Publications by authors named "I-Chien Wu"
Background: Undetected atrial fibrillation (AF) poses a significant risk of stroke and cardiovascular mortality. However, diagnosing AF in real-time can be challenging as the arrhythmia is often not captured instantly. To address this issue, a deep-learning model was developed to diagnose AF even during periods of arrhythmia-free windows.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFunctional capacity is an important objective health metric, and relies on the maintenance of physiological homeostasis. Autonomic nervous system is known to coordinates the maintenance of multi-organ homeostasis. The objective of this study was to examine the association of autonomic nervous system function with functional capacity in adults aged 55 years and older.
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- A study examined the effects of QT prolongation in cancer patients, analyzing ECG data from 59,568 patients in Taiwan to understand its impact on cardiovascular (CV) mortality.* -
- The research found that while QT prolongation (measured by QTcB) was related to a slight increase in CV mortality risk, comorbidities were more significant factors influencing these outcomes.* -
- Ultimately, the study concluded that the presence of comorbidities, rather than just prolonged QT intervals, played a larger role in determining CV mortality in cancer patients.*
Dietary patterns related to inflammation have garnered great interest in disease prevention. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether a proinflammatory diet affects the incidence of frailty and its reversal in a prospective follow-up study. Data were taken from 5663 community-dwelling individuals ≥ 55 years old in Taiwan.
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- The study investigated the relationship between magnesium intake and cognitive function over time in adults aged 55 and older in Taiwan.
- Higher magnesium intake was linked to better performance on cognitive tests like the MMSE and DSST, particularly in men, indicating a protective effect against cognitive decline.
- The results suggest that increasing magnesium intake may help reduce the risk of cognitive impairment, especially for men, over a 6-year period.
Using large language model (LLM) to identify high-burden informal caregivers in long-term care.
Comput Methods Programs Biomed
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- There are more older people in the world now, which means we need more help for those taking care of them, but current methods might not find all the issues these caregivers face.
- The study looked at how well a computer program called a Large Language Model (LLM) can spot when caregivers are feeling overwhelmed, comparing it to older methods.
- The results showed that the LLM was better at identifying stressed caregivers, suggesting it could improve how we understand and support people in long-term care.
Background And Objectives: This study examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the 10-item Awareness of Age-Related Change Short Form (AARC-SF) questionnaire in a Chinese-speaking sample of older adults in Taiwan.
Research Design And Methods: Data from 292 participants (Mage = 77.64 years) in the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan cohort were used for Study 1, whereas data from young-old adult samples in Germany were used for Study 2.
Background: Quantifying the informal caregiver burden is important for understanding the risk factors associated with caregiver overload and for evaluating the effectiveness of services provided in Long-term Care (LTC).
Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a Caregiver Strain Index (CSI)-based score for quantifying the informal caregiver burden, while the original dataset did not fully cover evaluation items commonly included in international assessments. Subsequently, we utilized the CSI-based score to pinpoint key caregiver burden risk factors, examine the initial timing of LTC services adoption, and assess the impact of LTC services on reducing caregiver burden.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated how pulse pressure and hypertension relate to reduced physical function in older adults over an average of 6.19 years.
- Researchers analyzed data from Taiwanese adults aged 55 and older, measuring handgrip strength, gait speed, and walking distance to assess physical decline.
- Findings revealed that higher baseline pulse pressure correlated with future declines in handgrip strength and gait speed, with older adults having elevated blood pressure at greater risk of weakness, slowness, and lower endurance.
Article Synopsis
- Filial piety is the respect and support children give to their parents, and it can be linked to feelings of depression in older Chinese people.
- A study looked at how filial piety affects the relationship between lung health and depression in older men and women in Taiwan.
- The findings showed that while older men with better lung function had less depression, for older women, feeling supported by family helped reduce their risk of depression, especially if their lung health was poor.
Background: Prognostic indices can enhance personalized predictions of health burdens. However, a simple, practical, and reproducible tool is lacking for clinical use. This study aimed to develop a machine learning-based prognostic index for predicting all-cause mortality in community-dwelling older individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study aimed to investigate the distinct yet interconnected aspects of social isolation, namely living alone and loneliness, and their individual and combined effects on predicting health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
Methods: A comprehensive analysis, encompassing both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches, was conducted using a nationally representative sample of 5644 community-dwelling adults aged 55 and older from the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan (HALST).
Results: Baseline data revealed that 9% of the sample reported living alone, while 10.
