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Objective: Fluctuations in ovarian steroids during specific phases of the reproductive cycle, such as pre-menstruation, have been hypothesized to contribute to women's increased vulnerability to depression. This current study's goal is to summarize the literature regarding Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) in the East Asian countries of Taiwan, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Japan, and Korea. Method: A Pubmed and Chinese Electronic Periodical Service (CEPS) literature review was conducted using the key words "Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder" along with "Japan," "Korea," "Taiwan," "Hong Kong," and "Macau." Using these criteria, 17 articles were found. Three articles were excluded because they did not involve PMDD in the aforementioned countries. In addition to this search, an article found in a review of the research on reproductive mental health disorders in China was utilized. That review contained one article regarding PMDD with an English language abstract, .which was utilized in this current article. Results: The rates of PMDD in East Asia (1.3-2.8%) appear to be lower than that seen in the Western literature (3-8%). Many of the risk factors for PMDD were the same in the Eastern and Western literature, although some key differences were found. The few studies on treatment of PMDD in East Asia have shown positive results. Conclusions: The rates of PMDD appear to be lower in East Asia, though reasons for this result are discussed. Few studies have been conducted examining the efficacy of psychotropic medications commonly used to treat PMDD in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. To examine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural strategies with/without intense Tai Chi exercise in reducing fear of falling among community-dwelling elderly adults. Background. Fear of falling is a major health problem among community-dwelling older persons. The prevalence of this fear ranges from 29% to 77%, indicating the importance of developing effective strategies to reduce fear of falling among elderly adults. Methods. Data were collected from January to December 2007. A randomized controlled trial with three groups (control, cognitive-behavioural and cognitive-behavioural with Tai Chi). Participants were assessed at baseline for demographic data, falls-related history, and fear of falling. Data on these variables plus falls, mobility, social support behaviour and satisfaction, and quality of life were also collected at 2 and 5 months after interventions. Results. Participants in the three groups differed significantly in both measures of fear of falling (F = 20.89, P < 0.001; F = 6.09, P < 0.001) and mobility (F = 30.33, P < 0.001), social support behaviour and satisfaction (F = 3.32, P < 0.05 and F = 6.35, P < 0.001, respectively), and quality of life (F = 16.66, P < 0.001). In addition, participants who received the cognitive-behavioural intervention with Tai Chi had significantly lower fear of falling scores (P < 0.001) and higher mobility (P < 0.001), social support satisfaction (P < 0.01) and quality of life (P < 0.001) than the cognitive-behavioural alone and control groups at 5 months. The three groups did not differ significantly in falls. Conclusion. The results of this trial suggest that the cognitive-behavioural intervention with Tai Chi exercise helped community-dwelling elderly adults to enhance their mobility, to manage their fear of falling and to increase their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates acculturation and other antecedent psychiatric and socio-environmental risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in one aboriginal group (the Bunun) exposed to an earthquake disaster in Taiwan. Respondents ( n = 196) were assessed 5 months after the disaster, using a Chinese version of the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry and the Taiwan Aboriginal Acculturation Scale. Four risk factors exerted independent effect on the risk of PTSD, including magnitude of the earthquake, subsequent traumas, antecedent major depressive disorder and acculturation status. Public mental health programs need to consider the liability to PTSD in populations with different ethnicity and socio-cultural environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survival time and mortality risk factors in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been documented in Western countries, but comparable information on the ethnic Chinese is scarce. We consecutively recruited 159 AD patients and 145 control subjects from the Memory Clinic of Taipei Veterans General Hospital. After admission to the study, each subject received clinical, neuropsychological, and psychiatric evaluation and apolipoprotein E genotyping. Survival status was followed for 5 years. Forty-six AD patients (28.9%) and 3 control subjects (2.1%) died during the 5-year follow-up period. The mean survival time for AD patients was 4.48 years (SD = 0.1 years) after the time of enrollment. Among individuals with AD, those with severe disease, older patients, and those experiencing hallucinations were at greater risk for increased mortality. As expected, AD shortened life expectancy in these patients. The factors found to correlate with a shorter life span may suggest effective health care strategies for AD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol use has become a problem for Taiwanese society. Developing a brief, rapid, and flexible tool to screen an individual's alcohol consumption is important. Many countries use the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to screen for harmful and dangerous alcohol consumption. The psychometric characteristics of the AUDIT have not been examined in a Chinese population. Methods: Determination of the cutoff points for the AUDIT Chinese version included three stages: translating the questionnaire, expert review and formal testing on subjects. Participants (N = 112) were recruited from a medical research center of four gastroenterology wards in northern Taiwan. Results: The cutoff point for participants diagnosed as "harmful users" was an AUDIT score of 8. The sensitivity was 0.96, specificity was 0.85, positive predictive value (PPV) was 0.85, negative predictive value (NPV) was 0.96, and area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was 0.93. The cutoff point for participants diagnosed as "alcohol dependent" was an AUDIT score of 11. The sensitivity was 0.94, specificity was 0.63, PPV was 0.31, NPV was 0.98, and AUROC was 0.84. Furthermore, males had significantly higher AUDIT and AUDIT-C scores. Males were also significantly more likely than females to be diagnosed as harmful users or alcohol dependents. Conclusions: The Chinese version of the AUDIT gave the same cutoff point for harmful alcohol use by Taiwanese individuals as that set by the World Health Organization. This finding shows that this cutoff point is generally appropriate in screening for problem alcohol consumption. Moreover, the cutoff AUDIT score of 11 for alcohol dependence provides a reference for screening in Taiwanese clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]