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Biomedical subjects

T Yoong

Publications and source records attributed to T Yoong.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Nursing home applications--reasons and possible interventions.

BACKGROUND: With a rapidly ageing population like Singapore, the need for nursing homes will increase. Admission to a nursing home may be for medical and/or social reasons. We carried out case studies with the Care Liaison Service (CLS) of the Ministry of Health to determine reasons why the elderly applied for nursing home admission, and whether it was possible to prevent an admission. PATIENTS: During the 6-month study period, 331 applications were received, of which 280 (84.6%) were > or = 60 years. There was an equal distribution of male (50.4%) and female (49.6%) applicants. Applicants were predominantly Chinese (86.0%), followed by Indians (8.0%), Malays and other races (3.0% each). Most of the applicants were semi-ambulant (50.0%), fully ambulant (31.4%) and non-ambulant (18.6%). The most common medical problems of the applicants were neurological (e.g. stroke, normal pressure hydrocephalus, epilepsy), heart diseases (e.g. hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, heart failure), orthopaedic conditions (e.g. osteoarthritis, fractures neck of femur and other fractures), and psychiatric problems (e.g. dementia, depression and history of schizophrenia/paranoid psychosis). METHOD: Fifty-seven applicants (20.4%) were selected for intervention. They were 'non-psychiatric' patients whose caregivers were willing but unable to look after them. About half (28, 49.1%) of these applicants required nursing home care. The remaining 29 patients (50.9%) had the potential of improving or able to remain at home with appropriate community services. These 29 patients were contacted by the CLS nurse and the following recommendations were made: 1) inpatient rehabilitation in a community hospital (7 patients); 2) rehabilitation and day care in a community-based day care centre (17 patients); 3) domiciliary medical care (4 patients), and 4) reassessment by psychiatrist to control psychotic symptoms (1 patient). Only 6 patients were willing to accept the new recommendations. This poor result may imply that attempts at intervention at this stage may be too late. CONCLUSION: We need to identify the group at risk for nursing home admissions early, take a proactive stance towards them, increase support to their caregivers to prevent burnt-out and continue to develop and publicize community-based services. More studies need to be done in this area.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Eye diseases in the elderly in Singapore.

OBJECTIVE: The study was conducted to determine the prevalence rates of blindness and visual impairment in those aged 60 years and above in Singapore and to determine the pickup rate of undiagnosed eye diseases through an active screening programme. METHOD: A random frame of 3,000 elderly persons aged 60 years and above was obtained from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore. They were invited by mail to attend eye screening at Hougang Senior Citizens' Health Care Centre. The eye screening was in two parts: the first part by a trained registered nurse or therapy aide and the second part by the ophthalmologist. For each respondent, autorefraction, tonometry, retinal photography and visual field analysis were done. Examination criteria and disease classification were modelled after the Framingham Eye Study. RESULTS: 574 subjects attended the screening, giving a response rate of 22.2%. The prevalence rates for blindness and visual impairment in the elderly screened were 3.0% and 15.2% respectively. The prevalence rates for cataract, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy were 78.6%, 27.0%, 5.7% and 5.1% respectively. For every person known to have cataract, 2 were unknown; for every person with age-related macular degeneration, 154 were unknown. None of the 29 persons with diabetic retinopathy was diagnosed previously. CONCLUSION: Almost 1 in 5 of the elderly screened had some degree of visual disability. The rates of visual impairment and blindness were similar to those reported in other studies and indicate a significant burden of visually impairing diseases in the community.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Cervical screening in elderly women in Singapore.

The study was conducted to determine the pick-up rate of abnormal cervical smears and the prevalence rate of cervical cancer in women aged 60 years and above and the demographic characteristics of the women screened. The pick-up rate of abnormal cervical smears was 1.65%. The prevalence rate for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and frank carcinoma was 6.4 and 5.0 per thousand women screened respectively. The study group comprised 89.7% Chinese, 4.7% Malays, 3.6% Indians and 2.0% Others. The pick-up rate of abnormal smears was 1.9% in the Chinese and 1.3% in the Indians. There were no abnormal smears in the Malays and Others. The results demonstrate the importance of a routine cervical cancer screening programme among elderly women aged 60 years and above in Singapore.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1994

Standardisation and adaptation of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) and Denver II for use in Singapore children.

