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There has been growing interest in the social-emotional development of children. However, the social-emotional development of children in Asia remains a knowledge gap. This systematic review identifies and summarizes existing studies on children's social-emotional development in Asia. We conducted a systematic review using the Guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). We reviewed 45 studies that met the inclusion criteria, and they were from 12 Asian countries, primarily the East Asia region (China and Hong Kong). Most of the studies were cross-sectional in design (n = 28, 62.2%). Six themes emerged, including (a) social-emotional development (overall) (n = 24, 53.3%); (b) social competence (n = 7, 15.6%); (c) emotional development (n = 5, 11.1%); (d) social-emotional learning (n = 3, 6.7%); (e) problem behavior (n = 3, 6.7%); (f) self-regulation (n = 2, 4.4%); and (g) both social-emotional learning and problem behavior (n = 1, 2.2%). The findings highlighted the paucity of studies, the need for examining more diverse variables in a similar population, and the low quality of intervention studies in social-emotional research in Asia. Research gaps indicate the need for more social-emotional and ethnocultural studies in other Asian regions. Parent and teacher knowledge of children's social-emotional functioning should be examined more closely in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Kawasaki disease is a common vasculitis of childhood in East Asia. The complications following Kawasaki disease mostly included cardiovascular sequelae; non-cardiac complications have been reported but less studied. This study investigated potential epilepsy following Kawasaki disease in Taiwanese children. Objectives: Through National Health Insurance Research Database, we retrospectively analyzed the data of children aged <18 years with clinically diagnosed Kawasaki disease from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2012 in Taiwan. These patients were followed up to estimate the incidence of epilepsy in the Kawasaki cohort in comparison with that in the non-Kawasaki cohort in Taiwan. Results: A total of 8,463 and 33,872 patients in the Kawasaki and non-Kawasaki cohorts were included in the study, respectively. Of the total eligible study subjects, 61.1% were boys and 38.9% were girls; most patients with newly diagnosed Kawasaki disease were aged <5 years [88.1%]. Patients with Kawasaki disease showed a higher incidence rate [47.98 vs. 27.45 every 100,000 person years] and significantly higher risk [adjusted hazard ratio = 1.66, 95% confidence interval = 1.13–2.44] of epilepsy than those without the disease. Additionally, female sex [adjusted hazard ratio = 2.30, 95% confidence interval = 1.31–4.04] and age <5 years [adjusted hazard ratio = 1.82, 95% confidence interval = 1.22–2.72] showed a significantly higher risk of epilepsy in the Kawasaki cohort. Conclusion: Results revealed a higher incidence rate and significant risk of epilepsy in Taiwanese children with Kawasaki disease than in those without the disease. Therefore, children diagnosed with Kawasaki disease are recommended follow-up as they have a high risk of epilepsy and seizure disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diseases of the kidneys and genitourinary tract are common health problems that affect people of all ages and demographic backgrounds. In this study, we compared the quantity and quality of nephrological and urological articles published in international journals from the three major regions of China: the mainland (ML), Hong Kong (HK), and Taiwan (TW). Methods: Nephrological and urological articles originating from ML, TW, and HK that were published in 61 journals from 1999-2008 were retrieved from the PubMed database. We recorded the numbers of total articles, clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, case reports, impact factors (IF), citations, and articles published in the leading general-medicine journals. We used these data to compare the quantity and quality of publication output from the three regions. Results: The total number of articles increased significantly from 1999 to 2008 in the three regions. The number of articles from ML has exceeded that from HK since 2004, and surpassed that from TW in 2008. Publications from TW had the highest accumulated IF, total citations of articles, and the most articles published in leading general-medicine journals. However, HK publications had the highest average IF. Although ML produced the largest quantity of articles, it exhibited the lowest quality among the three regions. Conclusion: The number of nephrological and urological publications originating from the three major regions of China increased significantly from 1999 to 2008. The annual number of publications by ML researchers exceeded those from TW and HK. However, the quality of articles from TW and HK was higher than that from ML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]