Association between Education Level and Diabetes in Korean Adults Over 30 Years Old: The Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016–2017)

Background@#It has been reported that low education levels are associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between education level and the prevalence of diabetes. @*Methods@#This study was based on the original data of the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016–2017). In total, 4,819 adults over 30 years of age participated in this study, and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to derive the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval to assess the relationship between education level and diabetes. The influence of sex, age, obesity, depression, drinking, smoking, and occupation was analyzed to determine the net influence of education level on the prevalence of diabetes mellitus. @*Results@#The level of education and prevalence of diabetes were significantly correlated. When the level of education was high, the possibility of diabetes mellitus was higher than that in university graduates (odds ratios=1.836, P<0.05); however, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was not significantly different from that in college graduates. The effect of correction variables on the prevalence of diabetes showed significant differences (P<0.05) in sex, age, obesity, and occupation. @*Conclusion@#There was a statistically significant association between the low level of education and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in this study; therefore, active intervention for diabetes is required in people with low education.

Comparison of Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in One-Person Households and Multi-Person Households

BACKGROUND: Recently, the number of one-person households has increased, and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus has risen in Korea. Major complications of diabetes, such as stroke and myocardial infarction are major causes of death. Therefore, we conducted this study to test the hypothesis that the risk factors and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus differ between one-person and multi-person households.METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed data of 3,691 adults over 19 years old from the 7th (2016) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data were analyzed by composite sampling for age, family history, waist circumference, body mass index, hypertension, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and consumption of breakfast. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed by household-type in order to estimate the relative risk of factors associated with diabetes.RESULTS: Hypertension was a significant risk factor for diabetes in both groups. Among other diabetic risk factors, individuals in one-person households were more likely to skip breakfast and less likely to engage in physical activity than those in multi-person households.CONCLUSION: One-person households have a high risk of hypertension, skipping breakfast, and poor physical activity. It is important to consider the role of one-person households when studying the management and treatment of disease.

An Evaluation of the ACL TOP Automated Coagulometer for Determination of D-Dimer / 임상검사와정도관리

BACKGROUND: D-dimer is a specific marker of secondary fibrinolysis. D-dimer assay is widely used in the diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and arterial thromboembolism. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays have been validated as the reference method for plasma D-dimer measurement, but it took long time. We evaluated the analytical performance of new automated coagulation system, ACL TOP, for quantification of D-dimer. METHODS: The total plasma D-dimer concentrations were measured by Nycocard and ACL TOP. To test the linearity, a serial dilution samples were prepared and measured. Between run precision of the ACL TOP D-dimer assay was evaluated with HemosIL D-Dimer controls for 20days. The correlation was evaluated using 75 plasma samples from patients. ACL TOP was evaluated according to CLSI guidelines. RESULTS: ACL TOP showed good linearity (r=0.9996) and between run coefficient of variation was within 4.0%. Coefficient of correlation between Nycocard and ACL TOP was 0.798. Positive concordance rate of ACL TOP was 67%, and negative concordance rate of ACL TOP was 80%. CONCLUSIONS: Since the ACL TOP showed a satisfactory precision, linearity, and comparative high correlation with Nycocard, and is more convenient and automatic than the Nycocard, it should be potentially beneficial in the clinical laboratories.