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Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a prevalent health condition in Taiwan that places individuals at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke. Therefore, the identification of risk factors associated with MetS is crucial. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of uric acid and MetS in a Taiwanese community with a middle-aged and elderly population. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled residents aged 50–90 years living in one community. All of the subjects received a standardized personal interview, including a structured questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, and blood samples were collected for laboratory testing. MetS was defined as excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high serum triglycerides, and low serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate uric acid tertiles associated with MetS. Results: A total of 400 subjects were enrolled in the analysis. The overall prevalence of MetS was 35.8%. The prevalence of MetS increased gradually with increasing serum uric acid levels (p value < 0.001). A significant association between uric acid and cardiometabolic risk factors was confirmed, with a Pearson's correlation coefficient for waist circumference of 0.30 (p < 0.001), a coefficient for systolic blood pressure of 0.13 (p = 0.01), a coefficient for triglycerides of 0.33 (p < 0.001), and a coefficient for high-density lipoprotein of −0.30 (p < 0.001). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of the high uric acid tertile level for MetS was 2.48 (95% CI = 1.31–4.71, p = 0.01). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for uric acid in predicting MetS was 0.621 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of MetS in our study population is high. High serum uric acid levels are independently associated with the presence of MetS among the middle-aged and elderly Taiwanese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The management of knee osteoarthritis involves various treatment strategies. It is important to explore alternative therapies that are both safe and effective. Collagen peptides have emerged as a potential intervention for knee osteoarthritis. This study aims to evaluate the analgesic effects and safety of collagen peptide in patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Multiple databases including PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to 27 May 2023 that focused on the analgesic outcomes and adverse events associated with collagen peptides or hydrolyzed collagen in patients with osteoarthritis. We assessed the quality of the included studies and the strength of evidence using the Cochrane ROB 2.0 tool and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations. Results: Four trials involving 507 patients with knee osteoarthritis were included and analyzed using the random-effects model. All these trials were considered to have a high risk of bias. Our results revealed a significant difference in pain relief between the collagen peptide group and the placebo group in patients with knee osteoarthritis (standardized mean difference: − 0.58; 95% CI − 0.98, − 0.18, p = 0.004; I2: 68%; quality of evidence: moderate). However, there was no significant difference in the risk of adverse events between collagen peptide and placebo (odds ratio: 1.66; 95% CI 0.99, 2.78, p = 0.05; I2: 0%; quality of evidence: very low). Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate significant pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis who received collagen peptides compared to those who received placebo. In addition, the risk of adverse events did not differ significantly between the collagen peptide group and the placebo group. However, due to potential biases and limitations, well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed to validate and confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Oral cancer (OC) is prevalent cancer worldwide, with varying incidence rates in different regions. To analyze the secular trend of the incidence of OC in Taiwan, this study used data from the national cancer registry database between 1980 and 2019. The study used the age-period-cohort model and average annual percentage change (AAPC) to examine the characteristic of incidence. The study also used Spearman's correlation to determine the correlation between age-standard incidence rates (ASR) of OC and related risk factors. Results indicated that ASR of OC increased in men and women from 1980–1984 to 2015–2019. The age-period-cohort model revealed a peak incidence rate in the 1975 cohort in men, followed by a declining trend. The study found a correlation between the incidence of OC and changes in cigarette and alcohol consumption and the production of betel quid. Therefore, the study recommends avoiding these risk factors to prevent OC. Oral cancer (OC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and its incidence has regional differences. In this study, the cancer registry database obtained from 1980 to 2019 was used to analyze the characteristic of incidence of OC by average annual percentage change (AAPC) and an age–period–cohort model. Spearman's correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the age-standard incidence rates (ASR) of OC and related risk factors. Our results showed that the ASR of OC increased from 4.19 to 27.19 per 100,000 population with an AAPC of 5.1% (95% CI = 3.9–6.3, p value < 0.001) in men and from 1.16 to 2.8 per 100,000 population with an AAPC of 3.1% (95% CI = 2.6–3.6, p value < 0.001) in women between 1980–1984 and 2015–2019. The age–period–cohort model reported a trend of rising then declining for the rate ratio in men, with peaks occurring in the 1975 cohort, with a rate ratio of 6.80. The trend of incidence of oral cancer was related to changes in the consumption of cigarettes and alcohol and production of betel quid, with r values of 0.952, 0.979 and 0.963, respectively (all p values < 0.001). We strongly suggest avoiding these risk factors in order to prevent OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]