Search

Objective: This study aimed to investigate prevalences of head and neck cancers in patients with and those without Sjögren's syndrome using a population‐based dataset. Methods: We retrieved sampled patients from Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. This study included 38 930 patients with Sjögren's syndrome and 155 720 propensity‐score matched comparison patients without Sjögren's syndrome. Results: Chi‐squared tests revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the prevalences of head and neck cancers between patients with Sjögren's syndrome and comparison patients (1.77% vs. 1.22%, p < 0.001). The odds ratio for head and neck cancers for patients with Sjögren's syndrome relative to the comparison group was 1.452 (95% CI = 1.325–1.592). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that patients with Sjögren's syndrome face increased odds of head and neck cancers, encompassing several sites including the oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, and thyroid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to evaluate whether peripheral vestibular disorders (PVD) are associated with subsequent injury.Methods: Data for this follow-up study were retrieved from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) Dataset. A total of 251,355 patients with newly diagnosed PVD during January 2015 to December 2016 was identified as the study cohort, the diagnosis date being their index date. Comparison patients were identified by propensity score-matching (one per case, n = 251,355 controls) from the remaining NHI beneficiaries in 2015 with their index date being the date of their first health service claim in 2015. We tracked each subject's claims history for 1 year from the index date to identify those who suffered an injury. Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed to calculate the injury hazard ratio of cases versus controls.Results: The incidence of injury during 1-year follow-up was 128.6 (95% CI = 127.6-129.5) per 1,000 person-years, 158.2 (95% CI = 156.8-159.6) and 97.5 (95% CI = 96.3-98.7) among the study and comparison cohorts, respectively. After adjusting for demographic variables, the hazard ratio (HR) for injury during 1-year was 1.663 (95% CI: 1.636-1.690) for cases relative to controls.Conclusions: Patients with PVD were at a higher risk for a wide range of injuries, most of all, joint dislocation and sprain.Level Of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 131:1633-1638, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/hypothesis: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of peripheral vestibular disorders in an Asian population of predominantly Han Chinese ethnicity.Study Design: Cross-sectional study.Methods: Patients with a peripheral vertigo disorder were identified from the Taiwan Health Insurance Research Database, a database of all medical claims of a randomly selected, population-representative sample of 2 million enrollees of Taiwan's National Health Insurance system covering over 99% of Taiwan's citizens. In 2016, 59,986 patients received a diagnosis of peripheral vestibular disorders in Taiwan. We calculated the population-wide prevalence rates of peripheral vestibular disorders in 2016 by sex and age group (20 to 24, 25 to 29, 30 to 34, 35 to 39, 40 to 44, 45 to 49, 50 to 54, 55 to 59, 60 to 64, 65 to 69, and ≥ 70 years) stratified into five urbanization levels.Results: The prevalence rate of peripheral vestibular disorders was 2,833.4 per 100,000 population during the year. Prevalence of Meniere's disease was 70.4 per 100,000, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, 446.4, vestibular neuritis 307.2, and other or unspecified peripheral vestibular dizziness, 2,009.5 per 100,000. Prevalence rates steadily increased with age for every type of peripheral vestibular disorder, and were higher among females compared to males. The female-to-male gender ratios were 1.84, 1.89, and 1.93 for Meniere's disease, vestibular neuritis, and other peripheral vestibular dizziness, respectively. Counties with the lowest urbanization level had the highest prevalence rates of all types of peripheral vestibular disorders except vestibular neuritis.Conclusions: Results showed that peripheral vestibular disorders are common in Taiwan, increase with age, are predominantly female, and show higher prevalence in rural areas.Level Of Evidence: 2b Laryngoscope, 131:639-643, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/hypothesis: This study aimed to assess the association of prior cervical spondylosis (CS) with peripheral vertigo.Study Design: Case-control study.Methods: Data were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. A total of 2,570 patients who were newly diagnosed with peripheral vertigo were identified. We compared them with a 3:1 ratio of propensity score-matched patients, 7,710 comparison patients from the same dataset. We performed multivariate logistic regressions to estimate the odds ratio for prior CS occurrence among peripheral vertigo patients versus controls.Results: Of 10,280 sample patients, 1,739 (16.92%) patients had CS prior to the index date. A significant difference in prior CS between peripheral vertigo patients and controls (19.49% vs. 16.06%, P < .001) was observed. Logistic regression analysis shows that the odds of prior CS was 1.285 for peripheral vertigo patients versus controls (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.143-1.446) after adjusting for age, sex, urbanization level, monthly income, geographic region, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and asthma. Prior CS with myelopathy was not associated with peripheral vertigo. Stratified analysis by age showed that the odds of CS were highest among patients with peripheral vertigo in the 45- to 64-year-old age group (1.442, 95% CI: 1.215-1.712).Conclusions: CS is associated with subsequent peripheral vertigo in the Taiwan population, with higher risk among those aged 45 to 64 years.Level Of Evidence: 2b Laryngoscope, 131:E625-E630, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between pioglitazone use and the occurrence of head and neck cancer. Methods: Data for this case‐control study were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 21 464 diabetic patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancers were identified. We used propensity score matching to select 64 392 comparison patients (3:1 ratio). Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association of head and neck cancer with pioglitazone use in the 5 years preceding the cancer diagnosis. Results: Bivariate analysis showed a significant difference in the prevalence of prior using pioglitazone between cases and controls (19.3% vs 18.5%, P <.001) was observed. Multiple regression analysis showed adjusted odds of pioglitazone use of 1.06 (95% CI: 1.02‐1.10) among cases relative to controls. Conclusions: Prior pioglitazone use was associated with oral cavity cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average annual incidence rate of malignant otitis media was 0.221 per 100 000 people. In this population-based study, we describe trends in the incidence of MOE over time and show that the incidence of MOE substantially changed between 2000 and 2015. A population-based study conducted in Spain in 2008-2013 also reported 355 cases of MOE, with an overall incidence of 0.13 per 100 000 cases.[8] However, neither of them was able to show secular trends of MOE over a more extended period. The incidence of MOE was highest in the elderly and higher in male populations, while the incidence substantially decreased irrespective of age and sex over the 15-year study period. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between osteoporosis and salivary gland stone using a population‐based claims database. Design: A case‐control design. Setting: Taiwan. Participants: We retrieved the sample for this case‐control study from the Taiwan "Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005." All 557 patients aged 40 years or older with a diagnosis of sialolithiasis were cases, and 1671 matched controls (without sialolithiasis) were selected. Subjects and Methods: We used the chi‐square test to explore differences between cases and controls on socio‐demographic characteristics. Furthermore, conditional logistic regressions were used to examine the association of sialolithiasis with previously diagnosed osteoporosis. Results: Of 2228 sampled patients, 171 (7.68%) had ever been previously diagnosed with osteoporosis; 58 (10.41%) among cases and 113 (6.76%) among controls (P = 0.005). Conditional logistic regression analysis found that the odds ratio (OR) of prior osteoporosis for cases was 1.