2023 Obesity Fact Sheet: Prevalence of Obesity and Abdominal Obesity in Adults, Adolescents, and Children in Korea from 2012 to 2021.

Background: The 2023 Obesity Fact Sheet aims to present an updated overview of obesity prevalence across all age groups, including children and adolescents. Methods: This study included individuals aged ≥20 years (n=16,941,423 in 2021) who underwent health checkups provided by the Korean National Health Insurance Service between 2012 and 2021. The prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity was standardized by age and sex using data from the 2010 population and housing census. For children and adolescents (6 to 18 years) (n=884 in 2021), we used the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2012 to 2021), and obesity was defined by the corresponding sex- and age-specific body mass index percentile of 95th or greater based on the 2017 Korean National Growth Chart for Children and Adolescents. Results: The overall prevalence of obesity in 2021 is 38.4% (49.2% in men and 27.8% in women), which is a 1.27-fold increase from 30.2% in 2012. The prevalence of obesity has increased across all age groups, particularly among those aged 20, 30, and 80 years. The prevalence of class III obesity substantially increased from 0.35% (men) and 0.42% (women) in 2012 to 1.21% and 0.97% in 2021, with 3.46- and 2.31-fold increases, respectively. This increase was particularly pronounced in young adults. The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has surged from 9.7% in 2012 to 19.3% in 2021, with a greater increase among boys. Conclusion: Our study provides information on the current status of obesity prevalence based on the 2023 Obesity Fact Sheet, emphasizing the urgency of implementing timely strategies to reverse this increasing trend.

Association Between Premature Menopause and Cardiovascular Diseases and All-Cause Mortality in Korean Women.

Background Mortality from cardiovascular diseases in Asian populations is considerable. Menopause is a risk-enhancing factor for cardiovascular disease, but it is unclear whether menopause is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality in Asian women. Methods and Results A total of 1 159 405 postmenopausal women, who had participated in the health examinations of the Korean National Health Insurance Service in 2009, were analyzed, and their reproductive histories were taken. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard model assessed the hazard ratios (HRs) of myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality, according to the history of premature menopause and age at menopause. After an average 10-year follow-up, there were 31 606, 45 052, and 77 680 new cases of MI, ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality, respectively. The women with premature menopause exhibited increased risks of MI (HR, 1.40 [95% CI, 1.31-1.50]), ischemic stroke (HR, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.17-1.31]), and all-cause mortality (HR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.14-1.24]) when compared with women with menopause aged ≥50 years. The highest risk was evident with menopause between the ages of 30 and 34 years (HR for MI, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.30-1.78]; HR for ischemic stroke, 1.29 [95% CI, 1.12-1.48]; HR for all-cause mortality, 1.33 [95% CI, 1.20-1.47]) when compared with women with menopause aged ≥50 years. Conclusions Earlier age at menopause was associated with increased risks for MI, ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality. Future guidelines and risk assessment tools should consider menopause as an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease in Korean women.

Age at menopause and risk of heart failure and atrial fibrillation: a nationwide cohort study.

AIMS: This study aimed to examine the association of premature menopause and age at menopause with the risk of heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 1 401 175 postmenopausal women, who had undergone health examination provided by the Korean National Health Insurance Service, were included, and their reproductive histories were collected. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were performed to determine the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident HF and AF, according to the history of premature menopause and age at menopause. At a mean follow-up of 9.1 years, there were 42 699 (3.0%) and 44 834 (3.2%) new cases of HF and AF, respectively. Women with history of premature menopause had an increased risk of HF (HR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.26-1.40) and AF (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02-1.16), compared to women without the history. Compared with women aged ≥50 years at menopause, those aged 45-49, 40-44, and <40 years at menopause showed a significantly increased trend in HRs for the incident risk of both HF and AF (P for trend <0.001). The robustness of the results of a series of sensitivity analyses further strengthens the main findings. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that postmenopausal women with a history of premature menopause or early menopausal age may have an increased risk of HF and AF. These reproductive factors need to be considered for preventing the future risk of HF and AF.

