Support for a hypothetical sugar-sweetened beverage tax in Taiwan.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are drinks that contain added sugar or sweeteners and provide calories with no additional nutrients, and some countries have imposed additional taxes on the SSBs to reduce consumption, which is considered an SSB tax policy. This study used a cross-sectional online survey to examine the patterns of public support for an SSB tax in Taiwan. The sample included 1617 adults aged ≥ 20 years, who answered the survey questionnaire between May 2020 and April 2021. The respondents were recruited using convenience sampling, but sampling weights were applied to represent the Taiwanese population. Generalized ordered logit models with sampling weights were used to examine the correlates of public support for an SSB tax. Results showed that ~60% of the respondents supported the SSB tax and 47% perceived the tax to be effective. The respondents who were aware of the perceived health risks of SSBs or those who believed that one should be partly responsible for the health impact of SSBs were more likely to show support for the SSB tax. In adjusted regression models, both one's perceived risk and perceived responsibility of SSBs were positively associated with the perceived effectiveness of the SSB tax after sociodemographic characteristics were controlled. These research findings show evidence that there is public support for implementing an SSB tax to reduce SSB consumption in Taiwan.

Working retirees in Taiwan: examining determinants of different working status after retirement.

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the work status of retirees after retirement, especially focusing on self-employment and unpaid work. Data was taken and analyzed from the "Taiwan Health and Retirement Study," a nationally representative sample of retired personnel aged 50-74 in 2015-2016. Four types of work status were classified after retirement: Fully retired, Paid work, Self-employment, and Unpaid work. Multinomial regression analysis was used to explore the factors related to participation in paid, self-employed, and unpaid work. Results show that pre-retirement occupation was significantly associated with paid work after retirement. For example, retirees in Taiwan who were employed by private enterprises or self-employed before retirement were more likely to engage in paid work after retirement than civil servants before retirement. Two other factors, namely pre-retirement job stress and work flexibility, prolong the careers of retired workers, especially in self-employment and unpaid work after retirement. Gender also significantly affects the choice of work after retirement. These findings can be used as a reference for future policies on the aging labor force.

Late creation of vascular access increased post-hemodialysis mortality, hospitalization, and health-care expenditure: A population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The optimal timing of vascular access (VA) creation for hemodialysis (HD) and whether this timing affects mortality and health-care utilization after HD initiation remain unclear. Thus, we conducted a population-based study to explore their association. METHODS: We used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to analyze health-care outcomes and utilization in a cohort initiating HD during 2003-2013. We stratified patients by the following VA creation time points: >180, 91-180, 31-90, and ≤30 days before and ≤30 days after HD initiation and examined all-cause mortality, ambulatory care utilization/costs, hospital admission/costs, and total expenditure within 2 years after HD. Cox regression, Poisson regression, and general linear regression were used to analyze mortality, health-care utilization, and costs respectively. RESULTS: We identified 77,205 patients who started HD during 2003-2013. Compared with the patients undergoing VA surgery >180 days before HD initiation, those undergoing VA surgery ≤30 days before HD initiation had the highest mortality-15.92 deaths per 100-person-years, crude hazard ratio (HR) 1.56, and adjusted HR 1.28, the highest hospital admissions rates- 2.72 admission per person-year, crude rate ratio (RR) 1.48 and adjusted RR 1.32, and thus the highest health-care costs- US$31,390 per person-year, 7% increase of costs and 6% increase with adjustment within the 2-year follow-up after HD initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Late VA creation for HD can increase all-cause mortality, hospitalization, and health-care costs within 2 years after HD initiation. Early preparation of VA has the potential to reduce post-HD mortality and healthcare expenses for the ESKD patients.

Dynamic changes and lifetime effect of functional disability profiles for stroke patients: real-world evidence from South Korea.

