• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.60-70
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: There is growing evidence supporting the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and metabolic disease risk. However, little is known about the association between UPF consumption and blood pressure (BP). Thus, this study examined the association between UPF consumption and elevated BP in Korean adults. Methods: This study used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018) and included 9,188 participants aged 30-79 years without a history of hypertension diagnosis. Food items reported in a one-day 24-hour recall were categorized on the basis of the NOVA (not an acronym) food classification criteria. UPF consumption was estimated as the contribution to total energy intake. Elevated BP was defined as systolic BP ≥120 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥80 mmHg. The independent association between UPF consumption and elevated BP was assessed by multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: The upper tertile of UPF consumption was significantly associated with elevated BP compared with the lower tertile, after adjusting for potential confounders. A linear trend was observed for elevated BP across the tertiles of the dietary energy contribution of UPF. Similar results were found in stratified analyses by age group, smoking, obesity, and overall dietary quality. However, a marginal level of association was found in some subgroups, current smokers, and non-obese adults. Conclusions: The dietary energy contribution of UPF consumption was positively associated with increased prevalence of elevated BP, and these findings suggest that lowering UPF consumption might help prevent BP elevation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.47-54
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify the potential clinically predictive indicators of the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass (ALSMM) in middle-aged women. METHODS: The data from a cross-sectional study involving 2,066 community-dwelling female participants aged 40 to 49 years were analyzed. Complex sampling analyses were used to ensure a nationally representative analysis, incorporating the individual weights provided by KNHANES. This approach accounted for the stratified, clustered, and multistage probability sampling design of the survey. The participants were screened for ALSMM, and various potential predictive indicators were assessed, including age, height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass index, smoking and drinking status, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose levels, triglyceride levels, and cholesterol levels. RESULTS: Significant potential predictive indicators for ALSMM included height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass index, and fasting glucose (p < .05). The systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride levels triglyceride, and drinking and smoking status were found to be non-significant variables (p > .05). CONCLUSION: The study identified the potential predictive indicators for ALSMM among community-dwelling middle-aged women. These findings enhance the current understanding of ALSMM and highlight the potential predictive indicators associated with its development in middle-aged women.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.399-408
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• 2024

Food literacy (FL) refers to the ability to understand and utilize food information. This concept consists of functional (FFL), interactive (IFL), and critical food literacy (CFL). In today's massive information-driven society, FL needs must be paid attention to as a determinant of health along with health literacy. This study sought to identify the FL of Korean adults, and to analyze the association between FL and nutritional status. Data was collected through an online self-reported survey among 1,355 Korean adults aged 19 to 64 years, stratified by gender and age. An χ² -test, student's t-test, ANOVA, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and multinomial logistic regression were performed using IBM SPSS 25.0. There were significant differences in the subjects' FFL, IFL, and CFL according to their gender, age, residence area, work type, and monthly income. Furthermore, it was confirmed that subjects with a higher nutrition quotient (NQ) grade also had higher FLs. Additionally, FFL and CFL contributed to improving the NQ grade. This study is meaningful in that it investigated the FL of Korean adults and provided data to identify populations that are particularly vulnerable to a lack of FL. In addition, it was confirmed that FL can have a positive effect on the nutritional status of adults. In conclusion, this study suggests the possibility of using FL as an intervention strategy to improve nutrition.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.352-358
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• 2020

Background: Korean society is afflicted with rapid aging. Aging is a risk factor for pain, and pain can reduce patients' quality of life. Thus, adequate management and monitoring of changing trends accompanying the demographic shift are highly valuable. However, this study was conducted because no studies have investigated the recent changes in the prevalence of pain. Methods: The extent of the prevalence of pain was determined by questions related to quality of life based on the data derived from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHNS) from 2005 to 2016. The annual frequencies of the pain group and severe pain group were calculated using the survey questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine possible differences in prevalence by year. Results: The prevalence of pain in all populations was 30.6% in 2005 and 18.9% in 2016. The average prevalence from 2005 to 2016 was 21.9%. A declining trend occurred over time with an odds ratio of 0.929 per year (95% CI: 0.921-0.938). The prevalence of severe pain was 2.35% in 2005 and 1.88% in 2016. Likewise, a decrease was observed over time, with an odds ratio of 0.920 per year at 95% CI 0.901-0.939. The decline in age-/sex-stratified analysis also showed a statistically significant trend in all groups. Conclusions: The prevalence of pain in Korean society, based on the KNHNS, has declined since 2005. Such a trend was observed in all ages and sexs, and was most significant in the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.46-55
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• 2003

