The efficacy of probiotics as a therapeutic alternative for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remain unclear.

To investigate the effectiveness of probiotics for symptoms of ADHD and identify possible factors affecting their efficacy.

Randomised placebo-controlled trials were identified through searching major databases from inception to April 2023, using the main keywords ‘probiotics’ and ‘ADHD’ without limitation on languages or geographic locations. The outcome of interest included improvement in total symptoms of ADHD, symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, and drop-out rate. Continuous and categorical data were expressed as effect sizes based on standardised mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios, respectively, with 95% confidence intervals.

Meta-analysis of seven trials involving 379 participants (mean age 10.37 years, range 4–18 years) showed no significant improvement in total symptoms of ADHD (SMD = 0.25; P = 0.12), symptoms of inattention (SMD = 0.14; P = 0.3) or hyperactivity/impulsivity (SMD = 0.08; P = 0.54) between the probiotic and placebo groups. Despite non-significance on subgroup analyses, there was a large difference in effect size between studies using probiotics as an adjunct to methylphenidate and those using probiotics as supplementation (SMD = 0.84 v. 0.07; P = 0.16), and a moderate difference in effect size between studies using multiple strains of probiotics and those using single-strain regimens (SMD = 0.45 v. 0.03; P = 0.19).

Current evidence shows no significant difference in therapeutic efficacy between probiotics and placebos for treatment of ADHD symptoms. However, albeit statistically non-significant, higher therapeutic efficacies associated with multiple-strain probiotics or combining probiotics with methylphenidate may provide direction for further research.

Presurgical psychological screening (PPS) is a procedure for mitigating possible unfavorable outcomes after spinal surgery. Although the effectiveness of PPS on degenerative spinal diseases has been investigated in Western studies, a potential cultural influence on PPS is still unknown. This study thus aims to explore the experiences of Taiwanese people before spinal surgery and tries to establish culture-specific components of PPS in Taiwan.

A total of five participants aged from 44–69 with degenerative spinal diseases were eligible in this study. All participants visited a neurosurgical outpatient clinic for potential surgical treatment, and each participant underwent an one-hour semi-structured interview before surgery. The demographical information, medical history, psychological status (e.g., personality traits and emotional disturbances) and considerations to make a surgical decision, were recorded and further analyzed following the rule of grounded theory.

Four major components with 21 sub-components were reported when deciding to receive a surgical treatment for their spinal diseases, including disease-related considerations, medical information, self-concept and interpersonal relations. In terms of disease-related aspects, patients concerned about etiology, symptomatology, impacts, coping strategies and rehabilitation methods. As for medical information, patients paid more attention on medical compliance, the relationship with medical system, attitude for treatment, expectation to surgical outcomes, medical decisions and medical information. As for the self-concept, patients considered more on the impacts of disease on self-concept, strategies of emotional regulations and personality traits. In terms of interpersonal relations, patients reported more on the supportive resources, patterns of interpersonal activities and impacts of interpersonal relations on medical decisions. Additionally, other specific factors, such as past negative experiences (e.g., chronic insomnia, experiences of psychological counseling), litigation, physical punishment in childhood and social roles, were also reported.

Like previous findings, our results supported that the interpersonal relations and doctor-patient relationship in PPS were important considerations before surgery, while we further evidenced that influences of family members on medical decision is determinant and unique in this culture.

We explored long-term employment status and income before and after depression diagnosis among men and women and at different working ages in Taiwan.

Data from 2006 to 2019 were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). Individuals with newly diagnosed depressive disorder aged 15 to 64 years during the study period were identified. An equal number of individuals without depression were matched for their demographic and clinical characteristics. Employment outcomes included employment status, which was categorized into employed or unemployed, and annual income. Based on the occupation categories and monthly insurance salary recorded in the Registry for Beneficiaries of the NHIRD, a subject was defined as unemployed if he or she differed from the income earner or the occupation category was unemployed. Monthly income was defined as zero for unemployed subjects and proxied as monthly insurance salary for others. Annual income was the sum of monthly income in each observation year.

A total of 420,935 individuals with depressive disorder were included in the study, and an equal number of individuals with not diagnosed depression served as controls. Employment rate and income were lower in the depression group than in the control group before the year of diagnosis, with a difference of 5.7% in employment rate and USD 1,173 in annual income. This gap increased considerably after the year of diagnosis (7.3% in employment rate and USD 1,573 in annual incomes) and further widened in the subsequent years (8.1% in employment rate and USD 2,006 in annual incomes in the 5th following year). The drops in the employment rate and income caused by depression were more evident in men and older age groups than in women and younger age groups, respectively. However, the reduction in employment rate and income in the following years after the diagnosis was more considerable among younger age groups.

The effect of depression on employment status and income was significant during the year of diagnosis and continued afterwards. The effect on employment outcomes varied between genders and across all age groups.

There was no previous meta-analysis investigating the efficacy/tolerability of psychostimulants for symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschool children.

Databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception to March 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on therapeutic efficacy of psychostimulants against ADHD symptoms in preschool children (age ≤6 years) compared with placebos. Primary outcomes were (a) changes in ADHD symptoms evaluated by validated rating scales from parents’/teacher’s observation, or (b) post-intervention improvements in neuropsychological performance. Secondary outcomes were risks of adverse events.

Meta-analysis of nine eligible trials including 544 preschool children (mean age=4.86 years, female=11.98%, median treatment duration=4.33 weeks) supported the efficacy of psychostimulants against global symptoms from observations of parents (Hedges’ g=0.6152, p<0.0001) and teachers (Hedges’ g=0.6563, p=0.0039). Efficacy of psychostimulants was also noted against symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, especially the latter (i.e., main symptoms in preschool children). Moreover, male gender, older age, and longer treatment duration were associated with better efficacy. Regarding adverse events, only the risk of poor appetite was higher in the psychostimulant group (odds ratio [OR]=2.39). However, the qualities of evidence were low to very low, indicating potential discrepancy between the true and estimated effect.

Our results showed that psychostimulants might be beneficial for preschool children with ADHD, especially hyperactivity/impulsivity from teachers’ observation, with tolerable side effects. Nevertheless, the true magnitude of the effect needs to be confirmed with more research due to low to very low certainty of the evidence.

Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental disorder related to cognitive deficits. Low serum vitamin D levels are significantly associated with compromised cognition in neuropsychiatric disorders. Although patients with bipolar disorder frequently exhibit hypovitaminosis D, the association between vitamin D and cognition in bipolar disorder, and their neuroaxonal integrity, is unclear.

To investigate the interaction effects between vitamin D and neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels on cognitive domains in bipolar disorder.

Serum vitamin D and NfL levels were determined in 100 euthymic patients with bipolar disorder in a cross-sectional study. Cognitive function was measured with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Affective Disorders. We stratified by age groups and used general linear models to identify associations between vitamin D and NfL levels and their interaction effects on cognitive domains.

The mean vitamin D and NfL levels were 16.46 ng/nL and 11.10 pg/mL, respectively; 72% of patients were vitamin D deficient. In the older group, more frequent hospital admissions and lower physical activity were identified in the group with versus without vitamin D deficiency. The age-modified interaction effect of vitamin D and NfL was associated with composite neurocognitive scores and verbal fluency in both age groups, and with processing speed domain in the younger group.

We observed a high vitamin D deficiency prevalence in bipolar disorder. We identified the interaction of vitamin D and NfL on cognitive domains, and the effect was modified by age. Longitudinal or randomised controlled studies enrolling patients with various illness durations and mood statuses are required to validate our findings.

To investigate potential risk factors for mild behavioral impairment (MBI) among non-demented geriatrics.

Population-based, cross-sectional survey.

Taiwan Alzheimer Disease Association (TADA) Database.

Participants were selected by multistage random sampling of all Taiwan counties. They received in-person interviews between December 2011 and March 2013.

Demographic data, lifestyle and habits, medical comorbidities, cognitive status measured by the Taiwanese Mini-Mental Status Examination (TMSE) and presence of MCI of the participants were collected. Subjects were distributed to the MBI and non-MBI groups. These factors had been evaluated for their effects on MBI in the univariate and multivariable logistic regression models.

In total, 6,196 non-demented participants aged 65 years or older, including 409 MBI and 5,787 non-MBI participants, were recruited. After adjustment for age, sex, education, body mass index, lifestyle and habits, medical comorbidities, and MCI, good sleep was associated with lower risk of MBI (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.07 – 0.12). Low body weight (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.21–3.33), low-to-medium education (OR 1.40, 95%CI 1.06–1.85; OR 2.32, 95% CI 1.67–3.21), medical comorbidities of hypertension (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.25–1.95), hyperlipidemia (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.00–1.67), cancer (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.37–3.06) were significantly associated with increased MBI risk. MCI neither increased nor decreased risk of MBI (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.76–1.32).

Good sleep was associated with lower MBI risk. Underweight, lower education, medical comorbidities of cancer, hypertension, hyperlipidemia were predictive of MBI.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly heterogeneous and can be classified as treatment-resistant depression (TRD) or antidepressant-responsive depression (non-TRD) based on patients' responses to antidepressant treatment. Methods for distinguishing between TRD and non-TRD are critical clinical concerns. Deficits of cortical inhibition (CI) have been reported to play an influential role in the pathophysiology of MDD. Whether TRD patients' CI is more impaired than that of non-TRD patients remains unclear.

Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) was used to measure cortical inhibitory function including GABAA- and GABAB-receptor-related CI and cortical excitatory function including glutamate-receptor-related intracortical facilitation (ICF). We recruited 36 healthy controls (HC) and 36 patients with MDD (non-TRD, n = 16; TRD, n = 20). All participants received evaluations for depression severity and ppTMS examinations. Non-TRD patients received an additional ppTMS examination after 3 months of treatment with the SSRI escitalopram.

