Publications by authors named "Wallis Lau"

Objective: To assess the characteristics, risk factors and clinical impact of penicillin and other antibiotic allergies labels in general practice in the UK.

Design: Population-based cohort study.

Setting: Primary care in the UK, 2000-2018.

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  • A study analyzed how COVID-19 affected psychotropic drug prescriptions among individuals with depressive and anxiety disorders across six countries from 2016 to 2020.
  • Researchers used electronic medical records to observe trends in prescribing rates during the pandemic, noting an initial increase followed by a decline towards pre-pandemic levels.
  • Most affected patients were aged 45-64, with a significant number of females diagnosed, but data on ethnicity was not collected.
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  • This study compares the cardiovascular effectiveness of different second-line antihyperglycemic agents (SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists, DPP-4 inhibitors, and sulfonylureas) in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
  • Using data from over 1.4 million patients across multiple databases, the researchers analyzed the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) over a follow-up period of several years.
  • Results indicated that SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists had significantly lower risks of MACE compared to DPP-4 inhibitors and sulfonylureas, pointing to their potential superiority as treatment options for
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Aims: We aim to evaluate change in the use of prognostic guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMTs) for heart failure (HF) before and after a cancer diagnosis as well as the matched non-cancer controls, including renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors (RASIs), beta-blockers, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs).

Methods And Results: We conducted a longitudinal study in patients with HF in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink between 2005 and 2021. We selected patients with probable HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) based on diagnostic and prescription records.

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Aims: Women with atrial fibrillation (AF) are under-represented in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). This systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs and observational studies examined sex-specific outcomes of DOACs in AF.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched from January 2008 to November 2022.

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  • Lithium is the most effective mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder and may also help regulate bone metabolism, potentially reducing fracture risk.
  • A study analyzed fracture risks in 40,697 bipolar disorder patients, comparing those on lithium versus those on other treatments like antipsychotics and mood stabilizing antiepileptics.
  • Results indicated that lithium users had a lower risk of fractures (HR 0.66) compared to those on non-lithium treatments, suggesting lithium's protective effect is beneficial for patients prone to falls.
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Cardiovascular events are the leading cause of death among hip fracture patients. This study aims to identify subphenotypes of hip fracture patients and investigate their association with incident cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and health service utilisation in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom populations. By the latent class analysis, we show three distinct clusters in the Hong Kong cohort (n = 78,417): Cluster 1 has cerebrovascular and hypertensive diseases, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes; Cluster 2 has congestive heart failure; Cluster 3 consists of relatively healthy patients.

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Background: Anticholinergic medication use is associated with cognitive decline and incident dementia. Our study, a prospective birth cohort analysis, aimed to determine if repeated exposure to anticholinergic medications was associated with greater decline, and whether decline was reversed with medication reduction.

Methods: From the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development, a British birth cohort with all participants born in a single week of March 1946, we quantified anticholinergic exposure between ages 53 and 69 years using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale (ACBS).

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Previous studies report an association between maternal diabetes mellitus (MDM) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), often overlooking unmeasured confounders such as shared genetics and environmental factors. We therefore conducted a multinational cohort study with linked mother-child pairs data in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to evaluate associations between different MDM (any MDM, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and pregestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM)) and ADHD using Cox proportional hazards regression. We included over 3.

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The paucity of evidence regarding the safety of gestational antipsychotic exposure has led to treatment discontinuation in pregnant women with severe mental health conditions. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarise the current evidence on the association between gestational antipsychotic exposure and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children (Study protocol registered in PROSPERO:CRD42022311354). Five studies included in our meta-analysis with around 8.

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Purpose: A recent observational study suggested statins could reduce cancer diagnosis in patients with heart failure (HF). The findings need to be validated using robust epidemiological methods. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of statin treatment on the risk of cancer in patients with HF.

