Integrated Solution for Physical Activity Monitoring Based on Mobile Phone and PC.

Objectives: This study is part of the ongoing development of treatment methods for metabolic syndrome (MS) project, which involves monitoring daily physical activity. In this study, we have focused on detecting walking activity from subjects which includes many other physical activities such as standing, sitting, lying, walking, running, and falling. Specially, we implemented an integrated solution for various physical activities monitoring using a mobile phone and PC.

Evidence for gene-environment interaction in a genome wide study of nonsyndromic cleft palate.

Nonsyndromic cleft palate (CP) is a common birth defect with a complex and heterogeneous etiology involving both genetic and environmental risk factors. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 550 case-parent trios, ascertained through a CP case collected in an international consortium. Family-based association tests of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and three common maternal exposures (maternal smoking, alcohol consumption, and multivitamin supplementation) were used in a combined 2 df test for gene (G) and gene-environment (G × E) interaction simultaneously, plus a separate 1 df test for G × E interaction alone.

Effects of smoking and obesity on the association between CDH13 (rs3865188) and adiponectin among Korean men: the KARE study.

Adiponectin is secreted exclusively by adipocytes. Adiponectin is regulated by obesity, smoking, and genetic factors, including CDH13, which may contribute to development of diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Therefore, we aim to explore the joint effect of smoking and obesity on the association between CDH13 (rs3865188) and adiponectin among Korean men.

ADIPOQ Gene Variants Associated with Susceptibility to Obesity and Low Serum Adiponectin Levels in Healthy Koreans.

Objectives: This study aimed to measure the association between the adiponectin, C1Q and collagen domain-containing (ADIPOQ) gene variants and obesity in Koreans.

Methods: Three single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the ADIPOQ gene were genotyped in a population-based cross-sectional study of 986 healthy Koreans. Three different case-control groups (i.

Carriage of the V279F null allele within the gene encoding Lp-PLA₂ is protective from coronary artery disease in South Korean males.

Background: The Asia-specific PLA2G7 994G-T transversion leads to V279F substitution within the lipoprotein-associated phospholipase-A2 (Lp-PLA₂) and to absence of enzyme activity in plasma. This variant offers a unique natural experiment to assess the role of Lp-PLA₂ in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in humans. Given conflicting results from mostly small studies, a large two-stage case-control study was warranted.

Total cholesterol and cancer risk in a large prospective study in Korea.

Purpose: To further clarify the relationship between total cholesterol and cancer, which remains unclear.

Methods: We prospectively examined the association between total cholesterol and site-specific and all-cancer incidence among 1,189,719 Korean adults enrolled in the National Health Insurance Corporation who underwent a standardized biennial medical examination in 1992 to 1995 and were observed for 14 years until cancer diagnosis or death.

Results: Over follow-up, 53,944 men and 24,475 women were diagnosed with a primary cancer.

A comparison of predictability of cardiovascular events between each metabolic component in patients with metabolic syndrome based on the revised National Cholesterol Education Program criteria.

Purpose: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) generally varies depending on its diagnostic definition, and many different definitions inevitably lead to substantial confusion and lack of comparability between studies. Despite extensive research, there is still no gold standard for the definition of MetS, which continues to be a matter of debate. In this study, we investigate whether and to what extent its individual components are related to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Korean population.

Association between Alcohol Intake and Abdominal Obesity among the Korean Population.

Objectives: Although abdominal obesity has been reported to be highly related with alcohol intake, the results are still inconclusive. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the association between alcohol and abdominal obesity among the Korean population.

Methods: This study included 8,603 participants (men: 5,195, women: 3,408) aged 30 to 87 who visited the health promotion centers in Seoul for routine health examinations from April, 2006 to June, 2007.

Cardiovascular risk factors for incident hypertension in the prehypertensive population.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of changes in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors on progression from prehypertension (PreHTN) to hypertension (HTN) using an 8-yr prospective Korean Cancer Prevention Study (KCPS) by the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) in Korea.

Methods: A total of 16,229 subjects, aged 30 to 54, with new onset preHTN at baseline (1994-1996) in a biennial national medical exam were selected and followed up till 2004 at 2-yr intervals. All subjects underwent a biennial health examination including biochemical measurements and behavior.

Total, direct, and indirect serum bilirubin concentrations and metabolic syndrome among the Korean population.

Total bilirubin, not direct or indirect bilirubin, has been reported to associate inversely with metabolic syndrome. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between bilirubin subtypes and metabolic syndrome among the Korean population. This study included 5,231 Koreans (3,008 men, 2,223 women) aged 30-87 years, who visited the Health promotion centers in Seoul from April, 2006 to June, 2007.

Progression rate from new-onset pre-hypertension to hypertension in Korean adults.

Background: There are limited studies conducted in Asia to investigate the progression rate to hypertension (HTN). This study was done to estimate the progression rate of new-onset pre-HTN (PreHTN) to HTN during an 8-year follow-up period, and to compare the impact of PreHTN on progression to HTN.

Methods And Results: A total of 49,228 participants, aged 30 to 54 years with new-onset PreHTN at baseline (1994-1996) from a biennial national medical exam were enrolled and followed up every 2 years until 2004.

