1.Correspondence regarding "Epidemiology, management and treatment outcome of medulloblastoma in Singapore".
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore 2007;36(12):1042-author reply 1043
Child
;
Child Welfare
;
Humans
;
Medulloblastoma
;
drug therapy
;
epidemiology
;
surgery
;
Mortality
;
Radiotherapy
;
Singapore
;
epidemiology
;
Treatment Outcome
2.High incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer: similarity for 60% of mitochondrial DNA signatures between the Bidayuhs of Borneo and the Bai-yue of Southern China.
Joseph WEE ; Tam Cam HA ; Susan LOONG ; Chao-Nan QIAN
Chinese Journal of Cancer 2012;31(9):455-456
Populations in Southern China (Bai-yue) and Borneo (Bidayuh) with high incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer(NPC) share similar mitochondrial DNA signatures, supporting the hypothesis that these two populations may share the same genetic predisposition for NPC, which may have first appeared in a common ancestral reference population before the sea levels rose after the last ice age.
Borneo
;
epidemiology
;
Carcinoma
;
China
;
epidemiology
;
DNA, Mitochondrial
;
genetics
;
Ethnic Groups
;
genetics
;
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
;
Humans
;
Incidence
;
Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms
;
epidemiology
;
ethnology
;
genetics
3.Is nasopharyngeal cancer really a "Cantonese cancer"?
Joseph Tien Seng WEE ; Tam Cam HA ; Susan Li Er LOONG ; Chao-Nan QIAN
Chinese Journal of Cancer 2010;29(5):517-526
Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is endemic in Southern China, with Guandong province and Hong Kong reporting some of the highest incidences in the world. The journal Science has called it a "Cantonese cancer". We propose that in fact NPC is a cancer that originated in the Bai Yue ("proto Tai Kadai" or "proto Austronesian" or "proto Zhuang") peoples and was transmitted to the Han Chinese in southern China through intermarriage. However, the work by John Ho raised the profile of NPC, and because of the high incidence of NPC in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, NPC became known as a Cantonese cancer. We searched historical articles, articles cited in PubMed, Google, monographs, books and Internet articles relating to genetics of the peoples with high populations of NPC. The migration history of these various peoples was extensively researched, and where possible, their genetic fingerprint identified to corroborate with historical accounts. Genetic and anthropological evidence suggest there are a lot of similarities between the Bai Yue and the aboriginal peoples of Borneo and Northeast India; between Inuit of Greenland, Austronesian Mayalo Polynesians of Southeast Asia and Polynesians of Oceania, suggesting some common ancestry. Genetic studies also suggest the present Cantonese, Minnans and Hakkas are probably an admixture of northern Han and southern Bai Yue. All these populations have a high incidence of NPC. Very early contact between southern Chinese and peoples of East Africa and Arabia can also account for the intermediate incidence of NPC in these regions.
Asia, Southeastern
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epidemiology
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Asian Continental Ancestry Group
;
genetics
;
history
;
Borneo
;
epidemiology
;
China
;
epidemiology
;
Emigration and Immigration
;
history
;
Ethnic Groups
;
genetics
;
history
;
Female
;
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
;
epidemiology
;
ethnology
;
genetics
;
Genetics, Population
;
Greenland
;
epidemiology
;
History, Ancient
;
Hong Kong
;
epidemiology
;
Humans
;
Incidence
;
India
;
epidemiology
;
Inuits
;
genetics
;
Male
;
Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms
;
epidemiology
;
ethnology
;
genetics
;
mortality
;
Oceania
;
epidemiology
4.The personal recovery movement in Singapore - past, present and future.
Jonathan Han Loong KUEK ; Angelina Grace LIANG ; Ting Wei GOH ; Daniel POREMSKI ; Alex SU ; Hong Choon CHUA
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore 2021;50(12):911-914
The personal recovery movement is beginning to gain traction within Singapore's mental healthcare systems. We believe it is timely to give a broad overview of how it developed and provide suggestions on how it can evolve further. From the early custodial care in the 1800s to the community-centric programmes of the 1900s and early 2000s, we now find ourselves at the forefront of yet another paradigm shift towards a more consumer-centric model of care. The following decades will allow personal recovery practitioners and researchers to innovate and identify unique but culturally appropriate care frameworks. We also discuss how the movement can continue to complement existing mental healthcare systems and efforts.
Forecasting
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Humans
;
Singapore
5.Diagnostic thresholds for absolute systolic toe pressure and toe-brachial index in diabetic foot screening.
Chuan Guan NG ; Cherry Ya Wen CHEONG ; Wan Chin CHAN ; Sean Wei Loong HO ; Melissa Susan Li Ann PHUA ; Khalid ANUAR
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore 2022;51(3):143-148
INTRODUCTION:
Identifying peripheral arterial disease (PAD) during diabetic foot screening (DFS) is crucial in reducing the risk of diabetic foot ulcerations and lower limb amputations. Screening assessments commonly used include absolute systolic toe pressure (ASTP) and toe-brachial index (TBI). There is a lack of research defining the threshold values of both assessment methods. We aimed to compare the accuracy of ASTP and TBI and establish optimal threshold values of ASTP and TBI with reference to the internationally accepted ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) screening test, for a multiethnic diabetic population in Singapore.
METHODS:
A retrospective, observational study of DFS results from January 2017 to December 2017 was conducted. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was conducted for ASTP and TBI using the internationally accepted ABPI cut-off value of ≤0.9 to indicate PAD.
RESULTS:
A total of 1,454 patients with mean (standard deviation) age of 63.1 (12.4) years old were included. There were 50.8% men and 49.2% women, comprising 69.7% Chinese, 13.5% Indian, 10.1% Malay and 6.7% other ethnicities. Areas under the curve for ASTP and TBI were 0.89 (95% confidence interval [Cl] 0.85-0.94) and 0.94 (95% Cl 0.90-0.98), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Derived optimal threshold values to indicate ABPI≤0.9 for ASTP and TBI were <95.5mmHg (specificity 0.86, sensitivity 0.84) and <0.7 (specificity 0.89, sensitivity 0.95), respectively.
CONCLUSION
ASTP or TBI may be used to detect ABPI-determined PAD in DFS. The optimal threshold values derived from a multiethnic Asian diabetic population were <95.5mmHg for ASTP and <0.7 for TBI.
Ankle Brachial Index/methods*
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Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology*
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Diabetic Foot/diagnosis*
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Female
;
Humans
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Male
;
Middle Aged
;
Peripheral Arterial Disease/diagnosis*
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Retrospective Studies
;
Toes