Assessing the Quality of Cause-of-Death Reporting Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study assessed the quality of cause-of-death reporting in the US before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used the selection rate and the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) to analyze each cause identified by the National Center for Health Statistics as unsuitable for the underlying cause of death (UCOD). The selection rate was defined as the proportion of deaths with mention of a particular unsuitable UCOD on the death certificate where that cause was ultimately selected as the UCOD.

Correction: Dashboard With Bump Charts to Visualize the Changes in the Rankings of Leading Causes of Death According to Two Lists: National Population-Based Time-Series Cross-Sectional Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/42149.].

Normal Weight Central Obesity is a Poor Prognostic Factor for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Objectives: To investigate the role of normal weight central obesity (NWCO) in the prognosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 807 cases of SSNHL from January of 2008 to August of 2019 from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in southern Taiwan. We analyzed the association between overweight and obesity, NWCO, and the prognosis of SSNHL.

Predictive Factors and Audiometric Outcome Comparison Between Titanium Prosthesis and Autologous Incus in Traumatic Ossicular Injury.

Objectives: To investigate the etiology and ossicular pathology of traumatic ossicular injury in Taiwan and examine the hearing outcomes and predictive factors between the titanium prosthesis and autologous incus groups.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with traumatic ossicular injury from 2011 to 2020 in Taiwan. Patients were divided into the titanium or autologous group according to the surgical materials used.

Dashboard With Bump Charts to Visualize the Changes in the Rankings of Leading Causes of Death According to Two Lists: National Population-Based Time-Series Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Health advocates and the media often use the rankings of the leading causes of death (CODs) to draw attention to health issues with relatively high mortality burdens in a population. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) publishes "Deaths: leading causes" annually. The ranking list used by the NCHS and statistical offices in several countries includes broad categories such as cancer, heart disease, and accidents.

Ranking of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia among the leading causes of death in the US varies depending on NCHS or WHO definitions.

Introduction: We compared the ranking of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) among the leading causes of death (LCODs) between those according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) lists by sex.

Method: The number of deaths in each LCOD category was obtained from CDC WONDER.

Results: According to the WHO list, ADRD was the second LCOD from 2005 to 2013, the first from 2014 to 2020, and the third in 2021, respectively, for women and was the second in 2018 and 2019, the third in 2020, and the fourth in 2021, respectively, for men.

Abortion and Female Cancer Risks among Women Aged 20 to 45 Years: A 10-Year Longitudinal Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Background: Female cancers, including breast, cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancer, remain among the ten most common cancers among women worldwide, but the relationship between female cancers and abortion from previous studies is inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate risks of incident female cancers among women aged 20 to 45 years who underwent abortion in Taiwan compared with those who did not.

Method: A longitudinal observational cohort study was conducted using three nationwide population-based databases in Taiwan, focusing on 20- to 45-year-old women, with 10 years of follow-up.

Facial canal dehiscence, dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula in middle ear cholesteatoma and mastoiditis.

Purpose: To analyze the prevalence and associations of facial canal dehiscence (FCD), dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula in chronic otitis media (COM) with and without cholesteatoma.

Methods: This was a retrospective study performed in an academic medical center. Patients who received tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy for COM with and without cholesteatoma were included.

Changes in the rankings of leading causes of death in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from 1998 to 2018: a comparison of three ranking lists.

Background: The ranking lists used by most countries for leading causes of death (CODs) comprise broad category such as cancer, heart disease, and accidents. To provide more specific information, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) proposed lists that splitting broad categories into specific categories. We examined the changes in rankings of leading CODs according to different lists in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from 1998 to 2018.

Impacts of using different standard populations in calculating age-standardised death rates when age-specific death rates in the populations being compared do not have a consistent relationship: a cross-sectional population-based observational study on US state HIV death rates.

Objective: To examine if the rankings of state HIV age-standardised death rates (SDRs) would be different if different standard populations (SPs) were used when age-specific death rates (ASDRs) in states being compared do not have a consistent relationship.

Design: A cross-sectional population-based observational study.

