This study aimed to investigate level of work ability and quality of life (QOL) as well as the relationship between them among patients suffering from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study design with continuous sampling and a questionnaire were used to obtain the research data. Controlling for personal characteristics, pain, psychological distress, and social support, multiple linear regressions were adopted to explore the relationship between work ability and overall QOL. Further analyses were also made to clarify the relationships between work ability and each domain of QOL. In total, 165 patients with WMSDs were recruited. Compared with general workers, the participants reported a lower level of work ability and overall QOL. Work ability was significantly associated with overall QOL when covariates were controlled. Among the four domains of QOL, work ability was significantly associated with both the physical and psychological domains. The conclusion was that work ability is a definite factor of QOL for patients with WMSDs; the essence of work ability may be beyond economic function or social support. Strategies to help workers with WMSDs enhance their work ability to fit their new or temporary jobs would be beneficial to their QOL.

Objectives. The objectives of this study were to describe the life experiences associated with migration to the UK and to explore in-depth information about the process of life adjustment to migration and the circumstances of mental health in Chinese immigrants living in a large city area. Method. A two-part research strategy using both quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. In the cross-sectional quantitative survey, 113 Chinese respondents completed a questionnaire investigating demographic factors, life experiences associated with migration, proficiency in the English language and mental health status. In the qualitative phase of the research, interviews were conducted with a further 24 immigrants to explore these factors in more depth. Results. In the questionnaire survey, over 60% of the group reported symptoms of poor mental health. Qualitative research shows that for those who were employed in catering, psychological adjustment was heavily dependent on strong ties with the Chinese community and there was minimal contact with the host society. By contrast, those concerned with professional development experienced conflict as a result of a high perceived need for integration and a recognition of the problems associated with this. Conclusion. The psychological distress experienced by immigrants of Chinese origin continues to be a largely invisible cause for concern.

This study aimed to investigate (1) relations of smoking and alcohol to metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components, with nutrition and exercise controlled; and (2) interactions between smoking/alcohol and nutrition/exercise on MetS. This cross-sectional study enrolled 4025 workers. Self-reported lifestyles, anthropometric values, blood pressure (BP), and biochemical determinations were obtained. Among males, smoking significantly increased the risk of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high triglyceride, abdominal obesity (AO), and MetS. Additionally, smoking showed significant interaction effects with nutrition on high BP, AO, and MetS; after further analysis, nutrition did not decrease above-mentioned risks for smokers. However, there was no significant interaction of smoking with exercise on any metabolic parameter. Alcohol increased the risk of AO, but decreased low HDL-C. It also showed an interaction effect with exercise on AO; after further analysis, exercise decreased AO risk for drinkers. Among females, alcohol significantly decreased the risk of high fasting blood glucose, but did not show significant interaction with nutrition/exercise on any metabolic parameter. In conclusion, in males, smoking retained significant associations with MetS and its components, even considering benefits of nutrition; exercise kept predominance on lipid parameters regardless of smoking status. Alcohol showed inconsistencies on metabolic parameters for both genders.

The present study explores the relations between work hours and the difficulty in leaving work on time to both work-to-family conflict (WFC) and burnout among female workers in Taiwan. A cross-sectional research design and questionnaire were employed to obtain the research data. In total, 738 full-time female workers took part in the study. The results of regression analyses showed that when age, marital status, economic status, occupation, parental status, and housework responsibilities were controlled, more work hours were positively associated with WFC and burnout. When the difficulty in leaving work on time was also considered in the analysis, long working hours were still significantly associated with burnout; however, the significant relation with WFC disappeared. It is surmised that if female employees work overtime voluntarily, the perception of WFC diminishes; nevertheless, the adverse effect of long working hours on health remains unabated. This study concludes that female employees who work overtime on a voluntary basis are at risk of health problems, which should be a focus of concern.

Breast neoplasms are the most common cancer among women in Taiwan. Cognitive deficits are common complications of breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy. The most frequently observed disorders involve executive function and memory impairment. With improvements in tumor intervention and the consequent increase in the number of cancer survivors, the quality of life of patients has become an important issue. We are interested in the early effects of chemotherapy on the brain structures of patients. In addition, generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI), a wide range of q-space datasets for a more accurate and sophisticated diffusion MR approach, was first used in this topic. As diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is associated with restrictions in the resolution of crossing fibers, we attempted to use GQI, which can overcome these difficulties and is advantageous over DTI for tractography of the crossing fibers. This cross-sectional study included two groups: breast cancer survivors who had completed their chemotherapy (n = 19) and healthy controls (n = 20). All participants underwent diffusion MRI exams and neuropsychological assessments. We included four parts in our image analysis, i.e., voxel-based statistical analysis, multiple regression analysis, graph theoretical analysis and network-based statistical analysis. The results from the voxel-based statistical analysis showed significantly lower GFA and NQA values in the breast cancer group than those in the control group. We found significant positive correlations between the FACT-Cog and GQI indices. In the graph theoretical analysis, the breast cancer group demonstrated significantly longer characteristic path length. Adjuvant chemotherapy affected the integrity of white matter and resulted in poor cognitive performance, as indicated by the correlations between the neuropsychological assessment scales and the GQI indices. In addition, it was found that the characteristic path lengths in the breast cancer group increased, indicating that the brain network integration became worse. Our study demonstrated alterations in structural brain networks and associated neuropsychological deficits among breast cancer survivors.

The present study aims to apply gender-specific analyses to examine how work-to-family conflict (WFC) and burnout are related to well-being among the workers in Taiwan. A cross-sectional research design was adopted. A questionnaire was distributed to obtain information pertaining to demographic characteristics, WFC, burnout, and well-being. In total, 4259 full-time workers in the manufacturing industry were recruited. Gender-specific statistical analyses were used. The results showed that no significant gender difference occurred on WFC; however, females had higher scores on burnout compared to males. In the correlation analyses, WFC as well as burnout were negatively associated with well-being in both genders. In the regression analyses when demographic factors were controlled, burnout explained larger variances of well-being in both genders compared with WFC. WFC made a smaller contribution to the models predicting well-being in males in contrast to females. Moreover, the significant association between WFC and well-being for males disappeared when burnout was taken into account. The conclusion reached was that to improve workers’ well-being, organizations should develop relevant policies to decrease the extent of burnout for different genders. The policies that the organization adopted should consider females’ needs beyond work-related burden. Moreover, merely decreasing the extent of WFC is insufficient to enhance males’ well-being.