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Abstract Background Excessive gestational weight gain and emotional eating may be associated with postpartum depression symptoms. This study was designed to identify how gestational weight gain and eating behaviors are related to postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms among women in Taiwan. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2022 to October 2022 with 318 postpartum women recruited in Taipei, Taiwan. Gestational weight gain (GWG) for the total pregnancy period was recorded as inadequate, adequate, or excessive, based on the 2009 Institute of Medicine recommendations (IOM), accounting for pre-pregnancy body mass index category. Eating behavior at one month postpartum was measured on a 16-item 5-point Likert scale with three subscales: uncontrolled, restrained, and emotional. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale with a cutoff score of 13. Results The prevalence of postpartum depression symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale ≥ 13) was 23.9% at one month postpartum. Logistic regression analysis revealed that excessive gestational weight gain and emotional eating were positively associated with postpartum depression symptoms at that time. Conclusion Evidence presented here suggests that emotional eating and excessive GWG are associated with PPD symptoms in a Taiwanese population. In addition, it should be a public health priority to ensure a particular focus on mental health during the postpartum period. Healthcare providers should discourage pregnant women from unhealthy eating habits by targeting appropriate GWG and focusing on demand eating to reduce PPD in the postpartum period.

OBJECTIVES: To explore symptom clusters (SCs) in lymphoma survivors before, during, and after chemotherapy. SAMPLE & SETTING: 61 lymphoma survivors from a medical center in central Taiwan were enrolled in the study. METHODS & VARIABLES: A prospective observational study design was adopted. The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory was used to measure symptoms. The 13 symptoms assessed by the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory were evaluated after diagnosis and before chemotherapy (T1), after the fourth cycle of chemotherapy (T2), and after completion of chemotherapy (T3). Data were analyzed using mean, frequency, and latent profile analysis. RESULTS: Three SCs were identified at T1, four at T2, and three at T3. Fatigue was the predominant symptom in each SC for the participants over time. Fatigue, disturbed sleep, and numbness constituted an SC at T2 and T3. An SC consisting of multiple psychological symptoms was found only at T1. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: This study describes methods for grouping SCs. An SC of fatigue, disturbed sleep, and numbness was identified at T2 and T3. By familiarizing themselves with this SC, clinicians can be attentive to patients’ concurrent symptoms and implement early prevention measures and timely symptom management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a common symptom in colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors and patients with diabetes. However, the differences in PN symptoms between CRC survivors and patients with diabetes are not clear. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in PN between CRC survivors and patients with diabetes. METHODS: Secondary data were analyzed from two cross-sectional studies consisting of 81 CRC survivors and 86 patients with diabetes from two hospitals in northern and central Taiwan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of covariance, and multiple logistic regression. FINDINGS: Significant differences in severity and prevalence of PN and neuropathic pain between CRC survivors and patients with diabetes were found. Patients with diabetes had significantly more severe PN and sensory PN compared to CRC survivors. In addition, the prevalence of PN and neuropathic pain was significantly higher in CRC survivors compared to patients with diabetes after control of covariates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the symptom profiles and predominant symptoms in newly diagnosed breast cancer women before and after receiving docetaxel chemotherapy. A pre-post study recruited adult women with stage I-III breast cancer undergoing docetaxel chemotherapy using convenience sampling. The 13-item symptom severity subscale of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Taiwan Form was used to measure symptoms. The study employed latent profile analysis to identify subgroups based on symptom severity before and after docetaxel chemotherapy. Descriptive statistics, including mean and frequency, were used to compare and contrast the most prevalent and severe symptoms within each subgroup to confirm the predominant symptoms. The study identified four and two symptom profiles before and after docetaxel treatment, respectively. Disturbed sleep was identified as a prevalent symptom for all participants, regardless of their chemotherapy status. The predominant symptoms before treatment were disturbed sleep, dry mouth, difficulty remembering, and fatigue, while disturbed sleep and numbness were the predominant symptoms after treatment. The findings of this study are significant, as they contribute to the current understanding of the symptom experience of breast cancer individuals undergoing docetaxel chemotherapy. Healthcare professionals should prioritize assessing and managing these symptoms, including identifying contributing factors to poor sleep. Addressing symptom profiles related to sleep can improve the quality of life of breast cancer individuals undergoing docetaxel chemotherapy. • Provide a unique and comprehensive method to identify symptom profiles. • Identify disturbed sleep as a predominant symptom throughout docetaxel chemotherapy. • Docetaxel chemotherapy often leads to numbness, a key symptom of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of changing the amount of silica in the cell wall of diatom prey, on the production, decomposition rate and sinking velocity of fecal pellets of the calanoid copepod, Calanus sinicus, were examined. Using different light intensities to control the growth of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii also led to the accumulation of different amounts of biogenic silica. Copepods were then fed either low (~1600 cells L-1/ or high (~8000 cells L-1) concentrations of this diatom. Copepods fed a high concentration of diatoms with high-silica content exhibited a lower grazing rate and lower fecal pellet production rate than those fed a high concentration of diatoms with low-silica content. However, there was no difference in either the grazing or fecal pellet production rates at low prey concentrations with high- or low-silica content. The size of the fecal pellets produced was only affected by the prey concentration, and not by the silica content of prey. In addition, the degradation rate of the fecal pellets was much higher for copepods fed a low-silica diet than for those fed a high-silica diet. Significantly lower densities and sinking rates only occurred in the fecal pellets of copepods fed a low-silica diet and a low prey concentration. Calculating the L ratio (the ratio of degradation rate : sinking rate) for each group indicated that the fecal pellets produced by copepods fed highly silicified diatoms are likely to transport both biogenic silica and organic carbon to the deep layer, whereas those produced following the consumption of lowsilica diatoms are likely to decompose in the mixing layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]