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  1. Article ; Online: Differences in aerosol chemistry at a regional background site in Hong Kong before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Huo, Yunxi / Yao, Dawen / Guo, Hai

    The Science of the total environment

    2024  Volume 926, Page(s) 171990

    Abstract: Restrictions on human-related activities implemented in Hong Kong to curb the spread ...

    Abstract Restrictions on human-related activities implemented in Hong Kong to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provided an opportunity to investigate the anthropogenic impact on organic aerosols (OA) composition. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of online measurements of non-refractory submicron particulate matters (NR-PM
    MeSH term(s) Humans ; Air Pollutants/analysis ; Hong Kong/epidemiology ; Pandemics ; Environmental Monitoring ; COVID-19 ; Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets ; Particulate Matter/analysis
    Chemical Substances Air Pollutants ; Particulate Matter
    Language English
    Publishing date 2024-03-25
    Publishing country Netherlands
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 121506-1
    ISSN 1879-1026 ; 0048-9697
    ISSN (online) 1879-1026
    ISSN 0048-9697
    DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171990
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  2. Article: Economic Value of Vaccines to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Xiong, Xuechen / Li, Jing / Huang, Bo / Tam, Tony / Hong, Yingyi / Chong, Ka-Chun / Huo, Zhaohua

    Vaccines

    2022  Volume 10, Issue 4

    Abstract: ... to provide evidence of the economic value of vaccines in Hong Kong. Method We developed a Markov model ... from a Hong Kong healthcare sector perspective to measure resource utilization, economic burden, and disease ... of the population of Hong Kong with two vaccine doses, was found to have a cost of HKD 22,339,700 per QALY gained ...

    Abstract Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed significant costs on economies. Safe and effective vaccines are a key tool to control the pandemic; however, vaccination programs can be costly. Are the benefits they bestow worth the costs they incur? The relative value of COVID-19 vaccines has not been widely assessed. In this study, a cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to provide evidence of the economic value of vaccines in Hong Kong. Method We developed a Markov model of COVID-19 infections using a susceptible-infected-recovered structure over a 1-year time horizon from a Hong Kong healthcare sector perspective to measure resource utilization, economic burden, and disease outcomes. The model consisted of two arms: do nothing and implement a vaccination program. We assessed effectiveness using units of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) to measure the incremental cost-effectiveness at a HKD 1,000,000/QALY threshold. Results The vaccination program, which has reached approximately 72% of the population of Hong Kong with two vaccine doses, was found to have a cost of HKD 22,339,700 per QALY gained from February 2021 to February 2022. At a willingness-to-pay threshold, the vaccination program was not cost-effective in the context of the low prevalence of COVID-19 cases before the Omicron wave. However, the cost-effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine is sensitive to the infection rate. Hong Kong is now experiencing the fifth wave of the Omicron. It is estimated that the ICER of the vaccination program from February 2022 to February 2023 was HKD 310,094. The vaccination program in Hong Kong was cost-effective in the context of the Omicron. Conclusions Vaccination programs incur a large economic burden, and we therefore need to acknowledge their limitations in the short term. This will help relevant departments implement vaccination programs. From a longer-term perspective, the vaccination program will show great cost-effectiveness once infection rates are high in a regional outbreak. Compared with other age groups, it is suggested that the elderly population should be prioritized to improve the vaccine coverage rate.
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-03-23
    Publishing country Switzerland
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 2703319-3
    ISSN 2076-393X
    ISSN 2076-393X
    DOI 10.3390/vaccines10040495
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  3. Article ; Online: Economic Value of Vaccines to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong

    Xuechen Xiong / Jing Li / Bo Huang / Tony Tam / Yingyi Hong / Ka-Chun Chong / Zhaohua Huo

    Vaccines, Vol 10, Iss 495, p

    A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

    2022  Volume 495

    Abstract: ... to provide evidence of the economic value of vaccines in Hong Kong. Method We developed a Markov model ... from a Hong Kong healthcare sector perspective to measure resource utilization, economic burden, and disease ... of the population of Hong Kong with two vaccine doses, was found to have a cost of HKD 22,339,700 per QALY gained ...

