scholarly journals Cross-sectional case-control study on medical students’ psychosocial stress during COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong

Heliyon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. e08486
Author(s):  
Michael Co ◽  
Margaret Kay Ho ◽  
Alina Ashok Bharwani ◽  
Vernice Hui Yan Chan ◽  
Evelyn Hui Yi Chan ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Mohammed Iqbal ◽  
Omar Said ◽  
Ola Ibrahim ◽  
Ashraf Soliman

Purpose. To assess the visual, ocular, extraocular, and multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) outcomes of computer vision syndrome (CVS) among medical students. Methods. This study was designed as a cross-sectional case-control study that included 733 medical students. All students completed a specially designed and validated CVS questionnaire survey (CVS-F3). Students from the control (No-CVS) and CVS groups underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations including the mfERG examinations. Our main outcome measures included uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA and CDVA, resp.) measurements, subjective and cycloplegic refractions, slit-lamp examination, intraocular pressure measurement, pupillary reflexes tests, ocular movements’ tests, dry eye disease tests, and fundus and mfERG examinations. Results. The CVS-F3 identified that 87.9% of students had complaints that might be related to CVS. We documented a 76% prevalence rate in students undergoing an ophthalmologic exam. The most common ocular and extraocular complaints included visual blur and headache (40.9% and 46.8%, resp.). Statistical logistic and linear regression analyses showed that refractive errors, prolonged screen-hours, close eye-screen distance, improper gaze angle, poor screen-resolution, and screen-glare were risk factors for developing CVS and influencing its severity. In the mfERG subgroup, 42.5% demonstrated reduced amplitudes of mfERG rings and quadrants, indicating reduced foveal responses. Conclusion. Surveys cannot yield an accurate CVS prevalence. However, they help to identify subjects at risk who should be comprehensively assessed to confirm or exclude CVS diagnosis. Smartphone misuse primarily caused CVS among users. Our mfERG findings might be a sign of potential CVS visual sequelae; however, future studies are warranted. Clinicians need to understand these sequelae to appropriately identify and treat CVS.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Fayaz Khan ◽  
Mohamed Faisal Chevidikunnan

Stroke is a major cause of disability worldwide, and balance impairments are common disabling factors in patients with stroke, leading to falls. Thus, the study objectives were as follows: (i) To find the prevalence of balance impairment among patients with stroke. (ii) To find out the factors associated with balance impairment in patients with stroke. This cross-sectional retrospective case control study involved eighty-one post stroke patients with a mean age of 58.36 ± 14.06, recruited from six hospitals, who underwent an assessment of balance, walking speed, depression and isometric strength of the ankle and knee. These patients were later categorized into subjects with good balance (<45) in the Berg balance scale (BBS) and those with poor balance (≥45), as cases and controls, to assess the factors associated with balance impairment using binary logistic regression. The prevalence of balance impairment among patients with stroke was 48.1%. The reduction in power of knee flexors (OR = 0.858), knee extensors (OR = 0.880) and ankle dorsiflexors (OR = 0.820) was found to be significantly associated with balance impairment, along with speed (OR = 1.187 (95% CI = 1.100, 1.280)), depression (OR = 1.331 (95% CI = 1.055–1.679)) and activities of daily living (OR = 0.313 (95% CI = 0.150–0.650)). In summary, around half of the patients with stroke exhibited balance impairments, with females being more prone.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e043487
Author(s):  
Hao Luo ◽  
Kui Kai Lau ◽  
Gloria H Y Wong ◽  
Wai-Chi Chan ◽  
Henry K F Mak ◽  
...  

IntroductionDementia is a group of disabling disorders that can be devastating for persons living with it and for their families. Data-informed decision-making strategies to identify individuals at high risk of dementia are essential to facilitate large-scale prevention and early intervention. This population-based case–control study aims to develop and validate a clinical algorithm for predicting dementia diagnosis, based on the cognitive footprint in personal and medical history.Methods and analysisWe will use territory-wide electronic health records from the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System (CDARS) in Hong Kong between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2018. All individuals who were at least 65 years old by the end of 2018 will be identified from CDARS. A random sample of control individuals who did not receive any diagnosis of dementia will be matched with those who did receive such a diagnosis by age, gender and index date with 1:1 ratio. Exposure to potential protective/risk factors will be included in both conventional logistic regression and machine-learning models. Established risk factors of interest will include diabetes mellitus, midlife hypertension, midlife obesity, depression, head injuries and low education. Exploratory risk factors will include vascular disease, infectious disease and medication. The prediction accuracy of several state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithms will be compared.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by Institutional Review Board of The University of Hong Kong/Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster (UW 18-225). Patients’ records are anonymised to protect privacy. Study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. Codes of the resulted dementia risk prediction algorithm will be made publicly available at the website of the Tools to Inform Policy: Chinese Communities’ Action in Response to Dementia project (https://www.tip-card.hku.hk/).


The Prostate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 81 (15) ◽  
pp. 1214-1224
Author(s):  
Gengze Liao ◽  
Priscilla M. Y. Lee ◽  
Shi Zhao ◽  
Wing Ming Ho ◽  
Augustine T. Lam ◽  
...  

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1197-1198
Author(s):  
JUDITH LUMLEY

The possibility that employment itself, with all its rewards, both intrinsic and monetary, could be harmful to maternal and fetal health is always a matter for concern. When that suggestion is made about an archetypical female form of employment (nursing), and a specialist group devoted to the health care of women and infants, it is deeply alarming. So the recent publication which states, "our results show that strenuous working conditions are an important risk factor for preterm birth among US nurses," has been widely reported and discussed. The study was a case-control study with cases and controls drawn from respondents to a cross-sectional mailed survey of members of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.


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