Association between Salivary Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number and Chronic Fatigue according to Combined Symptoms in Korean Adults.

Background: We examined the association between salivary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and chronic fatigue combined with depression and insomnia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 58 healthy adults with moderate to severe fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory [BFI] ≥4) for longer than 6 months. Subjects were classified as those without combined symptoms, with either depression (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] ≥13) or insomnia (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] ≥5), or with both depression and insomnia.

Oxidative balance score and serum γ-glutamyltransferase level among Korean adults: a nationwide population-based study.

Purpose: The oxidative balance score (OBS) comprises dietary and non-dietary lifestyle pro-oxidants and antioxidants. Elevated serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) level has currently emerged as a biomarker of oxidative stress. In this study, we examined whether OBS was inversely associated with serum GGT level and whether OBS could be a useful marker to predict GGT among Korean adults.

Alcoholic liver disease: focus on prodromal gut health.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is implicated in gut disturbances, both functionally and structurally. It has been noticed that the gut-liver interaction is an important feature in the prevention of systemic inflammation as well as liver health. The optimal functioning of the gut-liver axis depends on gut health.

Smokers With Adequate Vitamin C Intake Show a Preferable Pulmonary Function Test.

Objective: Airflow obstruction often results from the chronic inflammation caused by cigarette smoke. It has been concluded that cigarette smoke-induced oxidative damage is prevented by ascorbic acid on a cellular level. The purpose of the current study was to explore the effect of vitamin C intake on pulmonary function in established smokers (100 or more cigarettes) and never-smokers in a Korean population.

The association between coronary calcification and adenomatous polyps of colon in Korean adults.

Background And Objective: Adenomatous polyps of colon is a precancerous lesion. Many studies have shown that the adenomatous polyps of colon and cardiovascular disease share several common risk factors. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate whether coronary calcification is associated with the adenomatous polyps of colon.

Chronic liver inflammation: clinical implications beyond alcoholic liver disease.

Chronic alcohol exposure can lead to alcoholic liver disease, including hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and chronic inflammation can simultaneously cause systemic medical illness. Recent evidence suggests that alcoholic liver disease is a predictor for liver-related diseases, cardiovascular disease, immunologic disease, and bone disease. Chronic inflammation in alcoholic liver disease is mediated by a direct inflammatory cascade from the alcohol detoxification process and an indirect inflammatory cascade in response to gut microflora-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Trends in prevalence of overweight and obesity in Korean adults, 1998-2009: the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: Although obesity is increasing worldwide and becoming a major public health problem, some countries report a trend toward stabilization. We investigated prevalence trends in overweight/obesity and obesity among Korean adults during a 12-year period.

Methods: This study was based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) I (1998), II (2001), III (2005), and IV (2007-2009).

Relationship between blood mercury concentrations and serum γ-glutamyltranspeptidase level in Korean adults using data from the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: Mercury and serum γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) play an important role in anti-oxidant mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the association between blood mercury concentrations and GGT in Korean men and women.

Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship between blood mercury concentration and serum GGT among 1959 subjects (aged 20-87 y; 965 men, 994 women), using data from the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Relationship between employment status and obesity in a Korean elderly population, based on the 2007-2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES).

We investigated the relationship between employment status and obesity prevalence in an elderly Korean, using a nationally representative sample. This cross-sectional study included 2991 participants (1396 men and 1595 women) aged 60 years or older. Employment status was categorized into full-time employees, part-time employees, and an unemployed group, based on a self-reported questionnaire.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents - the recent trends in South Korea.

Background: Although the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in childhood is increasing worldwide and becoming a significant public health problem, some countries report trends for stabilization. After 2005, the Health Plan 2010 of the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has carried out the standardization of school lunch provisions for all students and reinforced nutritional and physical education in schools. Thus, an investigation of changes in the prevalence of MetS in Korean children and adolescents is important and intriguing in the aspect of evaluating the national public health intervention.

The efficacy and safety of a combined alendronate and calcitriol agent (maxmarvil): a postmarketing surveillance study in korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Background: Combined therapy with alendronate and calcitriol may have additive effects on bone density. An observational study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Maxmarvil, a combinative agent of alendronate (5 mg) and calcitriol (0.5 µg), and to identify factors associated with efficacy.

Comparison of lipid-related ratios for prediction of chronic kidney disease stage 3 or more in Korean adults.

Dyslipidemia is implicated in increased cardiovascular risk associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and in the progression of renal damage. This study compared 4 different lipid-related ratios (total cholesterol [TC]/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], triglyceride [TG]/HDL-C, calculated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [c-LDL-C]/HDL-C, and non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio) for prediction of CKD stage 3 or more to investigate the association between them. This cross-sectional study included 8,650 adults who participated in the 2007-2008 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Serum carcinoembryonic antigen level is associated with arterial stiffness in healthy Korean adult.