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24‐2.59, P = 0.002) relative to controls after adjusting for urbanisation and the selected medical co‐morbidities. Furthermore, we found that among patients aged ≥65 years, the adjusted OR of prior osteoporosis for cases was 1.89 (95% CI = 1.02‐3.51). No significant relationship was observed among patients aged <65 years old. Conclusion: This study demonstrates an association between sialolithiasis and osteoporosis. Although the finding warrants further investigation, the results call for more awareness of the possible concurrence of osteoporosis among physicians and patients with salivary gland stones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This case‐control study aimed to find the relationship between prior statin use and head and neck cancer occurrence using a large population‐based database. Methods: This study used claims data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We included 5515 patients with head and neck cancer as cases and 5515 propensity score‐matched patients without head and neck cancer as controls. Conditional logistic regressions were performed to investigate the relationship between head and neck cancer and prior statin exposure. Results: Of the 11 030 total sampled patients, 16.95% had previously received prescriptions for statins. In addition, statin exposure was found in 15.99% of cases and 17.91% of controls. The logistic regression also revealed that the adjusted odds ratio of prior statin exposure for cases was 0.86 (95% confidence interval: 0.77‐0.95) compared to propensity score‐matched controls. Conclusion: This study found an inverse association between statin usage and head and neck cancer occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although current evidence suggests potential antitumor activity of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), there is no population‐based evidence of an association between PPI use and subsequent breast cancer risks. We used an observational case‐control study to examine the association between prior PPI use and breast cancer occurrence. Additional analysis examined dose‐response and age‐stratified associations of PPIs with breast cancer. This study used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Dataset. A total of 64,234 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2004 and in 2013 were selected as cases. Controls were 64,234 women without cancer who were selected by matching them with cases on the basis of sociodemographic characteristics and widely prevalent comorbidities. Each study subject's claims data were tracked back for 5 years to determine precancer prescriptions of PPIs. Logistic regression modeling was used for the analysis. A total of 11,871 (9.24%) women had used PPIs within the prior 5 years, 8.06% and 10.42% among cases and controls, respectively. Breast cancer patients were 25% less likely to have had prior PPI exposure after adjustment for comorbidities that predispose to PPI exposure (95%CI 0.72‐0.78) in the risk of breast cancer occurrence. A dose‐response effect was also detected, with the highest effect, 35% lower PPI odds (95%CI 0.61‐0.70) among patients in the highest exposure category. Our findings may suggest that women at a higher‐than‐average risk of breast cancer may benefit from PPI prescriptions if they have medical conditions that could benefit from PPIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, few epidemiologic studies have investigated the relationship between pioglitazone use and prostate cancer. The available studies show conflicting findings. This case‐control study explored the association between prior pioglitazone usage and prostate cancer using a large, population‐based data set. Data were derived from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 in Taiwan, a population‐based sample of National Health Insurance enrollees with longitudinal claims data since 1995. Cases were 3513 patients with prostate cancer aged over 40 years, and the controls were 3513 patients without prostate cancer, matched with prostate cancer cases on age, and having a medical care utilization episode in the year of the index prostate cancer (1 control per case). We performed conditional logistic regression to examine the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals for prior pioglitazone use between cases and controls. Analysis showed that 178 of the total sample patients (2.53%) had used pioglitazone prior to the index date. Prior pioglitazone use was found in 72 (2.05%) cases and 106 (3.02%) controls. The crude odds ratio of prior pioglitazone usage for cases was 0.67 (95% confidence interval, 0.50‐0.91) compared to controls. After adjusting for demographic characteristics and comorbidities, the negative association of prior pioglitazone with prostate cancer persisted (adjusted odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.43‐0.80). We concluded that there was an inverse association between prior pioglitazone usage and prostate cancer in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known regarding associations of periodontitis with diseases of the nose, one of the structures adjacent to the mouth. This study aims to explore the association between periodontitis and previous allergic rhinitis (AR) using a matched patient-control study design from a population-based dataset in Taiwan.Methods: Data were sourced from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 for 71,182 patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) and 71,182 controls without periodontitis. Generalized linear mixed-model analyses were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for previous AR diagnosis in patients and controls.Results: Significant difference was found in prevalence of prior AR for patients and controls (28.4% versus 24.2%; P <0.001). Generalized linear mixed model suggested that the OR of previous AR for patients was 1.24 (95% CI: 1.22 to 1.27; P <0.001) compared with controls. Adjustments were made for: 1) monthly income; 2) urbanization level; 3) diabetes mellitus; 4) hypertension; 5) coronary heart disease; 6) hyperlipidemia; 7) alcohol abuse; 8) tobacco use disorder; and 9) random effect of geographic region. After adjusting, OR of previous AR diagnosis among patients was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.18 to 1.23; P <0.001) compared with controls.Conclusions: An association between periodontitis and prior AR is demonstrated. It is recommended that physicians be more alert for potential risk of subsequent development of CP in patients with AR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the actual relationship between antimuscarinics for overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome and the subsequent risk of a fracture remains unclear. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to demonstrate the association between antimuscarinics forOAB and fractures using a large populationbased data set. Data used in this study were taken from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005.We identified 2927 OAB patients who received antimuscarinics as the study cohort and 11 708 matched OAB patients who did not receive antimuscarinics as the comparison cohort. Each individual was tracked for a 3-year period to define those who received a diagnosis of a fracture. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were conducted to estimate the association between antimuscarinics for OAB and a subsequent fracture. Results revealed that the incidence rate of fracture per 100 person-years within the 3-year follow-up period were 3.01 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.65-3.40) for OAB patients who received antimuscarinics and 2.77 (95%CI, 2.60-2.95) for those OAB patients who did not receive antimuscarinics. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for a subsequent fracture for OAB patients who received antimuscarinics was 1.11 (95%CI, 0.97-1.28) compared with those OAB patients who did not receive antimuscarinics.Consequently,we concluded that antimuscarinics for OAB was not significantly predictive of fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although asthma and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) are considered to share similar pathophysiological pathways, the relationship between asthma and BPS/IC is uncertain. This case‐control study aimed to investigate the relationship between prior asthma and BPS/IC using a large database in Taiwan. Materials and methods: This study used data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We identified 500 female patients with BPS/IC as cases and 500 propensity score‐matched females without BPS/IC as controls. We conducted logistic regressions to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for prior asthma between cases and controls. Results: Results indicated that 143 (14.30%) of the total sampled patients had received a prior diagnosis of asthma. Moreover, prior asthma was found in 86 (17.20%) cases and 57 (11.40%) controls. The OR of prior asthma for cases was 1.61 (95%CI: 1.13‐2.32) compared to propensity score‐matched controls. Additionally, the ORs of prior asthma for females with BPS/IC aged 18‐59 and ≥60 years were 1.72 (95%CI: 1.11‐2.69) and 1.40 (95%CI: 0.74‐2.62), respectively, compared to controls. Conclusions: We concluded that prior asthma was significantly associated with BPS/IC in a female Taiwanese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have suggested an association between bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and endometriosis. However, no nation‐wide population study has yet reported an association between them. In this study, we examined the risk of BPS/IC among subjects with endometriosis during a 3‐year follow‐up in Taiwan using a population‐based dataset. Study Design: This study comprised 9191 subjects with endometriosis, and 27 573 subjects randomly selected as controls. We individually followed‐up each subject (n = 36 764) for a 3‐year period to identify subjects subsequently diagnosed with BPS/IC. