Wei-Jie Gong

Purpose: Bladder cancer (BCa), particularly NMIBC, poses a substantial clinical burden due to its high recurrence rates and the need for lifelong surveillance. While large-scale studies have identified systemic metabolic risk signatures, a critical gap remains in understanding the dynamic, pre-diagnostic evolution of the metabolome and how these systemic alterations relate to early tumor metabolic reprogramming. To address this gap, we used a large prospective cohort with multi-omics data to characterize pre-diagnostic metabolic changes and their links to early tumor metabolic alterations in BCa. Experimental Design: Baseline plasma metabolomics from 48,241 controls and 2,158 BCa cases in the UK Biobank were analyzed to characterize metabolic alterations preceding diagnosis. Targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics were performed in an independent clinical cohort of 107 NMIBC patients and 56 controls. An eight-metabolite plasma classification model was developed and internally validated. Multi-omics integration and functional experiments were conducted to investigate the role of butyrate. Results: 64 circulating metabolites were associated with future BCa risk, predominantly involving lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. Targeted metabolomics identified 24 differential metabolites, including elevated butyric acid and maleic acid in NMIBC. An eight-metabolite plasma panel achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.98 in the held-out test and 0.92 in the validation set, with cross-biofluid validation in urine yielding an AUC of 0.75. Mechanistically, butyrate remodeled chromatin accessibility and activated AP-1 associated transcriptional programs linked to urothelial phenotypic plasticity. Conclusions: These findings define lipid dysregulation as a hallmark of the pre-diagnostic metabolic landscape of BCa.

Information and communication technology (ICT) use can be a double-edged sword for mental health. This study aimed to examine whether different types of IC

Background: Information and communication technology (ICT) use can help isolated people buffer mental health burdens, but little evidence was in patients during hospital quarantine. We aimed to examine how COVID-19 patients used ICT to communicate with family/friends and its associations with their mental health and insomnia during hospital quarantine. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved quarantined COVID-19 Chinese patients in Shenzhen during 10 March-28 April, 2022 who reported their ICT communication with family/friends, including text messages, picture messages, short videos, voice calls, video calls, and e-mails. The associations of ICT communication with sociodemographic characteristics, mental health, and insomnia were examined using adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR). We used lower cutoffs to identify mild psychological symptoms and insomnia for early prevention and higher cutoffs of their clinical diagnoses as sensitivity analyses. Results: Among the 217 respondents (female 48.9%, 25–54 years 63.1%), the most common ICT use was text messages (72.8%), voice calls (57.1%), and video calls (53.5%). More females used picture messages (aPR 2.06), fewer older patients used text (0.68) and picture messages (0.42), and more patients with tertiary/above education levels used text messages (1.23), video calls (1.47), and picture messages (1.82) (all P ≤ 0.05). Using any or more types of ICT was associated with less depression, anxiety, post-traumatic, somatization symptoms, and insomnia (0.31–0.55 and 0.67–0.85, respectively, all P ≤ 0.001), especially using video calls (0.36–0.76, P ≤ 0.05). Similar results were found in the sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Hospital-quarantined COVID-19 patients using any or more types of ICT to communicate with family /friends tended to have fewer mental health problems and insomnia, especially using video calls.

Exercise benefits individuals, but research about exercising with family members (EFM) and personal and family well-being is scarce. We investigated the associations of home-based individual exercise (IE) and EFM with personal and family well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A population-based cross-sectional survey on Hong Kong Chinese adults was conducted from February to March 2021, when COVID-19 was under control (N = 5825). Respondents reported the number of days IE and EFM occurred at home in the past 7 days (0, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7), respectively. Family well-being, personal happiness, and personal/family adversity coping capability (ACC/FACC) were each measured with an 11-point scale (range 0–10). Psychological distress was measured using the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire (range 0–12). Associations were assessed using multiple linear regressions. Of 1911 respondents, 9.2% reported having ≥3 days of EFM. After adjusting for each other and sociodemographic characteristics, more frequent IE or EFM (≥3 vs. 0–2 days) was associated with greater family well-being, FACC, personal happiness, and lower psychological distress. Our findings suggest that home-based EFM or IE may promote personal/family well-being and highlight the potential for incorporating home-based exercise into public health strategies to enhance overall well-being.

