Risk of Developing Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Receiving Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy.

Objectives: To compare risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) between diabetic patients receiving Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapy and those treated by Western medicine (WM).

Methods: This prospective cohort study included 13,655 diabetic patients receiving solely TCM and 435,165 patients treated exclusively by WM. Study patients were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) ambulatory claims in 2000-2001.

Levels of Urbanization and Parental Education in Relation to the Mortality Risk of Young Children.

Background: The establishment of the National Health Insurance program in Taiwan in 1995 effectively removed the financial barrier to access health care services of Taiwanese people. This population-based cohort study aimed to determine the independent and joint effects of parental education and area urbanization on the mortality risk among children under the universal health insurance coverage in Taiwan since 1995.

Methods: We linked 1,501,620 births from 1996 to 2000 to the Taiwan Death Registry to estimate the neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates, according to the levels of parental education and urbanization of residential areas.