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was employed to estimate the risk of subsequent BPS/IC following a diagnosis of endometriosis. Results: Incidences of BPS/IC during the 3‐year follow‐up period was 0.2% and 0.05% for subjects with and without endometriosis, respectively. The hazard ratio for developing BPS/IC over a 3‐year period for subjects with endometriosis compared to subjects without endometriosis was 4.43 (95% CI: 2.13‐9.23). After adjusting for co‐morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, hyperlipidemia, chronic pelvic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, panic disorder, migraines, sicca syndrome, allergies, endometriosis, asthma, tobacco use, and alcohol abuse, the Cox proportional hazards regressions revealed that the hazard ratio for BPS/IC among subjects with endometriosis was 3.74 (95% CI = 1.76‐7.94, P < 0.001) compared to that in controls. Conclusions: This study provides epidemiological evidence of an association between endometriosis and a subsequent diagnosis of BPS/IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: This retrospective cohort study examines the association between cataract surgery and neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) during 5‐year follow‐up using population‐based claims data. Methods: We analysed data sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The study included 3465 patients who had undergone cataract operations and did not have a diagnosis of AMD before or on the surgery date (study group), and 10 395 age‐ and sex‐matched comparison patients selected randomly from the remaining patients without an AMD diagnosis before the index date. We tracked the claims of each patient for a 5‐year period to identify patients with a subsequent diagnosis of neovascular AMD. Results: The incidence rate of neovascular AMD was 0.88 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66–1.14) per 1000 person‐years among all sampled patients, 1.60 (95% CI: 1.04–2.36) among the cataract surgery patients and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.43–0.91) among comparison patients (p < 0.001). Stratified Cox proportional analysis showed that relative to the comparison cohort, the adjusted hazard ratio for neovascular AMD during 5‐year follow‐up was 2.68 (95% CI: 1.55–4.66) for patients who had undergone cataract operation. We censored those who died during follow‐up period and adjusted for patients' monthly income, geographical location, urbanization level, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and hyperlipidaemia. Conclusion: This study demonstrated epidemiological evidence of a link between cataract surgery and neovascular AMD during a 5‐year follow‐up period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite evidence linking thyroxin use and breast cancer, little is known regarding the risk of other cancers with thyroxin use. The purpose of this case-control study was to evaluate the association of thyroid cancer with primary hypothyroidism based on a population-based database. The data for this case-control study were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We included 1285 patients with thyroid cancer as cases and 3855 sex- and age-matched subjects as controls. We used conditional logistic regression to examine the association of thyroid cancer with previously diagnosed hypothyroidism. We found that a prior hypothyroidism diagnosis was found among 37 cases (2.88%) and 33 controls (0.86%). Conditional logistic regression analysis revealed that the cases were more likely to have been previously diagnosed with hypothyroidism than controls (adjusted OR, 3.01; 95%CI, 1.85-4.89). We also found that thyroid cancer was significantly associated with hypothyroidism patients who were regular thyroxin users (adjusted OR, 8.68; 95%CI, 4.34-17.34). However, we failed to observe a significant association between thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism patients who were irregular thyroxin users. This investigation detected a novel association between thyroid cancer and thyroxin use in patients with primary hypothyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This case-control study aimed to explore the association between prior coronary heart disease ( CHD) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using a population-based data set in Taiwan. Methods We analysed data sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The study consisted of 1970 patients with neovascular AMD as cases and 5910 age- and sex-matched controls. We performed a conditional logistic regression to examine the odds ratio ( OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval ( CI) for previously diagnosed CHD between cases and controls. Results Of the 7880 sampled patients, 24.5% had a prior history of CHD; CHD was found in 25.7% of cases and in 22.7% of controls (p = 0.008). The conditional logistic regression analysis indicated that the OR for prior CHD for cases was 1.17 [95% confidence interval ( CI): 1.04-1.32] compared to the controls. However, after adjusting for patient's monthly income, geographic location, urbanization level, age, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes and hypertension, we failed to observe an association between prior CHD and AMD ( OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.91-1.17). Additionally, the medical comorbidities of hyperlipidaemia (adjusted OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.15-1.45), hypertension (adjusted OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.05-1.37) and diabetes (adjusted OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.32-1.65) were significantly associated with AMD. Conclusions This study presented no significant difference in the odds of prior CHD between patients with AMD and those without AMD after adjusting for comorbidities and sociodemographic characteristics in a Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the relationship between antimuscarinics for overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome and depressive disorder still remains unclear. Therefore, this retrospective cohort study examined the association between antimuscarinic use and the subsequent risk of depressive disorder using a population-based data set. This study used data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We selected 1952 OAB women who received antimuscarinics as the study cohort and 9760 OAB women who did not receive antimuscarinics as the comparison cohort. Each subject was tracked for 3 years from her index date to determine all those who were subsequently diagnosed with depressive disorder. Results indicated that the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for depressive disorder in OAB women who received antimuscarinics was 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-1.64) compared with those OAB women who did not receive antimuscarinics. In addition, the adjusted HRs for subsequent depressive disorder for OAB women aged 18-39, 40-59, and ≥60 years who received antimuscarinics were 1.83 (95%CI, 1.27-2.64), 1.36 (95%CI, 1.03-1.81), and 1.16 (95%CI, 0.86-1.56), respectively, compared with those OAB women who did not receive antimuscarinics. We concluded that women with OAB who received antimuscarinics had a significantly higher risk of subsequent depressive disorder compared with those OAB women who did not receive antimuscarinics. Accordingly, clinicians should be alert to the relationship between antimuscarinics usage and depressive disorder in OAB women and provide appropriate instructions for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Ulcerative colitis ( UC) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disease with significant clinical diversity. However, the aetiology, pathogenesis and optimal treatment of UC remain unclear. The purpose of this case-control study was to investigate the association between previously diagnosed hyperthyroidism and UC using a large population-based data set in Taiwan. Methods The data for this population-based case-control study were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We included 2709 patients with UC as cases and 8127 sex- and age-matched patients without UC as controls. A conditional logistic regression analysis was conducted to compute the odds ratio ( OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval ( CI) for the association between UC and prior hyperthyroidism. Results We found that, in total, 327 of the 10 836 sampled patients (3.02%) had previously been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. There was a higher proportion of prior hyperthyroidism among cases than controls (4.10% vs 2.66%, P<.001). A conditional logistic regression showed that the OR of prior hyperthyroidism was 1.57 (95% CI=1.24-1.98) compared to controls. Similarly, after adjusting for monthly income, geographic location and urbanization level, cases were still more likely to have previously been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism than controls ( OR=1.61, 95% CI=1.27-2.05). Furthermore, we analysed the ORs of prior hyperthyroidism between cases and controls according to age group. We found that of the youngest group of sampled patients (18-39 years), cases had the greatest adjusted OR for having previously been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism than controls ( OR=1.98, 95% CI=1.04-3.79). Conclusions This study demonstrated an association between UC and hyperthyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between cholelithiasis and developing sialolithiasis using a population-based coverage database. Methods The data for this study were sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We included 745 subjects with sialolithiasis as cases and 3725 sex-matched and age-matched subjects without sialolithiasis as controls. Results Chi-square test revealed a significant difference in the prevalence of prior cholelithiasis between the cases and controls (8.6% vs 4.1%; p < .001). Furthermore, conditional logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds ratio (OR) of prior cholelithiasis for the cases was 2.