Concurrent presence of inflammation and obstructive sleep apnea exacerbates the risk of metabolic syndrome: A KoGES 6-year follow-up study.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) leads to multiple end-organ morbidities that are mediated by the cumulative burden of oxidative stress and inflammation. Both OSA and inflammation play key roles in increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Thus, we hypothesized that the combination of inflammation and OSA could accelerate the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a large cohort study.

The association between irritable bowel syndrome and the coexistence of depression and insomnia.

Objective: The individual occurrence of depression or insomnia is a risk factor for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but few researchers have evaluated the association between comorbid depression and insomnia and IBS. The aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between IBS and the coexistence of depression and insomnia in a Korean population-based cohort study.

Methods: A total of 3429 individuals who were enrolled in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study were analysed.

Interaction of obstructive sleep apnoea and cognitive impairment with slow gait speed in middle-aged and older adults.

Objective: to investigate whether slow gait speed is associated with cognitive impairment and further whether the association is modified by obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

Methods: in total, 2,222 adults aged 49-80 years, free from dementia, stroke and head injury were asked to walk a 4-m course at fast and usual gait speeds. The time taken to walk was measured.

Structural equation modelling for the effect of physical exercise on excessive daytime sleepiness.

Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the effect of physical exercise on excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) which is a significant public health problem.

Study Design: This is a population-based cohort study.

Methods: We hypothesized that those who engage in regular exercise would have lower chances of dozing in the daytime and examined causal relationships between EDS and known risk factors for EDS using structural equation model (SEM).

Objective snoring time and carotid intima-media thickness in non-apneic female snorers.

Controversy persists about whether snoring can affect atherosclerotic changes in adjacent vessels, independently of obstructive sleep apnea and other cardiovascular risk factors. This study examined the independent association between snoring and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in non-apneic snorers and non-snorers. We studied 180 non-apneic snorers and non-snorers participating in a full-night home-based sleep study.

A Significant Positive Association of Vitamin D Deficiency with Coronary Artery Calcification among Middle-aged Men: For the ERA JUMP Study.

Objective: Although a significant positive association of vitamin D deficiency with coronary heart disease has been demonstrated in cross-sectional as well as prospective studies, only a few studies have examined the association of vitamin D deficiency with subclinical atherosclerosis. We examined whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis, as measured by coronary artery calcification (CAC) in asymptomatic adults.

Methods: In a population-based cross-sectional study, 195 men aged 40 to 49 years without cardiovascular disease were randomly selected (98 Caucasian and 97 Japanese American men).

Longitudinal Lung Function Decrease in Subjects with Spontaneous Healed Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Objective: We compared the longitudinal course of post-bronchodilator Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (pFEV1) over a 10-year period in subjects with spontaneous healed pulmonary tuberculosis (SHPTB) with that in normal subjects.

Methods: We prospectively investigated 339 subjects with SHPTB and 3211 normal subjects. pFEV1 values measured biannually over 10 years were analyzed using mixed effects model.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Is Associated with Elevated High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels Independent of Obesity: Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) has been recognized as a common health problem, and increasing obesity rates have led to further remarkable increases in the prevalence of OSA, along with more prominent cardiovascular morbidities. Though previous studies have reported an independent relationship between elevated high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels and OSA, the issue remains controversial owing to inadequate consideration of obesity and various confounding factors. So far, few population based studies of association between OSA and hsCRP levels have been published.

Genome-Wide Association Analyses in 128,266 Individuals Identifies New Morningness and Sleep Duration Loci.

Disrupted circadian rhythms and reduced sleep duration are associated with several human diseases, particularly obesity and type 2 diabetes, but until recently, little was known about the genetic factors influencing these heritable traits. We performed genome-wide association studies of self-reported chronotype (morning/evening person) and self-reported sleep duration in 128,266 white British individuals from the UK Biobank study. Sixteen variants were associated with chronotype (P<5x10-8), including variants near the known circadian rhythm genes RGS16 (1.

Association of Sasang Constitutional Types with Incident Hypertension: A 12-Year Follow-Up Study.

Objectives: Sasang constitutional types (SCTs) are four distinct classifications of people based on physiologic and physical characteristics. The different types have been reported to have different disease susceptibility, but there are no studies reporting the association of SCT and hypertension (HTN) over a long-term follow-up period. This study prospectively investigated the association between SCT and incidence of HTN.

Interaction between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Shortened Telomere Length on Brain White Matter Abnormality.

Study Objectives: Age-related brain white matter changes (WMC) have been associated separately with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and short telomere length (TL). No studies have examined their interaction effect on WMC.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a community-based sample of 420 participants (mean age, 61.

Interaction according to urinary sodium excretion level on the association between ATP2B1 rs17249754 and incident hypertension: the Korean genome epidemiology study.

Objective: We examined an interaction according to the estimated 24-h urinary sodium excretion on the association between ATP2B1 rs17249754 and incident hypertension.

Methods: We assessed the incidence of hypertension in 1780 participants aged 45 to 75 years without cardiovascular diseases. DNA genotyping was performed using the Affymetrix Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) array 5.

Relation Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Sleep Quality With Adjustment for Comorbidity Among the Korean Elderly: Mixed-Effects Model With a 6-Year Follow-up Study.

It is an important public health problem to identify risk factors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among the elderly. We recruited subjects from Ansan, Korea, as a subset of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES), which is an ongoing population study, and followed up their sleep quality for 6 years. Mixed effect models were used to estimate the association between sleep quality and HRQoL, and we found that overall HRQoL was significantly lower to the elderly having poor sleep quality with adjustment for significant covariates although sleep quality showed a significant interaction effect with time for the mental component summary of SF-12.

Association between Snoring and Leukocyte Telomere Length.

Study Objectives: Data on the association between snoring and telomere length, an indicator of biological aging, are very limited. Moreover, no polysomnography (PSG) studies on this association in a general population have been conducted. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between snoring and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) using PSG and a questionnaire.

Association of Sasang Constitutional Type with Sarcopenia.

Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) is a unique Korean traditional medicine that classifies human beings as four distinct types named Sasang constitutional types (SCTs), based on physiologic, physical, and psychological traits. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that specific constitutional types are associated with chronic diseases, but no study has investigated the relationship between SCTs and sarcopenia. The aim of this study was to examine the association in a large population-based study.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among sasang constitutional types: a population-based study in Korea.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease and is highly prevalent in populations with metabolic conditions such as obesity and type II diabetes. Specific types of Sasang constitution can act as a risk factor for metabolic diseases, but there are no studies addressing the association between the Sasang constitutional types (SCTs) and NAFLD.

Methods: A total of 1184 individuals (508 males, 676 females) that enrolled in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study were included in the present study.

Treatment of Insomnia, Insomnia Symptoms, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea During and After Menopause: Therapeutic Approaches.

Understanding sleep complaints among menopausal women is an emerging area of clinical and research interest. Several recent reviews have focused on mechanisms of menopausal insomnia and symptoms. In this review, we present a discussion on the most relevant and recent publications on the treatment of sleep disorders for menopausal women, with a focus on menopause-related insomnia, insomnia symptoms, and obstructive sleep apnea.

Common variants in DRD2 are associated with sleep duration: the CARe consortium.

Sleep duration is implicated in the etiologies of chronic diseases and premature mortality. However, the genetic basis for sleep duration is poorly defined. We sought to identify novel genetic components influencing sleep duration in a multi-ethnic sample.

Cortical Thinning and Altered Cortico-Cortical Structural Covariance of the Default Mode Network in Patients with Persistent Insomnia Symptoms.

Study Objectives: Recent studies have suggested that structural abnormalities in insomnia may be linked with alterations in the default-mode network (DMN). This study compared cortical thickness and structural connectivity linked to the DMN in patients with persistent insomnia (PI) and good sleepers (GS).

Methods: The current study used a clinical subsample from the longitudinal community-based Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES).

Sex-Specific Association between Longitudinal Changes in Adiposity, FTO rs9939609 Polymorphism, and Leukocyte Telomere Length.

Objective: A longitudinal study was conducted to examine sex-specific associations between changes in adiposity over a 10-year period, the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism, and leukocyte telomere length (LTL).

Methods: A population-based cohort including 2128 middle-aged and older Korean men (n = 1087) and women (n = 1041) participated in a prospective study. Anthropometric measurements of weight, height, and waist and hip circumference were taken at baseline (from 2001 to 2003) and at the 10-year follow-up period (from 2011 to 2012).

Investigation of cancer mortality inequalities between rural and urban areas in South Korea.

Objective: Little is known about rural-urban cancer disparities, particularly in South Korea, and this study is to identify cancer-specific mortality inequalities between the rural and urban areas of the country.

Design, Setting, And Participants: For 11 specific cancer sites, age-standardised mortality rates were analysed for the rural and urban administrative districts of South Korea during 2006-2011.

Main Outcome Measures: The Poisson log linear regression models were employed to estimate cancer-specific mortality rates, and Bonferroni comparison method was used to identify rural-urban disparities.

GWA meta-analysis of personality in Korean cohorts.

Personality is a determinant of behavior and lifestyle that is associated with health and human diseases. Despite the heritability of personality traits is well established, the understanding of the genetic contribution to personality trait variation is extremely limited. To identify genetic variants associated with each of the five dimensions of personality, we performed a genome-wide association (GWA) meta-analysis of three cohorts, followed by comparison of a family cohort.

Association between dietary patterns in the remote past and telomere length.

Background/objectives: There are limited data on the association between dietary information and leukocyte telomere length (LTL), which is considered an indicator of biological aging. In this study, we aimed at determining the association between dietary patterns or consumption of specific foods and LTL in Korean adults.

Subject/methods: A total of 1958 middle-aged and older Korean adults from a population-based cohort were included in the study.

Evening chronotype is associated with metabolic disorders and body composition in middle-aged adults.

Context: Chronotype is a trait determining individual circadian preference in behavioral and biological rhythm relative to external light-dark cycle. However, little is known about the relationship between chronotype and metabolic disorders.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether late chronotype is related to metabolic abnormalities and body composition in middle-aged adults, independent of sleep duration and lifestyle.

Sex-specific differences in the association of a common aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 gene polymorphism and alcohol consumption with stroke risk in a Korean population: a prospective cohort study.

Background/objectives: It is well-known that alcohol consumption is associated with stroke risk as well as with aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 gene (ALDH2) polymorphisms. However, it is unclear whether ALDH2 polymorphisms are associated with stroke risk independent of alcohol consumption and whether such association is modified by sex. We evaluated sex-specific associations of a common ALDH2 polymorphism and alcohol consumption with stroke risk in a Korean population.