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Associations of hepatitis C virus infection with Alzheimer’s disease have not been studied among higher risk, bipolar disorder patients. This population-based case-control study investigated the risks of hepatitis C virus infection among Alzheimer’s disease patients with bipolar disorder in the years preceding their Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. We used 2000–2013 data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database in Taiwan. Among patients with bipolar disorder, 73 were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (cases), who were compared with 365 individuals with bipolar disorder but without Alzheimer’s disease (randomly selected controls matched on sex, age, and index year with cases). Prior claims (before the diagnosis year/index year for controls) were screened for a diagnosis of hepatitis C virus infection. Conditional logistic regression models were used for analysis. We found that 23 (31.51%) and 60 (16.44%) patients with bipolar disease were identified with a hepatitis C diagnosis among those with and without Alzheimer’s disease, respectively. Compared to controls, patients with Alzheimer’s disease showed 2.31-fold (95% confidence interval = 1.28–4.16) increased risk of hepatitis C infections adjusted for demographics and socio-economic status. Findings suggest an association of Alzheimer’s disease with a preceding diagnosis of hepatitis C infection among patients with bipolar disorder. Findings may suggest a need for increased awareness of and appropriate surveillance for Alzheimer’s disease in patients with bipolar disorder diagnosed with hepatitis C infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is not a life-threatening disease, very few studies have compared differences in healthcare service utilization between patients with and those without OSA in an Asian population according to different age groups. This study attempted to investigate differences in healthcare service utilization between patients with and those without OSA in different age groups in Taiwan. Methods: Sampled subjects and data on their health service utilization were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We included 568 patients with OSA and 2840 subjects without OSA. Each subject was followed for a 1-year period to evaluate their healthcare resource utilization. Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were performed to compare differences in healthcare utilization between patients with and those without OSA during the 1-year follow-up period. Results: As to all healthcare service utilization, patients with OSA had significantly more outpatient visits (30.3 vs. 18.6), outpatient costs (US$1231.2 vs. US$764.8), inpatient days (1.8 vs. 1.2), inpatient costs (US$563.6 vs. US$276.7), and total costs (US$1794.8 vs. US$1041.5) than comparison subjects during the 1-year follow-up period. Moreover, patients with OSA aged 40~49 and 50~59 years respectively incurred 2.11- and 2.02-fold higher total costs compared to patients without OSA. However, patients with OSA aged over 70 years did not have higher total costs compared to those without OSA. Conclusions: This study found that patients with OSA had greater healthcare service utilization than those without OSA. Additionally, patients with OSA in the 40~49- and 50~59-year age groups had about 2-fold higher total costs of healthcare services than those without OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Despite high mortality associated with serious mental illness, risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear, especially for patients with bipolar disorder. The main objective was to investigate the relative risk of AMI associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders in a national sample. Method: Using nationwide administrative data, an 11-year historic cohort study was assembled, comprised of cases aged 18 and above who had received a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, compared to a random sample of all other adults excluding those with diagnoses of serious mental illness. Incident AMI as a primary diagnosis was ascertained. Hazard ratios stratified by age and gender were calculated and Cox regression models were used to adjust for other covariates. Results: A total of 70,225 people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and 207,592 people without serious mental illness were compared. Hazard ratios in men adjusted for age, income and urbanization were 1.15 (95% CI 1.01~1.32) for schizophrenia and 1.37 (1.08~1.73)for bipolar disorder, and in women, 1.85 (1.58~2.18) and 1.88(1.47~2.41) respectively. Further adjustment for treated hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia attenuated the hazard ratio for men with schizophrenia but not the other comparison groups. Hazard ratios were significantly stronger in women than men and were stronger in younger compared to older age groups for both disorders; however, gender modification was only significant in people with schizophrenia, and age modification only significant in people with bipolar disorder. Conclusions: In this large national sample, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were associated with raised risk of AMI in women and in the younger age groups although showed differences in potential confounding and modifying factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Some studies suggested that psychological stress may be associated with the severity and duration of infectious diseases. In this population-based study, we investigated associations between depressive disorder (DD) and pneumonia outcomes in Taiwan with a large-scale database from the National Health Insurance. Methods: Our study defined 112,198 patients who were hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of pneumonia. We defined their admission date for treatment of pneumonia as the index date. Subsequently, we selected 2,394 patients with DD within 3 years prior to their index date and 11,970 matched patients without DD. We carried out separate conditional logistic regressions to explore the association of clinical pneumonia treatment outcome (ICU admission, use of mechanical ventilation, acute respiratory failure and in-hospital death) with previously diagnosed DD. Results: Patients with DD had a significantly higher probability of an intensive care unit admission (18.1% vs. 12.9%; p<0.001), need for mechanical ventilation (21.9% vs. 18.1%; p<0.001) and in-hospital