Risk of developing major depression and bipolar disorder among adolescents with atopic diseases: A nationwide longitudinal study in Taiwan.

Backgrounds: Previous studies have found an increased prevalence of atopic diseases among patients with major depression and bipolar disorder. But the temporal association between atopic diseases in adolescence and the subsequent risk of developing mood disorders has been rarely investigated.

Methods: Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Databases, 5075 adolescents with atopic diseases (atopic cohort) and 44,729 without (non-atopic cohort) aged between 10 and 17 in 2000 were enrolled into our study and followed to the end of 2010.

Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study.

Objective: Studies have suggested the association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM)-related risk factors, such as obesity and dyslipidemia. However, the association between ASD and type 2 DM remains unknown.

Research Design And Methods: We used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for enrolling 6,122 adolescents and young adults with ASD and 24,488 age- and sex-matched control subjects between 2002 and 2009 and monitored them until the end of 2011.

Influence of Relative Age on Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Taiwanese Children.

Objective: To determine the potential influence of relative age on the diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), especially in reference to an Asian country.

Study Design: A total of 378 881 subjects aged 4-17 years during the study period (September 1, 1997 to August 31, 2011) were enrolled in our study from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the likelihood of receiving ADHD diagnosis and treatment for those who were born in August (the youngest) compared with those who were born in September (the oldest).

Risk of bipolar disorder among adolescents with allergic rhinitis: A nationwide longitudinal study.

Background: Previous studies have suggested an immunological dysfunction in bipolar disorder, but none has investigated the temporal association between allergic rhinitis (AR) and bipolar disorder.

Methods: Using Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 9506 adolescents aged 12-18 years with allergic rhinitis were enrolled between 2000 and 2008 and compared to 38,024 age-and gender-matched (1:4) control groups. Subjects of bipolar disorder that occurred up to the end of follow-up (December 31, 2011) were identified.

Association of MTHFR C677T polymorphism with loneliness but not depression in cognitively normal elderly males.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism is involved in folate and homocysteine metabolism, and has been associated with geriatric disorders, including dementia and late-life depression. The present work aimed to investigate the effect of MTHFR C677T polymorphism on the presence of depression and loneliness in cognitively normal male subjects. A total of 323 cognitively normal male subjects were included in this study (mean age=80.