Application of two-sample Mendelian randomization method to assess the causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporotic fracture.

Background: The association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoporotic fracture has garnered considerable attention; however, the causal relationships between diseases remain uncertain. Therefore, this study employed Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal effects of RA on osteoporotic fracture.

Methods: The summary data for RA and osteoporotic fracture were extracted from the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) catalog and the Finn Biobank database.

Temporal trends in the disease burden of osteoarthritis from 1990 to 2019, and projections until 2030.

This study aimed to report trends in the global burden of osteoarthritis (OA) from 1990 to 2019 and predict the trends in the following years based on Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. The study included reporting on the prevalence and incidence rates, as well as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Additionally, the age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) and Estimated Annual Percent Change (EAPC) were analyzed along with related factors, finally, Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) analysis were utilized to predict the trends in the upcoming years.

Disparities in the level of COVID-19 health literacy and the associated factors among employees in long-term care facilities in Taiwan.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a significant threat to the safety of residents in long-term care facilities, and the staff of long-term care facilities are essential in the care and prevention of major infectious diseases and therefore require good health literacy to ensure the health of residents. The main objective of this study was to examine the health literacy of staff in long-term care facilities and analyze the factors associated with their COVID-19 health literacy in Taiwan to provide a basis for the response mechanism to emerging infectious diseases.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey with a structured questionnaire by a convenience sample method and to assess the COVID-19 health literacy of caregivers working in long-term care facilities in this study.

Detection of Immune Microenvironment Changes and Immune-Related Regulators in Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis Bone Metastasis.

The inflammation/immune response pathway is considered a key contributor to the development of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) bone metastasis. However, the dynamic changes in the immune microenvironment of LCH bone metastasis and critical regulators are still unclear. Expression profiling by arrays of GSE16395, GSE35340, and GSE122476 was applied to detect the immune microenvironment changes in the development of LCH bone metastasis.

Effect of dietary flaxseed oil on the prognosis of acute anterior cruciate ligament rupture: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: This study aimed to explore whether dietary flaxseed oil has effects on acute anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture prognosis after surgical reconstruction.

Methods: Patients with primary acute ACL rupture diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging and clinical examination were recruited at Quanzhou First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University and randomized to either the placebo group or the flaxseed oil group by computer-generated random numbers. Patients in the placebo group took six corn oil capsules daily, while patients in the flaxseed oil group took six flaxseed oil capsules daily.

Differences in and Factors Related to Willingness to Provide Care to Patients with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exerted tremendous effects on the residents of and caregivers at long-term care facilities (LTCF). The combination of a vulnerable, aged population, staffing shortages, and inadequate resources in LTCF will cause a great negative impact in these sectors. Addressing the caregiver's lack of interest in providing care for patients with COVID-19 is a great challenge for institutional managers.

Factors Associated with patient satisfaction towards a prison detention Clinic Care among male drug-using inmates.

This study assessed patient satisfaction and its associated factors among male drug-using inmates utilizing a prison detention clinic in Taiwan. A cross-sectional design and structured questionnaire were employed to recruit 580 drug-using inmates into the study. The Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form (PSQ-18), developed by the RAND Corporation, was used as the basis for the short scale of patient satisfaction, and the research data were analyzed using the SPSS for Windows 20.

Causal relationships of obesity on musculoskeletal chronic pain: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Background: The association between obesity and musculoskeletal chronic pain has attracted much attention these days; however, the causal relationship between them is uncertain. Hence, this study performed a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal effects of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on knee pain, hip pain, and back pain.

Materials And Methods: The summary data for obesity and musculoskeletal chronic pain came from the genome-wide association study datasets.

Factors Associated with Free Hospital Outpatient Service Use among Middle-Aged and Older Urban Homeless Adults in Taipei.

Homeless individuals have many negative experiences with inequality regarding access to and the use of primary healthcare services, so policies to eliminate the disparities in and barriers to primary care access for these people are needed. The aim of this study was to explore the use and determinants of free hospital outpatient services for homeless people, in order to describe the provision of free healthcare policies for this vulnerable population in Taipei. One cross-sectional survey was conducted to recruit homeless people aged 45 years old and over in Taipei in 2018.

HtrA2 is required for inflammatory responses in BMDMs via controlling TRAF2 stability in collagen-induced arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by the destruction of cartilage and bone. The present study aims to investigate the role of HtrA serine peptidase 2 (HtrA2) in the collagen-induced arthritis. The expressions of HtrA2 were determined in the database BioGPS and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs).

Health Literacy of Osteoporosis Risks among Caregivers Serving in Disability Care Facilities.

Osteoporosis is a global public health issue and its consequent effects are a growing concern worldwide. Caregivers generally experience occupational physical ailments and they have less of a tendency to engage in preventive health behaviors, leading them to be in a higher risk group for osteoporosis. This study aims to present a general profile of health literacy related to osteoporosis risks and identify its associated factors among disability institutional caregivers.

Correlates of Depressive Symptoms among Middle-Aged and Older Homeless Adults Using the 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire.

This study investigates the screening for depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older homeless adults based on Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and examines the possible factors associated with their major depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional survey was employed, and research subjects included 129 homeless people aged 45 years old and over in Taipei Wanhua District and Taipei Main Station. We used a structured questionnaire and face-to-face interview conducted by three social workers to collect data in the analyses.

Early Osteoporosis Risks and Associated Factors among Caregivers Working in Disability Institutions: IOF One-Minute Osteoporosis Risk Check.

