Secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Smoking is the most important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), however evidence from large-scale studies on whether secondhand smoke (SHS) increases the risk of COPD is still lacking. We conducted this large longitudinal study to investigate the association between SHS and the development of COPD. This is a longitudinal study. Data on 6519 subjects who were never-smokers, had no history of COPD, and had complete lung function records were extracted from the Taiwan Biobank. They were divided into two groups according to SHS exposure: no exposure and exposure groups. Data were collected when participants enrolled in the study and during regular follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between SHS and the risk of developing COPD. At 48 months of follow-up, 260 (4%) participants in the no exposure group and 34 (7%) participants in the exposure group developed COPD. The RR of incident COPD development was significantly higher in the exposure group than that in the no exposure group after adjusting for confounders (RR = 1.49; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.14; P value = 0.031). There is a dose-response relationship between the duration of exposure to SHS and the risk of incident COPD, which demonstrates that an additional hour of exposure to SHS per week was associated with a 1.03-fold increased likelihood of developing COPD after adjusting for confounders (RR = 1.03; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.05; P value = 0.027). SHS exposure contributes to the development of COPD. This finding can help raise awareness of the harms of SHS and provide a reference for formulating anti-smoking policies.

The impact of secondhand smoke on the development of kidney stone disease is not inferior to that of smoking: a longitudinal cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use and secondhand smoke (SHS) are risk factors of kidney stone disease (KSD). The hypothesis is that tobacco produces chemicals that increase oxidative stress and vasopressin, which leads to decreased urine output, and contributes to stone formation. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of smoking and SHS on the development of KSD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed a total of 25,256 volunteers with no history of KSD participated in the Taiwan Biobank. The presence of underlying and follow-up KSD was surveyed by a self-administrated questionnaire. They were classified into three groups on the basis of smoking and SHS exposure, accessed with survey questionnaires; never-smokers with no SHS exposure, never-smokers with SHS exposure and ever-smokers groups. RESULTS: KSD was noted in 352 (2.0%), 50 (3.3%) and 240 (4.1%) subjects in the never-smokers with no SHS exposure, never-smokers with SHS exposure and ever-smokers groups, respectively, with a mean follow-up of 4 years. The odds ratio (OR) of KSD was higher in the never-smokers with SHS exposure (OR, 1.622; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.225 to 2.255) and ever-smokers groups (OR, 1.282; 95% CI, 1.044 to 1.574) than in the never-smokers with no SHS exposure group after adjustment of confounders. In addition, never-smokers with SHS exposure had similar effects on the development of KSD than ever-smokers (OR, 1.223; 95% CI, 0.852 to 1.756). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that both smoking and SHS are a risk factor for developing KSD and that the impact of SHS is not inferior to that of smoking. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUHIRB-E(I)-20,210,058).

Sex difference in the associations among risk factors with depression in a large Taiwanese population study.

Background: Depression is a common psychiatric health issue affecting an estimated 5% of adults worldwide, and it can lead to disability and increased economic burden. Consequently, identifying the factors associated with depression as early as possible is a vital issue. The aim of this study was to explore these associations in a large cohort of 121,601 Taiwanese participants in the Taiwan Biobank, and also to identify sex differences in the associations. Methods: The study cohort included 77,902 women and 43,699 men (mean age, 49.9 ± 11.0 years), who were further classified into those with depression (n = 4,362; 3.6%) and those without depression (n = 117,239; 96.4%). Results: The results of multivariable analysis showed that female sex (vs. male sex; odds ratio = 2.578; 95% confidence interval = 2.319-2.866; p < 0.001) was significantly associated with depression. Older age, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, low systolic blood pressure (SBP), smoking history, living alone, low glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), high triglycerides, and low uric acid were significantly associated with depression in the men. In the women, older age, DM, hypertension, low SBP, smoking history, alcohol history, education level of middle and high school (vs. lower than elementary school), living alone, high body mass index (BMI), menopause, low HbA1c, high triglycerides, high total cholesterol, low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and low uric acid were significantly associated with depression. Further, there were significant interactions between sex and DM (p = 0.047), smoking history (p < 0.001), alcohol use (p < 0.001), BMI (p = 0.022), triglyceride (p = 0.033), eGFR (p = 0.001), and uric acid (p = 0.004) on depression. Conclusion: In conclusion, our results showed sex differences in depression, and the women were significantly associated with depression compared to men. Furthermore, we also found sex differences among the risk factors associated with depression.

Secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing kidney stone disease.

