Factors related to betel chewing among junior high school students in Taiwan.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the betel-chewing behavior of junior high school students in Taichung County in 1998. The sample consisted of 2244 students in the general area and 84 students in the aboriginal area. Fifty percent of the students in the aboriginal area had had the experience of chewing betel, and this figure includes 30.1% of the habitual chewers. The prevalence of habitual betel chewers among the students in the general area is 4.3% to 5.0%. The major source of betel quid is friends or classmates, and curiosity accounts for most students' first experience of betel chewing. Sixty percent of the students started betel chewing in elementary school. An effective health education program for students in the aboriginal area and younger students in the general areas as well as an evaluation procedure for the effectiveness of the program are needed to prevent the increase of betel chewing among Taiwan's youth.

The association between postmenopausal osteoporosis and kidney-vacuity syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between postmenopausal osteoporosis and kidney-vacuity syndrome. Eighty-one postmenopausal women were enrolled; their age were between 40 to 65 years old. The mean ages of the non-osteoporosis group and osteoporosis group were 54.0 +/- 4.8 and 58.9 +/- 5.9 years old, respectively. Bone density examination was performed by DEXA technique and the diagnosis of osteoporosis was made by finding 2.5 standard deviations below the bone density of healthy youths. Kidney-vacuity syndrome was deduced according to the diagnostic criteria developed in the National Congress on Chinese Medicine and Sino-Western Combined Geriatric Medicine held in the People's Republic of China in 1986. The results showed that patients with kidney-qi-vacuity and kidney-yin-vacuity were more likely to have osteoporosis than those who were not. No significant difference in the rates of osteoporosis between the kidney-yang-vacuity group and non-kidney-yang-vacuity group was found. The kidney-qi-yin-vacuity group had a higher probability of developing osteoporosis than the kidney-qi-vacuity or kidney-yin-vacuity group. By logistic regression analysis, patients with kidney-qi-vacuity or kidney-yin-vacuity were more likely to develop osteoporosis than those who were not. In conclusion, a marked association between kidney-vacuity syndrome and postmenopausal osteoporosis was observed. Patients with kidney-qi-yin-vacuity syndrome were more likely to get osteoporosis than those with kidney-qi-vacuity syndrome or kidney-yin-vacuity syndrome.

The prevalence of betel chewing among the students of the different senior high schools in southern Taiwan.

A cross-sectional study was designed to determine the prevalence of betel chewing and the high-risk groups among the students of the first and second grades in five types of senior high schools in southern Taiwan. The results reveal that more male than female students were betel chewers: the prevalence rate of current chewers is from 0.96% to 16.15% among male students compared with that of 0% to 5.58% among female students. The students in the vocational schools was found have the higher prevalence rate of betel chewing. The students in the agricultural schools are the highest-risk group for betel chewing. The highest odds were found in the agricultural school students when they were compared with the general school students. It is 31.74 for the current chewers and 5.93 for the ex-chewers.

Experience with progesterone gel for luteal support in a highly successful IVF programme.

Efficacy of luteal support from single daily administration of Crinone((R)) 8% (progesterone gel) was tested in 43 women in an IVF programme with historical pregnancy rates >50%. Results were compared with those achieved in 46 women concurrently undergoing IVF and receiving 50 mg i.m. progesterone, and with historical data. Pregnancy rates (PR) were evaluated approximately 2 weeks after undergoing IVF by human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) measurement (total PR), by ultrasound 2-4 weeks later (clinical PR), and by counting births. Prior experience with other progesterone formulations was compared with that of Crinone 8%. Demographic and IVF characteristics were comparable for both concurrently treated groups. Total PR, clinical PR and live birth rates were similar for the Crinone and the concurrent i.m. progesterone groups: 31 (72.1%) versus 34 (73.9%); 26 (60.5%) versus 28 (60.9%), and 23 (53.5%) versus 23 (50%) respectively. Clinical PR and live birth rates were also similar to the last data reported to the Society for Assisted Reproduction Therapy. Overall acceptability of Crinone 8% was excellent. Among subjects with prior i.m. injection experience, most patients (69.2%) agreed that the gel was easier to use, less painful (76.9%) and less time-consuming (61.5%) than i.m. injections. In conclusion, Crinone 8% offers an appreciable improvement, as it provides an effective luteal support option that avoids painful i.m. injections.