Association of Sleep Duration and Obesity According to Gender and Age in Korean Adults: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007–2015

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate associations between self-reported sleep duration and general and abdominal obesity in Korean adults stratified according to gender and age. METHODS: Data from 41,805 adults, 18–110 years of age, collected by the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) in 2007 and 2015, were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for obesity and abdominal obesity by sleep duration after controlling for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. RESULTS: Among individuals 30–49 years of age, there was an increased AOR for obesity only for sleep duration ≤ 5 hour/day compared with sleep duration 6 to 8 hour/day, both in men (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.02–1.54) and women (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.29–1.90), after controlling for covariates. Regarding women, there was increased AOR for abdominal obesity for sleep duration ≤ 5 hour/day (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.18–1.78) and ≥ 9 hour/day (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.09–1.76) compared with sleep duration 6 to 8 hour/day. However, for elderly individuals (≥ 65 years), there was a negative association between sleep duration ≤ 5 hour/day and obesity, but not with abdominal obesity, in both men and women. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a significant association between sleep duration and obesity, which varied according to gender and age.

Prevalences and Management of Diabetes and Pre-diabetes among Korean Teenagers and Young Adults: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2014

The rapid increases in childhood obesity and physical inactivity are linked to the incidence of diabetes among young individuals. However, few studies have evaluated the prevalence of diabetes among this population. Therefore, we used Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data to evaluate the prevalence and management of diabetes and pre-diabetes among young Koreans. We evaluated KNHANES data (2005–2014) from 10–29-year-old individuals. Individuals were considered eligible if they had completed the health examination and the health interview survey, and we excluded individuals with missing data regarding fasting glucose or glycated haemoglobin levels. Among the 100,101 potentially eligible individuals who participated in KNHANES (2005–2014), we included 83,577 (37,677 male and 45,900 female) individuals. The overall prevalences of diabetes and pre-diabetes among 10–19-year-old individuals were 0.2% and 11.9%, respectively. Among 20–29-year-old individuals, the prevalences of diabetes and pre-diabetes were 0.9% and 9.6%, respectively. The overall rates of diabetes awareness during the study period were 36.6% for 10–19-year-old individuals and 50.8% for 20–29-year-old individuals. However, the prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes had noticeably increased at the 2013–2014 KNHANES: 0.6% and 25.9% among 10–19-year-old individuals, and 0.8% and 19.2% among 20–29-year-old individuals. The prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes is rapidly increasing among Korean teenagers and young adults. Pre-emptive interventions to diagnose and treat diabetes and pre-diabetes are needed to improve glycaemic control among this population.