    Abstract Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed significant costs on economies. Safe and effective vaccines are a key tool to control the pandemic; however, vaccination programs can be costly. Are the benefits they bestow worth the costs they incur? The relative value of COVID-19 vaccines has not been widely assessed. In this study, a cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to provide evidence of the economic value of vaccines in Hong Kong. Method We developed a Markov model of COVID-19 infections using a susceptible–infected–recovered structure over a 1-year time horizon from a Hong Kong healthcare sector perspective to measure resource utilization, economic burden, and disease outcomes. The model consisted of two arms: do nothing and implement a vaccination program. We assessed effectiveness using units of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) to measure the incremental cost-effectiveness at a HKD 1,000,000/QALY threshold. Results The vaccination program, which has reached approximately 72% of the population of Hong Kong with two vaccine doses, was found to have a cost of HKD 22,339,700 per QALY gained from February 2021 to February 2022. At a willingness-to-pay threshold, the vaccination program was not cost-effective in the context of the low prevalence of COVID-19 cases before the Omicron wave. However, the cost-effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine is sensitive to the infection rate. Hong Kong is now experiencing the fifth wave of the Omicron. It is estimated that the ICER of the vaccination program from February 2022 to February 2023 was HKD 310,094. The vaccination program in Hong Kong was cost-effective in the context of the Omicron. Conclusions Vaccination programs incur a large economic burden, and we therefore need to acknowledge their limitations in the short term. This will help relevant departments implement vaccination programs. From a longer-term perspective, the vaccination program will show great cost-effectiveness once infection rates are high in a regional outbreak. ...
    Keywords vaccine ; cost-effectiveness ; economic analysis ; Hong Kong ; Medicine ; R
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher MDPI AG
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  4. Article ; Online: Emission characteristics, sources, and airborne fate of speciated organics in particulate matters in a Hong Kong residence.

    Huo, Yunxi / Guo, Hai / Lyu, Xiaopu / Yao, Dawen

    Indoor air

    2022  Volume 32, Issue 3, Page(s) e13017

    Abstract: ... In a Hong Kong residence where prescribed activities were performed with normal frequency and intensity, we found ...

    Abstract A growing number of studies warn of the adverse health effects of indoor particulate matters (PM). However, little is known about the molecular compositions and emission characteristics of PM-bound organics (OM) indoors, a critical group of species with highest concentration and complexity in indoor PM. In a Hong Kong residence where prescribed activities were performed with normal frequency and intensity, we found that the activities significantly elevated not only the total concentration but also the fraction of OM in indoor PM. However, the concentration of the total PM-bound OM outdoors (10.3 ± 0.7 μg/m
    MeSH term(s) Air Pollutants/analysis ; Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis ; Environmental Monitoring ; Hong Kong ; Particle Size ; Particulate Matter/analysis
    Chemical Substances Air Pollutants ; Particulate Matter
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-03-28
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
    ZDB-ID 1081722-0
    ISSN 1600-0668 ; 0905-6947
    ISSN (online) 1600-0668
    ISSN 0905-6947
    DOI 10.1111/ina.13017
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  5. Article ; Online: Equality and social determinants of spatial accessibility, availability, and affordability to primary health care in Hong Kong, a descriptive study from the perspective of spatial analysis.

    Xiong, Xuechen / Li, Victor Jing / Huang, Bo / Huo, Zhaohua

    BMC health services research

    2022  Volume 22, Issue 1, Page(s) 1364

    Abstract: ... to it in Hong Kong.: Method: This constitutes a descriptive study from the perspective of spatial analysis ... of residents in Hong Kong can reach a PHC institution within 15 minutes; in terms of availability, 83 ... can afford PHC services with the support of medical insurance and medical voucher. In Hong ...

