BackgroundFear of falling is an important risk indicator for adverse health related outcomes in older adults. However, factors associated with fear of falling among community-dwelling older adults are not well-explored.ObjectivesTo explore the quality of life and associated factors in fear of falling among older people in the Shih-Pai area in Taiwan.MethodsThis community-based survey recruited three thousand eight hundred and twenty-four older adults aged ≥ 65 years. The measurements included a structured questionnaire, including quality of life by using Short-Form 36, and information of fear of falling, fall history, demographics, medical conditions, insomnia, sleep quality, depression and subjective health through face-to-face interviews.ResultsA total of 53.4% of participants reported a fear of falling. The rate of fear of falling was higher in female subjects. Subjects with fear of falling had lower Short Form-36 scores both for men and women. Falls in the previous year, older age, insomnia, depression and worse subjective health were correlates of fear of falling for both sexes. Male-specific associations with fear of falling were the accessibility of medical help in an emergency, diabetes mellitus and stroke. In parallel, cardiovascular diseases were a female-specific correlate for fear of falling.ConclusionsFear of falling is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults. It is seems that there are gender differences in fear of falling with respect to the prevalence and associated factors in older adults. Gender differences should be considered when planning prevention and intervention strategies for fear of falling among older people.

HCC patients in hospice wards received more narcotic palliative care, underwent fewer aggressive procedures, and incurred lower costs than those in acute wards. Hospice care should be promoted as a viable option for terminally ill, elderly HCC patients.

Our findings demonstrated that high tortuosity of the thoracic aorta is associated with higher rates of endoleaks and lower survival in patients undergoing TEVAR for atherosclerotic aneurysms. Patients with aneurysms in a highly tortuous aorta may therefore need greater attention in preoperative planning, perioperative procedures, and follow-up examinations.

BackgroundHome healthcare services are important in aging societies worldwide. The present nationwide study of health insurance data examined the utilization and delivery patterns, including diagnostic indications, for home healthcare services used by seniors in Taiwan.MethodsPatients ≥65 years of age who received home healthcare services during 2004 under the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Program were identified and reimbursement claims were analyzed. Age, gender, disease diagnoses, distribution of facilities providing home healthcare services, and patterns of professional visits, including physician and skilled nursing visits, were also explored.ResultsAmong 2,104,978 beneficiaries ≥65 years of age, 19,483 (0.9%) patients received 127,753 home healthcare visits during 2004 with a mean number of 6.0 ± 4.8 visits per person. The highest prevalence of home healthcare services was in the 75-84 year age group in both sexes. Females received more home healthcare services than males in all age groups. Cerebrovascular disease was the most frequent diagnosis in these patients (50.7%). More than half of home healthcare visits and around half of the professional home visits were provided by community home nursing care institutions. The majority of the home skilled nursing services were tube replacements, including nasogastric tubes, Foley catheter, tracheostomy, nephrostomy or cystostomy tubes (95%).ConclusionsNine out of 1,000 older patients in Taiwan received home healthcare services during 2004, which was much lower than the rate of disabled older people in Taiwan. Females used home healthcare services more frequently than males and the majority of skilled nursing services were tube replacements. The rate of tube replacement of home healthcare patients in Taiwan deserves to be paid more attention.

The findings of the present study suggest that FOF is a significant risk factor of mortality, especially in older male adults. Further research on the mechanism and effects of fear of falling on mortality is necessary. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 2216-2223.

No abstract

Scientific publications from departments/institutes of gastroenterology and hepatology in Taiwan increased rapidly from 1993 to 2013. However, there were decreasing trends in the number of articles cited and journal impact factors.

TEVAR for type B aortic dissection repair has less perioperative mortality, a shorter length of hospitalization, a higher midterm survival rate, less postoperative respiratory failure, and fewer wound complications than open surgery.