• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2009

Early age at menarche, which is indicator of early biological maturity, has been shown to be associated with increased adult body mass index. Early menarche has also been associated with many cardiovascular disease risk factors and metabolic syndrome. To evaluate the impact of menarche to cardiovascular risk factor, we assessed by age at menarche, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), which represents arterial stiffness, in women with or without metabolic syndrome. The subjects recruited for this study were three hundred one women. Relatively early menarche and relatively late menarche were classified according to less than $50^{th}$ percentile for relatively early menarche, and great than the $50^{th}$ percentile for relatively late menarche. Subject were divided four group, 1) women who had not adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively early menarche, 2) women who had not adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively late menarche, 3) women who had adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively early menarche, 4) women who had adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively late menarche. Women who had a relatively early menarche with adulthood metabolic syndrome had significantly high levels of blood pressure, triglyceride, fasting insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels than women with late menarche with adulthood metabolic syndrome, and had significantly lower HDL-cholesterol levels. And also, women who underwent a relatively early menarche with metabolic syndrome had highest level of baPWV in adult. In this study we found effect of age at menarche on adulthood metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g., baPWV, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia) in Korean women.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.114-120
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• 2015

Objectives : This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of depression for patients with tuberculosis(TB). Methods : A total of 57 patients with TB were recruited. All participants completed the Becks Depression Inventory-II for evaluating depressive symptoms. The risk factor for depression was analyzed by binary logistic regression analysis. Nomogram was performed for probability of depression. Results : Low body mass index(BMI, OR 0.801, 95% CI 0.65, 0.98), interruption of treatment for TB(OR 5.908, 95% CI 1.19, 29.41), past history of depression(OR 24.653, 95% CI 1.99, 308.44) were associated with increased risk for depression. The calibration curve for predicting probability of survival showed a good agreement between the nomogram and actual observation(Original C-index=0.789, bias corrected C-index=0.754). Conclusions : The result of the present study indicate that low BMI, interruption of treatment for TB, and past history of depression were risk factors for depression in patients with TB. The psychiatric intervention may be needed to prevent depression if the patients with TB have risk factor during treatment for TB.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.403-411
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• 2023

Background: The concept of oligo-recurrence has not been generally applied in esophageal cancer. This study aimed to determine the prognostic significance of the number of recurrences in esophageal cancer. Methods: Patients with squamous cell carcinoma who underwent curative esophagectomy with R0 or R1 resection and who experienced a confirmed recurrence were included. The study included 321 eligible participants from March 2001 to December 2019. The relationship between the number of recurrences and post-recurrence survival was investigated. Results: The mean age was 63.8±8.1 years, and the majority of the participants (97.5%) were men. The median time to recurrence was 10.7 months, and the median survival time after recurrence was 8.8 months. Multiple recurrences with simultaneous local, regional, and distant locations were common (38%). In terms of the number of recurrences, single recurrences were the most common (38.3%) and had the best post-recurrence survival rate (median, 17.1 months; p<0.001). Patients with 2 or 3 recurrences showed equivalent survival to each other and longer survival than those with 4 or more (median, 9.4 months; p<0.001). In the multivariable analysis, the significant predictors of post-recurrence survival were body mass index, minimally invasive esophagectomy, N stage, R0 resection, post-recurrence treatment, and the number of recurrences (p<0.05). Conclusion: After esophagectomy, the number of recurrences was the most significant risk factor influencing post-recurrence survival in patients with esophageal cancer. In esophageal cancer, oligo-recurrence can be defined as a recurrence with three or fewer metastases. More intensive treatment might be recommended if oligo-recurrence occurs.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.354-365
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• 2016

Objectives: Studies that reported the association between diet quality/nutritional intake status and mortality have rarely used long-term follow-up data in Asian countries, including Korea. This study investigated the association between the risk of mortality (all-cause and cause-specific) and the diet quality/nutritional intake status using follow-up 12-year mortality data from a nationally representative sample of South Koreans. Methods: 8,941 individuals who participated in 1998 and 2001 Korea Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were linked to mortality data from death certificates. Of those individuals, 1,083 (12.1%) had died as of December, 2012. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the relative risks of mortality according to the level of diet quality and intakes of major nutrients. Indicators for diet quality index and nutritional intake status were assessed using MAR (mean adequacy ratio) and energy and protein intake level compared with the 2010 Korean DRI. Results: Higher diet quality/nutritional intake status were associated with lower mortality; the mortality risk (95% confidence interval) from all-cause of lowest MAR group vs highest was 1.66 (1.27 to 2.18) among ${\geq}30$ year old, and 1.98 (1.36 to 2.86) among 30~64 year old individuals. Those with below 75% of energy and protein intake of Korean DRI had higher mortality risks of all-cause mortality compared to the reference group. Diet quality/nutritional intake status was inversely associated with mortality from cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Conclusions: Poor Diet quality/nutritional intake status were associated with a higher risk of mortality from all-cause and mortality from cardiovascular diseases and cancer among South Korean adults.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.sup1
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• pp.70-88
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• 2022

