Characteristics of Young Korean Metabolically Healthy Obese Patient: Based on Retrospective Analysis of Republic of Korea Navy Soldiers' Medical Examination

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of the young Korean obese but metabolically healthy subjects and to identify the factors associated with metabolic health status among them. METHODS: We reviewed the medical record of South-Korea Navy soldiers at 1st marine division with routine medical examination. Within this population, we selected obese subjects whose body mass index (BMI) were more than 25 kg/m². The clinical characteristics between obese subjects with metabolically healthy and unhealthy factors were retrospectively compared. RESULTS: Of the 1,522 subjects with medical record, 319 (20.9%) subjects were identified as obese. Among them, 60 subjects (18.8%) were classified as metabolically unhealthy, whereas 259 (81.2%) subjects were metabolically healthy. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher BMI (odds ratio, OR 1.26, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.07-1.49), higher alanine transaminase (ALT) (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.06), and drinking alcohol (OR 3.65, 95% CI 1.02-13.02) were associated with metabolically unhealthy status in obese subjects. Meanwhile, regular physical activity was associated with metabolically healthy status in obese subjects. (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.17-0.62) CONCLUSION: This study found that higher BMI, higher ALT, and drinking alcohol were related to metabolically unhealthy status in young Korean obese subjects; meanwhile, regular physical activity was related to metabolically healthy status.

Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Biopsy for Diagnosis of Mediastinal Lymphadenopathy in Patients with Extrathoracic Malignancy

Mediastinal lymphadenopathy associated with extrathoracic malignancy or a metastasis of unknown origin (MUO) requires pathological verification. Surgical exploration or endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration is limited to application. We investigated the effectiveness of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle biopsy (EBUS-TBNA) for evaluating mediastinal lymphadenopathy in patients with an extrathoracic malignancy. We retrospectively analyzed data from 59 patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA with a core biopsy because of a suspected mediastinal metastasis between September 2008 and August 2010. All patients had previously been diagnosed with an extrathoracic malignancy (n = 39, 66.1%) or a suspected MUO without a thoracic lesion (n = 20, 33.9%). A total of 88 lymph nodes was analyzed. EBUS-TBNA findings indicated malignancies in 34 patients (57.6%). The EBUS-TBNA sensitivity and specificity for the detection of mediastinal malignancy in patients with a previous extrathoracic malignancy were 96.3% and 100%, respectively. For MUO patients without a thoracic lesion, the sensitivity and specificity were 61.5% and 100%, respectively. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 81.0% and 100%, respectively (P = 0.053). EBUS-TBNA is a safe and effective modality for evaluating mediastinal lymphadenopathy in patients with a previous extrathoracic malignancy or a MUO without a thoracic lesion. The application of this diagnostic tool is likely to have significant clinical implications.