Background: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a widely used tumor marker, has been reported to be related with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the relationship between arterial stiffness and CEA level. We assessed whether serum CEA level is related with arterial stiffness by measuring brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) in healthy subjects.

Body composition and its association with cardiometabolic risk factors in the elderly: a focus on sarcopenic obesity.

Important changes in body composition with aging are a progressive loss of muscle mass and increase of fat mass. Despite their enormous clinical importance, body composition changes such as sarcopenic obesity in the elderly are under-recognized. This study aimed to examine the relationship of body composition with a wide variety of cardiometabolic risk factors among 2943 subjects (1250 men and 1693 women) aged 60 years or older from Korean National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES).

Effects of Korean Red Ginseng on Cardiovascular Risks in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome: a Double-blind Randomized Controlled Study.

Background: This study investigated the effects of Korean red ginseng (KRG) supplementation on metabolic parameters, inflammatory markers, and arterial stiffness in subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Methods: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-center study in 60 subjects who were not taking drugs that could affect metabolic and vascular functions. Subjects were randomized into either a KRG (4.

High-normal Glucose Levels in Non-diabetic and Pre-diabetic Men Are Associated with Decreased Testosterone Levels.

Background: Testosterone levels are decreased in diabetic patients and recent studies have suggested that high-normal fasting glucose is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. To further elucidate the relationship between plasma glucose and testosterone, we investigated the association between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and endogenous sex hormones (serum total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, estradiol, and the ratio of testosterone to estradiol) in non-diabetic and pre-diabetic men.

Methods: This study included 388 men (age ≥ 40 years) who visited the health promotion center of a university hospital from May 2007 to August 2008.

Low-grade inflammation, metabolic syndrome and the risk of chronic kidney disease: the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Either chronic inflammation or metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with renal impairment. This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the relationship between elevated white blood cell (WBC) counts and chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 3 or more according to the presence of MetS in adult Koreans. In total, 5,291 subjects (≥ 20 yr-old) participating in the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination were included.

The association between the triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio with insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in the general Korean population: based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2007-2009.

Aims: This study explores the association between the ratio of triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and insulin resistance according to waist circumference in the general Korean population.

Methods: 7623 participants were selected from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted during 2007-2009 and included in this cross-sectional study. Insulin resistance was defined as the values equal to or greater than the 75th percentile of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency in young adolescents in Korea.

Recent studies suggest that vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency is not only a problem of older generations anymore but also an important health concern among younger generations. However, comprehensive data are lacking in Korean adolescents. We investigated the vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D]) status, the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency, and the association between vitamin D levels and insulin resistance and lipid profiles in a sample of 188 Korean adolescents aged 12-13 years who participated in a general health check-up at a tertiary hospital.

Inverse relationship between bioavailable testosterone and subclinical coronary artery calcification in non-obese Korean men.

Although low testosterone levels in men have been associated with high risk for cardiovascular disease, little is known about the association between male sex hormones and subclinical coronary disease in men with apparently low cardiometabolic risk. This study was performed to investigate the association between male sex hormones and subclinical coronary artery calcification measured as coronary calcium score in non-obese Korean men. We examined the relationship of total testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, bioavailable testosterone and free testosterone with coronary calcium score in 291 non-obese Korean men (mean age: 52.

Significance of high-normal serum uric acid level as a risk factor for arterial stiffness in healthy Korean men.

A high serum uric acid (SUA) level is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the relationship between arterial stiffness and uric acid in healthy subjects with a normal SUA level. We assessed whether a high-normal uric acid level increased arterial stiffness by measuring brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) in healthy subjects.

Association between serum total bilirubin level and leukoaraiosis in Korean adults.

Objectives: Leukoaraiosis is associated with cerebrovascular microangiopathy. Increasing evidence suggests that bilirubin is a potent cytoprotectant in the development of cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to determine whether total bilirubin is related to leukoaraiosis.

Mean platelet volume (MPV) is associated with leukoaraiosis in the apparently healthy elderly.

Leukoaraiosis refers to diffuse white matter abnormalities on MR brain scans, which have been suggested to be associated with cerebral microangiopathy and geriatric syndromes such as cognitive impairment, depressive mood and gait disturbance. MPV is a simple indicator of platelet size and has been known to be a marker of platelet activity. MPV is now considered a link between inflammation and thrombosis in multiple cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders including hypertension, peripheral artery disease, and stroke.

Artificial external glottic device for passive lung insufflation.

Purpose: For patients with neuromuscular disease, air stacking, which inflates the lungs to deep volumes, is important for many reasons. However, neuromuscular patients with severe glottic dysfunction or indwelling tracheostomy tubes cannot air stack effectively. For these patients, we developed a device that permits deep lung insufflations substituting for glottic function.