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Tuberculosis, or TB for short, is a bacterium typically spread by prolonged and close contact with a person with active pulmonary (lung) TB. Most contain the bacterium without any outward manifestations – also termed latent TB, which is non-infectious. A handful of people with latent TB will progress to develop active symptoms, usually months to years after the initial exposure, explains Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader of the Anti-microbial Resistance Programme at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Furthermore, multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) refers to a drug-resistantRead more

Diabetes in Singapore is on the rise, and younger Singaporeans are becoming diabetic at a younger age. Research studies conducted by the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health have found that 34% of the young adults aged 24 to 35 would be susceptible to diabetes by the age of 65. “Usually, the peak of diabetes occurs from around 50 to 60 years of age,” says Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Although most patients still tend to be generally older,Read more

Professor John Ioannidis, C. F. Rehnborg Professor in Disease Prevention at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Prevention Research Centre, delivered a talk as part of the School’s Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue on Capturing the Value of Prevention on 18 May 2016. Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, commenced the session with an introduction of the School’s Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue and Prof Ioannidis, a renown mathematician and scientist who has been described as “one of the most influential scientistsRead more

Congratulations to Associate Professor Gerald Koh on receiving the Outstanding Educator Award 2016 at the University Awards on 29 April 2016! The University Awards represent the highest tribute to excellence in educating and nurturing talent, advancing knowledge and fostering innovation, and contributing to country and society. The Outstanding Educator Award is the highest University-level award for teaching excellence which recognises faculty who have excelled in engaging and inspiring students in their knowledge discovery. As Academic Advisor to students involved in the Neighbourhood Health Service project, and having pioneered a university-wide module to equip students withRead more

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong recently declared a war on diabetes, a disease which estimates suggest will affect 1 million Singaporeans by 2050 if nothing is done to reverse this trend. Research conducted by the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and University of Southern California also estimates the cost of diabetes in the working population to exceed $2.5 billion by 2050. MInister Gan identified five fronts on which the war on diabetes would be fought – prevention, screening, control, education and stakeholders’ engagement – shifting away fromRead more

Type 2 diabetes cost Singapore more than S$1 billion in 2010 and could soar to beyond S$2.5 billion annually by 2050 if current trends continue, says the first-ever article to predict the cost of this disease in Singapore by graduate student Ms Png May Ee, Assoc Prof Joanne Yoong, research associate Thao Phuong Phan and Dr Wee Hwee Lin at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. The article was first published in Europe’s BMC Public Health in February 2016. Among diagnosed working-age adults (20-69 years old), the study found that 26Read more

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has declared a ‘war on diabetes’, citing a Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health study which estimated the total economic burden of diabetes for working aged adults in Singapore at more than a billion dollars a year. Of the more than 400,000 diabetics today, one in three do not even know they have the disease, and of those who know, one in three have poor control, added Minister Gan. “The long-term cost of diabetes, taking into account the psychosocial costs, is much more thanRead more

China announced its “Made in China 2025” manufacturing strategy in May 2015, which places the biomedical and high-performing medical instruments sector as one of China’s pillar industries. China could draw lessons from Singapore’s experience over the last decade, when the Singapore government began investing substantially in biomedical research since 2000. 10 years on, Singapore has since shifted its focus from basic biomedical research to clinical translational research, focusing on health outcomes and emphasis on disease prevention in the population. The current major population health threat/challenge is not infectious diseases butRead more

The number of teenage boys who have visited prostitutes is on the rise, with the key reasons being never having had a girlfriend, or one who is sexually active, and watching pornography frequently, according to the first study here on teens who have paid for sex. During interviews conducted with 300 teens who visited the Department of Sexually Transmitted Infections Control (DSC) Clinic, the study found that 2 in 5 teenage boys surveyed had paid for sex. This jump in the proportion of teens who have visited prostitutes is significant, says Associate ProfessorRead more

The NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) and the EHESP French National School of Public Health jointly organised the Urban Planning for a Healthy Smart Nation on 11 April 2016, a workshop designed to integrate the two national programmes of “Healthy Living Master Plan” and the “Smart Nation Initiative”. The workshop drew over 100 participants, bringing together international, multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary people, including policy makers looking at the three sectors of health, transport and urban planning, public health practitioners, and academics. A/Prof Teo Yik Ying, co-organiser from the Saw SweeRead more

A study conducted by the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and NUS Business School has found that office workers spend an average of seven hours every day sitting at their work stations, which may increase the risk of developing diabetes. The study, led by Assistant Professor Falk Mueller-Riemenschneider and researchers Dr Clarice Waters and Er Pei Ling from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health is the first in Asia to research healthcare risks associated with sitting for extended periods. The study on assessing and understanding sedentary behaviour in office-basedRead more

Projections by the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health have indicated that Singapore is expected to have 1 million diabetics by 2050, due to an ageing population and a rise in obesity. While people should keep fit and eat healthy to prevent onset of diabetes, experts say those who are considered at risk should be screened at an earlier age. Furthermore, 50 per cent of diabetics do not realise they have the disease as the symptoms are not obvious. But if left untreated, complications such as heart attacks,Read more