Li-Ting Kao

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at National Defense Medical Center

Background Although psoriasis is seldom life-threatening, very few studies have compared differences in healthcare service utilization between subjects with and those without psoriasis.Objective This study attempted to investigate differences in healthcare service utilization between subjects with and those without psoriasis.Methods Sampled subject...

Background Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), a novel class of antidiabetic medications, have emerged as a key treatment option for diabetes management. Notably, SGLT2i promote glucose and sodium excretion through urine, a mechanism that may be implicated in the potential association between SGLT2i use and atopic dermatitis (AD) ri...

Dengue fever is a widespread viral infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Despite the potentially fatal consequences for some individuals, no antiviral drugs have been approved for the treatment of this disease. Taiwan's National Health Insurance Database (NHID) holds extensive medical records for almost every resident, encompassing conventi...

Purpose Benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs), including benzodiazepines (BZDs) and Z drugs, are widely prescribed for anxiety and sleep. Therefore, issues of tolerance, dependence and adverse effects are of concern. Recent studies suggested a potential link between BZRAs and hearing problems. However, the actual relationship was still unclear....

Background To date, the clinical equivalence between branded and generic medications remains debate and may sometimes be a reason why psychiatrists are hesitant to prescribe generic medications. Depression is recognized to exacerbate suicide risk globally and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as fluoxetine are common treatment options....

Importance Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are recognized as revolutionary cancer therapies but have raised concerns about immune-related adverse events, including the development of autoimmune diseases. Objective To evaluate the psoriasis risk associated with the use of ICIs in patients with cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants This nat...

Background Psoriasis, an autoimmune skin condition, affects 2%-4% of the global population, with significant prevalence among women of childbearing age. Pregnancy presents challenges in managing psoriasis due to hormonal changes and treatment safety concerns. Understanding treatment patterns in pregnant women is crucial, given limited real-world ev...

Background It is unclear whether women with psoriasis who receive adequate management or achieve better control of their psoriasis before and during pregnancy could eliminate the negative effects. Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate the association between physician visits for psoriasis and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Method...

Background Prior studies have reported a potential relationship between depressive disorder (DD), immune function, and inflammatory response. Some studies have also confirmed the correlation between immune and inflammatory responses and Bell’s palsy. Considering that the pathophysiology of these two diseases has several similarities, this study inv...

Background Despite previous concerns about ocular side effects related to amiodarone, the relationship between amiodarone and cataract remains uncertain. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the potential association between amiodarone use and the subsequent risk of cataract, taking into account potential confounders. Methods This population-base...

Objective Weekend sleep duration is linked to health issues, including mortality. However, how weekend sleep duration can impact chronic kidney disease (CKD) still needs to be understood. Therefore, we aimed to analyze how weekend sleep duration is associated with kidney function. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from th...

Purpose Palliative care utilization among hospitalized patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Taiwan remains low despite its costs making it eligible for reimbursement since 2009. Few studies have examined the trends of palliative care utilization. We analyzed the annual rate, associated factors, and timing of the in...

Objectives: Theophylline is a bronchodilator with a narrow therapeutic index and primarily metabolised by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2. Xin-yi-san (XYS) is a herbal formula frequently used to ameliorate nasal inflammation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of XYS and its ingredient, imperatorin, on theophylline pharmacokinetics in rats. Me...

This study aimed to identify risk factors for involuntary referral by police to emergency room (ER) psychiatric services for community-based patients with a mental illness via a generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis. The analysis was based on data from the Management Information System of Psychiatric Care (MISPC) system for patients with a...

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a public health problem that threatens the efficacy of antibiotics. Incorrect knowledge of antibiotics may lead to their inappropriate use, hinder their effectiveness, and cause antibiotic resistance. Population-based educational campaigns have been found to have either mixed or no effect on improving knowled...

Background It is plausible that immunopathological processes associated with psoriasis might contribute to the occurrence of olfactory or taste dysfunction. However, the actual association was still unknown. Purpose To determine the relationship between olfactory or taste dysfunction and psoriasis. Methods Two cross-sectional studies were perform...

In vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE), an approach for hepatic clearance (CLH) prediction used worldwide, remains controversial due to systematic underprediction. Among the various probable factors, the original assumption of the hepatic mathematical model (i.e., the well-stirred model, WSM) may become problematic, leading to the underestimatio...

Since the late 2020, the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern has been characterized by the emergence of spike protein mutations, and these variants have become dominant worldwide. The gold standard SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis protocol requires two complex processes, namely, RNA extraction and real-...

The modified dose (MD) regimen of pembrolizumab (2 mg/kg or 100 mg every 3 weeks) is an alternative option to reduce the financial burden resulting from the extremely high cost of the standard dose (SD) regimen (200 mg every 3 weeks). However, the clinical effectiveness and prognostic outcomes have not been fully elucidated in real-word clinical pr...

Taste and smell dysfunction are suspected to be associated with substance use. However, representative epidemiological studies remain insufficient. This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between drug use (including cannabis or hashish, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine) and olfactory/gustatory dysfunction using data from the 2013–2...

Background: In this study, we aimed to analyze the clinical efficacy of closed-incision negative pressure wound therapy (CiNPWT) when combined with primary closure (PC) in a patient with pressure ulcers, based on one single surgeon's experience at our medical center. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of patients with stage III or IV...

Background Current therapeutic strategies have poor effects in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients due to lack of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 expression. Identification of novel genes of TNBC prognosis aids in the development of effective treatment strategies. Aim We aim at explo...

The use of illegal drugs may be a risk factor of hearing loss. However, very few studies with large sample size have investigated the relationship between illegal drug use and hearing loss. Therefore, to evaluate the association between illegal drug use and hearing loss, this cross-sectional population-based study collected data from the US Nationa...

Background: The long-term effects of statin use on rehospitalization due to ischemic stroke (reHospIS) in hyperlipidemic patients are still unknown. Therefore, we aimed to assess the long-term risks of reHospIS for hyperlipidemic patients who were taking statins and nonstatin lipid-lowering medicines on a regular basis. Methods and Materials: The N...

Neuropathic pain (NP) is difficult to treat due to complex pathophysiological mechanisms. Pulsed radiofrequency (RRF) has been used widely with neuromodulation effect in refractory chronic pain treatment. A recent study found that PRF treatment may decrease chronic pain-related anxiety-depressant symptoms in patients, even though the mechanisms are...

Background Alcohol has dual effects on many systems, including the pain system. We will test whether and how chronic alcohol consumption enhances pain sensation to develop pain disorder. Methods We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan, in patients with and...

This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing physicians use of the PharmaCloud system in Taiwan through Technology Continuance Theory (TCT) and to construct a TCT-based structured questionnaire to demonstrate the attitude and behavior of physicians in the Taiwanese medical system. It focused on investigating “confirmation”, “perceived us...

To date, it remains uncertain whether benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs) are aggravating factors even though these drugs can elevate the levels of biomarkers associated with the development of psoriasis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of BZRA use with changes in psoriasis severity. All data were sourced from the Na...

Background Increasing numbers of animal studies have found that sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is related to the mechanism of serotonergic modulation. However, the relationship between antidepressants and SSNHL is unclear in humans. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the association between antidepressant use and risk of SSNHL. Met...

Purpose The role of statins as anti-inflammatory drugs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is controversial. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of statins used with or without corticosteroids in COPD patients. Patients and Methods This was a retrospective cohort study and used the two million outpatients and inpatients in Taiwa...

Background Reports showed that elevated proinflammatory cytokines, as detected in patients with psoriasis, was noted in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the association of MDD and prospective incidence of psoriasis in human using a nationwide study. Method This population-based cohort study u...

Background : Inflammation may mediate the relationship between major depressive disorder (MDD) and psoriasis. However, it is unclear whether anti-depressants can decrease the subsequent risk of psoriasis among MDD patients. This study investigated the effects of anti-depressants on the subsequent risk of psoriasis in MDD patients. Methods : This w...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disease that burdens patients worldwide. This study aims to discover the burdens of health services among COPD patients who received palliative care (PC). Study subjects were identified as COPD patients with ICU and PC records between 2009 and 2013 in Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Resea...