OBJECTIVE: To modify and standardise the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) and Denver II for developmental screening of children in Singapore. METHOD: The study used a quota sample of 2,194 Singapore children aged 4 weeks to 6 years. Logistic regression analysis established the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile passing age for achieving the test tasks. Subgroup differences in Sex, Ethnicity, Social Class and Mother's Education were analysed by stepwise logistic regression; the composite norms for items with statistically significant subgroup differences (p < or = 0.10), were then adjusted by weighting based on the composition of Singapore children. The study protocol was based on the DDST (1975) and Denver II (1990), the latest version of the DDST. Modifications were introduced to improve on the sensitivity of the test and to make the test more suited to Singapore culture. MAIN FINDINGS: Out of the 215 items studied, 115 items were selected to form the new test, DDST, Singapore, DDST, Singapore shares 63% of the items with DDST (1975) and 67% of the items with Denver II. Among the comparable items, differences between the norms of Singapore and Denver children greater than 10% were demonstrated in more than 30 items, and differences of greater than 20% in 10 items. Within the study sample of Singapore children, there were relatively smaller differences among the subgroups studied. Only 10 items had clinically significant subgroup differences of more than 10%. None had more than 20% difference. CONCLUSION: DDST, Singapore is substantially different from the DDST (1975) and Denver II (1990). The use of the local standardised version for developmental screening of Singapore children is justified.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Menstrual function in workers exposed to toluene.

Rates of menstrual disorders were studied in 231 female production workers with high exposure to toluene (mean 88 (range 50-150 ppm) in a factory manufacturing audio speakers and compared with a control group of 58 female production workers in other departments in the same factory who had little or no exposure to toluene (0-25 ppm). An external community control group of 187 working class women under routine care at public maternal and child health centres were also studied. Detailed menstrual and reproductive histories were obtained by personal interview using a structured questionnaire. The rates for dysfunctional uterine bleeding (cycle irregularity and prolonged or heavy menstrual bleeding) were similar in all groups. Dysmenorrhoea seemed to occur more often in the women highly exposed to toluene compared with women at maternal and child health centres, but not compared with factory controls with low exposure to toluene. There was no evidence that dysfunctional uterine bleeding was likely to result from exposure to toluene. It is uncertain whether dysmenorrhoea was associated specifically with exposure to toluene, as other behavioural and work related factors may also result in dysmenorrhoea.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Risk of spontaneous abortion in workers exposed to toluene.

Rates of spontaneous abortions were determined using a reproductive questionnaire administered by personal interview to 55 married women with 105 pregnancies. They were employed in an audio speaker factory and were exposed to high concentrations of toluene (mean 88, range 50-150 ppm). These rates of spontaneous abortion were compared with those among 31 women (68 pregnancies) who worked in other departments in the same factory and had little or no exposure to toluene (0-25 ppm), as well as with a community control group of women who underwent routine antenatal and postnatal care at public maternal health clinics (190 women with 444 pregnancies). Significantly higher rates for spontaneous abortions were noted in the group with high exposure to toluene (12.4 per 100 pregnancies) compared with those in the internal control group (2.9 per 100 pregnancies) and in the external control group (4.5 per 100 pregnancies). Among the exposed women, significant differences were also noted in the rates of spontaneous abortion before employment (2.9 per 100 pregnancies) and after employment in the factory (12.6 per 100 pregnancies). Almost all the women were nonsmokers and did not drink; other known risk factors such as maternal age at pregnancy, order of gravidity, and race were not likely to explain the results. Thus, specific exposure to toluene seems to be associated with a risk of foetal loss.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1992

Knowledge about developmental screening in mothers attending a maternal and child health clinic in Singapore.

