Breast cancer and menopausal hormone therapy: Health Insurance Database in South Korea (HISK)

Objective@#The purpose of this study is to determine the risk of breast cancer on women at menopause from postmenopausal hormone therapy using Korea's national health checkup and insurance data.Method: Using the national health checkup and insurance data provided by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), we selected women who were over 40 years and confirmed to have menopause during the interview from 2003 to 2011. These women were followed up for breast cancer until December 31, 2019. The control group was defined as women who never used hormone drug during from 2003 to 2019, and the Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) group was defined as women who used menopausal hormone drug for over 6 months. Menopausal hormone drugs were classified tibolone, combined estrogen plus progestin by manufacture (CEPM) (Estradiol Hemihydrate/Drospirenone, Estradiol Hemihydrate/Drospirenone, Estradiol Hemihydrate/Norethisterone Acetate, Cyproterone Acetate/Estradiol Valerate, Estradiol Hemihydrate/Norethisterone Acetate, Estradiol Valerate/Norethisterone Acetate), estrogen (Conjugated Estrogens, Estradiol Valerate, Estradiol Hemihydrate), combined estrogen plus progestin by physician (CEPP) (Estrogen + Progesterone Micronized, Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, Dydrogesterone), Topical estrogen (Estradiol Hemihydrate patch or gel). The variables that may affect breast cancer were adjusted, such as age, body mass index, socioeconomic status, region, Charlson Comorbidity Index, parity, age at menarche, age at menopause, smoking, alcohol, physical exercise, period from menopause to inclusion time. @*Results@#The control group, the tibolone group, CEPM group, the oral estrogen group, CEPP group, and the topical estrogen group were 920,783, 165,222, 107,088, 45,609, 5,633, and 1,729, respectively. In the Cox proportional hazard analysis with adjusted variables, the risk of breast cancer increased in CEPM group. {Hazard ratio [HR] 1.439, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.374-1.507} However, there were no increase in the risk of breast cancer in the tibolone group, oral estrogen group, CEPP group and the topical estrogen group. (HR 0.968, 95% CI 0.925-1.012) (HR 1.002, 95% CI 0.929-1.081) (HR 0.929, 95% CI 0.75-1.15) (HR 1.139, 95% CI 0.809-1.603) There was no difference in the risk of breast cancer even with doubling the amount of tibolone used. (Over 5 mg: HR 1.306, 95% CI 0.326-5.226) The risk of breast cancer was lower in those in their 50s and 60s than in their 40s. (50s: HR 0.956, 95% CI 0.906-1.008) (60s: HR 0.846, 95% CI 0.776-0.922) As BMI increased, the risk of breast cancer increased. (25-29.9: HR 1.126, 95% CI 1.085-1.169) (30 or more: HR 1.356, 95% CI 1.258-1.462) There was an increased risk of breast cancer when menstrual age was 13 years or older. (HR 1.157, 95% CI 1.109-1.419) A history of smoking increased the risk of breast cancer (HR 1.254, 95% CI 1.109-1.419), and drinking history was not associated with breast cancer. Also, as the inclusion period from menopause increased, the risk of breast cancer decreased. (5-9 years: HR 0.918, 95% CI 0.879-0.959) (10 years or more: HR 0.846, 95% CI 0.791-0.904) @*Conclusion@#CEPM increased the risk of breast cancer. However, tibolone, oral estrogen, CEPP, and topical estrogen were not associated with breast cancer. The risk of breast cancer did not differ depending on the dose of tibolone.

Association between pregnancy and acute appendicitis in South Korea: a population-based, cross-sectional study / 대한외과학회지

PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of acute appendicitis and the relationship between pregnancy and acute appendicitis among South Korean women in 2009. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study over 1 year period using a national registry data. We analyzed a national patient sample (n = 1,116,040) from a database complied by the South Korean National Health Insurance in 2009. RESULTS: We identified 15,974 cases of acute appendicitis from 2009. The prevalence rate of acute appendicitis was 228 +/- 2 per 100,000 persons. The prevalence in men was higher than in women. The peak prevalence of the disease in both genders occurred in patients aged 10 to 14 years. After that, prevalence declined with age. The prevalence of acute appendicitis in women aged 20 to 39 years was negatively associated with age and pregnancy (P < 0.001) but was not associated with socioeconomic status. The prevalence of perforated appendicitis cases by age is represented by a U-shaped curve. The prevalence was highest in people less than five years of age and in people older than 60 years. CONCLUSION: We found that the prevalence of acute appendicitis decreased with increasing age after early teens, and that the prevalence of acute appendicitis in pregnant women was lower than in nonpregnant women.

Outcome of posterior transvaginal mesh kit / 대한산부인과내시경학회지

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to report outcomes of apical and posterior pelvic organ prolapse repair using posterior transvaginal mesh kit. METHODS: Thirty four consecutive patients with apical or posterior pelvic organ prolapse over pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) stage 2 were repaired by posterior transvaginal mesh kit at the Korea University Guro Hospital between July 2007 and June 2011. Postoperative follow-up visits were scheduled at 1, 6 months after surgery, with question about side effects and POP-Q exam. RESULTS: Thirty four consecutive patients who underwent posterior transvaginal mesh kit had completed 6 month follow up. The demographics are the mean age 65.9+/-8.6 years, the mean body mass index 26.4+/-3.0 kg/m2 and the mean parity 3.6+/-1.5. Overall anatomic cure rates of apical pelvic organ prolapse and rectocele were 91.7%, 92.6%, respectively. The Ap, Bp scores improved significantly after operation (p<0.01). No patient presented healing abnormality. CONCLUSION: Posterior transvaginal mesh kit is effective and safe for treatment of apical and posterior pelvic organ prolapse.

