Handgrip Strength and All-Cause Mortality in Middle-Aged and Older Koreans.

Aging-related decline in handgrip strength has been associated with adverse functional and metabolic morbidity and mortality. Korea is one of the fastest aging countries, and the prospective relationship of handgrip strength with all-cause mortality in Korean adults has not been studied. We conducted a prospective observation study to examine whether baseline handgrip strength predicted mortality over eight years of follow-ups in Korean adults aged 45 years or older.

The influence of regional deprivation index on personal happiness using multilevel analysis.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to identify the factors that influence the happiness index of community residents, by considering personal and regional aspects, and to use as evidence of efforts for improvement of the happiness index.

Methods: The study was conducted based on information from 16,270 participants who met the data requirement among those who participated in the 2011 South Gyeongsang Community Health Survey. Of the factors that can influence the happiness index, socioeconomic characteristics, health behavior, morbidity, and healthcare use, social contact, and participation in social activities were classified as personal factors; for regional factors, data from the 2010 census were used to extrapolate the regional deprivation indices at the submunicipal-level (eup, myeon, and dong) in South Gyeongsang Province.

Risk Factors for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection in Areas with a High Prevalence of HCV in the Republic of Korea in 2013.

Background/aims: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Busan, Gyeongnam, and Jeonnam Provinces in Korea is more than twice the national average. This study aimed to examine whether demographic and lifestyle characteristics are associated with HCV infection in these areas.

Methods: A case control study was performed at three study hospitals.

[The prevalence of high myopia in 19 year-old men in Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlated factors of high myopia in 19 year-old men in Southeast Korea.

Methods: This retrospective study was based on the medical checkup data of conscription during 2005. The study subjects were 19 years old men in Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do.

Effect of medicine adherence on the occurrence of cerebrovascular disorders in diabetes mellitus patients.

Objectives: To assess the association between the occurrence of cerebrovascular disorders and a medication adherence in diabetes mellitus patients.

Methods: Medical records from 1,114 new patients with diabetes mellitus were collected and the occurrence of cerebrovascular disorders was observed. Data was gathered from the health examination records of diabetes mellitus patients registered at the Korean Metabolic Syndrome Research from 1996 to 2005, medication records from the National Health Insurance Corporation and death data from the National Statistics Office from 1997 to 2007.

Blocking of monocyte-associated B7-H1 (CD274) enhances HCV-specific T cell immunity in chronic hepatitis C infection.

The establishment of a chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection is associated with defective HCV-specific T cell responses. Recent studies suggest that negative T cell regulators such as programmed death 1 (PD-1) contribute to the impairment of virus-specific T cell functions in chronic viral infections. However, the implication of peripheral monocytes from CHC patients in the inhibition of HCV-specific T cell responses is only partially defined.

Study of the association of -667 aquaporin-2 (AQP-2) A/G promoter polymorphism with the incidence and clinical course of chronic kidney disease in Korea.

Background: Impaired urinary concentration is uniformly present with advanced disease in chronic renal failure. Aquaporin-2 (AQP-2) is known to be expressed in the renal collecting duct cells and participates in urinary concentration in response to vasopressin. Recently, the study of AQP expression in various forms of chronic kidney disease (CKD) demonstrated a reduction in AQP-2 expression associated with a loss of nephrons and the presence of chronic interstitial fibrosis.