Association of multiple environmental toxicants with markers of early kidney injury in pregnant women: an exposome approach.

Pregnant women are regularly exposed to a variety of environmental toxicants in daily life, posing a potential threat of kidney injury before presence of clinical manifestations. As there is a paucity of studies employing an exposome-based approach of kidney health in pregnant women, this study utilizes the above-mentioned strategy to identify the most significant environmental toxicants associated with early kidney injury in pregnant women in the cohort of TMICS (Taiwan Maternal and Infant Cohort Study). A total of 1,139 third-trimester pregnant women (weeks 29-40) were recruited between 2012 and 2015, and one-spot urine samples were successfully collected for study.

Sex-specific association of co-exposures to melamine and phthalates in children with their early renal injury.

Studies concerning the effect of co-exposure to melamine and phthalates on kidney function in children are rare. Thus, this study examines the above-mentioned relationship and their sex-different effect. Whether the exposure of the two chemicals from their mothers, when children were in the womb during the third trimester, affected renal injury markers in children afterwards is also examined.

The Role of Place Attachment in the Relationship between Attitudes toward Aging and Subjective Well-Being among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Taiwan.

Subjective well-being presents a societal challenge for vulnerable older adults. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of place attachment in the relationship between attitudes toward aging and subjective well-being among community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan. Two waves of investigations were conducted to examine the interplay between attitudes toward aging, subjective well-being, and place attachment among older adults.

Sex-specific interactive effect of melamine and DEHP on a marker of early kidney damage in Taiwanese adults: A national population-based study from the Taiwan Biobank.

Taiwan had the high incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide. Our objective was to examine associations between daily exposure of phthalates and melamine, two common nephrotoxins, and kidney damage risk in a well-established nationwide cohort. Study subjects were from Taiwan Biobank (TWB) with existing data of questionnaire and biochemical examinations.

Reference intervals for thyroid hormone, sex hormone, and clinical biochemical tests in cord blood from Taiwanese newborn - TMICS cohort.

Background/purpose: This study aims to establish reference intervals for important biochemical parameters in cord blood of newborn male and female infants in Taiwan and to investigate their sex difference. We also examined the correlation of the same markers between maternal blood levels and neonatal cord blood levels.

Methods: 2,136 pregnant women receiving regular routine prenatal health assessments in their third trimester (weeks 29-40) were recruited from nine hospitals in Taiwan between 2012 and 2015.

Approaching person-centered long-term care: The trajectories of intrinsic capacity and functional decline in Taiwan.

Aim: To examine the longitudinal trajectory of intrinsic capacity over a 3-year period among long-term care recipients in Taiwan, its association with functional decline and the onset of severe dependency.

Methods: A total of 9448 individuals aged ≥50 years utilizing home and community-based long-term care services with complete data from three separate evaluations in Taiwan were included in the study. We carried out a latent class linear mixed model to identify heterogeneous patterns of intrinsic capacity over time, a mixed-effects model to investigate their impact on activities of daily living and a Kaplan-Meier analysis to examine the onset year of severe dependency among different intrinsic capacity classes.