Publications by authors named "Lin-Cheng Fu"
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to examine how oral health affects geriatric disorders and clinical outcomes in older patients admitted to a medical center in Taiwan.
- It involved 1,141 participants aged 65 and older, assessing various health aspects, including cognitive status, mood, mobility, and oral health using a scoring system.
- Results indicated that poor oral health was prevalent among participants and strongly linked to other health issues, with significant differences in clinical outcomes like in-hospital mortality based on oral health severity.
The application of machine learning for identifying frailty in older patients during hospital admission.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to use machine learning (ML) to identify frailty in older patients hospitalized with acute illnesses to reduce related medical issues.* -
- Four ML models were compared for frailty prediction, with Support Vector Machine (SVM) performing the best in terms of accuracy and precision, using data from 3367 patients, of which 2843 were identified as frail.* -
- Key features influencing frailty prediction included age, gender, and various clinical indicators, showing that accessible hospital data can effectively predict frailty in older patients.*
Background: Spiritual care plays a significant role in holistic patient care, addressing not only physical ailments but also attending to patients' emotional and spiritual well-being. While the importance of spiritual care in nursing is widely recognized, there is often a gap in understanding nurses' willingness to provide such care. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between self-efficacy, spiritual well-being, and willingness to provide spiritual care among nursing staff.
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- The study examines how polypharmacy and anticholinergic drug use affect frailty and mortality in older adults, highlighting the differences between sexes.
- Researchers analyzed data from over 2,000 participants aged 65 and older, revealing that frailty was significant in predicting 5-year mortality, especially in males.
- Findings showed that frail males faced the highest mortality risks, while frail females with greater anticholinergic burden from medications also showed increased mortality rates.
Article Synopsis
- Osteoporosis and sarcopenia, known together as osteosarcopenia, present significant health risks for older adults, leading to declines in physical performance, nutritional health, and cognitive function as populations age.
- A study conducted in Taiwan included 337 older participants to investigate the prevalence and interactions between osteoporosis and sarcopenia, utilizing criteria from recognized health organizations to classify participants into four groups based on their conditions.
- Results indicated that those with both osteoporosis and possible sarcopenia exhibited notable differences in chronic illness rates, physical and cognitive abilities, and malnutrition levels compared to the other groups, highlighting the need for targeted interventions in this population.
Article Synopsis
- A study in Taiwan explored factors influencing whether terminal patients in palliative home care die at home, which is culturally favored.
- Conducted from March 2021 to March 2022, it involved 56 patients, primarily diagnosed with cancer, assessing various health factors and care outcomes through home visits.
- Findings indicated that patients who died at home showed comparable symptom deterioration but had improved psychological/spiritual experiences, highlighting the importance of family desires for home death and the severity of their medical conditions.
Article Synopsis
- This study investigated how kidney function, frailty, and physical performance relate to mortality in older diabetic patients.
- It found that declining renal function, particularly in those with frailty or physical performance issues, significantly increases the risk of death.
- The research highlighted that elderly patients with both chronic kidney disease (CKD) and frailty had the lowest survival rates, emphasizing the importance of monitoring these health factors.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to identify predictors of 30-day hospital readmission in patients aged 65 and older, focusing on factors like malnutrition and functional decline through a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA).
- Out of 1509 patients admitted, 233 (15.4%) experienced readmission within 30 days, with findings indicating that male gender and moderately impaired gait were significant predictors of rehospitalization, despite other factors like nutritional status not having a correlation.
- The predictive performance of the LACE index and HOSPITAL score was found to be poor, with a C-statistic of 0.59, indicating they were ineffective tools for forecasting readmission risk in this demographic.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the risk factors surrounding an increase in both burnout levels and depression among health care professionals in Taiwan through use of a longitudinal study design.
Design: This is a 2-year observational study that took place from January 2019 to December 2020.
Setting And Participants: Data among health care professionals were extracted from the Overload Health Control System of a tertiary medical center in central Taiwan.
Introduction: Both frailty and prefrailty (PF) are related to mortality. However, there is no consensus about the PF subtypes for prediction of the mortality risk. We aimed to compare the 5-year mortality of functionally independent geriatric outpatients with nonfrailty, different PF subtypes and frailty.
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- * Among the 17 participants evaluated, significant declines in nutritional and physical performance were observed after a 3-month lockdown, but these metrics improved once services resumed.
- * The results indicate the necessity for ongoing support for older adults with dementia in daycare settings during pandemic-related closures to help mitigate negative impacts.
Biomonitoring of Urinary Nickel Successfully Protects Employees and Introduces Effective Interventions.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
April 2022
Nickel is a heavy metal used in many industries. Nickel exposure can induce respiratory diseases and allergic reactions, and increase cancer risk. This study evaluated the introduction of a grinding and polishing system to prevent injuries from nickel toxicity in workers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of cognitive and physical functional decline that may impede disease self-management. By incorporating cognitive and physical function assessment, this study aimed to evaluate prevalence and factors associated with cognitive and physical dysfunction in older diabetic people.
Methods: The cross-sectional study was performed from August 1, 2017 to November 30, 2018.
Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Clinical Outcomes in the Older People at the Emergency Department.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
June 2021
Visits by older people to the Emergency Department (ED) have increased in recent decades with higher revisiting and admission rates after discharge, particularly for those with frailties. This study used a before-after design aimed at evaluating Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) screening in older ED patients (aged ≥ 75 years) during the 12-month preintervention period. Additionally, a CGA-based structured follow-up program after ED discharge was executed during the next 12-month intervention period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Day care service (DCS) provides various activities in a professional environment to meet the old people with functional limitations. However, relatively little is known about the effects of DCS on physical and mental functions.
Methods: This was a retrospective study that we used a comprehensive geriatric assessment to evaluate the changes before and after DCS among participants in a hospital-affiliated geriatric day care center in Taiwan.
We evaluated the predictability of self-reported Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed by the 3-level 5-dimensional Euro-Quality of Life tool (EQ-5D-3L) and the EQ-Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS) on clinical outcomes of elderly patients who were admitted to an acute geriatric ward. A total of 102 participants (56.9% men) with a median age of 81.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMigration of placental extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cells into uterine decidua facilitates the establishment of blood circulation between mother and fetus and is modulated by EVT-decidual cell interaction. Poor or excessive EVT migration is associated with pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia or placenta accreta. Glial cells missing 1 (GCM1) transcription factor is essential for placental development, and decreased GCM1 activity is detected in preeclampsia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpigenetics plays an important role in the fetal origins of adult disease. Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) can cause increased histone acetylation of the endothelin-1 () gene from pulmonary vascular endothelial cells or the whole lung tissue and persist into later life, likely resulting in increased risk of pulmonary hypertension or asthma later in life. However, little is known regarding the correlation of epigenetic changes between specific tissue and peripheral leucocytes.
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