Trends in COPD mortality and hospitalizations in countries and regions of Asia-Pacific

Background and objective: The growing burden of COPD in the Asia‐Pacific region supports the need for more intensive research and analysis of the epidemiology of COPD to raise awareness of the disease and its causes, to ensure the development of effective national health policies and to facilitate equitable deployment of finite health‐care resources in the prevention and management of COPD. This study estimated and compared COPD mortality and hospital morbidity rates and trends in these rates over time across countries and regions of Asia‐Pacific. Methods: Data consistent with standard definitions of COPD (ICD‐9/ICD‐10) for the period 1991–2004 were obtained from national health statistics agencies. For countries/regions with complete national mortality and hospitalization data (Australia, Pacific Canada (British Columbia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan), annual age‐standardized mortality and hospitalization rates were calculated for men and women aged ≥ 40 years. Negative binomial regression modelling was used to estimate rate ratios for country/region, gender and age differences and general trends over time. Results: Mortality rates per 10 000 population ranged 6.4–9.2 in men, 2.1–3.5 in women and 3.7–5.3 overall in 2003. Corresponding ranges for morbidity were 32.6–334.7, 21.2–129 and 28.1–207.3 per 10 000. Trend analysis of data since 1997 produced annual percentage changes in mortality versus hospitalization of ?4.4% versus ?0.7% in Australia, ?3.6% versus 7.5% in Pacific Canada (British Columbia), ?7.15% versus ?5.6% in Hong Kong and ?2.9% versus ?4.2% in Taiwan. Conclusions: In Asia‐Pacific, overall mortality and morbidity rates are high and trends in mortality and morbidity vary between countries/regions. Differences in rates and trends for men and women most likely reflect the different trends in historical and prevalent smoking profiles for COPD in the different countries and regions.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Caligus tenuifurcatus</Emphasis> Wilson, 1937 (Copepoda,Siphonostomatoida), a parasite of centropomid and lutjanid teleosts from a coastal system of the Mexican Pacific

Specimens of the parasitic siphonostomatoid copepod Caligus tenuifurcatus Wilson, 1937 were collected from the oral cavity of the yellowfin snook, Centropomus robalito Jordan et Gilbert; the white snook, C. viridis Lockington (Perciformes, Centropomidae), and the yellow snapper, Lutjanus argentiventris (Peters) (Perciformes, Lutjanidae), from a Pacific coastal system of Mexico. Infection was most intense on C. viridis. Caligus tenuifurcatus can be distinguished from its closest congener, C. bonito Wilson, by the body proportions and the basal ornamentation of the medial setae of the second exopodal segment of leg 1. Taxonomic illustrations are provided of both female and male. This is the third record of C. tenuifurcatus; hitherto, it was known only as a parasite of the roosterfish Nematistius pectoralis Gill (Perciformes, Nematistiidae) from Panama and the Gulf of California. Hence, the finding of C. tenuifurcatus as a parasite of two species of centropomids and one species of lutjanid represents a significant expansion of the known host range of this copepod in the eastern tropical Pacific.     

Kinetics of Autoxidation of an Oil Extract from Terminalia catappa

Soxhlet extractor was used in the extraction of oil from milled seeds of Terminalia catappa using petroleum ether (40-60°). The optimal oil yield was 56.71±1.66% with a viscosity of 40.79±1.05 centipoises. Other parameters of the oil were found as follows; specific gravity-0.9248, refractive index-1.4646, acid value-3.35, peroxide value-8.6, saponification value-166.2, and unsaponifiable matter-1.46. The crude oil extract was water-degummed, bleached and deodorized to generate what we called refined oil. Autoxidation of the crude and refined T. catappa oil extract was done at five different temperatures of 0±0.1°, 20±0.1°, 40±0.1°, 60±0.1° and 80±0.1° and also in the presence of pure α-tocopherol at a concentration of 1.0% (w/v) by measuring peroxide value variations over 96 h. In all evaluations, the refined oil exhibited lower tendency towards autoxidation but not at temperatures above 60±0.1°. The use of Arrhenius equation revealed generally very low activation energies of 0.0261 cal/deg×mol and 0.0122cal/deg×mol for crude oil and antioxidant-treated crude oil, respectively and 0.0690 cal/deg×mol and 0.0177 cal/deg×mol for the refined oil. This study indicates T. catappa seed oil to be potential pharmaceutical oil with excellent characteristics.     

