Factors influencing smoking cessation: Insights from Singapore's nationwide health and lifestyle survey.

Introduction: Singapore has implemented an evidence-based smoking cessation framework to support smokers in quitting. Our study investigated the prevalence and correlates of (1) quit attempts (QA) and quit intentions (QI) among current smokers, and (2) smoking cessation (SC) among ever-smokers in Singapore.

Method: Data was collected from a nationwide survey conducted between 2020 and 2022.

Problematic smartphone use and mental health outcomes among Singapore residents: The health and lifestyle survey.

Background: The excessive use of smartphones and its association with adverse outcomes has been widely reported, with several studies showing an association between smartphone overuse, depression, anxiety, and sleep-related problems.

Methods: The study used data from the Health and Lifestyle Survey, a nationwide population survey. It examined the prevalence of Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) and its association with mental health outcomes among Singapore residents aged 15-65 years.

Prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and associated factors from a nationwide epidemiological survey: The Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey.

Introduction: The primary aims of the current nationwide study were to establish the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of consumption of illicit drugs and its correlates in the general population of Singapore.

Method: A representative sample of 6509 Singapore residents (Singapore citizens and permanent residents) aged between 15 and 65 years were randomly selected for participation. Questionnaires were administered to assess the consumption of illicit drugs and collect information on correlates.

Therapeutic efficacy of a potent anti-Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus antibody is contingent on Fc effector function.

The development of specific, safe, and potent monoclonal antibodies (Abs) has led to novel therapeutic options for infectious disease. In addition to preventing viral infection through neutralization, Abs can clear infected cells and induce immunomodulatory functions through engagement of their crystallizable fragment (Fc) with complement proteins and Fc receptors on immune cells. Little is known about the role of Fc effector functions of neutralizing Abs in the context of encephalitic alphavirus infection.

Risk prediction models for type 2 diabetes using either fasting plasma glucose or HbA1c in Chinese, Malay, and Indians: Results from three multi-ethnic Singapore cohorts.

Aims: To assess three well-established type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk prediction models based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in Chinese, Malays, and Indians, and to develop simplified risk models based on either FPG or HbA1c.

Methods: We used a prospective multiethnic Singapore cohort to evaluate the established models and develop simplified models. 6,217 participants without T2D at baseline were included, with an average follow-up duration of 8.

The societal cost of modifiable risk factors in Singapore.

Background: Singapore is one of the most rapidly ageing populations in the world. Nearly half of all disease burdens in Singapore are attributable to modifiable risk factors. This indicates that many illnesses are preventable by modifying behaviours such as increasing physical activity levels or maintaining a healthy diet.

Lifetime risk, life expectancy, and years of life lost to type 2 diabetes in 23 high-income jurisdictions: a multinational, population-based study.

Background: Diabetes is a major public health issue. Because lifetime risk, life expectancy, and years of life lost are meaningful metrics for clinical decision making, we aimed to estimate these measures for type 2 diabetes in the high-income setting.

Methods: For this multinational, population-based study, we sourced data from 24 databases for 23 jurisdictions (either whole countries or regions of a country): Australia; Austria; Canada; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Hong Kong; Hungary; Israel; Italy; Japan; Latvia; Lithuania; the Netherlands; Norway; Scotland; Singapore; South Korea; Spain; Taiwan; the UK; and the USA.

Geographical clusters of dengue outbreak in Singapore during the Covid-19 nationwide lockdown of 2020.

Dengue, a mosquito-transmitted viral disease, has posed a public health challenge to Singaporean residents over the years. In 2020, Singapore experienced an unprecedented dengue outbreak. We collected a dataset of geographical dengue clusters reported by the National Environment Agency (NEA) from 15 February to 9 July in 2020, covering the nationwide lockdown associated with Covid-19 during the period from 7 April to 1 June.

Trends in all-cause mortality among people with diagnosed diabetes in high-income settings: a multicountry analysis of aggregate data.

Background: Population-level trends in mortality among people with diabetes are inadequately described. We aimed to examine the magnitude and trends in excess all-cause mortality in people with diabetes.