This study aims to evaluate the Ulsan city residents' perception and satisfaction with open spaces and cityscape after consideration in the side of getting primary data for the city open spaces policy and Green Plan for Ulsan city. In this study, low data was gathered by questionnaires survey with stratified random sampling method. Questionnaires were designed by several sets of variables such as behavioral patterns, satisfactions for open spaces and user's demographic variables. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and regression analysis. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows : 1. In overage the residents were slightly satisfied with park open spaces. There were good and poor park open spaces. in the perceptions of citizens as follows : 'nearby mountain and open spaces', 'rail side green area' were high satisfactory, and 'riverside', 'green qualities' were low in satisfaction. 2. In overage the residents were slightly satisfied with cityscape. There were good and poor cityscape in the perceptions of citizens as follows : 'nearby forest in and open spaces', 'night scape of an urban center' were high satisfactory, and 'streetscape', 'appearances of high-rise buildings' were low in satisfaction. 3. As a results of regression analysis predictable variables for satisfaction with Park and Open spaces were : 'open spaces by the public', 'open spaces by neighbor', 'grande open spaces', 'open spaces of residence'. 4. As a results of regression analysis predictable variables for satisfaction with cityscape were : 'Central Business District(C.B.D) and nearby mountain and open spaces', 'residence and streetscape', 'riverside and park green open spaces'.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.84-97
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• 1995

There is a widespread concern that women's increasing involvement in dual role (job plus family role) may harm their physical health. Longevity of women is longer than that of men. By contrast, prevalence rate is higher in women than men, and No. of prevalence days, No. of days in bed and No. of days with treatment are more in women. Generally, women live longer, but women are worse in health status than men. Rate of labor participation in women is increasing gradually in Korea. This study presents an analysis of the relationships between employment. marital status and health for both Korean women and men to examine how women's increasing involvements in dual role affect their physical health. The data used in this analysis were collected by The National Statistical Office in the spring of 1992. Households, which were sampled by using a three-stage stratified cluster sampling method, were interviewed. Response rate was 99.43%. Of these, student or widowed or divorced people were excluded. 47,552 women and men aged 21-50 were available for the analysis. Health status was measured by self-assessed health status (1=excellent, 5=poor), No. of prevalent days, No. of days with treatment, and No. of days in bed in two previous weeks. And control variables are age, and education. Research findings are as follows : 1. Men have better self-rated health, fewer prevalent days, fewer days in bed, and fewer days with treatment than women. 2. The employed are more healthier than the non-employed. 3. Unmarried people are more healthier than married people. 4. Interaction effects of sex, marital status, employment are significant. This finding shows that effects of empolyment, marital status on health status is not same for women and men. 5. For male, employed people are more healthier than non-employed people. Unmarried people are more healthier than married people. This differences are significant. For female, The employed are more healthier than the non-employed. However, no differences are noticed between the married and the unmarried in health status. In conclusion, there is no evidence that women's involvements in dual role affect their physical health negatively.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.530-536
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The concept of "food deserts" has been widely used in Western countries as a framework to identify areas with constrained access to fresh and nutritious foods, providing guidelines for targeted nutrition and public health programs. Unlike the vast amount of literature on food deserts in a Western context, only a few studies have addressed the concept in an East Asian context, and none of them have investigated spatial patterns of unhealthy food consumption from a South Korean perspective. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We first evaluated the applicability of food deserts in a Korean setting and identified four Korean-specific unhealthy food consumption indicators, including insufficient food consumption due to financial difficulty, limited consumption of fruits and vegetables, excessive consumption of junk food, and excessive consumption of instant noodles. The KNHANES 2008-2012 data in Seoul were analyzed with stratified sampling weights to understand the trends and basic characteristics of these eating patterns in each category. GIS analyses were then conducted for the data spatially aggregated at the sub-district level in order to create maps identifying areas of concern regarding each of these indicators and their combinations. RESULTS: Despite significant reduction in the rate of food insufficiency due to financial difficulty, the rates of excessive consumption of unhealthy foods (junk food and instant noodles) as well as limited consumption of fruits and vegetables have increased or remained high. These patterns tend to be found among relatively younger and more educated groups, regardless of income status. CONCLUSIONS: A GIS-based analysis demonstrated several hotspots as potential "food deserts" tailored to the Korean context based on the observed spatial patterns of undesirable food consumption. These findings could be used as a guide to prioritize areas for targeted intervention programs to facilitate healthy food consumption behaviors and thus improve nutrition and food-related health outcomes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6955-6960
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• 2014