Setting: 36 states in the USA.

How Malignant Mesothelioma Was Coded in Mortality Data in Taiwan During Years When the Specific Code Was Not Available?

Purpose: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is associated with past exposure to asbestos and the latency period ranged from 20 to 40 years. Asbestos consumption reached a peak in the 1980s in Taiwan, and the MM mortality is expected to increase since 2000s. However, no specific code for MM was available before the (), which was launched in 2008 in Taiwan.

The association of genetic polymorphisms in interleukin-1 receptors type 1 and type 2 with sudden sensorineural hearing loss in a Taiwanese population: a case control study.

Background: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a disease with an unknown etiology; damage to the auditory nerve from inflammation due to viral infection or vascular incidents has been implicated. According to several studies, cytokines, including interleukins, are associated with SSNHL in terms of serum expression and genetic polymorphisms. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) plays a key role in inflammation and may be associated with SSNHL.

Which ICD-9 codes were assigned for malignant mesothelioma in the mortality data in the United States before the ICD-10 was introduced?

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is rare and fatal; survival in most cases is only about one year. Mortality rate is, therefore, a good proxy measure of incidence rate. However, the specific International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code for MM was not available until the Tenth Revision ICD (ICD-10).

Association of sudden sensorineural hearing loss with dementia: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: Impaired cochlear blood perfusion and microvascular damage can cause sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), which is a potential risk factor for dementia. This study explored the association between SSHL and dementia.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used a random sample of 1000,000 individuals from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.

Urban-Rural Disparities in the Incidence of Diabetes-Related Complications in Taiwan: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis.

Although a disparity has been noted in the prevalence and outcome of chronic disease between rural and urban areas, studies about diabetes-related complications are lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between urbanization and occurrence of diabetes-related complications using Taiwan's nationwide diabetic mellitus database. In total, 380,474 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes between 2000 and 2008 were included and followed up until 2013 or death; after propensity score matching, 31,310 pairs were included for analysis.

Glutathione peroxidase 3 gene polymorphisms and the risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

The glutathione peroxidase 3 gene (GPX3) is reported to be a risk factor for arterial ischaemic stroke and cerebral venous thrombosis. GPX3 may be one of the aetiologies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), which might be attributed to the genetic effect of GPX3 by influence reactive oxygen species (ROS). Unbalanced ROS have been associated with susceptibility to SSNHL.

Cilostazol as an add-on therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease in Taiwan: a case control study.

Background: Combination therapy using acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) and cilostazol is of unknown efficacy for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: We explored the therapeutic responses by using a case-control study, which was conducted in Taiwan. We enrolled 30 participants with stable AD who were receiving cilostazol (50 mg) twice per day as an add-on therapy combined with AChEIs, and 30 participants as controls who were not receiving cilostazol as an add-on therapy.

Risk of dementia from proton pump inhibitor use in Asian population: A nationwide cohort study in Taiwan.

Introduction: Concerns have been raised regarding the potential association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use and dementia.

Objective: This study aimed to examine this association in an Asian population.

Methods: Patients initiating PPI therapy between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2003 without a prior history of dementia were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.

Cilostazol Use Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Dementia: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Whether antiplatelet agents have a preventive effect on cognitive function remains unknown. We examined the potential association between the use of cilostazol, an antiplatelet agent and cyclic adenosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor, and the risk of dementia in an Asian population. Patients initiating cilostazol therapy between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2009 without a prior history of dementia were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance database.

Effects of multiple training modalities in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study.

Objective: This pilot study investigated the effects of multiple training modalities on cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, caregivers' burden, and quality of life in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Patients And Methods: This intervention study was conducted in 24 patients with AD aged ≥65 years with a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score of 0.5-1.

Chronic Rhinosinusitis Associated with Erectile Dysfunction: A Population-Based Study.

Few studies have investigated the relationship between chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and erectile dysfunction (ED). This case-control study aimed to investigate the association between CRS and the risk of ED in a large national sample. Tapping Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified people 30 years or older with a new primary diagnosis of CRS between 1996 and 2007.