Existing evidence indicates that both iron deficiency anemia and sickle cell anemia have been previously associated with hearing loss. However, human data investigating the association between anemia and auditory threshold shifts at different frequencies in the adolescent, adult and elderly population are extremely limited to date. Therefore, this...

This study examined the association between digoxin use and subsequent psoriasis risk using a population‐based database in Taiwan. This cohort study enrolled 15 545 digoxin users and 15 545 propensity score‐matched non‐users from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Each patient was independently followed up for 5 years to confir...

Objectives The administration of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to patients with metastatic prostate cancer might be associated with some adverse effects such as anaemia; however, few studies have been performed in East Asian populations. This study aimed to investigate the association between ADT and iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) among patient...

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy induces metastasis of residual breast cancers through activation of tumor‐associated macrophages. Previous studies have indicated that calcium channel blockers (CCBs) exert anti‐inflammatory and antimigratory effects on macrophages via attenuating Ca2+ entry into macrophages. However, no existing empirical research has addr...

Background: Determine factors influencing the continuance intention of the Quit & Win smartphone app based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on volunteer military personnel who smoke. Participants were asked to download a smoking cessation app and use it for 15-20 minutes before completing a...

Objectives Although depressed patients may have a comorbid eating disorder (ED), to date, no study has focused on healthcare utilisation among this population. This study was designed to investigate the characteristics of healthcare service utilisation among depressed patients with ED. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting This population-based...

Background: Previous studies have presented an unclear association between major depressive disorder (MDD) and tinnitus. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to demonstrate the actual association between MDD and new-onset tinnitus using a large, population-based dataset in Taiwan. Method: This case-control study used the data from the National Hea...

To date, population-based studies on the healthcare service utilization among stable heart, kidney, and liver transplant recipients with different calcineurin inhibitors are still scarce. Therefore, we used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to conduct a nationwide cross-sectional study to estimate the healthcare utilization of...

This study investigated the effect of dextromethorphan (DXM) against Parkinson's disease (PD) in rats and explored the association between DXM dose and PD risk in elderly patients 65 years and older using a population-based database. The PD rat model (Sprague Dawley rats) was induced by injecting 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the unilateral media...

Some previous literature indicated an association between cardiovascular diseases and erectile dysfunction (ED). This case-control study purposed to evaluate the association between prior mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and ED using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Dataset. In this study, 48,755 patients with ED were identified a...

BACKGROUND: To provide clinicians with sufficient information for selecting optimal access strategies for patients with end-stage renal disease, the utilization of health-care services of patients receiving arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), arteriovenous grafts (AVGs), and central venous catheters (CVCs) are crucial topics that require investigation....

This large‐scale case‐control study in Taiwan elucidated the potential connection between fibrate use and liver cancer by using the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 with a propensity‐score–matching design. In total, 4173 patients diagnosed as having liver cancer were included as cases, and 4173 propensity‐score–matched patients without l...

Background To date, some experimental studies showed that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and bipolar disorder (BD) may share similar biological pathways. Nevertheless, only a few western studies have attempted to demonstrate the potential association between IBD and BD, and relevant findings are still conflicting. Therefore, this cross-sectional...

Background This case‐control study aimed to find the relationship between prior statin use and head and neck cancer occurrence using a large population‐based database. Methods This study used claims data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We included 5515 patients with head and neck cancer as cases and 5515 propensity score‐ma...

The 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a popular recreational drug, which ultimately leads to serotonergic (5-HT) neurotoxicity and psychiatric disorders. Previous in vitro studies have consistently demonstrated that MDMA provokes autophagic activation, as well as damage of 5-HT axons and nerve fibers. So far, whether autophagy, a well-con...

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between androgen deprivation therapy and heart failure among prostate cancer patients. This cohort study used the data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. In the full cohort study, we identified 1244 prostate cancer patients who had received androgen deprivation ther...

