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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Studies using the a priori dietary pattern approach have been criticized for the heterogeneity of their scoring methods. This review aimed to evaluate the evidence on the association between a priori dietary patterns and CVD incidence in recent adult population-based studies. Similar to the conclusions of previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses, our review found that the majority of recent studies suggested that Mediterranean diet (6 out of 10 studies), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet (4 out of 6 studies), Dietary Guidelines-based (11 out of 13 studies) patterns, and other emerging dietary patterns, including carbohydrate quality, Dietary Inflammatory Index, Plant-based Diet Index and Healthy Nordic Food Index, were cardioprotective in the general population; however, there was substantial heterogeneity among the studies, possibly due to differences in scoring methods and analytical approaches used and inclusion of different confounders, as well as other methodological drawbacks, such as low numbers of cases and short follow-up periods. Future studies should simultaneously examine and compare multiple a priori dietary patterns in a specific population using a uniform statistical approach. A consensus on the scoring methods for each a priori dietary pattern is also necessary.

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Sarcopenia, defined as a progressive loss of muscle mass and reduced muscle strength and functional capacity, is common among older adults. This study aimed to assess the proportion of people at risk of sarcopenia and probable sarcopenia among Chinese community-dwelling older adults living alone and to identify the associated factors. A total of 390 older adults were included in this study. Sarcopenia and probable sarcopenia were defined according to the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, health status, health behaviours and lifestyle characteristics, nutritional status, physical activity level, and depressive symptoms were collected. The association between these characteristics and sarcopenia risk was analysed using a multivariate ordinal logistic regression. The proportion of subjects at risk of sarcopenia and probable sarcopenia was found to be 57.7% and 30%, respectively. Older age, being malnourished and being at risk of malnutrition were significantly associated with sarcopenia risk. Being educated to secondary level or above, being overweight or obese and higher physical activity level were associated with decreased sarcopenia risk. Our results showed that older adults living alone were at high risk of developing sarcopenia and probable sarcopenia. These results emphasise the urgent need to initiate aggressive screening and holistic lifestyle therapeutic intervention strategies for this high-risk population.

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Oral mucositis is a painful and distressing complication of chemotherapy-induced toxicity in cancer patients that can develop early during the treatment regimen. Previous studies have demonstrated that both oxidative stress and inflammation play a role in the development of the ulceration that is a characteristic of oral mucositis. To date, a few studies have investigated the effect of this complication on the well-being of patients, demonstrating its negative impact on patients' functional ability and quality of life. This effect may entail chemotherapeutic drug dose reduction among patients, in turn reducing their cancer survival rates. Therefore, interventions to address the detrimental effects of oral mucositis on the well-being of cancer patients are required. This review provides an overview of the studies that have examined the negative effects of oral mucositis on Chinese cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, as well as the interventions shown to be effective in treating this complication, with a focus on interventions utilizing traditional Chinese medicine. Overall, both traditional Chinese medicine-based interventions and interventions involving patient education about effective oral care led by trained nurses were found to be useful in reducing the incidence and severity of oral mucositis among Chinese patients undergoing chemotherapy. Future oral mucositis management plans aiming at effective oral care among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy should incorporate these types of interventions as integral components to enhance the well-being of these patients.

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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Great discrepancies exist in results from studies examining the association between dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in different populations. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) 2013, Mediterranean-DASH diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND), Paleolithic and Okinawan dietary patterns and CVD respectively. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this cross-sectional secondary analysis of the 2011-12 Australian Health Survey, adults who self-reported physician-diagnosed CVD, completed two multiple-pass 24 h recalls and had no missing data on all confounders were analysed (weighted n = 5376; 295 CVD cases). Dietary intake was transformed to represent usual intake by the multiple source method. The score of Healthy Eating Index for Australian Adults (HEIFA-2013) was adopted for ADG 2013, while the scores of MIND, Paleolithic and Okinawan dietary patterns were constructed by separating the intake of each predefined food and nutrient into quintiles. The associations between the dietary patterns (as tertiles of scores) and CVD were examined using binary logistic regression adjusted for significant cardiovascular risk factors. Higher adherence to the Okinawan diet pattern was significantly associated with a reduced prevalence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) (OR per unit increase in dietary pattern score: 0.94, 95%CI: 0.90-0.98). Comparing its extreme tertiles, the OR was 0.49 (95%CI: 0.29-0.82; ptrend < 0.01). The associations between HEIFA-2013, MIND and Paleolithic diet patterns and CVD were insignificant. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested an inverse association between adherence to Okinawan dietary pattern and prevalence of IHD in Australian adults.

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BACKGROUND: Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of ongoing communication among patients, family and health care professionals regarding what plans for future care are preferred in the event that patients become unable to make their own decisions. Clinicians play an important role in ACP as both initiators and decision coaches. However, lack of training for clinicians has frequently been reported as the reason for low involvement in ACP discussions - hence the present review evaluates the effectiveness of ACP training programs for healthcare professionals to guide the development of novel training programs for them in the future. METHODS: A literature search for intervention studies was conducted independently by two reviewers in July 2018. Participants included all healthcare professionals working with adult patients suffering from terminal illness. The primary outcomes were the professionals' knowledge of and attitudes towards ACP, and self-perceived competence in ACP conversations. The Effective Public Health Practice Project appraisal tool was used to examine the quality of the studies included. RESULTS: A total of 4025 articles were identified, and ten eligible articles, covering 1081 participants, were included in the review. However, there is a lack of high quality randomized controlled trials of providing ACP training for nurses working in non-palliative care hospital settings. The overall quality of the intervention studies was moderate. All the studies included used instructional sessions in their interventions, while some contained group discussion, role-play and the use of advanced technology. The training programs increased the knowledge, attitudes towards shared decision-making, perceived communication skills, confidence, comfort and experiences concerned with discussing end-of-life (EOL) issues. Patient advocacy, job satisfaction and perceived level of adequate training for EOL care were improved. The use of 'decision aids' was rated as acceptable and clinically useful. CONCLUSIONS: Training for healthcare professionals in ACP has positive effects on their knowledge, attitude and skills. The use of decision aids and advanced technology, instructional sessions with role play, training content focused on ACP communication skills and the needs and experience of patient in the ACP process, and a values-based ACP process are all those factors that made the ACP training programs effective.

