Associations between home gardening and obstructive sleep apnoea: role of behavioural factors in the COMmunity-based Behaviour and Attitude Study in Tuvalu (COMBAT).

Background: Tuvalu, like many Pacific Island nations, is facing a severe obesity epidemic, which is strongly associated with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) - a condition linked to multiple health complications and a growing public health burden. Lifestyle interventions such as home gardening have emerged as potential strategies to address obesity and its related conditions. We investigated the association between home gardening and OSA risk in Tuvalu and explored how behavioural and demographic factors may modify this relationship.

Sublobar Resection Versus Lobectomy for Small (≤3 cm) NSCLC with Visceral Pleural Invasion: A Propensity-Score-Matched Survival Analysis from a Nationwide Cohort.

: While sublobar resection (SLR) is accepted for selected small, early non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), its efficacy for tumors with visceral pleural invasion (VPI) remains debated. This study aimed to compare lung-cancer-specific survival (LCSS) between SLR and lobectomy in pT2a (tumor ≤ 3 cm with VPI) N0M0 NSCLCs from a nationwide population-based database. : This retrospective study utilized Taiwan Cancer Registry data from 2011 to 2018, selecting patients with pT2a (tumor ≤ 3 cm with VPI) N0M0 NSCLC that underwent SLR or lobectomy, with specific exclusion criteria.

Comparing Folic Acid Interventions and Arsenic Reduction Strategies for Neural Tube Defect Prevention in Bangladesh: A Systematic Review and Decision Analysis.

Background: Maternal intake of folic acid prevents most cases of neural tube defects (NTDs), and arsenic exposure may increase NTD risk. In Bangladesh, where arsenic exposures are high, understanding the potential impacts of arsenic reduction and folic acid-based interventions can guide decision-making.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of NTDs in Bangladesh.

Segmentectomy Versus Wedge Resection for Stage IA Lung Adenocarcinoma-A Population-Based Study.

Background: Sublobar resection (SLR), including segmentectomy and wedge resection (WR), is an alternative to lobectomy for early-stage lung cancer due to its potential benefits in preserving lung function. However, the comparative outcomes between segmentectomy and WR for stage IA lung adenocarcinoma are equivocal. This population-based study aimed to compare overall survival between segmentectomy and WR.

Gestational Weight Gain as a Modifiable Factor for the Impact of Preconceptional Maternal Shift Work on Postpartum Weight Retention.

Objectives: This study examined whether gestational weight gain (GWG) mediates the relationship between maternal shift work and postpartum weight retention (PPWR).

Methods: Mothers with singleton births in the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study were assessed for shift work, GWG, and PPWR. Propensity score matching balanced baseline characteristics.

Pre-pregnancy shift work's influence on postpartum weight retention: Body mass index's role.

Shift work is a prevalent workplace exposure, which increases the possibility of unhealthy behaviours and circadian rhythm disruptions and elevates the risk of metabolic diseases and adverse reproductive outcomes. But its potential of increasing the risk of postpartum weight retention remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the association between maternal shift work prior to conception and postpartum weight retention, and to identify modifiable factors during pregnancy for prevention.

Arsenic modifies the effect of folic acid in spina bifida prevention, a large hospital-based case-control study in Bangladesh.

Background: Spina bifida, a developmental malformation of the spinal cord, is associated with high rates of mortality and disability. Although folic acid-based preventive strategies have been successful in reducing rates of spina bifida, some areas continue to be at higher risk because of chemical exposures. Bangladesh has high arsenic exposures through contaminated drinking water and high rates of spina bifida.

Temporal trends of food consumption patterns in Tuvalu under the context of climate change: COMmunity-based Behavior and Attitude survey in Tuvalu (COMBAT) since 2020.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze temporal trends of food consumption patterns, attitudes, and health-related knowledge in Tuvalu, a small Pacific Island country facing the triple threat of obesity, climate change, and food insecurity.

Methods: Two waves of the COMmunity-based Behavior and Attitude (COMBAT) survey were conducted in 2020 and 2022. Descriptive characteristics of changes in obesity proportion, food intake, and sociodemographic factors were assessed.

Arsenic modifies the effect of folic acid in spina bifida prevention, a large hospital-based case-control study in Bangladesh.

Background: Spina bifida, a developmental malformation of the spinal cord, is associated with high rates of mortality and disability. Although folic acid-based preventive strategies have been successful in reducing rates of spina bifida, some areas continue to be at higher risk because of chemical exposures. Bangladesh has high arsenic exposures through contaminated drinking water and high rates of spina bifida.

Higher Imported Food Patterns Are Associated with Obesity and Severe Obesity in Tuvalu: A Latent Class Analysis.

Background: Tuvalu is a Pacific Island country within the small island developing states that has observed a significant and alarming increase in obesity rates over the past 40 years, affecting ∼60 %-70 % of the current population.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between food patterns and the proportion of obesity in a Pacific Island country.

