To investigate the relationship between sleep duration and insomnia severity and the risk of all-cause death and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events Prospective cohort study Community-based A total of 3,430 adults aged 35 years or older None During a median 15.9 year (interquartile range, 13.1 to 16.9) follow-up period, 420 cases developed cardiovascular disease and 901 cases died. A U-shape association between sleep duration and all-cause death was found: the age and gender-adjusted relative risks (95% confidence interval [CI]) of all-cause death (with 7 h of daily sleep being considered for the reference group) for individuals reporting ≤ 5 h, 6 h, 8 h, and ≥ 9 h were 1.15 (0.91–1.45), 1.02 (0.85–1.25), 1.05 (0.88–1.27), and 1.43 (1.16–1.75); P for trend, 0.019. However, the relationship between sleep duration and risk of CVD were linear. The multivariate-adjusted relative risk (95% CI) for all-cause death (using individuals without insomnia) were 1.02 (0.86–1.20) for occasional insomnia, 1.15 (0.92–1.42) for frequent insomnia, and 1.70 (1.16–2.49) for nearly everyday insomnia (P for trend, 0.028). The multivariate adjusted relative risk (95% CI) was 2.53 (1.71–3.76) for all-cause death and 2.07 (1.11–3.85) for CVD rate in participants sleeping ≥9 h and for those with frequent insomnia. Sleep duration and insomnia severity were associated with all-cause death and CVD events among ethnic Chinese in Taiwan. Our data indicate that an optimal sleep duration (7–8 h) predicted fewer deaths.

Using population-based representative insurance claims data, the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, as well as whether DM medications alter the risk of developing HCC were investigated. From the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 19,349 newly diagnosed DM patients 20 years and older and 77,396 comparison subjects without DM were identified from claims from 2000 to 2005. The incidences of HCC at the end of 2008 and the risks associated with hepatitis B and hepatitis C were determined. Whether metformin and thiazolidinediones reduce the risk of developing HCC was also measured. The incidence of HCC was twice higher in the DM group compared with the non-DM group (21.0 vs. 10.4 per 10,000 person-years), with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.73 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.47–2.03) using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression. Male sex, cirrhosis, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C were significant independent factors that predict HCC, with HRs of 2.32, 8.65, 2.52, and 5.61, respectively. In the stratified analysis, the HR increased to 72.4 (95% CI=42.9–122) among patients with DM, cirrhosis, and hepatitis C. HCC risk reduction was greater for diabetics taking metformin than those taking thiazolidinediones (51 vs. 44% reduction). Comorbidity with cirrhosis and/or hepatitis appears to be associated with an extremely increased risk of developing HCC among DM patients. These high-risk patients should be closely monitored for HCC. The use of metformin or thiazolidinediones may reduce the risk of developing HCC.

Importance Varicose veins are common but rarely associated with serious health risks. Deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and peripheral artery disease (PAD) are also vascular diseases but associated with serious systemic effects. Little is known about the association between varicose veins and the incidence of other vascular diseases including DVT, PE, and PAD. Objective To investigate whether varicose veins are associated with an increased risk of DVT, PE, or PAD. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective cohort study using claims data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program. Patients aged 20 years and older with varicose veins were enrolled from January 1, 2001-December 31, 2013, and a control group of patients without varicose veins were matched by propensity score. Patients previously diagnosed with DVT, PE, or PAD were excluded. Follow-up ended December 31, 2014. Exposures Presence of varicose veins. Main Outcomes and Measures Incidence rates of DVT, PE, and PAD were assessed in people with and without varicose veins. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative hazards, with the control group as reference. Results There were 212 984 patients in the varicose veins group (mean [SD] age, 54.5 [16.0] years; 69.3% women) and 212 984 in the control group (mean [SD] age, 54.3 [15.6] years; 70.3% women). The median follow-up duration was 7.5 years for DVT, 7.8 years for PE, and 7.3 years for PAD for patients with varicose veins, and for the control group, follow-up duration was 7.6 years for DVT, 7.7 years for PE, and 7.4 years for PAD. The varicose veins group had higher incidence rates than the control group for DVT (6.55 vs 1.23 per 1000 person-years [10 360 vs 1980 cases]; absolute risk difference [ARD], 5.32 [95% CI, 5.18-5.46]), for PE (0.48 for the varicose veins group vs 0.28 for the control group per 1000 person-years [793 vs 451 cases]; ARD, 0.20 [95% CI, 0.16-0.24]), and for PAD (10.73 for the varicose veins group vs 6.22 for the control group per 1000 person-years [16 615 vs 9709 cases]; ARD, 4.51 [95% CI, 4.31-4.71]). The hazard ratios for the varicose veins group compared with the control group were 5.30 (95% CI, 5.05-5.56) for DVT, 1.73 (95% CI, 1.54-1.94) for PE, and 1.72 (95% CI, 1.68-1.77) for PAD. Conclusions and Relevance Among adults diagnosed with varicose veins, there was a significantly increased risk of incident DVT; the findings for PE and PAD are less clear due to the potential for confounding. Whether the association between varicose veins and DVT is causal or represents a common set of risk factors requires further research.