The Association between Components of the Metabolic Syndrome and Bone Mineral Density

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the components of the metabolic syndrome (MS) and bone mineral density (BMD). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis for 128 men (mean age 50.4 +/- 8.3 years) and 391 women (mean age 46.9 +/- 11.6 years) in Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea. Height (cm), weight (kg), waist circumference (cm), and blood pressure (mmHg) were measured. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides were measured. BMD at the total hip and lumbar spine was measured by dual X-ray densitometry. All participants completed a standardized questionnaire including medical history, smoking history, alcohol consumption, physical activity and menopausal status. RESULTS: Women with MS had lower BMD at lumbar and total hip sites (0.937 +/- 0.136 g/cm2, P-value 0.010; 0.875 +/- 0.113 g/cm2, P-value 0.045, respectively) than did women without MS. These differences at the spine and femoral neck were persisted after adjusting for age, body mass index, menopause status, alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity. However, no significant differences in BMD were found in men between those with and without MS. In linear regression analyses, waist circumferences were highly associated with BMD at lumbar and total hip sites in women (beta -0.003, P-value < 0.001; beta -0.001, P-value 0.001, respectively). However, no significant differences were found in men between BMD and components of the MS. CONCLUSION: Among components of MS, waist circumference was associated with BMD in women. But no association was found in men. Women with MS had lower BMD than did women without MS.

A study for Pertinence in Emergent Cesarean Section / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the inclination, pertinence and influential factor in emergent cesarean section according to the assortment and analysis of the indication of emergent cesarean section. METHODS: The retrospective study was performed with the review of 360 emergent cesarean section cases from January 2003 to December 2003. RESULTS: The indication of cesarean section was followed by the order of progress failure (47.5%), previous cesarean section (19.2%), and fetal distress (15.8%). The improper operation of emergent cesarean section was done in fetal distress (28.1%), progress failure (8.6%), and induction failure (16.7%). The absence of acceleration with prolonged bradycardia was the most common (50.0%) type of fetal distress. The emergent cesarean section were done more commonly on Tuesday and Friday during weekdays and it was the peak time in a whole day of cesarean section from 11 o'clock to 12 o'clock and 16 o'clock to 17 o'clock. CONCLUSION: It was proved that twenty six (7.2%) cases of emergent cesarean section were done improperly. Now, work through the non-medical factors are considered more important to reduce improper section rate.

Comparative Study of Maternal and Perinatal Complications in Overt and Gestational Diabetes / 대한주산의학회잡지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the maternal and neonatal complications of the overt diabetes with that of gestational diabetes. METHOD : The medical records of 65 pregnant patients complicated by diabetes mellitus at Eulji medical center from January, 2001 to December, 2002 were reviewed retrospectively. Thirteen patients of them were diagnosed as a overt diabetes and the others were diagnosed as a gestational diabetes. RESULTS: Maternal complications were that preeclampsia in 15.4% and preterm labor in 15.4% in overt diabetes patients and preeclampsia in 9.6%, fourth degree laceration in 1.9%, preterm labor in 3.8%, placenta abruption in 1.9%, cardiomyopathy in 1.9% and polyhydroamnios in 1.9% in gestational diabetes patients. Neonatal complications were that hypoglycemia in 38.5% and respiratory distress syndrome in 15.4% in overt diabetes patients and hypoglycemia in 25%, hyperbilirubinemia in 9.6% and shoulder dystocia in 1.9% in gestational diabetes patients. There were no statistic differences in maternal and neonatal complications in two groups when management had done. And in gestational diabetes group, maternal and neonatal complications were significantly higher in no management group than management group regardless of management types. CONCLUSION: If early detection and management were done in overt and gestational diabetes, there were no difference in maternal and neonatal complications. Regardless of types of diabetes, early detection and management were important.

The Effect of Microdose Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone Agonist on Secretion of Gonadotropins and Estradiol in Normally Menstruating Women / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVES: The microdose of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) has been suggested as a beneficial method of ovulation induction for poor responders. However, the effect of microdose of GnRHa itself has not been evaluated yet. We performed a prospective sutdy to assess the effect of microdose of GnRHa (5 microgram of triptorelin acetate) on the luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Secondary objective of this study is to assess how long the down-regulation of gonadotrophin secretion by microdose GnRHa persists. METHODS: Five microgram of triptorelin was injected daily into five normally menstruating women for 7 days starting from cycle day 3. The blood sample was drawn for 12h with 4h interval, then for 6days with 4 h interval and once a day for 14days, In next cycle, same amount of triptorelin was injected into the same subjects daily for 3 days. The blood sample was drawn twice a day for 20days. Serum FSH, LH and extradiol level was measured. RESULTS: The serum LH and FSH level increased rapidly after injection of first GnRHa. The FSH level reached peak (27.53+/-6.34 IU/l) in 5h while LH level reached peak (34.35+/-7.18 IU/l) in 4h. The flare of gonadotrophins persisted even after second and third day injection of GnRHa, although the peak levels were not as high as first injection. The down regulation of gonadotrophin was established in 4-5 days. The estradiol level increased for 4-5 days then decreased. When GnRHa was given for 7days, the estradiol level began to rise 7-8 days after last injection; when given for 3days, the estradiol level began to rise 3-6 days after last injection. CONCLUSION: Even with ultra-low dose of GnRHa, the down-regulation of gonadotrophin could be achieved. The flare-up of gonadotrophin would persist for 3days with this dose. The duration of down regulation was influenced by the duration of GnRHa administration.