Associations between social determinants of health and cardiovascular and cancer mortality in cancer survivors: a prospective cohort study.

Aims: The cause-specific mortality implications of social determinants of health (SDOH) in cancer survivors were unclear. This study aimed to explore associations between SDOH and cardiovascular and cancer mortality in cancer survivors.

Methods And Results: Data from 2013 to 2017 National Health Interview Survey were used for this prospective cohort study.

Comparative effectiveness of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors for new-onset gastric cancer and gastric diseases in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a population-based cohort study.

Objective: To compare the risks of gastric cancer and other gastric diseases in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) exposed to sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2I), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4I) or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1a).

Design: This was a population-based cohort study of prospectively collected data on patients with T2DM prescribed SGLT2I, DPP4I or GLP1a between January 1st 2015 and December 31st 2020 from Hong Kong. The outcomes were new-onset gastric cancer, peptic ulcer (PU), acute gastritis, non-acute gastritis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Precision medicine in catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia: Recent advances toward personalized care.

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a rare inherited cardiac ion channelopathy where the initial disease presentation is during childhood or adolescent stages, leading to increased risks of sudden cardiac death. Despite advances in medical science and technology, several gaps remain in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms, risk prediction, and therapeutic management of patients with CPVT. Recent studies have identified and validated seven sets of genes responsible for various CPVT phenotypes, including RyR2, CASQ-2, TRDN, CALM1, 2, and 3, and TECRL, providing novel insights into the molecular mechanisms.

Initiation of warfarin is associated with decreased mortality in patients with infective endocarditis: A population-based cohort study.

Importance: The use of warfarin to prevent thromboembolism in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) remains controversial due to potentially increased bleeding risks.

Design: Population-based retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Patients aged 18 or older and diagnosed with IE in Hong Kong between January 1st, 1997 and August 31st, 2020 were included.

New-onset syncope in diabetic patients treated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors versus dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors: a Chinese population-based cohort study.

Background And Aims: Syncope is a symptom that poses an important diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, and generates significant cost for the healthcare system. Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have demonstrated beneficial cardiovascular effects, but their possible effects on incident syncope have not been fully investigated. This study compared the effects of SGLT2i and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) on new-onset syncope.

Healthcare Big Data in Hong Kong: Development and Implementation of Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Predictive Models for Risk Stratification.

Routinely collected electronic health records (EHRs) data contain a vast amount of valuable information for conducting epidemiological studies. With the right tools, we can gain insights into disease processes and development, identify the best treatment and develop accurate models for predicting outcomes. Our recent systematic review has found that the number of big data studies from Hong Kong has rapidly increased since 2015, with an increasingly common application of artificial intelligence (AI).

Secular trends of health care resource utilization and costs between Brugada syndrome and congenital long QT syndrome: A territory-wide study.

Background: Health care resource utilization (HCRU) and costs are important metrics of health care burden, but they have rarely been explored in the setting of cardiac ion channelopathies.

Hypothesis: This study tested the hypothesis that attendance-related HCRUs and costs differed between patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) and congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS).

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of consecutive BrS and LQTS patients at public hospitals or clinics in Hong Kong, China.

The Association Between Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio and Variability with New-Onset Dementia: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Previous studies identified that neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be a predictor of dementia. However, the associations between NLR and dementia at the population level were less explored.

Objective: This retrospective population-based cohort study was designed to identify the associations between NLR and dementia among patients visiting for family medicine consultation in Hong Kong.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors versus dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors on new-onset overall cancer in Type 2 diabetes mellitus: A population-based study.

Background: Cancer is currently the second leading cause of death globally. There is much uncertainty regarding the comparative risks of new-onset overall cancer and pre-specified cancer for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2I) versus DPP4I.

Methods: This population-based cohort study patients included patients who were diagnosed with T2DM and administered either SGLT2 or DPP4 inhibitors between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2020 in public hospitals of Hong Kong.

Comparing sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors on new-onset depression: a propensity score-matched study in Hong Kong.

Introduction: The risk of new onset depression associated with sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2I) use in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains unclear. This study investigated the risk of new onset depression between SGLT2I and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor (DPP4I) users.

Methods: This was a population-based cohort study of T2DM patients in Hong Kong between January 1st, 2015, and December 31st, 2019.

