• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.218-225
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• 2011

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between the blood mercury concentration and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly Korean individuals living in coastal areas. Methods: The sample consisted of 477 adults (164 males, 313 females) aged 40 to 65 years who visited a Busan health promotion center from June to September in 2009. The relationship between blood mercury concentration and cardiovascular risk factors including metabolic syndrome, cholesterol profiles, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), was investigated. Variables related to blood mercury concentration were further evaluated using multiple regression analysis. Results: The blood mercury concentration of the study population was 7.99 (range, 7.60 to 8.40) ${\mu}g$/L. In males, the blood mercury concentration was 9.74 (8.92 to 10.63) ${\mu}g$/L, which was significantly higher than that in females (7.21, [6.80 to 7.64] ${\mu}g$/L). The blood mercury concentration of the study population was related to several cardiovascular risk factors including low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (p=0.044), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (p=0.034), BMI (p = 0.006), waist circumference (p = 0.031), and WHR (p < 0.001). In males, the blood mercury concentration was significantly correlated with WHR in the multiple regression analysis. Conclusions: In males, the blood mercury concentration was related to waist-to-hip ratio, which is a central obesity index and cardiovascular risk factor. Our finding suggests that cardiovascular disease risk in males was increased by mercury exposure via an obesity-related mechanism.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.165-172
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• 2013

A noncommunicable disease (NCD) is a medical condition or disease that is by definition non-infectious and non-transmissible among people. Currently, NCDs are the leading causes of death and disease burden worldwide. The four main types of NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, result in more than 30 million deaths annually. To reduce the burden of NCDs on global health, current public health actions stress the importance of preventing, detecting, and correcting modifiable risk factors; controlling major modifiable risk factors has been shown to effectively reduce NCD mortality. The World Health Organization's World Health Report 2002 identified tobacco use, alcohol consumption, overweight, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol as the most important risk factors for NCDs. Accordingly, the present report set out to review the prevalence and trends of these modifiable risk factors in the Korean population. Over the past few decades, we observed significant risk factor modifications of improved blood pressure control and decreased smoking rate. However, hypertension and cigarette smoking remained the most contributable factors of NCDs in the Korean population. Moreover, other major modifiable risk factors show no improvement or even worsened. The current status and trends in major modifiable risk factors reinforce the importance of prevention, detection, and treatment of risk factors in reducing the burden of NCDs on individuals and society.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.477-488
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the clinical characteristics and risk factors on the occurrence of variant angina, and to examine the predicting factors on the vascular endothelial dysfunction of the patients with variant angina. Methods: A total of 134 patients diagnosed with variant angina were recruited from 2006 to 2008. The degrees of endothelial dysfunction were measured and recorded by the researcher using the values of flow-mediated vasodilation of their brachial arteries and Nitroglycerine-mediated dilation. Subjects' demographic data and risk factors were gathered after obtaining informed consent, and their electronic medical records were reviewed to collect laboratory data. Results: The mean age was $54.2{\pm}9.6$ years and 52% was male patients. More than 50% of the male patients were cigarette smokers and had hypercholesterolemia. 84% of the male patients and 70% of the female patients had more than one risk factor of cardiovascular disease. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that smoking and hypercholesterolemia predicted the decrease of flow-mediated vasodilation (Adjusted $R^2$ = .204, p < .001). Conclusion: Tailored educational interventions for smoking cessation and cholesterol management are needed to prevent recurrence of angina attack for patients with variant angina and to prevent cardiovascular disease for middle-aged workers.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.55-62
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• 2018