PURPOSE: This work aimed to investigate the long-term dynamic changes of functional disabilities and estimate lifetime outcomes of different functional disabilities after a stroke, using real-world data from a nationally representative South Korean cohort. METHODS: Patients aged 18 and above with ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes were identified from the Korea Health Panel (KHP) data (2008-2018). Functional disabilities were repeatedly measured for patients aged 55 and over for the prevalence of disabilities associated with activities of daily living (ADL), and kernel smoothing means were estimated for each item. The lifetime survival function of stroke patients in Korea was adopted from another study utilizing the National Health Insurance Service of Korea's national sample cohort. By multiplying the disability-free proportion with the survival function throughout life, disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) for each ADL item was estimated. The loss-of-DFLE was calculated by subtracting the DFLE from age-, sex-, and calendar year-matched referents simulated from Korean life tables. RESULTS: The KHP dataset included 466 stroke patients. The overall functional disability needs increased over time after stroke diagnosis. DFLE was lowest for bathing (10.1 years for ischemic stroke and 12.8 years for hemorrhagic stroke), followed by those for dressing and washing. Loss-of-DFLE was highest for bathing for ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes (7.2 and 10.7 years, respectively), indicating that this task required the most assistance for stroke patients compared with the other tasks. DFLEs were slightly lower than the quality-adjusted life expectancy of stroke patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide valuable insights for resource allocation and policy decisions in long-term stroke care, potentially enhancing the quality of life for stroke survivors and caregivers.

Overall and cause-specific mortality in patients with dementia: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: Information regarding the underlying causes of death (UCODs) and standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of dementia is instrumental in formulating medical strategies to prolong life in persons with dementia (PWD). We examined the leading UCODs among PWD and estimated the overall and cause-specific SMRs in relation to dementia in Taiwan. METHODS: Data were retrieved from 2 national datasets: the Taiwan Death Registry and the medical claim datasets of the National Health Insurance program. The observed person-years for each study participant were counted from the date of cohort enrollment to either the date of death or the final day of 2016. Sex-specific and age-specific SMRs were then calculated. RESULTS: The leading UCOD was circulatory disease, accounting for 26.0% of total deaths (n=3,505), followed by respiratory disease at 21.3% (n=2,875). PWD were at significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (SMR, 2.01), with SMR decreasing with advancing age. A cause-specific analysis revealed that the highest SMRs were associated with nervous system diseases (SMR, 7.58) and mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders (SMR, 4.80). Age appeared to modify SMR, suggesting that younger age at cohort enrollment was linked to higher SMRs for nearly all causes of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Circulatory and respiratory diseases were the leading UCODs among PWD. The particularly elevated mortality due to nervous system diseases and mental disorders suggests that allocating more resources to neurological and psychiatric services is warranted. The elevated SMRs of various UCODs among younger PWD underscore the need for clinicians to pay particular attention to the medical care provided to these patients.

Association between sleep health and intrinsic capacity among older adults in Taiwan.

Although the association between poor sleep quality and frailty has been previously reported, the relationship between sleep health and intrinsic capacity (IC) remains largely unknown. We aimed to examine the association between sleep health and IC among older adults. This was a cross-sectional study, and 1268 eligible participants completed a questionnaire collecting information on demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, sleep health, and IC. Sleep health was measured by the RU-SATED V2.0 scale. High, moderate, and low levels of IC were defined using the Integrated Care for Older People Screening Tool for Taiwanese. The ordinal logistic regression model estimated the odds ratio and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Low IC was significantly associated with age of 80 years or above, female, currently unmarried, uneducated, currently not working, financially dependent, and having emotional disorders. A one-point increase in sleep health was significantly associated with a 9% reduction in the odds of poor IC. An increase in daytime alertness was related to the greatest reduction in poor IC (aOR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.52-0.79). In addition, the subitems sleep regularity (aOR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60-0.99), sleep timing (aOR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65-0.99), and sleep duration (aOR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.61-0.96) were associated with a reduced OR of poor IC but with marginal statistical significance. Our findings showed that sleep health across multiple dimensions is related to IC, particularly daytime alertness in older adults. We suggest developing interventions to improve sleep health and prevent IC decline, which is crucial in causing poor health outcomes.

The lifetime burden following stroke: Long term impact of stroke on survival and quality of life.

