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Background@#Recent studies have reported that chronic mental health problems often emerge in young adulthood. This study elucidated the independent effects of smoking and drinking on depressed mood in young adults by sex. @*Methods@#We used Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted in 2014, 2016, and 2018. A total of 3,391 participants aged 19–35 years, without serious chronic diseases, were recruited for this study. Depression was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). @*Results@#Smoking behavior, current smoking, and number of days smoked were significantly associated with higher PHQ-9 scores in both men and women (all P<0.05). However, past and ever smoking were positively associated with PHQ-9 scores only in women (all P<0.001). Regarding alcohol consumption, the age at which drinking first began was negatively associated with PHQ-9 scores in both men and women (all P<0.001), but the amount of alcohol consumed at 1 time was positively associated with PHQ-9 scores only in women (P=0.013). Men who drank 2–4 times a month and women who had not drunk during the past year had the lowest PHQ-9 scores. @*Conclusion@#Smoking and alcohol consumption were independently associated with depressed mood in young Korean adults, which was more pronounced in women, and exhibited sex-specific characteristics.
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Background@#Regular exercise can help in the prevention and treatment of such diseases. However, most individuals exercise only rarely or irregularly. This study examined the effects of short-term cardiovascular endurance exercise on body composition and blood pressure in adults who visited an exercise prescription clinic. @*Methods@#From among 505 adults who visited the University Hospital family medicine and exercise prescription clinic from March 2005 to March 2011, data of 105 adults who regularly participated in the cardiovascular endurance exercise program were collected and analyzed. Changes in body composition and blood pressure were measured before and after the 8-week exercise program (types of exercise: stationary bicycles and treadmills; exercise intensity: 60%–85% maximum oxygen consumption; exercise frequency: 3–5 times a week; and exercise duration: 20–45 minutes per session). @*Results@#Obesity, as defined by the percentage of body fat (measured by bioimpedance analysis), was 71.4% and 80.5% for male and female, respectively, and obesity, as defined by body mass index, was 53.5% and 40.2% for male and female, respectively. Percentage of body fat, body mass index, weight, abdominal circumference, diastolic blood pressure, and systolic blood pressure were statistically significantly lower after the exercise program. In addition, with the exercise program, the waist-hip ratio decreased and the lean body mass increased. However, the differences were not statistically significant. @*Conclusion@#Short-term cardiovascular endurance exercises can have a positive effect on body composition and blood pressure. Therefore, doctors should more actively recommend exercise guidance.