Intimacy during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey examining the impact of COVID-19 on the sexual practices and dating app usage of people living in Hong Kong

BACKGROUND: Little attention has been paid to understanding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on sexual practices and dating app usage among the Chinese population. To fill this gap, we examined the sexual practices and dating app usage of Hong Kong residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: An online survey was developed to collect data, and the participants were recruited via online social media. The respondents were asked to report on their sexual practices and dating app usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: In total, 249 participants met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. We found that more than 70% of the participants began masturbating more. Almost half of the participants reported decreases in various sexual activities with sexual partners, including vaginal, anal and oral sex. The vast majority of the study participants also reported a decline in sexual activities with casual partners, regular non-romantic partners and sex workers. Meanwhile, dating apps were used more frequently for chatting/texting, swapping photos, sexting and virtual dating. More than 50% of the participants reported less use of dating apps for face-to-face dates and sexual encounters. CONCLUSION: It is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding public health measures impacted the sexual practices and dating app usage of Hong Kong residents

Editorial : Psychiatric disorders of chronic physical diseases

202410 bcchVersion of RecordSelf-fundedPublishedC

Breastfeeding and childhood hospitalizations for asthma: evidence from Hong Kong’s 'Children of 1997' birth cohort

Poster Session 1 - Respiratory: no. 205Observational studies, largely from Western settings, show that breastfeeding is associated with lower risk of asthma in the first few years of life. Breastfeeding and asthma in Western settings share social patterning, making these observations open to confounding. A cluster randomized trial in Belarus (PROBIT) showed no effect of the promotion of breastfeeding on childhood asthma up to age 6.5 years. However, its generalizability is uncertain. To clarify the role of breastfeeding in asthma, we examined the association of breastfeeding with asthma in a developed non-Western setting with little clear social patterning of breastfeeding or asthma. Using Cox regression, we examined the adjusted association of breastfeeding with public hospital admissions for asthma from birth to 6 years of age in the “Children of 1997” birth cohort, a population-representative prospective cohort of 8,327 Hong Kong Chinese children born in 1997. Children who had been exclusively breastfed for >/=3 months, compared to never breastfed, did not have lower risk of hospitalization for asthma (hazard ratio (HR) 1.25 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.70, 2.21]), nor did those who had been partially breastfed for any length of time or exclusively breastfed for < 3 months (HR 1.10 [95% CI: 0.80, 1.52]), adjusted for sex, birth weight, gestational age, mode of delivery, birth order, maternal age, secondhand smoke exposure and markers of socioeconomic position. Similar to our previous findings on the associations of breastfeeding with childhood adiposity and blood pressure, our results were consistent with the PROBIT trial, which showed no effect of breastfeeding on the risk of childhood asthma (cluster adjusted odds ratio 1.2 [95% CI: 0.7, 1.9]). These null findings from a developed non-Western setting further indicate that observed associations of breastfeeding and asthma may be contextually specific rather than biologically based

COVID-19 and health-related quality of life : a community-based online survey in Hong Kong

202109 bcvcVersion of RecordPublishe

Aspirin Resistance and Adverse Clinical Events in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Purpose: We sought to determine the clinical significance of aspirin resistance measured by a point-of-care assay in stable patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: We used the VerifyNow Aspirin (Accumetrics Inc, San Diego, Calif) to determine aspirin responsiveness of 468 stable CAD patients on aspirin 80 to 325 mg daily for ≥4 weeks. Aspirin resistance was defined as an Aspirin Reaction Unit ≥550. The primary outcome was the composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina requiring hospitalization, stroke, and transient ischemic attack. Results: Aspirin resistance was noted in 128 (27.4%) patients. After a mean follow-up of 379 ± 200 days, patients with aspirin resistance were at increased risk of the composite outcome compared to patients who were aspirin-sensitive (15.6% vs 5.3%, hazard ratio [HR] 3.12, 95% confidence intervals [CI], 1.65-5.91, P < .001). Cox proportional hazard regression modeling identified aspirin resistance, diabetes, prior MI, and a low hemoglobin to be independently associated with major adverse long-term outcomes (HR for aspirin resistance 2.46, 95% CI, 1.27-4.76, P = .007). Conclusions: Aspirin resistance, defined by an aggregation-based rapid platelet function assay, is associated with an increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes in stable patients with CAD. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Low-dose aspirin increases aspirin resistance in patients with coronary artery disease