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BACKGROUND: Although China is undergoing rapid economic development, it is facing an ageing population. No data exists on malnutrition risks of older adults in an affluent Chinese society. The aim of this study is to examine these risks and identify their associated factors among home-living older Chinese adults in Hong Kong. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, to which home-living subjects aged 60 or above were recruited, between May and September 2017, from a non-governmental community organisation located in three different districts of Hong Kong. Nutritional status was assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and its associated factors examined included socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, health status and diet. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with malnutrition risks (MNA < 24). RESULTS: Six hundred thirteen subjects (mean age: 78.5 ± 7.4; 54.0% females) completed the survey. Nearly 30% (n = 179) were at risk of malnutrition. By multivariable logistic regression, subjects (1) whose vision was only fair or unclear, (2) with poor usual appetite and (3) with main meal skipping behaviour had significantly higher malnutrition risk (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this affluent Chinese society, the malnutrition risk in older adults is close to the global average, which is a matter for much concern. Interventions are therefore warranted that target vulnerable groups with poor vision, appetite, and meal skipping behaviour. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

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AIMS: To develop a culturally relevant conceptual map to discover perceptions of a statutory form of advance directive (AD) for Hong Kong Chinese. DESIGN: This was the first study on AD using a concept mapping approach with two phases. METHODS: The data collection of the two phases was conducted from February 2016-February 2017. In Phase I, 96 participants were recruited using purposive sampling. In Phase II, multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to create a concept map based on quantitative data. RESULTS: The map depicted six clusters of factors affecting the acceptance of AD, with their importance rating in decreasing order: Conditional factor, value system, process of AD, physical and illness factor, personal situation factor, and socio-cultural factor. CONCLUSION: The study adopted a comprehensive approach to unfolding the multi-faceted factors affecting the acceptance of ADs by stakeholders. Strategies targeting the clusters could be developed to facilitate the discussion and completion of AD.

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OBJECTIVE: An advance directive (AD) is a document that allows mentally competent individuals to make healthcare decisions about their condition that they might no longer be able to make in the future. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of AD decision-making of various stakeholders in the Chinese palliative care setting. METHODS: Patients with life-limiting diseases, family members, health professionals, and hospital volunteers were recruited in the palliative care unit of two hospitals in Hong Kong by purposive sampling on age and sex. Qualitative semi-structured individual interviews were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 96 participants, including 24 participants from each group, completed the study. Most participants were willing to discuss AD but had not heard about it before the interview. Patients regarded the decisions made in the AD as a way to reduce their future sufferings, while they also considered the welfare of their family. Family members were concerned about the psychological burden when discussing about the AD. Health professionals emphasized the logistic and process of the AD. Hospital volunteers pointed out the impact of Chinese culture on AD acceptance and the lack of AD promotion in the community. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study indicated the need for more promotion of AD in the society. It is important to consider the opinion of a patient's family during AD discussions in a Chinese culture. Health professionals may need to identify the best timing for the discussion of AD with patients and their families.

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Advance directives (AD) can be used for the communication of healthcare decisions that may be required in the future when individuals have lost their capacity to make such decisions. The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence, perception, and predictors of AD completion in the Hong Kong general population with a diverse culture. Through random-digit dialing, a population-based telephone survey was conducted with participants aged 18 or above. Socio-demographic characteristics, self-perception and health status, prevalence of AD, and perceptions related to AD were assessed. The acceptance on completing AD was measured by the summed score on the level of agreement in making AD. In total, 2002 participants completed the survey, with only 0.5% having made AD. However, the majority of those who had heard about AD had made or intended to make AD (80.2%). Multivariable regression analysis showed that being religious, being optimistic, and agreeing to respect patients' wishes are independently associated with higher AD acceptance. Being a student is associated with lower AD acceptance. The extremely low completion rate of AD, but high acceptance of AD urges for more active promotion of AD to the public and education on end-of-life care among university students.

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BACKGROUND: Previous research has documented the negative impact of cancer treatment on body image and health-related quality of life among survivors, and the positive relationship between those factors. However, existing evidence is mainly based on Western studies of female survivors, and there is thus a huge knowledge gap in research on non-Western cancer survivors. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess body image and health-related quality of life, and explore their relationship, among Chinese cancer survivors during transitional survivorship. METHODS: Chinese cancer survivors with various diagnoses at the oncology outpatient clinic of a regional hospital in Hong Kong were invited to complete a self-reported survey on socio-demographic and clinical data, the instrument of Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors and Body Image Scale. RESULTS: A convenience sample of 402 Chinese cancer survivors was recruited, with a mean age of 54.4 years, the majority female (70.4%). In general, participants reported satisfactory body image but only fair health-related quality of life. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that body image was independently associated with both generic and cancer-specific health-related quality of life after controlling for socio-demographic and clinical characteristics (B = 9.572, P < 0.001; B = 5.165, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Addressing body image may be an effective approach to enhancing Chinese cancer survivors' health-related quality of life during their transitional survivorship. Since there is a lack of attention given to body image in local clinical settings, early assessment and appropriate interventions should be considered.

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