Article Synopsis
- Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is linked to healthy aging, but the impact of work-related physical activity (WPA) on disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) and disabled life expectancy (DLE) remains unclear.
- A study involving 5,663 adults aged 55 and older found that women with low WPA had a significantly shorter DLE compared to those with no or high WPA, while men's DFLE and DLE appeared consistent across WPA levels.
- The findings suggest that older adults, especially women, should be mindful of the type and intensity of their physical activities to mitigate disability risks, highlighting the need for policies that promote balanced activity engagement.
Background: With the increase in the aging population, informal caregivers have become an essential pillar for the long-term care of older individuals. However, providing care can have a negative impact and increase the burden on caregivers, which is a cause for concern.
Objective: This study aimed to comprehensively depict the concept of "informal caregiver burden" through bibliometric and content analyses.
Background: Long-term care (LTC) service demands among cancer patients are significantly understudied, leading to gaps in healthcare resource allocation and policymaking.
Objective: This study aimed to predict LTC service demands for cancer patients and identify the crucial factors.
Methods: 3333 cases of cancers were included.
Objective: We investigated the correlation between glycemic control status and depressive symptoms in type 2 diabetes elderly.
Methods: A total of 1527 participants with type 2 diabetes aged 55 years and older from the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan study were included in this cross-sectional study. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) (20 items) score of ≥16 was indicative of depressive symptoms.
Article Synopsis
- A study in Taiwan aimed to identify dietary inflammatory patterns and their links to lipid and glucose biomarkers among older adults aged 55 and above.
- Researchers analyzed data from over 5,600 participants using dietary questionnaires and evaluated associations with various cholesterol and glucose measures through statistical models.
- Results showed that higher scores on the empirical dietary inflammatory pattern were linked to increased triglycerides and insulin levels, particularly in men and those with abdominal obesity, indicating dietary patterns may influence inflammation and metabolic health.
Background: Insomnia and frailty are prevalent in older adults. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of insomnia and sedative-hypnotic use on the frailty rate over time.
Methods: We used data from community-dwelling older adults (mean ± SD age = 69.
Background: Systemic chronic inflammation occurs with age. The association of the leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number, a measure of mitochondrial function in aging, with the temporal profile of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and mortality risk remains uncertain. The objectives of this study were to examine the association of the leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number with longitudinal high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels and the association of the longitudinal high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels with mortality risk.
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- - The study focuses on developing an AI-enhanced ECG model to detect elevated pulmonary artery pressure (ePAP), a critical sign of pulmonary hypertension, to enable early diagnosis and treatment.
- - Using data from over 41,000 patients, the AI model demonstrated strong accuracy (sensitivity 81.0% and specificity 79.6%) in identifying ePAP, regardless of age, sex, or comorbidities.
- - Results indicate that patients identified by the AI as having ePAP faced significantly higher cardiovascular mortality risks, underscoring the model's potential for improving early intervention and patient survival.
Background: Concealed left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a prevalent condition that is correlated with a substantial risk of cardiovascular events and mortality, especially in young to middle-aged adults. Early identification of LVH is warranted. In this work, we aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled model for early detection and risk stratification of LVH using 12-lead ECGs.
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- Frail older adults may experience greater cognitive impairment due to sleep issues compared to healthier peers, highlighting their vulnerability to stressors.
- The study involved participants aged 55 and older who were evaluated for sleep problems and cognitive decline over a median follow-up of 5.5 years, using a questionnaire and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
- Findings revealed that factors like short sleep duration, excessive daytime sleepiness, and insomnia complaints were linked to cognitive decline, particularly for physically robust individuals, suggesting stronger associations require more investigation due to limited frailty prevalence in the group studied.
Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) causes life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people. Measurements of QT prolongation during exercise or postural change have been recommended to assist in the diagnosis of LQTS, particularly in those with hidden phenotypes. However, most evidence has come from single-center studies without external validation in an independent cohort.
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- - The study focuses on assessing cardiovascular mortality risk in an aging population through a combined score based on electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters, aiming for primary prevention strategies.
- - Conducted on over 5,300 elderly subjects in Taiwan, results showed that specific ECG abnormalities like left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and prolonged QTc and PR intervals were significantly linked to all-cause and cardiovascular death.
- - The research developed predictive models using an ECG abnormality score, which effectively identified high-risk groups, demonstrating robust statistical improvements in predicting outcomes related to mortality.