Nonrestorative sleep (NRS) is related to numerous adverse outcomes. There is rare evidence of its associated factors, especially in Chinese adolescents. This study aimed to explore the factors associated with NRS in Chinese adolescents and the potential moderation effects of coffee or tea consumption. This cross-sectional study invited adolescents attending Grades 7–11 in Nanjing, China, to complete a self-administered questionnaire, including their NRS, stress, anxiety, physical symptoms, depression, sociodemographics, and lifestyles. Linear regressions were applied to investigate the associated factors of their NRS, with the moderation effects of coffee or tea consumption and other characteristics being tested by additionally including their interactions. Totally 481 adolescents (49% male, age 15.5 ± 1.5 years) were enrolled, with the average global NRS score of 42.16 ± 7.57. Higher family income (β = 2.01, P = 0.007), longer sleep duration (β = 2.33, P = 0.011), and moderate after-class activity (β = 1.50, P = 0.044) contributed less NRS, while higher educational level (β = −2.60, P = 0.033), more coffee or tea consumption (β = −1.68, P = 0.013), physical symptoms (β = −3.85, P < 0.001), stress (β = −0.23, P = 0.005), anxiety (β = −1.54, P = 0.045), and depression (β = −0.13, P = 0.014) contributed more NRS. Females (β = 0.82, P = 0.005), older age (β = −0.46, P = 0.029), and higher education level (β = −1.68, P < 0.001) contributed less refreshment from sleep, more physical/medical symptoms of NRS, and less daytime function, respectively. Coffee or tea consumption moderated the associations of somatic symptoms (β = 0.25, P = 0.021), stress (β = 0.29, P = 0.022), anxiety (β = 0.27, P = 0.005), and depression (β = 0.17, P = 0.021) with NRS. Longer sleep duration, moderate after-class activity, reduced coffee or tea consumption, and promotion of physical and mental health may help reduce adolescents’ NRS. Coffee or tea consumption may help buffer the negative associations of somatic symptoms, stress, anxiety, and depression with NRS.

BackgroundBreakfast is deemed the most important meal of the day. We examined the prospective associations of breakfast habits with emotional/behavioral problems in adolescents and potential effect modification.Methods115,217 Primary 6 students (US grade 6, age 11.9±0.59 years) who attended the Student Health Service of Department of Health in Hong Kong in 2004/05, 2006/07, 2008/09 were followed till Secondary 6 (US grade 12). Emotional/behavioral problems were biennially examined using Youth Self-Report since Secondary 2 (US grade 8). Lifestyles were biennially examined using standardized questionnaires since Primary 6. Prospective associations of breakfast habit with emotional/behavioral problems and potential effect modification were examined using generalized estimating equations.ResultsCompared with eating breakfast at home, eating breakfast away from home was significantly associated with total emotional/behavioral problems and 7 syndromes, including withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety/depression, thought problems, attention problems, delinquent behaviors and aggressive behaviors (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] 1.22-2.04), while skipping breakfast showed stronger associations with the above problems and social problems (AORs 1.34-2.29). Stronger associations were observed in younger students for total and attention problems (P<0.03) and in those with lower weight status for delinquent behaviors (P=0.005).ConclusionsEating breakfast away from home and especially skipping breakfast were prospectively associated with more adolescent emotional/behavioral problems. The associations weakened with increasing age for total emotional/behavioral and attention problems, and weakened with higher weight status for delinquent behaviors, highlighting the vulnerability of younger and underweight children. If the associations are causal, increasing home breakfast may reduce adolescent emotional/behavioral problems and benefit psychosocial health.

Background: Adversity coping capability (ACC) is important amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the associations of ACC as measured by our one-item ACC scale (ACC-1) with mental health, family well-being and validity of ACC-1 in Hong Kong. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on Hong Kong Chinese adults aged ≥ 18 years by landline, mobile phone, and online survey from February to March 2021, when the fourth wave of COVID-19 was under control. ACC-1 consisted of the question: “How do you rate your capability to cope with adversities?” with higher scores (0–10) indicating stronger ACC. The associations of ACC with socioeconomic characteristics, resilience, mental health, and family wellbeing were examined by linear regression coefficients (βs). Data were weighted by sex, age, and education of the general population. Results: Of 7441 respondents, after weighing, 52.2% were female and 79.1% were aged 18 to 64 years. ACC-1 showed good construct validity, with higher ACC being associated with higher levels of resilience (adjusted β = 0.29), personal happiness (0.55), family happiness (0.42), family wellbeing (0.41), and family communication quality (0.41), and lower levels of depressive symptoms (-0.30), anxiety (-0.30), loneliness (-0.15); incremental validity with additional contributions of ACC to mental health and family wellbeing; and known-group validity with older age and favorable socioeconomic characteristics showing higher ACC (all P < 0.02). Females (mean ± standard deviation: 6.04 ± 1.82 vs 6.15 ± 1.96 [male]) and unemployed respondents (5.30 ± 1.99 vs 6.11 ± 2.03 [in paid employment]) had lower ACC (all P ≤ 0.02). Conclusions: We have first shown that stronger ACC was associated with better mental health and family wellbeing, and the results support ACC-1 as a simple and valid measure of ACC.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused different types of harms and benefits, but the combined patterns of perceived harms and benefits are unclear. We aimed to identify the patterns of perceived harms and benefits of the COVID-19 outbreak and to examine their associations with socio-demographic characteristics, happiness, and changes in smoking and drinking. A population-based cross-sectional online survey was conducted in May 2020 on Hong Kong adults (N = 4520). Patterns of perceived harms and benefits of COVID-19 were identified using latent profile analysis. Their associations with socio-demographic characteristics, happiness, and changes in smoking and drinking were examined using multinomial logistic regression. We identified three distinct patterns: indifferent (66.37%), harm (13.28%), and benefit (20.35%). Compared with the indifferent subgroup, the harm subgroup was younger, less happy, and had increased drinking, and hence might be at higher risk, whereas the benefit subgroup was more likely to be female, live with one or more cohabitants, have postsecondary education, be happier, and have decreased drinking, and could be more adaptive. Future studies can target the harm subgroup to facilitate their positive adjustments.