Methods: In this retrospective, multicountry analysis, we collected aggregate data from 19 data sources in 16 high-income countries or jurisdictions (in six data sources in Asia, eight in Europe, one from Australia, and four from North America) for the period from Jan 1, 1995, to Dec 31, 2016, (or a subset of this period) on all-cause mortality in people with diagnosed total or type 2 diabetes.

Transitions between social network profiles and their relation with all-cause mortality among older adults.

Background: The importance of social network in mortality among older adults has been acknowledged. However, existing studies typically overlook the interplay among social network indicators, and seldom consider the change in social network over time. We take a person-centered approach to identify transitions between social network profiles, and examine the linkage of such transitions with subsequent mortality risk.

Association of Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure With All-Cause Mortality Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: To assess the association of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) with mortality among older adults in Singapore.

Methods: Association of SBP and DBP measured in 2009 for 4443 older adults (69.5±7.

Development of potent and effective synthetic SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing nanobodies.

The respiratory virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has affected nearly every aspect of life worldwide, claiming the lives of over 3.9 million people globally, at the time of this publication. Neutralizing humanized nanobody (VH)-based antibodies (VH-huFc) represent a promising therapeutic intervention strategy to address the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and provide a powerful toolkit to address future virus outbreaks.

Discovery of Small-Molecule Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Using a Computational and Experimental Pipeline.

A rapid response is necessary to contain emergent biological outbreaks before they can become pandemics. The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 was first reported in December of 2019 in Wuhan, China and reached most corners of the globe in less than two months. In just over a year since the initial infections, COVID-19 infected almost 100 million people worldwide.

Risk scorecard to minimize impact of COVID-19 when reopening.

Background: We present a novel approach for exiting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns using a 'risk scorecard' to prioritize activities to resume whilst allowing safe reopening.

Methods: We modelled cases generated in the community/week, incorporating parameters for social distancing, contact tracing and imported cases. We set thresholds for cases and analysed the effect of varying parameters.

Loneliness and health expectancy among older adults: A longitudinal population-based study.

Background: The population health impact of loneliness remains unknown. We quantified the impact of loneliness on total life expectancy (TLE) and health expectancy (the duration of remaining life lived in different health states) among older adults, aged ≥60 years.

Design: Multistate life table analysis of a nationally representative longitudinal survey.

High-throughput screening to discover inhibitors of the CarD·RNA polymerase protein-protein interaction in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB) accounts for 3.7% of new cases of TB annually worldwide and is a major threat to global public health. Due to the prevalence of the MDR-TB and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) cases, there is an urgent need for new drugs with novel mechanisms of action.

Effectiveness of Containment Measures Against COVID-19 in Singapore: Implications for Other National Containment Efforts.

Background: We hypothesize that comprehensive surveillance of COVID-19 in Singapore has facilitated early case detection and prompt contact tracing and, with community-based measures, contained spread. We assessed the effectiveness of containment measures by estimating transmissibility (effective reproduction number, (Equation is included in full-text article.)) over the course of the outbreak.

Spatial-temporal potential exposure risk analytics and urban sustainability impacts related to COVID-19 mitigation: A perspective from car mobility behaviour.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) poses a significant threat to the population and urban sustainability worldwide. The surge mitigation is complicated and associates many factors, including the pandemic status, policy, socioeconomics and resident behaviours. Modelling and analytics with spatial-temporal big urban data are required to assist the mitigation of the pandemic.

Changes in the prevalence of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders in Singapore between 2010 and 2016.

Introduction: Few studies have examined the changes in the prevalence of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders in recent years. The present study sought to examine whether the prevalence of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders in Singapore showed any changes between 2010 and 2016.

Methods: We extracted data from two repeated nationally representative cross-sectional surveys conducted among resident adults aged ≥ 18 years in Singapore.

Real-time monitoring the transmission potential of COVID-19 in Singapore, March 2020.

Background: As of March 31, 2020 the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic that started in China in December 2019 is now generating local transmission around the world. The geographic heterogeneity and associated intervention strategies highlight the need to monitor in real time the transmission potential of COVID-19. Singapore provides a unique case example for monitoring transmission, as there have been multiple disease clusters, yet transmission remains relatively continued.