Sodium is a physiologically essential nutrient, but excessive intake is linked to the increased risk of various chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular. It is, therefore, necessary to accomplish an evidence-based approach and establish the Korean Dietary Reference Intakes (KDRIs) index, to identify both the nutritional adequacy and health effects of sodium. This review presents the rationale for and the process of revising the KDRIs for sodium and, more importantly, establishing the sodium Chronic Disease Risk Reduction Intake (CDRR) level, which is a new specific set of values for chronic disease risk reduction. To establish the 2020 KDRIs for dietary sodium, the committee conducted a systematic literature review of the intake-response relationships between the selected indicators for sodium levels and human chronic diseases. In this review, 43 studies published from January 2014 to December 2018, using databases of PubMed and Web of Science, were finally included for evaluating the risk of bias and strength of evidence (SoE). We determined that SoE of the relationship between dietary sodium and cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular disease, and hypertension, was moderate to strong. However, due to insufficient scientific evidence, we were unable to establish the estimated average requirement and the recommended nutrient intake for dietary sodium. Therefore, the adequate intake of sodium for adults was established to be 1,500 mg/day, whereas the CDRR for dietary sodium was established at 2,300 mg/day for adults. Intake goal for dietary sodium established in the 2015 KDRIs instead of the tolerable upper intake level was not presented in the 2020 KDRIs. For the next revision of the KDRIs, there is a requirement to pursue further studies on nutritional adequacy and toxicity of dietary sodium, and their associations with chronic disease endpoint in the Korean population.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1164-1171
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• 1999

In this study, we investigated the effects of obesity index on the risk factors of chronic diseases in obese children. The subjects were male and female children aged 9 to 12. The average obesity index was 147.7$\pm$13.8% in boys and 147.6$\pm$16.5% in girls. The average percentages of body fat was significantly higher in boys(33.9$\pm$5.7%) than in girls(30.7$\pm$4.4%). It was found that 26% of subjects had abnormal serum GOT and GPT values. Percentages of subjects at risk of cardiovascular disease(CVD) based on corresponding criteria of TG, T chol, HDL chol, and LDL chol were 28.6%, 28.6%, 45.5% and 42.7%, respectively. The risk of CVD was increased with the degree of obesity, which was not significant. The AI(atherogenic index) was higher in boys(4.6$\pm$2.3) than in girls(3.6$\pm$1.2). The serum T chol and LDL chol levels of subjects whose mother are in thirties were significantly higher than those of subjects whose mother are in fourties. The T chol levels of subjects who had mother with job were significantly higher compaired to those of subjects who had housewife mother. The results indicated the urgent need of nu tritional management for the obese children to prevent further devel opment of childhood obesity and hyperlipidemia. Based upon this study, devising method and media for the mother nutritional education as well as for the children nutritional education is required for better growth and health promotion of primary school children.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.275-283
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• 2010

There are few studies reporting optimal waist circumference that can be utilized to prevent the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the association of waist circumference and waist and hip circumference ratio (WHR) with incident cases of CVD developed over 6 years in a population-based prospective study including Korean adults. Analyses for receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were performed with data for 1,733 men and 1,579 women who were aged 40 to 69 years and were free of a physician-diagnosis of CVD at baseline. Information on the diagnosis of CVD was periodically reported using interviewer-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measures were obtained by biennial health examinations. We newly identified 77 cases of CVD during a follow-up period between 2003 and 2008. On the basis of measures of diagnostic accuracy including minimum distance to ROC curve and Youden index, waist circumference of 85 cm for men, in particular for male nonsmokers, and of 80 cm for women and WHR of 0.88 to 0.90 for men and of 0.83 for women were found to be optimal cutoff points to identify individuals at CVD risks. The study also found that the use of the suggested optimal values for waist circumference show higher sensitivity and lower specificity compared with 90 cm for men and 85 cm for women, which are waist cutoff points given by the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity to define abdominal obesity for Korean adults. Although lower cutoff points of waist circumference (83 cm) and WHR (0.87) were observed to be optimal for male smokers compared with male nonsmokers, whether suggesting waist cutoff points specific to smokers is needed warrants further studies. After taking into account other cardiovascular risk factors including smoking, men with waist circumference of 85 cm or greater and women with 80 cm or greater were at an increased risk of CVD. Thus, these cutoff points of waist circumference may be able to capture more individuals at CVD risks contributing to the prevention of future development of CVD.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2014

