"Ratio of fracture site diameter to isthmus femoral canal diameter" as a predictor of complication following treatment of infra-isthmal femoral shaft fracture with antegrade intramedullary nailing.

Introduction: Fixation of infra-isthmus femoral shaft fracture using antegrade intramedullary (IM) nailing is difficult and is associated with a high complication rate. This study aimed to identify risk factors for complications following this procedure. The ratio of the fracture site diameter to the diameter of the femoral intramedullary canal of the isthmus (FI ratio) was evaluated as a novel parameter to predict complication.

Cerebellar-limbic neurocircuit is the novel biosignature of physio-cognitive decline syndrome.

Both physical and cognitive deficits occur in the aging process. We operationally defined the phenomenon as physio-cognitive decline syndrome (PCDS) and aimed to decipher its corresponding neuroanatomy patterns and neurocircuit. High resolution 3T brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images from a community-dwelling longitudinal aging cohort were analysed.

Association between gastrointestinal symptoms and depression among older adults in Taiwan: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Older adults with depression more frequently experience somatic and gastrointestinal (GI) problems compared with people without depression and younger adults with depression. However, whether GI symptoms are predictive of elevated rates of depression among older adults is unclear.

Methods: We enrolled 106 older adults (>60 years old); 69 had late-life depression (LLD), and 37 were controls.

Development and validation of the NCGG-FAT Chinese version for community-dwelling older Taiwanese.

Aim: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology functional assessment tool (NCGG-FAT) Chinese version among community-dwelling older Taiwanese.

Method: In total, 40 community-living older adults aged ≥65 years with intact global cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination ≥24) were enrolled and received a neuropsychological assessment twice using the computerized NCGG-FAT Chinese version, with an interval of 30 days to examine test-retest reliability. Conventional neurocognitive assessments were performed for all study participants within a week after the first administration of the NCGG-FAT Chinese version to determine validity.

Unfavorable body composition and quality of life among community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults: What really matters?

Objective: To evaluate the impact of individual components of unfavorable body composition and their combinations on quality of life (QoL) among middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: Data from 1779 participants (53.1 % female; mean age 63.

PM air pollution contributes to the burden of frailty.

Frailty is common among older people and results in adverse health outcomes. We investigated whether exposure to PM is associated with frailty. This cross-sectional study involved 20,606 community-dwelling participants aged ≥ 65 years, residing in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Epidemiologic Characteristics of Domestic Patients with Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome in Taiwan: A 19-Year Retrospective Study.

Background: Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is an illness caused by hantaviruses. Numerous factors modify the risk of hantavirus transmission. This study explored the epidemiological characteristics, differences, and trends in terms of gender, age, season, and living areas of those diagnosed with domestically acquired HFRS in Taiwan from 2001 to 2019.

Treatment-Resistant depression enhances risks of dementia and alzheimer's disease: A nationwide longitudinal study.

Background: Previous evidence indicates late-onset depression or depression with greater severity are associated with subsequent risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether treatment-resistant depression is associated with such risks remain elusive.

Methods: Using the Taiwan Nationwide Health Insurance Research Database, 3,345 patients with newly-diagnosed major depressive disorder (MDD) and 13,380 well-matched controls were enrolled between 2002 and 2004.

Large-Scale Structural Covariance Networks Predict Age in Middle-to-Late Adulthood: A Novel Brain Aging Biomarker.

The aging process is accompanied by changes in the brain's cortex at many levels. There is growing interest in summarizing these complex brain-aging profiles into a single, quantitative index that could serve as a biomarker both for characterizing individual brain health and for identifying neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. Using a large-scale structural covariance network (SCN)-based framework with machine learning algorithms, we demonstrate this framework's ability to predict individual brain age in a large sample of middle-to-late age adults, and highlight its clinical specificity for several disease populations from a network perspective.

Comparisons Between Hypothesis- and Data-Driven Approaches for Multimorbidity Frailty Index: A Machine Learning Approach.

Background: Using big data and the theory of cumulative deficits to develop the multimorbidity frailty index (mFI) has become a widely accepted approach in public health and health care services. However, constructing the mFI using the most critical determinants and stratifying different risk groups with dose-response relationships remain major challenges in clinical practice.

Objective: This study aimed to develop the mFI by using machine learning methods that select variables based on the optimal fitness of the model.

Epidemiologic Characteristics of Imported and Domestic Chikungunya Cases in Taiwan: A 13-Year Retrospective Study.

