Exposure characteristics and cumulative risk assessment of bisphenol A and its substitutes: the Taiwan environmental survey for toxicants 2013.

Introduction: Ever since the use of bisphenol A (BPA) has been restricted, concerns have been raised regarding the use of its substitutes, such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF). Meanwhile, the EU European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued the new tolerable daily intake (TDI) after the latest re-risk assessment for BPA, which enforced the need for cumulative risk assessment in the population. This study was conducted to identify BPA and its substitute's exposure characteristics of the general Taiwanese population and estimate the cumulative risk of bisphenol exposure.

Usefulness of cone-beam computed tomography-reformatted epidurography in percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis: A pilot study.

Background: Conventional epidurography (CE) is thought to have insufficient usefulness on percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis (PEA). We aimed to evaluate the association between the outcome of PEA and cone-beam computed tomography-reformatted epidurography (CBCT-RE).

Methods: After ethics board approval and written informed consent were obtained, we performed 30 PEA in 26 participants, and evaluated their post-PEA image findings.

Research on the Rescue Time of the Taiwan Marathon Emergency Medical Service System Between 2013 and 2021.

Background: While there are several studies on marathon injuries worldwide, there are no related studies on the Taipei Marathon regarding the rescue time of onsite injury cases, the incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases, and the success rate of recovery of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). This study aims to fill that gap.

Hypothesis: The rescue time onsite of contact injury cases was in the prime time for lifesaving.

Mediation effects of thyroid function in the associations between phthalate exposure and lipid metabolism in adults.

Phthalates are a group of industrial chemicals widely used in everyday products including cosmetics, food packaging and containers, plastics, and building materials. Previous studies have indicated that urinary phthalate metabolites are associated with metabolic effects including those on lipid metabolism, but the results are mixed. Furthermore, whether thyroid function mediates the association between phthalate exposure and lipid metabolism remains unclear.

Relationships among phthalate exposure, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance in young military soldiers: A cumulative risk assessment and mediation approach.

Background: Epidemiological studies concerning whether oxidative stress mediates phthalate exposure-insulin resistance (IR) associations in young adults are limited. Therefore, we investigated this potential mediation by using a cumulative risk approach involving daily intake (DI) and a hazard index (HI).

Methods: The participants were 391 Taiwanese military personnel.

Distinct Age-Specific Effects on Olfactory Associative Learning in C57BL/6 Substrains.

C57BL/6 is the most widely used mouse strain in the laboratories. Two substrains of C57BL/6, C57BL/6J (B6J), and C57BL/6N (B6N) are well-known backgrounds for genetic modification and have been shown difference in quite a few tests, including open field test, rotarod test, and Morris water maze. However, difference between these two substrains in olfaction-dependent behaviors remains unknown.

Associations Between Symptoms of Depression and Air Pollutant Exposure Among Older Adults: Results From the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA).

Little epidemiological research has investigated the associations of air pollutant exposure over various time windows with older adults' symptoms of depression. This study aimed to analyze the relationships of long- and short-term ambient air pollution exposure (to coarse particulate matter, O, SO, CO, and NO) with depressive symptoms in a sample of community-dwelling older adults. A sample of older adults ( = 1,956) was recruited from a nationally representative multiple-wave study (Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging).

Association between ambient temperature and cognitive function in a community-dwelling elderly population: a repeated measurement study.

Objectives: Evidence on the associations between short-term and long-term air temperature exposure and cognitive function in older adults, particularly those in Asia, is limited. We explored the relationships of short-term and long-term air temperature exposure with cognitive function in Taiwanese older adults through a repeated measures survey.

Design And Setting: We used data the ongoing Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging, a multiple-wave nationwide survey.

Food Processing and Phthalate Exposure: The Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1993-1996 and 2005-2008).

Phthalates esters are widely used commercially and can leach from a food container or food packaging. Few studies have been conducted in Asia regarding food processed to varying levels and human phthalate exposure. This study aimed to evaluate the association between unprocessed and ultra-processed food intake and urinary phthalate metabolite levels in the Taiwanese adult population.

Mediation effects of thyroid function in the associations between phthalate exposure and glucose metabolism in adults.

The mediating influence of thyroid function on the association of phthalate exposure with glucose metabolism, including insulin resistance, remains unclear. We explored the mediating influence of thyroid hormone levels on the phthalate exposure-insulin resistance association. This cross-sectional study of 217 Taiwanese adults assessed insulin resistance (Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance, HOMA-IR scores) and the levels of 11 urinary phthalate metabolites and 5 thyroid hormones.

Urinary phthalate metabolites are associated with biomarkers of DNA damage and lipid peroxidation in pregnant women - Tainan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS).

Phthalate exposure and oxidative stress have been linked to adverse reproductive outcomes in experimental studies, whereas no clear line has been drawn for human, especially in pregnant women. This study explored relationships between urinary phthalate metabolites and biomarkers of lipid peroxidation and oxidative and nitrosative DNA damage. Measurements from 97 Taiwanese pregnant women were taken at three different times during second and third trimesters.

