• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.232-239
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Increased consumption of instant noodles has recently been reported to be positively associated with obesity and cardiometabolic syndrome in South Korea, which has the highest per capita instant noodle consumption worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the association between instant noodle consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors among college students in Seoul. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study subjects consisted of 3,397 college students (1,782 male; 1,615 female) aged 18-29 years who participated in a health checkup. Information on instant noodle consumption was obtained from the participants' answers to a question about their average frequency of instant noodle intake over the 1 year period prior to the survey. RESULTS: Statistical analysis using a general linear model that adjusted for age, body mass index, gender, family income, health-related behaviors, and other dietary factors important for cardiometabolic risk, showed a positive association between the frequency of instant noodle consumption and plasma triglyceride levels, diastolic blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose levels in all subjects. Compared to the group with the lowest frequency of instant noodle intake (${\leq}1/month$), the odds ratio for hypertriglyceridemia in the group with an intake of ${\geq}3/week$ was 2.639 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.393-5.000] for all subjects, while it was 2.149 (95% CI, 1.045-4.419) and 5.992 (95% CI, 1.859-21.824) for male and female students, respectively. In female students, diastolic blood pressure was also higher among more frequent consumers of instant noodles. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that frequent consumption of instant noodles may be associated with increased cardiometabolic risk factors among apparently healthy college students aged 18-29 years.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.252-261
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although previous experimental studies reported the health benefits of foods rich in phytochemicals, few epidemiologic studies have investigated the associations between phytochemicals and metabolic disorders. This study aimed to calculate a phytochemical index (PI) and examine its association with metabolic syndrome in the Korean population. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data of Korean adults aged ≥ 19 years who participated in the 2008-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed. The PI was calculated using 24-hour intake recall data regarding whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, and soybeans and soy products. Demographic and lifestyle data were obtained using self-administered questionnaires. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components according to PI quintiles. RESULTS: Overall, 31,319 adults were evaluated. Compared with men, women had a higher median PI level (9.96 vs. 13.63) and significantly higher caloric intake levels from most PI components (P < 0.05), except for soy products. After adjusting for multiple confounding variables, participants in the highest PI quintile had significantly lower prevalences of abdominal obesity (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.81-0.99), hyperglycemia (OR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.74-0.94), high blood pressure (OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.73-0.93), hypertriglyceridemia (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.75-0.94), and metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69-0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Higher intakes of phytochemical-rich foods are associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic dysregulation and consequently, cardiometabolic diseases.

• Annals of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.196-203
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• 2018

Purpose: The hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) represents the degree of nonenzymatic glycation and has been positively associated with cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) and cardiovascular disease in adults. This study aimed to investigate the association between HGI, components of metabolic syndrome (MS), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in a pediatric nondiabetic population. Methods: Data from 3,885 subjects aged 10-18 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2016) were included. HGI was defined as subtraction of predicted glycated hemoglobin ($HbA1_c$) from measured $HbA1_c$. Participants were divided into 3 groups according to HGI tertile. Components of MS (abdominal obesity, fasting glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure), and proportion of MS, CMRF clustering (${\geq}2$ of MS components), and elevated ALT were compared among the groups. Results: Body mass index (BMI) z-score, obesity, total cholesterol, ALT, abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, and CMRF clustering showed increasing HGI trends from lower-to-higher tertiles. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed the upper HGI tertile was associated with elevated triglycerides (odds ratio, 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-2.30). Multiple linear regression analysis showed HGI level was significantly associated with BMI z-score, $HbA1_c$, triglycerides, and ALT. When stratified by sex, age group, and BMI category, overweight/obese subjects showed linear HGI trends for presence of CMRF clustering and ALT elevation. Conclusion: HGI was associated with CMRFs in a Korean pediatric population. High HGI might be an independent risk factor for CMRF clustering and ALT elevation in overweight/obese youth. Further studies are required to establish the clinical relevance of HGI for cardiometabolic health in youth.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.486-495
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• 2010

