Epidemiology of Behcet's Disease in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study.

Purpose: To study the incidence and epidemiology of Behcet's disease in Taiwan.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using the nationwide reimbursement database in Taiwan. One million registered beneficiaries of the Taiwan National Health Insurance system in 2000 were randomly selected.

Underemployment among mothers of children with intellectual disabilities.

Background: Mothers with lifelong care responsibilities might involuntarily be non-employed or work part-time, both of which are defined as "underemployment." This study aimed to investigate who these underemployed mothers are and what are the factors associated with such employment hardship when having a child with intellectual disability (ID).

Method: An interview survey was conducted in 2011 in two local authorities of Taiwan on 876 working-age mothers with a child with intellectual disability; 514 of them were working part-time/non-employed and chosen as participants of this study.

Attitudes Toward Male and Female Sexuality Among Men and Women With Intellectual Disabilities.

Studies comparing the sexual attitudes of men and women with intellectual disabilities (ID) have been limited. A mixed-methods approach was employed to explore attitudes toward sexuality among men and women with ID in Taiwan and to ascertain the disparities between attitudes among men and women with ID. First, fifty-six men and forty-four women with mild and moderate ID completed a face-to-face interview survey.

Universal Breadwinner Versus Universal Caregiver Model: Fathers' Involvement in Caregiving and Well-Being of Mothers of Offspring with Intellectual Disabilities.

Background: The universal breadwinner model means both parents are employed; while the universal caregiver model implies that the father's hours of caregiving are equal or higher to those of the mother. This study aims to examine the hypothesis that the universal caregiver model is more related to the overall well-being of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities than the universal breadwinner model.

Methods: Face-to-face interview surveys were conducted in 2011 in Taiwan with 876 working-age mothers who had an offspring with intellectual disabilities.

Models of long-term care use among older people with disabilities in Taiwan: institutional care, community care, live-in migrant care and family care.

The four main models of long-term care (LTC) for older people in Taiwan are institutional care, community and home-based care, live-in migrant care and family care. This study aims to examine the factors associated with the four above-mentioned LTC models, using the Andersen model as its framework for analysis. Data were from the 2005 National Taiwanese Health Interview Survey ( = 30,680), and in this study, 592 over 65-year-old persons who require personal care in daily life were included.

Persistence of topical glaucoma medication: a nationwide population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

Importance: Medication persistence is an important factor for treatment effect in patients with glaucoma. Evaluating risk factors for refill discontinuation might be helpful for improving persistence and preventing blindness in patients with glaucoma.

Objectives: To estimate the persistence rate with topical glaucoma medication 2 years after diagnosis and evaluate risk factors for nonpersistence among patients in Taiwan with open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

Risk factors for developing glaucoma among patients with uveitis: a nationwide study in Taiwan.

Purpose: To investigate the incidence and risk factors for developing ocular hypertension or glaucoma needing treatment among uveitis patients in Taiwan.

Methods: The nationwide database-derived retrospective cohort study was designed using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. From 1 million representative samples randomly selected from the beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance program, all patients with a diagnosis of uveitis were identified.

Menopause experiences and attitudes in women with intellectual disability and in their family carers.

Background: Little is known about how middle-aged and older women with intellectual disability (ID) cope with life transitions such as perimenopause and postmenopause.

Method: A mixed methods approach was employed to explore the attitudes toward and experiences of menopause among women with ID and their family carers in one city in Taiwan.

Results: A survey found that how the carers perceived the level of menopausal symptoms in their female family members with ID was affected by their attitudes toward menopause; and carer age and education were significant factors associated with carer menopausal attitudes.

Difficulties of care-work reconciliation: employed and nonemployed mothers of children with intellectual disability.

Background: Whether employed and nonemployed mothers of children with intellectual disability (ID) have different experiences with reconciliation between care and work has rarely been explored.