To date, few epidemiologic studies have investigated the relationship between pioglitazone use and prostate cancer. The available studies show conflicting findings. This case‐control study explored the association between prior pioglitazone usage and prostate cancer using a large, population‐based data set. Data were derived from the Longitudinal H...

Although current evidence suggests potential antitumor activity of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), there is no population‐based evidence of an association between PPI use and subsequent breast cancer risks. We used an observational case‐control study to examine the association between prior PPI use and breast cancer occurrence. Additional analysis e...

Objectives Many researchers have expected pioglitazone to serve as an effective neuroprotective agent against Parkinson’s disease (PD). Therefore, we conducted this cohort study to investigate the association between pioglitazone use and PD by using a large Asian population-based dataset in Taiwan. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Taiwa...

Whether statins and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) / angiotensin receptor blockors (ARBs) are associated with reduced risks of infection events is still inconclusive. This study aimed to explore the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia among patients who had received treatment with ACEIs/ARBs and/or statins using a population-...

Objective: Although asthma and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) are considered to share similar pathophysiological pathways, the relationship between asthma and BPS/IC is uncertain. This case-control study aimed to investigate the relationship between prior asthma and BPS/IC using a large database in Taiwan. Materials and meth...

Although it is known that inflammatory processes elevate the risk of cancer, to date the association between chronic tonsillitis and tonsil cancer remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association of chronic tonsillitis with tonsil cancer based on a population-based database in Taiwan. We retrieved data for this study from the Longitudi...

Alzheimer's disease and cancer are increasingly prevalent with advancing age. However, the association between Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between prior Alzheimer's disease and subsequent prostate cancer using a population-based dataset in Taiwan. Data for this study...

To date, the actual relationship between antimuscarinics for overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome and the subsequent risk of a fracture remains unclear. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to demonstrate the association between antimuscarinics for OAB and fractures using a large population-based data set. Data used in this study were taken...

This retrospective cohort study aimed to examine the relationship between herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) and the subsequent risk of dementia using a population-based database. We retrieved the study sample from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The study group included 846 patients with HZO, and the comparison group included...

Introduction: This study aimed to examine the association between chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and receipt of a prior colonoscopic examination using a population-based database. Methods: We used the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 to retrieve the study sample. This study included 3933 patients wit...

Even though the relationship between antiarrhythmic drug usage and subsequent prostate cancer (PCa) risk has recently been highlighted, relevant findings in the previous literature are still inconsistent. In addition, very few studies have attempted to investigate the association between sodium channel blockers or potassium channel blockers for arr...

This study aimed to examine the association of herpes zoster (HZ) with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) use among patients with prostate cancer (PC), using a population-based data set. The study sample for this study was retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We selected 877 patients with PC who had received ADT as...

Purpose: This retrospective cohort study examines the association between cataract surgery and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during 5-year follow-up using population-based claims data. Methods: We analysed data sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The study included 3465 patients who had under...

To date, the relationship between antimuscarinics for overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome and depressive disorder still remains unclear. Therefore, this retrospective cohort study examined the association between antimuscarinic use and the subsequent risk of depressive disorder using a population-based data set. This study used data from the Taiwan L...

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) results in testosterone suppression, a hypothesized mechanism linking ADT to depressive symptoms. This study investigated the relationship between ADT and the risk of subsequently being diagnosed with depressive disorder (DD) during a 3-year follow-up period. The patient sample for this population-based, retrospec...

PurposeTo investigate the relationship between previously diagnosed open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using a routine insurance dataset.Methods This study retrieved data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We found 3282 patients with neovascular AMD as cases and 13 128 sex- and...

Some of the prior literature investigated the potential association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) because these two diseases may share similar inflammatory mechanisms. Nevertheless, to date, findings of the previous literature are still controversial, and some methodological limitations were observed in those studie...

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate associations between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and urological comorbidities using a large population-based dataset. Methods: This cross-sectional study used the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We included 1236 males with OSA in the study group and 4944 males without OSA in the comp...

Background Anxiety disorders (ADs) are common with a high rate of medical comorbidities. Although the association between ADs and the overall cancer risk remains controversial, patients with ADs were found to be more likely to develop specific cancer types. Herein, we estimated the risk of developing urological cancers among patients with ADs in a...

