Incidence, risk factors, prognosis of periprosthetic fractures post hip fracture: unveiling protective role of anti-osteoporotic medication.

Unlabelled: People with a hip fracture are prone to break the bone around the metal repair, causing severe health issues. This study found that initiating anti-osteoporotic medication soon after the first fracture halves that risk, highlighting the benefit of early osteoporosis treatment.

Background: Hip fractures pose significant clinical challenges, often leading to prolonged hospitalization, reduced quality of life, and increased risk of subsequent fractures.

Early identification of the efficacy of 0.125% atropine treatment for children with Myopia: A prospective pilot study.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether early axial length (AL) changes in the short term after 0.125% atropine treatment could predict long-term axial elongation in children with myopia.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study involving children aged 5-15 years with myopia who were treated with 0.

Clinical burden and management gaps in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: A nationwide study of 687,212 patients in Taiwan, 2017-2023.

Objective: This nationwide study aimed to analyze temporal trends in hospitalized atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) incidence, evaluate lipid testing patterns and goal attainment rates, and assess healthcare utilization among ASCVD patients in Taiwan.

Methods: Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance database linked with laboratory data (2017-2023), we identified patients with incident hospitalized ASCVD. We calculated age-standardized incidence rates and analyzed lipid-lowering therapy patterns, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) testing, and healthcare utilizations during index hospitalization and one-year follow-up.

Frailty-stratified effectiveness of SGLT2 inhibitors versus DPP-4 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists on pulmonary outcomes in type 2 diabetes: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: The coexistence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) poses significant clinical challenges, particularly in aging populations. While sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) show promise for pulmonary protection, their effectiveness compared to other newer antidiabetic agents across different frailty levels remains unknown.

Methods: In this population-based cohort study using Taiwan's National Health Insurance database, we identified adults aged ≥40 years with coexisting T2D and COPD who initiated SGLT2i or comparator drugs (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors [DPP-4i] or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists [GLP-1 RA]) between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020.

Correlation Between Tear Film Stability and Myopia in Children.

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between dry eye and myopia in Taiwanese school children.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled children aged 5-14-years-old between January 2021 and April 2022. The Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and an activity questionnaire were used to assess the severity of dry eye and the children's lifestyle.

Correlation between longitudinal serum vitamin D levels and myopia in children: a prospective birth cohort analysis.

Background: Myopia is an increasingly prevalent visual impairment associated with severe ocular complications. Risk factors for childhood myopia include genetics, East Asian ethnicity, age, parental myopia, and various environmental factors. The relationship between vitamin D levels, outdoor activity, and myopia remains inconclusive.

Higher nonunion rates with locking plates compared to dynamic compression plates in forearm diaphyseal fractures: a multicenter study.

Background: Dynamic compression plate (DCP) osteosynthesis is the gold standard for treating forearm diaphyseal fractures, providing stability and promoting healing. Locking plates (LPs) are increasingly used in modern fracture management but may increase the risk of nonunion if applied with excessive rigidity and without proper fracture site compression. The purpose of this study is to compare the nonunion rate between LPs and DCPs.

Long Dosing Intervals of Parenteral Antiosteoporosis Medications and the Decrease in Societal Fracture Risk: An 11-Year Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between different dosing intervals of antiosteoporosis medications (AOMs) and the subsequent fracture risk among patients with newly initiated AOM therapies.

Patients And Methods: In a nationwide population-based cohort study based on Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, osteoporosis patients with 50 years of age or older who newly initiated AOM from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2018 (n=336,229) were included. We categorized AOMs into short dosing intervals (oral AOMs) or long dosing intervals (parenteral AOMs).

Effect of frailty on effectiveness and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists versus SGLT2 inhibitors in people with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan: a retrospective, nationwide, longitudinal study.

Background: GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors are increasingly being used in people with type 2 diabetes on the basis of findings from randomised clinical trials; however, little is known of whether clinical outcomes are affected by frailty in real-world settings. We aimed to compare the clinical effectiveness and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors in managing type 2 diabetes, with a specific focus on stratifying people by their frailty status.

Methods: In this retrospective, nationwide, longitudinal study, we identified people (aged ≥20 years) with type 2 diabetes who newly initiated either a GLP-1 receptor agonist or an SGLT2 inhibitor during the period Jan 1, 2017 to Dec 31, 2019 from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database.

Real world clinical outcomes when discontinuing denosumab or bisphosphonates in patients with surgically managed osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a population-based cohort study.

Background Context: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) are common fragility fractures. Patients who undergo surgical treatment for their initial OVCFs warrant particular attention because there is an elevated risk of subsequent vertebral fractures and other types of fragility fractures. However, the optimal osteoporosis treatment for this specific patient group is less investigated.

Activin A as a potential biomarker for preserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm) and clinical outcomes in community-dwelling adults.

Introduction: This study endeavors to decipher the association between Activin A and PRISm, thereby addressing the potential of Activin A as a serum biomarker for early detection and long-term clinical outcome prediction of PRISm and subsequent all-cause mortality.