Methods: The 2022 COMmunity-based Behavior and Attitude survey in Tuvalu (COMBAT) included 985 adults with complete data on sociodemographic information and the frequency of consumption of 25 common foods.

Association between Cesarean section delivery and increased risk of childhood Kawasaki disease.

Aim: Cesarean section delivery is associated with microbiota disruption and immuno-dysregulation during childhood, but the association with Kawasaki disease remains uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the association between Cesarean section and Kawasaki disease.

Methods: We examined the association between Kawasaki disease between six and eighteen months and Cesarean section within a birth cohort of 15,796 mother-infant pairs in Taiwan.

Exploring the link between home garden use and severe obesity: Insights from a nationwide survey in Tuvalu.

Background: Obesity is prevalent and increasing but understudied across Pacific Islanders. Tuvalu is a South Pacific country with a high obesity rate and faces multiple threats of food insecurity. Home garden serves as a sustainable food source and can be a possible intervention for the obesity pandemic in Tuvalu.

Association between maternal shift work during pregnancy child overweight and metabolic outcomes in early childhood.

Background: Previous studies found that maternal shift work during pregnancy was associated with many reproductive hazards, including small for gestational age, preterm birth, stillbirth, and neurodevelopmental impairment. Some studies also showed that these children are more likely to become overweight in early childhood. However, the association with metabolic factors, such as insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, was less studied.

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Essential Workers in a Community-Based Cohort in the United States.

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to identify the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection that are related to occupation type as well as workplace conditions. Identifying such risk factors could have noteworthy implications in workplace safety enhancement and emergency preparedness planning for essential workers.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of visits at a community-based SARS-CoV-2 testing site in the greater Boston area between March 18 and June 19, 2020, for individuals between 14 and 65 years of age.

Comparison of COVID-19 mitigation and decompression strategies among homeless shelters: a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of COVID-19 mitigation strategies in two homeless shelters in Massachusetts during the pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study that followed guests in two Massachusetts homeless shelters between March 30 and May 13, 2020, which adopted different depopulation strategies. One set up temporary tents in its parking lot, while the other decompressed its guests to a gym and a hotel.

Ambient temperature and subsequent COVID-19 mortality in the OECD countries and individual United States.

Epidemiological studies have yielded conflicting results regarding climate and incident SARS-CoV-2 infection, and seasonality of infection rates is debated. Moreover, few studies have focused on COVD-19 deaths. We studied the association of average ambient temperature with subsequent COVID-19 mortality in the OECD countries and the individual United States (US), while accounting for other important meteorological and non-meteorological co-variates.

Associations Between Infant Developmental Delays and Secondhand Smoke Exposure Modified by Maternal Prepregnancy Overweight and Obesity Status.

Introduction: Secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy has long been associated with adverse health outcomes in children, but only a few studies have examined its effect modifiers. In this study, we applied effect modification analysis for maternal prepregnancy weight status on detrimental neurodevelopmental effect of secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy and infancy in a nationwide representative population.

Aims And Methods: Term singleton mother-infant pairs with nonsmoking mothers were included for main analysis (N = 15 987) from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS), and were further matched with propensity score (n = 5434).

Associations between household incense burning and delayed motor development among preterm infants modified by gestational age and maternal educational status.

Background: Household incense burning is a common ritual behavior in the Asia-Pacific region but has been associated with inferior developmental outcomes in term infants. We aimed to examine these associations among preterm infants.

Methods: Information from 1190 mother-infant pairs during 6- and 18-month follow-up to the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study was examined for associations between household incense burning exposure and infant neurodevelopmental milestone achievement using multivariable Cox proportional hazard model with propensity score weighting, along with stratified, sensitivity, and decomposition analysis.

Work-related COVID-19 transmission in six Asian countries/areas: A follow-up study.

Objective: There is limited evidence of work-related transmission in the emerging coronaviral pandemic. We aimed to identify high-risk occupations for early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) local transmission.

Methods: In this observational study, we extracted confirmed COVID-19 cases from governmental investigation reports in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Association between maternal shift work and infant neurodevelopmental outcomes: results from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study with propensity-score-matching analysis.

Background: Maternal shift work is associated with preterm delivery, small-for-gestational-age new-borns, childhood obesity and future behavioural problems. However, the adverse effects on and interactions of maternal shift work with infant neurodevelopment remain uncertain. Therefore, we examined the associations between maternal-shift-work status and infant neurodevelopmental parameters.

Household incense burning and infant gross motor development: Results from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study.

Background: Air pollution from biomass burning were associated with neurodevelopmental deceleration, but limited studies concerned about the effect of indoor biomass burning. Incense burning is a common household ritual practice in Taiwan, while past studies mainly focused on birth weight and allergic disease.

Objectives: We aimed to find the association between incense burning exposure and children's neurodevelopment.