inverse associations between the presence of IPV and HRQoL were found to be mediated by depression, anxiety, and stress.

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Background: Lung cancer screening can reduce lung cancer mortality by 20%. Screen-detected abnormalities may provide teachable moments for smoking cessation. This study assesses impact of pulmonary nodule detection on smoking behaviours within the first UK trial of a novel auto-antibody test, followed by chest x-ray and serial CT scanning for early detection of lung cancer (Early Cancer Detection Test-Lung Cancer Scotland Study).

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Objectives: To determine the psychological response (thoughts, perceptions and affect) to a diagnosis of pulmonary nodules following a novel antibody blood test and computed tomography (CT) scans within a UK population.

Materials And Methods: This study was nested within a randomised controlled trial of a blood test (Early CDT®-Lung test), followed by a chest x-ray and serial CT-scanning of those with a positive blood test for early detection of lung cancer (ECLS Study). Trial participants with a positive Early CDT®-Lung test were invited to participate (n = 338) and those agreeing completed questionnaires assessing psychological outcomes at 1, 3 and 6 months following trial recruitment.

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