Increased Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Patients with Hyperlipidemia: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

The coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease is common and causes poor prognoses. Hyperlipidemia is the most common risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but the association between hyperlipidemia and COPD remains ambiguous. This study aimed to investigate the risk of COPD development in patients with hyperlipidemia. This retrospective cohort study used information from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. We enrolled 21,790 patients with hyperlipidemia and 87,160 control patients without hyperlipidemia for comparison, with a follow-up period of over 10 years. The incidence of new-onset COPD was higher in patients with hyperlipidemia (36.14 per 1000 person-years) than in the controls (22.29 per 1000 person-years). Patients with hyperlipidemia were 1.48 times more likely to develop subsequent COPD than the controls without hyperlipidemia (95% confidence interval 1.44 to 1.53, p < 0.001) following adjustments for age, sex, and comorbidities. In addition, nephropathy, hypertension, congestive heart failure, age, and sex (female) were potential risk factors for developing COPD in patients with hyperlipidemia. Patients with hyperlipidemia may have an increased risk of developing COPD.

Why Nursing Home Residents Use Social Network Systems: An Attachment Perspective.

Most long-term care facilities can offer residents' with sufficiently material and physical care, but psychological support may not be always provided due to the tight financial budget or labor resources. Residents' isolation and loneliness then become a big issue, especially for the residents. Social network systems (SNS) have been proved to be a more effective information transmission channel for thoughts, perspectives, and information sharing than traditional channels such as microblogging, e-mails, or telephones. This study conducted a quasi-experiment to identify factors that influence residents' intention of using SNS and the impacts of SNS on them in a long-term care facility. The results showed that residents' attached motivation of personal interacting is a significant factor that influences their intention to use the social network platform. Meanwhile, both the loneliness and depression scales of the participants were decreased significantly.

Risk of Parkinson's disease following gout: a population-based retrospective cohort study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: The progressive neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson disease (PD) is well-established as the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Associations between the sequential risk of PD and gout have been addressed in other studies, but findings have been inconclusive. Accordingly, we executed the present study with the purpose of assessing PD risk in patients with gout. METHODS: From Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified the data of patients newly diagnosed as having gout between January 1, 2000 and December 1, 2000. A cohort of patients without gout, matched for sex and age, was constructed for comparison. Hazard ratios (HRs) and the incidence rate of subsequent PD were calculated for both cohorts and separately for male and female groups. The gout and comparison cohorts consisted of 7900 patients each. RESULTS: The HR for PD was not significantly higher in the gout cohort compared with the control cohort (HR 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.31, P = .268), even after adjustment for age, urbanization, monthly income, sex, and comorbidities. We did not observe gender differences in the gout-PD association (male: HR 1.01, 95% CI, 0.88-1.36, P = .400; female: HR 1.11, 95% CI, 0.84-1.46, P = .466). CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified that there was no protective effect of gout for the risk of PD in the Taiwanese population.

Risk of sexual transmitted infection following bipolar disorder: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder is a severe mental disorder associated with functional and cognitive impairment. Numerous studies have investigated associations between sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and psychiatric illnesses. However, the results of these studies are controversial. OBJECTIVE: We explored the association between bipolar disorder and the subsequent development of STIs, including human immunodeficiency virus infection; primary, secondary, and latent syphilis; genital warts; gonorrhea; chlamydial infection; and trichomoniasis. RESULTS: The bipolar cohort consisted of 1293 patients, and the comparison cohort consisted of 5172 matched control subjects without bipolar disorder. The incidence of subsequent STIs (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.68-2.96) was higher among the patients with bipolar disorder than in the comparison cohort. Furthermore, female gender is a risk factor for acquisition of STIs (HR = 2.36, 95% CI 1.73-4.89) among patients with bipolar disorder. For individual STIs, the results indicated that the patients with bipolar disorder exhibited a markedly higher risk for subsequently contracting syphilis, genital warts, and trichomoniasis. CONCLUSIONS: Bipolar disorder might increase the risk of subsequent newly diagnosed STIs, including syphilis, genital warts, and trichomoniasis. Clinicians should pay particular attention to STIs in patients with bipolar disorder. Patients with bipolar disorder, especially those with a history of high-risk sexual behaviors, should be routinely screened for STIs. METHODS: We identified patients who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort was constructed of patients without bipolar disorder who were matched with the bipolar cohort according to age and gender. The occurrence of subsequent new-onset STIs was evaluated in both cohorts.

Risk of Psychiatric Disorders following Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder observed in patients who visit general practitioners for GI-related complaints. A high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities, particularly anxiety and depressive disorders, has been reported in patients with IBS. However, a clear temporal relationship between IBS and psychiatric disorders has not been well established. OBJECTIVE: We explored the relationship between IBS and the subsequent development of psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and sleep disorder. METHODS: We selected patients who were diagnosed with IBS caused by gastroenteritis, according to the data in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort was formed of patients without IBS who were matched according to age and sex. The incidence rate and the hazard ratios (HRs) of subsequent new-onset psychiatric disorders were calculated for both cohorts, based on psychiatrist diagnoses. RESULTS: The IBS cohort consisted of 4689 patients, and the comparison cohort comprised 18756 matched control patients without IBS. The risks of depressive disorder (HR = 2.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.30-3.19), anxiety disorder (HR = 2.89, 95% CI = 2.42-3.46), sleep disorder (HR = 2.47, 95% CI = 2.02-3.02), and bipolar disorder (HR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.34-4.46) were higher in the IBS cohort than in the comparison cohort. In addition, the incidence of newly diagnosed depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and sleep disorder remained significantly increased in all of the stratified follow-up durations (0-1, 1-5, ≥5 y). CONCLUSIONS: IBS may increase the risk of subsequent depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, sleep disorder, and bipolar disorder. The risk ratios are highest for these disorders within 1 year of IBS diagnosis, but the risk remains statistically significant for more than 5 years. Clinicians should pay particular attention to psychiatric comorbidities in IBS patients.