Vitamin D is essential for human health. However, it is not clear if vitamin D supplementation is necessary for all pregnant women. This study examines the relative importance of dietary patterns and vitamin D supplementation frequency in... more
Vitamin D is essential for human health. However, it is not clear if vitamin D supplementation is necessary for all pregnant women. This study examines the relative importance of dietary patterns and vitamin D supplementation frequency in determining serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and ferritin concentrations among pregnant women in Hong Kong, China. A total of 572 healthy women were recruited from antenatal clinics at 25–35 weeks pregnant. Participants completed an electronic version of the food frequency questionnaire and a web questionnaire on supplement use. Their blood samples were tested for serum 25(OH)D and ferritin. The associations of dietary patterns and vitamin D supplementation frequency with serum 25(OH)D and ferritin concentrations were analyzed using moderated hierarchical regression. Two dietary patterns were identified. The adequate dietary intake was characterized by the high probability of meeting recommended daily food group servings, whereas the inadequate ...
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The evidence as to whether caffeine consumption is beneficial or harmful to human health has been mixed. This study aimed to examine the effect of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration on the association between caffeine consumption... more
The evidence as to whether caffeine consumption is beneficial or harmful to human health has been mixed. This study aimed to examine the effect of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration on the association between caffeine consumption and mineral metabolism in pregnant women. This is a cross-sectional study involving pregnant women at their 25th to 35th gestational week recruited at antenatal clinics in the period of July 2019 to December 2020. Peripheral blood samples were collected to determine their total 25(OH)D, albumin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), calcium, phosphate, and ferritin level in serum. Questionnaires on demographics and dietary intake were also administered. Among 181 pregnant women recruited (Average age = 32.9 years), 50 (27.6%) of them were found to be vitamin D insufficient (25(OH)D concentration < 75 nmol/L), and 131 (72.4%) were vitamin D sufficient (25(OH)D concentration ≥ 75 nmol/L). Adjusted regression models identified an association between higher c...
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Background: Although an increasing body of research shows that excessive screen time could impair brain development, whereas non-screen recreational activities can promote the development of adaptive emotion regulation and social skills,... more
Background: Although an increasing body of research shows that excessive screen time could impair brain development, whereas non-screen recreational activities can promote the development of adaptive emotion regulation and social skills, there is a lack of comparative research on this topic. Hence, this study examined whether and to what extent the frequency of early-life activities predicted later externalizing and internalizing problems. Methods: In 2012/13, we recruited Kindergarten 3 (K3) students from randomly selected kindergartens in two districts of Hong Kong and collected parent-report data on children’s screen activities and parent–child activities. In 2018/19, we re-surveyed the parents of 323 students (aged 11 to 13 years) with question items regarding their children’s externalizing and internalizing symptoms in early adolescence. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between childhood activities and psychosocial problems in early adolesce...
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Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Adolescent, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, and 13 moreEarly Childhood, Humans, Child, Adolescence, Environmental public health, RECREATION, Cohort Study, Psychosocial, Longitudinal Studies, Parent‐child Relations, Psychosocial Development, Screen Time, and Surveys and Questionnaires
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This study examined the health profile of children with different types of disabilities and explored the disability-specific associations with various types of health and functioning using a large nonclinical sample of children. A... more
This study examined the health profile of children with different types of disabilities and explored the disability-specific associations with various types of health and functioning using a large nonclinical sample of children. A cross-sectional school survey was conducted during 2016 and 2017. A total of 4114 children (aged 6–18 years) receiving primary or secondary education, or their proxy, in Hong Kong participated in the study. Disabilities were categorized as (a) physical disabilities; (b) learning and developmental disabilities; (c) intellectual disabilities; (d) internalizing disorders or mental illness; and (e) autism spectrum disorder. Health-related quality of life (QoL), sleep-related QoL, activities of daily living (ADL), emotional functioning, and social functioning were assessed and compared between children with disabilities and those without. The results showed that children with disabilities showed poorer physical functioning, health-related QoL, and emotional and...
