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Background The aim of this study was to determine the long-term effect of increasing water intake in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) on longitudinal changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the setting of a clinical trial. Methods Self-completed HRQoL (using the KDQoL-SF, v.1.3 questionnaire) was assessed annually in participants of a 3-year randomized controlled clinical trial (n  = 187), allocated (1:1) either to increase water intake to reduce urine osmolality to ≤270 mosmol/kg (implemented by dietetic coaching, self-monitoring tools, text messaging) or continue usual water intake. Results Overall, 96% and 81.8% of participants (n  = 187) completed the questionnaire at the baseline and final study visits, respectively. At baseline, the physical component summary score (PCS) and mental component summary score (MCS) were similar in the two groups (P > 0.05) and the five dimensions with the lowest scores in both groups were: energy and fatigue; general and overall health; sleep; emotional well-being; and pain. Within each group, there were no longitudinal changes over time. At the final visit, the PCS was higher in the increased water intake group (51.3 ± 7.6, mean ± standard deviation) compared to the usual water intake group 48.8 ± 9.3; P = 0.037) whereas the MCS was numerically similar. The improvement in the PCS was due to higher sub-scale values for physical functioning and pain (both P < 0.05). By multivariate analysis, only baseline PCS and height-corrected total kidney volume were associated with the final PCS (P < 0.05). Conclusion HRQoL scores remained stable over a 3 year period, and were not adversely affected by the intervention to increase water intake. Future studies should evaluate the clinical significance of the higher PCS in the increased water intake group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastfeeding is associated with reduced lifetime cardiometabolic risk, but little is known regarding the metabolic benefit in a subsequent pregnancy. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and intensity and next pregnancy oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results. A retrospective cohort study was conducted from March 2020 to October 2022. All multiparous women who met inclusion criteria and gave birth during the study period were eligible for inclusion. Analysis was stratified by risk for gestational diabetes (GDM). High GDM risk criteria included previous GDM and BMI > 35 kg/m2. The association between breastfeeding duration and high-intensity breastfeeding (HIBF) and subsequent pregnancy OGTT were assessed with multivariate logistic models adjusted for statistically and clinically relevant covariables. There were 5374 multiparous participants who met the inclusion criteria for analysis. Of these, 61.7% had previously breastfed for >6 months, and 43.4% were at high risk for GDM. HIBF was associated with 47% reduced odds of an abnormal fasting glucose in a subsequent pregnancy OGTT (aOR 0.53; 95%CI 0.38–0.75; p < 0.01). There was no association between HIBF and other glucose results on the OGTT. Women who smoked were least likely to breastfeed at high intensity (aOR 0.31; 95%CI 0.21–0.47; p < 0.01). South Asian women had 65% higher odds of HIBF than women who identified as White/European (aOR 1.65; 1.36–2.00; p < 0.01). This study highlights the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to potentially reduce the prevalence of GDM and may also translate into long-term reduction of cardiometabolic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Given the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the associated prevention and control measures implemented, the psychological burden brought by the pandemic on citizens is expected to increase. This study is aimed at exploring the predictors of depressive symptoms among Hong Kong people during the epidemic, as well as factors that could potentially alleviate the negative effects of the epidemic. Methods. The third wave follow-up survey (December 2021 to January 2022) from a longitudinal prospective survey study conducted in Hong Kong was used for a cross-sectional analysis. The participants (n = 803) are adults aged 18 and above in Hong Kong. Logistic and linear regression were performed to test the predictors and moderating effects, respectively, with depression as the outcome variable. Results. With minimized confounding effects of demographic variables, higher levels of concern about infection, experience with COVID-19 infection and previous epidemics, hassles, and trust in authority increased the odds of being depressed, while a higher level of trust in medical professionals reduced the odds of depression. Moreover, greater trust in medical professionals, as a moderator, lessened the positive associations between the levels of depression and hassles and concern about infection. Conclusions. Even though the threats of COVID-19 seem to have lowered, this study shows that a few factors associated with the pandemic continue to threaten people's mental health. However, developing greater trust in medical experts may be an effective way to relieve psychological burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved accurate closed-form wave function analytic solution of two-dimensional scattering and diffraction of antiplane SH waves by a semicircular cylindrical hill on an elastic half space is presented. In the previous solution, stress and displacement residual auxiliary functions were defined at the circular interface above and below the circular hill. The method of weighted residues (moment method) was used to solve for the unknown scattered and transmitted waves by requiring each term of Fourier series expansion of these auxiliary residual functions to vanish. It was found that the stress residual amplitudes on both (left and right) rims of the hill (ideally should be zero) are not numerically insignificant, irrespective of how many terms used. It was pointed out that the shear stress at the rim is infinite, and that the stress auxiliary function is discontinuous at both rims of the hill, exhibiting a problem for the numerical solution that is more complicated than Gibbs' phenomenon. The problem with the overshoot of the stress residual amplitudes at the rim was most likely numerical. In this paper, all displacement and stress waves were expressed as cosine functions, and the solution of the circular hill problem was reformulated in this paper, and, for the solution to be correct, the computed stress and displacement residual amplitudes were shown to be numerically negligible everywhere, including those at both rims of the hill. Displacements at higher frequencies are also computed. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(2006)132:10(1106) CE Database subject headings: Waves; Displacement; Slopes.