The Influence of Depressive Mood on Mortality in Elderly with Different Health Status: Evidence from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA).

Depression and related syndromes are well identified in older adults. Depression has been reported to increase the incidence of a multitude of somatic disorders. In older adults, the severity of depression is associated with higher mortality rates.

Down-regulation of partial substitution for staple food by oat noodles on blood lipid levels: A randomized, double-blind, clinical trial.

This clinical trial was conducted to assess the lipid-lowering activity of oat noodles by replacing partial staple food (wheat or rice noodle) in normal and mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. Totally 84 healthy and mild hypercholesterolemic subjects were recruited and divided into 2 groups as experimental (oat noodles) and placebo (wheat noodles) and instructed to consume 100 g of oat noodles or wheat noodles (replacing one or two meals/day) for 10 weeks and followed by 2 weeks of follow up (without noodle consumption). Various anthropometric measurements and biochemical analysis were carried out during initial (baseline), 2nd, 6th, 10th and 12th week (follow-up).

Effects of receiving and providing family support on mortality in non-frail, pre-frail and frail older adults in Taiwan: a 12-year follow-up longitudinal study.

Background: To investigate the association between providing or receiving family support and risk of mortality in non-frail, pre-frail and frail older people.

Methods: Data were obtained from Taiwan's Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA) from 1996 to 2007 for 2186 people (1207 males; 979 females) aged ≥ 67 years at the time of 1996 follow-up survey. These older adults were categorized as being non-frail (normal), pre-frail, and frail, with frailty defined as the presence of three or more of the following criteria: shrinking, weakness, exhaustion, slowness, and low physical activity.

Association of providing/receiving support on the mortality of older adults with different living arrangements in Taiwan: a longitudinal study on ageing.

This longitudinal study evaluated the direct effects of providing/receiving family support on mortality in older adults with different living arrangements in Taiwan. All data analysed were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging, 1996-2007, of residents aged ⩾67 years (1,492 men and 1,177 women) and Taiwan's National Death Register. Living arrangements were divided into living alone, living only with spouse, living with family and living with others.

Antimetastatic effects of Eclipta prostrata extract on oral cancer cells.

Eclipta prostrata, a traditional Chinese medication, has been used for the treatment of several diseases. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of Eclipta prostrata extracts (EPE) on human oral cancer cell metastasis remains unclear. We thus examined the effects of EPE on metastasis promoting proteins in oral cancer.

Social support and mortality among the aged people with major diseases or ADL disabilities in Taiwan: a national study.

Objective: To determine the effects of social support on mortality among the aged people with major diseases or ADL disabilities.

Method: In this prospective cohort study, data were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging from 1996 to 2007. Data for 1297 males and 1666 females aged ≥65 years were collected.