This study employed the International Osteoporosis Foundation's One-Minute Osteoporosis Risk Test to examine factors related to the osteoporosis risk of institutional caregivers. In this cross-sectional study, a self-developed structured questionnaire comprising the One-Minute Osteoporosis Risk Test was used to obtain data on the caregivers' demographic data, health habits, working style, and osteoporosis risk. Seven disability welfare institutions were selected as research sites, and 465 copies of questionnaires were distributed to the institutions' employees, with 455 valid responses collected for a valid return rate of 98%.

Integrative settings approach to workplace health promotion to address contemporary challenges for worker health in the Asia-Pacific.

Workplaces in the rapidly industrializing Asia-Pacific region face growing pressures from high-speed development driven by global competition, migration and the aging of the workforce. Apart from addressing work-related injuries, workplaces in the region also have to deal with increasing occupational stress, chronic diseases and their associated socio-economic burden. Meanwhile, interventions in workplace health are still dominated by a narrow behavioral change model.

The utilization and barriers of Pap smear among women with visual impairment.

Background: Many evidences illustrate that the Pap smear screening successfully reduces if the cervical cancer could be detected and treated sufficiently early. People with disability were higher comorbidity prevalence, and less likely to use preventive health care and health promotion activities. There were also to demonstrate that people with visual impairment has less access to appropriate healthcare services and is less likely to receive screening examinations.

Comparison of job burnout and life satisfaction between native and foreign female direct care workers in disability institutions.

Background: There is little information about the burnout and wellbeing of institutional caregivers working for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; information is particularly limited in the understanding of experiences of direct care workers.

Objective: The aims of the study were to provide a profile of self-perceived burnout and wellbeing of direct-care caregivers working in disability institutions, and to compare the difference between native- and foreign caregivers.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted.

Are early onset aging conditions correlated to daily activity functions in youth and adults with Down syndrome?

This study aims to answer the research question of "Are early onset aging conditions correlated to daily activity functions in youth and adults with Down syndrome (DS)?" A cross-sectional survey was employed to recruit 216 individuals with DS over 15 years of age in the analyses. A structured questionnaire included demographic data, brief self-reported aging conditions, Dementia Screening Questionnaire for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (DSQIID) and activity of daily living (ADL) scales were completed by the primary caregivers who were well-suited for providing information on the functioning conditions of the DS individuals. Results showed that the most five frequent aging conditions (sometimes, usually and always) included frailty (20.

Risk for osteopenia and osteoporosis in institution-dwelling individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and contributing factors to osteopenia and osteoporosis among people with intellectual disabilities (ID) or/and developmental disabilities (DD) residing in a disability institution in Taiwan. The present study was conducted at one disability institution in Taiwan and recruited 184 institutionalized residents with ID and/or DD (115 men and 69 women aged 18-72 years) for analysis. For all residents with ID and/or DD, information was obtained about their age, gender, level of ID, BMI, and bone mineral density (BMD).

Development of traditional Chinese version of World Health Organization disability assessment schedule 2.0 36--item (WHODAS 2.0) in Taiwan: validity and reliability analyses.

Background: World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) provided a standardized method for measuring the health and disability and the traditional Chinese version has not been developed.

Primary caregivers' awareness and perception of early-onset dementia conditions in adolescents and young and middle-aged adults with Down syndrome.

The present study aims to investigate the onset of dementia conditions using the Dementia Screening Questionnaire for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (DSQIID) scale and to identify the possible factors associated with DSQIID scores in people with Down syndrome (DS). The study population was recruited from the voluntary registry members of the Republic of China Foundation for Persons with Down syndrome; primary caregivers provided DSQIID information on 196 adolescents and adults with DS (aged 15-48 years) who were entered into the database and analyzed using SPSS 20.0 software.

Increased risk of stroke after septicaemia: a population-based longitudinal study in Taiwan.

Inflammation and infection have been noted to increase stroke risk. However, the association between septicaemia and increased risk of stroke remains unclear. This population-based cohort study, using a National Health Insurance database, aimed to investigate whether patients with septicaemia are predisposed to increased stroke risk.

Onset aging conditions of adults with an intellectual disability associated with primary caregiver depression.

Caregivers of adults with an intellectual disability experience depressive symptoms, but the aging factors of the care recipients associated with the depressive symptoms are unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze the onset aging conditions of adults with an intellectual disability that associated with the depression scores of their primary caregivers. A cross-sectional survey was administered to gather information from 455 caregivers of adults with an intellectual disability about their symptoms of depression which assessed by a 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).

Association of early-onset dementia with activities of daily living (ADL) in middle-aged adults with intellectual disabilities: the caregiver's perspective.

Few studies have investigated in detail which factors influence activities of daily living (ADL) in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) comorbid with/without dementia conditions. The objective of the present study was to describe the relation between early onset dementia conditions and progressive loss of ADL capabilities and to examine the influence of dementia conditions and other possible factors toward ADL scores in adults with ID. This study was part of the "Healthy Aging Initiatives for Persons with an Intellectual Disability in Taiwan: A Social Ecological Approach" project.

Outpatient physical therapy utilization for children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan: a population-based nationwide study.

This study analyzed the utilization and utilization determinants of outpatient physical therapy (PT) among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze 2007 national health insurance (NHI) claim data from 35,802 eighteen-year-old and younger persons with intellectual disabilities. A total of 3944 (11.

Trends in the use of psychotropic drugs in people with intellectual disability in Taiwan: a nationwide outpatient service study, 1997-2007.

This study aims to examine trends in outpatient psychotropic drug use among people with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan. The NHI outpatient medication records between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2007 for people with intellectual disabilities were analyzed to observe the percent change, prevalence and prescription trends in psychotropic drugs. The overall prevalence of psychotropic medication increased from 17.