Adiponectin concentrations: a genome-wide association study.

Adiponectin is associated with obesity and insulin resistance. To date, there has been no genome-wide association study (GWAS) of adiponectin levels in Asians. Here we present a GWAS of a cohort of Korean volunteers.

Effects of folic acid supplementation on serum folate and plasma homocysteine concentrations in older adults: a dose-response trial.

The authors' objective in this study was to estimate the changes in serum folate and homocysteine concentration that resulted from 6 weeks of supplementation with folic acid. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response trial with a parallel-group design was conducted. A total of 133 participants aged 60-90 years (70% female, 19% nonwhite) were assigned to receive 0, 100, 400, 1,000, or 2,000 μg/day of folic acid for 6 weeks.

Relationship between HDL3 subclasses and waist circumferences on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome: KMSRI-Seoul Study.

Objective: Limited information is available on the association of HDL subtypes and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn). The objective of the present study was to investigate the association of HDL subspecies with the prevalence of MetSyn in new outpatients.

Methods: Five hundred forty-one new outpatients (366 males and 175 females) were enrolled in two hospitals participating in the KMSRI-Seoul Study.

Smoking and risk for diabetes incidence and mortality in Korean men and women.

Objective: Mounting evidence suggests that smoking is a cause of type 2 diabetes. We explored the association of cigarette smoking with diabetes incidence and mortality in a large cohort of Koreans.

Research Design And Methods: A 14-year prospective cohort study was performed on 1,236,443 Korean men and women, aged 30-95 years at baseline, who underwent standardized biennial medical examinations provided by the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC).

The Korean prediction model for adolescents' future smoking intentions.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a prediction model for future smoking intention among Korean adolescents aged 13 to 15 in order to identify the high risk group exposed to future smoking.

Methods: The data was collected from a total of 5940 students who participated in a self-administrated questionnaire of a cross-sectional school-based survey, the 2004 Korea Global Youth Tobacco Survey. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the relevant determinants associated with intentions of adolescents' future smoking.

Hepatitis B virus infection and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in South Korea: a cohort study.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is common throughout Asia and Africa. Whether chronic HBV infection increases risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is unclear. We aimed to assess the association between chronic HBV infection and subsequent development of NHL in a South Korean cohort.

A promoter polymorphism -2122C>T of CHI3L1 is associated with serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol level in Korean subjects.

Objectives: This study assessed the effects of 10 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the CHI3L1 gene on serum LDL cholesterol levels in 290 Korean subjects.

Design And Methods: Genotyping analyses of SNPs were conducted by TaqMan® method. The effects of the promoter SNP on mRNA expression and nuclear factor binding were measured by real-time PCR and electrophoretic mobility shift assay, respectively.

Body-mass index and cancer mortality in the Asia-Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration: pooled analyses of 424,519 participants.

Background: Excess bodyweight is an established risk factor for several types of cancer, but there are sparse data from Asian populations, where the proportion of overweight and obese individuals is increasing rapidly and adiposity can be substantially greater for the same body-mass index (BMI) compared with people from Western populations.

Methods: We examined associations of adult BMI with cancer mortality (overall and for 20 cancer sites) in geographic populations from Asia and from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), within the Asia-Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration, by use of Cox regression analysis. Pooled data from 39 cohorts (recruitment 1961-99, median follow-up 4 years) were analysed for 424,519 participants (77% Asian; 41% female; mean recruitment age 48 years) with individual data on BMI.

The Relationship between the Level of Fatness and Fitness during Adolescence and the Risk Factors of Metabolic Disorders in Adulthood.

Background: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between the level of obesity and physical fitness (PF) during adolescence and the risk factors of metabolic disorders during adulthood.

Methods: In the current analysis, 3,993 Korean adults (mean age, 38.70 +/- 1.

Vascular endothelial growth factor, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1, and the severity of coronary artery disease.

Background: The association between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), and coronary artery disease (CAD) was investigated.

Methods: We enrolled 112 hypertensive patients with proven CAD and 112 hypertensive controls matched for age and gender. The severity of CAD was assessed by the most severe clinical presentation of CAD in patients' history and by the number of diseased vessels.

A genome-wide association study of cleft lip with and without cleft palate identifies risk variants near MAFB and ABCA4.

Case-parent trios were used in a genome-wide association study of cleft lip with and without cleft palate. SNPs near two genes not previously associated with cleft lip with and without cleft palate (MAFB, most significant SNP rs13041247, with odds ratio (OR) per minor allele = 0.704, 95% CI 0.

The independent effects of cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and serum aspartate aminotransferase on the alanine aminotransferase ratio in korean men for the risk for esophageal cancer.

Purpose: The goal of this study is to assess the interactions among alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) / alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratios on esophageal cancer.

Materials And Methods: Alcohol and the risk of incidence and death from esophageal cancer were examined in a 14-year prospective cohort study of 782,632 Korean men, 30 to 93 years of age, who received health insurance from the National Health Insurance Corporation and had a medical evaluation from 1992 to 1995.

Results: Smoking, alcohol intake, and AST/ALT ratios were associated with the increased risk of esophageal cancer in a dose-dependent manner independent of each other.