Dysmenorrhoea among Hong Kong university students: prevalence, impact, and management.

OBJECTIVE. To evaluate the prevalence of dysmenorrhoea, its impact, and management approaches in Hong Kong university students, and to compare between medical and non-medical students for any potential differences in coping strategies. DESIGN. Cross-sectional questionnaire survey. SETTING. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS. A total of 240 undergraduate (128 medical and 112 non-medical) students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Data on the presence and severity of dysmenorrhoea, its impact on daily life, management approaches, specific strategies, and their self-perceived effectiveness were obtained and analysed. RESULTS. In these subjects, the prevalence of dysmenorrhoea was 80% (95% confidence interval, 75-85%) with a mean (standard deviation) pain score of 5.0 (1.7). The most common impacts on daily life included reduced ability to concentrate and/or disturbance with study (75%) and changes in normal physical activity (60%). Only 6% sought medical advice, while 70% practised self-management. Pain scores and pain affecting normal physical activities were important predictive factors for self-management and for management based on pharmacological or non-pharmacological means. The commonest specific strategies used were a warm beverage (62%), paracetamol (57%), and sleeping (45%), while the most effective strategies were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (100%), traditional Chinese medicine (93%), and dietary/nutritional supplements (92%). Regarding the comparison of medical and non-medical students, the former used fewer pharmacological strategies among the various management approaches investigated. CONCLUSION. With data showing dysmenorrhoea as a very common condition having a significant impact in the Hong Kong community, primary care doctors should reassure young women with dysmenorrhoea that it is a common experience in the same age-group. Health education on the existence of effective treatment from medical practitioners could help women whose dysmenorrhoea was not controlled by self-management.

Heme oxygenase-1 inhibits pro-oxidant induced hypertrophy in HL-1 cardiomyocytes.

AIMS: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) activate multiple signaling pathways involved in cardiac hypertrophy. Since HO-1 exerts potent antioxidant effects, we hypothesized that this enzyme inhibits ROS-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. METHODS: HL-1 cardiomyocytes were transduced with an adenovirus constitutively expressing HO-1 (AdHO-1) to increase basal HO-1 expression and then exposed to 200 microM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Hypertrophy was measured using 3H-leucine incorporation, planar morphometry and cell-size by forward-scatter flow-cytometry. The pro-oxidant effect of H2O2 was assessed by redox sensitive fluorophores. Inducing intracellular redox imbalance resulted in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through transactivation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB). RESULTS: Pre-emptive HO-1 overexpression attenuated the redox imbalance and reduced hypertrophic indices. This is the first time that HO-1 has directly been shown to inhibit oxidant-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by a NF-kappaB-dependent mechanism. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that HO-1 inhibits pro-oxidant induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and suggest that HO-1 may yield therapeutic potential in treatment of.