Psychometric validation of the Chinese Version of the stimulant relapse risk scale (SRRS) in patients with methamphetamine use disorder.

Background: Evaluating the risk of relapse is a pivotal step in the treatment of patients with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). The 30-item Stimulant Relapse Risk Scale (SRRS) was originally developed in Japan to meet the demand. This study examined the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Chinese version of the SRRS for patients with MUD.

Quality of life and associated factors of heroin-dependent patients receiving methadone and buprenorphine maintenance treatment.

Aim: Although studies in Western countries have investigated the quality of life (QoL) of heroin users, limited research on this topic has been conducted in Asia. The present study assessed QoL in patients with heroin dependence receiving medications to treat opioid use disorder.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of patients with heroin dependence receiving methadone and buprenorphine treatment.

A smartphone-based support system coupled with a bluetooth breathalyzer in the treatment of alcohol dependence: A 12-week randomized controlled trial.

Background: Our prior open trial showed the feasibility of a smartphone-based support system coupled with a Bluetooth breathalyzer (SoberDiary) in assisting recovery for patients with alcohol dependence (AD). In this 24-week follow-up study, we further explored the efficacy of supplementing SoberDiary to treatment as usual (TAU) over 12 weeks of intervention and whether the efficacy persisted in the post-intervention 12 weeks.

Methods: 51 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria of AD were randomly assigned to the technological intervention group (TI group, receiving technology intervention of SoberDiary plus TAU,  = 25) or those receiving only TAU (TAU group,  = 26).

Effectiveness of Cold Therapy for Pain and Anxiety Associated with Chest Tube Removal: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of cold therapy for pain and anxiety associated with chest tube removal.

Design: A Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Data Sources: Articles were searched from Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, ProQuest, Airiti Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan.

Change of home visit frequency by public health nurses predicts emergency escorts for psychiatric patients living in the community: A retrospective medical record review.

Background: Improper or insufficient treatment of mental health illness harms individuals, families, and society. When psychiatric treatment shifts from a hospital-based to a community-based health care system, risk management is essential to the provision of effective care.

Objective: We examine whether an upgrade in home visit frequency of psychiatric patients as identified by public health nurses can predict the subsequent need for emergency escort services for medical treatment.

Risk factors for relapse among methamphetamine users receiving a joint legal-medical treatment program as a diversion intervention: A one-year follow-up study.

Background: Methamphetamine (METH) is a Schedule II illicit drug in Taiwan. A 12-month legal-medical joint intervention program has been developed for first-time METH offenders during deferred prosecution. Risk factors associated with METH relapse use among these individuals were unknown.

Effects of video-recorded role-play and guided reflection on nursing student empathy, caring behavior and competence: A two-group pretest-posttest study.

Aim: The study examined the differences in nursing student empathy, caring behavior and competence between the experimental and control groups before and after educational intervention and to predict the factors affecting their core competencies.

Background: Educating nursing students in empathy and caring behaviors before entering clinical practice is challenging.

Design: We used a two-group pretest and post-test quasi-experimental design.

The Effect of Physical Activity on Body Constitution and Psychological Health in Older Adults: Evidence From an Analysis of a Biobank Research Database.

This study aims to describe the relationship between physical activity, suboptimal health status based on traditional Chinese medicine, and psychological health in older people in Taiwan. A total of 4,497 older individuals were selected from the Taiwan Biobank Research Database. Suboptimal health status was assessed using a body constitution questionnaire to measure yang deficiency, yin deficiency, and stasis.

Long-term Outcomes of Early Use of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia.

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) may potentially benefit patients requiring psychiatric hospitalization during the early stages of schizophrenia. However, few studies have compared the long-term effectiveness between patients who switched to LAIs and those who remained on oral antipsychotics (OAPs). Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we constructed a population-based cohort with 19,813 new OAP users with defined schizophrenia who were hospitalized from 2002 to 2005.

Psychometric evaluation of a nursing competence assessment tool among nursing students: a development and validation study.

Background: Nursing competence refers to the core abilities that are required for fulfilling one's role as a nurse. A specific instrument comprehensively measuring competence among nursing students has not yet been developed. The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a nursing competence instrument for nursing students in bachelor training.

Orexin-a elevation in antipsychotic-treated compared to drug-free patients with schizophrenia: A medication effect independent of metabolic syndrome.

Background/purpose: Orexin-A levels are reportedly increased in antipsychotic (APD)-treated patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and have been associated with metabolic abnormalities. It is not clear whether the orexin-A elevation is related specifically to the drug (APDs) effect, which should be clarified by including a drug-free group for comparison, or related to drug-induced metabolic abnormalities.

