Biomedical subjects

Wen-Harn Pan

Publications and source records attributed to Wen-Harn Pan.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

Vitamin E status and its dietary determinants in Taiwanese--results of the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 1993-1996.

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of Taiwanese are considered to have inadequate vitamin E intake according to Taiwanese RDA. AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the vitamin E status in Taiwan using biochemical indicators, and to examine the influences of dietary factors. METHODS: The Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 1993-1996 was conducted using a multi-stage sampling scheme. Data of 3614 subjects (1728 males, and 1886 females) aged 4 years and above were included in the current analysis. RESULTS: Females had higher levels of serum alpha-tocopherol than males. Serum level of alpha-tocopherol significantly increased with age and blood lipids (p < 0.001). The prevalence rate of deficiency, assessed by the ratio of serum alpha-tocopherol to cholesterol+triglyceride(TG) < 1.59 micromol/mmol, was 1.4 % for Taiwanese aged 4 and above. The prevalence was 1.02 % for adults. This biochemical profile was superior in women compared to men. The age-serum vitamin E status was U-shaped, being poorest in teenagers. Geographical variation in vitamin E/cholesterol+TG ratio was not apparent across regions. An association was observed between serum vitamin E status and frequency of vitamin E supplements, fresh fruits, and 100 % fruit juices. An association was also seen with dietary intakes of vitamin C and vitamin E assessed by 24-hour recall. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of vitamin E deficiency in Taiwan was low. An association was observed between serum vitamin E status and dietary vitamins E and C intakes either from foods or supplements.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Clinical characteristics of young-onset hypertension-implications for different genders.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension may develop early, before the age of 40 years, in both genders, so-called young-onset hypertension. The clinical characteristics of young-onset hypertension have not been well defined. METHODS: The personal history and clinical characteristics were evaluated in a series of patients with young-onset hypertension. With the individual-matching, case-controlled design, patients were initially matched for age, gender and residence with the first control (C1) group in either 2:1 or 1:1 fashion. They were then additionally matched for body mass index (BMI) with the second control (C2) group in 1:1 fashion. To elucidate the possible difference between genders, all the comparisons were conducted in males and females separately. RESULTS: A total of 82 consecutive patients, 56 males and 26 females, with young-onset hypertension were included. Compared with the 148 subjects in C1 group, hypertensive patients were relatively highly educated and had less alcohol drinking in either gender. BMI (25.10+/-0.49 vs. 22.34+/-0.31 kg/m(2), P<0.001) and serum triglyceride level (153.35+/-10.71 vs. 98.76+/-5.12 mg/dl, P<0.001) were significantly increased in male patients, while serum uric acid (5.74+/-0.34 vs. 4.78+/-0.17 mg/dl, P=0.006) and triglyceride level (121.39+/-12.71 vs. 76.58+/-4.88 mg/dl, P=0.002) were increased in female ones. Compared to that in C2 group, serum triglyceride level was still increased in patients of either gender. Interestingly, serum cholesterol level in female patients was lower than that in either C1 or C2 group. Further, serum triglyceride level was significantly correlated to BMI, serum cholesterol and glucose level in male patients but only to serum uric acid level in female ones. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical characteristics of young-onset hypertension were unique and different by gender. Though consistently increased in patients of either gender, serum triglyceride level was correlated to BMI, serum cholesterol and glucose level only in males, suggesting the gender-specific presence of metabolic syndrome in young-onset hypertension.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Body mass index and obesity-related metabolic disorders in Taiwanese and US whites and blacks: implications for definitions of overweight and obesity for Asians.