Objectives: The effect of meat consumption on cardiometabolic risk has been continuously studied, but their associations are not conclusive. The aim of this study is to examine the association between the consumption of meat or red meat and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in healthy Korean adults. Methods: This study evaluated 2374 community-dwelling adults (933 men and 1441 women) who were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer, living in a rural area in Korea. Total meat and red meat intakes were assessed with a validated 103 item-food frequency questionnaire. Carotid IMT was evaluated ultrasonographically, IMTmax was defined as the highest value among IMT of bilateral common carotid arteries. Results: After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the mean IMTmax tended to increase in higher meat consumption groups in both men and women with metabolic syndrome (p for trend= 0.027 and 0.049, respectively), but not in participants without metabolic syndrome. Frequent meat consumption (${\geq}5$ servings/week) was significantly associated with higher IMTmax in men with metabolic syndrome (by 0.08 mm, p=0.015). Whereas, the association was not significant in women (by 0.05 mm, p=0.115). Similar but attenuated findings were shown with red meat intake. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a higher meat consumption may be associated with a higher carotid IMT in Korean adults with metabolic syndrome. The frequent meat consumption (${\geq}5$ servings/week), compared with the others, was associated with a higher carotid IMTmax only in men with metabolic syndrome. Further research is required to explore optimal meat consumption in people with specific medical conditions.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.540-551
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• 2019

Purpose: Dietary fiber is a component of carbohydrate that is linked closely with the carbohydrate quality, but few studies have investigated the association of high fiber intake with the cardiometabolic risk factors in Koreans. This study examined the association of high fiber and high carbohydrate intake with the cardiometabolic risk factors among Korean adults. Methods: This study included 15,095 adults aged ≥20 years, who participated in the 2013 ~ 2017 KNHANES. The dietary intake was obtained using a 24-h dietary recall method. The associations of high fiber and high carbohydrate intake with metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia were examined by sex using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The median of dietary fiber was 23.6 g/day in men and 20.0 g/day in women. Dietary fiber intake increased gradually as dietary carbohydrate groups increased except for ≥80% of energy from the carbohydrate group. Women in the highest quintile of fiber intake showed a 33% lower risk of metabolic syndrome compared with those in the third quintile. When stratified into low fiber (LF) and high fiber (HF) groups using Adequate Intake of fiber for Koreans, men in the third quartile of carbohydrate intake showed a 44% and 51% higher risk of metabolic syndrome and atherogenic dyslipidemia than in the first quartile, respectively, but only in the LF group. Women in the second quartile of carbohydrate intake showed an 83% higher risk of hypercholesterolemia than in the first quartile in the LF group. On the other hand, as no significant association was observed between the carbohydrate intake and metabolic diseases among the HF groups in both sexes. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a high fiber intake might be associated with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome and high carbohydrate intake with a low dietary fiber intake might be associated with an increased risk of several metabolic abnormalities among Korean adults. Further prospective studies will be needed to confirm the effects of high fiber and high carbohydrate intake on the cardiometabolic risk factors among Koreans.

• Endocrinology and Metabolism
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2016

Immoderate energy intake, a sedentary lifestyle, and aging have contributed to the increased prevalence of obesity, sarcopenia, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. There is an urgent need for the development of novel pharmacological interventions that can target excessive fat accumulation and decreased muscle mass and/or strength. Adipokines, bioactive molecules derived from adipose tissue, are involved in the regulation of appetite and satiety, inflammation, energy expenditure, insulin resistance and secretion, glucose and lipid metabolism, and atherosclerosis. Recently, there is emerging evidence that skeletal muscle and the liver also function as endocrine organs that secrete myokines and hepatokines, respectively. Novel discoveries and research into these organokines (adipokines, myokines, and hepatokines) may lead to the development of promising biomarkers and therapeutics for cardiometabolic disease. In this review, I summarize recent data on these organokines and focus on the role of adipokines, myokines, and hepatokines in the regulation of insulin resistance, inflammation, and atherosclerosis.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to test the association between APOA5 3'-UTR variants (rs662799) and cardiometabolic traits in Koreans. SUBJECTS/METHODS: For this study, epidemiological data, Apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) genotype information, and lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) biospecimens from a subset of the Ansung-Ansan cohort within the Korean Genome and Epidemiology study (KoGES-ASAS; n = 7,704) as well as epidemiological data along with genomic DNA biospecimens of participants from a subset of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2011-12; n = 2,235) were obtained. APOA5 mRNA expression was also measured. RESULTS: APOA5 rs662799 genotype distributions in both the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES groups were 50.6% for TT, 41.3% for TC, and 8.1% for CC, which are similar to those in previous reports. In both groups, minor C allele carriers, particularly subjects with CC homozygosity, had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and higher triglyceride levels than TT homozygotes. Linear regression analysis showed that the minor C allele significantly contributed to reduction of circulating HDL cholesterol levels [${\beta}=-2.048$, P < 0.001; ${\beta}=-2.199$, P < 0.001] as well as elevation of circulating triglyceride levels [${\beta}=0.053$, P < 0.001; ${\beta}=0.066$, P < 0.001] in both the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES groups. In addition, higher expression levels of APOA5 in LCLs of 64 healthy individuals were negatively associated with body mass index (r = -0.277, P = 0.027) and circulating triglyceride level (r = -0.340, P = 0.006) but not significantly correlated with circulating HDL cholesterol level. On the other hand, we observed no significant difference in the mRNA level of APOA5 according to APOA5 rs662799 polymorphisms. CONCLUSIONS: The C allele of APOA5 rs662799 was found to be significantly associated with cardiometabolic traits in a large Korean population from the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES. The effect of this genotype may be associated with post-transcriptional regulation, which deserves further experimental confirmation.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.34-38
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• 2019

