The association between somatic and psychological discomfort and health-related quality of life according to the elderly and non-elderly.

PURPOSE: Symptoms and discomfort are common complaints in primary care settings. It has been postulated that the physical symptoms are informative index in estimating Health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Thus, we conducted a community-based cross-sectional study to assess the relationship between somatic and psychological discomfort and HRQOL in elderly and non-elderly people. METHODS: A total of 2467 participants were recruited in 2013 from a population of 17,066 rural residents aged 20 or older. Information on demographic characteristics, somatic and psychological discomfort symptoms, and HRQOL was collected. Two months after the baseline survey, we conducted a repeated survey to assess changes in the discomfort symptoms and HRQOL. We evaluated associations of the discomfort symptoms with HRQOL using multiple linear regression and mixed model. RESULTS: EuroQol-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS), index of HRQOL, was correlated with fatigue, pain, sleep disturbances, indigestion, and anxiety/depression, after adjusting for covariates. However, the factors most significantly associated with EQ-VAS differed between the elderly and non-elderly. Pain was the most important factor contributing to EQ-VAS in the elderly, whereas depression and anxiety were the predominant factors in the non-elderly. These relationships were replicated in the repeated measurements to assess the change of symptoms and change of EQ-VAS. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that somatic and psychological discomfort symptoms are associated with HRQOL. The main factors related to HRQOL vary according to age and large prospective studies and clinical trials are needed to clarify the association between specific symptoms and HRQOL according to the age.

Supplementation with Aspergillus oryzae-fermented kochujang lowers serum cholesterol in subjects with hyperlipidemia.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Kochujang, a traditional fermented red pepper paste, is known for its hypocholesterolemic effect; however, these studies used non-commercial preparations of kochujang. In this study, we examined whether commercially-made kochujang in which Aspergillus oryzae (also known as koji) was used as a microorganism for fermentation has the same cholesterol-lowering effects. METHODS: Hyperlipidemic subjects (based upon criteria of 110 ∼ 190 mg/dL LDL cholesterol or 200 ∼ 260 mg/dL total cholesterol) who had not been diagnosed with any disease and met the inclusion criteria were recruited for this study. The 30 subjects were randomly divided into either the kochujang (n = 15) or placebo (n = 15) group. All subjects ingested either the kochujang pill (34.5 g/d) or a placebo three times daily during meals for 12 weeks. Outcomes included measurements of efficacy (total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride) and safety (adverse events, laboratory tests, electrocardiogram, and vital signs). RESULTS: In the kochujang-supplemented group, subjects' total cholesterol level significantly decreased (from 215.5 ± 16.1 mg/dL to 194.5 ± 25.4 mg/dL, p = 0.001). LDL-C cholesterol levels were also decreased by kochujang supplementation (from 133.6 ± 14.8 mg/dL to 113.5 ± 23.1 mg/dL); however no significant difference was seen between groups (p = 0.074). There were no statistically significant differences in HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels between the supplemented and non-supplemented groups. None of the subjects complained of any adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that A. oryzae-fermented kochujang elicits a significant hypocholesterolemic effect and might be useful for improving blood cholesterol levels in subjects at high risk for cardiovascular disease. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01865370.