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Summary: This population-based longitudinal follow-up study showed a protective effect of tea consumption against osteoporosis, particularly among women and middle-aged people. High tea consumption was also associated with a reduced risk of hip fracture. Introduction: To investigate the association of tea consumption with the risks of osteoporosis and hip fracture. Methods: This study used the Keelung Community-based Integrated Screening database and Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 42,742 subjects aged 45 to 74 years were enrolled. Each was classified as no tea consumption, low tea consumption, and high tea consumption, according to the results of an eating habits questionnaire. The diagnosis of osteoporosis and hip fracture was based on BMD measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and the X-ray findings. The median follow-up time was 8.5 years. Results: As compared with the no tea consumption group, the osteoporosis HRs for the low tea consumption and high tea consumption groups were 0.88 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80–0.96) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.80–0.94), respectively. Among those participants aged 59 or below, the osteoporosis HRs for low tea consumption and high tea consumption (vs. no tea consumption) were 0.85 (95% CI 0.74–0.96) and 0.79 (95% CI 0.69–0.90). The HRs of hip fracture for the low tea consumption and high tea consumption groups (vs. no tea consumption) were 0.85 (95% CI 0.67–1.08) and 0.69 (95% CI 0.55–0.86), respectively. Conclusion: Tea consumption was linked to a lower risk of osteoporosis, particularly among women and middle-aged people. High tea consumption was also associated with a reduced risk of hip fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a school-based child oral hygiene program on oral heath after approximately 10 years of follow-up. Methods A prospective cohort study was designed to include 120 schoolchildren aged 10-11 years with instructions on how to practice daily flossing and brushing under the supervision of school nurses for one semester (the intervention group) and to recruit a comparison group with no intervention from 120 classmates matched by gender (the nonintervention group). Both groups participated in a questionnaire survey and received dental examinations after long-term follow-up. Results The mean value of overall plaque score in the intervention group (16.9%) was lower than that of the nonintervention group (32.6%); the adjusted relative risk ( aRR) of having a plaque score for the intervention group versus the nonintervention group was 0.4 (95% CI: 0.3, 0.5). The percentage of pocketing ( CPI ≧ 2) in the intervention group (75.0%) was lower than that of the nonintervention group (90.8%); the aRR of having calculus or pocketing ( CPI ≧ 2) was 0.3 (95% CI: 0.1, 0.6). The intervention group had lower DMFT values and DMFS score than the nonintervention group (4.1 and 6.6 versus 6.2 and 11.0). Moreover, the intervention group had significantly better dental knowledge and habits and dental conditions than the nonintervention group. Conclusions This longitudinal follow-up study demonstrated that a highly targeted oral hygiene program can display positive long-term effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently there is a debate regarding whether tamoxifen used in breast cancer has an impact on lipid profiles. The aim of this study was to determine whether tamoxifen has an impact on the serum lipid profile in Taiwanese women. Patients and Methods: Data of 109 patients were collected from the routine clinical follow-up for women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who were treated between July 2005 and March 2008. These patients were divided into 2 subgroups, based on their tumor grade and lymph node status. Subgroup 1 patients had tumor grade I/II and a negative lymph node status. Those patients with tumor grade III or a positive lymph node status were defined as subgroup 2. Results: In the 109 patients, the mean serum total cholesterol (TC) levels after tamoxifen treatment, as well as the serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, were lower than the baseline levels, with statistically significant differences. Treatment with tamoxifen lowered the serum TC and LDL-C levels in both subgroups. Conclusions: The results indicate that tamoxifen has an impact on the serum lipid profile of breast cancer patients in Taiwan. Physicians should follow up the lipid profile in these patients. © 2014 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This study estimated the excess incidence (overdiagnosis) of breast cancer associated with starting mammographic screening at an earlier age, by using data from the Dalarna County component of the Swedish Two-County Trial of breast cancer screening. METHODS: In Dalarna County, Sweden, 38,589 women aged 40 to 74 years were randomized to invitation to regular mammographic screening (active study population [ASP]) and 18,582 women to usual care (passive study population [PSP]). After 3 screening rounds (6-8 years after randomization), the PSP was invited to screening. The cumulative incidence of breast cancer was calculated in the ASP and PSP from randomization to 29 years later. In addition, cumulative incidence was calculated for invasive cancers, advanced invasive cancers (≥2 cm in maximum diameter or node-positive), and nonadvanced cancers (<2 cm and node negative). RESULTS: There was no excess of cancers in the ASP at 29 year follow-up (relative risk, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-1.08). Cumulative incidence in the 2 arms approximately equalized at the conclusion of the first round of screening of the PSP. There was an excess of nonadvanced cancers and a deficit of advanced cancers in the ASP, both of which persisted to 29 years. CONCLUSIONS: There was no additional breast cancer incidence associated with 100,000 additional screens in the ASP. Results suggest that overdiagnosis is small and largely confined to the prevalence screen. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Population-based routine service screening has gained popularity following an era of randomized controlled trials. The evaluation of these service screening programs is subject to study design, data availability, and the precise data analysis for adjusting bias. We developed a computer-aided system that allows the evaluation of population-based service screening to unify these aspects and facilitate and guide the program assessor to efficiently perform an evaluation. Methods: This system underpins two experimental designs: the posttest-only non-equivalent design and the one-group pretest–posttest design and demonstrates the type of data required at both the population and individual levels. Three major analyses were developed that included a cumulative mortality analysis, survival analysis with lead-time adjustment, and self-selection bias adjustment. We used SAS AF software to develop a graphic interface system with a pull-down menu style. Results: We demonstrate the application of this system with data obtained from a Swedish population-based service screen and a population-based randomized controlled trial for the screening of breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer, and one service screening program for cervical cancer with Pap smears. The system provided automated descriptive results based on the various sources of available data and cumulative mortality curves corresponding to the study designs. The comparison of cumulative survival between clinically and screen-detected cases without a lead-time adjustment are also demonstrated. The intention-to-treat and noncompliance analysis with self-selection bias adjustments are also shown to assess the effectiveness of the population-based service screening program. Model validation was composed of a comparison between our adjusted self-selection bias estimates and the empirical results on effectiveness reported in the literature. Conclusions: We demonstrate a computer-aided system allowing the evaluation of population-based service screening programs with an adjustment for self-selection and lead-time bias. This is achieved by providing a tutorial guide from the study design to the data analysis, with bias adjustment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]