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Introduction: Chronic physical disease (CPD) makes life filled with many negative events in adolescents, but not all adolescents experiencing negative life events proceed to develop emotional distress, only those with low emotional distress tolerance (EDT). A valid and reliable scale to measure EDT in CPD adolescents is important for caring for their emotional distress. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to translate the 15‐item English version Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) into a Chinese version and then validate the scale for measuring EDT of adolescents with CPD. Methods: The 15‐item English version DTS was translated into a Chinese version using the translation guidelines for cross‐cultural research. Two cohorts of adolescents with CPD were recruited from four hospitals in southern Taiwan, with the first cohort including 124 adolescents with CPD employed to conduct exploratory factor analysis, corrected item‐total correlation and reliability testing, while the second cohort, consisting of 238 adolescents with CPD, was utilized to examine confirmatory factor analysis and concurrent validity. Results: The two‐factor nine‐item Chinese version DTS for Adolescents with CPD (C‐DTS‐A) was developed. Lower scores of the C‐DTS‐A were significantly associated with higher diabetes distress, poorer self‐management, and worse glycaemic control; their correlation coefficients sequentially were −.40,.17 and −.23. Cronbach's α and the test–retest reliability of the two‐factor C‐DTS‐A ranged from.81 to.87 and from.79 to.89, respectively. Conclusion: The two‐factor nine‐item C‐DTS‐A with good cross‐cultural translation quality was a reliable and valid scale to assess EDT for adolescents with CPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and alcohol consumption have both increased in recent years, and there is debate as to whether nonheavy alcohol use is safe in MASLD. We analyzed the association between different nonheavy alcohol use patterns and at‐risk liver fibrosis among individuals with MASLD. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional study of 1072 eligible National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants with MASLD who reported nonheavy alcohol consumption. We used vibration‐controlled transient elastography to define the primary outcome of at‐risk liver fibrosis as >8.2 kPa (stage F2‐F4). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the association of different alcohol consumption patterns (average drinks/day, drinking days/week, weekly alcohol intake, type of alcoholic beverage) and at‐risk hepatic fibrosis, controlling for demographic/socioeconomic, lifestyle/dietary, and metabolic risk factors. Results: Exclusive liquor or cocktail drinkers had a 5.02‐fold odds of at‐risk fibrosis (95% CI: 1.15–21.95) compared with non‐drinkers when controlling for potential confounders. While consuming an average of 2 drinks/day, ≥3 drinking days/week, or 1–3 drinks/week appeared to have a lower association with at‐risk fibrosis when controlling for demographic/socioeconomic risk factors, the association was not present after controlling for lifestyle/dietary and metabolic risk factors. Conclusions: There is an association between exclusive liquor/cocktail consumption and at‐risk liver fibrosis in patients with MASLD who report nonheavy alcohol consumption. In a nationally representative sample of US adults with metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), exclusive liquor or cocktail consumption is associated with a 5.02‐fold increased risk of liver fibrosis among nonheavy alcohol users. Nonheavy alcohol use overall was not associated with F2 or greater liver fibrosis after adjusting for confounders. Our findings highlight the need to investigate subcategories of drinking behavior that may lead to liver fibrosis even among those without heavy drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early palliative care (EPC) benefits some cancers, but its clinical outcomes differ depending on patients' racial and ethnic disparities, and customs. To determine whether EPC improves symptoms, emotional distress, and quality of life among Taiwanese patients with early or advanced-stage head and neck cancer (HNC)., Methods: Based on participants' pathological stages, they were categorized as having early and advanced-stage HNC. Those willing and unwilling to undergo EPC were assigned to the EPC and standard groups, respectively. Their daily cancer-related symptoms were assessed using the Distress Thermometer (DT) and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), whose scores' concurrent validity was evaluated using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Core Quality of Life (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and Head and Neck 35 (EORTC-QLQ-H&N35) questionnaires., Results: Patients (n = 93) diagnosed with HNC at Taiwan's Chia-Yi Christian Hospital from November 2020 to October 2022 were recruited. The patients voluntarily split into two groups: EPC groups and standard groups (23 and 11 in early-stage; 46 and 13 in advanced-stage, respectively). DT assessment showed significant emotional distress improvements for all patients with HNC who received EPC. The EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire indicated that, compared to standard interventions, EPC groups significantly improved the quality of life and some symptoms for both early and advanced-stage HNC patients. However, the EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire found no significant difference between the two groups. Furthermore, advanced-stage patients' anticancer treatment completion rates with EPC and standard interventions were 95.35% and 75%, respectively., Conclusion: EPC improves symptoms, emotional distress, quality of life, and treatment completion rates in Taiwanese patients with early or advanced-stage HNC. Nonetheless, further extensive clinical studies are required for validation., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the subject matter or materials discussed in this article., (Copyright © 2024, the Chinese Medical Association.)