Suchergebnisse

Study objective - To identify factors associated with smoking behaviour in primary school children in Hong Kong. Design - A cross sectional survey in which both children and parents completed questionnaires. The main outcome measure was the smoking status of the children; and risk factors (knowledge of and attitude to smoking and demographic and socioeconomic background) were identified as predictors of ever/never smoking. Setting and subjects - Altogether 9598 primary school children, aged 8-13 years, and attending 27 schools from two districts in Hong Kong participated. Main results - The prevalence of ever-smoking was 12% (1119)-15% (760) in boys and 7% (359) in girls. It ranged from 3% in 8 year old girls to 52% in 13 year old boys. The factors associated with ever-smoking included the following: being a boy (adjusted odds ratio 2.21; 95% confidence interval 1.89, 2.59), increasing age per year (1.48; 1.40, 1.57), living in Kwai Tsing district (1.29; 1.10, 1.50), having one or more smokers at home (2.07; 1.78, 2.39), and having a father who was not working (1.41; 1.19, 1.67). Children who were ever-smokers had both seen and approved of their friends) smoking (8.79; 5.33, 14.50), had a more positive attitude towards smoking (3.35; 2.21, 5.09), and were more successful in recognising cigarette brand names and logos (1.67; 1.42, 1.96), but they lacked confidence (1.78; 1.32, 2.39). Conclusions - The influences on child smoking are multifactorial and programmes in Hong Kong are failing to curb them. The control of these risk factors must be incorporated in the smoking prevention policy of Hong Kong and supported by future enforced legislation. ; published_or_final_version

Objective. To describe changes of the epidemiological profile of suicides in Hong Kong, and the burden of suicides in terms of years of life lost between 1981 and 2001. Design. Retrospective study. Setting. Hong Kong. Participants. Data on registered deaths of the Hong Kong population from 1981 to 2001 were retrieved from records of the Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Main outcome measures. Crude, standardised, age- and sex-standardised suicide rates; years of life lost; suicide method used; and rank among leading causes of death. Results. Suicide ranked sixth in the leading cause of deaths and represented about 3% of all deaths each year. The suicide rate has increased from 9.6 per 100 000 to 15 per 100 000 between 1981 and 2001. The total years of life lost due to suicide increased by 96.0%, from about 9900 years in 1981 to 19 400 years in 2001, whereas the figure for all causes of death decreased by 14.0%, from 274 600 years to 236 700 years. The total share of years of life lost attributable to suicide deaths has increased from 3.6% to 8.1% and is still increasing, especially among in the middle age-groups (30-59 years). The use of charcoal burning as a suicide method has increased from 6.0% before 1998 to more than 28.0% in 2001. Conclusion. The burden on the years of life lost due to suicide is underestimated and overlooked. The increase of suicides in recent years has had a significant impact on the years of life lost and can be used as a useful indicator of performance in Hong Kong. ; published_or_final_version

In the present review, the main objective was to describe the epidemiology and clinical features of ciguatera fish poisoning in Hong Kong. From 1989 to 2008, the annual incidence of ciguatera varied between 3.3 and 64.9 (median 10.2) per million people. The groupers have replaced the snappers as the most important cause of ciguatera. Pacific-ciguatoxins (CTX) are most commonly present in reef fish samples implicated in ciguatera outbreaks. In affected subjects, the gastrointestinal symptoms often subside within days, whereas the neurological symptoms can persist for weeks or even months. Bradycardia and hypotension, which can be life-threatening, are common. Treatment of ciguatera is primarily supportive and symptomatic. Intravenous mannitol (1 g/kg) has also been suggested. To prevent ciguatera outbreaks, the public should be educated to avoid eating large coral reef fishes, especially the CTX-rich parts. A Code of Practice on Import and Sale of Live Marine Fish for Human Consumption for Prevention and Control of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning was introduced from 2004 to 2013. The Food Safety Ordinance with a tracing mechanism came into full effect in February 2012. The Government would be able to trace the sources of the fishes more effectively and take prompt action when dealing with ciguatera incidents.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of passive smoking at work in the whole workforce in Hong Kong (population 6.8 million), the characteristics of the passive smokers, any extra use of health care among passive smokers, and who pays for that health care. Methods: A random sample of 14 325 households was contacted by telephone; 6186 responding adults who worked full time were asked about their employment, their most recent use of health care and the cost of that care, their medical benefits, and their exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. After weighting the sample for sex, age, household size, and income, 4739 subjects were included in the analysis. Results: Of 1961 full time workers who did not smoke, 47.5% were exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace compared with only 26% exposed at home. Exposure at work was associated with being younger, male, married, less educated, and having a lower income. Those exposed at work were 37% more likely to report having visited a doctor for a respiratory illness in the previous 14 days. Employers were paying 28% of the cost of these visits, the government paid 8%, and the individuals paid 63%. If extrapolated to the 3 million workers in the Hong Kong population, employers would pay just over US$9 million per year, while the affected workers would pay around US$20 million. Conclusion: As well as the costs of active smoking, the cost of extra health care utilisation associated with passive smoking is an additional cost being paid by those employers who have not established smoke free workplaces and by their employees. ; published_or_final_version

In the present review, the main objective was to describe the epidemiology and clinical features of ciguatera fish poisoning in Hong Kong. From 1989 to 2008, the annual incidence of ciguatera varied between 3.3 and 64.9 (median 10.2) per million people. The groupers have replaced the snappers as the most important cause of ciguatera. Pacific-ciguatoxins (CTX) are most commonly present in reef fish samples implicated in ciguatera outbreaks. In affected subjects, the gastrointestinal symptoms often subside within days, whereas the neurological symptoms can persist for weeks or even months. Bradycardia and hypotension, which can be life-threatening, are common. Treatment of ciguatera is primarily supportive and symptomatic. Intravenous mannitol (1 g/kg) has also been suggested. To prevent ciguatera outbreaks, the public should be educated to avoid eating large coral reef fishes, especially the CTX-rich parts. A Code of Practice on Import and Sale of Live Marine Fish for Human Consumption for Prevention and Control of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning was introduced from 2004 to 2013. The Food Safety Ordinance with a tracing mechanism came into full effect in February 2012. The Government would be able to trace the sources of the fishes more effectively and take prompt action when dealing with ciguatera incidents.

Nach der Kapitulation Japans 1945 zählte Hongkong 600.000 an der Armutsgrenze lebende Einwohner. 1990 weist die Statistik für eine zehnmal so große Bevölkerung einen durchschnittlichen Lebensstandard aus, der mit dem der südlichen EG-Mitgliedsländer vergleichbar ist und voraussichtlich demnächst höher als der Lebensstandard in Großbritannien liegen wird. Wilson, Korrespondent der "Financial Times" und Herausgeber von "China Quarterly" und "Far Eastern Economic Review", versucht in seiner Arbeit die Faktoren für Hongkongs Wirtschaftserfolg zu definieren. Ein abschließendes Kapitel beschäftigt sich mit den Zukunftsaussichten Hongkongs nach dessen Rückkehr unter die Oberhoheit Chinas im Jahre 1997. (Österreich. Forschungsstiftung f. Entwicklungshilfe)