BACKGROUND: Recommendations based on scanty data have been made to lower the body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) cutoff for obesity in Asians. OBJECTIVE: The goal was to compare relations between BMI and metabolic comorbidity among Asians and US whites and blacks. METHODS: We compared the prevalence rate, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and impact fraction of comorbidities at each BMI level and the BMI-comorbidity relations across ethnic groups by using data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1993-1996). RESULTS: For most BMI values, the prevalences of hypertension, diabetes, and hyperuricemia were higher for Taiwanese than for US whites. In addition, increments of BMI corresponded to higher odds ratios in Taiwanese than in US whites for hypertriglyceridemia (P = 0.01) and hypertension (P = 0.075). BMI-comorbidity relations were stronger in Taiwanese than in US blacks for all comorbidities studied. BMIs of 22.5, 26, and 27.5 were the cutoffs with the highest sum of positive and negative predictive value for Taiwanese, US white, and US black men, respectively. The same order was observed for women. For BMIs >27, >85% of Taiwanese, 66% of whites, and 55% of blacks had at least one of the studied comorbidities. However, a cutoff close to the median of the studied population was often found by maximizing sensitivity and specificity. Reducing BMI from >25 to <25 in persons in the United States could eliminate 13% of the obesity comorbidity studied. The corresponding cutoff in Taiwan is slightly <24. CONCLUSION: These data suggest a possible need to set lower BMI cutoffs for Asians, but where to draw the line is a complex issue.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Prevalence of overweight and obesity and its associated factors: findings from National Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan, 1993-1996.

BACKGROUND: To report the overall and regional prevalence of obesity/overweight in Taiwan and to study its associated risk factors. METHODS: A total of 3046 adults > or = 20 years of age collected in National Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan, 1993-1996. RESULTS: Prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 21.1 and 4.0% under the current WHO definition. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity, using the Taiwanese definition (BMI = 24-26.99 kg/m(2) and > or = 27 kg/m(2), respectively), were 22.9 and 10.5% for males and 20.3 and 13.2% for females, respectively. The highest prevalence rates of obesity were found in the mountainous areas. In addition to age and residing location, education level in women and metabolic equivalent (MET) score and alcohol consumption in men were correlates of obesity. Effects of nutrition/health-related behaviors might be in part explained by education level and residing location of the subjects. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of obesity defined by WHO criteria among people in Taiwan was moderate, with considerable regional variation. The regional differences in obesity prevalence could not be completely accounted for by the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors studied.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

A modified locally weighted method for developing reference standards for height, weight, and body mass index of boys and girls aged 4 to 18 in Taiwan.

The objectives of this study are to modify the locally weighted method to obtain reference values for height, weight, and body mass indices (BMI): to describe the median growth velocity of children aged 4 to 18 in Taiwan; and to compare those values with data from other countries. We modified the LOCAL method to generate empirical percentiles and used the locally weighed regression to smooth the percentiles. We examined the smoothed percentiles against original data to ensure that smoothed percentiles were within 1% of errors. We used numerical differentiation of the 50th percentiles of height and weight to obtain the velocity of growth in height and weight, respectively. We applied our method to the data of the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan, 1993-1996, which was a multistaged stratified sample. The sample included 2351 boys and 2355 girls aged 4 to 18. Our results indicate that (a) the proposed method, which utilizes the original data, guarantees the percentiles within 1% errors; (b) before puberty, the height, weight, and BMI of Taiwanese children are not much different from those of their counterparts in Western countries; and (c) after puberty and at the stage of young adulthood, the height, weight, and BMI of Taiwanese youth are below the levels of those in Western young adults. Genetic makeup and dietary patterns may contribute to these phenomena.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Prevalence of dyslipidemia and mean blood lipid values in Taiwan: results from the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT, 1993-1996).

This paper reports the blood lipid status of people aged 4 years and older in Taiwan. The data is based on the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT: 1993-1996), which adopted a multi-stage, stratified clustering sampling scheme. Altogether, 5097 subjects (2451 males and 2646 females) had data on triglyceride and 5643 subjects (2736 males and 2907 females) had data on cholesterol. We found that (a) cholesterol levels of males were lower than females in mid-to old age group (> or = 45 years old); (b) triglyceride values of females were lower than males in young adulthood (19-44 years), but higher than males after the age of 45 years, and (c) adult females had higher HDL-C value and lower ratio of total cholesterol to HDL-C than males. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 10.2% in adult males and 12.6% in mid-to-old aged men, and that in females was 11.2% and 24.4%, respectively. The prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia was 13.4% and 6.1% in adult males and females (> or = 19 years as a whole), respectively. It was 12.3% in mid-to-old aged men (> or = 45 years), and 11.9% in women. The mean cholesterol values were similar to values of several previous surveys in different areas of Taiwan. But it was higher than those in some areas of Mainland China, and lower than those of western countries. People in metropolitan cities had a higher level of blood cholesterol than other areas. The average triglyceride values of males and females were higher than those of previous studies in Taiwan and of people in Mainland China. Mountainous stratum with predominantly aboriginal residents had higher level of triglycerides and body mass index (BMI) than other strata. The associations between dietary intakes of men and women and blood lipids were examined controlling for age and BMI. Result showed that Keys score, which was derived from saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and dietary cholesterol of a 24-hour recall, was positively related to blood cholesterol and LDL-C in men, but not in women. Average alcohol intakes per day were related to HDL-C positively, but LDL-C negatively in men and women. The regional differences in blood lipid profiles in Taiwan are consistent with the dietary and life-style variations island-wide.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Microsatellite polymorphism in promoter of heme oxygenase-1 gene is associated with susceptibility to coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetic patients.

Heme oxygenase is a rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation, leading to the generation of free iron, biliverdin, and carbon monoxide. Induction of heme oxygenase-1 is implicated in the antioxidant defense mechanism and can modulate vascular function. To test the association of microsatellite polymorphism in the promoter region of human HO-1 gene with the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in type 2 diabetic patients, we examined the allele frequencies of (GT) (n) repeats in HO-1 gene in 474 patients with CAD and in 322 controls. A transient-transfection assay with HO-1 promoter/luciferase fusion constructs carrying various lengths of (GT) (n) repeats was performed to explore the regulatory effect of (GT) (n) repeats on HO-1 gene expression in cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Serum thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs), a measure of lipid peroxidation, was significantly higher in subjects carrying the L/L genotype (> or =32 repeats). Among type 2 diabetic subjects, the frequencies of the L alleles and proportion of genotypes with L alleles were significantly higher in those with CAD than in those without CAD. The adjusted odds ratio for CAD in type 2 diabetic patients with L alleles was 4.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.9-12.0, P=0.001). Transfection experiments in aortic smooth muscle cells revealed that HO-1 promoter/luciferase fusion constructs containing longer (GT) (n) repeats exhibited lower transcriptional activity. These results imply that the length polymorphism in the HO-1 gene promoter modulate the transcription of the gene in vascular cells. Type 2 diabetics carrying longer (GT) (n) repeats might have higher oxidative stress and increased susceptibility to the development of CAD.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Outbreak of beriberi among illegal mainland Chinese immigrants at a detention center in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE: The authors describe an outbreak of beriberi in a detention center in Taiwan and examine risk factors for illness. METHODS: A survey was conducted among a sample of 176 randomly selected detainees. A menu-assisted dietary recall method was used to obtain diet information from nine hospitalized detainees. A probable case patient was defined as an individual who had at least two of the following characteristics: leg edema, weakness of the extremities, poor appetite, and dyspnea. Possible case patients were those who had only one of these characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 176 survey respondents, 19% were classified as probable case patients and 40% as possible case patients. The mortality rate based on probable cases was 1.1%. Body Mass Index (BMI) was negatively associated with illness (p < 0.0001), and length of stay in the detention center was independently positively associated with illness (p < 0.05). The average intake of dietary thiamine among the nine hospitalized case patients who completed three-day dietary recall surveys was 0.49 +/- 0.1 mg/day. After thiamine administration, all symptoms and signs of beriberi resolved. CONCLUSION: This outbreak is a reminder of the importance of ensuring adequate diets for poor, institutionalized, or refugee populations who are unable to supplement their diets.

Beriberi↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Quantitative vibration perception thresholds in normal and diabetic chinese: influence of age, height and body mass index.

In this study, we established normality data of vibration perception thresholds (VPT) in a Chinese population. Over 1,400 healthy subjects were recruited to create age-related centile charts of VPT after pretesting for reliability. Another 273 diabetic (DM) patients were recruited to assess the impact of age, height and body mass index (BMI) on VPT values in DM and non-DM subjects. The present study is the first one which reports normality data of VPT from a large Chinese population. The VPT values were higher in male and female DM patients than in the non-DM counterparts. Age significantly contributed to the variance of VPT in both DM and non-DM subjects. Height was positively associated with VPT in men, so was BMI in non-DM subjects with much smaller magnitudes of effect than for age.

Adult↗