BACKGROUND: The absolute burden of stroke in Korea is ever growing. Many studies have explored the outcomes of mortality, quality of life (QOL), and/or economic burden with limited periods of observation. Relatively few have addressed the lifetime outcomes that are estimated beyond the limited observation period of study samples. AIMS: By combining QOL and the survival functions over a lifetime horizon, our aims were to estimate the quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and loss-of-QALE of patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in South Korea, and to compare them between genders. METHODS: The survival function of stroke patients (n = 13,994) was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier's method from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort of Korea (2002-2015), and then extrapolated to lifetime through a rolling-over algorithm. The QOL measurements, assessed by EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire, of stroke patients (n = 474) were extracted from the Korea Health Panel (KHP, 2008-2018) to estimate the QALE. All stroke patients were categorized by sex and two types of stroke: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Age-, sex-, and calendar year-matched referents were simulated from the Korean life tables to be integrated with the general population's QOL from the KHP to estimate the QALE of the referents. We calculated the loss-of-QALE by comparing the above two sets of QALE. RESULTS: The QALE and loss-of-QALE for ischemic stroke were 10.8 and 6.1 QALYs (quality-adjusted life years), respectively, and 14.0 and 9.0 QALYs for hemorrhagic stroke. The loss-of-QALE in men was 3.0 QALYs larger than that of women with hemorrhagic stroke (p < 0.05), while the difference for ischemic stroke was much smaller and statistically insignificant at 0.6 QALYs. CONCLUSIONS: The lifetime impact of stroke in Korea is large, especially for males who survived hemorrhagic stroke. Future studies assessing the lifetime needs for long-term care of stroke patients are warranted to quantify the burden of stroke from the societal perspective.

Estimating time and transportation costs associated with lung cancer screening and diagnostic lung procedures in Taiwan: a cross-sectional survey in a medical centre.

OBJECTIVES: Earlier research has evaluated the non-medical costs after lung cancer diagnosis. This study estimated the time costs and transportation costs associated with low-dose CT (LDCT) screening and diagnostic lung procedures in Taiwan. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A tertiary referral medical centre. PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: The study participants were individuals aged 50-80 years who underwent LDCT screening or diagnostic lung procedures between 2021 and 2022. Participants completed a questionnaire including items on time spent on receiving care, time spent on travel and its cost and time taken off from work by the participant and any accompanying caregiver. OUTCOME MEASURES: Time costs were valued using the age- and sex-specific average daily wage for employed participants/caregivers. Costs of informal healthcare sector consisted of time cost of the participant, transportation cost and time cost of the caregiver. RESULTS: A total of 209 participants who underwent LDCT screening (n=84) or non-surgical (n=12) or surgical (n=113) diagnostic lung procedures for the first time were enrolled. Considering the purchasing power parity, the average costs of informal healthcare sector were US$126.4 (95% CI 101.6 to 151.2), US$290.7 (95% CI 106.9 to 474.5) and US$749.8 (95% CI 567.3 to 932.4), respectively, for LDCT screening, non-surgical procedures and surgical procedures. CONCLUSIONS: This study estimated time and transportation costs associated with LDCT screening and diagnostic lung procedures, which could be used for future analysis of cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening in Taiwan.

Developing a shortened version of the dementia knowledge assessment scale (DKAS-TC) with a sample in Taiwan: an item response theory approach.

BACKGROUND: The 25-item Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS2) is a widely used tool for measuring knowledge of dementia. To increase the applicability of the Chinese-language version of the tool (DKAS-TC) for the general public, this study aimed to develop a shortened version using the item response theory (IRT) approach. METHODS: A total of 401 participants voluntarily completed a Chinese-language version of the DKAS2 questionnaire (DKAS-TC) at the start of dementia awareness training courses in 2020 and 2021. The four Rasch family models were used to analyze the dimensionality of the shortened scale (the DKAS-s) and to confirm its accuracy in measuring dementia knowledge. RESULTS: The results justified supported the use of a dichotomous response scale for responding to the DKAS-s and demonstrated good fit of the data to a Rasch model with the four dimensions of "Causes and Characteristics", "Communication and Engagement", "Care Needs", and "Risks and Health Promotion". Moreover, we shortened the DKAS-TC by selecting items that had both above-average discriminative ability and above-average information. The DKAS-s retained 64.13% of the information contained in the DKAS-TC, resulting in a 16-item scale which retained four items in each of the original four dimensions. The DKAS-s also correlated highly (≥0.95) with the DKAS-TC and exhibited a sizeable range of difficulty of dementia knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: The DKAS-s is expected to be more efficient in field settings while retaining an acceptable level of psychometric properties when used as a survey instrument to measure the general public's knowledge of dementia.

Sex Differences in Dietary Patterns of Adults and Their Associations with the Double Burden of Malnutrition: A Population-Based National Survey in the Philippines.