The Association Between Systemic Arterial Hypertension and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Results from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2018: A Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Systemic arterial hypertension (HTN) is one of the common comorbidities among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to investigate the association between HTN and COPD.

Methods: A total of 46,804 eligible non-pregnant participants aged ≥ 20 years examined in the Mobile Examination Center of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2018 were included in this cross-sectional study.

Intensive blood pressure control in older patients with hypertension-a STEP in the right direction?

In November 2022, the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension in China were updated; the definition of hypertension and the target of treatment was changed from 140/90 mm Hg to 130/80 mm Hg. This was prompted by the results of the Strategy of Blood Pressure Intervention in the Elderly Hypertensive Patients (STEP) study, a large multicenter randomized controlled trial conducted in China. STEP echoed the results of the American Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), and confirmed that intense lowering of blood pressure is on the whole beneficial.

Association between immune checkpoint inhibitors and myocardial infarction in Asians: A population-based self-controlled case series.

Background: While immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are associated with elevated cardiovascular risks, evidence of any association between ICIs and myocardial infarction (MI) was scarce, especially in Asians.

Methods: Using prospectively collected population-based data, this self-controlled case series included patients prescribed an ICI between 1/1/2014 and 31/12/2020 in Hong Kong who had MI within January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2021. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for MI during and after ICI exposure were estimated, compared to the year before ICI initiation.

The association between denture use and cardiovascular diseases. The United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2018.

Introduction: Poor dental health is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, the relationship between CVD and denture use is currently unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether denture use is associated with CVD among American adults.

The Impact of Cardiac Comorbidity Sequence at Baseline and Mortality Risk in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Retrospective Population-Based Cohort Study.

Introduction: The presence of multiple comorbidities increases the risk of all-cause mortality, but the effects of the comorbidity sequence before the baseline date on mortality remain unexplored. This study investigated the relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD), atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) through their sequence of development and the effect on all-cause mortality risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: This study included patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus prescribed antidiabetic/cardiovascular medications in public hospitals of Hong Kong between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2009, with follow-up until death or 31 December 2019.

Isogenic Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem-Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Reveal Activation of Wnt Signaling Pathways Underlying Intrinsic Cardiac Abnormalities in Rett Syndrome.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder caused by . Nonetheless, the pathophysiological roles of in the etiology of intrinsic cardiac abnormality and sudden death remain unclear. In this study, we performed a detailed functional studies (calcium and electrophysiological analysis) and RNA-sequencing-based transcriptome analysis of a pair of isogenic RTT female patient-specific induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) that expressed either or allele and iPSC-CMs from a non-affected female control.

Predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio for atrial fibrillation and stroke in type 2 diabetes mellitus: The Hong Kong Diabetes Study.

Introduction: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a routinely available biomarker that reflects systemic inflammation. The study evaluated the predictive value of NLR for ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: This was a population-based cohort study of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and complete blood count tests at baseline between 1 January 1st, 2009, and 31 December, 2009, at government-funded hospitals/clinics in Hong Kong.

X-linked dystonia parkinsonism: epidemiology, genetics, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment.

X-linked dystonia parkinsonism (XDP) is a rare X-linked recessive degenerative movement disorder that only affects Filipino descent, predominantly males. Its underlying cause is associated with the genetic alterations in the TAF1/DYT3 multiple transcription system. SINE-VNTR-Alu (SVA) retrotransposon insertion was suggested to be the responsible genetic mutation.

Attendance-related Healthcare Resource Utilisation and Costs in Patients With Brugada Syndrome in Hong Kong: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Understanding health care resource utilisation and its associated costs are important for identifying areas of improvement regarding resource allocations. However, there is limited research exploring this issue in the setting of Brugada syndrome (BrS).This was a retrospective territory-wide study of BrS patients from Hong Kong.

Cardiovascular risks of chemo-immunotherapy for lung cancer: A population-based cohort study.

Objectives: Despite their proven efficacy for treating lung cancer, the cardiovascular risks associated with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors and their combinations with chemotherapy (chemo-immunotherapy) are unclear. This study aimed to investigate these associations.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included Hong Kong patients with lung cancer receiving PD-1 inhibitors during 2013-2021.