• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.503-510
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Increased serum homocysteine (Hcy) levels have been reported to be related to the occurrence of cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. High serum Hcy levels are also related to the development of secondary stroke and all-cause mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of high serum homocysteine level and relating factors, and the change over the 10 month period post-stroke. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Consecutive stroke patients who were admitted to the Asan Medical Center were enrolled. Ten months after the onset of stroke, an interview with a structured questionnaire was performed and blood samples were obtained for the biochemical parameters. Nutritional status was determined using the mini nutritional assessment (MNA) score and dietary nutrient intakes were also obtained using a 24 hour recall method. RESULTS: Out of 203 patients, 84% were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition, and 26% had high homocysteine levels at 10 months post-stroke. Using logistic regression, the factors related with high homocysteine levels at 10 months post-stroke included heavy alcohol consumption (P = 0.020), low MNA scores (P = 0.026), low serum vitamin $B_{12}$ (P = 0.021) and low serum folate levels (P = 0.003). Of the 156 patients who had normal homocysteine levels at admission, 36 patients developed hyperhomocysteinemia 10 months post-stroke, which was related to heavy alcohol consumption (P = 0.013). Persistent hyperhomocysteinemia, observed in 22 patients (11%), was related to male sex (P = 0.031), old age (P = 0.042), low vitamin $B_6$ intake (P = 0.029), and heavy alcohol consumption (P = 0.013). CONCLUSION: Hyperhomocysteinemia is common in post-stroke, and is related to malnutrition, heavy alcohol drinking and low serum level of folate and vitamin $B_{12}$. Strategies to prevent or manage high homocysteine levels should consider these factors.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.96-100
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• 2004

Purpose: This study was to investigate the effects of ethanol in ingested patients by analyzing data from a single institution's registry, Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 50 patients who has ingested drugs with/without ethanol came to emergency department from January 2004 to May 2004. Only patients over 18 years of age were included. Clinical characteristics, general and specific treatment, laboratory finding, complication, and clinical outcomes were obtained from protocol. Patients were divided into two groups: drug ingested with alcohol (ethanol group, n=18), and ingested without alcohol (non-ethanol group, n=32). Results: The age, the amout of ingestion, the time to treatment, the systolic blood pressure, the diastolic blood pressure and the shock duration were not different between two groups. The AST level with the ethanol group was higher than with the non-ethanol group ($230.94\pm518.88$ U/L vs $43.22\pm63.39$ U/L, p=0.002). The ALT level with the ethanol group was higher than with the non-ethanol group ($97.06\pm152.98$ U/L vs $32.75\pm43.10$ U/L, p=0.001). The lactic acid level with the ethanol group was higher than with the non-ethanol group ($7.40\pm6.33$ mmol/L vs $3.77\pm3.10$ mmol/L, p=0.001). The hospital stay duration and the admission rate were not different between two groups. Conlusions: The ethanol increased the levels of serum AST, ALT and lactic acid in intoxicated patients. But the ethanol dose not increase admission rate and duration of admission stay in intoxicated patients.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.459-466
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• 1998

To investigate the effect of coffee consumption during pregnancy on serum lipids in maternal and infants` umbilical cord blood, 76 cases of newborn infants and women delivered o f a child who had delivered at hospital located in Chung-Ju city from Feb. 1, 1996 to Aug. 31, 1996 were studied. The gestational ages of cases were 37 to 42 weeks and the average maternal ages were $28.3{\pm}4.63$ years old without any other medical or obstetric problems. Infants` Apgar scores and birth weights were decreased by above 3 cups per day of coffee consumption during pregnancy. No relationships between coffee consumption during pregnancy and maternal serum lipid levels were observed. However, serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in infants` umbilical cord were significantly increased with increasing coffee consumption during pregnancy. In contrary to coffee consumption, alcohol drinking habits affected maternal serum lipid levels but not serum lipid levels in infants` umbilical cord blood. Coffee consumption during pregnancy increased caffeine concentration in infants` umbilical cord blood. These results suggest that caffeine from maternal consumption of coffee can easily pass to the fetus and significantly affect serum lipids levels in infants` umbilical cord blood rather than those in maternal blood.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.715-727
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• 1993

