The Association between Urinary Sodium Excretion and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults from the 2010–2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: The sodium intake of Koreans was higher than that recommended by the World Health Organization. Urinary sodium, which is correlated with sodium intake, can be easily calculated by the Tanaka's equation. This study aimed to evaluate the association between urinary sodium and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults using the 2010–2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: A total of 5,870 participants from the 2010–2011 KNHANES were included in this study. Twenty-four hour urinary sodium was calculated by the Tanaka's equation using spot urine. Participants were divided into tertiles based on urinary sodium levels. The association between urinary sodium and metabolic syndrome was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of metabolic syndrome for the 2nd and 3rd tertile of urinary sodium levels was 1.51 (1.16–1.97) and 1.56 (1.23–1.97) compared to the lowest tertile of urinary sodium in men. The ORs and 95% CIs of metabolic syndrome in women were 1.20 (0.95–1.51) for the 2nd tertile and 2.16 (1.68–2.78) for the 3rd tertile. These associations remained statistically significant, even after adjusting for multiple covariates such as age, education, regular exercise, smoking, and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that urinary sodium is significantly associated with metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

Sonographic Findings of Metastatic Disease to the Thyroid

The goal of this study was to evaluate the sonographic findings of thyroid metastases arising from non-thyroid primaries. The study over a 5-year period comprised nine patients who had histopathologically proven metastatic disease to the thyroid. Ultrasonography was available in all cases. Ultrasound-guided needle aspiration was performed on 10 suspected nodules as determined by ultrasound. The Ultrasonographic findings were analyzed in two different ways. The first analysis included only those nodules biopsed, and the second analysis included all the nodules, biopsed and non- biopsed. The primary neoplasms were breast carcinoma (n=6), uterine leiomyosarcoma (n=1), cervical carcinoma (n=1), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (n=1). Excluding 2 nodules, the 8 remaining metastatic nodules exhibited ill-defined hypoechoic character with heterogeneous texture. The other two nodules showed relatively circumscribed iso- or hypo-echoic character with cystic portion. From the analysis of ultrasonographic findings including all thyroid nodules irrespective of pathologic proof, 7 cases - excluding the 2 cases from the 9 cases - showed unilateral or bilateral multiple nodules suspected of metastasis. There was no evidence of microcalcification in any thyroid nodules. In conclusion, the sonographic findings of the thyroid metastatic nodules were not specific, but unilateral or bilateral multiple suspected thyroid nodules without evidence of microcalcification may be suggestive of metastatic nodules among patients with a known primary non-thyroidal tumor.