Department of Disease Control

Background Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious mood disorder which affects approximately 1-3% of the population. It has a major impact on social functioning and is associated with considerable cost to healthcare systems around the world. Although genetic factors play a role in the etiology of BD, non-genetic factors are also likely to be important. Aim To conduct a systematic review of the literature on non-genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder. Methodology Searches were conducted in MEDLINE and PsycINFO for the period up to December 2013 and limited to English language and peer-reviewed publications. Eligibility criteria included bipolar disorder (BD) diagnosed by either the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM III, IV, IV-TR) or the International Classification of Disease (ICD 8, 9, 10) systems. Our search terms covered two categories including 14 synonyms for bipolar disorder and 50 possible risk factor areas. Result Eight hundred and one studies were obta...

Abstract: The genus Cassia (family Leguminosae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae, tribe Cassieae, subtribe Cassiinae) is a tropical plant group of trees, shrubs, or herbs. These plants are so useful from their herbal medical property and their quality woods. According to Flora of Thailand (1), there are 21 species of Cassia found in the country. However, this taxonomic classification does not agree with those of other

This pilot experiment examines if a loss in muscle proteostasis occurs in people with obesity and whether endurance exercise positively influences either the abundance profile or turnover rate of proteins in this population. Men with (n = 3) or without (n = 4) obesity were recruited and underwent a 14-d measurement protocol of daily deuterium oxide (D2O) consumption and serial biopsies of vastus lateralis muscle. Men with obesity then completed 10-weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), encompassing 3 sessions per week of cycle ergometer exercise with 1 min intervals at 100 % maximum aerobic power interspersed by 1 min recovery periods. The number of intervals per session progressed from 4 to 8, and during weeks 8-10 the 14-d measurement protocol was repeated. Proteomic analysis detected 352 differences (p < 0.05, false discovery rate < 5%) in protein abundance and 19 (p < 0.05) differences in protein turnover, including components of the ubiquitin-proteasome syst...

We examined muscle proteostasis in obese insulin-resistant (OIR) individuals to determine whether endurance exercise could positively influence proteome dynamics in this population. Male OIR (n = 3) and lean, healthy controls (LHC; n = 4) were recruited and underwent a 14-d measurement protocol of daily deuterium oxide (D2O) consumption and serial biopsies of vastus lateralis muscle. The OIR group then completed 10-weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), encompassing 3 sessions per week of cycle ergometer exercise with 1 min intervals at 100 % maximum aerobic power (Wmax) interspersed by 1 min recovery periods. The number of intervals per session progressed from 4 to 8, and during weeks 8-10 the 14-d measurement protocol was repeated. The abundance and turnover rates of 880 and 301 proteins, respectively, were measured. OIR and LHC muscle exhibited 352 differences (p< 0.05, false discovery rate (p< 0.05) differences in protein turnover. OIR muscle was enriched with m...

Thailand lacks occupational injury and illness (OII) surveillance for its agricultural sector, a sector that comprises 34% of the total Thai workforce but is not covered by the workers compensation system. This study used data from Thailand’s Universal Health Care System to estimate the medical costs of OIIs from agricultural work in Thailand. In 2017, OII medical costs totaled $47 million (USD), about ~ 0.2% of the gross domestic product produced by the Thai agricultural sector. We recommend that some of the national funds currently used for medical treatment of OIIs be used instead to develop and implement prevention programs in agriculture. This would improve not only worker health and safety, but also productivity. Availability of data on working conditions, injuries and illnesses, and especially lost time, lost income and productivity, and OII-related costs for the workers and their dependents might enable better public health policy formulation.

Background. Effectiveness of personal protective measure against COVID-19 infection is largely unknown. Methods. We conducted a retrospective case-control study, using a cohort of contact tracing records in Thailand. A total of 1,050 asymptomatic contacts of COVID-19 patients between 1 and 31 March 2020 were retrospectively interviewed by phone about their protective measures against COVID-19 infection. Cases were defined as asymptomatic contacts who were diagnosed with COVID-19 by 21 April 2020. Multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression models were used Findings. Overall, 211 (20%) were diagnosed with COVID-19 by 21 Apr 2020 (case group) while 839 (80%) were not (control group). Fourteen percent of cases (29/210) and 24% of controls (198/823) reported wearing either non-medical or medical masks all the time during the contact period. Wearing masks all the time (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.23; 95%CI 0.09-0.60) was independently associated with lower risk of COVID-19 infection comp...

Evaluation of the syphilis surveillance system was conducted at Mae Sot Hospital, Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand during 13-16 Aug 2019. The objectives of the evaluation were to describe the usefulness and to evaluate the performance of the system. A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the reporting system of syphilis. Medical records were reviewed from all possible data sources. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for in-depth interviews with a policy maker, health care providers, laboratory technicians and information and technology personnel. The sensitivity of reporting syphilis cases into Thailand's national notifiable disease surveillance reporting system was about 67%, while the positive predictive value of reporting was reached 100%. The data quality of reporting reached almost 100%. The reported data represented the true cases in terms of sex and age. The majority of participants found the reporting system of syphilis cases to be useful, accept...

On October 2020, there was a bus-train collision at Chachoengsao Province with 18 fatalities. The Division of Epidemiology conducted a joint investigation during October 2020 to describe characteristics of the event and deaths, and identify factors associated with fatalities. A descriptive study was conducted by interviewing officers, witnesses, policemen, rescuers and survivors. We also reviewed medical records and closed-circuit television and performed environmental survey of the roads and bus wreckage. A retrospective cohort study was performed with multiple logistic regression and Haddon matrix analyses. The bus collided with a cargo train at an illegal road-railway crossing intersection. Eighteen people died (25.4%). Most deaths were caused by lethal injuries to the head and neck (17/18, 94.4%). The bus was overloaded and turning on loud music. The intersection did not have crossing gates and the warning signal was broken. This bus-train collision resulted in high fatality. St...