A dietary pattern transition is a risk factor for the double burden of malnutrition (DBM), but related information is limited. This study aimed to identify sex differences in dietary patterns of adults in a low-middle income country and to examine their association with DBM. A total of 8957 adults (4465 men and 4492 non-pregnant and non-lactating women) who participated in the 2013 Philippine National Nutrition Survey were included in the analysis. Logistic regression models were formulated to investigate the relationship between dietary patterns and DBM. The factor analysis derived seven dietary patterns for males and six patterns for females. Results showed that approximately 30% of Filipino adults suffered from DBM. The rice pattern was associated with lower odds of DBM for males only. The meat and sugar pattern in males and the protein-rich foods, cereal, and sugar pattern in females decreased DBM likelihood. An inverse relationship was observed for the vegetables and corn patterns, wherein females had an increased risk for DBM. Our findings suggest that rice-based and meat-containing patterns could play protective roles in DBM development among adults in the Philippines. Understanding sex-specific dietary patterns can be utilized to guide public health nutrition interventions in the prevention of malnutrition in all its forms.

Effects of continuity of care on hospitalizations and healthcare costs in older adults with dementia.

INTRODUCTION: People with dementia have high rates of hospitalization, and a share of these hospitalizations might be avoidable with appropriate ambulatory care, also known as potentially preventable hospitalization (PAH). This study investigates the associations between continuity of care and healthcare outcomes in the following year, including all-cause hospitalization, PAHs, and healthcare costs in patients with dementia. METHODS: This is a longitudinal retrospective cohort study of 69,658 patients with dementia obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The Continuity of Care Index (COCI) was calculated to measure the continuity of dementia-related visits across physicians. The PAHs were classified into five types as defined by the Medicare Ambulatory Care Indicators for the Elderly (MACIEs). Logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of COCI on all-cause hospitalizations and PAHs, while generalized linear models were used to analyze the effect of COCI on outpatient, hospitalization, and total healthcare costs. RESULTS: The high COCI group was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of all-cause hospitalization than the low COCI group (OR = 0.848, 95%CI: 0.821-0.875). The COCI had no significant effect on PAHs but was associated with lower outpatient costs (exp(ß) = 0.960, 95%CI: 0.941 ~ 0.979), hospitalization costs (exp(ß) = 0.663, 95%CI: 0.614 ~ 0.717), total healthcare costs (exp(ß) = 0.962, 95%CI: 0.945-0.980). CONCLUSION: Improving continuity of care for dementia-related outpatient visits is recommended to reduce hospitalization and healthcare costs, although there was no statistically significant effect of continuity of care found on PAHs.

Pay-for-performance and continuity of care synergistically reduced amputation of lower extremity in patients with diabetes: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot is a common and costly complication of diabetes. No existing study has looked at the effect of continuity of care on amputations of diabetes (DM) patients while considering pay-for-performance (P4P) participation. We investigated the impact of the P4P program and the continuity of care index (COCI) on the incidence of lower extremity amputations (LEA) among diabetics in Taiwan. METHODS: This was a population-based cohort study using insurance claims data from 1997 to 2013. We selected 15,650 DM patients in the P4P program along with age- and sex-matched non-P4P participants at a 1:4 ratio. Time-weighted average (TWA) of the COCI was calculated and included in the time-dependent Cox proportional hazard models to examine the impact of P4P and COCI on the risk of LEA, while controlling for individual and area level characteristics. RESULTS: During four-year follow-up, 1816 subjects experienced LEA. The cumulative LEA hazard rate of the P4P group (n = 153) was significantly lower than that of the non-P4P group (n = 1663) (hazard ratio = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.31-0.43, p < 0.0001, by log-rank test). In the time-dependent Cox proportional hazard model, the adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) for the P4P group was 0.35, (p < 0.0001). With the low COCI (< 0.360) group as the reference, the aHR of LEA was 0.49 (p < 0.0001) for the middle COCI group, (p < 0.0001), and the aHR of LEA for the high COCI (≥0.643) group was 0.23 (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Participating in the P4P program and increasing COCI might reduce the risk of amputation for DM patients, independently and synergistically.

A Culture-Based Strategy Is More Cost Effective Than an Empiric Therapy Strategy in Managing Pediatric Helicobacter pylori Infection.

