Dachen Chu

Relationships of leisure-time and non-leisure-time physical activity with depressive symptoms: a population-based study of Taiwanese older adults.

BackgroundLimited research has explored the relationship between non-leisure-time physical activity (NLTPA), including domestic and work-related physical activities, with depressive symptoms. This study was designed to elucidate independent associations between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), NLTPA, and specific parameters of physical activity (frequency, duration and intensity) with depressive symptoms in older adults.MethodsA total of 2,727 persons aged ≥ 65 years participating in the 2005 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey were studied. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Information regarding energy parameters for each type of LTPA and NLTPA during the past 2-week period was analyzed. After adjusting for socio-demographic variables, lifestyle behaviors and health status, multivariate logistic regression models were used to compute adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for LTPA and NLTPA for predicting depressive symptoms.ResultsLTPA but not NLTPA was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Compared with participants expending 2000+ kcal/week through LTPA, the risk of experiencing depressive symptoms was significantly higher for those expending 1-999 kcal/week (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.25-3.39), and those who expending 0 kcal/week (AOR = 3.72, 95%CI: 2.28-6.06). Among the three parameters of LTPA (intensity, duration and frequency) examined, only intensity was independently associated with depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThese findings imply that exercise recommendations for older adults should emphasize the importance of higher intensity activity, rather than frequency or duration, for improved mental well-being. However, well-designed prospective cohort studies or intervention trials are needed to confirm these findings.

Dental Prophylaxis and Periodontal Treatment Are Protective Factors to Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— A correlation has been found between periodontal disease (PD) and stroke. This study was conducted to investigate whether dental prophylaxis and periodontal treatment reduce the incidence rate (IR) of ischemic stroke. Methods— We identified 510 762 PD cases and 208 674 non-PD subjects from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2010. The PD cases were divided into dental prophylaxis, intensive treatment, and no treatment groups. The stroke IRs were assessed among groups during follow-up. Cox regression analysis was used after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities to determine the relationship between periodontal treatment and incidence of ischemic stroke. Results— The stroke IR of the non-PD subjects was 0.32%/year. In the PD group, subjects who received dental prophylaxis had the lowest stroke IR (0.14%/year); subjects with intensive treatment or tooth extraction had a higher stroke IR (0.39%/year); and subjects without PD treatment had the highest stroke IR (0.48%/year; P<0.001). After adjustment for confounders, the dental prophylaxis and intensive treatment groups had a significant lower hazard ratios for stroke than the non-PD group (hazard ratio=0.78 and 0.95; 95% confidence interval=0.75–0.81 and 0.91–0.99, respectively), whereas the PD without treatment group had a significant higher hazard ratio for stroke (1.15; 95% confidence interval=1.07–1.24), especially among the youngest (20–44) age group (hazard ratio=2.17; 95% confidence interval=1.64–2.87) after stratifying for age. Conclusions— Maintaining periodontal health by receiving dental prophylaxis and PD treatment can help reduce the incidence of ischemic stroke.

Prevalence of Associated Injuries of Spinal Trauma and Their Effect on Medical Utilization Among Hospitalized Adult Subjects : A Nationwide Data-based Study

BackgroundThis study was wanted to investigate the prevalence of concomitant injuries among hospitalized acute spinal trauma patients aged 20 and over and the effects of those injuries on medical utilization in Taiwan.MethodsNationwide inpatient datasets of Taiwans National Health Insurance (NHI) database from between 2000 and 2003 were used. The major inclusion criteria used to select cases admitted due to acute spinal trauma were based on three diagnostic International Classification of Disease, 9th Version (ICD-9) codes items: (1) fracture of vertebral column without mention of spinal cord injury; (2) fracture of vertebral column with spinal cord injury; or (3) spinal cord lesion without evidence of spinal bone injury. To investigate the associated injuries among the eligible subjects, the concomitant ICD-9 diagnosis codes were evaluated and classified into six co-injury categories: (1) head trauma; (2) chest trauma; (3) abdominal trauma; (4) pelvic trauma; (5) upper extremities trauma; (6) lower extremities trauma.ResultsThere were 51,641 cases studied; 27.6% of these subjects suffered from neurological deficit, but only 17.3% underwent a surgical procedure for spinal injury. Among them, the prevalence of associated injuries were as follows: head trauma, 17.2%; chest injury, 2.9%; abdominal trauma, 1.5%; pelvic injury or fracture, 2.5%; upper limb fracture, 4.4%; lower limb fracture, 5.9%. The three major locations of acute spinal injury (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine) were found to be combined with unequal distributions of associated injuries. By stepwise multiple linear regression, gender, age, location of spinal injury, neurological deficit, surgical intervention and the six combined injuries were identified significantly as associated factors of the two kinds of medical utilization, length of stay (LOS) and direct medical cost. The combinations of acute spinal trauma with lower extremity injury, pelvic injury, chest injury, abdominal injury and upper extremity injury resulted in of the highest utilization of medical resources, the estimated additional LOS being between 4.3 and 1.2 days, and the extra medical cost calculated as being between

Increased risk of tuberculosis in patients with end-stage renal disease: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan, a country of high incidence of end-stage renal disease

1,230 and

Epidemiology of Hospitalized Traumatic Pelvic Fractures and Their Combined Injuries in Taiwan: 2000–2011 National Health Insurance Data Surveillance

320.ConclusionThe occurrence of associated Injuries among hospitalized acute spinal trauma patients in Taiwan is not uncommon, and results in an obvious effect on medical utilization.