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Previous studies point to a link between parenting style and child maltreatment, but evidence from a Chinese context is lacking. We investigated the association between parenting style and child maltreatment in Hong Kong, and examined... more
Previous studies point to a link between parenting style and child maltreatment, but evidence from a Chinese context is lacking. We investigated the association between parenting style and child maltreatment in Hong Kong, and examined whether family socio-economic status and child gender moderate this relationship. Using stratified random sampling, 7585 children in Grade 1 to Grade 3 of 51 schools in Hong Kong were recruited and their parents were invited to complete the questionnaire. The past year weighted prevalence for minor physical abuse, severe/very severe physical abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect were 63.9%, 23.4%, 84.1%, and 23.2%, respectively. Authoritarian parenting was associated with all types of child maltreatment (prevalence ratio (PR) range: 1.10–1.53; p < 0.001), whereas authoritative parenting was associated with a lower risk of all types of child maltreatment (PR range: 0.89–0.97; p < 0.001). Child maltreatment is prevalent in Hong Kong and is strong...
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Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more prone to physical injuries, including motor vehicle accidents, fractures and brain injuries. Several observational studies have been published investigating the... more
Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more prone to physical injuries, including motor vehicle accidents, fractures and brain injuries. Several observational studies have been published investigating the association between the use of pharmacological treatment for ADHD and the incidence of physical injuries among patients with ADHD; however, the findings are not concordant. This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature and estimates the overall association between the use of ADHD medications and physical injury. Injury is defined as medically attended physical injuries in the form of hospitalisations, emergency department visits or general practitioners visits. The PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane Review databases were searched for relevant studies published up to May 2017 relating to ADHD medication and risk of injuries. Observational studies with any study design, all age groups (children and adults) and all...
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Chronic stress has adverse effects on health. Adults and children from low-income families are subject to multiple sources of stress. Existing literature about economic hardship mostly focuses on either adults or children but not both.... more
Chronic stress has adverse effects on health. Adults and children from low-income families are subject to multiple sources of stress. Existing literature about economic hardship mostly focuses on either adults or children but not both. Moreover, there is limited knowledge on the relationship between parental generalised stress and child health problems. This study aims to explore the bidirectional relationship between parental stress and child health in Chinese low-income families and to identify other modifiable factors influencing this relationship. This prospective cohort study will sample 254 low-income parent-child pairs and follow them up for 24 months with assessments at three time points (baseline, 12 and 24 months) on parental stress, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and child health and behaviour using both subjective measures and objective physiological parameters. This study will collect data using standardised measures on HRQOL and behaviours of children as well a...
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The sustained increase in their use of social networking facilitates the development of adolescents but comes with the risk of cyberbullying, which creates new challenges in regard to adolescent protection. Past evidence shows that family... more
The sustained increase in their use of social networking facilitates the development of adolescents but comes with the risk of cyberbullying, which creates new challenges in regard to adolescent protection. Past evidence shows that family victimization may play an essential role in the way adolescents learn cyberbullying behaviors. Yet, research on the co-occurrence of family victimization and cyberbullying is limited. This study aims to investigate the associations between cyberbullying and family victimization among adolescents, and to examine the health correlates of cyberbullying and family poly-victimization. A large sample of 18,341 students, aged 15-17, from six cities in China, collected between 2009 and 2010 is employed in the present study, which investigated the association between various kinds of family victimization and adolescent cyberbullying. Data analysis was conducted in 2017. In-law conflict, intimate partner violence, elder abuse and neglect, and child maltreatm...
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OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of a positive youth development (PYD)-based sports mentorship program on the physical and mental well-being of adolescents recruited in a community setting. METHODS: This is a randomized controlled... more
OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of a positive youth development (PYD)-based sports mentorship program on the physical and mental well-being of adolescents recruited in a community setting. METHODS: This is a randomized controlled trial in which we recruited students from 12 secondary schools in Hong Kong, China. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to an intervention or a control arm after stratification for school from October 2013 to June 2014. Participants were not blinded to allocation because of the nature of the intervention. Students in the intervention arm received an after-school, PYD-based sports mentorship for 18 weeks. Each weekly session lasted 90 minutes. Students in the control arm received exclusive access to a health education Web site. RESULTS: Six hundred and sixty-four students (mean age 12.3 years [SD 0.76]; 386 girls [58.1%]) completed baseline and postintervention assessments. The intervention improved students’ mental well-being (Cohen’s...