Hypogonadism is a clinical syndrome that results in hormone deficiency and can be classified as 1) primary caused by the gonadal failure and 2) secondary by the hypothalamus-pituitary gland dysfunction and/or cardiometabolic complications. Recently the presence of thyroid hormone receptors in different testicular cell types was demonstrated, and thus thyroid dysfunctions would be another cause of secondary hypogonadism. Thus, we investigated the effects of perinatal hypothyroidism on hypogonadism in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Perinatal hypothyroidism was induced by daily administration of 0.05% 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) by tap water from gestation day 15, which were compared with negative control (PTU (-)) group. At postnatal day 28, hypothyroid pups were divided into 2 groups: PTU (+) group - continued PTU treatment and PTU (+/-) group - stopped PTU until postnatal day 49. Body weights, dehydrotesosterone (DHT), and testosterone levels were checked 2 and 3 weeks after grouping. Body weights were significantly decreased in PTU(+) and PTU(+/-) groups compared with PTU (-) group at postnatal day 28. 3 weeks later, PTU (+/-) group significantly gained weight compared with PTU (+) group. DHT and testosterone levels significantly decreased with PTU treatment, but increased 3 weeks after stopping PTU administration. Perinatal PTU-induced hypothyroid hypogonadism was sustained for 2 weeks after stopping PTU administration, but restored gonadal hormone levels 3 weeks after stopping PTU. These results suggest that researchers should design an experiment on hypothyroid hypogonadism based on the estimated period.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.258-268
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of ready-to-eat cereal (RTEC) consumption with nutrition and health status. Examination of health status for this project included obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, low-HDL-cholesterolemia, diabetes, anemia, and metabolic syndrome. Methods: Two groups, RTEC consumers and those who did not consume RTEC, were identified using 24-hour dietary recall data from the 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Nutritional intakes and risk factors of the two groups were compared using covariates-adjusted statistical procedures. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS survey procedures, and strata, cluster, and weight were considered. Subjects of analysis of nutritional intake were between the ages of 1 and 75, and those considered in the risk factor analysis were between the ages of 19 and 75. Results: Results showed that 3.8% of the Korean population was RTEC consumers. Compared to the subjects who did not intake RTEC, RTEC consumers exhibited significantly higher intakes of calcium, thiamin, riboflavin, and vitamin C. It was also discovered that the percentage of people whose intakes were less than EAR decreased with RTEC consumption. RTEC consumption showed significant association with decreased systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, serum triglyceride, and serum total cholesterol. Consequently, prevalence of hypertension among RTEC consumers was significantly lower than that among non-consumers, and the odds ratio for hypertension was 0.19 after adjusting the models for covariates. Conclusion: Results of this study clearly suggest an association of RTEC consumption with improved nutritional status and cardiometabolic risk profile in Korean adults. Conduct of additional studies will be necessary in order to determine the nature of these relationships.