Methods: Blood orexin-A levels and metabolic profiles were compared between 37 drug-free, 45 aripiprazole-treated, and 156 clozapine-treated patients with schizophrenia.

Examining factors associated with postintervention recidivism in DUI repeat offenders after alcohol treatment: One-year follow-up study.

Taiwan has deemed driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) to be criminal, and offenders are subjected to fines and jail penalties without being offered alcohol-related treatment, although alcohol use problems are prevalent in this population. We followed the recidivism records of DUI repeat offenders for one year after they had received a newly established legal-medical joint intervention program for alcohol treatment and examined factors related to postintervention recidivism. In this study, 231 DUI repeat offenders with alcohol use problems screened out by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test were referred from the prosecutors' office to one psychiatric hospital for SBIRT-based alcohol treatment.

Effects of Neurofeedback on Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a chronic widespread pain condition that is associated with sleep disturbances and cognitive impairments. Neurofeedback has been demonstrated to improve pain, sleep quality, and fatigue. However, few studies have examined the effect of neurofeedback for patients with fibromyalgia.

Early-onset prostate cancer is associated with increased risks of disease progression and cancer-specific mortality.

Objective: Prostate cancer (PCa) incidence has stabilized but not in patients at a young age. We assessed patient characteristics and disease progression in early-onset PCa.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 28,039 newly diagnosed PCa patients aged ≥35 years was constructed using the Taiwan Cancer Registry in 2008-2016.

The effectiveness of long-acting injectable antipsychotics versus oral antipsychotics in the maintenance treatment of outpatients with chronic schizophrenia.

Objective: To compare the psychiatric service utilization between patients who only received long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIAs) and those who only received oral antipsychotics (OAPs) in the maintenance treatment of chronic schizophrenia.

Methods: We constructed a cohort of chronic schizophrenia patients who underwent maintenance treatment from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database in 2011 and followed these patients for 12 months. We included patients who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia for at least 3 years, were not hospitalized in 2011, and had received 1 year of maintenance treatment.

Influence of Baseline Cardiovascular Comorbidities on Mortality after Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

Few studies have assessed the benefits of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with metastatic prostate cancer (PC; mPC) at an old age or with major cardiovascular conditions. A retrospective cohort consisted of 3835 men with newly diagnosed mPC from the Taiwan Cancer Registry of 2008-2014. Among them, 2692 patients received only ADT in the first year after the cancer diagnosis, and 1143 patients were on watchful waiting.

Heart Rate Variability and Risk of All-Cause Death and Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies.

Lower heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events and mortality, although the extent of the association is uncertain. We performed a meta-analysis of cohort studies to elucidate the association between HRV and the risk of all-cause death or cardiovascular events in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) during a follow-up of at least 1 year. We searched four databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and extracted the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) from eligible studies.

Associations among antipsychotics, metabolism-related diseases, and cataracts in patients with schizophrenia: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Long-term cataract risks associated with first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) and second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), and their associations with metabolism-related diseases are not yet elucidated.

Methods: Using Taiwan National Health Insurance data, we conducted a propensity score matched population-based cohort study consisting of 10,014 patients with newly diagnosed schizophrenia from 2005 to 2009 and followed them until the end of 2013. A Cox hazard model with metabolism-related diseases as time-dependent covariates was adapted to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of cataracts between SGAs and FGAs groups.

Subjective sleep quality as a mediator in the relationship between pain severity and sustained attention performance in patients with fibromyalgia.

Pain severity and sleep are associated with cognitive performance in patients with fibromyalgia. This study examined whether sleep mediates the relationships of pain severity with psychomotor vigilance and attention in patients with fibromyalgia by analysing 80 patients with fibromyalgia. Cognitive performance, pain severity and sleep parameters were determined using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task, Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form and sleep diaries of seven consecutive nights, respectively.

Mortality associated with statins in men with advanced prostate cancer treated with androgen deprivation therapy.

Objectives: Before launching large clinical trials to confirm the effects of statins in improving outcomes among men with prostate cancer (PC), the most appropriate target patient population and the type of statins need to be clearly identified.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Taiwan Cancer Registry of 2008-2014. This study included 5749 men with locally advanced and metastatic PC who received only androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in the first year after their cancer diagnosis.

Effects of napping on cognitive function modulation in elderly adults with a morning chronotype: A nationwide survey.

Circadian rhythms and napping habits have been associated with cognitive function; however, little is known about the interaction effects on cognitive function. The present study examined the moderating effects of napping habits on the relationship between chronotypes and cognitive function decline in elderly adults. This cross-sectional study analysed data from the 2009 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey.