QOL was significantly associated with staging and duration of NSCLC. Disease insight appears to be a positive factor for operable NSCLC patients of the Taiwanese culture, which implies that clinicians should respect patient autonomy in diagnosis disclosure.

The results suggest that there is a positive temporal relationship between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and increased risk of chronic kidney disease in people with Type 2 diabetes. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be based on clinical evaluations of benefits and risks, and should be prescribed with caution for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Thin elderly Taiwanese with sarcopenia, and less skeleton, are at the most risk of death, especially if physical function is limited.

Asbestos has been recognized as a human carcinogen associated with malignant mesothelioma, cancers of lung, larynx, and ovary. However, a putative association between gastric cancer and asbestos exposure remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to explore gastric cancer risk of workers potentially exposed to asbestos in Taiwan. The asbestos occupational cohort was established from 1950 to 2015 based on the Taiwan Labor Insurance Database, and Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency regulatory datasets, followed by the Taiwan Cancer Registry for the period 1980–2015. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancer were computed for the whole cohort using reference rates of the general population, and also reference labor population. Compared with the general population, SIR of the asbestos occupational cohort for the gastric cancer increased both in males (1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–1.09) and females (1.10, 95% CI: 1.01–1.18). A total of 123 worksites were identified to have cases of malignant mesothelioma, where increased risk for gastric cancer was found with a relative risk of 1.76 (95% CI: 1.63–1.90). This 35-year retrospective cohort study of asbestos-exposed workers in Taiwan may provide support for an association between occupational exposure to asbestos and gastric cancer.

ObjectiveExposure to asbestos is the major cause for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) but the causal link of individual cases is difficult to establish for lack of exposure information and long disease latency.MethodsWe established a retrospective cohort of workers employed in asbestos industries during the period of 1950–1989 and the occurrence of MPM during the period of 1980–2009 was examined with the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Estimated rate ratios (eRR) were computed for each factory where any case of MPM was diagnosed by assuming Poisson distribution with a minimal latency of 20 years.ResultsA total of 18 MPM (17 males, 1 female) in 8 factories were found. The incidence rate of MPM for the 8 factories was 18.0 per million, ranging from 6.2 per million (military factory) to 268.2 per million (asbestos cement). We observed significantly increased risks for MPM in asbestos cement, thermal insulation and shipbuilding industries, with eRR (genders combined) of 113.6, 87.5, and 15.8 respectively. The sensitivity analyses considering latency showed similar findings in latency ≥30 years, and the shipbuilding industry presented a significant eRR given a latency ≥40 years. The gender-specific eRR showed similar results in men, but high eRR of 729.6 was observed in an asbestos cement factory where a female MPM was diagnosed.ConclusionsThis nationwide study in Taiwan comprehensively showed different asbestos manufacturing processes, including asbestos cement, thermal insulation, and shipbuilding industries, at significantly increased risks for MPM. We recommend to establish a medical screening program for workers previously exposed to asbestos to identify MPM and other asbestos-related diseases at an earlier stage.