Associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and heavy metals with blood lipid profiles in a representative sample of Korean adolescents.

Background: Previous studies on the associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and heavy metals with lipid profiles among adolescents have been scarce. We sought to investigate the associations of PFASs and heavy metals with blood lipid levels in a representative sample of Korean adolescents.

Methods: Data from the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2018-2020) were used.

Impact of physical activity levels on the association between air pollution exposures and glycemic indicators in older individuals.

Background: Air pollution may exacerbate diabetes-related indicators; however, the longitudinal associations between air pollutant concentrations and glycemic markers remain unclear. In this prospective cohort study, we examined the longitudinal associations between air pollution and glycemic indicators among older individuals with normoglycemia at baseline and determined whether these associations differed according to changes in physical activity levels.

Methods: Overall, 1,856 participants (mean age, 70.

Modification of the association between cold spells and cardiovascular disease by changes in natural gas prices: A nationwide time-series study.

Background: Although the association between low ambient temperature and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is well-established, the effect of winter energy prices on this association remains unknown.

Aim: This ecological study aimed to investigate whether changes in natural gas prices (NGP), which account for a significant portion of winter energy prices in Korea, affect the association of cold spells with hospital admissions and mortality due to CVD.

Methods: Data from the National Health Insurance Service and Statistics Korea were used to determine the daily number of hospital admissions and mortality rates associated with CVD.

Heterogeneity of factors associated with cognitive decline and cortical atrophy in early- versus late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the variable factors associated with cognitive function and cortical atrophy and estimated variable importance of those factors in affecting cognitive function and cortical atrophy in patients with EOAD and LOAD. Patients with EOAD (n = 40), LOAD (n = 34), and healthy volunteers with normal cognition were included (n = 65). All of them performed 3T MRI, [F]THK5351 PET (THK), [F]flutemetamol PET (FLUTE), and detailed neuropsychological tests.

Effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure on amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: A matched case-control study.

There is an emerging body of evidence concerning the neurological effect of air pollutants on cognitive function and increased risk of neurodegeneration. Although previous studies have suggested that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are neurotoxic, the effect of PAHs exposure on neurodegeneration remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between PAH exposure and the risk of developing amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Estimation of Attributable Risk and Direct Medical and Non-Medical Costs of Major Mental Disorders Associated With Air Pollution Exposures Among Children and Adolescents in the Republic of Korea, 2011-2019.

Background: Recent studies have reported the burden of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], autism spectrum disorder [ASD], and depressive disorder. Also, there is mounting evidence on the effects of environmental factors, such as ambient air pollution, on these disorders among children and adolescents. However, few studies have evaluated the burden of mental disorders attributable to air pollution exposure in children and adolescents.

Diverging Relationships among Amyloid, Tau, and Brain Atrophy in Early-Onset and Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

Purpose: Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia may not be a single disease entity. Early-onset AD (EOAD) and late-onset AD (LOAD) have been united under the same eponym of AD until now, but disentangling the heterogeneity according to the age of sonset has been a major tenet in the field of AD research.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-nine patients with AD (EOAD, n=54; LOAD, n=45) and 66 cognitively normal controls completed both [F]THK5351 and [F]flutemetamol (FLUTE) positron emission tomography scans along with structural magnetic resonance imaging and detailed neuropsychological tests.

Epidemiology of post-pancreatitis diabetes mellitus: insights from the COSMOS program.

Introduction: Post-pancreatitis diabetes mellitus (PPDM) has long been recognized as one of the most challenging sub-types of diabetes to manage. Part of the problem is that the earlier literature on epidemiology of PPDM was confusing because of the presence of selection bias.

Areas Covered: A concerted series of population-based nationwide studies on PPDM from New Zealand has recently been published as part of the COSMOS (Clinical and epidemiOlogical inveStigations in Metabolism, nutritiOn, and pancreatic diseaseS) program and is the main focus of the present article.

Association of 1-bromopropane exposure with asthma prevalence: A Korean National health and Nutritional examination survey (2020-2021)-based study.

Exposure to 1-bromopropane (1-BP) is an emerging environmental and health concern due to its increasing environmental prevalence. Although the health effects of 1-BP exposure have been under-recognized, current evidence suggests the possibility of adverse pulmonary health effects due to 1-BP exposure. However, the association between 1-BP exposure and asthma prevalence remains unclear.

Effects of Ambient Air Pollution on Brain Cortical Thickness and Subcortical Volume: A Longitudinal Neuroimaging Study.

Introduction: Several cross-sectional studies have shown that long-term exposures to air pollutants are associated with smaller brain cortical volume or thickness. Here, we investigated longitudinal associations of long-term air pollution exposures with cortical thickness and subcortical volume.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, we included a prospective cohort of 361 adults residing in four cities in the Republic of Korea.

Physical Activity-Induced Modification of the Association of Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure with the Risk of Depression in Older Adults.

