Impact of extreme bushfire seasons on rates of occupational injury and disease compensation claims in first responders.

Purpose: This study aimed to use workers' compensation (WC) data to explore the impact of the extreme bushfires on injury/disease claim rates amongst first responders (FR) compared with other occupations and off-seasons.

Methods: Data on WC claims for FR (ambulance officers, paramedics, firefighters, police) and other occupations were obtained from WorkSafe Victoria 2005-2022. Negative binomial regression models adjusting for age, gender and number of employed people were used to estimate incident rate ratios of all injury/disease, mental, musculoskeletal and respiratory claims among FR in summer and extreme bushfires compared to off-season/summer and other occupations.

Systematic review of impacts of occupational exposure to wildfire smoke on respiratory function, symptoms, measures and diseases.

Background: Wildfire smoke contains numerous hazardous air pollutants which pose serious health risks to humans. Despite this, there has been a limited focus on the assessment of the acute physiological and longer-term respiratory effects of wildfire exposure on firefighters and other emergency workers. Therefore, we undertook a systematic review of the evidence about the respiratory impacts of occupational wildfire smoke exposure among wildfire fighters (WFF).

Subclinical hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome in psychiatric patients: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The systematic review evaluated the association of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and specific MetS components in people with major psychiatric disorders.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the association of SCH with MetS and its components in people with major psychiatric conditions.

Results: Five studies incorporating 24,158 participants met the inclusion criteria.

Bayesian Spatio-Temporal Multilevel Modelling of Patient-Reported Quality of Life following Prostate Cancer Surgery.

Background: Globally, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among males. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. The quality of life of prostate cancer patients is poorer when compared to the general population due to the disease itself and its related complications.

Occupational injuries caused by fire and smoke in Victoria, Australia, 2003-2021: a descriptive study.

Objectives: Hospital attendance related to fire, flame or smoke exposure is commonly associated with work. The aim of this study was to examine time trends and risk factors for work-related fire/flame/smoke injuries in Victoria, Australia.

Methods: This study was based on emergency department (ED) presentation records from the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset, 2003-2021.

Epidemiology of work-related fall injuries resulting in hospitalisation: individual and work risk factors and severity.

Objectives: Injuries at work are common and costly for individuals and employers. A common mechanism of workplace injury is through falls, but there have been few epidemiological studies of risk factors. This study aimed to identify patient, work and injury factors associated with injuries causing hospitalisation after falling at work in Victoria, Australia.

In-hospital complications of work-related musculoskeletal injuries.

Background, Objectives: Work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries are a major contributor to morbidity worldwide and frequently result in hospitalisation. Hospital complications are common, costly, and largely preventable, but relevant data is required to address this. This study aimed to identify the incidence and factors associated with in-hospital complications of work-related MSK injuries.

Forecasting of overall and aggressive prostate cancer incident counts at the small area level.

Objectives: This study aims to forecast overall and aggressive prostate cancer counts at the local government area (LGA) level over 10 years (2019-2028) in Victoria, Australia, using Victorian Cancer Registry (2001-2018) data.

Methods: We used the Age-Period-Cohort approach to estimate the annual age-specific incidence in each LGA and used Bayesian spatiotemporal models that account for non-linear temporal trends and area-level risk factors. We evaluated the models' performance by withholding and comparing forecasts with the 2014-2018 data.

Forecasting of Lung Cancer Incident Cases at the Small-Area Level in Victoria, Australia.

Predicting lung cancer cases at the small-area level is helpful to quantify the lung cancer burden for health planning purposes at the local geographic level. Using Victorian Cancer Registry (2001-2018) data, this study aims to forecast lung cancer counts at the local government area (LGA) level over the next ten years (2019-2028) in Victoria, Australia. We used the Age-Period-Cohort approach to estimate the annual age-specific incidence and utilised Bayesian spatio-temporal models that account for non-linear temporal trends and area-level risk factors.

A multi-level spatio-temporal analysis on prostate cancer outcomes.

Background: Geographic and temporal variation in positive surgical margins (PSM) for prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy (RP) has been observed. However, it is unclear how much of this variation could be attributed to patient, surgeon, institution, or socioeconomic-related factors and the impact of PSM on death among localized prostate cancer patients.

Methods: This study aimed to assess the independent and relative contribution of the patient, surgeon, institution and area-level risk factors on geographic and temporal variation of PSM and evaluate the impact of PSM on five-year all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality among localized prostate cancer patients.

Geospatial and temporal variation of prostate cancer incidence.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate geographical and temporal variations in prostate cancer incidence in Victoria, Australia.

Study Design & Methods: This study analysed 105,349 cases of incident prostate cancer between 1982 and 2016 from the population-based Victorian Cancer Registry. We performed Poisson regression analyses to identify an association between an annual number of prostate cancer counts, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and the elderly male population (≥65) after adjusting for population at risk and years.

Implementation of a National 5-Year Plan for Prehospital Emergency Care in Singapore and Impact on Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes From 2011 to 2016.

Background Outcomes of patients from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) vary widely globally because of differences in prehospital systems of emergency care. National efforts had gone into improving OHCA outcomes in Singapore in recent years including community and prehospital initiatives. We aimed to document the impact of implementation of a national 5-year Plan for prehospital emergency care in Singapore on OHCA outcomes from 2011 to 2016.

Influence of timeliness and receipt of first treatment on geographic variation in non-small cell lung cancer mortality.

Mortality from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibits substantial geographical disparities. However, there is little evidence on whether this variation could be attributed to patients' clinical characteristics and/or socioeconomic inequalities. This study evaluated the independent and relative contribution of the individual- and area-level risk factors on geographic variation in 2-year all-cause mortality among NSCLC patients.

A systematic review of Bayesian spatial-temporal models on cancer incidence and mortality.

Objectives: This study aimed to review the types and applications of fully Bayesian (FB) spatial-temporal models and covariates used to study cancer incidence and mortality.

Methods: This systematic review searched articles published within Medline, Embase, Web-of-Science and Google Scholar between 2014 and 2018.

Results: A total of 38 studies were included in our study.

Strategies to improve survival outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) given a fixed budget: A simulation study.

Background: Our study aimed to identify a strategy that maximizes survival upon hospital discharge or 30-days post out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Singapore for fixed investments of S$1, S$5, or S$10 million. Four strategies were compared: (1) no additional investment; (2) reducing response time via leasing of more ambulances; (3) increasing number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); and (4) automated external defibrillators (AED).

Methods: We estimated the effect of ambulance response time, bystander CPR and AED on survival based on Singapore's 2010-2015 OHCA registry data.

Ethnic Differences and Trends in ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Incidence and Mortality in a Multi-Ethnic Population.

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the incidence and mortality of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) across the 3 main ethnic groups in Singapore, determine if there is any improvement in trends over the years and postulate the reasons underlying the ethnic disparity.

Materials And Methods: This study consisted of 16,983 consecutive STEMI patients who sought treatment from all public hospitals in Singapore from 2007 to 2014.

Results: Compared to the Chinese (58 per 100,000 population in 2014), higher STEMI incidence rate was consistently observed in the Malays (114 per 100,000 population) and Indians (126 per 100,000 population).

Outcomes and modifiable resuscitative characteristics amongst pan-Asian out-of-hospital cardiac arrest occurring at night.

Studies are divided on the effect of day-night temporal differences on clinical outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study aimed to elucidate any differences in OHCA survival between day and night occurrence, and the factors associated with differences in survival.This was a prospective, observational study of OHCA cases across multinational Pan-Asian sites.

Comparison of Outcomes and Characteristics of Emergency Medical Services (EMS)-Witnessed, Bystander-Witnessed, and Unwitnessed Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in Singapore.

The objective was to compare the survival outcomes of emergency medical services (EMS)-witnessed to bystander-witnessed, and unwitnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) in Singapore. Secondary aims are to describe the 5-year trend in survival rates of EMS-witnessed arrests. This was a retrospective analysis of the Singapore's OHCA registry data from 2011 to 2015.

Health impacts of the Southeast Asian haze problem - A time-stratified case crossover study of the relationship between ambient air pollution and sudden cardiac deaths in Singapore.

Objectives: To investigate the association between air pollution and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidence in Singapore.

Design: A time-stratified case-crossover design study.

Setting: OHCA incidences of all etiology in Singapore.

The Relationship Between Ambient Air Pollution and Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Study in a City-State With Seasonal Exposure to the Southeast Asian Haze Problem.

Study Objective: Studies are divided on the short-term association of air pollution with stroke. Singapore is exposed to seasonal transboundary haze. We aim to investigate the association between air pollution and stroke incidence in Singapore.

Validation of a Natural Language Processing Algorithm for Detecting Infectious Disease Symptoms in Primary Care Electronic Medical Records in Singapore.

Background: Free-text clinical records provide a source of information that complements traditional disease surveillance. To electronically harness these records, they need to be transformed into codified fields by natural language processing algorithms.

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop, train, and validate Clinical History Extractor for Syndromic Surveillance (CHESS), an natural language processing algorithm to extract clinical information from free-text primary care records.