Purpose : Preeclampsia(PE) is a pregnancy-specific disease which is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria. This disease occurs in about 2-8 % of pregnancies in developing countries and remains among the major causes of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity throughout the world. Although the causes of PE are not fully understood, the infection has been considered as the main risk factor for this diseases. Periodontal disease may provide a chronic burden of endotoxin and inflammatory cytokines and the disease has been considered as risk factors of systemic illnesses including cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and cerebrovascular ischemia. So, studies performed over the last 15 years have suggested that periodontal disease may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as PE. However, this association has not been found in all populations. The aim of this review article was to evaluate whether periodontal status and the presence of specific periodontal pathogens may influence the incidence of PE. Methods : Many research articles searched at the electronic databases(MEDLINE; 2000 to July 2017) including search term as periodontal disease and preeclampsia. Result : There were 10 case-control studies and 5 cohort studies meeting our inclusion criteria. The results showed that maternal periodontitis (adjusted odds ratio: 1.5 to 9.3) was associated with preeclampsia in 15 epidemiological studies. Conclusion : It is clear that maternal periodontitis is a risk factor associated with preeclampsia, emphasizing the importance of periodontal care in prenatal programs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.86-96
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• 2012

The high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as one of the typical acute phase reactants is used for predictive factor of the cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. In addition, there are claims that must be included as factors of metabolic syndrome. This research examined the relationship between the concentration of hs-CRP in blood and risk factors of the metabolic syndrome by gender, and the rates of metabolic syndrome depending on the hs-CRP level based on the general public who took the comprehensive medical check-up at Chonbuk National University Hospital in the Jeonbuk province. The subjects aged 17-87 years were participated, and 2,000 people were included as the final subjects except the persons with more than 10 mg/L of the hs-CRP of blood level. The hs-CRP concentrations increased according to the number of risk factors of metabolic syndrome in both men and women. In regards to the risk ratio of metabolic syndrome based on hs-CRP level in blood according to gender, the risk ratio increased by 3.07 times in male and 4.55 times in female intermediate risk group and 3.60 times in male and 6.15 times in female high risk group compared to hs-CRP low risk group. As a result, there was a proportional relation between hs-CRP level and the occurrence of metabolic syndrome, and it occurs more frequently among women than men.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.191-196
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• 2006

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors may be acting several decades before CVD becomes manifest. Data from young subjects may be valuable in further elucidating at this issue. We evaluated the association between baPWV (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity) and cardiovascular risk factors in apparently healthy young adults. A total of 46 male and 91 female adolescents aged $18{\sim}25 years$ were studied. baPWV increased in a dose-responsive manner as the number of metabolic syndrome components. In both gender groups, baPWV was positively correlated with age. In males, waist, circumference total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol were positively correlated with baPWV, and in females, blood pressure (BP) was positively correlated with baPWV. Age, gender, mean BP, and Homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were found to be independent factors associated with baPWV levels. In conclusion, mean BP, age, gender, and HOMA-IR were associated with baPWV in young adults. This result suggests that multiple cardiovascular risk factors may be associated with an increased risk of arterial stiffness in young adults.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.86-93
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• 2017

Background: The influence of lifestyle diseases on postoperative complications and long-term survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether lifestyle diseases were significant risk factors of perioperative and long-term surgical outcomes in elderly patients with stage I NSCLC. Methods: Between December 1995 and November 2013, 110 patients aged 65 years or older who underwent surgical resection of stage I NSCLC at Dong-A University Hospital were retrospectively studied. We assessed the presence of the following lifestyle diseases as risk factors for postoperative complications and long-term mortality: diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, and ischemic heart disease. Results: The mean age of the patients was 71 years (range, 65 to 82 years). Forty-six patients (41.8%) had hypertension, making it the most common lifestyle disease, followed by diabetes (n=23, 20.9%). The in-hospital mortality rate was 0.9% (n=1). The 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 78% and 64%, respectively. Postoperative complications developed in 32 patients (29.1%), including 7 (6.4%) with prolonged air leakage, 6 (5.5%) with atrial fibrillation, 5 (4.5%) with delirium and atelectasis, and 3 (2.7%) with acute kidney injury and pneumonia. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the presence of a lifestyle disease was the only independent risk factor for postoperative complications. In survival analysis, univariate analysis showed that age, smoking, body mass index, extent of resection, and pathologic stage were associated with impaired survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that resection type (hazard ratio [HR], 2.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 4.49; p=0.030) and pathologic stage (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.02 to 3.49; p=0.043) had independent adverse impacts on survival. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the presence of a lifestyle disease was a significant prognostic factor for postoperative complications, but not of survival, in elderly patients with stage I NSCLC. Therefore, postoperative complications may be influenced by the presence of a lifestyle disease.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 2022

