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There has been a marked increase in the prevalence of diabetes in Asia, including China, over the last few decades. While the increased prevalence of diabetes has often been attributed to the nutritional transition associated with recent economic development, emerging data suggest that early-life exposures also play a major role in shaping developmental trajectories, and contributes to alter an individual's susceptibility to diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Early-life exposures such as in utero exposure to undernutrition has been consistently linked with later risk of diabetes and obesity. Furthermore, in utero exposure to maternal hyperglycemia, maternal obesity and excess gestational weight gain are all linked with increased childhood obesity and later risk of diabetes. Emerging data have also highlighted the potential link between early-feeding practices, the role of one-carbon metabolism in metabolic programming and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with later risk of diabetes. These different developmental exposures may all be highly relevant to the current epidemic of diabetes in China. For example, the prevalence of gestational diabetes has increased markedly over the last two decades, and may contribute to the diabetes epidemic by driving macrosomia, childhood obesity and later risk of diabetes. In order to address the current burden of diabetes, a lifecourse perspective, incorporating multisectoral efforts from public health policy down to the individuals, will be needed. Several major initiatives have been launched in China as part of its national plans for NCD prevention and treatment, and the experience from these efforts would be invaluable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In a territory-wide "quality early childhood education survey" conducted in Hong Kong recently, it was found that nurturing children's "artistic cultivation" and "creativity" has been rated the least quality and attention in the survey. The turn of the century, new technology, new concepts continue to emerge, traditional knowledge alone is not enough, education required to move with the time, and to make changes. Aim: The study explores how the "open-ended" art and craft activities enhance children's creativity, and to study the mode of art and craft teaching methods that are effective to enhance children's creativity. Sample: The study includes the researcher (class teacher), 8 randomly selected children aged from 5-6 in the upper class, and the kindergarten principal as the inter-rater. Method: Direct observations are conducted on 8 children and the class teacher in the art and craft activities. By using direct observation, video-taping and rating scale, children's creative behavior and the characteristic of the class teacher's behavior are observed for further analysis. The principal was invited to be an inter-rater to observe the art and craft activities and score the teacher to establish inter-rater reliability. Result: The study shows that "open-ended" art and craft activities effectively enhance children's creativity through the learning environment and the teaching methods. Creative teachers can be a catalyst to promote and nurture children's creativity through the "open-ended" art and craft activities. Conclusion: "Open-ended" art and craft activities allow children to have more room for creativity. The role of teachers, teaching mode and strategies, and well-prepared environment do enhance children's creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Domestic robots have great potential to be developed as a useful and supportive device for elders in domestic setting. To achieve the intended purpose, the designs of domestic robots should make reference to elders' preferences. The Assistance Preference Checklist is developed to assess elders' preferences on receiving assistance from domestic robots. It comprises of 48 home-based task under six categories including personal care, leisure activities, health assistance, chores, information management, and manipulating objects. Altogether, these tasks are considered important for the elders to fulfil their general health needs and maintain their homes. The Assistance Preference Checklist is valid and reliable. To adapt it in the Chinese population, the Assistance Preference Checklist has been translated from English to Chinese according to the standard translation model. This study aims to validate the Chinese version of the Assistance Preference Checklist (the checklist). Method This was a validation study. Semantic and content equivalence of the checklist was evaluated by an expert panel (five academic specialized on instrument validation or translation and 15 nurses specialized on geriatrics). Content validity of the checklist was assessed by another expert panel (one academic specialized on instrument validation and two nurses specialized on geriatrics). Internal consistency of the checklist was determined by Cronbach's method on a convenience sample of 50 Chinese-speaking elders in Hong Kong. Results The checklist demonstrated good semantic and content equivalence with the original English version. The experts agreed that it was appropriately translated. The checklist demonstrated good content validity by having a content validity index of 1.00. Additionally, the checklist reported satisfactory internal consistency by having a Cronbach's alpha of 0.95. Conclusion The Chinese version of the Assistance Preference Checklist is a useful instrument for assessing elders' preferences on receiving assistance from domestic robots. Findings provide evidence on its validity and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To assess the relationship between levels of ambient air pollutants and hospitalization rates for asthma in Hong Kong (HK). Methods This is a retrospective ecological study. Data