Methods: The study sample comprised middle-aged and older adults from the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study. Pulmonary function including forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV) were measured.

Cost and effectiveness analyses of the anti-osteoporosis medication in patients with hip fracture in Taiwan: A population-based national claims database analysis.

Background: Real-world cost and effectiveness analyses of the anti-osteoporosis medications (AOM) using a nationwide database in Asia were limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of AOMs therapy under the reimbursement of National Health Insurance in Taiwan.

Methods: Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, patients who had hospitalization due to incident hip fractures with related operation between 2008 and 2017 were identified as our study population.

Medication overload: A closer look at polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications among older people in Taiwan and Japan.

Background: Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) are widely recognized as vital quality indicators of pharmacotherapy in older adults. As Taiwan and Japan grapple with the ongoing challenges of population aging, obtaining an accurate understanding of the prevalence of these indicators is crucial for developing effective strategies to optimize pharmacotherapy in older populations. The present study aims to comprehensively evaluate the prevalence of polypharmacy and PIMs in Taiwan and two Japanese cohorts, shedding light on the similarities and differences in prescribing practices across these populations.

Higher risk of future events, mortality and greater healthcare use among patients with increasingly recurrent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events in Taiwan: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To describe the occurrence of recurrent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events within 3 years after a new-onset event, the associated disease burden and statin prescribing in patients with ASCVD in Taiwan.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: This was a retrospective cohort study using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.

Osteoporosis care after hip fracture: Observation from national health insurance database and fracture liaison services.

Background: The objective of this research was to report the trend of osteoporosis care after hip fractures from usual care (UC) and to compare the quality of care with those who received fracture liaison services (FLSs).

Methods: Data on osteoporosis care for patients with hip fracture were acquired from the National Health Insurance claims (UC group), and surveys from FLS programs (FLS group). A total of 183,300 patients receiving UC and 3010 patients receiving FLS were studied.

Eleven years secular trend of the initiation of anti-osteoporosis medications and subsequent fractures in Taiwan: From 2008 to 2018.

Background: Osteoporosis is a common metabolic bone disease that benefits from many newly developed anti-osteoporosis medications (AOMs). Reimbursement policies need to allocate medical budgets properly based on evidence-based data. This study aimed to investigate the 11-year secular trend, focusing on older age and males in this adjustment wave of the National Health Insurance reimbursement.

Constraining in reimbursement criteria and the adherence to anti-osteoporosis medications (AOMs) in Taiwan: Urbanization makes the difference.

Background: The Bureau of National Health Insurance in Taiwan implemented a new reimbursement scheme incorporating bone mineral density (BMD) criteria on Jan. 1, 2011. This study aimed to investigate a real-life 11-year secular trend of adherence in new AOMs users and evaluated the change of adherence to AOMs therapy in different urbanization areas after reimbursement criteria were restrained.

Epidemiology and clinical impact of osteoporosis in Taiwan: A 12-year trend of a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Osteoporosis increases the fracture and mortality risk of patients and has a higher disease burden than some cancers. Therefore, global concerns regarding the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis have been raised. However, fast-aging Taiwan lacks national epidemiological data on osteoporosis in recent years.

Longitudinal follow-up of pediatric Graves' disease in preschool children: Clinical characteristics and a case report.

Rationale: Pediatric Graves' disease at preschool age is a rare condition. Previous reports have indicated that adolescents with this disease are girls. Pediatric Graves' ophthalmopathy in young children is rare, and long-term follow-up reports are lacking.

Health care utilization and potentially preventable adverse outcomes of high-need, high-cost middle-aged and older adults: Needs for integrated care models with life-course approach.

Purpose Of The Research: The success of modern health care increases life expectancy and prolongs the days of having multimorbidity and functional limitations; the so-defined "high need, high cost (HNHC)" state represents the extreme scenarios of care burden and complexity. This study aims to explore health care utilization and the risk of preventable adverse outcomes stratified by age and HNHC state.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the National Health Insurance (NHI) database.

Anesthesia With Propofol Sedation Reduces Locoregional Recurrence in Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Total Mastectomy Compared With Non-Propofol Anesthesia.

Purpose: We examined locoregional recurrence (LRR) in patients with breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) receiving total mastectomy (TM) under propofol-based paravertebral block-regional anesthesia (PB-RA) versus sevoflurane-based inhalational general anesthesia (INHA-GA) without propofol. All-cause death and distant metastasis were secondary endpoints.

Patients And Methods: Patients with breast IDC receiving TM were recruited through propensity score matching and categorized into INHA-GA with sevoflurane and PB-RA with propofol groups.

Impact of Frailty on Survivals of Prostate Cancer Patients Treated with Radiotherapy.

Background: Frailty has been linked to an increased risk of adverse outcomes among older men with prostate cancer (PCa), which in turn impacts survival. We evaluated the associations between frailty and risks of all-cause mortality and cancer-specific mortality in PCa patients treated with radiotherapy (RT).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database and National Health Insurance Research Database.