This study was performed to see the effect of nutritional status on fatty liver. Subjects were 219(male : 174, female : 45) fatty liver patients living in cities, and 10-60yrs old. Nutrient and alcohol intakes, health state and medical history were investigated by individual interview, and blood sample was taken. Results were as follow; Most subjects were obese an overweighing and suffering from hepatitis. Calorie and carbohydrate intakes of male and females patients were lower than mean intakes of normal citizens. Protein and fat intakes of male patients were higher than mean intakes of normal citizens. Proportions of protein and fat to total calorie intake in patients were higher than those of normal citizens. Alcohol intake was markedly higher in patients than normal group, and increased with increasing body weight. Serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, total lipid, total protein and albumin conc.s and Hb and Hct levels were in normal ranges, But serum TG level of patients was higher than normal level. Serum total fatty acid level, $\omega$-3/$\omega$-6 and P/S FA ratios were higher in patients than normals. Serum total EAAs, NEAAs and all AAs levels of patients were higher than normals. It is plausible that high animal food and alcohol intakes, excess body fat and hepatitis were associated with fatty liver.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.432-441
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• 1987

This study was undertaken to investigate effects of alcohol and fat content in a balanced diet on growth, hepatic function and some biochemical indices of blood in growing rats. Fourty eight male rats of Sprague-Dawley strain weighing about 160g were divided into 4 groups ; high fat diet group, alcohol-adminstered high fat diet group, low fat diet group and alcohol-administered low fat diet group. High and low fat diet supplied 30% and 12%, respectively, of total calorie intake from fat and alcohol-treated groups received water containing 10% ethanol. Diets contained adequate amounts of all nutrients required for rats, including lipotropic agents(choline and methionine) to minimize effects of factors other than alcohol on liver function. Growth rate was lowest in alcohol-administered low-fat diet group, despite that their energy intake was equivalent to the others. For a 3-week study period, 21.86% and 23.61% of total calorie intake were derived from alcohol in alcohol-adminitered high fat diet group and low fat diet group, respectively. There was no influenced on vitamin B$_1$ status by alcohol consumption. Concentration of triglyceride in plasma increased with alcohol comsumption, and the effect was greater after 6 weeks than after 3 weeks of alcohol consumption . Difference of dietary fat content did not affect the level of triglyceride . The levels of total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol in plasma were not influenced by alcohol consumption. Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase activity and hepatic mitochondrial respiration rate did not differ between groups. The results indicate that neither moderate alcohol drinking for 6 weeks nor fat content with a balanced diet caused any dramatic change of metabolism and liver function in rats. However they suggest that even moderate alcohol consumption can affect growth of animals dramatically and the effect may be lessened with relatively high fat content in diet.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.463-474
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• 2010

The nutrient intake and association between dish group intake and blood glucose and serum lipid level (TG, cholesterol, LDL and HDL) was analyzed among 3 groups: 452 subjects in normal blood glucose group (NG: fasting blood glucose < 100 mg/dL and 2 hours postprandial blood glucose < 140 mg/dL), 258 subjects in impaired fasting glucose group (IFG: fasting blood glucose 100~125 mg/dL and 2 hours postprandial blood glucose ${\geq}$ 140 mg/dL) and 101 subjects in diabetic group (DG: fasting blood glucose $\geq$ 126 mg/dL and 2 hours postprandial blood glucose ${\geq}$ 140 mg/dL). The data were obtained from the 2005 National Health and Nutrition Survey of Korea. The 811 subjects were adults aged 40~64 without dietary treatment. In nutrients intake, IFG was the highest and DG the lowest in both quantity and quality. DG, especially, had the lowest intake in carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, Ca, P, K, vitamins B1 and C, and consumed the highest amount of alcohol. In macronutrients distribution ratio, the DG diet showed a lower energy intake from carbohydrates but higher from fat than the NG diet, while IFG showed a higher energy intake from carbohydrates and lower intake from fat in supper out of 3 meals and snacks. IFG preferred salt-fermented foods and DG preferred soups, braised foods and kimchi compared to other groups. NG preferred multi-grain cooked rice and both IFG and DG preferred plain white cooked rice. Regarding the association between dish group intake and blood glucose, cooked rice, soups, salt-fermented foods and kimchi were significantly related to blood glucose. In blood lipids, steamed-foods, beverages and fruits were inversely related to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, whereas cooked rice, stews, saltfer-mented foods, seasoned-fermented foods and seasoned vegetables were directly proportional to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and related diseases. Therefore, it is beneficial to avoid rich, salty and fatty foods and heavy alcohol consumption for controlling blood glucose and blood lipids, while steamed foods, foods rich in fiber (like multigrain rice) as a staple, and fruits and teas are recommended for preventing or managing type 2 diabetes risks.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.214-220
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• 2002