    Abstract Objective: Primary health care (PHC) is widely perceived to be the backbone of health care systems. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, PHC has not only provided primary medical services, but also served as a grassroots network for public health. Our research explored the accessibility, availability, and affordability of primary health care from a spatial perspective, to understand the social determinants affecting access to it in Hong Kong.
    Method: This constitutes a descriptive study from the perspective of spatial analysis. The nearest neighbor method was used to measure the geographic accessibility of PHC based on the road network. The 2SFCA method was used to measure spatial availability and affordability to primary health care, while the SARAR model, Spatial Error model, and Spatial Lag model were then constructed to explain potential factors influencing accessibility and availability of PHC.
    Results: In terms of accessibility, 95% of residents in Hong Kong can reach a PHC institution within 15 minutes; in terms of availability, 83% of residents can receive PHC service within a month; while in terms of affordability, only 32% of residents can afford PHC services with the support of medical insurance and medical voucher. In Hong Kong, education status and household income show a significant impact on accessibility and availability of PHC. Regions with higher concentrations of residents with post-secondary education receive more PHC resources, while regions with higher concentrations of high-income households show poorer accessibility and poorer availability to PHC.
    Conclusion: The good accessibility and availability of primary health care reflects that the network layout of existing PHC systems in Hong Kong is reasonable and can meet the needs of most residents. No serious gap between social groups further shows equality in resource allocation of PHC in Hong Kong. However, affordability of PHC is not ideal. Indeed, narrowing the gap between availability and affordability is key to fully utilizing the capacity of the PHC system in Hong Kong. The private sector plays an important role in this, but the low coverage of medical insurance in outpatient services exacerbates the crowding of public PHC and underutilization of private PHC. We suggest diverting patients from public to private institutions through medical insurance, medical vouchers, or other ways, to relieve the pressure on the public health system and make full use of existing primary health care in Hong Kong.
    MeSH term(s) Humans ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; COVID-19/epidemiology ; Hong Kong/epidemiology ; Primary Health Care ; Social Determinants of Health ; Spatial Analysis ; Health Services Accessibility ; Healthcare Disparities
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-11-17
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 2050434-2
    ISSN 1472-6963 ; 1472-6963
    ISSN (online) 1472-6963
    ISSN 1472-6963
    DOI 10.1186/s12913-022-08760-2
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  6. Article ; Online: Contributions of indoor household activities to inhalation health risks induced by gaseous air pollutants in Hong Kong home

    Zeng, Lewei / Li, Kaimin / Guo, Hai / Zhou, Beining / Lyu, Xiaopu / Huo, Yunxi / Uhde, Erik / Jin, Yang / Zeren, Yangzong / Lu, Haoxian / Yao, Dawen / Qian, Zhe

    2023  

    Abstract: ... in a Hong Kong residential apartment from October to December 2019. Emissions of nine typical household ...

    Abstract To understand inhalation health risks at home, a comprehensive sampling campaign was conducted in a Hong Kong residential apartment from October to December 2019. Emissions of nine typical household activities, household background release and outdoor pollution were continuously monitored using a suite of the state-of-the-art instruments. Health risks were evaluated in each one-year exposure period. Acrolein and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) likely caused chronic non-carcinogenic risks to residents in all exposure stages. Furthermore, the health risk of the respiratory system was proved in all age groups. For the first time, several household activities were found to cause acute health risks due to exposure to formaldehyde, benzene, NO2 and acrolein in normal urban daily life. The probability distributions of cancer risks from household activities revealed that formaldehyde was the main carcinogen with an average risk of 2.00 × 10–4, followed by benzene, acetaldehyde, ethylbenzene and dichlorobenzene. Among all indoor activities, incense burning was the largest contributor to total cancer risk (46%), as this source was respectively responsible for 47%, 54%, and 39% of cancer risks from formaldehyde, benzene, and acetaldehyde, followed by cooking and smoking. Notably, source-related health risk analysis showed that household background release dominated regardless of cancer risk (35.7–58.5%) or non-carcinogenic risk (57.1%). Further, the cancer risk from birth to 18 years was approximately 1.8–2.7 times that of 18–60 and 60–85 years of age. This study shed light on health risks posed by various household activities and highlighted the importance of indoor activities and household background release on acute and chronic health risks.

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    Keywords indoor air pollution ; household activities ; non-carcinogenic health risk ; incremental lifetime cancer risk ; hazardous air pollutants
    Subject code 333
    Language English
    Publishing date 2023-09-01
    Publishing country de
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  7. Article ; Online: Real-time molecular characterization of air pollutants in a Hong Kong residence: Implication of indoor source emissions and heterogeneous chemistry.