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection is a major cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. This study aimed to compare the eradication rate and essential costs of culture-based and empiric therapy strategies in treating pediatric H. pylori infection. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients aged <18 years with a diagnosis of H. pylori infection who received esophagogastroduodenoscopy at two medical centers in southern Taiwan from 1998 to 2018. Patients with positive cultures and minimum inhibitory concentration test results were allocated to a culture-based strategy, and those with negative cultures or without culture as an empiric therapy strategy. We collected demographic data and eradication rates, and calculated the total essential costs of treating a hypothetical cohort of 1,000 pediatric patients based on the two strategies. Results: Ninety-six patients were enrolled, of whom 55 received a culture-based strategy and 41 received an empiric therapy strategy. The eradication rates with the first treatment were 89.1 and 75.6% in the culture-based and empiric therapy strategy, respectively. There were no significant differences in age, sex, and endoscopic diagnosis between the two strategies. For every 10% increase in those receiving a culture-based strategy, the total cost would have been reduced by US$466 in a hypothetical cohort of 1,000 patients. For every 10% increase in successful eradication rate, the total cost was reduced by US$24,058 with a culture-based strategy and by US$20,241 with an empiric therapy strategy. Conclusions: A culture-based strategy was more cost effective than an empiric therapy strategy in treating pediatric H. pylori-infected patients.

The Effects of in-Home Respite Care on the Burden of Caregivers in Taiwan.

The utilization rate of respite care in Taiwan is low, and past studies that evaluated the effects of in-home respite care on caregiver burden are few. This two-wave panel study used Taiwan's long-term care plan 1.0 database and included 2342 care recipient-caregiver dyads who used home services to examine the impact of in-home respite care on caregiver burden. Propensity score matching was used to select 323 in-home respite service users matched with 646 nonusers as control groups (1:2 matching). The mixed effect model was applied to estimate the effects of receiving in-home respite care on caregiver burden. Results showed that compared with those of nonusers, caregiver burden scores of service users decreased significantly after receiving in-home respite care for more than 14 days (adjusted B = -0.14, SE = 0.05). The government should prioritize increasing the number of days of in-home respite care for those in need to reduce the caregiver burden.

Associations of Physician Characteristics with Sex Difference in Ischemic Heart Disease Incidence among Patients Living with Type 2 Diabetes in Taiwan.

(1) Background: Certain non-biological factors are suspected to explain the reduced sex difference in cardiovascular risk after diabetes. This study aimed to assess whether physician characteristics may account for such reduced sex difference. (2) Methods: Totally 10,105 type 2 diabetes patients (including 4962 men and 5143 women) were selected from Taiwan's National Health Insurance claim data. The three-year period following the first day of clinical visit for type 2 diabetes in 2000 was set as the baseline period. The follow-up was made from the first day after baseline period to date of ischemic heart disease (IHD) incidence or censoring. Cox regression model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of IHD in relation to physician's characteristics. (3) Results: The incidence of IHD for men and women was estimated at 17.47 and 15.96 per 1000 person-years, respectively. After controlling for socio-demographic variables and co-morbidity, male patients experienced a significantly higher HR than females for IHD (1.16, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.04 to 1.29). Further adjustment for treatment adherence/continuity and physician characteristics resulted in essentially the same results. (4) Conclusions: Our study provides little support for the notation that physician characteristics may contribute to the reduced sex difference in IHD incidence in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Social Determinants of Diabetes-Related Preventable Hospitalization in Taiwan: A Spatial Analysis.

Diabetes-Related Preventable Hospitalization (DRPH) has been identified as an important indicator of efficiency and quality of the health system and can be modified by social determinants. However, the spatial disparities, clustering, and relationships between DRPH and social determinants have rarely been investigated. Accordingly, this study examined the association of DRPH with area deprivation, densities of certificated diabetes health-promoting clinics (DHPC) and hospitals (DHPH), and the presence of elderly social services (ESS) using both statistical and spatial analyses. Data were obtained from the 2010-2016 National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) and government open data. Township-level ordinary least squares (OSL) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) were conducted. DRPH rates were found to be negatively associated with densities of DHPC (ß = -66.36, p = 0.029; 40.3% of all townships) and ESS (ß = -1.85, p = 0.027; 28.4% of all townships) but positively associated with area deprivation (ß = 2.96, p = 0.002; 25.6% of all townships) in both OLS and GWR models. Significant relationships were found in varying areas in the GWR model. DRPH rates are high in townships of Taiwan that have lower DHPC densities, lower ESS densities, and greater socioeconomic deprivation. Spatial analysis could identify areas of concern for potential intervention.