Relationships between health and culture in Polynesia – A review

This review of journal articles and book chapters discusses the health beliefs characteristic of Polynesia and reveals several themes. These are: commonality in health conceptualisations across the cultures of the region which differ from the conceptualisations of biomedicine; the role of the relational self, traditional living and communalism in understanding health; the place of spirituality and religion in health and illness causation; and pluralism and pragmatism in health-seeking behaviour. Suggestions are made as to how awareness of key ideas might contribute to effective planning of health promotion and intervention activities.     

Disparities in Intimate Partner Violence Prenatal Counseling: Setting a Baseline for the Implementation of the Guidelines for Women's Preventive Services

Prenatal health care counseling is associated with positive health outcomes for mothers and infants. Moreover, pregnant women are considered a vulnerable population at risk of being victims of intimate partner violence. Pregnancy provides a unique opportunity to identify and refer women experiencing intimate partner violence to community resources; however, in prior research, most women reported that their prenatal care providers did not talk to them about intimate partner violence. Given the importance for providers to offer prenatal health care counseling on intimate partner violence, it is concerning that there is scant knowledge on Asian, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander mothers'' experiences in this area. The study''s objectives were (a) to determine the proportion of mothers who received prenatal health care counseling on intimate partner violence; and, (b) to examine racial differences of those who received prenatal health care counseling on intimate partner violence. Hawai‘i''s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data from 2004–08 were analyzed for 8,120 mothers with information on receipt of intimate partner violence prenatal health care counseling. Overall, 47.7% of mothers were counseled on intimate partner violence. Compared to Whites, Native Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans were significantly less likely to report receiving prenatal health care counseling in intimate partner violence, but the opposite association was observed for Samoans. Intimate partner violence continues to be a significant problem for women, thus, this study''s findings may be used as important baseline data to measure the progress made given the implementation of the new Guidelines for Women''s Preventive Services in intimate partner violence screening and counseling.     

Observations on the epidemiology of gastrointestinal and liver cancers in the Asia–Pacific region

Gastric cancer (GC) has long been thought to be an Asian type of cancer that is broadly associated with poverty, whereas colorectal cancer (CRC) has been thought to be a Western type of cancer associated with affluence. The incidence of GC has declined dramatically in the West but has a very high incidence in East Asia. The age‐standardized incidence rates (ASR) have also declined. The decrease in the incidence of GC is associated with the decrease in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection worldwide. The discrepancy between a high H. pylori infection rate and a low GC incidence is seen chiefly among southern Asians of Indian origin and has been aptly termed the “Indian enigma”. CRC is a new emerging cancer in this region. Some of the highest CRC ASR have been reported from Asian countries, in many of which it has now surpassed that of GC. Liver cancer is also an important cancer in the Asia–Pacific region. The highest ASR worldwide is reported from the Asian countries of Mongolia, Korea and Japan. The predominant underlying etiology across the region has been hepatitis B virus infection, except in Japan, where hepatitis C is an important cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). With mass vaccination of hepatitis B at birth and improved public health measures in many countries, hepatitis B and C are set to decline with time. However, the exponential increase in obesity and consequent non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease portends a future epidemic of fatty liver‐related HCC.     

Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine

正Aims Scope Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine(APJTM),aims to set up and provide an academic communicating platform for international physicians,medical scientists,allied health scientists and public     

Acculturation and perceived stress in HIV+ immigrants: depression symptomatology in Asian and Pacific Islanders

Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) are among the fastest growing minority groups within the USA, and this growth has been accompanied by an increase in HIV incidence. Between 2000 and 2010, the API HIV infection rate increased from 4.5% to 8.7%; however, there is a paucity of HIV-related research for this group, and even less is known about the prevalence and correlates of antiretroviral therapy adherence behavior, quality of life, impact of stress, and efficacious self-management among HIV+ API Americans. This paper examines how acculturation and perceived stress affect depression symptomatology and treatment seeking in the HIV+ API population. A series of cross-sectional audio computer-assisted self-interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 50 HIV+ API (29 in San Francisco and 21 in New York City). The relationship between acculturation and perceived stress was analyzed, and the results indicate that for those HIV+ API who reported low or moderate acculturation (as compared to those who reported high acculturation), stress was significantly mediated by depression symptomology. Interventions to address acculturation and reduce perceived stress among API generally and Asians specifically are therefore needed.