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.62-2.98) when compared with the controls after adjusting for monthly income, geographic location, urbanization level, and tobacco use disorder. The adjusted OR of prior cholelithiasis for cases was 2.20 (95% CI = 1.46-3.33) and 2.15 (95% CI = 1.38-3.42) than controls for men and women, respectively. Conclusion This study demonstrates an association between sialolithiasis and cholelithiasis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: 560-563, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Several observational studies raised the possibility that the use of statins may decrease the overall risk of cancer and of specific cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the association of statin use with thyroid cancer based on a population-based data set. Design The data for this case-control study were sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. We included 500 subjects with thyroid cancer as cases and 2500 gender- and age-matched subjects without thyroid cancer as controls. We used a conditional logistic regression to calculate the odds ratio ( OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval ( CI) for having previously used statins between cases and controls. Results The OR of prior statin use for cases was 1·39 (95% CI = 1·08-1·78) compared to controls, and thyroid cancer was significantly associated with previous regular statin use ( OR = 1·40, 95% CI = 1·05-1·86). However, thyroid cancer was not significantly associated with previous irregular statin use ( OR = 1·35; 95% CI = 0·88-2·07). Furthermore, the significant association between thyroid cancer and previous statin use only existed for females ( OR: 1·43; 95% CI: 1·07-1·90) but not for males ( OR: 1·28; 95% CI: 0·75-2·17). Conclusions We concluded that statin use was associated with thyroid cancer in female patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Vascular factors are proposed in the etiology of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC). In this study, we investigated the risk of stroke among women following a diagnosis of BPS/IC over 3 years of follow-up, compared to controls without a BPS/IC diagnosis. Methods This retrospective cohort study used data retrieved from the Taiwan 'Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000.' We identified 847 women who received a diagnosis of BPS/IC between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2008 (study group) and 4,235 comparison women (women without a BPS/IC diagnosis matched on age and other selected demographic variables. All subjects were tracked for 3 years following the index date to identify those who received a diagnosis of stroke during follow-up. Results The stroke incidence rate was 20.86 (95% confidence interval (CI): 15.78-27.07) and 11.65 (95% CI: 9.88-13.64) per 1,000 person-years among the study and comparison cohorts, respectively. Cox regression analysis showed a stroke hazard ratio (HR) of 1.52 (95% CI: 1.09-2.14) in the BPS/IC group relative to the comparison group over 3-year follow-up, after adjusting for hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, hyperlipidemia, and chronic kidney disease. The adjusted HR of ischemic stroke was 1.52 (95% CI: 1.02-2.27). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in hemorrhagic stroke risk. Conclusions Our study demonstrates an association between BPS/IC and a subsequent ischemic stroke diagnosis among women in Taiwan. Neurourol. Urodynam. 34:44-49, 2015. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Purpose This study aimed to investigate the most prescribed medications and principle diagnoses for category D and X drugs during pregnancy using a population-based dataset in Taiwan. Methods The data for the present study were sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. We selected 14 125 women who had live singleton births between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011. In total, 217 226 prescriptions prescribed to these pregnant women were identified. Results Of the total 217 226 prescriptions, 1.1% were category D or X drugs; in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, 1.8%, 0.7%, and 0.5% of prescriptions were category D or X drugs, respectively. Progestins (15.3%) and propylthiouracil (10.7%) were the two most frequently prescribed category D or X drugs during pregnancy. In particular, progestins (20.4%) and estrogens (15.6%) were the most frequently prescribed category D or X drug in the first trimester of pregnancy. Propylthiouracil was the most prescribed category D or X drug in the second (20.3%) and third trimesters (23.1%) of pregnancy, respectively. The most common principal diagnosis during pregnancy was 'disorders of menstruation and other abnormal bleeding from the female genital tract' (22% of all principal diagnoses for prescribing category D and X drugs). Conclusions Our study found that the physicians obviously reduced the use of category D and X drugs for women after becoming aware that they were pregnant. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome ( IC/ BPS) is a chronic disabling condition of the urological system. Many gynecological conditions are reported to be associated with IC/ BPS. This study presents epidemiological evidence of a possible association between dysmenorrhea and IC/ BPS, using population-based data. Design A case-control study. Setting Taiwan. Sample The study sample was retrieved from Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000, i.e. 291 women aged 18-45 years with a diagnosis of IC/ BPS between January 2000 and December 2010 (cases) and 873 randomly selected controls matched on age and index date of ambulatory care visit. We used logistic regression conditioned on age to calculate the odds ratio of cases having a prior diagnosis of dysmenorrhea relative to controls. Results Prior dysmenorrhea was found in 87 (29.9%) cases and in 163 (18.7%) of the controls. Conditional logistic regression showed a crude odds ratio of 1.86 (95% confidence interval 1.37-2.52, p < 0.001) for prior dysmenorrhea among cases vs. controls. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.59 (95% confidence interval 1.13-2.23, p = 0.007) after adjusting for medical co-morbidities. Conclusion This population-based study found that there is an association between IC/ BPS and prior dysmenorrhea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: Although it is known that inflammatory processes can elevate the risk of cancer, to date the association between allergic rhinitis (AR) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association between NPC and AR based on a population-based database in Taiwan. Study Design: A case-control study. Methods: In total, 1,799 NPC cases and 5,397 randomly selected controls without NPC were included. We evaluated the prevalence and risk of prior AR between cases and controls. We also performed a conditional logistic regression analysis to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for having been previously diagnosed with AR between cases and controls. Results: In total, 2,453 of the 7,196 study subjects (34.1%) had previously received an AR diagnosis; 875 (48.6%) were cases and 1,578 (29.2%) were controls (P < 0.001). The conditional logistic regression suggested that the OR of prior AR for cases was 2.29 (95% CI = 2.05-2.56) compared to controls. Even after adjusting for geographic region, monthly income, urbanization level, diabetes, tobacco use disorder, and alcohol abuse, the OR of having previously received an AR diagnosis among cases was 2.25 (95% CI = 2.02-2.59) that of controls. Furthermore, after excluding subjects diagnosed with AR within 1, 2, or 3 years prior to the index date, the respective adjusted ORs were 1.91, 1.61, and 1.35. Conclusions: This study demonstrated an association between NPC and prior AR. We recommend that physicians and patients with AR keep in mind this potential risk of subsequent NPC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine the risk of diabetes mellitus within a 5-year period among patients with nephrolithiasis undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy . Methods A total of 304 patients who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy were included in the study cohort. A total of 3040 patients with nephrolithiasis who did not undergo percutaneous nephrolithotomy were used as a comparison cohort. All participants included in the present study were individually tracked for a 5-year period in order to identify those who developed diabetes mellitus during this timeframe. Results The incidence rate of diabetes mellitus was 3.03 per 100 person-years in participants who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy and 1.65 per 100 person-years in participants who did not undergo percutaneous nephrolithotomy. After adjusting for the participants' monthly income, geographic location, urbanization level, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and alcohol abuse/alcohol dependence syndrome, the hazard ratio of receiving a first diagnosis of diabetes mellitus during the 5-year follow-up period was 1.96 (95% confidence interval 1.40-2.77) for participants