Patients with TRD exhibited reduced short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI), as shown by abnormally higher estimates, than those with non-TRD or HC (F = 11.030, p < 0.001; F = 10.309, p < 0.001, respectively). After an adequate trial of escitalopram treatment, the LICI of non-TRD reduced significantly (t = − 3.628, p < 0.001), whereas the ICF remained lower than that of HC and showed no difference from pretreatment non-TRD.

TRD was characterized by relatively reduced CI, including both GABAA- and GABAB-receptor-mediated neurons while non-TRD preserved partial CI. In non-TRD, SSRIs may mainly modulate GABAB-receptor-related LICI. Our findings revealed distinguishable features of CI in antidepressant-resistant and responsive major depression.

After a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Hualien on February 6, 2018, over one hundred and fifty patients crammed into the emergency department of a nearby tertiary hospital within two hours. The mass casualty incident (MCI) call was activated, and over 300 related personnel responded to the call and engaged with the MCI management.

This research aimed to analyze the practice of an MCI call and to form the strategies to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

The research was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Hualien, Taiwan. Questionnaires regarding the practice of the MCI call were sent out to the healthcare providers in the emergency department who responded to that MCI operation.

Thirty-seven responders in the emergency department were involved in this study. 78% had participated in training courses for hospital incident command system (HICS) or MCI management before this event. On arrival at the emergency department, 69.4% of the responders were aware of the check-in station and received a clear task assignment and briefing. During the operation, 25.7% reported the lack of confidence carrying out the assigned tasks and 54.1% of the participants experienced great stress (stress score over 7 out of 10).

MCI is an uncommon event for hospital management. It is universally challenging owing to its unpredictable and time-sensitive nature. Furthermore, the administration could be further complicated by the associated disasters. Despite regular exercises and drills, there are still a significant number of participants experiencing stress and confusion during the operation. The chaotic situation may further compromise the performance of the participants. This study showed that optimizing task briefing and on-site directions may improve the performance of the MCI participants.

Limited information is available on the prevalence and effect of hypertriglyceridaemic–waist (HTGW) phenotype on the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in rural populations.

In the present cross-sectional study, we investigated the prevalence of the HTGW phenotype and T2DM and the strength of their association among rural adults in China.

HTGW was defined as TAG >1·7 mmol/l and waist circumference (WC) ≥90 cm for males and ≥80 cm for females. Logistic regression analysis yielded adjusted odds ratios (aOR) relating risk of T2DM with HTGW.

Adults (n 12 345) aged 22·83–92·58 years were recruited from July to August of 2013 and July to August of 2014 from a rural area of Henan Province in China.

The prevalence of HTGW and T2DM was 23·71 % (males: 15·35 %; females: 28·88 %) and 11·79 % (males: 11·15 %; females: 12·18 %), respectively. After adjustment for sex, age, smoking, alcohol drinking, blood pressure, physical activity and diabetic family history, the risk of T2DM (aOR; 95 % CI) was increased with HTGW (v. normal TAG and WC: 3·23; CI 2·53, 4·13; males: 3·37; 2·30, 4·92; females: 3·41; 2·39, 4·85). The risk of T2DM with BMI≥28·0 kg/m2, simple enlarged WC and simple disorders of lipid metabolism showed an increasing tendency (aOR=1·31, 1·75 and 2·32).

The prevalence of HTGW and T2DM has reached an alarming level among rural Chinese people, and HTGW is a significant risk factor for T2DM.

Health system reform is considered a tough issue worldwide. Great efforts have been made toward health system building and strengthening. However, it is still unclear which health system is appropriate for different countries. This study aimed to systematically compare the characteristics of the establishment periods between eighty-eight counties of National Health Service (NHS) and Social Health Insurance (SHI).

Forty-eight NHS countries and forty SHI countries with data availability were selected. The establishment years of current health systems and other eighteen indicators in economics, society, population and health during establishment periods were collected. Comparison between NHS and SHI was conducted by descriptive analysis of every indicator.

Most NHS countries were established during the cold war, while SHI had been set up since the cold war ended. The median of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, urbanization rate and aging rate of SHI were USD 1535 in current dollars, 58.2 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively; compared with USD 1387, 41.2 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively of NHS. NHS countries had a smaller total population, lower mortality rate and elderly dependency ratio, while the birth rate and children's dependency ratio were higher. SHI countries showed a higher life expectancy and lower mortality rate in infants and children. NHS countries spent less in total health expenditure and a lower proportion of GDP. The median health expenditure per capita of SHI and NHS were USD 188 and USD 131 in current dollars, respectively. There was little difference among maternal mortality rates, and public and private health expenditure proportions.

NHS and SHI countries had different characteristics during the health system establishment periods. NHS was established earlier than SHI overall, so that SHI revealed higher levels in economic and social development. Health outcomes of NHS countries were slightly lower than SHI ones, while health expenditure was more in SHI countries. Specific social, economic, demographic and health conditions should be considered when countries are building their own health systems.