Symptomatic menopausal transition and subsequent bipolar disorder among midlife women with major depression: a nationwide longitudinal study.

Previous studies suggested that menopausal transition played an important role in the clinical course of major depression and bipolar disorder. However, the role of symptomatic menopausal transition in diagnostic conversion from major depression to bipolar disorder was still unknown. Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 50,273 midlife women aged between 40 and 60 years in 2002∼2008 with major depression were enrolled in our study and divided into two subgroups based on the presence (n = 21,120) or absence (n = 29,153) of symptomatic menopausal transition.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Risk of Parkinson Disease: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study.

Objective: Increasing evidence has suggested a relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and neurodegenerative disorder, such as Alzheimer disease. The association between PTSD and Parkinson disease (PD), however, remains unclear.

Method: Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 7,280 subjects (1,456 patients aged ≥45 years with PTSD and 5,824 age-/sex-matched individuals without PTSD) were enrolled between 2002 and 2009 and followed to the end of 2011.

Self-Reported Graphic Personal and Social Performance Scale (SRG-PSP) for measuring functionality in patients with bipolar disorder.

Objectives: The self-reported graphic version of the Personal and Social Performance Scale (SRG-PSP) is the first graphic, self-reported rating scale that assesses functioning, and its reliability and validity have been documented in patients with schizophrenia. This study investigated the validity of SRG-PSP in patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: Patients with BD were recruited from psychiatric outpatient clinics, and assessed with the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI)-Bipolar and CGI-Depression, the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), the Global assessment of function (GAF), and the PSP.

Risk of Epilepsy in Individuals With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study.

Objective: Several cross-sectional studies have reported a relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and epilepsy. However, the temporal association between PTSD and epilepsy has rarely been investigated. We hypothesized that the risk of developing epilepsy later in life would be higher in patients with PTSD than in those without PTSD.

Cortical inhibitory and excitatory function in drug-naive generalized anxiety disorder.

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that deficits in GABAergic inhibitory and glutamatergic excitatory neurotransmission may be involved in the core pathophysiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a disease characterized by pathological anxious worrying. The aim of the present study was to measure motor cortical excitability by paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) in patients with GAD.

Methods: ppTMS measurements of excitation and inhibition from bilateral motor cortices were investigated in 26 right-handed GAD patients who were drug-naïve (half of them with a comorbidity of major depressive disorder) and 35 right-handed age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Metabolic syndrome and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is highly prevalent among patients with bipolar disorder. MetS may cause complications in the brain, but studies investigating MetS-associated clinical psychiatric outcomes remain scant.

Methods: We enrolled clinically stable outpatients with bipolar disorder aged 18-65 years and performed anthropometric and fasting biochemical assessments to investigate MetS prevalence.

Longitudinal association between early atopic dermatitis and subsequent attention-deficit or autistic disorder: A population-based case-control study.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the common allergic diseases in children. The presence of allergic diseases was found to have association with the risk of developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in children, but it is still inconclusive. This study was to investigate the longitudinal relationship between AD developed during toddlerhood and subsequent development of ADHD or ASD in later childhood.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder comorbidity and antidepressant resistance among patients with major depression: A nationwide longitudinal study.

The comorbidity between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and major depression is common. However, the influence of ADHD comorbidity in the response or resistance to antidepressants remains unknown among patients with major depression. 1891 patients with major depression and ADHD and 1891 age-/sex-matched patients with major depression only were enrolled and followed for 1 year in our study.

Risk for developing dementia among patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: A nationwide longitudinal study.

Objectives: Previous studies suggested a relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the specific population (i.e., war survivors and veterans) and subsequent dementia risk.

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.

Efficacy and safety of asenapine in Asian patients with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia: a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, 6-week, placebo-controlled study.

Rationale: Asenapine is a second generation anti-psychotic approved in the USA in 2009 for the treatment of schizophrenia, but its efficacy has not been proven in Asian patients.

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of asenapine in Asian patients experiencing an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia.

Methods: In this prospective, double-blind study, patients in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan were randomized (1:1:1) to asenapine 5 mg twice daily (bid), 10 mg bid or placebo for 6 weeks after a 3- to 7-day washout/screening period.

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 developing major depression and anxiety disorders among women with endometriosis: A longitudinal follow-up study.

Backgrounds: Several cross-sectional studies suggested a link between endometriosis and mood disorders. However, the temporal association between endometriosis and mood disorders (depression and anxiety disorders) is still unclear.

Methods: Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 10,439 women with endometriosis and 10,439 (1:1) age-/sex-matched controls between 1998 and 2009 were enrolled, and followed up to the end of 2011.

Atopic Diseases and Subsequent Ischemic Stroke Among Patients With Schizophrenia: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study.

Background: Chronic inflammation plays an important role in schizophrenia and atopic diseases, and studies have suggested that chronic inflammation is associated with an increased risk of stroke. The role of atopic diseases in the development of stroke among patients with schizophrenia is still unknown.

Methods: A total of 63,913 patients with schizophrenia without a stroke history between 2002 and 2008 and 63,913 age- and sex-matched controls were included and followed up to the end of 2011.

Ischemic Stroke in Young Adults and Preexisting Psychiatric Disorders: A Nationwide Case-Control Study.

Previous studies showed that psychiatric disorders such as major depression, bipolar disorders, and alcohol misuse are associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke. However, the link between psychiatric disorders and stroke in the young population is rarely investigated. Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 2063 young adults aged between 18 and 45 years with ischemic stroke and 8252 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled in our study between 1998 and 2011.

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.

Functional dysconnection in the prefrontal-amygdala circuitry in unaffected siblings of patients with bipolar I disorder.

Objectives: Bipolar I disorder (BD) is a highly heritable disorder characterized by mood swings between high-energy and low-energy states. Amygdala hyperactivity and cortical inhibitory hypoactivity [e.g.

Bidirectional Association Between Depression and Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study.

Several cross-sectional studies have reported a common comorbidity between depression and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). However, a bidirectional temporal association between these 2 distinct diseases has rarely been investigated. Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 25,969 patients with FMS and without any psychiatric disorder and 17,142 patients with depression and without FMS between 2000 and 2008 were enrolled and separately compared with age- and sex-matched (1:4) control groups.

Risk of developing major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders among adolescents and adults with atopic dermatitis: a nationwide longitudinal study.

Background: Previous cross-sectional studies have suggested a comorbid association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and depressive disorder as well as anxiety disorders, but the temporal relationship was not determined.

Methods: Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 8208 AD patients aged 12 and older without psychiatric history and age-/sex-matched (1:1) controls between 1998 and 2008 were enrolled in our study and followed to the end of 2011. Subjects who developed major depression, any depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders during the follow-up were identified.

Risk of subsequent dementia among patients with bipolar disorder or major depression: a nationwide longitudinal study in Taiwan.

Background: Both major depression and bipolar disorder are associated with an increased risk of developing dementia. However, the differential risk of dementia between major depression and bipolar disorder is rarely investigated.

Methods: Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, a total of 2291 patients aged ≥ 55 years (major depression: 1946 and bipolar disorder: 345) and 2291 age-and sex-matched controls were enrolled between 1998 and 2008, and followed to the end of 2011.

Peripheral and central glucose utilizations modulated by mitochondrial DNA 10398A in bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is highly heritable and associated with dysregulation of brain glucose utilizations (GU). The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 10398A polymorphism, as a reported BD risk factor, leads to deficient glycolytic energy production by affecting mitochondrial matrix pH and intracellular calcium levels. However, whether mtDNA-10398A has functional effects on the brain and how our body responds remain elusive.