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Aims: Population-wide restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic may create barriers to mental health diagnosis. This study aims to examine changes in the number of incident cases and the incidence rates of mental health diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: By using electronic health records from France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and the UK and claims data from the US, this study conducted interrupted time-series analyses to compare the monthly incident cases and the incidence of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, alcohol misuse or dependence, substance misuse or dependence, bipolar disorders, personality disorders and psychoses diagnoses before (January 2017 to February 2020) and after (April 2020 to the latest available date of each database [up to November 2021]) the introduction of COVID-related restrictions.

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  • * The study analyzed data from over 1.4 million patients treated with various second-line diabetes medications, using advanced statistical methods to compare outcomes and risks of heart issues.
  • * Findings indicated that both SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce the risk of cardiovascular events compared to DPP-4 inhibitors and sulfonylureas, but no significant differences were found between SGLT2is and GLP1-RAs themselves regarding heart risks.
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Purpose: To describe and categorize detailed components of databases in the Neurological and Mental Health Global Epidemiology Network (NeuroGEN).

Methods: An online 132-item questionnaire was sent to key researchers and data custodians of NeuroGEN in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. From the responses, we assessed data characteristics including population coverage, data follow-up, clinical information, validity of diagnoses, medication use and data latency.

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Background: In response to the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, conventional recruitment approaches were halted, causing the suspension of numerous clinical trials. Previously, Facebook (Meta Platforms, Inc) has emerged as a promising tool for augmenting participant recruitment. While previous research has explored the use of Facebook for surveys and qualitative studies, its potential for recruiting participants into randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remains underexplored.

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  • The study aimed to evaluate the adoption of second-line antihyperglycaemic medications among type 2 diabetes patients using metformin, analyzing data from 10 US and 7 international health databases.
  • A total of 4.8 million participants were included, focusing on the trends in initiating additional diabetes treatments over the years 2011 to 2021.
  • Results showed significant growth in the use of cardioprotective drugs (like GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors) as second-line options, with initiation rates varying widely across countries and databases.
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Recent studies raised concerns about the increasing use of gabapentinoids in different countries. With their potential for misuse and addiction, understanding the global consumption of gabapentinoids will offer us a platform to examine the need for any interventional policies. This longitudinal trend study utilised pharmaceutical sales data from 65 countries and regions across the world to evaluate the global trends in gabapentinoid consumption between 2008-2018.

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Background: Hypoglycaemia commonly occurs in patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM) and dementia. The impact of dementia on hypoglycaemic events is controversial. Thus, we evaluated whether dementia increases the risk of hypoglycaemic events in older patients diagnosed with DM.

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  • * A review of patient data revealed a high male (59%) and adult (99.4%) demographic among 68,866 patients studied, with 34.5% receiving treatment; notably, untreated patients often exhibited signs of fibrosis/cirrhosis.
  • * The findings highlight that chronic HBV infection is a significant global health problem with many patients still needing treatment, despite effective therapies being available.
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Background: To investigate risks of hospitalization for upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in H. pylori-eradicated patients newly started on warfarin or direct oral anti-coagulants (DOACs).

Methods: We identified all patients who had previously received H.

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Background: Timely recognition and appropriate treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are essential to enhance long-term outcomes of individuals with ADHD. This study aimed to evaluate the multinational trends and patterns of ADHD medication consumption.

Methods: In this longitudinal trend study, we used pharmaceutical sales data of ADHD medication from the IQVIA-Multinational Integrated Data Analysis System between 2015 and 2019, covering 64 countries across the world.

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  • The study analyzed benzodiazepine (BZD) and Z-drug consumption trends from 2008 to 2018 across 67 countries using pharmaceutical sales data.
  • BZD usage decreased by 1.88% yearly, while Z-drug use rose by 3.28%, with European countries showing the highest consumption levels.
  • Higher usage rates were linked to increased GDP and the prevalence of various medical conditions, indicating a need for more research on the safety and implications of BZD and Z-drug use, particularly in patients with existing health issues.
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Aims: Animal studies suggest that methylphenidate treatment for around 3 months may lead to less mineralized and weaker appendicular bones. A systematic review was conducted to summarize the evidence from observational studies, and a self-controlled case series study was used to compare the risk before and after treatment initiation.

Methods: Literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library to identify observational studies on methylphenidate and fractures.

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