Persistent smoking after a cardiovascular event: A nationwide retrospective study in Korea.

Smoking is a major risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as stroke and ischemic heart disease. Prior studies have observed people continued smoking even after being diagnosed with CVD. However, population-level data regarding smoking behavior changes among people who are diagnosed with CVD are still lacking. From the National Health Insurance sample cohort database, we identified 1,700 patients diagnosed as having CVD between 2003 and 2012, and underwent the national health screening examination in the year before and after the CVD event. We found that 486 (28.6%) were smokers before the CVD event. Among them, 240 (49.4%) continued to smoke despite the diagnosis. We observed that a higher smoking amount and longer smoking duration before the diagnosis were associated with persistent smoking. Our finding that approximately 50% of smokers continue smoking even after CVD events supports the need for an assessment of patients' smoking statuses during follow-up after a CVD event and for health-care providers to offer the appropriate smoking cessation interventions to those who continue smoking.

Risk Factors for Thyroid Cancer: A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study in Korean Adults.

PURPOSE: Although the incidence of thyroid cancer in Korea has rapidly increased over the past decade, few studies have investigated its risk factors. This study examined the risk factors for thyroid cancer in Korean adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study design was a hospital-based case-control study. Between August 2002 and December 2011, a total of 802 thyroid cancer cases out of 34,211 patients screened from the Cancer Screenee. Cohort of the National Cancer Center in South Korea were included in the analysis. A total of 802 control cases were selected from the same cohort, and matched individually (1:1) by age (±2 years) and area of residence for control group 1 and additionally by sex for control group 2. RESULTS: Multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis using the control group 1 showed that females and those with a family history of thyroid cancer had an increased risk of thyroid cancer, whereas ever-smokers and those with a higher monthly household income had a decreased risk of thyroid cancer. On the other hand, the analysis using control group 2 showed that a family history of cancer and alcohol consumption were associated with a decreased risk of thyroid cancer, whereas higher body mass index (BMI) and family history of thyroid cancer were associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that females, those with a family history of thyroid cancer, those with a higher BMI, non-smokers, non-drinkers, and those with a lower monthly household income have an increased risk of developing thyroid cancer.

Alcohol Intake and Risk of Thyroid Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess whether alcohol intake is associated with the risk of thyroid cancer by a meta-analysis of observational studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed and EMBASE in June of 2015 to locate eligible studies. We included observational studies such as cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, and cohort studies reporting odd ratios (ORs) or relative risk (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: We included 33 observational studies with two cross-sectional studies, 20 case-controls studies, and 11 cohort studies, which involved a total of 7,725 thyroid cancer patients and 3,113,679 participants without thyroid cancer in the final analysis. In the fixed-effect model meta-analysis of all 33 studies, we found that alcohol intake was consistently associated with a decreased risk of thyroid cancer (OR or RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.83; I2=38.6%). In the subgroup meta-analysis by type of study, alcohol intake also decreased the risk of thyroid cancer in both case-control studies (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.92; I2=29.5%; n=20) and cohort studies (RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.82; I2=0%; n=11). Moreover, subgroup meta-analyses by type of thyroid cancer, gender, amount of alcohol consumed, and methodological quality of study showed that alcohol intake was significantly associated with a decreased risk of thyroid cancer. CONCLUSION: The current meta-analysis of observational studies found that, unlike most of other types of cancer, alcohol intake decreased the risk of thyroid cancer.

[Sialadenosis in a patient with alcoholic fatty liver developing after heavy alcohol drinking].

Sialadenosis is a unique form of non-inflammatory, non-neoplastic bilateral salivary gland disorder characterized by recurrent painless swelling which usually occurs in parotid glands. Alcoholism is one of the main causes of sialadenosis along with diabetes, bulimia, and other idiopathic causes. The prognosis is verified according to the degree of liver function. We present a case of a 46 year-old man who had alcoholic fatty liver disease diagnosed as alcoholic sialadenosis based on clinical points of recurrent bilateral parotid swelling after heavy alcohol drinking, computed tomography, and fine-needle aspiration biopsy. After stopping alcohol drinking and treated with conservative treatment, he got improved without specific sequela.