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Pediatrics, Health Promotion, Mental Health, Mentoring, Adolescent Development, and 15 moreAdolescent Health, Adolescent, Medicine, Physical Therapy, Sports, Humans, Mentorship, Female, Male, Physical Fitness, Randomized Controlled Trial, Confidence Interval, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Outcome assessment (Health care), and Medical and Health Sciences
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Nutritional supplements may be important on cognition but the evidence is heterogeneous. This meta-analysis aimed (1) to determine whether nutritional supplements provided to pregnant women or young children could improve cognitive... more
Nutritional supplements may be important on cognition but the evidence is heterogeneous. This meta-analysis aimed (1) to determine whether nutritional supplements provided to pregnant women or young children could improve cognitive development of children in developing countries, and (2) to explore how supplementation characteristics could improve children’s cognitive outcomes. This meta-analysis examined nutritional supplementation studies in 9 electronic databases and 13 specialist websites. Experimental studies were included if they were published from 1992 to 2016, were conducted in developing countries, had nutritional supplementation for pregnant women or children aged ≤8, and reported effect sizes on cognitive outcomes. Interventions with confounded components, such as stimulation and parenting, were excluded. 67 interventions (48 studies) for 29814 children from 20 developing countries were evaluated. Childhood nutritional supplementation could improve children’s cognitive d...
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Online gaming has greatly increased in popularity in recent years, and with this has come a multiplicity of problems due to excessive involvement in gaming. Gaming disorder, both online and offline, has been defined for the first time in... more
Online gaming has greatly increased in popularity in recent years, and with this has come a multiplicity of problems due to excessive involvement in gaming. Gaming disorder, both online and offline, has been defined for the first time in the draft of 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). National surveys have shown prevalence rates of gaming disorder/addiction of 10%-15% among young people in several Asian countries and of 1%-10% in their counterparts in some Western countries. Several diseases related to excessive gaming are now recognized, and clinics are being established to respond to individual, family, and community concerns, but many cases remain hidden. Gaming disorder shares many features with addictions due to psychoactive substances and with gambling disorder, and functional neuroimaging shows that similar areas of the brain are activated. Governments and health agencies worldwide are seeking for the effects of online gaming to be address...
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Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at an increased risk of attempting suicide. Stimulants, such as methylphenidate hydrochloride, are the most common treatment for ADHD, but the association between their... more
Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at an increased risk of attempting suicide. Stimulants, such as methylphenidate hydrochloride, are the most common treatment for ADHD, but the association between their therapeutic use and suicide is unclear. To investigate the association between methylphenidate and the risk of suicide attempts. A population-based, electronic medical records database from the Hong Kong Clinical Data Analysis & Reporting System was used to identify 25 629 individuals aged 6 to 25 years who were treated with methylphenidate between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2015. Those who had attempted suicide were included in the analysis. A self-controlled case series design was used to control for time-invariant characteristics of the patients. Relative incidence of suicide attempt during periods when patients were exposed to methylphenidate compared with nonexposed periods. Among 25 629 patients with methylphenidate prescriptions, 154 had ...
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Psychology, Psychiatry, Incidence Geometry, Suicide, Adolescent, and 14 moreMedicine, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Young Adult, Incidence, Methylphenidate, Attempted Suicide, Statistics as Topic, Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, Central nervous system stimulants, Patient Outcome Assessment, and Medical prescription
Objective To assess the potential association between prenatal use of antidepressants and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring.Design Population based cohort study.Setting Data from the Hong Kong... more
Objective To assess the potential association between prenatal use of antidepressants and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring.Design Population based cohort study.Setting Data from the Hong Kong population based electronic medical records on the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System.Participants 190 618 children born in Hong Kong public hospitals between January 2001 and December 2009 and followed-up to December 2015.Main outcome measure Hazard ratio of maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy and ADHD in children aged 6 to 14 years, with an average follow-up time of 9.3 years (range 7.4-11.0 years).Results Among 190 618 children, 1252 had a mother who used prenatal antidepressants. 5659 children (3.0%) were given a diagnosis of ADHD or received treatment for ADHD. The crude hazard ratio of maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy was 2.26 (P<0.01) compared with non-use. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, includi...