of daily emergency hospital admissions to 15 major hospitals in HK for asthma and indices of air pollutants [sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), particulates with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 μm particulate matter (PM10) and 2.5 μm (PM2.5)] and meteorological variables from January 2000 to December 2005 were obtained from several government departments. Analysis was performed by the generalized additive models with Poisson distribution. The effects of time trend, season, other cyclical factors, temperature and humidity were adjusted. Autocorrelation and overdispersion were corrected. Results Altogether, 69 716 admissions were assessed. Significant associations were found between hospital admissions for asthma and levels of NO2, O3, PM10 and PM2.5. The relative risks (RR) for hospitalization for every 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2, O3, PM10 and PM2.5 were 1.028, 1.034, 1.019 and 1.021, respectively, at a lag day that ranged from cumulative lag 0–4 to 0–5. In a multi-pollutant model, O3 was significantly associated with increased admissions for asthma. The younger age group (0–14 years) tended to have a higher RR for each 10 μg/m3 increase in pollutants than those aged 15–65 years. The elderly (aged ⩾65 years) had a shorter ‘best’ lag time to develop asthma exacerbation following exposure to pollutants than those aged <65 years. Conclusion Adverse effects of ambient concentrations of air pollutants on hospitalization rates for asthma are evident. Measures to improve air quality in HK are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The factors accounting for the low 'ever breastfeeding' rate in Hong Kong remain unclear. The objective of this survey was to study the intention and planned duration of breastfeeding in Chinese women in Hong Kong, and to investigate the sociodemographic and atopic factors affecting the intention to breastfeed.Methods: All Chinese mothers who were Hong Kong residents and who delivered their babies in a University teaching hospital were given a self administered and anonymous Chinese questionnaire within 1 day postpartum. The questionnaire included items on sociodemographic data, the presence of allergic diseases in the families, and the intention and planned duration of breastfeeding for their newborn babies.Results: A total of 1374 eligible questionnaires were collected. About one-third of mothers were born outside Hong Kong and the majority (78%) of them were aged between 25 and 40 years. Logistic regression revealed that only socioeconomic factors, namely older maternal age (odds ratio (OR) 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-3.89), parity (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.02-9.27) and higher educational background (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.92-4.27), significantly affected the intention to breastfeed. In addition, mothers born outside Hong Kong and those with first babies, had a longer intended duration of breastfeeding (P-values < 0.001 and 0.033, respectively). A family history of atopic disorders in parents or siblings did not influence the breastfeeding intention of these Chinese mothers.Conclusion: Several sociodemographic factors, rather than a history of atopic disorders, of Chinese mothers in Hong Kong affected their intention to breastfeed and the planned duration of breastfeeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the treatment modalities and trends for neovascular glaucoma (NVG) over the past 10 years, we conducted a retrospective analysis at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center on 1331 NVG inpatients who received 1459 treatments for 1383 eyes between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2021. Over time, we observed a progressive annual increase in both the number of patients and the volume of surgeries for NVG, with an annual percentage change (APC) of 10.23 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 5.5-15.2 %, P = 0.001) and 11.59 % (95 % CI: 6.6-16.9 %, P = 0.001), respectively. Drainage valve implantation (46.88 %), cyclodestructive procedures (22.55 %) and trabeculectomy (6.24 %) were the three most commonly selected treatment options. The frequency of drainage valve implantation (APC = 6.59 %, 95 % CI = 0.9-12.6 %, P = 0.028), cyclodestructive procedures (APC = 17.26 %, 95 % CI = 9.3-25.8 %, P = 0.001) and trabeculectomy (APC = 21.93 %, 95 % CI = 1.6-46.3 %, P = 0.036) increased. The proportion of drainage valve implantation gradually decreased (APC = -4.48 %, 95 % CI = -8.6 to -0.2 %, P = 0.042), while that of cyclodestructive procedures increased (APC = 5.08 %, 95 % CI = 0.6-9.8 %, P = 0.042), with no significant alteration observed in the proportion of trabeculectomy (APC = 9.26 %, 95 % CI = -8.8-30.9 %, P = 0.290). Over the course of the study, both the cases of NVG and the volume of related surgeries escalated year by year. Among the three most frequently employed procedures-drainage valve implantation, cyclodestructive procedures and trabeculectomy-annual frequency trends revealed an increase in drainage valve implantation alongside a decreasing proportion, while cyclodestructive procedures exhibited a rising trend in both frequency and proportion; simultaneously, trabeculectomy showed an increasing frequency without a significant change in its proportion., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To compare the extent to which visceral adiposity, as measured by mesenteric fat thickness, contribute to cardiometabolic risk, especially insulin resistance, in women with PCOS and healthy control., Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a total of 190 women with PCOS fulfilling the Rotterdam diagnostic criteria. Women without PCOS were recruited from a previous study, which comprised 416 healthy women controls with normal glucose tolerance. All subjects underwent OGTT, biochemical