Decisive gene strategy on osteoarthritis: a comprehensive whole-literature based approach for conclusive gene targets.

Background: Previous meta-analyses only examined the association between single or several gene polymorphisms and osteoarthritis (OA), whereas no studies have concluded that there are existing all gene loci that associate with OA.

Objective: To assess whether a definite conclusion of the association between the gene loci and OA can be drawn.

Methods: Decisive gene strategy (DGS), a literature-based approach, was used to search PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases for all meta-analyses that associated gene polymorphisms and OA.

Secular Increasing Trends in Female Thyroid Cancer Incidence in Taiwan.

Background: Thyroid cancer incidence has increased globally in recent decades, especially in females, although its trends in Taiwan have not been studied extensively. This study aimed to investigate changes in female incidence and possible causes of thyroid cancer in Taiwan.

Methods: Using the Taiwan Cancer Registry (TCR) Database, age-standardized incidence rates, age-specific incidence rates and birth cohorts were calculated.

Enhancing anatomy education through cooperative learning: harnessing virtual reality for effective gross anatomy learning.

The advent of virtual reality (VR) in education offers unique possibilities for facilitating cooperative learning strategies, particularly in fields demanding intricate spatial understanding, such as gross anatomy. This study investigates the impact of integrating cooperative learning strategies within a VR-based gross anatomy curriculum, focusing on enhancing students' anatomy knowledge and skills. We analyzed the performance of two cohorts of first-year nursing students across five semesters (2016-2020), where traditional learning methods were used in the first three semesters (2016-2018), and a VR-based cooperative learning approach was adopted in the last two semesters (2019-2020).

High-Fat Diet Exacerbates Autistic-Like Restricted Repetitive Behaviors and Social Abnormalities in CC2D1A Conditional Knockout Mice.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in social communication, social interaction, and the presence of restricted repetitive behaviors. The cause of ASD involves complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Haploinsufficiency of the Coiled-coil and C2 domain containing 1A (Cc2d1a) gene is causally linked to ASD, and obesity has been associated with worse outcomes for ASD.

Metformin, Statin Use, and Female Colorectal Cancer: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan.

In the last few years, the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in women has gradually increased. However, epidemiological studies on the relationship between type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and female CRC and the effect of metformin or statins on female CRC are insufficient. To determine their association, we conducted a population-based cohort study on women in Taiwan.

Risk Factors for Female Breast Cancer: A Population Cohort Study.

Background: The incidence of female BC among the Eastern and Southeastern Asian populations has gradually increased in recent years. However, epidemiological studies on the relationship between a sedentary lifestyle and female BC are insufficient. In order to determine the association between this lifestyle and the incidence of female BC, we conducted a population-based cohort study on women in Taiwan.

Sedative and Immunosuppressive Effects of Dexmedetomidine in Transplantation.

Dexmedetomidine, an α2-adrenergic receptor agonist, is used as an anti-anxiety medication. It exerts a cholinergic effect, thereby reducing the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). We hypothesized that the use of dexmedetomidine as a sedative agent in transplantation would also protect allografts.

The Decisive Case-Control Study Elaborates the Null Association between XbaI and Osteoarthritis in Asians: A Case-Control Study and Meta-Analysis.

(1) Background: The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in women is significantly higher than in men. The estrogen receptor α (ERα) has been considered to play a key role due to a large gender difference in its expression. ERα is encoded by the gene estrogen receptor 1 (), which is widely studied to explore the gender difference in knee OA.

Possible increased risk of colonic diverticular disease from alcohol intoxication or abuse.

Alcohol consumption has been suggested as a potential risk factor for diverticular diseases. This study investigated the association between alcohol intoxication or abuse and colonic diverticular disease (CDD).Using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2008, 51, 866 subjects newly diagnosed with alcohol intoxication were enrolled in this study as the alcohol intoxication cohort.

Increased Risk for Hip Fractures among Patients with Cholangitis: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Background: Cholangitis is the infectious disease involving the biliary tract, which may induce systemic inflammation. Bone loss is a well-known sequelae after systemic inflammatory disease, and one grave complication after osteoporosis is hip fracture. We want to know whether cholangitis can contribute to increased risk of hip fracture.

Increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders in children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) receiving sensory integration therapy: a population-based cohort study.

Parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been found to prefer sensory integration (SI) training rather than guideline-recommended ADHD treatment. This study investigated whether SI intervention for children with ADHD was associated with a reduced risk of subsequent mental disorders. From children < 8-years-old newly diagnosed with ADHD in a nationwide population-based dataset, we established a SI cohort and a non-SI cohort (N =  1945) matched by propensity score.

Alcohol use disorder increases the risk of necrotizing fasciitis: A nationwide retrospective cohort study.

This nationwide retrospective cohort study determined the association between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and the risk of necrotizing fasciitis (NF).This study used health insurance claims data of 52,212 in-patients with AUD and 208,848 controls randomly frequency-matched by age and sex at a 1:4 ratio. The AUD cohort included patients newly diagnosed with AUD between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2008.

