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Introduction: Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) is the most common associated autoimmune disorder in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Early detection of AITD is crucial to optimize glycemic control, growth, and intellectual development. In this prospective cohort study, we sought to characterize the prevalence, incident ages and risk factors of AITD in children and adolescents with T1D. Materials and methods: Patients with T1D diagnosed at ≤ 18 years at MacKay Children's Hospital, Taipei, from 1990 to 2019 underwent annual screening for AITD. Institutional Review Board-approved data on age, sex, and disease profile are collected. Statistical analysis was performed by using independent sample t test for continuous variables, chi-squared test for categorical variables, and Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative incidence of AITD were calculated. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: We prospectively followed up 808 patients with T1D, 761 patients were included in the study. Of these patients, 197 (25.9%) of them had thyroid autoimmunity, meaning positivity of thyroid autoantibodies. Females had a higher prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity than males (59.9%, p = 0.012). Altogether, 5.5% patients developed AITD (4.1% had Graves disease; 1.4% had Hashimoto disease), at a mean age of 17.8 ± 8.5 years. The cumulative incidence of AITD at 30 years of disease duration was 0.29 in the total group and was significantly higher in females (0.39, n = 397) than in males (0.15, n = 364, p<0.001). Discussion: In Taiwan, the prevalence of AITD in pediatric population with T1D increases with age, a longer disease duration and female sex. For early detection of autoimmune thyroid disease in Taiwanese children and adolescents with T1D, an annual AITD screening program should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Purchase behavior in the case of merchandise licensed by major sports events has seldom been studied. To fill this gap, this study tested a hypothetical model, which integrated related studies on professional sports, interscholastic sports, normal merchandise, and tourist souvenirs, using the Taipei 2017 Universiade as a case study. Methods: A survey was conducted with consumers who visited and made purchases at four physical stores in Taipei City; 462 valid questionnaires were collected. The questionnaire content included personal background, sport event identification, product attributes, perceived value, and purchase intention. The relationships between variables were tested using a structural equation model. Results: The results supported the path of "sport event identification → perceived value → purchase intention" indicated by the purchase of products licensed by professional sports and interscholastic sports. Specifically, sport event identification not only directly affected purchase intention, but also indirectly affected it through perceived value. The results also supported the path of "product attributes → perceived value → purchase intention" when perceived value was an intermediate variable derived from the purchase of normal merchandise and tourist souvenirs. Sport event identification had an overall higher effect on purchase intention than product attributes. Conclusion: Sport event identification can affect purchase intention directly as well as indirectly through perceived value. However, product attributes can only trigger purchase intention through the intermediate effect of perceived value. The results of this study not only illustrate the practical implications of the variables sport event identification and product attributes, but also provide possible directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sanfujiu is a treatment method of applying herbal paste onto the acupoints Fengmen and Feishu during the three hottest days of summer to treat patients with allergies. The objectives of this study were to determine the treatment efficacy at 1 year after the Sanfujiu treatment, and examine variations in the perceived efficacy of Sanfujiu among different subgroups, based on the patients' ages, diagnoses and number of reactive symptoms immediately after the treatment. We enrolled 105 patients who completed Sanfujiu treatment at a medical university hospital in Taipei as the subjects. One year after treatment, trained interviewers conducted telephone interviews with the patients. ApproximateIy 60% of them perceived the treatment as being effective at 1 year later, which was higher than that at I week after treatment (45.7%), Younger subjects (<19 years of age) and patients with asthma were more likely to report the treatment as being effective. Patients who had more reactive symptoms after the third Sanfujiu treatment were more likely to report the treatment as being effective. The results demonstrated that Sanfujiu was moderately effective, as perceived by patients in Taiwan, in treating their allergic symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]