assessment, and sonographic assessment with measurements of mesenteric, preperitoneal and subcutaneous fat thickness., Results: Mesenteric fat thickness was strongly correlated to cardiometabolic traits including blood pressure, fasting and 2-h glucose, triglycerides, HOMA-IR; and was negatively correlated to HDL-C in both cohorts (all p < 0.01). In PCOS, positive correlation was observed between mesenteric fat thickness and free androgen index (p < 0.01). Compared with controls, the regression line between mesenteric fat and HOMA-IR is much steeper in PCOS (p < 0.01)., Conclusion: Women with PCOS remain more insulin resistant compared to controls at any given degree of visceral adiposity., (Copyright © 2021 Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study examined the neuropsychiatric sequelae of acutely ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection who received treatment in hospital isolation wards during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten COVID-19 patients who received treatment in various hospitals in Chongqing, China; 10 age- and gender-matched psychiatric patients; and 10 healthy control participants residing in the same city were recruited. All participants completed a survey that collected information on demographic data, physical symptoms in the past 14 days and psychological parameters. Face-to-face interviews with COVID-19 patients were also performed using semi-structured questions. Among the COVID-19 patients, 40% had abnormal findings on the chest computed topography scan, 20% had dysosmia, 10% had dysgeusia, and 80% had repeated positivity on COVID-19 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction testing. COVID-19 and psychiatric patients were significantly more worried about their health than healthy controls (p = 0.019). A greater proportion of COVID-19 patients experienced impulsivity (p = 0.016) and insomnia (p = 0.039) than psychiatric patients and healthy controls. COVID-19 patients reported a higher psychological impact of the outbreak than psychiatric patients and healthy controls, with half of them having clinically significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. COVID-19 and psychiatric patients had higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress than healthy controls. Three themes emerged from the interviews with COVID-19 patients: (i) The emotions experienced by patients after COVID-19 infection (i.e., shock, fear, despair, hope, and boredom); (ii) the external factors that affected patients' mood (i.e., discrimination, medical expenses, care by healthcare workers); and (iii) coping and self-help behavior (i.e., distraction, problem-solving and online support). The future direction in COVID-19 management involves the development of a holistic inpatient service to promote immune and psychological resilience.

This study aimed to assess and compare the immediate stress and psychological impact experienced by people with and without psychiatric illnesses during the peak of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic with strict lockdown measures. Seventy-six psychiatric patients and 109 healthy control subjects were recruited from Chongqing, China and completed a survey on demographic data, physical symptoms during the past 14 days and a range of psychiatric symptoms using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). IES-R measures PTSD symptoms in survivorship after an event. DASS-21 is based on tripartite model of psychopathology that comprise a general distress construct with distinct characteristics. The mean IES-R, DASS-21 anxiety, depression and stress subscale and ISI scores were higher in psychiatric patients than healthy controls (p < 0.001). Serious worries about their physical health, anger and impulsivity and intense suicidal ideation were significantly higher in psychiatric patients than healthy controls (p < 0.05). More than one-third of psychiatric patients might fulfil the diagnostic criteria post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More than one-quarter of psychiatric patients suffered from moderately severe to severe insomnia. Respondents who reported no change, poor or worse physical health status and had a psychiatric illness were significantly more likely to have higher mean IES-R, DASS depression, anxiety and stress subscale scores and ISI scores (p < 0.05). This study confirms the severity of negative psychological impact on psychiatric patients during the COVID-19 epidemic with strict lockdown measures. Understanding the psychological impact on psychiatric patients during the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to provide insight into how to develop a new immunopsychiatry service. Further research is required to compare pro-inflammatory cytokines between psychiatric patients and healthy controls during the pandemic., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to quantify the immediate psychological effects and psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures of a workforce returning to work during the COVID-19 epidemic. Workforce returning to work was invited to complete an online questionnaire regarding their attitude toward the COVID-19 epidemic and return-to-work along with psychological parameters including the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale- 21 (DASS-21) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures include precautions at personal and organization levels. From 673 valid questionnaires, we found that 10.8% of respondents met the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after returning to work. The respondents reported a low prevalence of anxiety (3.8%), depression (3.7%), stress (1.5%) and insomnia (2.3%). There were no significant differences in the severity of psychiatric symptoms between workers/technicians and executives/managers. >95% reported psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures including good ventilation in the workplace and wore a face mask as protective. Factors that were associated with the severity of psychiatric symptoms in the workforce were marital status, presence of physical symptom, poor physical health and viewing return to work as a health hazard (p < 0.05). In contrast, personal psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures including hand hygiene and wearing face masks as well as organizational measures including significant improvement of workplace hygiene and concerns from the company were associated with less severe psychiatric symptoms (p < 0.05). Contrary to expectations, returning to work had not caused a high level of psychiatric symptoms in the workforce. The low prevalence of psychiatric symptoms could be due to confidence instilled by psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures before the resumption of work. Our findings would provide information for other countries during the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Given the increasing burden of childhood obesity, it is important to examine the changes in dietary habits and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among Macao students., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among primary and secondary school students in Macao, China in 2014-2015 with addition to data collected from 2008 to 2009 for comparison. The dietary behaviours, prevalence of obesity and dyslipidaemia were compared by study period., Subjects: In 2014-2015, dietary assessment was conducted among 3635 students, physical assessment was conducted among 1427 school students. In 2008-2009, dietary assessment was conducted among 4271 students, physical assessment was conducted among 1700 school students., Results: When compared with students in 2008, higher percentage of students from present study period consumed dairy products, crispy food and chocolate, while fewer students had fruits, vegetables and fried food at least once every day. Despite lower prevalence of elevated total cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, the rate of general obesity, low high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and hyperglycaemia has increased significantly in 2014-2015. Students aged 12-14 consumed less fruits and vegetables and suffered from higher rate of general and abdominal obesity, as well as low high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and elevated serum triglycerides in 2014-15., Conclusions: The students' diet had both favourable and unfavourable changes. The rate of obesity and dyslipidaemia rises, while the situation for students aged 12-14 is more concerning., (Copyright © 2019 Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious public health issue in developing countries. Early prediction of TB epidemic is very important for its control and intervention. We aimed to develop an appropriate model for predicting TB epidemics and analyze its seasonality in China., Methods: Data of monthly TB incidence cases from January 2005 to December 2011 were obtained from the Ministry of Health, China. A seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model and a hybrid model which combined the SARIMA model and a generalized regression neural network model were used to fit the data from 2005 to 2010. Simulation performance parameters of mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were used to compare the goodness-of-fit between these two models. Data from 2011 TB incidence data was used to validate the chosen model., Results: Although both two models could reasonably forecast the incidence of TB, the hybrid model demonstrated better goodness-of-fit than the SARIMA model. For the hybrid model, the MSE, MAE and MAPE were 38969150, 3406.593 and 0.030, respectively. For the SARIMA model, the corresponding figures were 161835310, 8781.971 and 0.076, respectively. The seasonal trend of TB incidence is predicted to have lower monthly incidence in January and February and higher incidence from March to June., Conclusions: The hybrid model showed better TB incidence forecasting than the SARIMA model. There is an obvious seasonal trend of TB incidence in China that differed from other countries.

It is common practice to use a forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1))/ forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio of <70% as evidence of airflow obstruction. As the FEV(1)/FVC ratio falls with age, the lower limit of normal range (LLN), defined as the bottom 5% in a health reference population, of FEV(1)/FVC ratio has been suggested as a better index to reduce over-diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly in the elderly. However, there are no large scale studies that focus on the diagnosis of COPD in the elderly based on these definitions. The present prospective epidemiological study involved 1,149 elderly subjects aged > or =60 yrs in the community. Detailed questionnaires, pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry were performed. In total, 1,008 subjects (mean age 74.2+/-6.4 yrs; 271 males) completed satisfactory spirometry testing. Airflow obstruction was present in 25.9% as defined by the post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC ratio of <70% and in 12.4% defined by the LLN of FEV(1)/FVC ratio. Moderate COPD, at least, was found in 14.0% of patients according to the post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC ratio of <70% and in 8.5% of patients according to LLN of FEV(1)/FVC ratio. In the present elderly Chinese population (mostly females, with low education level and previous exposure to biomass during formative years), the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease varied markedly depending on definitions adopted. Further longitudinal studies are needed to determine the precise definition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.