Prevalence of and Predictors for Frequent Utilization of Emergency Department: A Population-Based Study.

This nationwide population-based cohort study investigated the risk of tuberculosis (TB) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and receiving dialysis. The evaluations included 4131 incident ESRD patients receiving dialysis and 16,524 age- and gender-matched controls, recruited between 1998 and 2009. We used Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to measure the association between TB and ESRD. Compared to the controls, the ESRD cohort had a significantly higher risk of TB within 1 year [incident rate ratio (IRR) 4.13], and 1-2 years (IRR 2.12), of occurrence of ESRD. The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that ESRD [hazard ratio (HR) 2.40], age >65 years (HR 2.41), male sex (HR 1.94), diabetes mellitus (HR 1.36), silicosis (HR 7.70) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR 1.61) are independent risk factors for TB. Patients with ESRD are associated with an increased risk of TB, and should thus be monitored more carefully for TB, especially within 2 years of onset of ESRD.

Epidemiology of Orthopedic Fractures and Other Injuries among Inpatients Admitted due to Traffic Accidents: A 10-Year Nationwide Survey in Taiwan

Background. From the viewpoint of prehospital emergency medicine, a greater proportion of pelvic fractures not of a life-threatening status but combined with other injuries need more comprehensive recognition. Methods. A 12-year nationwide health database of inpatients was reviewed. All cases diagnosed as pelvic fractures were enrolled. The associated injuries classified into 20 categories were further analyzed. Results. During 2000–2011, the hospitalized incidence of pelvic fractures in Taiwan ranged from 17.17 to 19.42 per 100,000, and an increasing trend with age was observed. The mean case-fatality rate was 1.6% for females and 2.1% for males; male patients with pelvic fractures had a significantly higher risk of death than female patients after adjusting for other covariates. 74.2% of these cases were combined with other injuries. The most common associated injuries in an identified body region were other orthopedic fractures of the lower limbs (21.50%), spine/trunk (20.97%), or upper limbs (18.18%), followed by significant head injuries (17.59%), intra-abdominal injuries (11.00%), and thoracic injuries (7.20%). Conclusion. The incidence of hospitalized pelvic fractures in Taiwan was low and the case-fatality rate was lower than those of other countries. Concurrently, coexistence of major combined injuries with pelvic fractures was easily treated at medical centers.

Associations of exercise, sedentary time and insomnia with metabolic syndrome in Taiwanese older adults: A 1-year follow-up study

Abstract Frequent emergency department (ED) users contribute to a disproportionate number of ED visits that consume a substantial amount of medical resources. Additionally, people with frequent ED visits may be at greater risks of illnesses and injury and are vulnerable to even more severe health events. We conducted, based on a nationally representative sample, a population-based study to estimate the prevalence of frequent ED users among all ED users, and to explore factors associated with frequent ED visits. This is a population-based cross-sectional study. Data of 1 million people randomly selected from all beneficiaries of Taiwans National Health Insurance claim database in 2010 were analyzed to estimate the distribution of ED visit among ED users. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to calculate the independent associations of factors with prevalence of frequent (4-12 ED visits per year) and highly frequent (>12 ED visits per year) ED visits. Of the 1 million beneficiaries 170,475 subjects used ED service in 2010 and 103,111 (60.5%), 37,964 (22.3%), 14,881 (8.7%), 14,041 (8.2%), and 460 (0.3%) subjects had 1, 2, 3, 4 to 12, and more than 12 ED visits, respectively. ED users with 4 to 12 visits and those with >12 visits disproportionally accounted for 24.1% and 3.0%, respectively, of all ED visits in 2010. We noted significant associations of frequent ED visit with a number of factors including socio-demographics, health care utilization, and comorbidity. Among them, the most increased adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was noted for hospitalization during the past year (AOR = 1.85) and younger ages (1–6 years) (AOR = 1.84). On the contrary, the significant predictors for highly frequent ED visit with greater AOR included hospitalization during the past year (AOR = 3.95), >12 outpatient visits during the past year (AOR = 2.66), and a history of congestive heart failure (AOR = 2.64) and psychiatric disorders (AOR = 2.35). People admitted and with frequent outpatient visits were at greater risk of frequent ED visit. Because people with a history of various comorbidities were also vulnerable to become frequent ED users, careful management of those comorbidities by clinicians may help further reduce the likelihood of frequent ED visit.

Evaluation of the harmonic scalpel in breast conserving and axillary staging surgery.

To investigate the major injury patterns associated with traffic accidents and evaluate the risk factors of the main injury, a survey of Taiwans national insurance admission data between 2002 and 2011 was performed. The incidence of traffic-accidents-related hospitalization was between 9.17% and 11.54% and the average mortality rate of the inpatients admitted due to traffic accidents was 0.68%. Of all inpatients due to road traffic accidents in Taiwan, orthopedic fractures were the most common injuries that accounted for 29.36% of them. There were a total of 391,197 cases of three orthopedic fracture groups that were divided into (1) fracture of upper limb, (2) fracture of lower limb, and (3) fracture of spine and trunk. An increase in national medical cost used for inpatients with orthopedic fractures was noted and ranged from US

Association of Hospital Characteristics and Diagnosis With the Repeat Use of CT and MRI: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in an Asian Country

45.6 million to US