PURPOSE: We sought to investigate the association of aspirin dose and aspirin resistance in stable coronary artery disease patients measured by a point-of-care assay. METHODS: We studied 468 consecutive stable coronary artery disease patients in a referral cardiac center who were taking aspirin 80 to 325 mg daily for ≥4 weeks. The VerifyNow Aspirin (Ultegra RPFA-ASA, Accumetrics Inc, San Diego, Calif) was used to determine aspirin responsiveness. An aspirin reaction unit (ARU) ≥550 indicates the absence of aspirin-induced platelet dysfunction, based on correlation with epinephrine-induced light transmission aggregometry. Demographic and clinical data were collected to analyze the predictors of aspirin resistance. RESULTS: Aspirin resistance was noted in 128 (27.4%) patients. Univariate predictors of aspirin resistance include elderly (P = 0.002), women (P <0.001), anemia (P <0.001), renal insufficiency (P = 0.009) and aspirin dose ≤100mg (P = 0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed hemoglobin (odds ratio [OR] 0.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51 to 0.69; P <0.001) and aspirin dose ≤100 mg (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.12 to 4.44; P = 0.022) to be independent predictors of aspirin resistance. Daily aspirin dose ≤ 100 mg was associated with increased prevalence of aspirin resistance compared with 150 mg and 300 mg daily (30.2% vs 16.7% vs 0%, P = 0.0062). CONCLUSION: A 100 mg or less daily dose of aspirin, which may have lower side effects, is associated with a higher incidence of aspirin resistance in patients with coronary artery disease. Prospective randomized studies are warranted to elucidate the optimal aspirin dosage for preventing ischemic complications of atherothrombotic disease. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Relation of aspirin resistance to coronary flow reserve in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary Intervention

Previous studies have shown that more complete platelet inhibition improves the coronary flow reserve (CFR), a measure of microvascular integrity, in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We hypothesized that patients with aspirin resistance would have impaired CFR after elective PCI. We used VerifyNow Aspirin to determine the response to aspirin in 117 consecutive patients who underwent elective single-lesion PCI. The assay results are expressed quantitatively in Aspirin Reaction Units based on the degree of platelet aggregation. All patients received a 300-mg loading dose of clopidogrel >12 hours before and a 75-mg maintenance dose the morning of PCI. CFR was estimated using the Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction frame count method. Of the 117 patients, 22 (18.8%) were aspirin resistant. The clinical, angiographic, and procedural characteristics of the aspirin-sensitive and -resistant patients were balanced. All patients underwent successful PCI with <50% residual diameter stenosis and Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction grade 3 flow after PCI. Aspirin-resistant patients had a lower CFR than the aspirin-sensitive patients (1.42 ± 0.35 vs 1.80 ± 0.64, p = 0.018). Univariate correlates of CFR included the Aspirin Reaction Unit (r = -0.227, p = 0.014) and post-PCI creatine kinase-MB elevation (p = 0.048). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed the Aspirin Reaction Unit to be the only independent determinant of CFR after PCI (r2 = 0.051, p = 0.014). Thus, aspirin resistance was associated with impaired CFR in patients who underwent elective PCI, implicating insufficient aspirin-induced platelet inhibition as a cause of microvascular dysfunction by distal atherothrombotic embolization and/or spasm. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Multiphase optimization of a multicomponent intervention for informal dementia caregivers : a study protocol

202409 bcchVersion of RecordOthersHealth and Medical Research Fund, Research Fund Secretariat, Health Bureau Hong KongPublishedC

A randomized controlled trial on the effects and acceptability of individual mindfulness techniques - meditation and yoga - on anxiety and depression in people with Parkinson's disease : a study protocol

202310 bckwVersion of RecordRGCPublishe