Background: The cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay is a standard cytogenetic tool employed to evaluate chromosomal damage subsequent to pesticide exposure. Objectives: To evaluate the pooled levels of total micronuclei (MN) and binucleated cells with micronuclei (MNC) in 1000 binucleated lymphocytes among population occupationally exposed to pesticides and further determine the more sensitive biomarker of CBMN. Materials and Methods: A meta-analysis on the pooled levels of MN and MNC in binucleated lymphocytes among occupationally pesticide-exposed populations was conducted using STATA 10.0 software and Review Manager 5.0.24 in this study. Results: We found significant differences in frequencies of MN and MNC in 1000 binucleated lymphocytes between pesticide-exposed groups and controls, and the summary estimates of weighted mean difference were 6.82 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 4.86-8.78] and 5.08 (95% CI: 2.93-7.23), respectively. However, when we conducted sensitivity analyses further, only the MN remained statistically different, but not the MNC, the summary estimates of weight mean difference were 2.86 (95% CI: 2.51-3.21) and 0.50 (95% CI: -0.16-1.17), respectively. We also observed pesticide-exposed subjects had significantly higher MN frequencies than controls among smokers and nonsmokers, male and female populations, and American, Asian and European countries in stratified analyses. Conclusions: The frequency of MN in peripheral blood lymphocytes might be a more sensitive indicator of early genetic effects than MNC using the CBMN assay for occupationally pesticide-exposed populations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2473-2476
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• 2014

Background: Little is known about the cancer screening prevalence and correlates in older adults from different racial backgrounds. In the context of heightened efforts for prevention and early diagnosis, we collected information on screening for two major types of cancers: cervical and breast cancer in order to establish their prevalence estimates and correlates among older South African women who participated in the Study of Global Ageing and Adults Health (SAGE) in 2008. Materials and Methods: We conducted a national population-based cross-sectional study with a multi-stage stratified cluster sample of 3,840 individuals aged 50 years or older in South Africa in 2008. In this analysis, we only considered the female subsample of (n=2202). The measures used included socio-demographic characteristics, health variables, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to assess the association of socio-demographic factors, health variables and cancer screening. Results: Overall, regarding cervical cancer screening, 24.3% ever had a Papanicolaou (PAP) smear test, and regarding breast cancer screening, 15.5% ever had a mammography. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, younger age, higher education, being from the White or Coloured population group, urban residence, greater wealth, and suffering from two or more chronic conditions were associated with cervical cancer screening, and higher education, being from the White or Indian/Asian population group, greater wealth, having a health insurance, and suffering from two or more chronic condtions were associated with breast cancer screening. Conclusions: Cancer screening coverage remains low among elderly women in South Africa in spite of the national guideline recommendations for regular screening in order to reduce the risk of dying from these cancers if not detected early. There is a need to improve accessibility and affordability of early cervical and breast cancer screening for all women to ensure effective prevention and management of cervical and breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9725-9730
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• 2014

Background: Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in human peripheral blood lymphocytes is one of the most extensively studied biomarkers employed to evaluate genetic damage subsequent to pesticide exposure. Objective: To estimate the pooled levels of SCE in human peripheral blood lymphocytes among population exposed to pesticide. Materials and Methods: Meta-analysis on the association between SCE frequency and pesticide exposure was performed with STATA 10.0 software package and Review Manager 5.0.24 in this study. Results: The overall means of SCE were 7.88 [95% confidence intervals (95%CI): 6.71-9.04] for exposure group and 6.05 (95%CI: 5.13-6.95) for controls, respectively. There was statistically significant difference in the SCE frequency in human peripheral blood lymphocytes between pesticide-exposed groups and control groups, and the summary estimate of weighted mean difference was 1.69 (95%CI: 1.01-2.38). We also observed that pesticide-exposed population had significantly higher SCE frequency than control groups among smokers, nonsmokers, pesticide applicator, pesticide producer, other exposure population and Asian population in stratified analyses. Conclusions: Data indicate that the SCE frequency in human peripheral blood lymphocytes might be an indicator of early genetic esffects for pesticide-exposed populations.