ABSTRACT
Background@#Over the last few decades, the incidence of hyperuricemia has increased. Recently, the incidences of gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia have been rapidly increasing in Korea. A correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) level and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol has already been identified, but it has been rarely studied in the Korean population. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between serum uric acid level and LDL cholesterol using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017). @*Methods@#This was a cross-sectional study of 8,127 Korean adults aged 19–79 years. Individuals were cancer excluded. Participants were classified as having hyperuricemia if SUA levels were ≥7.0 mg/dL in men and ≥6.0 mg/dL in women. The correlation between SUA level and LDL cholesterol was analyzed by complex sample linear regression analysis. @*Results@#In men, LDL cholesterol was higher in participants with hyperuricemia (120.6±1.61) than in normal individuals (114.3±0.84) (P<0.001). In women, LDL cholesterol was higher in participants with hyperuricemia (125.6±3.25) than in normal individuals (117.6±0.69) (P=0.0149). We used 3 models with progressive degrees of adjustment. Model 1 was adjusted for age, gender, alcohol, smoking, and body mass index. Model 2 was further adjusted for hypertension and diabetes. Model 3 was further adjusted for dyslipidemia, stroke, myocardial infarction or angina, and liver cirrhosis. After adjusting for potential confounders, LDL cholesterol was higher in the hyperuricemic group than in the normal group (P<0.001). @*Conclusion@#The study results confirm that a positive correlation exists between serum uric acid level and LDL cholesterol.
ABSTRACT
A clinical practice guideline for patients in the dying process in general wards and their families, developed through an evidence-based process, is presented herein. The purpose of this guideline is to enable a peaceful death based on an understanding of suitable management of patients’ physical and mental symptoms, psychological support, appropriate deci-sion-making, family care, and clearly-defined team roles. Although there are limits to the available evidence regarding medical issues in patients facing death, the final recommendations were determined from expert advice and feedback, considering values and preferences related to medical treatment, benefits and harms, and applicability in the real world. This guideline should be applied in a way that takes into account specific health care environments, including the resources of medical staff and differences in the available resources of each institution. This guideline can be used by all medical institutions in South Korea.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity in Korea is continuously increasing, and there are several international studies that suggest obese populations are not likely to wear seatbelts when driving a car. Even though the rate of seatbelt use in Korean adults is 79.8%, which is much lower than 94% for OECD countries, no studies have been conducted related to this particular issue in Korea. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and seatbelt use in Korea where BMI standards, laws, cultures, and social conventions totally differ from those of western countries.METHODS: This study was conducted on 8,556 drivers, aged 19 or older, using raw data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2015). A stratified and cross-sectional analysis was used to figure out seatbelt use rates according to BMI, and a multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) of seatbelt use by BMI groups.RESULTS: Increase in BMI resulted in a decrease in seatbelt use. The extremely obese group particularly had much lower rates of seatbelt use compared to other groups. After adjusting other variables, only the extremely obese group had much lower rates of seatbelt use (OR 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.53–0.87).CONCLUSION: Seatbelt use rates according to BMI had no significant differences between the non-obese group, the overweight group, and the obese group. However, the extremely obese group had a tendency to not wear seatbelts when driving a car.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Body Mass Index , Cross-Sectional Studies , Jurisprudence , Korea , Logistic Models , Nutrition Surveys , Obesity , Odds Ratio , Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development , Overweight , PrevalenceABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of e-cigarette smoking is increasing worldwide, the harmfulness of e-cigarette is not obvious. A previous study reported that e-cigarette smoking is associated with depressive symptoms in college students irrespective of tobacco smoking. However, there has been no research that has addressed this issue in the general population to date. This study was conducted to clarify the association between e-cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms in Korean adults.METHODS: The cross-sectional study collected raw data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016) and included 5,742 adults, who were ≥19 years and responded to the survey of smoking and mental health section. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds ratio of depressive symptoms by e-cigarette smoking experience and included sex, age, educational level, marital status, household income level, self-rated health, activity restriction, obesity, tobacco smoking experience, alcohol drinking experience, and stress perception level as covariates. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the patient health questionnaire-9, Korean edition.RESULTS: The rate of depressive symptoms in subjects was 5.6% (n=354) in total. Individuals with depressive symptoms were more likely to have used e-cigarettes (15.6%) than those without depressive symptoms (8.6%; P=0.001). The e-cigarette experienced group showed a higher risk of depressive symptoms (odds ratio, 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.004–2.924) than the e-cigarette unexperienced group. The result was adjusted based on the abovementioned covariates.CONCLUSION: In Korean adults, a significant association between e-cigarette smoking experience and depressive symptoms was observed.