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Depression, Hong Kong, Medicine, Humans, Child, and 15 moreAntidepressant, Female, Male, Attention Deficit Disorder, Cohort Study, Infant, Adult, BMJ, Attention Deficit, Offspring, Cohort Studies, Child preschool, Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Antidepressive agents
The present study aimed to examine the trends and characteristics of fall-related attendance in accident and emergency department (AED) by injury type and the trend in associated average length of stay (LOS) among children and adolescents... more
The present study aimed to examine the trends and characteristics of fall-related attendance in accident and emergency department (AED) by injury type and the trend in associated average length of stay (LOS) among children and adolescents in Hong Kong. A retrospective approach was adopted. AED, involving all local public emergency departments from 2001 to 2012. 63 557 subjects aged 0-19 years with fall injury record were included in the analysis. Fall-related injury number and rates were calculated and reported. Poisson and negative binomial regression models were used to study the trends of injury incidence rate at different body regions. AED fall-related attendance rate increased significantly with an annual percentage change of 4.45 (95% CI 3.43 to 5.47%, p<0.0001). The attendance number of male subjects was persistently higher than female subjects. The standardised rate of fracture injury increased by 1.31% (95% CI 0.56 to 2.05%, p<0.0001) and that of non-fracture injury i...
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We investigated the incidence and seasonal patterns of child maltreatment hospitalisations in Hong Kong. A retrospective study of subjects aged under 19 years with a primary diagnosis of child maltreatment admitted to hospitals in Hong... more
We investigated the incidence and seasonal patterns of child maltreatment hospitalisations in Hong Kong. A retrospective study of subjects aged under 19 years with a primary diagnosis of child maltreatment admitted to hospitals in Hong Kong from 2001 to 2010. Data were retrieved from the centralised database of all 42 public hospitals in the Hospital Authority. Child maltreatment incidence rate. A consistent seasonal pattern was found for non-sexual maltreatment in children aged 6-18 years (p<0.001). Hospitalisations peaked in May and October but dipped in August and January. No significant seasonal patterns were found for sexual maltreatment or among children under 6 years. The seasonal pattern of child maltreatment coincided with the two school examination periods. The annual child maltreatment hospitalisation rate in Hong Kong in 2010 was 73.4 per 100 000 children under 19 years, more than double that in 2001. A peculiar seasonal pattern and an alarming increasing trend in chi...
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Demography, Pediatrics, Incidence Geometry, Injury Prevention, Adolescent, and 15 moreHong Kong, Medicine, Humans, Child, Child Abuse, Hospitalization, Female, Male, Infant, Incidence, Clinical Sciences, Newborn Infant, Public health systems and services research, Child preschool, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
People from working poor families are at high risk of poor health partly due to limited healthcare access. Health empowerment, a process by which people can gain greater control over the decisions affecting their lives and health through... more
People from working poor families are at high risk of poor health partly due to limited healthcare access. Health empowerment, a process by which people can gain greater control over the decisions affecting their lives and health through education and motivation, can be an effective way to enhance health, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), health awareness and health-seeking behaviours of these people. A new cohort study will be launched to explore the potential for a Health Empowerment Programme to enable these families by enhancing their health status and modifying their attitudes towards health-related issues. If proven effective, similar empowerment programme models could be tested and further disseminated in collaborations with healthcare providers and policymakers. A prospective cohort study with 200 intervention families will be launched and followed up for 5 years. The following inclusion criteria will be used at the time of recruitment: (1) Having at least one working ...