Mediating role of oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers in the associations between phthalate exposure and thyroid function in Taiwanese adults.

Phthalate exposure was shown to alter thyroid function, however it is unclear, whether oxidative and nitrosative stress explains the intermediate biological mechanism. This study aimed to investigate the associations between phthalate exposure, oxidative/nitrosative stress, and thyroid function in adults, and to examine the mediating role of oxidative/nitrosative stress in the associations between phthalate exposure and thyroid function. Levels of eleven urinary phthalate metabolites, three urinary biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative stress (malondialdehyde [MDA], 8-OHdG, and 8-NOGua) and five serum thyroid hormones (thyroxine [T], free T, triiodothyronine, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and thyroxine-binding globulin) were measured in 266 Taiwanese adults.

Phthalate exposure increased the risk of early renal impairment in Taiwanese without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Studies have suggested that phthalates may be a risk factor for microalbuminuria, whereas little is known regarding their nephrotoxic effects on adults. We enrolled 311 participants (≥18 y, N = 241; <18 y, N = 70) who provided questionnaire information as well as blood and urine samples from a nationally cross-sectional study. Urinary phthalate metabolites were analyzed through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Changes in insulin resistance mediate the associations between phthalate exposure and metabolic syndrome.

Background: Information on the relationships between phthalate exposure, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in younger adults is limited. It is still unclear whether changes in insulin resistance represent an intermediate biological mechanism linking phthalate exposure and MetS.

Objective: To investigate the associations between cumulative risk of phthalates (such as daily intake [DI] and hazard index [HI]), insulin resistance, and MetS in younger adults and to examine the mediating role of insulin resistance in the associations between phthalate exposure and MetS.

Prenatal and childhood exposure to phthalate diesters and neurobehavioral development in a 15-year follow-up birth cohort study.

Objective: Longitudinal studies on neurobehavioral development in relation to prenatal and postnatal exposure to phthalates in school-age children and adolescents are limited. We investigated the association of prenatal and childhood phthalate exposure with the development of behavioral syndromes in 8-14-year-old children.

Method: We recruited 430 pregnant women from 2000 to 2001 and followed their children at the ages of 2, 5, 8, 11, and 14 years, yielding 153 mother-child pairs in total.

Increased risk of phthalates exposure for recurrent pregnancy loss in reproductive-aged women.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is the termination of pregnancies, usually before 20 weeks of gestation, and is defined as the loss of two or more pregnancies. In Taiwan, after 2011 di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) exposure episode, more reproductive-aged women still expose to high levels of DEHP and di-butyl phthalate (DBP) than have women of other age groups. Phthalates might be involved in the RPL pathogenesis.

Longitudinal assessment of prenatal phthalate exposure on serum and cord thyroid hormones homeostasis during pregnancy - Tainan birth cohort study (TBCS).

An increasing number of studies have revealed that phthalate exposure alters thyroid hormone homeostasis in the general population, but there is insufficient evidence of the effect of longitudinal maternal phthalate exposure on maternal and fetal thyroid hormones during pregnancy. We longitudinally assessed the effect of prenatal phthalate exposure in pregnant women on umbilical cord and maternal thyroid hormones at three trimesters during pregnancy. We recruited 98 pregnant women and collected urine and blood samples at three trimesters in an obstetrics clinic in Southern Taiwan from 2013 to 2014.

Prenatal and Childhood Exposure to Phthalate Diesters and Thyroid Function in a 9-Year Follow-up Birth Cohort Study: Taiwan Maternal and Infant Cohort Study.

Background: Phthalates are widely used in industry, personal care products, and medications. Recent studies have suggested that phthalate exposure alters thyroid hormones. However, longitudinal studies concerning the association between phthalate exposure and thyroid function in children are scant.

Exposure to fine particulate matter causes oxidative and methylated DNA damage in young adults: A longitudinal study.

An increased understanding is needed of the physiological effects and plausible biological mechanisms that link PM (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter below 2.5μm) exposure to mortality and morbidities such as atherosclerosis and respiratory disease. PM causes carcinogenic health effects.

Estimated Daily Intake and Cumulative Risk Assessment of Phthalates in the General Taiwanese after the 2011 DEHP Food Scandal.

A food scandal occurred in Taiwan in 2011 because the DEHP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) had been intentionally used in food products. We assessed the daily intakes (DIs) and cumulative risk of phthalates in Taiwan's general population after the scandal. The DIs of 6 phthalates, including di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP), and DEHP, were evaluated using urinary phthalate metabolites.

Does exposure to phthalates influence thyroid function and growth hormone homeostasis? The Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants (TEST) 2013.

Background: Previous epidemiologic and toxicological studies provide some inconsistent evidence that exposure to phthalates may affect thyroid function and growth hormone homeostasis.

Objective: To assess the relations between exposure to phthalates and indicators of thyroid function and growth hormone homeostasis disturbances both among adults and minors.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 279 Taiwanese adults (≥18 years old) and 79 minors (<18 years old) in 2013.