who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Furthermore, compared with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy or endoscopic intervention, participants who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy had a significantly increased hazard of developing diabetes mellitus (adjusted hazard ratio 1.79 for a percutaneous nephrolithotomy vs extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, and adjusted hazard ratio 1.71 for a percutaneous nephrolithotomy vs an endoscopic intervention). Conclusions The present results suggest an association between patients with nephrolithiasis who undergo a percutaneous nephrolithotomy and a subsequent diabetes mellitus diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis This study aimed to explore the prevalence of a broad spectrum of comorbid medical conditions among patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), using a population-based dataset. Study design A cross-sectional study. Methods In total, 5,734 CRS subjects and 17,202 comparison subjects were included in this study. Separate conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for each of 39 medical comorbidities between subjects with and without CRS. Results For 27 of the 39 study comorbidities, results showed that subjects with CRS had a statistically significantly higher OR than subjects without CRS after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Ranks of the top five comorbid relationships from the strongest ORs to the lowest were as follows: asthma (OR = 3.09), chronic pulmonary disease (OR = 3.04), weight loss (OR = 2.58), obesity (OR = 2.50), and migraines (OR = 2.30). Conclusion Our results indicate that subjects with CRS have an increased prevalence of various comorbidities. Level of Evidence 3b. Laryngoscope, 124:1536-1541, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis Although it is already known that the inflammation process elevates the risk of developing cancer, to date the association between rhinosinusitis and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association between rhinosinusitis and NPC based on a nationwide database. Study Design Case-control study. Methods In total, the cases comprised of 2,242 subjects with NPC and 6,726 randomly selected subjects as controls. Separate conditional logistic regression analyses were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for having been previously diagnosed with chronic and acute rhinosinusitis between the cases and controls. Results Of the total sample, 607subjects (6.77%) had been diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis prior to the index date: 322 (14.36%) cases with NPC and 285 (4.24%) controls ( P < .001). A conditional logistic regression analysis revealed that the OR of prior chronic rhinosinusitis for subjects with NPC is 3.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.23-4.53) as compared to controls after adjusting for the factors of income, urbanization, geographic location, tobacco use disorder, and alcohol abuse/dependence syndrome. Furthermore, 1,199 (53.48%) cases and 2,938 (42.19%) controls had been diagnosed with acute rhinosinusitis prior to the index date ( P < .001).The adjusted OR of prior acute rhinosinusitis for subjects with NPC was 1.57 (95% CI, 1.43-1.73) that of controls. Conclusions This study detected an association between NPC and rhinosinusitis. We recommend that patients who are diagnosed with rhinosinusitis, either acute or chronic, seek out aggressive management to reduce the tissue burden and lower the risk of subsequently developing NPC. Level of Evidence 3b. Laryngoscope, 124:1515-1520, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Vascular factor was proposed as being involved in the etiology of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC). However, few studies have attempted to investigate the relationship between BPS/IC and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among BPS/IC subjects during a 3-year follow-up period. Methods Data for this retrospective matched-cohort study were retrieved from the Taiwan 'Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000.' There were 752 BPS/IC female subjects in the study cohort and 3,760 randomly selected female subjects in the comparison cohort. We individually tracked each subject for 3 years and identified each subject that received a subsequent diagnosis of CHD during that follow-up period. Results Results showed that incidence rates of CHD during the 3-year follow-up period were 19.50 (95% confidence interval (CI): 14.35-25.95) and 8.87 (95% CI: 7.25-10.74) per 1,000 person-years for the study and comparison cohorts, respectively. The Cox proportional hazards regression suggested that the hazard ratio for CHD in subjects with BPS/IC was 1.65 (95% CI: 1.09-2.48) within the 3-year follow-up period following the index date compared to the comparison subjects after adjusting for monthly income, geographic region, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, chronic kidney disease, bladder outlet obstruction, urinary tract infection, chronic pelvic pain, overactive bladder, and number of physician visits during the 3-year follow up period. Conclusions Our study demonstrated an association between BPS/IC and a subsequent CHD diagnosis. We advise clinicians to screen subjects with BPS/IC for modifiable risk factors for CHD. Neurourol. Urodynam. 33:511-515, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis Previous studies showed that chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) accounts for billions of dollars in healthcare resource utilization. However, all such study estimates of the economic burden of CRS were based on subpopulations in Western societies. This study aimed to investigate differences in the utilization of healthcare services between subjects with CRS and comparison subjects using Taiwan's National Health Insurance database. Study Design A cross-sectional study. Methods In total, 5,849 CRS subjects and 17,547 selected comparison subjects were included in this study. We evaluated healthcare resource utilization in a 1-year period. Variables of healthcare resource utilization included the following: numbers of outpatient visits and inpatient days, and the mean costs of outpatient and inpatient treatment. We also divided healthcare resource utilization into ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and non-ENT services. Results On the utilization of ENT services, CRS subjects had significantly more outpatient visits (3.9 vs. 1.4, P < .001) and significantly higher outpatient costs (US$77.7 vs. US$19.4, P < .001) than comparison subjects. As for the use and costs of all healthcare services, CRS subjects had significantly more outpatient visits (27.9 vs. 18.3, P < .001) and significantly higher outpatient (US$953 vs. US$665, P < .001) and total (US$1319 vs. US$946, P < .001) costs than comparison subjects. Namely, on average, CRS subjects had 152% more outpatient visits and 139% higher total costs than comparison subjects. Conclusions This study found that subjects with CRS had significantly higher use of all healthcare services and costs than aged-matched controls. Level of Evidence 2c Laryngoscope, 124:1285-1289, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Previous studies indicated a possible association between bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and sleep disorders including sleep abnormalities with delayed onset of sleep, waking up before needed, and snoring. Nevertheless, no previous study has reported the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and BPS/IC. In this retrospective cohort study, we examined the risk of BPS/IC among subjects with OSA during a 3-year follow-up in Taiwan using a population-based dataset. Methods This study comprised 2,940 study subjects with OSA, and 29,400 randomly selected comparison subjects. We individually followed-up each sampled subject (n = 32,340) for a 3-year period to identify those subjects who subsequently received a diagnosis of BPS/IC. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was constructed to estimate the risk of subsequent BPS/IC following a diagnosis of OSA. Results Incidences of BPS/IC during the 3-year follow-up period were 13.61 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.37-23.13) and 3.60 (95% CI = 2.06-4.39) for subjects with and those without OSA, respectively. After adjusting for diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, hyperlipidemia, chronic pelvic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, panic disorder, migraines, sicca syndrome, allergies, endometriosis, asthma, tobacco use disorder, and alcohol abuse, the stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions revealed that the hazard ratio for BPS/IC among subjects with OSA was 3.71 (95% CI = 1.81-7.62, P < 0.001) that of comparison subjects. Conclusions This study provides epidemiological evidence of a link between OSA and a subsequent BPS/IC diagnosis. We suggest that clinical practitioners treating subjects with OSA be alert to urinary complaints in this population. Neurourol. Urodynam. 