Objectives : To investigate the relationship of serum uric acid to cardiovascular risk factors in Korean male workers. Methods : We screened 522 male workers at an electrical manufacturing company by a periodic health examination and a questionnaire survey in 2000. We collected data relating to age, smoking status, alcohol drinking status, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, serum lipid, fasting blood glucose and serum uric acid. The data were analyzed using a variety of methods, including ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multivariate regression analyses. to examine the association between uric acid and cardiovascular risk factors with a cross-sectional study design. Results : The concentration of serum uric acid showed positive associations with BMI, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-cholesterol; it was also significantly correlated to systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Life-style characteristics, such as smoking and alcohol drinking showed no significant association. From the multivariate regression analyses, BMI, total cholesterol and fasting blood glucose levels were found to be independent positive predictors of uric acid; while age, blood pressure and smoking status give no independent contribution explaining the variability of serum uric acid levels. Conclusions : This study demonstrates that serum uric acid level have a significant association with cardiovascular risk factors, such as BMI, total cholesterol and blood glucose in some Korean male workers.

• 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.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 1999

To investigate the effects of Angelica gigas Nakai diet on lipid metabolism, alcohol metabolism and liver function of rats administered with chronic ethanol, Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed either AIN-76 diet (control), control diet with ethanol, control plus Angelica gigas Nakai diet, or control plus Angelica gigas Nakai diet with ethanol for 30 days. On the 21st day, all of the rats were given an oral dose of ethanol and blood-ethanol concentration was monitored for the next 5 hours. The results obtained were: 1) Upon ethanol administration, the blood ethanol concentration was decreased from 2 hr significantly in the group of control plus Angelica gigas Nakai diet compared with control diet group; 2) The blood ethanol oxidation rate was increased in the group of control plus Angelica gigas Nakai diet with ethanol compared with control diet group or control plus Angelica gigas Nakai diet group. After 30 days, rats were sacrificed and then lipid and enzyme determinations in blood and liver were carried out. The results obtained were: 1) LDL-cholesterol in the blood of control plus Angelica gigas Nakai diet group was decreased significantly compared with control diet group; 2) Angelica gigas Nakai diet decreased liver triglyceride and total lipid and blood ${\gamma}-GTP$ level increased due to the chronic ethanol administration. These data suggest that Angelica gigas Nakai can have a recovery function on the symptoms of alcohol related diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.187-191
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• 1994

The present stduy was undertaken to investigate the possible effect of Puffer fish skin extract (Pf) on the heptic acetaldehyde metabolism . It was obsrved that PF markedly decreased the acetaldehyde levels in blood and liver. The activity of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (Ald DH) increased by induction of acute intoxicatiion of alcohol (5 g/kg) was further increased through pretreatment with PF for 2 weeks. When PF was given to rat fed with 25% alcohol solution instead of water for 6 weeks. the activity of Ald DH in mitochondrial fraction decreased to about 28% compared with sucrose-treated group. But after pretreatemnt of PF, the activity was restored to the normal level. By the treatment with disulfiram (300 mg/kg, once a day for 3days) was restored to the control after the pretreatment with PF. And also mitochondrial Ald DH activity in vitro was not changed. All these observations suggest that reduction of acetaldehyde levels are partly due to increase activity of mitochondrial Ald DH. Therefore, the recovery from intoxication of acetaldehyde may be enhanced by treatment with PF.