Browsing by Author "Wu Z"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Changes in indicators of well-being on moving from home to long-term care for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand: A retrospective cohort study
    (John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AJA Inc., 2024-08-12) Hikaka J; Abey-Nesbit R; Wu Z; Jamieson HA; Parsons M; Kerse N; Gibson R
    OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in well-being measures for older Māori after moving from community to long-term care (LTC). METHODS: We undertook a retrospective cohort study of older Māori in New Zealand (NZ) who had received assessments for their health needs whilst living at home (interRAI-HC assessment) as well as a subsequent assessment after moving into a care facility (interRAI-LTCF). All interRAI-HC assessments from 01 July 2013 to 21 December 2018 were identified and matched to LTCF assessments that were undertaken at least 6 months later. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to determine the difference in proportion of variables of interest (indicative of movement, socialising, sleep and nutrition, alongside general physical and mental health status) between participants' HC and subsequent LTCF assessments. RESULTS: Changes in well-being measures were investigated among 1531 Māori (mean age 76.2 years, 61% female). Odds of having a fall (OR: 0.40 [95% CI 0.34, 0.48]), being lonely (OR: 0.13 [95% CI 0.09, 0.18]), sleeping difficulty (OR: 0.74 [95% CI 0.60, 0.91]) and fatigue (OR: 0.18 [95% CI 0.14, 0.23]) reduced on moving to LTC. However, the presence of depression (OR 3.96 [95% CI 2.58, 6.09]) and dependence with locomotion (OR 1.56 [95% CI 1.23, 1.97]) significantly increased when moving from home to LTC. CONCLUSION: Despite some indicators of functional and health-related decline, significant improvements are also apparent across multiple domains of well-being. Further investigation of resident and family perceptions of well-being in association with a move to LTC is warranted.
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    Economic burden of patients with leading cancers in China: a cost-of-illness study.
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2024-09-27) Wu Z; Yu Y; Xie F; Chen Q; Cao Z; Chen S; Liu GG
    BACKGROUND: China accounts for 24% of newly diagnosed cancer cases and 30% of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Comprehensive analyses of the economic burden on patients across different cancer treatment phases, based on empirical data, are lacking. This study aims to estimate the financial burden borne by patients and analyze the cost compositions of the leading cancers with the highest number of new cases in China. METHODS: This cross-sectional cost-of-illness study analyzed patients diagnosed with lung, breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, or gastric cancer, identified through electronic health records (EHRs) from 84 hospitals across 17 provinces in China. Patients completed any one of the initial treatment phase, follow-up phase, and relapse/metastasis phase were recruited by trained attending physicians through a stratified sampling procedure to ensure enough cases for each cancer progression stage and cancer treatment phase. Direct and indirect costs by treatment phase were collected from the EHRs and self-reported surveys. We estimated per case cost for each type of cancer, and employed subgroup analyses and multiple linear regression models to explore cost drivers. RESULTS: We recruited a total of 13,745 cancer patients across three treatment phases. The relapse/metastasis phase incurred the highest per case costs, varying from $8,890 to $14,572, while the follow-up phase was the least costly, ranging from $1,840 to $4,431. Being in the relapse/metastasis phase and having an advanced clinical stage of cancer at diagnosis were associated with significantly higher cost, while patients with low socioeconomic status borne lower costs. CONCLUSIONS: There were substantial financial burden on patients with six leading cancers in China. Health policymakers should emphasize comprehensive healthcare coverage for marginalized populations such as the uninsured, less educated, and those living in underdeveloped regions.
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    Nanoengineered polymers and other organic materials in lung cancer treatment: Bridging the gap between research and clinical applications
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2024-03-25) Jin X; Heidari G; Hua Z; Lei Y; Huang J; Wu Z; Paiva-Santos AC; Guo Z; Karimi Male H; Neisiany RE; Sillanpää M; Prakash C; Wang X; Tan Y; Makvandi P; Xu Y
    Cancer remains a major global health challenge, with increasing incidence and mortality rates projected for the coming years. Lung cancer, in particular, poses significant obstacles due to late-stage diagnosis and limited treatment options. While advancements in molecular diagnostics have been made, there is a critical need to connect the dots between laboratory and hospital for better lung cancer treatment. Systemic therapy plays a crucial role in treating advanced-stage lung cancer, and recent efforts have focused on developing innovative drug delivery techniques. Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a promising approach to lung cancer treatment, offering enhanced drug delivery, active targeting, and reduced toxicity. Organic-based nanomaterials, like polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, and liposomes hold great potential in this field. This review examines the application of NPs in lung cancer treatment, highlights current therapies, explores organic nanoparticle-based approaches, and discusses limitations and future perspectives in clinical translation.
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    The impact of ethnicity and intra-pancreatic fat on the postprandial metabolome response to whey protein in overweight Asian Chinese and European Caucasian women with prediabetes
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2022-10-14) Joblin-Mills A; Wu Z; Fraser K; Jones B; Yip W; Lim JJ; Lu L; Sequeira I; Poppitt S; Li X
    The “Thin on the Outside Fat on the Inside” TOFI_Asia study found Asian Chinese to be more susceptible to Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) compared to European Caucasians matched for gender and body mass index (BMI). This was influenced by degree of visceral adipose deposition and ectopic fat accumulation in key organs, including liver and pancreas, leading to altered fasting plasma glucose, insulin resistance, and differences in plasma lipid and metabolite profiles. It remains unclear how intra-pancreatic fat deposition (IPFD) impacts TOFI phenotype-related T2D risk factors associated with Asian Chinese. Cow’s milk whey protein isolate (WPI) is an insulin secretagogue which can suppress hyperglycemia in prediabetes. In this dietary intervention, we used untargeted metabolomics to characterize the postprandial WPI response in 24 overweight women with prediabetes. Participants were classified by ethnicity (Asian Chinese, n=12; European Caucasian, n=12) and IPFD (low IPFD < 4.66%, n=10; high IPFD ≥ 4.66%, n=10). Using a cross-over design participants were randomized to consume three WPI beverages on separate occasions; 0 g (water control), 12.5 g (low protein, LP) and 50 g (high protein, HP), consumed when fasted. An exclusion pipeline for isolating metabolites with temporal (T0-240mins) WPI responses was implemented, and a support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) algorithm was used to model relevant metabolites by ethnicity and IPFD classes. Metabolic network analysis identified glycine as a central hub in both ethnicity and IPFD WPI response networks. A depletion of glycine relative to WPI concentration was detected in Chinese and high IPFD participants independent of BMI. Urea cycle metabolites were highly represented among the ethnicity WPI metabolome model, implicating a dysregulation in ammonia and nitrogen metabolism among Chinese participants. Uric acid and purine synthesis pathways were enriched within the high IPFD cohort’s WPI metabolome response, implicating adipogenesis and insulin resistance pathways. In conclusion, the discrimination of ethnicity from WPI metabolome profiles was a stronger prediction model than IPFD in overweight women with prediabetes. Each models’ discriminatory metabolites enriched different metabolic pathways that help to further characterize prediabetes in Asian Chinese women and women with increased IPFD, independently.