33:278-282, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Recent research demonstrated that bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) is associated with many coexisting physical and psychiatric conditions. In this study, we explored the potential association between anxiety disorder (AD) and BPS/IC using a case-controlled population-based approach in Taiwan. Methods Data on the sampled subjects analyzed in this study were retrieved from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. Our study included 396 female cases with BPS/IC and 1,980 randomly selected female controls. We excluded subjects who had a history of major psychosis (except AD) or a substance-related disorder. A conditional logistic regression was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for the association between a previous diagnosis of AD and IC/BPS. Results Of the 2,376 sampled subjects, 136 (5.72%) had received an AD diagnosis. AD was found in 64 (16.16%) cases and in 72 (3.64%) controls ( P < 0.001). The conditional logistic regression analysis (conditioned on age group and the index year) suggested that compared to controls, the OR for prior AD among cases was 4.59 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.32-9.08, P < 0.001). After adjusting for chronic pelvic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraines, sicca syndrome, allergies, asthma, and an overactive bladder, the OR for prior AD among cases was 4.37 (95% CI = 2.16-8.85, P < 0.001) compared to the controls. Conclusions There was an association between AD and BPS/IC, even after taking demographic characteristics, medical co-morbidities, and substance-related disorders into consideration. Results of this study should alert clinicians to evaluate and monitor the presence of BPS/IC in patients with AD. Neurourol. Urodynam. 33:101-105, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim While bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) has been suggested by a number of studies to have autoimmune character, no population-based study to date has been conducted investigating its association with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to examine the association between IC/BPS and having previously been diagnosed with RA. Methods We conducted this study by using administrative claims data sourced from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database. Our study included 9,269 cases with BPS/IC and 46,345 randomly selected controls. Conditional logistic regression was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for the association between previously diagnosed RA and IC/BPS. Results RA was found among 202 (2.2%) cases and 504 (1.12%) controls. Conditional logistic regression analysis suggested that when compared with controls, the OR for prior RA among cases was 1.66 (95% CI = 1.47-1.87, P < 0.001) after adjusting for diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, hyperlipidemia, chronic pelvic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, panic disorder, migraine, sicca syndrome, allergy, endometriosis, asthma, overactive bladder, tobacco use disorder, and alcohol abuse. Additionally, BPS/IC was consistently and significantly associated with a previous diagnosis of RA regardless of prescription drug use; the OR for prior RA among groups prescribed ≤1 type of disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), two types of DMARDs, and ≥3 types of DMARDs or TNF-alpha inhibitor when compared to controls were 1.49 (95% CI = 1.28-1.72), 1.91 (95% CI = 1.38-2.68), and 2.36 (95% CI = 1.77-3.17), respectively. Conclusions There is an association between RA and BPS/IC after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and medical co-morbidities. Neurourol. Urodynam. 32: 980-985, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To explore the frequency and risk for injury among children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD) in Taiwan through a population-based study. Methods A total of 3616 subjects aged between four and twelve years diagnosed with ADHD were selected along with a comparison cohort comprising 18 080 subjects. Each subject was individually traced for a three-year period from their index date to identify those subjects who subsequently received a diagnosis of injury. We used stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions to examine the three-year injury-free survival rates between the two cohorts. Results Of the subjects, the incidence rate of injury during the three-year follow-up period was 7.97 (95% CI = 7.45-8.51) and 5.36 (95% CI = 5.17-5.56) for the study and comparison cohort, respectively. After adjusting for geographic region, the hazard ratio ( HR) of injury for subjects with ADHD was 1.64 (95% CI = 1.50-1.79) that of comparison subjects. In addition, we found children with ADHD aged between four and 6 years to demonstrate a greater HR (1.98, 95% CI = 1.72-2.28) than those aged between seven and twelve (HR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.31-1.63). Conclusions Children with ADHD appear to be at a higher risk for injury than children that are not diagnosed with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) is a chronic pain syndrome of unknown etiology that primarily affects women. Using a longitudinal follow-up design, this study aimed to examine the risk of depressive disorder (DD) among women with BPS/IC compared to the general population during a 1-year period following their diagnosis. Method This study used data from the Taiwan 'Longitudinal Health Insurance Database.' A total of 832 patients with BPS/IC were included in the study group and 4,160 matched non-BPS/IC enrollees were included as the comparison group. Each patient (n = 4,992) was individually tracked for a 1-year period to identify those who subsequently received a diagnosis of DD. Cox proportional hazards regressions (stratified by age group and the index year) were used to estimate the risk of subsequent DD following a diagnosis of BPS/IC. Results We found that during the 1-year follow-up, the incidence rate of DD was 4.69 (95% CI: 3.38-6.34) per 100 person-years in patients with BPS/IC and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.68-1.27) per 100 person-years in comparison patients. The hazard ratio (HR) of DD during the 1-year follow-up period for patients with BPS/IC was 5.06 (95% CI: 3.21-7.96, P < 0.001) that of comparison patients after adjusting for patient monthly income, geographic location, and urbanization level. The adjusted HR for DD associated with BPS/IC was 10.33 for patients aged between 40 and 49 (95% CI: 3.68-29.04). Conclusion Our study demonstrated that there is an increased risk for being diagnosed with DD during the first year subsequent to being diagnosed with IC/PBS. Neurourol. Urodynam. 32: 467-471, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis Although chronic periodontitis (CP) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) both share immunological disturbances as pathological factors, no prior study has investigated the risk for CP among patients with CRS. This study set out to provide an estimation of risk by utilizing a cohort study design to leverage the statistical power of a population-based dataset in Taiwan. Study Design A retrospective cohort study. Methods In total, 13,782 CRS subjects were included in the study cohort and 41,346 subjects were randomly extracted for the comparison cohort. We individually tracked each subject in this study (N = 55,128) for a 5-year period following their index date to identify those subjects who received a subsequent diagnosis of CP. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was conducted to calculate the 5-year risk of subsequent CP following a diagnosis of CRS among the sampled subjects. Results The incidence rate of CP during the 5-year follow-up period was 5.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.95-5.30) per 100 person-years and 3.24 (95% CI, 3.17-3.30) per 100 person-years for the study and comparison cohort, respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that the hazard ratio for CP during the 5-year follow-up period for subjects with CRS was 1.59 times (95% CI, 1.52-1.67) that of comparison subjects after adjusting for monthly income, geographic region, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hyperlipidemia, and censoring for cases who died during the 5-year follow-up period. Conclusions This study detected an increased risk for CP among patients suffering from CRS. CRS patients should be alerted to pay particular attention to their oral hygiene practices to prevent both CP and its downstream sequelae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

