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Objectives: This study assessed the effectiveness, compliance, and safety of dextrose prolotherapy for patients with knee osteoarthritis. Data sources: PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library Database, and the Scopus database from their inception to December 31, 2021. Methods: This study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. Randomized controlled trials regarding the effectiveness of dextrose prolotherapy in knee osteoarthritis were identified. The included trials were subjected to meta-analysis. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Subgroup and random-effects metaregression analyses were performed to explore any heterogeneity (I 2) of treatment effects across studies. Results: A total of 14 trials enrolling 978 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with placebo injection and noninvasive control therapy, dextrose prolotherapy had favorable effects on pain, global function, and quality of life during the overall follow-up. Dextrose prolotherapy yielded greater reductions in pain score over each follow-up duration than did the placebo. Compared with other invasive therapies, dextrose prolotherapy generally achieved comparable effects on pain and functional outcomes for each follow-up duration. Subgroup results indicated that combined intra-articular and extra-articular injection techniques may have stronger effects on pain than a single intra-articular technique. Conclusions: Dextrose prolotherapy may have dose-dependent and time-dependent effects on pain reduction and function recovery, respectively, in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Due to remarkable heterogeneity and the risk of biases across the included trials, the study results should be cautiously interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School bullying can cause severe mental health problems for both victims and perpetrators. However, the association between bullying victimization and perpetration has rarely been discussed, and no study has investigated the effects of social support, such as friendship and family support, in moderating this association. Therefore, the authors examined the moderating effects of friendship and family support on the association between bullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents. Data were obtained from the 2009 Project for the Health of Adolescents. Through multistage stratified cluster sampling, 13 junior and 10 senior high schools in southern Taiwan were selected, resulting in a representative sample of 6,445 students from grades 7 to 12. School bullying and family support were examined using the Chinese version of the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire and the Family adaptability, partnership, growth, affection, resolve instrument, respectively. Friendship support was measured using the subscale of the Taiwanese Quality of Life Questionnaire for Adolescents and adolescents' number of friends, time spent with friends, and friend distributions. Linear regression modeling and the Johnson–Neyman technique were used to examine the moderating effects of friendship and family support on the association between bullying victimization and perpetration. For active bullying, having fun and talkative friends and friends outside school negatively moderated the intensity of the association between bullying victimization and perpetration (regression coefficients: −0.02 to −0.05), whereas, for passive bullying, only friends outside school negatively moderated the intensity of the association (regression coefficient: −0.05). By contrast, some components of friendship support positively moderated the associations. These findings suggest that higher friendship quality and having more friends outside of school attenuate the association between bullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents, thus increasing the understanding of the moderating role that social support play in such associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to introduce the methodology and report on cohort description of Taiwan Adolescent to Adult Longitudinal Study (TAALS). TAALS is the first nationwide longitudinal survey among Taiwan adolescents, linked with the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to obtain complete medical records of respondents in the future. The TAALS project employed the principle of probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling method. Data were collected by questionnaire from 18 064 school students participating in 2015 formal survey, with good sample representation via a goodness-of-fit test after weighting adjustments. Through expert evaluation and statistics tests, TAALS shows a well nationally representation, validity, and reliability. Results indicate that the vocational school students had poor healthy behavior than other education systems, supporting the hypothesis that different learning environment will develop different health behaviors. TAALS can serve as a foundation for analyzing health trajectories of Taiwan adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this study, we intended to evaluate whether swallow treatment with neuromuscular electrical stimulation is superior to that without neuromuscular electrical stimulation, and whether neuromuscular electrical stimulation alone is superior to swallow therapy. Methods: We searched the PubMed and Scopus databases from their earliest record to 31 December 2014 for randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials that used neuromuscular electrical stimulation to treat post-stroke dysphagia. The Jadad scale was used to assess the quality of the included studies. We extracted the mean differences and standard deviation (SD) between baseline and posttreatment or posttreatment mean and SD for selected outcomes measured in the experimental and control groups for subsequent meta-analyses. Results: Eight studies were identified. For the comparison “swallow treatment with neuromuscular electrical stimulation vs. swallow treatment without neuromuscular electrical stimulation,” we found a significant standardized mean difference (SMD) of 1.27 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.51–2.02, P = 0.001) with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 85%). The meta-analysis for the comparison of neuromuscular electrical stimulation alone and swallow therapy demonstrated a non-significant SMD of 0.25 (95% CI = –0.16–0.65, P = 0.23) without significant heterogeneity (I2 = 16%). Conclusion: Swallow treatment with neuromuscular electrical stimulation seems to be more effective than that without neuromuscular electrical stimulation for post-stroke dysphagia in the short term considering the limited number of studies available. Evidence was insufficient to indicate that neuromuscular electrical stimulation alone was superior to swallow therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We investigated the effects of a computer-generated interactive visual feedback training program on the recovery from pusher syndrome in stroke patients. Design: Assessor-blinded, pilot randomized controlled study. Participants: A total of 12 stroke patients with pusher syndrome were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (N = 7, computer-generated interactive visual feedback training) or control group (N = 5, mirror visual feedback training). Main outcome measures: The scale for contraversive pushing for severity of pusher syndrome, the Berg Balance Scale for balance performance, and the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale for motor control were the outcome measures. Patients were assessed pre- and posttraining. Results: A comparison of pre- and posttraining assessment results revealed that both training programs led to the following significant changes: decreased severity of pusher syndrome scores (decreases of 4.0 ±1.1 and 1.4 ±1.0 in the experimental and control groups, respectively); improved balance scores (increases of 14.7 ±4.3 and 7.2 ±1.6 in the experimental and control groups, respectively); and higher scores for lower extremity motor control (increases of 8.4 ±2.2 and 5.6 ±3.3 in the experimental and control groups, respectively). Furthermore, the computer-generated interactive visual feedback training program produced significantly better outcomes in the improvement of pusher syndrome (p < 0.01) and balance (p < 0.05) compared with the mirror visual feedback training program. Conclusions: Although both training programs were beneficial, the computer-generated interactive visual feedback training program more effectively aided recovery from pusher syndrome compared with mirror visual feedback training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determined the prevalence of asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and cardiovascular risk factors in Taiwan. Ambulatory participants (n = 1915) without symptoms of PAD were enrolled (mean age of 61.2 years). The ankle-brachial index (ABI) was used to detect the PAD (ABI < 0.90). The overall prevalence of asymptomatic PAD was 5.4% (2.8% in the younger participants [<65 years of age, n = 1021] and 8.4% in the elderly participants [≥65 years of age, n = 894]). Younger participants with asymptomatic PAD had a significantly higher rate of hypertension (55.2% vs 30%) and obesity (31% vs 13.3%) than those without asymptomatic PAD (P < .05). Elderly participants with asymptomatic PAD had a significantly higher rate of diabetes mellitus (36% vs 21.2%) and hypertension (69.3% vs 55.4%) than those without asymptomatic PAD (P < .05). Asymptomatic PAD is prevalent among elderly Taiwanese individuals. Overall, age was the strongest risk factor for the development of asymptomatic PAD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study aims to discover risk factors significantly correlated with insulin resistance among adolescents in Taiwan. A total of 339 study subjects were recruited in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire and physical examinations including anthropometrics and biochemistry profiles were collected. Insulin resistance was assessed using homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Study subjects had a significantly increased risk of IR for those with abnormal level of body mass index (odds ratio [OR] = 3.54; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.81-6.91), body fat (OR = 2.71; 95% CI = 1.25-5.88), and waist circumference (OR = 25.04; 95% CI = 2.93-214.14) when compared with those who have normal values. Furthermore, a significantly joint effect of 10.86-fold risk for HOMA-IR abnormality among body fat, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure was observed. The identification of risk factors significantly correlated with IR will be important to prevent metabolic syndrome–related diseases and complications for adolescents in their future life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although the vast majority of indigenous peoples in Taiwan consume alcohol, little is known about the relationship between alcoholic behavior and family relationships. A total of 471 residents from 3 villages in Alishan township in Taiwan were interviewed using a questionnaire that asked for demographic information and included the Family Function Scale and questions regarding the individual’s consumption of alcohol. It was found that 50% of the participants drink alcohol, and 71% of their family members consume alcohol; 47% of the respondents indicated excessive alcohol consumption (ie, were heavy drinkers). When individuals are knowledgeable about alcohol-related health issues, their families generally function better (odds ratio = 2.56; 95% confidence interval = 1.38-4.74; P < .01). Those who were moderate and heavy drinkers were 2.5 and 3.0 times, respectively, more likely to have poor family relationships than those who were light drinkers. It is necessary to promote the reduction of alcohol consumption among indigenous peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There has been no study in Taiwan on reasons for extraction of permanent teeth. This study aimed to determine the reasons for permanent teeth extraction in Taiwan. This study performed a secondary data analysis based on the National Health Insurance Research Database. The 2009 database was adopted and there are 131 104 records of dental visits in the database; among them, 4958 visits (from 4811 patients) have a coding of extraction. The results showed that dental caries (55.3%) was the main reason for tooth extraction, followed by periodontal disease (22.1%). Extraction because of dental caries was commonly observed in all age-groups, and extractions because of periodontal disease increased in those older than 35 years. Maxillary and mandibular third molar were the most frequently removed tooth types, and most were extracted because of dental caries and impaction respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]