Limited epidemiologic data is available regarding the cardiovascular effects of mercury exposure. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between mercury exposure from fish consumption and cardiovascular disease in a nationally representative sample of Korean adults using the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV 2008~2009). Survey logistic regression models accounting for the complex sampling were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) adjusted for fish consumption frequency, age, education, individual annual income, household annual income, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), alcohol consumption status, and smoking status. The mean blood mercury level in the population was $5.44{\mu}g/L$. Trends toward increased blood mercury levels were seen for increased education level (P=0.0011), BMI (P<0.0001), WC (P<0.0001), and fish (i.e., anchovy) consumption frequency (P=0.0007). The unadjusted OR for hypertension in the highest blood mercury quartile was 1.450 [95% confidential interval (CI): 1.106~1.901] times higher than that of the lowest quartile. The fish consumption-adjusted OR for hypertension in the highest blood mercury quartile was 1.550 (95% CI: 1.131~2.123) times higher than that of the lowest quartile, and the OR for myocardial infarction or angina in the highest blood mercury quartile was 3.334 (95% CI: 1.338~8.308) times higher than that of the lowest quartile. No associations were observed between blood mercury levels and stroke. These findings suggest that mercury in the blood may be associated with an increased risk of hypertension and myocardial infarction or angina in the general Korean population.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.375-379
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• 2016

Increasing fat tissue of obese people, increases the rate of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndromes and dyslipidemia. An increase in the focal tissue of pancreas is a known risk factor of these diseases. Although there exists sufficient research on the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer, studies have been done on fatty pancreas. In this study, based on ultrasound imaging and using a texture characteristic of GLCM, fatty pancreas was divided into three categories: mild, moderate and severe. We compared and analyzed the three groups was by Pancreatic ultrasonography and body characteristics, serological tests, pressure and the degree of arteriosclerosis, against normal control group. The following parameters of control and test groups were measured: WC (waist circumference),BMI (body mass index), TC (total cholesterol), TG (triglyceride), HDL-C (High-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and LDL-C (Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), SBP (systolic blood pressure), BST (Blood Sugar Test) and aortic PWV (pulse wave velocity). We observed the values correspondingly increasing fat deposition. However, ABI (Ankle Brachial pressure index) stenosis and HDL-C levels decreased with increasing fat deposit (p <0.05); a drop in these parameters are known to be harmful to the human body. The difference in texture characteristics between normal control group and pancreatic fatty group (mild, moderate, and severe) was statistically confirmed. Ultrasound imaging of pancreatic steatosis categorized the disease as mild, moderate and severe based on the characteristic texture. In conclusion, we observed on increase in metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, and arteriosclerosis, proportional to the degree of pancreatic fat deposition. The escalation of these diseases was confirmed and was directly related with predictors of cardiovascular diseases.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.149-153
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• 2007

Purpose: To evaluate the possible risk factors of lower extremity amputations in diabetic foot patients. Materials and Methods: The study is based on 37 patients who received lower extremity amputations from April, 1997 to February 2005 due to diabetic foot complications with at least 1 year follow up. As for the control group, 49 diabetes patients who had been treated at the endocrinology department for at least 1 year without any diabetic foot complication were evaluated. As for the possible risk factors, age, gender, duration of diabetes mellitus, body mass index, Hb A1c, blood glucose level, total cholesterol, s-creatinine, C-peptide, smoking, alcohol, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, CVA, retinopathy and neuropathy were investigated. Results: Among the possible risk factors evaluated, age, Hb A1c, smoking, neuropathy and blood glucose level factors showed statistically significant difference between the diabetic amputation and the control group. Conclusion: In reducing the risk of the lower extremity amputations in the diabetic patients due to diabetic foot complications, strict control of blood glucose level and cessation of smoking were found to be utmost important.