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Psychology, Psychiatry, Social Support, Adolescent, Employment, and 15 moreHong Kong, Medicine, Thematic Analysis, Schools, Humans, Work, Male, Young Adult, Patient Preference, Clinical Sciences, Parents, Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, Health Services Accessibility, Psychological techniques, and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
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Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Mental Health, Adolescent, Medicine, and 14 moreHumans, United States, Female, Male, Attention Deficit Disorder, Ambulatory, Public health systems and services research, Attention Deficit, Academic, Drug Utilization, Ambulatory Care, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, and Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences
We assessed the Chinese version of the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) for identifying illicit drug use during pregnancy among Chinese population. Chinese pregnant women attending their first antenatal visit or their first unbooked... more
We assessed the Chinese version of the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) for identifying illicit drug use during pregnancy among Chinese population. Chinese pregnant women attending their first antenatal visit or their first unbooked visit to the maternity ward were recruited during a 4-month study period in 2011. The participants completed self-administered questionnaires on demographic information, a single question on illicit drug use during pregnancy and the DAST-10. Urine samples screened positive by the urine Point-of-Care Test were confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. DAST-10 performance was compared with three different gold standards: urinalysis, self-reported drug use and evidence of drug use by urinalysis or self-report. 1214 Chinese pregnant women participated in the study and 1085 complete DAST-10 forms were collected. Women who had used illicit drugs had significantly different DAST-10 scores than those who had not. The sensitivity of DAST-10 for identi...
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Adolescent mental health problems are global public health concern. Primary prevention through physical activity (PA) has been suggested as a potential approach to tackling this problem. Studies in Western countries have provided some... more
Adolescent mental health problems are global public health concern. Primary prevention through physical activity (PA) has been suggested as a potential approach to tackling this problem. Studies in Western countries have provided some evidence of a relationship between PA and adolescent mental health, but the evidence in China is not sufficient. Furthermore, the mechanism behind this relationship has not been empirically tested. The present study aimed at testing the association between PA and mental well-being of Chinese adolescents and to investigate whether a psychological (self-efficacy and resilience) and social (school and family connectedness) mediation model is valid to explain such a relationship. A total of 775 Chinese students in Grades 7 and 8 were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The participants were given questionnaires to assess their PA level, mental well-being, and the potential mediators. Path models were used to analyse the association between PA and ment...
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Mental Health, Family, Mediation, Adolescent, Medicine, and 15 moreSocial Class, Schools, Self Efficacy, Humans, Social connectedness, Child, Female, Male, Interpersonal Relations, Psychological Resilience, Sex Factors, Motor activity, Surveys and Questionnaires, confounding, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
Although research tends to focus on whether children with disability are more at risk of violence victimization, conclusive evidence on the association, especially in non-Western settings, is lacking. Using a large and representative... more
Although research tends to focus on whether children with disability are more at risk of violence victimization, conclusive evidence on the association, especially in non-Western settings, is lacking. Using a large and representative sample of school-aged children in Hong Kong (N = 5,841, aged 9-18 years), this study aims to fill the research gap by providing reliable estimates of the prevalence of disability and the direct and indirect experiences of violence among children with disability. The study also compares the prevalence of child maltreatment, parental intimate partner violence (IPV), and in-law conflict to explore the factors related to the association between disability and violence victimization. The prevalence of disability among children was about 6%. Children with disability were more likely to report victimization than those without disability: 32% to 60% of the former had experienced child maltreatment, and 12% to 46% of them had witnessed IPV between parents or in-...
