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The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bedbugs (Cimex spp.) are a nuisance pest of significant public health importance that is on the rise globally, especially in crowded cities such as Hong Kong. Bedbug infestations disproportionately affect underprivileged communities living in crowded and dilapidated housing. This stu...

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Autores principales: Fung, Eddy Hin Chung, Chiu, Siu Wai, Lam, Hon-Ming, Chung, Roger Yat-Nork, Wong, Samuel Yeung Shan, Chan, Siu Ming, Dong, Dong, Wong, Hung
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8623092/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34821827
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12111027
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author Fung, Eddy Hin Chung
Chiu, Siu Wai
Lam, Hon-Ming
Chung, Roger Yat-Nork
Wong, Samuel Yeung Shan
Chan, Siu Ming
Dong, Dong
Wong, Hung
author_facet Fung, Eddy Hin Chung
Chiu, Siu Wai
Lam, Hon-Ming
Chung, Roger Yat-Nork
Wong, Samuel Yeung Shan
Chan, Siu Ming
Dong, Dong
Wong, Hung
author_sort Fung, Eddy Hin Chung
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bedbugs (Cimex spp.) are a nuisance pest of significant public health importance that is on the rise globally, especially in crowded cities such as Hong Kong. Bedbug infestations disproportionately affect underprivileged communities living in crowded and dilapidated housing. This study uses an online survey to investigate the health impacts of bedbug infestations among bedbug victims. This study found that most bedbug victims experienced ≥five bites in the past month, usually on the arms and legs. The most common reaction to bites were itchiness, redness, and swelling of the skin, and difficulties sleeping or restlessness. Bites usually occurred during sleep, impacting the bedbug victim’s mental and emotional health, and sleeping quality most severely. The adverse health outcomes of bedbug infestations were associated with the lower self-rated health and average hours of sleep per day of bedbug victims. This study brings attention to the neglected issue of bedbug infestations by providing evidence on the scope of its health impacts, informing public health interventions including public education and extermination programmes, and supportive laws and policies for adequate housing and hygiene. The successful control of bedbugs in an international city such as Hong Kong can inform the control of the global bedbug resurgence. ABSTRACT: Bedbugs (Cimex spp.) are a nuisance public-health pest that is on the rise globally, particularly in crowded cities such as Hong Kong. To investigate the health impacts of bedbug infestations among bedbug victims, online surveys were distributed in Hong Kong between June 2019 to July 2020. Data on sociodemographics, self-rated health, average hours of sleep per day, and details of bedbug infestation were collected. Bivariate and multivariable analysis were performed using logistic regression. The survey identified 422 bedbug victims; among them, 223 (52.9%) experienced ≥five bites in the past month; most bites occurred on the arms (n = 202, 47.8%) and legs (n = 215, 51%), and the most common reaction to bites were itchiness (n = 322, 76.3%), redness, and swelling of the skin (n = 246, 58.1%), and difficulties sleeping or restlessness (n = 125, 29.6%). Bites usually occurred during sleep (n = 230, 54.5%). For impact on daily life in the past month, most bedbug victims reported moderate to severe impact on mental and emotional health (n = 223, 52.8%) and sleeping quality (n = 239, 56.6%). Lower self-rated health (aOR < 1) was independently associated with impact on physical appearance (p = 0.008), spending money on medication or doctor consultation (p = 0.04), number of bites in the past month (p = 0.023), and irregular time of bites (p = 0.003). Lower average hours of sleep per day (aOR < 1) was independently associated with impact on mental and emotional health (p = 0.016). This study brings attention to the neglected issue of bedbug infestation by considering bedbugs as an infectious agent instead of a vector and providing empirical evidence describing its health impacts.
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spelling pubmed-86230922021-11-27 The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims Fung, Eddy Hin Chung Chiu, Siu Wai Lam, Hon-Ming Chung, Roger Yat-Nork Wong, Samuel Yeung Shan Chan, Siu Ming Dong, Dong Wong, Hung Insects Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bedbugs (Cimex spp.) are a nuisance pest of significant public health importance that is on the rise globally, especially in crowded cities such as Hong Kong. Bedbug infestations disproportionately affect underprivileged communities living in crowded and dilapidated housing. This study uses an online survey to investigate the health impacts of bedbug infestations among bedbug victims. This study found that most bedbug victims experienced ≥five bites in the past month, usually on the arms and legs. The most common reaction to bites were itchiness, redness, and swelling of the skin, and difficulties sleeping or restlessness. Bites usually occurred during sleep, impacting the bedbug victim’s mental and emotional health, and sleeping quality most severely. The adverse health outcomes of bedbug infestations were associated with the lower self-rated health and average hours of sleep per day of bedbug victims. This study brings attention to the neglected issue of bedbug infestations by providing evidence on the scope of its health impacts, informing public health interventions including public education and extermination programmes, and supportive laws and policies for adequate housing and hygiene. The successful control of bedbugs in an international city such as Hong Kong can inform the control of the global bedbug resurgence. ABSTRACT: Bedbugs (Cimex spp.) are a nuisance public-health pest that is on the rise globally, particularly in crowded cities such as Hong Kong. To investigate the health impacts of bedbug infestations among bedbug victims, online surveys were distributed in Hong Kong between June 2019 to July 2020. Data on sociodemographics, self-rated health, average hours of sleep per day, and details of bedbug infestation were collected. Bivariate and multivariable analysis were performed using logistic regression. The survey identified 422 bedbug victims; among them, 223 (52.9%) experienced ≥five bites in the past month; most bites occurred on the arms (n = 202, 47.8%) and legs (n = 215, 51%), and the most common reaction to bites were itchiness (n = 322, 76.3%), redness, and swelling of the skin (n = 246, 58.1%), and difficulties sleeping or restlessness (n = 125, 29.6%). Bites usually occurred during sleep (n = 230, 54.5%). For impact on daily life in the past month, most bedbug victims reported moderate to severe impact on mental and emotional health (n = 223, 52.8%) and sleeping quality (n = 239, 56.6%). Lower self-rated health (aOR < 1) was independently associated with impact on physical appearance (p = 0.008), spending money on medication or doctor consultation (p = 0.04), number of bites in the past month (p = 0.023), and irregular time of bites (p = 0.003). Lower average hours of sleep per day (aOR < 1) was independently associated with impact on mental and emotional health (p = 0.016). This study brings attention to the neglected issue of bedbug infestation by considering bedbugs as an infectious agent instead of a vector and providing empirical evidence describing its health impacts. MDPI 2021-11-14 /pmc/articles/PMC8623092/ /pubmed/34821827 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12111027 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Fung, Eddy Hin Chung
Chiu, Siu Wai
Lam, Hon-Ming
Chung, Roger Yat-Nork
Wong, Samuel Yeung Shan
Chan, Siu Ming
Dong, Dong
Wong, Hung
The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims
title The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims
title_full The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims
title_fullStr The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims
title_short The Impact of Bedbug (Cimex spp.) Bites on Self-Rated Health and Average Hours of Sleep per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study among Hong Kong Bedbug Victims
title_sort impact of bedbug (cimex spp.) bites on self-rated health and average hours of sleep per day: a cross-sectional study among hong kong bedbug victims
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8623092/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34821827
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12111027
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