Daily total fluid intake and changes in body mass index among Hong Kong primary school students

Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine Frontiers SeriesSession - Big Data and Precision Medicine: e-Poster no. 20Symposia Theme: ‘MOOCs in Postmodern Asia’ (Oct 27, 2014) and ‘Big Data and Precision Medicine’ (Oct 28, 2014)published_or_final_versio

Test-retest reliability of a computer-assisted self-administered questionnaire on early life exposure in a nasopharyngeal carcinoma case-control study

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Clinical Characteristics and Transmission of COVID-19 in Children and Youths During 3 Waves of Outbreaks in Hong Kong

IMPORTANCE: Schools were closed intermittently across Hong Kong to control the COVID-19 outbreak, which led to significant physical and psychosocial problems among children and youths. OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical characteristics and sources of infection among children and youths with COVID-19 during the 3 waves of outbreaks in Hong Kong in 2020. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study involved children and youths aged 18 years or younger with COVID-19 in the 3 waves of outbreaks from January 23 through December 2, 2020. Data were analyzed from December 2020 through January 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Demographic characteristics, travel and contact histories, lengths of hospital stay, and symptoms were captured through the central electronic database. Individuals who were infected without recent international travel were defined as having domestic infections. RESULTS: Among 397 children and youths confirmed with COVID-19 infections, the mean (SD) age was 9.95 (5.34) years, 220 individuals (55.4%) were male, and 154 individuals (38.8%) were asymptomatic. There were significantly more individuals who were infected without symptoms in the second wave (59 of 118 individuals [50.0%]) and third wave (94 of 265 individuals [35.5%]) than in the first wave (1 of 14 individuals [7.1%]) (P = .001). Significantly fewer individuals who were infected in the second and third waves, compared with the first wave, had fever (first wave: 10 individuals [71.4%]; second wave: 22 individuals [18.5%]; third wave: 98 individuals [37.0%]; P < .001) or cough (first wave: 6 individuals [42.9%]; second wave: 15 individuals [12.7%]; third wave: 52 individuals [19.6%]; P = .02). Among all individuals, 394 individuals (99.2%) had mild illness. One patient developed chilblains (ie, COVID toes), 1 patient developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, and 1 patient developed post–COVID-19 autoimmune hemolytic anemia. In all 3 waves, 204 patients with COVID-19 (51.4%) had domestic infections. Among these individuals, 186 (91.2%) reported having a contact history with another individual with COVID-19, of which most (183 individuals [90.0%]) were family members. In the third wave, 18 individuals with domestic infections had unknown contact histories. Three schoolmates were confirmed with COVID-19 on the same day and were reported to be close contacts. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: his cross-sectional study found that nearly all children and youths with COVID-19 in Hong Kong had mild illness. These findings suggest that household transmission was the main source of infection for children and youths with domestic infections and that the risk of being infected at school was small

Sleep and academic performance in Hong Kong adolescents

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Lifestyle correlates of preference for sweet food in Hong Kong children

Poster Presentations: no. A42BACKGROUND: Sweetness preference is an important predictor of dietary practices and has been linked to unhealthy eating habits in adults. OBJECTIVE: To identify lifestyle factors associated with sweetness preference in Hong Kong children. METHODS: A lifestyle questionnaire was distributed to 105910 Primary 4 students (50.7% boys, mean age 10.0 (SD 0.7)) at the annual health examination conducted by Student Health Service in 1998-2000. Sweetness preference was assessed by “My attitude towards sweet food is”. Students with the option “I like them very much” were categorized as sweetness preference. A binary regression model was fitted to assess the associations between sweetness preference and 9 lifestyle factors, adjusted for sex, age, Body Mass Index and socio-economic proxies. RESULTS: Among the attendees, 37.6% reported sweetness preference. Sweetness preference was significantly associated with not eating breakfast or lunch at home, less frequently having dinner at home. More frequent junk food consumption (everyday vs never; OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.09-1.38), longer duration of TV watching (≥4h/day vs <1h/day; OR 1.60; 95% CI 1.52-1.68) and more frequently playing video/computer games (sometimes vs never; OR 1.38; 95% CI 1.31-1.45) were related to sweetness preference. Less frequent vegetable/fruit consumption (<once/week vs ≥3 times/day; OR 1.38; 95% CI 1.30-1.47), physical activities (never vs ≥ 3 times/week; OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.63-1.81) and teeth brushing (never vs ≥ 2/ day; OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.37-1.58) were strong predictors of sweetness preference. CONCLUSION: Unhealthy lifestyles were associated with sweetness preference among Hong Kong children