Comparison of four electrocardiographic criteria for the detection of cardiac abnormalities in Singapore athletes.

Introduction: Sudden cardiac death in athletes is a rare occurrence, the most common cause being hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which increases the risk of sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Most of these young athletes are asymptomatic prior to the cardiac arrest. Several electrocardiogram criteria such as the European Society of Cardiology group 2 Criteria changes, Seattle Criteria, Refined Criteria, and most recently the 2017 International Criteria, have sought to improve the accuracy of identifying these at-risk athletes during pre-participation screening while minimising unnecessary investigations for the majority of athletes at low risk.We aimed to compare the above four criteria in our Singapore athlete population to identify which criterion performed the best in detecting cardiac abnormalities on echocardiography. Method: Out of 1,515 athletes included in Changi General Hospital, Singapore registry between June 2007 and June 2014, the electrocardiograms of 270 athletes with further cardiac investigations were analysed. We compared the above four electrocardiographic criteria to evaluate which performed best for detecting cardiac abnormalities on echocardiography in our Southeast Asian athlete population. Results: The European Society of Cardiology, Seattle, Refined and 2017 International Criteria had a sensitivity of 20%, 0%, 20% and 5%, respectively; a specificity of 64%, 93%, 84% and 97%, respectively; a positive predictive value of 4%, 0%, 9% and 11%, respectively; and a negative predictive value of 91%, 92%, 93% and 93%, respectively for detecting abnormalities on echocardiography. Conclusion: The latest 2017 International Criteria performed the best as it had the highest specificity and positive predictive value, joint highest negative predictive value, and lowest false positive rate.

Healthcare workers' self-regulatory eating behaviours are associated with being stress-free during the Covid-19 lockdown in Singapore.

Our study sought to examine the impact of the pandemic and the Circuit-breaker (CB) measures on dietary behaviours of healthcare workers (HCW). In addition, the association between self-regulatory eating behaviours and psychological stress was explored. Our study employed a cross-sectional anonymous survey that examined the demographics, dietary habits, self-regulatory eating behaviours (SR) and their association to stress levels of healthcare workers (HCWs) before and during the Circuit Breaker (CB) in Singapore. The survey was conducted over four weeks from May 17 to June 18, 2020. Snowball sampling was performed in the final week. A total of 707 participants took part in the survey. Due to the CB measures and modifications of work scope and work areas, there were significant changes in their dietary behaviors before CB versus during the CB period (n = 707), with many reducing the intake of vegetables (p = 0.018) while increasing their intake of unhealthy food choices such as canned drinks (p = 0.002), convenience food (p ≤ 0.001) and alcoholic drinks (p = 0.034). Before the CB period, 91.8% (602/656) of participants who intended to have a healthy diet were classified in medium-to-high SR groups whereas during the CB period, 87.7% (575/656) were in medium-to-high SR groups and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.011). Nurses, administrative staff, HCWs of Chinese and Indian ethnicities, staff who did not complete university education and those who did not have domestic helpers were more likely to have reduced SR. Importantly, amongst participants who intended to have a healthy diet, 70.9% displayed no change or improved eating habits and showed medium-to-high levels of SR during CB. Participants with no changes in SR were 2.11 times more likely to be stress-free as compared to those who had deteriorated SR (OR 2.11 95% CI 1.27-3.48, p = 0.004). Due to CB measures and work modifications, dietary behaviours of HCWs deteriorated with increased intake of unhealthy food choices. HCWs who maintain their self-regulatory eating behaviour are more likely to be stress-free. Short screening questionnaires based on SR changes should be developed and explored as surveillance tools for assessment of HCWs' general well-being such that personalized interventions to vulnerable groups of workers could be implemented effectively on the ground.

Physical activity levels and mental health burden of healthcare workers during COVID-19 lockdown.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has precipitated international lockdown measures to curb disease transmissions. The closure of public activity spaces as well as changes in pandemic workload may disrupt healthcare workers' physical activity and self-care routines. We sought to examine the association between physical activity levels and mental health burden of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 lockdown in Singapore. This cross-sectional study comprised of an multidomain survey that was administered digitally to 707 healthcare workers between 17 May and 18 June 2020. Exercise frequency, duration and intensity of these healthcare workers had reduced significantly during the lockdown compared to pre-lockdown. 25.3%, 37.2%, and 11.9% had screened positive for moderate-to-extremely-severe depression, anxiety and stress respectively. Reductions in exercise duration was a significant risk factor for mild stress and moderate-to-severe depression while increase in exercise frequency was found to be a protective factor against depressed mood. Our study revealed that a short-term reduction in physical activity levels during lockdown was associated with poorer psychological outcomes. Given the protection that exercise confers on depression, physical activity should be promoted at the workplace and at home to support healthcare workers to cope through this protracted health crisis.