We evaluated the association between two aspects of social relationships and six inflammatory markers in Taiwan and the U.S. These two countries share similar levels of current life expectancy, but exhibit important differences in social structure. The data comprised population based samples...

Despite the increasing evidence linking aspects of the social environment to a range of health outcomes, important questions remain concerning the precise mechanisms or pathways through which social circumstances exert their influence. Biological pathways are one important area of current...

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, can have deleterious consequences for physical and psychological health. In this study, we investigate variability in resilience to depressive symptoms in the aftermath of a massive earthquake that struck Taiwan in 1999. We analyze data on 1160 older...

Researchers have had a longstanding interest in understanding the determinants of mortality. This article examines the impact of a broad array of biological markers, together with self-reports of physical and mental health status, on the probability of dying for older adults. The estimates are...

Current findings on gender and age differences in health trajectories in later life are equivocal and largely based upon data derived from Western developed nations. This study examines gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older adults in Taiwan, a non-Western...

The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of Taiwan's National Health Insurance program (NHI), established in 1995, on improving elderly access to care and health status. Further, we estimate the extent to which NHI reduces gaps in access and health across income groups....