    Lyu, Xiaopu / Huo, Yunxi / Yang, Jin / Yao, Dawen / Li, Kaimin / Lu, Haoxian / Zeren, Yangzong / Guo, Hai

    Indoor air

    2021  Volume 31, Issue 5, Page(s) 1340–1352

    Abstract: ... mimicking ordinary Hong Kong homes. More than 150 air pollutants were detected at molecular level, 87 ...

    Abstract Due to the high health risks associated with indoor air pollutants and long-term exposure, indoor air quality has received increasing attention. In this study, we put emphasis on the molecular composition, source emissions, and chemical aging of air pollutants in a residence with designed activities mimicking ordinary Hong Kong homes. More than 150 air pollutants were detected at molecular level, 87 of which were quantified at a time resolution of not less than 1 hour. The indoor-to-outdoor ratios were higher than 1 for most of the primary air pollutants, due to emissions of indoor activities and indoor backgrounds (especially for aldehydes). In contrast, many secondary air pollutants exhibited higher concentrations in outdoor air. Painting ranked first in aldehyde emissions, which also caused great enhancement of aromatics. Incense burning had the highest emissions of particle-phase organics, with vanillic acid and syringic acid as markers. The other noteworthy fingerprints enabled by online measurements included linoleic acid, cholesterol, and oleic acid for cooking, 2,5-dimethylfuran, stigmasterol, iso-/anteiso-alkanes, and fructose isomers for smoking, C
    MeSH term(s) Air Pollutants/analysis ; Air Pollution, Indoor/statistics & numerical data ; Cooking ; Environmental Monitoring ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Particle Size ; Particulate Matter ; Vehicle Emissions
    Chemical Substances Air Pollutants ; Particulate Matter ; Vehicle Emissions
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-03-26
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Review
    ZDB-ID 1081722-0
    ISSN 1600-0668 ; 0905-6947
    ISSN (online) 1600-0668
    ISSN 0905-6947
    DOI 10.1111/ina.12826
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  8. Article ; Online: Impact of Green Innovation Efficiency on Carbon Emission Reduction in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA

    Lingming Chen / Congjia Huo

    Sustainability, Vol 13, Iss 13450, p

    2021  Volume 13450

    Abstract: ... The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) has been at the forefront of China in terms of economy ... the carbon emission intensity of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, and has passed quantitative verification ... Based on the panel data of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA from 2009 to 2019, we used the super ...

    Abstract Climate change has become a global issue of general concern to human society. It is not only an environmental issue, but also a development issue. As the second largest economy in the world, China has adhered to its commitments in the Paris Agreement and formulated a series of autonomous action targets. In this context, scholars have done a lot of research focusing on carbon emission reduction, but have neglected the spatial correlation of carbon emission, and lack of research on carbon emission reduction in urban agglomerations. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) has been at the forefront of China in terms of economy, politics, ecology, and civilization by taking advantage of the “one country, two systems” policy. This article innovatively proposes that there is a non-linear relationship between the efficiency of green innovation and the carbon emission intensity of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, and has passed quantitative verification. Based on the panel data of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA from 2009 to 2019, we used the super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model to measure the efficiency of green innovation. We used the global Moran index and Theil index to discuss the spatial correlation of carbon emissions and regional differences in carbon emission intensity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, respectively. Then, we used the threshold model to verify the nonlinear relationship between the efficiency of green innovation and the intensity of carbon emissions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA. The results of the study found that the green innovation efficiency of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA is increasing overall, carbon emissions have a certain spatial correlation, and the correlation is low overall. The impact of green innovation efficiency on carbon emission intensity has a non-linear relationship and there is an “inverted U” pattern between the two, and there is an inflection point in green innovation efficiency. Based on this, this article proposes carbon emission reduction measures within a reasonable range, and looks forward to future research directions and complement the research deficiencies.
    Keywords green innovation efficiency ; carbon emission reduction ; Moran index ; SBM model ; threshold model ; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA (GBA) ; Environmental effects of industries and plants ; TD194-195 ; Renewable energy sources ; TJ807-830 ; Environmental sciences ; GE1-350
    Subject code 338
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher MDPI AG
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  9. Article ; Online: Hong Kong Liver Cancer Staging System Is Associated With Better Performance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Special Emphasis on Viral Etiology.