Chikungunya fever is caused by the chikungunya virus. Numerous factors affect the risk of chikungunya transmission. This study explored the epidemiological characteristics, differences, and trends in domestic and imported cases of chikungunya fever in Taiwan in terms of patient sex, age, month of confirmation, and area of residence from 2007 to 2019.

COVID-19 and older people in Asia: Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia calls to actions.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has casted a huge impact on global public health and the economy. In this challenging situation, older people are vulnerable to the infection and the secondary effects of the pandemic and need special attention. To evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 on older people, it is important to balance the successful pandemic control and active management of secondary consequences.

Acrolein contributes to urothelial carcinomas in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: Urothelial carcinomas (UCs) are highly prevalent in patients with end-stage renal disease. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the predecessor of end-stage renal disease, and it is also associated with UC. However, the interplay between CKD and UC lacks solid evidence.

Efficacy of multidomain interventions to improve physical frailty, depression and cognition: data from cluster-randomized controlled trials.

Background: Frailty is the pre-eminent exigency of aging. Although frailty-related impairments are preventable, and multidomain interventions appear more effective than unimodal ones, the optimal components remain uncertain.

Methods: We devised multidomain interventions against physical and cognitive decline among prefrail/frail community-dwelling ≥65-year-olds and evaluated these in complementary cluster-randomized trials of efficacy and participant empowerment.

Author Correction: Multiple gene promoter methylation and clinical stage in adjacent normal tissues: Effect on prognosis of colorectal cancer in Taiwan.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia: 2019 Consensus Update on Sarcopenia Diagnosis and Treatment.

Clinical and research interest in sarcopenia has burgeoned internationally, Asia included. The Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2014 consensus defined sarcopenia as "age-related loss of muscle mass, plus low muscle strength, and/or low physical performance" and specified cutoffs for each diagnostic component; research in Asia consequently flourished, prompting this update. AWGS 2019 retains the previous definition of sarcopenia but revises the diagnostic algorithm, protocols, and some criteria: low muscle strength is defined as handgrip strength <28 kg for men and <18 kg for women; criteria for low physical performance are 6-m walk <1.

Determinants and indicators of successful ageing associated with mortality: a 4-year population-based study.

Successful aging may be a solution to the major challenges that population aging poses to healthcare systems, financial security, and labor force supply. Hence, we studied the value of factors discovered by exploratory factor analysis in predicting four main indicators of successful aging, and their association with mortality. We followed-up a nationally representative sample of 1284 older adults for a median of 50 months.

Multiple gene promoter methylation and clinical stage in adjacent normal tissues: Effect on prognosis of colorectal cancer in Taiwan.

This study provide an insight that the panel genes methylation status in different clinical stage tended to reflect a different prognosis even in matched normal tissues, to clinical recommendation. We enrolled 153 colorectal cancer patients from a medical center in Taiwan and used the candidate gene approach to select five genes involved in carcinogenesis pathways. We analyzed the relationship between DNA methylation with different cancer stages and the prognostic outcome.

Sex-different associations between serum homocysteine, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and sarcopenia: Results from I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study.

Background: Both serum homocysteine and high sensitivity C - reactive protein (hsCRP) are inflammatory markers related to vascular aging. Little was known about relationship between hsCRP and homocysteine and sarcopenia. The study aimed to explore the association between these two biomarkers and sarcopenia and its components.

Familial coaggregation of major psychiatric disorders among first-degree relatives of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a nationwide study.

Background: Whether the first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have an increased risk of the major psychiatric disorders, namely schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, major depressive disorder (MDD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), remains unclear.

Methods: Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database with the whole population sample size (n = 23 258 175), 89 500 FDRs, including parents, offspring, siblings, and twins, of patients with OCD were identified in our study. The relative risks (RRs) of major psychiatric disorders were assessed among FDRs of patients with OCD.

Epidemiology of frailty and associated factors among older adults living in rural communities in Taiwan.

Frailty is a well-known geriatric syndrome with strong adverse health impact to older people. The socio-economic status and the accessibility of health services in rural communities may increase the risk of frailty. We conducted a cross-sectional study in rural districts of New Taipei City, Taiwan, to explore the epidemiology and associated factors of frailty.

Approximate Mortality Risks between Hyperuricemia and Diabetes in the United States.

: This study aimed to compare mortality risks across uric acid (UA) levels between non-diabetes adults and participants with diabetes and to investigate the association between hyperuricemia and mortality risks in low-risk adults. : We analyzed data from adults aged >18 years without coronary heart disease and chronic kidney disease ( = 29,226) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2010) and the associated mortality data (up to December 2011). We used the Cox proportional hazards models to examine the risk of all-cause and cause-specific (cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer) mortality at different UA levels between adults with and without diabetes.