Associations between tooth loss, denture use, and dementia in older Taiwanese adults.

Background: The literature has mainly focused on the association between tooth loss and dementia, and evidence regarding the separate and joint effects of tooth loss and denture use on the risk of dementia is limited. This study investigated the links among tooth loss, denture use, and dementia risk in Taiwanese adults aged 65 years or older.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized data from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey and 2008-2017 National Health Insurance claim records, including the records of 2247 individuals free from dementia treatment in 2008-2009.

Cost-effectiveness of lazertinib as first-line treatment in patients with -mutated advanced lung cancer.

Background: Lazertinib demonstrates efficacy similar to that of osimertinib in the first-line treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor ()-mutated advanced lung cancer. However, its cost-effectiveness has not yet been evaluated.

Objective: To study the cost-effectiveness of lazertinib as a first-line treatment for patients with -mutated advanced lung cancer.

Healthcare utilization and costs for patients with Parkinson's disease in Taiwan.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) exerts a considerable burden on the elderly. Studies on long-term costs for Parkinson's disease patients in Taiwan are not available.

Objectives: This study aims to examine the medical resource utilization and medical costs including drug costs for PD patients in Taiwan over up to 15 years of follow-up.

Tele-Assisted Home-Based Palliative Care Reduces Health Care Costs for Terminal Cancer Patients: Real-World Evidence From a Regional Hospital in Taiwan.

Tele-assisted home-based palliative care (THPC) usually fulfills the desire of terminal patients to pass away at home. The overall costs of such a service deserve evaluation. This study aims to determine health care utilization and costs for cancer patients at the end of life, stratified by THPC service.

Support for a hypothetical sugar-sweetened beverage tax in Taiwan.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are drinks that contain added sugar or sweeteners and provide calories with no additional nutrients, and some countries have imposed additional taxes on the SSBs to reduce consumption, which is considered an SSB tax policy. This study used a cross-sectional online survey to examine the patterns of public support for an SSB tax in Taiwan. The sample included 1617 adults aged ≥ 20 years, who answered the survey questionnaire between May 2020 and April 2021.

Working retirees in Taiwan: examining determinants of different working status after retirement.

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the work status of retirees after retirement, especially focusing on self-employment and unpaid work. Data was taken and analyzed from the "Taiwan Health and Retirement Study," a nationally representative sample of retired personnel aged 50-74 in 2015-2016. Four types of work status were classified after retirement: Fully retired, Paid work, Self-employment, and Unpaid work.

Late creation of vascular access increased post-hemodialysis mortality, hospitalization, and health-care expenditure: A population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: The optimal timing of vascular access (VA) creation for hemodialysis (HD) and whether this timing affects mortality and health-care utilization after HD initiation remain unclear. Thus, we conducted a population-based study to explore their association.

Methods: We used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to analyze health-care outcomes and utilization in a cohort initiating HD during 2003-2013.

Dynamic changes and lifetime effect of functional disability profiles for stroke patients: real-world evidence from South Korea.

Purpose: This work aimed to investigate the long-term dynamic changes of functional disabilities and estimate lifetime outcomes of different functional disabilities after a stroke, using real-world data from a nationally representative South Korean cohort.

Methods: Patients aged 18 and above with ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes were identified from the Korea Health Panel (KHP) data (2008-2018). Functional disabilities were repeatedly measured for patients aged 55 and over for the prevalence of disabilities associated with activities of daily living (ADL), and kernel smoothing means were estimated for each item.

Overall and cause-specific mortality in patients with dementia: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

Objectives: Information regarding the underlying causes of death (UCODs) and standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of dementia is instrumental in formulating medical strategies to prolong life in persons with dementia (PWD). We examined the leading UCODs among PWD and estimated the overall and cause-specific SMRs in relation to dementia in Taiwan.

Methods: Data were retrieved from 2 national datasets: the Taiwan Death Registry and the medical claim datasets of the National Health Insurance program.

Association between sleep health and intrinsic capacity among older adults in Taiwan.

Although the association between poor sleep quality and frailty has been previously reported, the relationship between sleep health and intrinsic capacity (IC) remains largely unknown. We aimed to examine the association between sleep health and IC among older adults. This was a cross-sectional study, and 1268 eligible participants completed a questionnaire collecting information on demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, sleep health, and IC.

The lifetime burden following stroke: Long term impact of stroke on survival and quality of life.