. Purpose: To the best of our knowledge, no large population-based studies on the relationship between conjunctival haemorrhage and stroke have been conducted to date. Using a nationwide population-based data set, this study investigated the relationship between conjunctival haemorrhage and the subsequent risk of stroke within a 3-year period following diagnosis. Methods: We analysed data sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. The study cohort consisted of 17 349 patients with conjunctival haemorrhage and 86 745 comparison subjects. Each patient was individually tracked for a 3-year period from their index date to identify all those who had subsequently received a diagnosis of stroke. Results: The incidence rate of stroke was 2.44 (95% CI = 2.31-2.55) per 100 person-years in patients with conjunctival haemorrhage and 1.63 (95% CI = 1.59-1.68) per 100 person-years in comparison patients. After adjusting for patients' monthly income and geographic location, as well as for hypertension, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and coronary heart disease, stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions revealed a statistically significant hazard ratio for stroke in patients with conjunctival haemorrhage (HR = 1.33; 95% CI = 1.24-1.42, p < 0.001). Conclusions: In this study, patients with conjunctival haemorrhage were found to be at a significant risk of stroke during a 3-year follow-up period after diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims According to our knowledge, no study has attempted to explore the risk of urinary incontinence (UI) after traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study aimed to examine the relationship between TBI in Taiwanese women and their risk of developing UI. Methods The study was based on 2,416 female patients newly diagnosed with TBI together with 12,080 matched enrollees without a history of TBI as a comparison group. All patients were tracked for a 1-year period from their index date to identify those who developed subsequent UI. The stratified Cox proportional hazards models were performed to compute the risk of UI between groups. Results Of 14,496 patients, 104 (4.30%) from the TBI group and 192 (1.59%) from the comparison group had a diagnosis of UI during the follow-up period. The incidence rate of UI was 4.50 (95% CI: 3.69-5.43) per 100 person-years in patients with TBI and 1.62 (95% CI: 1.40-1.86) per 100 person-years in patients without TBI. The stratified Cox proportional analysis showed that after adjusting for socioeconomic status, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hysterectomy, the increased UI risk of patients with TBI persisted at about the same level as in the unadjusted analysis (hazard ratio = 2.78; 95% CI = 2.16-3.53). In addition, although patients with severe and moderate TBI had higher incidence rates of UI than patients with mild TBI, the difference did not reach a statistically significant level ( P = 0.090). Conclusions Our results suggest that an increased risk of UI exists at the first year follow-up in patients with a TBI diagnosis. Neurourol. Urodynam. 32: 354-358, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: It has been recognized that chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) involves intracranial vessels and may be associated with stroke occurrence. However, the detailed epidemiological profile of stroke risk among patients with CRS is still not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the frequency and risk for stroke among patients with CRS by conducting a large scale population-based cohort study in Taiwan. Methods: All study cohorts were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. This study included 15,846 CRS subjects in the study cohort and 47,538 randomly selected subjects in the comparison cohort. We individually tracked each subject in this study for a 5 year period following their index dates to identify each subject that received a subsequent diagnosis of stroke. Stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions were analyzed to compare the 5 year risk of subsequent stroke following a diagnosis of CRS. Results: The incidence rate of stroke during the 5-year follow-up period was 10.65 (95% CI: 9.93-11.41) per 100 person years and 7.53 (95% CI: 7.18-7.89) per 100 person years for the study and comparison cohort, respectively. The covariate-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for stroke revealed that that subjects with CRS were more likely than comparison subjects to have a diagnosis of ischemic stroke during the 5-year follow-up period (HR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.18-1.53). However, there was no significant difference in the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage (HR = 1.52, 95% CI = 0.94-2.47) or intracerebral hemorrhage (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.71-1.31). Conclusions: Patients with CRS were at higher risk for stroke occurrence during the 5 year follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Reflux esophagitis (RE) is a common disease which has been recognized to be associated with several medical co-morbidities. However, the association between RE and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) is still unknown. The present study aimed to explore the association between these two diseases. Methods We identified 8,962 female patients who had received a diagnosis of RE as the study cohort. We randomly selected 44,810 subjects to be included as the comparison cohort. Each patient in this study was individually tracked for a 3-year period to identify those who subsequently received a diagnosis of BPS/IC. Cox proportional hazards regressions were carried out to estimate the 3-year risk of BPS/IC following a diagnosis of RE. Results The incidence of BPS/IC following a diagnosis of RE was 4.3% during the follow-up period for all subjects. The incidence rate of BPS/IC was 2.38 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.21-2.57] per 100 person-years in patients with RE, and 1.24 (95% CI: 1.18-1.30) per 100 person-years in controls. Cox proportional analysis indicated that the hazard ratio (HR) of BPS/IC for patients with RE was 2.00 (95% CI = 1.82-2.20, P < 0.001) that of controls. The adjusted HR of BPS/IC for patients with RE was 1.40 (95% CI = 1.27-1.55, P < 0.001) after taking age group, urbanization level, and medical comorbidity into consideration. Conclusion We found that patients with RE were at a higher risk than with comparison patients for having been subsequently diagnosed with BPS/IC during longitudinal follow-up. Neurourol. Urodynam. 32: 271-275, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This study set out to explore the association between obstructive sleep apnoea ( OSA) and prior chronic periodontitis ( CP) by utilizing a population-based data set with a case-control design in Taiwan. Materials and Methods We included 7673 subjects with OSA as cases, and randomly selected 21,963 subjects without a history of OSA as controls. We performed conditional logistic regression analyses to explore the association between OSA and having been previously diagnosed with CP. Results There was a significant difference in the prevalence of prior CP between cases and controls (33.8% versus 22.6%, p < 0.001). Conditional logistic regression analysis suggested that the odds ratio of prior CP for cases was 1.75 (95% CI = 1.68-1.88) times greater than that of controls after adjusting for monthly income and geographical location, as well as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidaemia, obesity, tobacco use disorder, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and alcohol abuse. Conclusion Our study detected an association between OSA and a prior diagnosis of CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Using two large-scale nationwide population-based data sets, this study aimed to assess the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes between mothers with and without urinary calculi. Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. Taiwan. Sample. This study included 3694 women who had live singleton births and received a diagnosis of urinary calculi (UC) in the year prior to their delivery, as well as 18 470 matched women without UC, who were used as a comparison group. Methods. Conditional logistic regression analyses were performed. Main outcome measures. Low birthweight, preterm birth, small for gestational age, cesarean section, lower Apgar score and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. Results. Women with UC had a higher prevalence of low-birthweight neonates (7.4 vs. 6.0%, p = 0.003), preterm births (9.5 vs. 7.3%, p < 0.001) and cesarean sections (43.1 vs. 35.4%, p < 0.001) than women without UC. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, women with UC were more likely than women without UC to have low-birthweight neonates (odds ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.39), preterm birth (odds ratio 1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.13-1.43) and cesarean sections (odds ratio 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.28-1.48). Conclusions. There were increased risks for having low-birthweight, preterm infants and for experiencing cesarean section among women with UC in comparison to women without UC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a prevalent disorder that may contribute to bladder cancer (BC). This cohort study set out to investigate the association between IC/BPS and BC by using a population-based dataset. Methods The data for this study were sourced from the Taiwan National Health Insurance program. The case cohort comprised 7,562 patients with IC/BPS, and 22,686 randomly selected subjects were used as a comparison cohort. A Cox proportional hazards regression model (stratified by age group, geographic location, urbanization level, and the index year) was constructed to estimate the risk of subsequent BC following a diagnosis of IC/BPS. We also ran the analysis utilizing an alternative comparison cohort composed of patients with urinary incontinence (UI). Results In the study sample of 30,248 patients, 96 patients (0.32%) received a diagnosis of BC during the 3-year follow-up period; 48 (0.63% of patients with IC/BPS) were from the study cohort; and 48 (0.21% of patients without IC/BPS) were from the comparison cohort. The incidence rate of BC was 2.12 (95% CI: 1.58-2.78) per 1,000 person-years in patients with IC/BPS and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.52-0.92) per 1,000 person-years in comparison patients. Cox proportional analysis revealed that the adjusted HR for BC during the 3-year follow-up period for patients with IC/BPS was 2.95 (95% CI: 1.97-4.41) that of comparison subjects. When performing the analysis with the alternative UI comparison cohort, the adjusted HR for BC was 1.96 (95% CI: 1.14-3.39). Conclusions This investigation detected a novel association between BC and prior IC/BPS. Neurourol. Urodynam. 