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Biomedical subjects

T H Lam

Publications and source records attributed to T H Lam.

160 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Mental health and work stress: a comparison of response patterns in executives and clerical workers in Hong Kong.

Mental health and work stress among 344 clerical (and secretarial) workers and 185 executives (96 managers and 89 executives) in Hong Kong was studied. No overall difference was found between clerical workers and executives in mental health and coping ability when sex was controlled for. Clerical workers, however, reported fewer interests, more problems in accepting others' values, and more dissatisfaction with work context. Female managers/executives were shown to be a high risk group, reporting more problems in mental health, coping, and work context than their male counterparts. Mental health was strongly associated with each of the work stress factors studied. A significant interaction between sex and nature of job was noted in predictors of mental health. The interaction of coping, context, and mental health is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Byssinosis in Hong Kong.

After a report in 1980 of the first three diagnosed locally cases and a preliminary epidemiological investigation that found little evidence of the disease, a survey was aimed at determining the prevalence of byssinosis in Hong Kong. Some 1776 workers in six cotton mills were studied using the standard MRC questionnaire and portable spirometers. Only 48 (2.7%) of the mill workers had symptoms acceptable for a diagnosis of byssinosis. The pattern of relation to dust exposure levels was similar to findings in other countries: blowing and carding process operatives had twice the prevalence rate of the spinners. Another 178 workers (10%) had symptoms of chest tightness or breathlessness or both that were not related to the first exposure after a break and therefore did not fit the standard diagnosis. Some 257 workers (14.5%) had chronic obstructive airflow disease but only 12 (4.7%) had chronic bronchitis. Job mobility had self selection of sensitive cases out of cotton dust exposure seem the most likely explanations for the low prevalence. The significance of non-specific lung ailments needs further assessment to elucidate the possible connection with cotton dust exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Mental health and work stress in office workers in Hong Kong.

Mental health and work stress among 653 office workers in Hong Kong were studied using Goldberg's 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ), with slight modification, and McLean's self-assessment scheme in a self-administered questionnaire. It was found that more respondents reported symptoms in the six negative than in the six positive GHQ items. The proportions reporting problems in McLean's areas of coping, context, and stressors were 20.9%, 47.7%, and 14.8%, respectively. Females reported more problems in both context and coping than did males, but no difference was found between them for stressors. Multiple regression analysis revealed a strong association (r = .63) between mental ill health and McLean's three factors, with coping the most important factor for females, context the most important for males, and stressors the least important for both sexes in predicting mental ill health.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Preemployment medical examinations in a compressed air tunneling project in Hong Kong.

One thousand workers intended to be employed in a compressed air tunneling project in Hong Kong had preemployment medical examinations for fitness to work in compressed air. Only 69.3% were declared fit and the overall unfit rate was 22.1%. The major disqualifying medical conditions were lung and heart abnormalities and chronic otitis media. Chest x-ray was found to be the most useful procedure in detecting the disqualifying conditions. The type I bends rate of the contract during the same period of examination was low: 1.39% at maximum working pressure of 2.45 kg/cm2, and there was no case of type II decompression sickness. Although many factors may affect the bends rate, it is suggested that the strict criteria adopted in the selection of workers might have contributed to the satisfactory outcome in the prevention of decompression sickness.

Decompression Sickness↗
PubMed1984

C-terminal amidation of neuropeptides. Gly-Lys-Arg extension an efficient precursor of C-terminal amide.

Biosynthesis of the C-terminal carboxamide group of peptide hormones was studied using comparatively pGlu-His-Pro-Gly and Glu-His-Pro-Gly-Lys-Arg as putative precursors of the tripeptide, thyroliberin (TRH). Rat hypothalamus granules were found to contain an amide group forming activity which converts both peptide substrates into TRH. Comparison of the rate of conversion of the two substrates indicated that the C-terminal dibasic extension favored a 10-fold increase in the production of amidated peptide. It is suggested that this type of structure may be present in the putative biosynthetic precursor of TRH and that it may provide a better substrate for the enzyme(s) involved in C-terminal amidation.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Lung cancer in Hong Kong Chinese: mortality and histological types, 1973-1982.

The histological types of lung cancer in Hong Kong Chinese in both sexes are presented. When the 1981 WHO Classification is used instead of the 1967 WHO Classification, more than half of the large cell carcinoma is retyped into the adenocarcinoma group. The proportion of large cell carcinoma thus decreases from 14.7% to 6.9% in the male and from 10.0% to 4.4% in the female. Compared to the 1948-1962 report from the same Department, there is a shift of the peak age distribution from the 6th decade to the 7th decade. Compared to the 1960-1972 report from the same Department, there is a significant increase in the relative frequency of adenocarcinoma in both sexes, from 15.6% to 25.8% in the male and 34.3% to 49.6% in the female. Adenocarcinoma continues to be the most common histological type in females and it is becoming the commonest type in males. It is also found in the present series that in the male, the proportion of adenocarcinoma decreases with increasing age, from 60% in the third decade to 26.6% in the eighth decade. In spite of the high female lung cancer mortality rate and therefore low male:female ratio of about 2:1, there is a tendency for this ratio to increase over the years. It is speculated that factors other than active cigarette smoking may be responsible for the peculiar and changing histological pattern and the female predominance in lung cancer in Hong Kong Chinese.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1984

Two unusual cases of severe dysbarism after compressed air work in Hong Kong.

Two cases of unusual severe dysbarism are reported. One case occurred after working in compressed air at a pressure of 2.05 kg/cm2 (29 psi) for a duration of 27 min; the second case, after working for a duration of 6 h at a pressure of only 1.0 kg/cm2 (14.2 psi). The first case presented a combination of symptoms resembling "the chokes" and "the staggers," progressing into shock probably due to micro-air embolism. The second suffered chest pain and "the chokes," complicated by an underlying chest infection. Both were treated successfully by recompression.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dysbaric osteonecrosis by X-ray and CT scan in Chinese divers.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of X-ray and CT scan for dysbaric osteonecrosis in Chinese divers. METHODS: Both shoulders, hips and knees of 66 asymptomatic divers with diving duration of more than one year were examined by X-ray and CT scan. RESULTS: The most frequent locations of dysbaric osteonecrosis were the upper femurs, followed by the upper humerus, lower femurs and upper tibias, and the most frequent radiographic lesions were calcification spots and cystic changes. Of the lesions detected, 38% (27/71) and 42% (95/229) werejuxta-articular of the femoral and humeral heads by X-ray and CT respectively. The detection rates of dysbaric necrosis (juxta- and/or other lesions) of X-ray and CT scan were 42.4% (95% confidence interval: 30.5%-54.3%) and 81.8% (95% CI: 72.4%-91.2%) respectively (p<0.05). If CT scan was used as the gold standard, the sensitivity of X-ray was 100% and the specificity was 31.6%. CONCLUSION: CT scan showed a higher detection rate of dysbaric necrosis than X-ray. We recommend that CT scan be used for early diagnosis of dysbaric osteonecrosis.

Adult↗