Background: Patients with high-risk (HR) operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may have unique prognostic factors. This study aimed to evaluate surgical outcomes in HR patients and to investigate prognostic factors in HR patients versus standard-risk (SR) patients. Methods: In total, 471 consecutive patients who underwent curative lung resection for NSCLC between January 2012 and December 2017 were identified and reviewed retrospectively. Patients were classified into HR (n=77) and SR (n=394) groups according to the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group criteria (Z4099 trial). Postoperative complications were defined as those of grade 2 or higher by the Clavien-Dindo classification. Results: The HR group comprised more men and older patients, had poorer lung function, and had more comorbidities than the SR group. The patients in the HR group also experienced more postoperative complications (p≤0.001). More HR patients died without disease recurrence. The postoperative complication rate was the only significant prognostic factor in multivariable Cox regression analysis for HR patients but not SR patients. HR patients without postoperative complications had a survival rate similar to that of SR patients. Conclusion: The overall postoperative survival of HR patients with NSCLC was more strongly affected by postoperative complications than by any other prognostic factor. Care should be taken to minimize postoperative complications, especially in HR patients.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.521-528
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• 1999

Cardiovascular disease is very prevalent in Korea, and many risk factors, if properly identified are possibly corrected. However, the study results on prevalence and distribution of risk factors may not be reliable while the risk factors of disease are always issued on health promotion projects conducted recently in a community. The subjects of this study were 854 adults who participated in the health and nutrition survey in a community. They were aged between 20 and 69 and sampled representatively. This study intended to estimate the prevalence and the distribution of risk factors of cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity. Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure levels were estimated at $123.9{\pm}2.2mgHg(men)$, $117.9{\pm}1.7mgHg$(women), and $80.4{\pm}1.5mg(men)$, $74.9{\pm}1.1mgHg(women)$, respectively. Glucose level was estimated at $99.1{\pm}2.3mg/dl$ in men, and $95.7{\pm}1.7mg/dl$ in women. The estimated level of total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were $183.4{\pm}3.8mg/dl(men)$, $181.7{\pm}3.1mg/dl(men)$, and $122.0{\pm}4.5mg/dl(women)$, and body mass index was estimated at $24.0{\pm}0.4kg/m^2$ in men and $23.9{\pm}0.4kg/m^2$ in men and $23.9{\pm}0.3kg/m^2$ in women. The prevalence of hypertension was 20.5% for men, and 14.4% for women. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was estimated to 6.9% for men, and 6.1% for women. The estimated prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 3.8%(men), 3.9%(women). The rate of obesity was estimated to 28.5%(men), 28.4% (women), respectively. The levels of blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol were higher in men than in women in almost all the almost ate groups. The prevalence of hypertension for men is about 20%. It was found that the prevalence of diabetes mellitus for males aged between 40 and 59 was rapidly increased. The risk factor with highest prevalence was obesity, and hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the second and third most prevalent.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.137-145
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• 2014

Objectives: The study examines the relation between urinary arsenic concentration and blood pressure, which is a risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Materials: In this study, the urinary arsenic concentration, history of diagnosed disease, and blood pressure of 782 local residents in Gwangyang, Yeosu, and Hadong regions from May 2007 to July 2007. Results: The urinary arsenic concentration of total participants was $9.06{\mu}g/g-ct$. The logistic regression analysis of medical diagnosed history and urinary arsenic concentration, showed statistically significance (p<0.05) of high urinary arsenic concentration in participants with diagnosed hypertension. In addition, diagnosed hypertension it was observed that the high blood pressure was related with the pulse pressure. Conclusions: The arsenic concentration level was low in this study, but the exposure to low levels of arsenic has an effect on hypertension. Also, hypertension is related to pulse pressure and mean arterial blood pressure as well as being risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, close supervision of low -level arsenic exposure is needed.