A professor at the National Yang Ming University recently completed a study that found that elderly Taiwanese and Aborigines were most likely to suffer from a delay in tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment.
In a study of 78,118 pulmonary tuberculosis cases from the nation’s tuberculosis reporting system between 2002 and 2006, Pesus Chou (周碧瑟) from the university’s Department of Public Health found that about 24.9 percent of the cases, or 19,413 people, had experienced a diagnosis delay.
TREATMENT DELAY
Up to 20.3 percent of the cases suffered from a treatment delay, she said.
A period of longer than nine days between a medical examination and tuberculosis diagnosis was defined as a diagnosis delay and a period of longer than two days between diagnosis and the beginning of therapy was defined as a treatment delay in the study.
Chou found that the elderly and those who lived with their families were given a delayed diagnosis more often than those who lived alone.
Aborigines and those who lived alone were more likely to suffer from delayed treatment, she said.
The study was recently published in the journal BMC Public Health.
COMPLICATIONS
“Delayed diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis may result in more extensive disease and more complications, which in turn leads to a higher mortality rate,” Chou said.
“Medical resources in Aboriginal areas are relatively deficient. It should also be noted that the mortality rate and incidence of tuberculosis are much greater in Aboriginal communities than in non-Aboriginal communities,” she said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
RSS