Background: The absolute burden of stroke in Korea is ever growing. Many studies have explored the outcomes of mortality, quality of life (QOL), and/or economic burden with limited periods of observation. Relatively few have addressed the lifetime outcomes that are estimated beyond the limited observation period of study samples.

Developing a shortened version of the dementia knowledge assessment scale (DKAS-TC) with a sample in Taiwan: an item response theory approach.

Background: The 25-item Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS2) is a widely used tool for measuring knowledge of dementia. To increase the applicability of the Chinese-language version of the tool (DKAS-TC) for the general public, this study aimed to develop a shortened version using the item response theory (IRT) approach.

Methods: A total of 401 participants voluntarily completed a Chinese-language version of the DKAS2 questionnaire (DKAS-TC) at the start of dementia awareness training courses in 2020 and 2021.

Sex Differences in Dietary Patterns of Adults and Their Associations with the Double Burden of Malnutrition: A Population-Based National Survey in the Philippines.

A dietary pattern transition is a risk factor for the double burden of malnutrition (DBM), but related information is limited. This study aimed to identify sex differences in dietary patterns of adults in a low-middle income country and to examine their association with DBM. A total of 8957 adults (4465 men and 4492 non-pregnant and non-lactating women) who participated in the 2013 Philippine National Nutrition Survey were included in the analysis.

Effects of continuity of care on hospitalizations and healthcare costs in older adults with dementia.

Introduction: People with dementia have high rates of hospitalization, and a share of these hospitalizations might be avoidable with appropriate ambulatory care, also known as potentially preventable hospitalization (PAH). This study investigates the associations between continuity of care and healthcare outcomes in the following year, including all-cause hospitalization, PAHs, and healthcare costs in patients with dementia.

Methods: This is a longitudinal retrospective cohort study of 69,658 patients with dementia obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Pay-for-performance and continuity of care synergistically reduced amputation of lower extremity in patients with diabetes: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Diabetic foot is a common and costly complication of diabetes. No existing study has looked at the effect of continuity of care on amputations of diabetes (DM) patients while considering pay-for-performance (P4P) participation. We investigated the impact of the P4P program and the continuity of care index (COCI) on the incidence of lower extremity amputations (LEA) among diabetics in Taiwan.

A Culture-Based Strategy Is More Cost Effective Than an Empiric Therapy Strategy in Managing Pediatric Infection.

Background: infection is a major cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. This study aimed to compare the eradication rate and essential costs of culture-based and empiric therapy strategies in treating pediatric infection.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients aged <18 years with a diagnosis of infection who received esophagogastroduodenoscopy at two medical centers in southern Taiwan from 1998 to 2018.

The Effects of in-Home Respite Care on the Burden of Caregivers in Taiwan.

The utilization rate of respite care in Taiwan is low, and past studies that evaluated the effects of in-home respite care on caregiver burden are few. This two-wave panel study used Taiwan's long-term care plan 1.0 database and included 2342 care recipient-caregiver dyads who used home services to examine the impact of in-home respite care on caregiver burden.

Associations of Physician Characteristics with Sex Difference in Ischemic Heart Disease Incidence among Patients Living with Type 2 Diabetes in Taiwan.

(1) Background: Certain non-biological factors are suspected to explain the reduced sex difference in cardiovascular risk after diabetes. This study aimed to assess whether physician characteristics may account for such reduced sex difference. (2) Methods: Totally 10,105 type 2 diabetes patients (including 4962 men and 5143 women) were selected from Taiwan's National Health Insurance claim data.

Social Determinants of Diabetes-Related Preventable Hospitalization in Taiwan: A Spatial Analysis.

Diabetes-Related Preventable Hospitalization (DRPH) has been identified as an important indicator of efficiency and quality of the health system and can be modified by social determinants. However, the spatial disparities, clustering, and relationships between DRPH and social determinants have rarely been investigated. Accordingly, this study examined the association of DRPH with area deprivation, densities of certificated diabetes health-promoting clinics (DHPC) and hospitals (DHPH), and the presence of elderly social services (ESS) using both statistical and spatial analyses.

Urban-rural disparity in lower extremities amputation in patients with diabetes after nearly two decades of universal health Insurance in Taiwan.

Background: To assess the prevalence of urban-rural disparity in lower extremities amputation (LEA) among patients with diabetes and to explore whether patient-related or physician-related factors might have contributed to such disparity.

Methods: This was a population-based study including patients with diabetes aged ≥55 years from 2009 to 2013. Among them, 9236 received LEA.