Follow-up study on mortality in Korean stroke patients

Stroke is the most common cause of death as single-diseases in South Korea. And it generates additional medical cost through high incidence of related disabilities and complications, which would become more important with the rapid aging process in Korean society. This study was preformed to identify stroke patients' mortality and its associated factors. Patients diagnosed as stroke (ICD-10 code I60-I63) in 2003 were identified. Their follow-up mortality rate in 5 years and related factors (stroke type, sex, age, type of first admission hospital, comorbidity score) were analyzed using national health insurance claim data and national cause of death statistics. The mortality rate peaked in early days after attack, and decreased subsequently as the survive time gets longer. The mortality rate was higher in hemorrhagic stroke than ischemic stroke, in female than male, with the older age, and with the higher comorbidity score. It is recommended that the early intervention at general hospital or tertiary referral hospital should be promoted to decrease the mortality rate in stroke patients, and related quality assurance programs have to be enforced.

The Relationship between Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-3 Promoter Polymorphism and Growth / 대한소아내분비학회지

PURPOSE: The variability in insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels is related to polymorphic variants of the promoter region of the gene. The most common single nucleotide polymorphism of IGFBP promoter region is -202 locus. In vitro, significantly higher promoter activity of the A allele at the -202 locus compared with the C allele, consistent with the relationship observed between genotype and circulating IGFBP-3 was documented. The polymorphic variation occurs frequently and may influence GH responsiveness, somatic growth, but the effects of IGFBP-3 promoter polymorphism on growth in children are unknown. METHODS: RFLP genotyping of the -202 single nucleotide polymorphism was performed in 33 Korean children who visited our clinic for evaluation of their growth. The serum levels of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 were compared according to genotyping. RESULTS: Height SDS of subjects was -1.48+/-1.10. 11 of 33 children (33%) were heterozygous AC and the others are homozygous AA in genetic distribution, but no homozygous CC was detected. C allele frequency was 16.7%. There were no significant differences in height, body mass index, serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels between AC and AA groups. CONCLUSION: The effects of IGFBP-3 promoter polymorphism on growth at the -202 locus deserve investigation because there is no CC and the children were relatively short in this study.