    Liu, Po-Hong / Hsu, Chia-Yang / Lee, Yun-Hsuan / Su, Chien-Wei / Hsia, Cheng-Yuan / Huang, Yi-Hsiang / Chiou, Yi-You / Lin, Han-Chieh / Huo, Teh-Ia

    Medicine

    2015  Volume 94, Issue 41, Page(s) e1772

    Abstract: Hong Kong Liver Cancer (HKLC) staging system was developed for prognostic and treatment evaluation ...

    Abstract Hong Kong Liver Cancer (HKLC) staging system was developed for prognostic and treatment evaluation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but is not externally validated. We aimed to evaluate and compare HKLC system with Barcelona Clínic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system. The prognostic performance, discriminatory ability, and efficacy of treatment recommendations were compared between the BCLC and HKLC systems. Significant differences in survival were found across all stages of BCLC and across stages I to IV of HKLC systems (P < 0.01). HKLC system was associated with higher homogeneity in prognostic accuracy. The survival was similar between patients treated according to the HKLC or BCLC system (P = 0.07). However, more patients were treated according to HKLC recommendations than to BCLC recommendations (57% vs. 47%, P < 0.001). In a hypothetical cohort created by random sampling, patients treated according to the HKLC scheme had better survival compared with patients treated according to the BCLC system (P < 0.001).Subgroup analyses between hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC were performed. More HCV-related HCC were at earlier BCLC or HKLC stages (both P < 0.001). The HKLC system was more informative with greater homogeneity in predicting survival in both HBV and HCV cohorts. However, HKLC treatment recommendations were associated with better long-term survival only in HBV-related HCC but not in HCV-related HCC (P < 0.001 and P = 0.79, respectively).In conclusion, we provided external validation of the HKLC system. Compared with the BCLC system, the HKLC system has better prognostic accuracy and therapeutic efficacy in the entire cohort and in HBV-related HCC but not in HCV-related HCC. Due to high heterogeneity among patients of various etiologies, staging and treatment strategies tailored to specific HCC etiology are required.
    MeSH term(s) Aged ; Algorithms ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/virology ; Female ; Hepacivirus ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology ; Liver Neoplasms/therapy ; Liver Neoplasms/virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging/methods ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis
    Language English
    Publishing date 2015-07-02
    Publishing country United States
    Document type Comparative Study ; Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Validation Study
    ZDB-ID 80184-7
    ISSN 1536-5964 ; 0025-7974
    ISSN (online) 1536-5964
    ISSN 0025-7974
    DOI 10.1097/MD.0000000000001772
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  10. Article ; Online: Assessing the quantitative impact of suicide on life expectancy in Hong Kong: 1986-2006.

    Law, Chi-Kin / Yip, Paul Siu-Fai / Huo, Yun

    Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research

    2010  Volume 14, Issue 3, Page(s) 284–290

    Abstract: ... in Hong Kong. The life-table approach is to assess the impact at a population level. It shows that the impact ...

    Abstract It is important to have a more complete understanding of the social and economic burden associated with suicide mortality. Apart from the usual year of life lost (YLL), we propose an alternative method, a life table approach to assess the impact of suicide and compare with the YLL approach from 1986 to 2006 in Hong Kong. The life-table approach is to assess the impact at a population level. It shows that the impact of suicides increased from 0.52% (0.30 years) to 0.62% (0.38 years) of life span for males aged 18 while the same figure for females kept at 0.4% (0.30 years) of lifespan over the period. A comparison with the YLL and some discussion are also given.
    MeSH term(s) Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Cause of Death ; Female ; Hong Kong/epidemiology ; Humans ; Life Expectancy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Population Surveillance ; Registries ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Distribution ; Suicide/statistics & numerical data ; Urban Population/statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult
    Language English
    Publishing date 2010
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 1283671-0
    ISSN 1543-6136 ; 1381-1118
    ISSN (online) 1543-6136
    ISSN 1381-1118
    DOI 10.1080/13811118.2010.494148
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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