death (10.4% vs. 9.0%; p = 0.025) than patients without DD. The study showed that pneumonia patients with DD were respectively 1.41- (95% CI: 1.25∼1.59, p<0.001), 1.28- (95% CI: 1.14∼1.43, p<0.001), and 1.17- times (95% CI: 1.01∼1.36, p = 0.039) greater odds of being admitted to the ICU, need for mechanical ventilation, and in-hospital death than patients without DD after adjusting for monthly income, urbanization level, geographic region and Charlson Comorbidity Index score. Conclusions: In conclusion, we found that pneumonia patients with DD were associated with poor treatment outcomes compared to patients without DD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Cognitive impairment may interfere with psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder (BD). There is limited information regarding the cognitive function of elderly bipolar patients with onset at a young age. The present study aimed to investigate the frequency and the determinants of cognitive impairment in elderly early-onset bipolar patients. Methods: Using the Clock-drawing Test (CDT), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), we examined euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder in Taiwan, aged 60 years and older. Clinical data were obtained by reviewing medical records and personal interviews with patients and their family members. The onset of BD prior to the age of 40 years is defined as ‘early-onset’. Results: Of the 52 early-onset patients, 42.3% were determined to have cognitive impairment by exhibiting either abnormal CDT or education-adjusted MMSE scores. In a multiple regression model, years of education and the age at the last manic/hypomanic (but not depressive) episode accounted for the greatest variance in both MMSE and CASI scores. While educational level and the age at the last manic/hypomanic episode were not considered in the regression model, onset with depressive syndrome and current age explained 21.5% of the variance in MMSE scores. Age at the first depressive episode, the first manic episode before the age of 40 years, and comorbid diabetes accounted for 16.7% of the variance in CASI scores. Conclusions: There appeared to be a sizable proportion of elderly early-onset bipolar patients having cognitive impairment. It is suggested that clinical manifestation of first-onset affective episode and impact of medical comorbidity affect the cognition of early-onset BD in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), high blood pressure (BP) and air pollution exposure have separately been associated with increased risk of cardiopulmonary mortality, the association linking air pollution exposure to BP among patients with sleep-disordered breathing is still unclear. We collected 3762 participants' data from the Taipei Medical University Hospital's Sleep Center and air pollution data from the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. Associations of 1-year mean criteria air pollutants [particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 10 μm (PM 10 ), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and ozone (O 3 )] with systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) were investigated by generalized additive models. After controlling for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), temperature and relative humidity, we observed that increases in air pollution levels were associated with decreased SBP and increased DBP. We also found that patients with apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 30 showed a stronger BP response to increased levels of air pollution exposure than those with AHI < 30. Stronger effects of air pollution exposure on BP were found in overweight participants than in participants with normal BMI. We concluded that annual exposure to air pollution was associated with change of BP among patients with sleep-disordered breathing. The association between annual air pollution exposure and BP could be modified by AHI and BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study sets out to assess the relationship between in-hospital mortality rates and physician acute myocardial infarction (AMI) volume, along with an examination of the impact of physician specialty on in-hospital mortality rates in Taiwan. Analysis was undertaken on a total of 19,086 patients hospitalized for AMI, following the division of the sample patients into four roughly equivalent groups. Within each physician specialty, the AMI patients were also subsequently grouped into four roughly equivalent groups based upon physician volume. After adjusting for other factors, the likelihood of in-hospital mortality among patients treated by low-volume physicians was 2.141 (p <0.001) times as high as that for patients treated by high-volume physicians, and 2.410 (p <0.001) times as high as that for patients treated by very high-volume physicians. However, while such an inverse relationship was found to persist for those physicians specializing in general internal medicine and ‘others’, this was not the case for cardiologists. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective Patients who have experienced a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are susceptible to symptoms of anxiety or depression. To explore the potential biomarkers for emotional disorders in mTBI patients, we analyzed the frequency domain of heart rate variability (HRV) and serum concentrations of four neurohormones. Methods We assessed mTBI patients on their first visit and follow-up. Symptoms were evaluated by the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. Serum levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), melatonin, cortisol, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and HRV follow-ups were measured and compared. Results mTBI patients were more vulnerable to symptoms of anxiety or depression than healthy controls. Reduced HRV was noted in mTBI patients compared to healthy controls. The mTBI patients demonstrated higher serum levels of ACTH, lower IGF-1 compared to healthy controls. In correlation analysis, only IGF-1 was positively correlated with HRV in mTBI patients. Both HRV and IGF-1 were correlated with symptom of depression while only HRV was correlated with symptom of anxiety in mTBI patients. Conclusions We infer that HRV may be more significantly correlated with emotional disorders than is IGF-1 in mTBI patients. Significance The study is relevant for specific diagnostic markers in mTBI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]