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Criminology, Psychology, Domestic Violence, Injury Prevention, Adolescent, and 15 moreHong Kong, Medicine, Intimate Partner Violence, Humans, Child, Child Abuse, Female, Male, Crime Victims, Risk factors, Disabled children, Interpersonal Violence, Risk Factors, Poison Control, and Conflict Psychology
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Psychology and Juvenile
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Poster Presentation (Doctor’s Session)BACKGROUND: With improved medical care, people with Down's syndrome are now living longer. Given the increased healthcare needs of this population throughout life, it is important for the planning... more
Poster Presentation (Doctor’s Session)BACKGROUND: With improved medical care, people with Down's syndrome are now living longer. Given the increased healthcare needs of this population throughout life, it is important for the planning of healthcare services to know the age-specific prevalence of this condition. Currently, there is no national birth defects registry in Hong Kong and the prevalence of Down's syndrome in Hong Kong is unknown. METHOD: The CDARS system was used to identify all people who had used any Hong Kong Hospital Authority service between 1995 and 2012 and had an ICD9 diagnosis code of 758.0 – Down's syndrome in any diagnosis field. Duplicates were removed and those who had died before 31/12/10 or were born after 31/12/10 were excluded. The remaining 2120 patients were stratified by gender and 5 year age group. Age and gender stratified population counts from the Hong Kong Census 2011 were used as the denominator. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of Down's syndrome in Hong Kong is 3.00 per 10,000 population (95%CI 2.87, 3.12). Prevalence is higher in males with an overall prevalence of 3.38 per 10,000 (95%CI 3.18, 3.59) compared with 2.66 per 10,000 (95%CI 2.50, 2.83) for females. The difference between genders is most marked in the younger age groups. Prevalence is highest amongst the under 5s at 9.95 per 10,000 population (95%CI 8.71, 11.19) and decreases with age to 5.74 per 10,000 population (95%CI 5.04, 6.43) in the 20-25 year age group and 1.99 per 10,000 population (95%CI 1.65, 2.34) in the 45-50 year age group. The prevalence is 0 per 10,000 population by age 80 and over. Almost half (47.5%) of the Down's syndrome population in Hong Kong is under 20 years of age. CONCLUSION: This study provides an initial estimate of the age and gender-specific prevalence of Down's syndrome in Hong Kong. The results are important for planning Hospital Authority services for this population of people with Down's syndrome, who are known to have increased healthcare needs
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Poster Presentation (Doctor’s Session)Several studies have demonstrated that children and adults with Down's syndrome (DS) have an increased average inpatient length of stay (LOS) compared with people without DS. This study assesses... more
Poster Presentation (Doctor’s Session)Several studies have demonstrated that children and adults with Down's syndrome (DS) have an increased average inpatient length of stay (LOS) compared with people without DS. This study assesses if the same relationship is observed in Hong Kong and explores the patient and admission characteristics that are associated with increased LOS amongst those with DS. The Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System (CDARS) of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA) was used to identify people with DS (ICD9 code 758.0) from inpatient and outpatient records of all HA hospitals from 1995-2012. A search was then performed on CDARS for the details of any admissions in 2010 by these patients. Inpatient data from 1995-2012 and outpatient data from 2010 were used to establish if patients were known to have congenital heart disease, other circulatory malformations, thyroid disease, diabetes, epilepsy, lymphatic or haematopoeitic malignancies or gastrointestinal malformations. Average LOS was calculated, stratified by 5 year age group and gender. For comparison with the general population, aggregate counts of admissions and total LOS for all admissions in 2010, stratified by 5 year age group and gender, were also obtained from CDARS. A negative binomial with log link regression model was then used to assess the relationship between LOS and admission age group, gender, ethnicity, known DS-associated co-morbidities, emergency admission, admitting speciality, surgery, ICU admission and Down's associated primary diagnosis in patients with DS. The average LOS was 1.75 times higher in those with DS than those without (8.49 days compared with 4.84 days). However, this was not consistent across age groups and between genders, especially in children and young adults. Children under 5 years with DS had a LOS 3.37 times longer (11.26 days compared with 3.34) but children aged 5-10 and 10-15 with DS had a lower LOS than those without DS. Admission factors significantly associated with increased LOS in DS included non-emergency admissions, surgery and admission to PICU/ICU. The effect of a primary diagnosis associated with DS was not significant. Patient characteristics significantly associated with increased LOS included infant age group, 3 or more known co-morbidities, circulatory malformations and thyroid disease. Gender and ethnicity had no significant effect on LOS. Further investigation is recommended to assess if the reason for decreased length of stay in children with Down's syndrome is the result of unnecessary emergency admissions
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The Central Policy Unit released executive summary of the study on 'Epidemiology of Child Abuse and Its Geographic Distribution in Hong Kong: An Important Social Indicator of Different Districts and Communities' on 4 September... more
The Central Policy Unit released executive summary of the study on 'Epidemiology of Child Abuse and Its Geographic Distribution in Hong Kong: An Important Social Indicator of Different Districts and Communities' on 4 September 2013.link_to_OA_fulltex
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Poster Presentation (Doctor’s Session)BACKGROUND: Every word that health professionals said may be heavily valued, making it particularly imperative for us to select word choices appropriately. To our knowledge, there is limited medical... more
