Browsing by Author "Yang, Yi-Chen"

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Influence of Latitude on the Prevalence of Kawasaki Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database and Review of the Literature
(2018-05-01)
Chang, Chaw-Liang
;
Wong, Chih-Shung
;
Yang, Yi-Chen
;
Chiu, Nan-Chang
;
生物科技學系
Background: Countries at higher latitudes have higher incidence rates of Kawasaki disease (KD) than do countries at lower latitudes in the Asian and West Pacific area. However, the precise influence of latitude on KD incidence rates requires further clarification. Methods: We searched the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 to retrieve patients' medical records from 1996 to 2009. The patients with KD were categorized as living in northern, middle, and southern Taiwan; the period prevalence of KD for each area was determined. Climate variables, including temperature, sunshine duration, precipitation, and relative humidity, were collected from the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau. The effect of latitude on the period KD prevalence and the correlation between climate variables and KD prevalence were calculated. Results: After patients without complete data excluded, a total of 61,830 children up to 10 years old were retrieved, from which 404 patients with KD were recognized. The period prevalence of KD increased significantly with latitude (p = 0.0004). Climate variables associated with high temperature demonstrated a connection with KD prevalence; however, this correlation was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that higher latitude is associated with a higher KD prevalence in Taiwan.
Normal Development of the Corpus Callosum and Evolution of Corpus Callosum Sexual Dimorphism in Infancy
(2018-04-01)
Chang, Chaw-Liang
;
Chiu, Nan-Chang
;
Yang, Yi-Chen
;
Ho, Che-Sheng
;
Hung, Kun-Long
Objectives-The aim of this study was to establish reference ranges for the corpus callosum in infancy and to clarify how sexual dimorphism evolves between the fetal stage and infancy. Methods-Normal sonograms from cerebral ultrasonographic examinations of 1- to 6-month-old healthy full-term infants were selected. The length and thickness of the corpus callosum were determined, and the effect of sex on these values was analyzed. Studies on corpus callosum sexual dimorphism were reviewed. Results-In total, sonograms from 236 1- to 6-month-old infants (120 male and 116 female) were collected, and the typical values (5th-95th percentiles) of the corpus callosum were determined for each group. During the first 2 months, with and without brain size adjustment, the corpus callosum in female infants was significantly thicker than that in male infants (mean thickness +/- SD: 1 month, male infant, 1.8 +/- 0.3 mm; female infant, 2.1 +/- 0.3mm; P=.005; 2 months, male infant, 1.8 +/- 0.2 mm; female infant, 2.0 +/- 0.3mm; P=.002). The corpus callosum thickness of male and female infants had no significant differences after 2 months of age. Sexual dimorphism was not detected in corpus callosum length. Conclusions-Our study provides reference data on typical corpus callosum development in infants. In the fetal period and early infancy, the corpus callosum in female infants is thicker than that in male infants. From 3 months onward, the corpus callosum sexual dimorphism becomes insignificant throughout childhood. The evolvement of corpus callosum sexual dimorphism suggests that maternal factors may influence brain development.