A study of knowledge about Developmental Screening in mothers was done among 200 Singapore mothers attending a Maternal and Child Health Clinic from February to March 1990. They were requested to answer a set of questions pertaining to their knowledge on the Developmental Screening session and their reason for attending the session. They were also asked whether they had attended any health education talks given by the nurses in the clinic. Seventy-three out of 200 (36.9%) knew what the appointment given was for. Mothers with secondary education were almost three times and mothers with tertiary education were five-and-a-half times more likely to possess the correct knowledge than a mother with primary education. Wives of husbands from Social Classes I and II were more knowledgeable (83% and 54%) than those in lower social classes (32% and 25%). Mothers with older children were more knowledgeable than those with children age six weeks. Mothers of one child four-and-a-half years old were more knowledgeable than those with one child age six weeks. Twelve out of 27 (44%) of mothers of one child age six weeks did not know what Developmental Screening was about whereas all mothers with four-and-a-half year old children knew what Developmental Screening was about. Only 88 (44%) mothers had attended health education talks. There was no discernible difference in knowledge of Developmental Screening between those mothers who attended talks and those who did not (35% vs 40%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Quality of the home environment of toddlers: a validation study of the home inventory.

The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory is introduced in this study to examine the home environments of children (three to four and a half years) in Singapore. The Inventory comprises eight subscales and a total of 54 items with a higher score indicating an environment which provides more possibilities for development and growth. Various statistical tests were carried out to determine the validity of the Inventory for use in the local context. These showed the Inventory to be internally consistent and to possess construct validity in particular the HOME Inventory had been validated in correlation tests with demographic variables such as social class index (F = 8.01, p less than 0.0001), people to room ratio (r = -0.37, p less than 0.0001) and a measure of IQ (r = 0.0003). Norms for local toddlers were also provided. It was concluded that the Inventory would play a useful role in detecting children who are physically and intellectually less advanced due to a poorer home environment. This finding could possibly be used in an intervention programme in ameliorating these conditions.

Child Care↗
PubMed1988

Human papillomavirus in dysplasia and carcinoma of the cervix in Singapore.

A prospective study was conducted in Singapore in 1985 where 107 women with abnormal cervical smears were studied for cervical neoplasia and its association with the human papillomaviruses (HPV), using HPV 11, 16 and 18 DNA as probes. Cervical biopsies were performed for histology as well as for DNA Southern Blot hybridization studies to detect the presence of HPV 11, 16 or 18 genome. The prevalence of the various types of papillomavirus DNA in cervical tissue samples from cervical carcinoma and dysplasias is presented. HPV types 16 and 18 were found in 5 of 8 (63%) cases of invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), in 12 of 41 (29%) cases of squamous carcinoma-in-situ (CIN 3) and in 3 of 48 (6%) cases of lower grade dysplasia. None of our cases of SCC were associated with unknown HPV types detected using a mixture of HPV 16 or 18 DNA under conditions of low stringency. These unknown HPV types were present in approximately one quarter of our cases of dysplasia of all grades.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Doppler ultrasonic brachial blood pressure measurements in normal Chinese neonates: a preliminary report.

The purpose of this study was to determine brachial blood pressures in normal Chinese neonates using a Doppler ultrasonic blood pressure monitor (Roche Arteriosonde 1020). The systolic (SP) and diastolic (DP) pressures of 100 healthy, full-term Chinese neonates were determined in triplicate under resting conditions. The pulse pressures (PP) were derived from the SP and DP. Correlation studies reveal significant positive correlation between age and PP (r = 0.34, P less than 0.0002), between weight and SP (r = 0.23, P less than 0.02) and between weight and PP (r = 0.40, P less than 0.02). No significant difference exists between blood pressures of males and females (P greater than 0.05). Comparison with three Western studies reveals that our mean SP is the lowest (1-3). This may be due to technical factors, e.g. different Doppler ultrasonic device, anthropometric factors or true genetic or environmental differences.

Anthropometry↗