High risk of developing subsequent epilepsy in patients with sleep-disordered breathing.

Purpose: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is often associated with other medical disorders. Whether SDB interacts with other factors for developing subsequent epilepsy remains unclear.

Methods: This population-based cohort study was conducted using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Poststroke Epilepsy: A Population-Based Nationwide Study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on poststroke epilepsy in a population-based nationwide study.

Patients And Methods: The SSRI group included patients who received a stroke diagnosis from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2009, and were prescribed SSRIs after stroke. The non-SSRI group enrolled patients with stroke who were not prescribed SSRIs from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database and used propensity score matching based on the index year, duration time, sex, age, type of stroke, and duration of hospitalization.

Female schizophrenia patients and risk of breast cancer: A population-based cohort study.

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. This population-based cohort study aimed to examine the association between breast cancer in female schizophrenia patients and its association with the use of antipsychotics drugs.

Methods: All study subjects were selected from the Taiwan Insurance Claims Data (1998-2008).

Association of Respiratory Tuberculosis with Incident Bone Fracture: Bridging the Tuberculosis Airway Infection and the Osteoporotic Bone.

Objective: The relationship between respiratory tuberculosis (RT) and incident fragility fracture and osteoporosis/fragility fracture in the general population is not well determined; therefore, we conducted a nationwide cohort study to investigate this relationship.

Methods: We used the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to identify 6612 newly diagnosed patients with RT (RT cohort) and 13220 patients without RT (non-RT cohort) from 1999 to 2005. The mean durations of follow-up were (6.

Association between use of short-acting benzodiazepines and migraine occurrence: a nationwide population-based case-control study.

Aim: To evaluate the association between using benzodiazepines (BZDs) with short- or long-acting durations and migraine occurrence.

Methods: The migraine group comprised 9616 subjects older than 20 years and newly diagnosed with migraine between 2005 and 2011, and the comparison group comprised 38,464 subjects without migraine. The BZDs used in the subjects were dichotomously defined as short-acting (half-life ≤24 h) and long-acting substances.

Male, old age and low income to predispose epilepsy in migraineurs.

Background: This study investigated whether sex, age, income and any comorbidity affect subsequent epilepsy development in migraineurs.

Materials And Methods: A total of 4915 men diagnosed with migraine who were aged older than 20 years were identified as the study cohort. A total of 4882 female migraineurs were included in the comparison cohort.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Use among Patients with Psoriasis in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long been used for patients with psoriasis. This study aimed to investigate TCM usage in patients with psoriasis. We analyzed a cohort of one million individuals representing the 23 million enrollees randomly selected from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan.

Effect of Alcoholic Intoxication on the Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: This study investigated whether alcoholic intoxication (AI) increases the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by using a population-based database in Taiwan.

Methods: This retrospective matched-cohort study included 57 611 inpatients with new-onset AI (AI cohort) and 230 444 randomly selected controls (non-AI cohort). Each patient was monitored for 10 years to individually identify those who were subsequently diagnosed with Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) during the follow-up period.

Effect of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus on the Risk of Incident Respiratory Failure: A National Cohort Study.

Purpose: We conducted a nationwide cohort study to investigate the relationship between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the risk of incident respiratory failure.

Methods: From the National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 11 533 patients newly diagnosed with SLE and 46 132 controls without SLE who were randomly selected through frequency-matching according to age, sex, and index year. Both cohorts were followed until the end of 2011 to measure the incidence of incident respiratory failure, which was compared between the 2 cohorts through a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.

Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap Syndrome Associated with Risk of Pulmonary Embolism.

Purpose: We conducted a cohort study to clarify this relationship between asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS) and pulmonary embolism (PE).

Methods: From the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, we identified patients who had a diagnosis of asthma and a diagnosis of COPD (defined as ACOS) and concurrent treatment between January 1999 and December 2009 (ACOS cohort: n = 14,150; non-ACOS cohort: n = 55,876). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to determine the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for PE of the ACOS cohort compared with the non-ACOS cohort.

Men with nonapnea sleep disorders have a high risk of developing subsequent epilepsy: A nationwide population-based cohort study.

Objective: This nationwide population-based cohort study evaluated the effects of nonapnea sleep disorders (NSDs) on the development of epilepsy.

Methods: We identified 63,865 patients aged ≥20years, diagnosed with NSDs (ICD-9-CM: 307.4 or 780.

Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases Overlap Syndrome Increases the Risk of Incident Tuberculosis: A National Cohort Study.

Purpose: The association between asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS) and tuberculosis (TB) has yet to be studied.

Methods: The newly diagnosed TB patients (age > 20 y) treated from January 2000 to December 2008 were included (ACOS cohort, n = 10 751; non-ACOS cohort, n = 42 966). The non-ACOS cohort involved patients with confirmed absence of ACOS.