Changes in seasonal influenza vaccination uptake among older adults during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: Repeated random telephone surveys.

People's risk of contracting seasonal influenza increased after COVID-19 control measures were relaxed. This study investigated the changes in seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) uptake and its determinants among older adults during and after the COVID-19 period. Two rounds of random telephone surveys were conducted among 440 and 373 community-living individuals aged ≥65 y, the first between November 2021 and January 2022 and the second between October 2023 and January 2024.

Behavioral intention to receive self-financed and fully-subsidized herpes zoster vaccines among community-living older adults in Hong Kong: A random telephone survey.

Herpes zoster (HZ) among older adults has consistently been a concern. Despite the availability of vaccines, HZ vaccination remains underutilized globally. This study investigated the behavioral intention of older adults in Hong Kong to receive self-financed or fully subsidized HZ vaccines.

Hyaluronidase-responsive hydrogel loaded with magnetic nanoparticles combined with external magnetic stimulation for spinal cord injury repair.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a neurological condition that causes significant loss of sensory, motor, and autonomic functions below the level of injury. Current clinical treatment strategies often fail to meet expectations. Hyaluronidase is typically associated with tumor progression and bacterial infections.

Ambient PM exposure and tuberculosis reactivation: a cross-sectional study in an intermediate burden city.

Hong Kong is an intermediate tuberculosis (TB) endemicity city dominated by reactivation diseases. A cross-sectional study on the clinical and epidemiologic data of newly diagnosed TB cases was conducted in such a setting, to examine the association between ambient PM and TB reactivation. After the exclusion of cases most likely resulting from recent infection, four distinct TB population phenotypes were delineated by latent class analysis based on their reactivation risk and clinical profiles ( = 2,153): '' (26%), '' (34%), '' (19%) and '' (21%).

Effects of elastic therapeutic taping on reducing drooling in children with neurological disorders: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background & Aims: Effective treatment for anterior drooling in children with neurological disorders can lead to improved social interactions, reduced physical complications such as perioral infections, and enhanced quality of life for both patients and their parents. Elastic therapeutic taping (ETT) has emerged a novel intervention for drooling, but its evidence was limited. This study systematically reviewed the effectiveness of ETT on reducing anterior drooling in children with neurological disorders.

A study protocol for the policy intervention design and development of the implementation strategies for direct access to physiotherapists in primary care: a sequential mixed-method study using implementation mapping and a Delphi survey.

Background: In many Asian jurisdictions, patients are required to obtain referrals from registered doctors before consulting physiotherapists. In contrast, countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have a direct access model for physiotherapists designed across different healthcare settings and under prescribed conditions. While research has demonstrated the benefits of direct access, issues remain on the appropriate policy design for direct access in the context of patient safety and organizational challenges in the implementation.

Incidence, risk factors, and epidemiological trends of tracheal cancer: a global analysis.

Background: Tracheal cancer is a rare malignancy with limited research but high mortality rates. This study aims to analyse recent data to understand the global burden, trends, and risk factors for tracheal cancer, facilitating improved prevention and treatment strategies.

Methods: We conducted a study on tracheal cancer using data from the Global Cancer Observatory and the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents databases.

Lay health coaching intervention for older adults with chronic diseases: study protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

Background: A large proportion of older adults suffer from chronic diseases. Health coaching is a promising intervention that enhances individuals' health knowledge and supports changes in health behaviours. Even though health professionals usually conduct health coaching interventions, lay health workers from different backgrounds account for a growing segment of health coaches over the years.

Association between adherence to behavioral intervention and capability well-being among parents of autistic children: a cross-sectional study from China.

Background: High adherence to behavioral interventions among parents of autistic children contribute to improvement in children's behaviors and parental outcomes. However, most of previous studies focused on the effects of intervention adherence on health-related well-being among parents, which is inadequate to capture the multi-dimensional parental burden of caring for autistic children. The aim of this study is to assess the association between parents' adherence to behavioral intervention and their capability well-being.

A network comparison analysis of socio-ecological protective and risk factors of depression between Chinese urban and rural adolescents.

Background: Anchoring in the socio-ecological framework and the differential impact theory, the present study pioneered to explore the differential network structures of multilevel risk and protective factors that influence depression among Chinese urban and rural adolescents.

Method: A sample of 684 urban adolescents and 1123 rural adolescents completed a battery of self-report questionnaires measuring their depressive symptoms, as well as risk and protective factors at intrapersonal (psychological flexibility, emotion regulation), interpersonal (social support, parental control), and social levels (social capital, stressful life events).

Results: Central risk and protective factors in both groups included psychological flexibility, which bridged intrapersonal, interpersonal and social resources, along with social support, social capital, rumination, catastrophizing, and self-blame.

Extreme temperature increases the risk of COPD morbimortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: This systematic review examines how extreme temperatures impact chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) morbidity and mortality, focusing on identifying vulnerable subpopulations.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search from January 1, 2000, to November 6, 2024, across databases like PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus, focusing on observational studies that quantitatively defined extreme temperatures and their impacts on COPD morbidity and mortality. Out of 3140 records, 25 studies met the inclusion criteria.

Knowledge, perception, and behaviours related to antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in community-dwelling individuals in Hong Kong.

Background: Understanding public knowledge and behaviours related to antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) may inform interventions to reduce inappropriate antibiotics use.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey in community-dwelling adults in Hong Kong from 2020 to 2022 to examine knowledge, risk perception on AMR and antibiotics, and behavioural patterns in antibiotic use. Information on demographics, socioeconomic status and general health was examined in relation to the knowledge score, antibiotic use behaviours and preference for antibiotic-free food products in regression models.

Global COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among elderly: A systematic review.

Background & Objectives: Elderly infected with COVID-19 has high mortality risk, and the protection from COVID-19 vaccine is limited by vaccine hesitancy. The information of vaccine hesitancy in elderly is incomplete and fragmented. In this study, we attempt to examine the level of vaccine hesitancy in elderly and the related factors in global perspectives.

Comparison of safety and immunogenicity in the elderly after receiving either Comirnaty or Spikevax monovalent XBB1.5 COVID-19 vaccine.

Background: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants necessitates ongoing evaluation of vaccine performance. This study evaluates and compares the safety and immunogenicity of the Comirnaty and Spikevax monovalent XBB.1.

Independent Association of Individual Lipid Abnormalities with Cardiovascular All-cause Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Abnormalities in total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) are each associated with increased cardiovascular risk, after adjusting for non-lipid risk factors. However, whether and to what extent the association for each lipid measure is confounded by other lipid measures is less understood.

Aim: This study aims to investigate the association of each lipid measure with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality while precluding the confounding caused by abnormalities in other lipid measures.

International consensus statement on microbiome testing in clinical practice.

There is growing interest in the potential exploitation of the gut microbiome as a diagnostic tool in medicine, but evidence supporting its clinical usefulness is scarce. An increasing number of commercial providers offer direct-to-consumer microbiome diagnostic tests without any consensus on their regulation or any proven value in clinical practice, which could result in considerable waste of individual and health-care resources and potential drawbacks in the clinical management of patients. We convened an international multidisciplinary expert panel to standardise best practices of microbiome testing for clinical implementation, including recommendations on general principles and minimum requirements for their provision, indications, pre-testing protocols, method of analyses, reporting of results, and potential clinical value.