The objective of this study was to assess the risk of acute pancreatitis among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and identify the roles of co-morbidities and anti-diabetic drugs. From claims data of one million enrollees randomly sampled from a population covered by the Taiwan National Health Insurance, 19,518 adults with type 2 DM diagnosed between 2000 and 2005 were identified. In addition, 78,072 DM-free persons, frequency matched with sex, age, and index year for comparison were identified. Subjects were followed up until the end of 2008 or censored to ascertain incident acute pancreatitis cases and associations with co-morbidities and anti-diabetic drugs. Patients with type 2 DM had 1.95-fold greater incidence of acute pancreatitis compared with non-diabetics (27.7 vs. 14.2 per 10,000 person-years), with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.89 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.65-2.18) based on multivariable Cox regression analysis. Additive Poisson regression analysis revealed an absolute risk increase of 14.4 per 10,000 person-years (95% CI=13.4-15.5) among type 2 DM patients. Co-morbid alcoholism, hepatitis C infection, and gallstones yielded additional risk of acute pancreatitis among type 2 DM patients (absolute risk increase ranges 86.3, 41.1, and 23.5 per 10,000 person-years, respectively). Patients taking anti-diabetic drugs had a reduced risk of acute pancreatitis, however. The adjusted HR decreased to 0.31 (95% CI=0.18-0.56) among patients who took five different anti-diabetic drugs. Patients with type 2 DM are at an elevated risk of acute pancreatitis. Alcoholism, hepatitis C infection, and gallstones increase the risk further. However, anti-diabetic drugs reduce the risk as the number of drugs used increases and as the duration of treatment increases.

Background: Studies into the association between hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and end-stage renal disease are limited. We investigated the risk of end-stage renal disease after delivery among women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Methods: We used insurance claims data from 1998 to 2009 to identify 26 651 women aged 19–40 years old who experienced hypertensive disorders during pregnancy; these women had no history of hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease or lupus. We also randomly selected 213 397 women without hypertensive disorders during pregnancy as a comparison cohort; the frequency was matched by age and index year of pregnancy. We compared the incidence of end-stage renal disease in the 2 cohorts. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after controlling for demographic and clinical factors. Results: Women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy had a greater risk of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, with adjusted HRs of 9.38 (95% CI 7.09–12.4) and 12.4 (95% CI 8.54–18.0), respectively, after controlling for urban status, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hyperlipidemia and abruption. The HR for end-stage renal disease was 2.72 (95% CI 1.76–4.22) after we also controlled for hypertension and diabetes. Women with preeclampsia or eclampsia had a higher risk of end-stage renal disease (adjusted HR 14.0, 95% CI 9.43–20.7) than women who had gestational hypertension only (adjusted HR 9.03, 95% CI 5.20–15.7). Interpretation: Women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy were at a high risk of end-stage renal disease. The risk was much greater for women who had preeclampsia or eclampsia than those who had gestational hypertension only.