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Herein, we aimed to explore whether male patients with congenital collagen diseases had a higher risk of inguinal herniation than patients without these diseases. Data were retrospectively collected from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. The study cohort included 1,801 male patients diagnosed with congenital collagen diseases based on the ICD-9 CM diagnostic codes; after propensity score matching, the control group comprised 6,493 men without congenital collagen diseases. The primary endpoint was inguinal hernia repair during the observation period. During a median follow-up period of 133.9 months, the risk of inguinal herniation in the collagen group was significantly higher than that in the control group (HR = 2.237, 95% CI 1.646–3.291, p < 0.001). This phenomenon was observed in patients younger than 18 years (HR: 3.040, 95% CI 1.819–5.083, p < 0.001) and in those aged 18–80 years (HR: 1.909, 95% CI 1.186–3.073, p < 0.001). Asian men with congenital collagen diseases are at a high risk of developing inguinal hernias, regardless of age. Detailed physical examination and patient education should be performed for these patients to prevent inguinal herniation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is one of the well-recognized oral potentially malignant disorders. In this study, we investigated the malignant transformation of OSF in a Taiwanese population.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was analyzed from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort was randomly frequency-matched with the OSF cohort according to age, sex, and index year. Oral leukoplakia (OL) was further stratified to evaluate for the possible synergistic effects of OSF-associated malignant transformation.Results: In this cohort, 71 (9.13%) of 778 cases of OSF were observed to transform into oral cancer. The malignant transformation rate was 29.26-fold in the OSF cohort than in the comparison cohort after adjustment (95% confidence intervals 20.55-41.67). To further stratify with OL, OSF with OL (52.46%; 95% confidence intervals 34.88-78.91) had higher risk of malignant transformation rate than OSF alone (29.84%; 95% confidence intervals 20.99-42.42). The Kaplan-Meier plot revealed the rate free of malignant transformation was significant over the 13-year follow-up period (log-rank test, P<.001). The mean duration of malignant transformation was 5.1, 2.7, and 2.2 years for non-OSF, OSF alone, and OSF with OL, respectively.Conclusion: Oral submucous fibrosis patients exhibited a significantly higher risk of malignant transformation than those without OSF. OL could enhance malignant transformation in patients with OSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the incidence rates and risk factors of aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients using the Taiwan National Health Insurance database. The retrospective cohort study identified SLE patients and age-, sex- and comorbidity-matched control patients without SLE.

To investigate the prevalence and the associated risk factors of oral precancerous disorders in southern Taiwan. We conducted a cross-sectional community survey interviewing 1075 adult subjects, 15 years of age and over, gathered from randomly selected 591 households, and spanning five villages in southern Taiwan. The study protocol included a visual oral soft tissue examination and a questionnaire-based interview. The chi-square test was used to test the differences in prevalence of oral precancerous lesions and conditions by different ‘life styles’ relating to current risk habits of current areca quid chewing, smoking, and alcohol drinking. To control for possible confounding, a logistic regression model was used to estimate the Odds Ratios (OR) for leukoplakia and oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). 136 precancerous lesions and conditions were detected among 1075 subjects (12.7%). The analysis of the spectrum of oral precancerous disorders detected, leukoplakia ( n = 80), OSF ( n = 17) and verrucous lesions ( n = 9), demonstrated an association with gender ( P < 0.001). There were statistically significant associations among leukoplakia ( P < 0.01), OSF ( P < 0.0001), and verrucous lesions ( P < 0.0001) and the life style of current areca quid chewing, smoking, and alcohol drinking. The synergistic effect of smoking and areca quid chewing habit on leukoplakia and OSF was demonstrated. This study reinforces the association of current areca quid chewing without tobacco, cigarette smoking, and alcohol drinking to leukoplakia, OSF, and verrucous lesions in Taiwan. J Oral Pathol Med (2005) 34: 460–6 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]