Urban-rural disparity in lower extremities amputation in patients with diabetes after nearly two decades of universal health Insurance in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: To assess the prevalence of urban-rural disparity in lower extremities amputation (LEA) among patients with diabetes and to explore whether patient-related or physician-related factors might have contributed to such disparity. METHODS: This was a population-based study including patients with diabetes aged ≥55 years from 2009 to 2013. Among them, 9236 received LEA. Data were retrieved from Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) claims. A multiple Poisson regression model was also employed to assess the urban-rural difference in LEA prevalence by simultaneously taking into account socio-demographic variables and density of practicing physicians. RESULTS: Between 2009 and 2013, the annual prevalence of LEA declined from 30.4 to 20.5 per 10,000 patients. Compared to patients from urban areas, those who lived in sub-urban and rural areas suffered from a significantly elevated prevalence of LEA, with a prevalence rate ratio (PRR) of 1.47 (95% CI, 1.39-1.55) and 1.68 (95% CI, 1.56-1.82), respectively. The density of physicians who presumably provided diabetes care can barely explain the urban-rural disparity in LEA prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: Although the universal health insurance has largely removed financial barriers to health care, the urban-rural disparity in LEA prevalence still exists in Taiwan after nearly two decades of the NHI program.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Oral Anticoagulants in Stroke Prevention among Patients with Atrial Fibrillation in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Non-vitamin K oral antagonist anticoagulants (NOACs) have been widely used in stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (SPAF). The aim of this study was to compare the pharmacoeconomic impact of oral anticoagulants (OACs) including warfarin, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban in SPAF in Taiwan. METHODS: A decision tree, Markov model, and multiple sensitivity analyses were used to project the lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of OACs. Transitional probabilities were derived from a systematic review and network meta-analysis for Asian populations. Utilities and costs were obtained from published studies and the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Threshold of the willingness to pay (WTP) at USD 20,000 was applied to evaluate the results. RESULTS: In base-case analysis, warfarin had the lowest cost at $13,363 ± 4,036, and edoxaban 60 mg produced the most QALYs at 11.92 ± 1.98. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of dabigatran 150 and 110 mg, rivaroxaban 20 and 15 mg, apixaban 5 mg, and edoxaban 60 mg versus warfarin were $6,415, $4,225, $4,115 and $5,458 per QALY gained, respectively. Monte Carlo analysis revealed that dabigatran 150 and 110 mg, rivaroxaban 20 and 15 mg, apixaban 5 mg and edoxaban 60 mg were most cost-effective at 21.9%, 27.1%, 23.6%, and 27.4% of $20,000 compared to warfarin. CONCLUSIONS: From a Taiwan national payer perspective, all NOACs are cost-effective substitutes for warfarin in SPAF. However, the likelihood of cost-effective iterations for NOACs is highly driven by their market prices at the time and different WTP thresholds of policymakers.

Estimating Life Expectancy and Lifetime Healthcare Costs for Alzheimer's Disease in Taiwan: Does the Age of Disease Onset Matter?

BACKGROUND: People with early onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) seem to suffer greater impact. But there is a lack of population-based studies on loss of life expectancy (LE) and lifetime healthcare costs. OBJECTIVES: We conducted this study to estimate LE, expected years of life lost (EYLL), and lifetime healthcare costs for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Taiwan stratified by onset age and gender, using a method which integrates the product of the survival function and the mean cost function over a lifetime horizon. METHODS: We linked the National Health Insurance datasets with the National Mortality Registry and extrapolated the survival to lifetime to estimate the mean cumulative costs since the date of the first AD diagnosis using medical claims between 2001 and 2012. RESULTS: A total of 21,615 mild to moderate AD patients (including 20,358 late-onset (LOAD) and 1,257 EOAD) were recruited. The average onset age for EOAD was 61 years old, while that of LOAD was 78. Although the LE of EOAD was 4.8 years longer than that of LOAD due to younger age, the EYLL for the former was 8.7 years versus 1.7 years for the latter. EOAD also had higher lifetime healthcare costs than the LOAD group (USD$37,957±2,403 versus 33,809±786). CONCLUSIONS: Since EOAD patients had both higher EYLL and lifetime healthcare costs than LOAD, future studies should pay more attention to the needs of EOAD patients.