Purpose: Evidence suggests that long-term air pollution exposures may induce depression; however, the influence of physical activity on this effect is unclear. We investigated modification of the associations between air pollution exposures and depression by the intensity of physical activity.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1454 Korean adults.

Association between exposure to heavy metals in atmospheric particulate matter and sleep quality: A nationwide data linkage study.

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) is associated with poor sleep quality. However, no studies have linked PM constituents, particularly heavy metals, to sleep quality.

Objective: This study investigated the association between exposure to heavy metals in PM and sleep quality.

Heavy metal exposure linked to metabolic syndrome in Korean male firefighters: FRESH cohort cross-sectional analysis.

This study aimed to identify the relationship between blood lead and Cadmium (Cd) concentrations and metabolic syndromes (MetS), including its components (central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lioioritein, hypertension, and hyperglycemia) among Korean firefighters. A total of 965 firefighters of the Enhancement of Safety and Health cohort were analyzed in this study. MetS was defined according to the 2005 revised National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria and the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity criteria for waist circumference.

Remnant cholesterol, but not low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is associated with intra-pancreatic fat deposition.

Aim: To investigate the associations of components of the lipid panel (and its derivatives) with intra-pancreatic fat deposition (IPFD).

Methods: All participants underwent abdominal magnetic resonance imaging on the same 3.0-Tesla scanner and IPFD was quantified.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and changes in brain cortical thickness and an Alzheimer's disease-specific marker for cortical atrophy in adults: A longitudinal neuroimaging study of the EPINEF cohort.

Although several epidemiological studies have suggested that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may induce brain atrophy, no longitudinal study has investigated the effect of PAH exposure on brain structural changes. This study examined the longitudinal associations between urinary PAH metabolites and brain cortical thickness. We obtained urinary concentrations of PAH metabolites and brain magnetic resonance images from 327 adults (≥50 years of age) without dementia at baseline and 3-year follow-up.

All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Attributable to Seasonal Influenza: A Nationwide Matched Cohort Study.

Background: Although influenza poses substantial mortality burden, most studies have estimated excess mortality using time-aggregated data. Here, we estimated mortality risk and population attributable fraction (PAF) attributed to seasonal influenza using individual-level data from a nationwide matched cohort.

Methods: Individuals with influenza during four consecutive influenza seasons (2013-2017) (n = 5,497,812) and 1:4 age- and sex-matched individuals without influenza (n = 20,990,683) were identified from a national health insurance database.

Associations of ambient manganese exposure with brain gray matter thickness and white matter hyperintensities.

Manganese (Mn) exposure is associated with increased risks of dementia and cerebrovascular disease. However, evidence regarding the impact of ambient Mn exposure on brain imaging markers is scarce. We aimed to investigate the association between ambient Mn exposure and brain imaging markers representing neurodegeneration and cerebrovascular lesions.

Health Effects of Microplastic Exposures: Current Issues and Perspectives in South Korea.

Microplastics are environmental pollutants that prevail in the oceans, remote islands, and polar regions. Exposure to microplastics presents a major emerging threat to the ecosystems due to their potential adverse effects. Herein, we reviewed the literature to provide an up-to-date synopsis of the current understanding of the sources, compositions, and adverse effects of microplastics in humans and the environment.

Associations of Particulate Matter Exposures With Brain Gray Matter Thickness and White Matter Hyperintensities: Effect Modification by Low-Grade Chronic Inflammation.

Background: Numerous studies have shown the effect of particulate matter exposure on brain imaging markers. However, little evidence exists about whether the effect differs by the level of low-grade chronic systemic inflammation. We investigated whether the level of c-reactive protein (CRP, a marker of systemic inflammation) modifies the associations of particulate matter exposures with brain cortical gray matter thickness and white matter hyperintensities (WMH).

Alzheimer's disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function.

Little is known about the effect of air pollution on Alzheimer's disease (AD)-specific brain structural pathologies. There is also a lack of evidence on whether this effect leads to poorer cognitive function. We investigated whether, and the extent to which, AD-like cortical atrophy mediated the association between air pollution exposures and cognitive function in dementia-free adults.

Factors Affecting the Circulating Levels of Oxyntomodulin in Health and After Acute Pancreatitis.

Objectives: To investigate the factors associated with the circulating levels of oxyntomodulin in healthy individuals and individuals after an episode of acute pancreatitis (AP).

Methods: Blood samples were collected from all participants after an overnight fast and analyzed for 28 biomarkers. Participants also underwent comprehensive body composition analysis on a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner.

Metabolic traits affecting the relationship between liver fat and intrapancreatic fat: a mediation analysis.

Aims/hypothesis: The clinical importance of fat deposition in the liver and pancreas is increasingly recognised. However, to what extent deposition of fat in these two depots is affected by intermediate variables is unknown. The aim of this work was to conduct a mediation analysis with a view to uncovering the metabolic traits that underlie the relationship between liver fat and intrapancreatic fat deposition (IPFD) and quantifying their effect.