Poster Presentation (Doctor’s Session)BACKGROUND: Every word that health professionals said may be heavily valued, making it particularly imperative for us to select word choices appropriately. To our knowledge, there is limited medical linguistics study in Cantonese to date. Down syndrome (DS) is a common genetic and parents of individuals with DS have extensive experience in interacting with health professionals. This current study aims to explore the perception of parents and caregivers of individuals of DS on the language used in healthcare settings in Hong Kong. METHOD: We recruited parents/caregivers of individuals with DS through Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association (HKDSA). Parents/caregivers were invited to complete a questionnaire with words adapted from a study on sensitive language used in genetics (Hodgson et al., 2005). The questionnaire was reviewed critically by the HKDSA scientific committee. Participants were asked to rate each words/phrases as "offensive"/"not offensive", offer alternatives to the words listed and give other words/phrases based on their past experience in healthcare setting which they found as offensive. RESULT: We have recruited 116 parents / caregivers of individuals with DS (age 5-55). Most participants rated " become a burden" (82%), " useless" (77%), " hopeless" (77%) and " abnormal" (76%) as "offensive". Some participants suggested alternative words, such as " special" instead of " become a burden" and " abnormal" respectively. Some participants also gave their other perceived offensive words, such as " Mongols". On the other hand, the least rated "offensive" words are " Chromosome deviant" (35%), " growth delay" (35%) and " handicapped person" (34%). CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings of this study showed that words that were mostly colloquial, dysphemism, or slang commonly used in vernacular speech were rated as offensive by most participants. On the other hand, literary terms were more acceptable. The findings reflect that participants have sensitive impression on the language used in medical setting. This has implication in the practice of genetic counseling. Health professionals should be aware of their choice of language in order to provide support to parents and caregivers of individuals with special needs
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Parallel session J : Junior and seasoned pharmacovigilantes presentations - Abstract Code: P-001
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Introduction: Obesity is a global public health concern which carries a heavy burden to society. School-based interventions tackling obesity during childhood and early adolescence were more successful than in later life. However, the... more
Introduction: Obesity is a global public health concern which carries a heavy burden to society. School-based interventions tackling obesity during childhood and early adolescence were more successful than in later life. However, the asset for physical activity (PA) varies from school to school and it is unknown whether such variation plays a role. This study, therefore, aims to explore the relationship between overweight and obesity and school PA assets. Methods: Structured questionnaires based on previous literatures were sent to all primary and secondary school physical education (PE) teachers to survey their PA related attitude and experience and school PA environment. These items compiled three school PA asset index scores (teacher attitude, experience and school environment). Students’ individual height and weight data of the participating schools were then retrieved from the Student Health Service database of the local government, which covers majority of students in the regi...
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Intimate partner violence is a serious social problem and public health issue affecting the well-being of the young adults. However, there is very little epidemiological evidence on the incidence and associated health problems in... more
Intimate partner violence is a serious social problem and public health issue affecting the well-being of the young adults. However, there is very little epidemiological evidence on the incidence and associated health problems in contemporary Chinese society. Using a representative community sample of 1,223 young adults aged 18 to 27 years conducted by Hong Kong Family Planning Association in 2011, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence, risk factors, and possible health consequences of intimate partner violence among young adults in Hong Kong. It is found that the prevalence of lifetime and preceding 1-year intimate partner violence by former or current partners was 8.6% and 4.9% respectively. Male youths who were older were less likely to experience past-year intimate partner violence (odds ratio [OR] = 0.21, p < .05) and those who had a university degree or were unemployed were more likely to experience past-year intimate partner violence (OR = 8.48, p < .01 and OR = 8...
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To investigate the prevalence of ADHD medication prescribing of school-aged children in Hong Kong (HK) from 2001 to 2013 and to compare with other countries. Using the Hong Kong Hospital Authority Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting... more
To investigate the prevalence of ADHD medication prescribing of school-aged children in Hong Kong (HK) from 2001 to 2013 and to compare with other countries. Using the Hong Kong Hospital Authority Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System, we investigated the epidemiology and prevalence of ADHD medication prescribing. The prevalence of children on ADHD medication increased 14 times throughout the study period-0.072% in 2001 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.068%, 0.077%]) to 1.027% (95% CI = [1.008%, 1.047%]) in 2013. Prevalence in females increased at a faster rate than in males. The prescribing trend in kindergarten children (3- to 5-year-old) was relatively steady from 2001 to 2008-0.025% (95% CI = [0.019%, 0.033%]) in 2001-until a marked increase from 2009 to 2013-0.121% (95% CI = [0.105%, 0.139%]) in 2013. The prevalence of ADHD medication prescribing in Hong Kong is increasing but remains lower than most Western countries. However, the prevalence of ADHD medication prescrib...
