ABSTRACT
Purpose@#This study examined the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in South Korean children and adolescents by gender and age and analyzed gender-specific factors associated with MetS. @*Methods@#This study used data on children aged 10~18 from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2010 to 2015. Analyses included descriptive statistics, the independent t-test, the x2 test, and univariate logistic regression analysis (p<.050). @*Results@#The prevalence of MetS was 4.8% in boys and 3.4% in girls. The prevalence was higher in girls up to the age of 12, but higher in boys who were 13 or older. Abdominal obesity was frequent in girls, whereas low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and elevated blood pressure were more common in boys. Higher body mass index, waist-to-height ratio, waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL-C, perceived "fat" body shape, and weight loss efforts were associated with MetS in both genders. Increasing age, having one meal per day, and weight maintenance were associated factors unique to boys. Fasting plasma glucose, familial medical history of low HDL-C, and perceived "thin" body shape were associated factors in girls. @*Conclusion@#Gender and age differences should be considered in the risk assessment and prevention of MetS.
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#This study was performed to identify the prevalence of menstrual disorders in Korean women based on body mass index (BMI)and lifestyle factors, by utilizing the Korean National Health Insurance Database. @*Methods@#A retrospective observational study designwas used for the secondary data analysis. Data of women aged 15 to 49 years who were diagnosed with menstrual disorders were extractedfrom The National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort in Korea from 2009 to 2016. The age-standardizedprevalence rate of menstrual disorders was calculated using SAS version 9.4, and a Chi-square test and Cochran-Armitage test were performed. @*Results@#In total, 2,219,445 cases were extracted from the database. The prevalence of menstrual disorders significantly increasedfrom 8.6% to 11.6% (Z=135.16, p for trend <.001) over the past eight years. In particular, it was higher in underweight womenthan in women with normal weight across all years (Z=-4.18~-14.72, p <.001). Moreover, statistically significant differences in the prevalenceof menstrual disorders were found to be associated with drinking and smoking in all years and with physical activity levels in part(p <.05~.001). @*Conclusion@#These findings present compelling evidence on the prevalence of menstrual disorders based on a national database.Since the prevalence of menstrual disorders has steadily increased and differs based on BMI and lifestyle factors, educational andclinical interventions are necessary to promote risk awareness and appropriate behavioral changes among Korean women.