Objectives: The study aimed to estimate the risk of developing chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) among children who had undergone a tonsillectomy by utilizing a cohort study based on a population-based database. Methods: Data for this retrospective cohort study were sourced from the Taiwan "Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000". We included 20...

Previous studies investigated the impacts of a partial nephrectomy (PN) or radical nephrectomy (RN) on cardiovascular events and death. However, the association between the type of nephrectomy (PN vs. RN) and cardiovascular disease is still equivocal. This retrospective cohort study aimed to compare the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) between...

Purpose: This case-control study aimed to explore the association between prior coronary heart disease (CHD) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using a population-based data set in Taiwan. Methods: We analysed data sourced from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The study consisted of 1970 patients with n...

This retrospective cohort study examined the relationship between a cholecystectomy and the subsequent risk of peptic ulcers using a population-based database. Data for this study were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. This study included 5209 patients who had undergone a cholecystectomy for gallstones and 15,62...

Prior studies suggested that the use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with prostate cancer (PC) might cause the impairment of cognitive function which is one of the common symptoms of dementia; however, the association between ADT and cognitive impairment still remains controversial. This retrospective cohort study aimed to investi...

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between perforated appendicitis and patient with diabetes using a population-based data set. Methods: This study used data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 in Taiwan. We identified 4,806 patients hospitalized with acute appendicitis. The independent var...

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association of chronic rhinosinusitis with sudden sensorineural hearing loss using a population-based database. Methods: Sampled subject data were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. A total of 3325 patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss were identified and 9...

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been the standard treatment for advanced prostate cancer for many decades. Although potential adverse effects of ADT have been reported, there are no empirical studies investigating the association between ADT and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, this retrospective cohort study explored the relationship between...

Even though epididymoorchitis and testicular cancer (TC) may have similar pathophysiological pathways, no prior study has attempted to determine the association between these two diseases. This case-control study investigated the relationship between TC and prior epididymoorchitis by using a large population-based database. We used the Taiwan Longi...

Appendicitis and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are both prevalent diseases and might share similar pathological mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between GERD and appendicitis using a large population-based dataset. This study used administrative claims data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance D...

Objectives The health of physicians is an important topic which needs to be addressed in order to provide the best quality of patient care. However, there are few studies on the prevalence of chronic diseases among physicians. In this study, we explored the prevalence of chronic diseases among physicians and compared the probability of chronic dise...

The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) still remains unclear. This retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the relationship between OSA and subsequent CRS using a population-based dataset. The study used data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We selected 971 patient...

Objectives/hypothesis: Whereas the impression that poor oral hygiene is linked to the development of sialolithiasis may be widely accepted, very few studies provide evidence to support this. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the association between chronic periodontitis (CP) and the subsequent development of salivary gland stone based on a na...

The relationship between androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and coronary heart disease (CHD) remains controversial. Furthermore, the majority of such studies focused on Caucasian populations, and there is still a paucity of studies among Asian populations. This population-based study aimed to investigate the relationship between ADT and CHD in an e...

Despite some studies having indicated a possible association between appendicitis and duodenal ulcers, this association was mainly based on regional samples or limited clinician experiences, and as such, did not permit unequivocal conclusions. In this case-control study, we examined the association of acute appendicitis with peptic ulcers using a p...

This study aimed to compare clinical outcome between laparoscopic and open right hemicolectomy. The data were sourced from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. This study included 14,320 and 1313 patients who underwent open and laparoscopic right hemicolectomies, respectively. The study outcome included "intensive care unit (ICU) a...

Objective: Although obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is not a life-threatening disease, very few studies have compared differences in healthcare service utilization between patients with and those without OSA in an Asian population according to different age groups. This study attempted to investigate differences in healthcare service utilization bet...

To date, the associations between chronic periodontitis (CP) and cancer lack large-scale population-based epidemiological evidence. This study aimed to investigate the subsequent risk for cancers among subjects with CP. This study cohort included 40,140 subjects with CP and 40,140 subjects who were matched for a comparison cohort. We individually t...