Research indicates smoking increases the risk of various kidney diseases, although the risk of developing kidney stone disease in non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke is unknown. This study analyzed a total of 19,430 never-smokers with no history of kidney stone disease who participated in the Taiwan Biobank from 2008 to 2019. They were divided into two groups by secondhand smoke exposure; no exposure and exposure groups; the mean age of participants was 51 years, and 81% were women. Incident kidney stone development was observed in 352 (2.0%) and 50 (3.3%) participants in the no exposure and exposure groups during a mean follow-up of 47 months. The odds ratio (OR) of incident kidney stone was significantly higher in the exposure group than the no exposure group [OR, 1.64; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.21 to 2.23]. Participants with > 1.2 h per week exposure were associated with almost twofold risk of developing kidney stones compared with no exposure (OR, 1.92; 95% CI 1.29 to 2.86). Our study suggests that secondhand smoke is a risk factor for development of kidney stones and supports the need for a prospective evaluation of this finding.

Relationships of homophobic bullying during childhood and adolescence with problematic internet and smartphone use in early adulthood among sexual minority men in Taiwan

Abstract Background Mental health disparity in sexual minorities is a crucial clinical and public health issue worldwide. A total of 500 homosexual or bisexual men aged between 20 and 25 years participated in this study. Objectives The aims of the study were to examine the relationships of victimization of traditional and cyber homophobic bullying during childhood and adolescence with problematic internet and smartphone use and activities during early adulthood among sexual minority men in Taiwan. Methods The seveirities of problematic internet and smartphone use and activities in early adulthood were compared between victims and non-victims of bullying. The severities of problematic internet and smartphone use were also compared among the groups of various types of bullying as well as among the groups of various persistence durations of being bullied. Results Victims of traditional and cyber homophobic bullying had more severe problematic internet and smartphone use than non-victims. Victims of multi-type bullying had more severe problematic internet use than victims of single-type bullying. Prolonged victimization was significantly associated with problematic internet and smartphone use. Discussion: Victimization of traditional and cyber homophobic bullying during childhood and adolescence predicts problematic internet and smartphone use during early adulthood among sexual minority men.

Predictive validity of a five-item symptom checklist to screen psychiatric morbidity and suicide ideation in general population and psychiatric settings.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Suicide is a major concern in public health worldwide. Early identification of individuals at risk is critical for suicide prevention. The present study revised the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) to a checklist format (BSRS-5R) and validated the BSRS-5R into a screening tool for psychiatric morbidity and suicide ideation in the general public. METHODS: The study participants consisted of two subsets of sample from community residents and psychiatric patients. The community subjects were recruited from stratified proportional randomization sampling in a nationwide community survey, while the psychiatric patients were from psychiatric outpatient service and psychiatric daycare unit in a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. All participants responded to the questionnaire investigating the BSRS-5, personal experience with suicide, and demographic information. RESULTS: In total, 2147 community respondents and 700 respondents from psychiatric settings completed the survey questions. The BSRS-5R was highly correlated to BSRS-5 with good internal consistency in our study sample. For the community subjects, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an optimal cutoff of 2/3 for BSRS-5R to discriminate psychiatric morbidity or suicide ideation. The BSRS-5R could also identify psychiatric morbidity in psychiatric outpatients and daycare patients. In addition, the cutoff of 4/5 for BSRS-5R to determine suicide ideation yielded moderately good predictive validity in psychiatric outpatients and in daycare patients. CONCLUSION: The BSRS-5R was validated as an efficient checklist to screen for psychiatric morbidity and suicide ideation in the general public. The result is valuable in translating into general medical and community settings for early detection of suicide ideation.

Prevalence of suicidal ideation and associated risk factors in the general population.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Suicide is an important public health problem and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The present study investigated the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) and its associated risk factors in the general population. METHODS: A nationwide community survey was conducted using a computer-aided telephone interview system with residents aged >or= 15 years, who were selected by a stratified, proportional randomization method. The questionnaire comprised demographic variables, five items of psychopathology selected from the Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) and questions about personal experience with suicide. In total, 2054 respondents, 1002 male (48.8%), and 1052 female (51.2%), completed the survey. RESULTS: The weighted prevalence of SI was 2.84% in the past week, 5.50% in the past year, and 18.49% during a lifetime. Significant risk factors for SI in the last week included presence of SI over the past year [odds ratio (OR) =1763.6], SI during the lifetime (OR =267.6), psychiatric morbidity (OR = 30.3), depression (OR =26.1), inferiority (OR =11.2), hostility (OR = 10.9), anxiety (OR = 10.5), insomnia (OR =6.7), history of seeking help for psychological distress (OR = 7.9), divorce (OR =6.4), unemployment (OR = 5.0) and having suicidal behavior in relatives or friends (OR =3.8). Stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the five symptom items of BSRS-5 and unemployment significantly predicted 25.3% of the variance of SI. Using the BSRS-5 score 3 or 4 as a cut-off to predict SI, the rate of accurate classification was 85.88%, with sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity of 0.86. CONCLUSION: A telephone interview survey containing the BSRS-5 items is an efficient way to identify determinants of SI in the general population.