32: 58-62, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is one type of chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease. It has been suggested that rheumatic diseases may have additional underlying factors in common with chronic periodontitis. However, few studies have addressed the possible link between AS and chronic periodontitis. We undertook the present case-control study to investigate the possible association between AS and chronic periodontitis using a population-based data set in Taiwan. Methods We conducted this study by using administrative claims data sourced from the Taiwan National Health Insurance program database. Our study included 6,821 AS patients and 34,105 randomly selected controls. Conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for prior chronic periodontitis among AS patients and matched controls. Results There was a significant difference in the prevalence of prior chronic periodontitis between patients and controls (41.5% versus 25.9%; P < 0.001). Conditional logistic regression analysis revealed that patients were more likely than controls to have been previously diagnosed as having chronic periodontitis (adjusted OR 1.84 [95% CI 1.74-1.98]). We further found that patients were only 1.70 (95% CI 1.56-1.89) times more likely than controls to have undergone a gingivectomy or periodontal flap operation (all patients had a history of chronic periodontitis) within the 5 years preceding the index date. After excluding those who had undergone either a gingivectomy or periodontal flap surgery, patients were even more likely than controls to have been previously diagnosed as having chronic periodontitis (adjusted OR 2.04 [95% CI 1.93-2.15]). Conclusion This study detected an association between AS and a prior diagnosis of chronic periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Type - Prognosis (cohort) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Although early studies failed to detect an association between urinary calculi (UC) and subsequent cardiovascular risk, there is growing evidence among more recent research supporting this association with some studies more specifically suggesting that stroke is a major concern for UC sufferers. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, UC patients were more likely to have experienced a stroke then those without UC during the five-year follow-up period (hazard ratio = 1.43, 95% Cl = 1.35-1.50, P < 0.001). OBJECTIVE To examine in a population-based study the relationship between a history of nephrolithiasis and/or ureterolithiasis and the subsequent risk of stroke, as previous studies have shown that stone disease is associated with several cardiovascular risk factors. However, none of the studies that have investigated the relationship between urinary calculi (UC) and stroke were able to detect an association at a significant level., PATIENTS AND METHODS We used data sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000., In all, 25 181 adult patients newly diagnosed with UC were recruited as a study cohort, along with 125 905 matched enrolees with no history of stone disease as a comparison cohort., All the subjects were tracked for a 5-year period beginning from their index ambulatory care visits, and those who subsequently had a stroke identified., Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to compare the risk of stroke between the study and comparison cohorts., RESULTS During the 5-year follow-up period, the incidence rate of stroke was 1.78 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.71-1.86) per 100 person-years in patients with UC and 1.25 (95% CI 1.22-1.27) per 100 person-years in patients without UC., After adjusting for hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, cardiovascular disease, urbanization level, gout, and obesity, patients with UC were more likely to have had a stroke than those without UC during the 5-year follow-up period (hazard ratio 1.43, 95% CI 1.35-1.50, P < 0.001)., CONCLUSION Our results suggest that there is an increased risk of stroke during the first 5 years after a diagnosis of UC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Type - Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4 What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? With the increased use of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP), a growing number of publications have sought to compare these more advanced techniques to retropubic RP (RRP). Many studies have found RALP and LRP to be associated with lower blood loss, postoperative pain, and hospital stay when compared with RRP. The present study showed that, after adjusting for potential confounders, patients undergoing RALP had a lower risk of 90-day re-admission than patients undergoing RRP. However, there was no significant difference in the odds of being re-admitted ≤90 days after RP between patients undergoing a LRP and RRP. OBJECTIVE To examine the risk of 90-day re-admission among patients undergoing retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP), laparoscopic RP (LRP), and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) in Taiwan., PATIENTS AND METHODS We identified 2741 hospitalised patients who underwent a RP. Of these 2741 cases, 1773 patients underwent RRP, 694 LRP, and 274 RALP., We performed a conditional (fixed-effect) logistic regression model to explore the odds of 90-day re-admission from RP among patients undergoing RRP, LRP, and RALP., RESULTS In all, 257 of the 2741 (9.4%) sampled subjects were re-admitted ≤90 days of the index RP., Patients undergoing a RALP had a significantly lower incidence rate of 90-day re-admission than patients undergoing a RRP or LRP (3.6% vs 10.7% vs 8.2%, P < 0.001)., Compared with patients undergoing a RRP, the odds ratio (OR) of 90-day re-admission for patients undergoing a RALP was only 0.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19-0.68) after adjusting for patient age, geographic region, year of surgery, Charlson Co-morbidity Index score, and surgeon age and the number of RP cases/year., However, there was no significant difference in the odds of being re-admitted ≤90 days of RP between patients undergoing a LRP and RRP., The adjusted odds of 90-day re-admission for patients undergoing a RALP were 0.46 (95% CI 0.23-0.94) those of patients undergoing a LRP., CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that patients undergoing a RALP had a lower adjusted risk of 90-day re-admission than patients undergoing RRP. However, no significant differences were identified between LRP and RRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Type - System prevalence (cohort) Level of Evidence 2a What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Compared with the general population, patients with BPS/IC often experience difficulties in performing normal activities owing to physical limitations, decreased energy, greater pain and impaired social functioning With the exception of metastatic cancer, separate conditional logistic regression analyses in this study suggested that subjects with BPS/IC were consistently more likely than subjects without BPS/IC to have all the medical comorbidities investigated. When compared with subjects without BPS/IC, subjects with BPS/IC had particularly higher odds of comorbid neurological diseases, rheumatological diseases and mental illnesses. OBJECTIVE To explore the comorbid medical conditions of patients with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) in Taiwan using a cross-sectional study design and a population-based administrative database., SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study included 9269 subjects with BPS/IC and 46 345 randomly selected comparison subjects., Conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to calculate the odds ratio for each of the 32 medical comorbidities (hypertension, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, blood loss anaemia, peripheral vascular disorders, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, hyperlipidaemia, hepatitis B or C, migraines, headaches, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, pulmonary circulation disorders, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism, renal failure, fluid and electrolyte disorders, liver diseases, peptic ulcers, deficiency anaemias, depressive disorder, psychoses, metastatic cancer, solid tumour without metastasis, alcohol abuse, drug abuse and asthma) between subjects with and without BPS/IC., RESULTS With the exception of metastatic cancer, the subjects with BPS/IC had a significantly higher prevalence of all the medical comorbidities analysed than subjects without BPS/IC., With the exception of metastatic cancer, separate conditional logistic regression analyses suggested that subjects with BPS/IC were consistently more likely than subjects without BPS/IC to have any of the medical comorbidities investigated in this study., When compared with subjects without BPS/IC, subjects with BPS/IC had particularly higher odds of comorbid neurological diseases, rheumatological diseases and mental illnesses., CONCLUSION Our results indicated that subjects with BPS/IC had an increased prevalence of multiple comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]