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Children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prone to sustaining trauma that requires emergency department (ED) admission. Methylphenidate (MPH) can reduce ADHD symptoms and may thus theoretically... more
Children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prone to sustaining trauma that requires emergency department (ED) admission. Methylphenidate (MPH) can reduce ADHD symptoms and may thus theoretically reduce the risk of trauma-related ED admission, but previous studies do not make this association clear. This study examines this association. A total of 17 381 patients aged 6 to 19 years who received MPH prescriptions were identified by using the Clinical Data Analysis & Reporting System (2001-2013). Using a self-controlled case series study design, the relative incidence of trauma-related ED admissions was compared with periods of patient exposure and nonexposure to MPH. Among 17 381 patients prescribed MPH, 4934 had at least 1 trauma-related ED admission. The rate of trauma-related ED admission was lower during exposed periods compared with nonexposed periods (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 0.91 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86-0.97]). The findings ...
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Pediatrics, Incidence Geometry, Adolescent, Medicine, Humans, and 15 moreChild, Female, Male, Young Adult, Risk factors, Patient Admission, Risk Factors, Methylphenidate, Wounds and Injuries, Emergency Department, Confidence Interval, Relative Risk, Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and Medical and Health Sciences
Youth smoking is a global public health concern. Health educators are increasingly using Internet-based technologies, but the effectiveness of Internet viral marketing in promoting health remains uncertain. This prospective pilot study... more
Youth smoking is a global public health concern. Health educators are increasingly using Internet-based technologies, but the effectiveness of Internet viral marketing in promoting health remains uncertain. This prospective pilot study assessed the efficacy of an online game-based viral marketing campaign in promoting a smoke-free attitude among Chinese adolescents. One hundred and twenty-one Hong Kong Chinese adolescents aged 10 to 24 were invited to participate in an online multiple-choice quiz game competition designed to deliver tobacco-related health information. Participants were encouraged to refer others to join. A zero-inflated negative binomial model was used to explore the factors contributing to the referral process. Latent transition analysis utilising a pre- and post-game survey was used to detect attitudinal changes toward smoking. The number of participants increased almost eightfold from 121 to 928 (34.6% current or ex-smokers) during the 22-day campaign. Participan...
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The Emergency Department (ED) has been shown to be a valuable location to screen for family violence. To investigate the characteristics of family violence victims presenting to EDs in a Chinese population in Hong Kong. This study... more
The Emergency Department (ED) has been shown to be a valuable location to screen for family violence. To investigate the characteristics of family violence victims presenting to EDs in a Chinese population in Hong Kong. This study examined a retrospective cohort of patients presenting to the Accident and Emergency Departments of three regional hospitals in the Kwai Tsing district of Hong Kong for evaluation and management of physical injuries related to family violence during the period of January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2008. A total of 15,797 patients were assessed. The sample comprised cases of intimate partner violence (IPV; n=10,839), child abuse and neglect (CAN; n=3491), and elder abuse (EA; n=1467). Gender differences were found in patterns of ED utilization among the patients. The rates of readmission were 12.9% for IPV, 12.8% for CAN, and 8.9% for EA. Logistic regression showed that being male, being discharged against medical advice, and arriving at the hospital via ambulance were the common factors associated with readmission to the EDs for patients victimized by IPV and CAN. This study investigates the victim profile of a large cohort of a Chinese population, providing a unique data set not previously released in this cultural or medical system. The findings give insights to early identification of victims of family violence in the EDs and suggest that screening techniques focused on multiple forms of family violence would improve identification of violence cases. Multidisciplinary collaboration between health, legal, and social service professionals is also warranted to meet the various needs of victims and to reduce hospital readmissions.