Exercise psychology research in Taiwan over three decades: A quasi-systematic review

The purpose of this study was to explore the status of Taiwanese scholars' research in the field of exercise psychology in the past 30 years and to provide an overview of the research. With some modifications to Cooper's (2016) methodological instructions in research synthesis, a ''quasi-systematic review'' was adopted to collect, categorize and analyze Taiwanese scholars’ publications in the field of exercise psychology in the past three decades. The included papers were those published in international journals and the Taiwan Social Science Citation Index (TSSCI) journals. A total of 355 papers qualified for further analysis. Most selected papers were quantitatively-oriented. Also, we found both international and domestic journals had different features in terms of participants, research methods, and research topics. Further, we found that 73 papers (20.56%) examined “theoretical models of exercise behavior”; 271 papers (76.34%) examined “psychological effects of exercise”; 95 papers (26.76%) investigated “social cognition in exercise”; 272 papers (76.62%) studied “exercise and specific population”; and 20 papers (5.63%) were classified as applications/other.” Furthermore, in international journals, 140 papers (61.40%) were ranked as Q1; 57 papers (25.00%) as Q2; 27 papers (11.84%) as Q3, and 4 papers (1.75%) as Q4. In summary, Taiwanese scholars’ research in exercise psychology has unique features and topics. Government policy and research grants may explain the research directions and topics selected. It is suggested that Taiwanese scholars may expand their research beyond these limitations

Serum E-selectin concentration is associated with risk of metabolic syndrome in females.

OBJECTIVES:Traits of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction were examined. We investigated the differences of various biomarkers among individuals with or without Mets in a gender-specific manner. The gender-specific associations between E-selectin and MetS were further evaluated. METHODS:A total of 205 patients were recruited from the outpatient clinics of Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Inclusion criteria were age between 20-75 years and BMI < 35 kg/m2. Demographic, anthropometric and MetS index data were compared between genders. Markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction were compared between individuals with or without MetS by gender. RESULTS:Age-adjusted E-selectin values showed significant positive correlations with BMI, waist-hip ratio, fasting plasma glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, TNF-α, hsCRP and ICAM-1, and inverse correlation with HDL cholesterol. E-selectin levels were positively correlated with numbers of MetS components in females (P < 0.001) but not in males (P = 0.125). CONCLUSIONS:Increased E-selectin levels are significantly associated with increased MetS risk in females, but not in males

High-Molecular-Weight Hyaluronic Acid Inhibits IL-1β-Induced Synovial Inflammation and Macrophage Polarization through the GRP78-NF-κB Signaling Pathway

Recent evidence has suggested that synovial inflammation and macrophage polarization were involved in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Additionally, high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA) was often used clinically to treat OA. GRP78, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress chaperone, was suggested to contribute to the hyperplasia of synovial cells in OA. However, it was still unclear whether HMW-HA affected macrophage polarization through GRP78. Therefore, we aimed to identify the effect of HMW-HA in primary synovial cells and macrophage polarization and to investigate the role of GRP78 signaling. We used IL-1β to treat primary synoviocytes to mimic OA, and then treated them with HMW-HA. We also collected conditioned medium (CM) to culture THP-1 macrophages and examine the changes in the phenotype. IL-1β increased the expression of GRP78, NF-κB (p65 phosphorylation), IL-6, and PGE2 in primary synoviocytes, accompanied by an increased macrophage M1/M2 polarization. GRP78 knockdown significantly reversed the expression of IL-1β-induced GRP78-related downstream molecules and macrophage polarization. HMW-HA with GRP78 knockdown had additive effects in an IL-1β culture. Finally, the synovial fluid from OA patients revealed significantly decreased IL-6 and PGE2 levels after the HMW-HA treatment. Our study elucidated a new form of signal transduction for HMW-HA-mediated protection against synovial inflammation and macrophage polarization and highlighted the involvement of the GRP78-NF-κB signaling pathway

Comparison of 7-site skinfold measurement and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for estimating body fat percentage and regional adiposity in Taiwanese diabetic patients.

Obesity and regional adiposity are important risk factors for cardiometabolic disorders. The aim of this study is to compare 7-site skinfold (SF) measurement to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the reference method for estimating body fat percentage (BF%) and regional adiposity in diabetic outpatients. A total of 59 diabetic patients (36 females and 23 males) aged 28.5-78 years (median 67.7 years) with BMI 18.8-40.6 kg/m2 (median: 25.5 kg/m2) were enrolled. 7-site skinfold measurement and DXA were performed at the same visit day and biochemistry data were collected. Our results demonstrate the BF% calculated via Jackson & Pollock 7-site skinfold equation presents a strong correlation (r = 0.672, p < 0.001 in females; r = 0.885, p < 0.001 in males) with that measured by DXA, but the means of BF% between these two methods are significantly different in both sexes (paired t-test, p < 0.001). The Bland-Altman analysis showed the mean differences (DXA-SF) of BF% were positive for female (8.74%) and male (7.22%), suggesting Jackson & Pollock 7-site skinfold equation tends to underestimate the BF%. Besides, regional SF thicknesses of 7-site skinfold measurement were significantly correlated with the matched regional adiposity quantified by DXA. Furthermore, truncal and android SF thicknesses were notably positively correlated with several cardiometabolic risk factors in gender-specific manner. Our data indicate the 7-site skinfold measurement is not an interchangeable method for precisely measuring BF%, but might be practical for evaluating the cardiometabolic risks in Taiwanese diabetic outpatients

Association of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor use and the risk of asthma development among type 2 diabetes patients

Background: Numerous studies have shown that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) may regulate immunological pathways implicated in asthma. The association between DPP-4i use and risk of asthma development is limited, however. Aim: We aimed to evaluate if DPP-4i treatment in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a lower risk and severity of asthma. Methods: We performed a population-based retrospective cohort study using the Longitudinal National Health Insurance Research database between 2008 and 2015. After one-to-four propensity score matching from 1,914,201 patients with defined criteria, we enrolled 3001 patients who were on DPP-4i (DPP-4i group) for a diagnosis of T2DM but without a diagnosis of asthma for further analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to estimate and compare the risk of developing and severity of asthma, including no acute exacerbations event (No-AE), acute exacerbations (AEs), status asthmaticus (Status), and required endotracheal intubation (ET-tube intubated), between the two groups. Results: The participants had a mean age of 66.05 ± 17.23 years and the mean follow-up time was 4.96 ± 4.39 years. The risk of asthma development was significantly lower in the DPP-4i group than in the non-DPP-4i group [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.29–0.83; p  < 0.001], with a class effect. This trend was observed for severity of asthma as No-AE (HR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.24–0.70; p  < 0.001), AE (HR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.26–0.73; p  < 0.001), and Status (HR = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.35–0.99; p  = 0.047), but not in ET-tube intubated cases (HR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.43–1.22; p  = 0.258). Conclusion: The use of DPP-4i decreased the risk and severity of asthma with a class effect among No-AE, AE, status of asthma events, but not in ET-tube intubated events. Our report suggests that DPP-4i may play a role in attenuating the impact of asthma on incidence in the future and on more severe forms of disease exacerbation in T2DM patients