Method: A survey was conducted in a county in Taiwan and 487 mothers aged younger than 65 and having a child with ID were interviewed face to face at their homes to explore whether there are different factors related to the reconciliation between care and work among employed and nonemployed mothers.

Results: Except for the common ground of mothers' health and care demands, logistic regression revealed work flexibility and care support were important for employed mothers.

Epidemiology of uveitis among the Chinese population in Taiwan: a population-based study.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the incidence and prevalence of uveitis in Taiwan, and then analyzed the risk factors related to uveitis using multivariate regression.

Design: Population-based cohort study using medical claims data.

Participants: We randomly selected 1 000 000 residents from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Pulmonary tuberculosis increases the risk of lung cancer: a population-based cohort study.

Background: The possible effect of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) on subsequent lung cancer development has been suspected, but the evidence remains inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to perform a nationwide population-based cohort study to investigate the risk of lung cancer after pulmonary TB infection.

Methods: This nationwide population-based cohort study was based on data obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database.

Caring, employment, and quality of life: comparison of employed and nonemployed mothers of adults with intellectual disability.

The effects of caregiving on mothers of adults with intellectual disability was examined by determining whether there are differences in quality of life and related factors between mothers with different employment status. Study participants were 302 working-age mothers who had adult children with intellectual disability based on the 2008 census survey on intellectual disability carried out in Hsinchu, City, Taiwan. Results revealed that nonemployed mothers are more likely to have a lower level of health status, including the WHOQOL Physical Health domain, than are mothers employed fulltime.

Do the health-care workers gain protection against herpes zoster infection? A 6-year population-based study in Taiwan.

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes varicella, and may reactivate to cause herpes zoster later in the life of the host. It has been previously observed that exposure to VZV may boost the host's latent immunity. Health-care workers who are frequently exposed to ill patients ought to receive a protective effect.

Prevalence and severity of menstrual symptoms among institutionalised women with an intellectual disability.

Background: Perimenstrual syndrome (PMS) among women with an intellectual disability (ID) has not been investigated in Taiwan. This study explores the prevalence/severity of PMS experienced by women with ID who are institutionalised.

Method: Ninety two female residents aged 15 to 54 at six public institutions completed a structured interview between June and November 2006, together with the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MMDQ).

Predictors of female worker attitudes towards menstruation and the provision of help to institutionalized women with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan.

No previous research has examined the importance of both individual and environmental factors for predicting caregivers' menstrual attitudes. To explore the predictors of female caregivers' attitudes towards menstruation and the help they give to women with intellectual disabilities, we conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey which was completed by 725 female workers from 12 institutions in Taiwan. The Menstrual Attitudes Questionnaire (MAQ) and a structured questionnaire were used.

The crowding-out effects of tobacco and alcohol where expenditure shares are low: analyzing expenditure data for Taiwan.

In this paper, we used data from the 2004 Survey of Family Income & Expenditure of Taiwan to show that the problem of the crowding-out effects of tobacco and alcohol in a country with low expenditure can still be serious. Most studies that have investigated this issue have focused on developing countries with a high expenditure share on tobacco or alcohol, and have often overlooked the effects in countries with a low expenditure on such goods. After controlling for the endogeneity of tobacco and alcohol expenditure, and the possibility that households with a zero expenditure on tobacco and alcohol may result from a corner solution rather than abstention, we found that the lowest income households are still most vulnerable to tobacco and alcohol expenditures despite an overall low expenditure in Taiwan.

Respite care as a community care service: factors associated with the effects on family carers of adults with intellectual disability in Taiwan.

Background: This study examines the effects and associated factors of respite care, which was legislated as a community service for adults with an intellectual disability (ID) in Taiwan in 1997.

Method: A total of 116 family carers who live with an adult with ID and have utilised the respite care program were surveyed using standardised measures.

Results: The results suggest that the most notable effects of respite care include improvement in the carers' social support and life satisfaction, and relief of psychological stress and overall burden of care.