Functional status recovery trajectories in hospitalised older adults with pneumonia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pneumonia is associated with significant mortality and morbidity in older adults. We investigated changes in functional status over 6 months after pneumonia hospitalisation by frailty status. METHODS AND MEASUREMENTS: This single-centre prospective cohort study enrolled 201 patients (mean age 79.4, 37.3% women) who were hospitalised with pneumonia. A deficit-accumulation frailty index (range: 0-1; robust <0.15, pre-frail 0.15-0.24, mild-to-moderately frail 0.25-0.44, severely frail ≥0.45) was calculated on admission. Functional status, defined as self-reported ability to perform 21 activities and physical tasks independently, was measured by telephone at 1, 3 and 6 months after discharge. Group-based trajectory model was used to identify functional trajectories. We examined the probability of each trajectory based on frailty levels. RESULTS: On admission, 51 (25.4%) were robust, 43 (21.4%) pre-frail, 40 (20.0%) mild-to-moderately frail and 67 (33.3%) severely frail patients. Four trajectories were identified: excellent (14.4%), good (25.4%), poor (28.9%) and very poor (31.3%). The trajectory was more strongly correlated with frailty level on admission than pneumonia severity. The most common trajectory was excellent trajectory (59.9%) in robust patients, good trajectory (74.4%) in pre-frail patients, poor trajectory (85.0%) in mild-to-moderately frail patients and very poor trajectory (89.6%) in severely frail patients. The risk of poor or very poor trajectory from robust to severely frail patients was 11.8%, 25.6%, 92.5% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty was a strong determinant of lack of functional recovery over 6 months after pneumonia hospitalisation in older adults. Our results call for hospital-based and post-acute care interventions for frail patients.

Comparison of Frailty Index to Pneumonia Severity Measures in Older Patients With Pneumonia.

OBJECTIVES: Risk stratification tools are useful to provide appropriate clinical care for older patients with pneumonia. This study aimed to compare a Frailty Index (FI) with pneumonia severity measures, CURB-65, and the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), for predicting mortality and persistent disability after pneumonia. DESIGN: Single-center prospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The study included 190 patients aged ≥65 years who were hospitalized with pneumonia at a university hospital in Korea between October 2019 and September 2020. METHODS: At admission, a 50-item deficit-accumulation FI (range: 0-1), CURB-65 (range: 0-5), and PSI (range: 0-395) scores were calculated. The outcomes were death and a composite outcome of death or decline in ability to perform daily activities and physical task 6 months later. RESULTS: The median age was 79 years (interquartile range: 74-85), and 70 (36.8%) patients were women. The patients who died (n = 53) had higher FI (median, 0.46 vs 0.20; P < .011), CURB-65 score (median, 3 vs 2; P = .001), and PSI score (median, 149 vs 116; P < .001) than those who did not. The C-statistics (95% confidence intervals) for 6-month mortality were 0.69 (0.61-0.77) for the FI, 0.62 (0.53-0.71) for CURB-65, and 0.71 (0.62-0.79) for the PSI (P = .019). The C-statistics for the 6-month composite outcome were 0.73 (0.65-0.81) for the FI, 0.64 (0.55-0.73) for CURB-65, and 0.69 (0.60-0.77) for the PSI (P = .096). The C-statistics improved when the FI was added to CURB-65 (from 0.64 to 0.74; P = .003) and to the PSI (from 0.69 to 0.75; P = .044) for the composite outcome. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Measuring frailty provides additive value to widely used pneumonia severity measures in predicting death or persistent hospitalization-associated disability in older adults after pneumonia hospitalization. Early recognition of frailty may be useful to identify those who require in-hospital and post-acute care interventions for functional recovery.

Association of Dynamic Changes in Metabolic Syndrome Status with the Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The longitudinal association between dynamic changes in the metabolic syndrome (MS) status and Parkinson's disease (PD) has been poorly studied. OBJECTIVE: We examined whether dynamic changes in MS status are associated with altered risk for PD. METHODS: This study was a nationwide retrospective cohort study. We enrolled 5,522,813 individuals aged≥40 years who had undergone health examinations under the National Health Insurance Service between 2009 and 2010 (two health examinations with a 2-year interval). Participants were followed up until the end of 2017. The participants were categorized into four groups according to MS status changes over 2 years: non-MS, improved MS, incident MS, and persistent MS groups. Multivariable Cox hazard regression was performed. RESULTS: During the 7-year median follow-up, there were 20,524 cases of newly developed PD. Compared with non-MS group, improved, incident, and persistent MS groups for 2 years were significantly associated with higher risks of PD (model 3; hazard ratio: 1.12, 95%confidence interval: 1.06-1.19 [improved MS]; 1.15, 1.09-1.22 [incident MS]; and 1.25, 1.20-1.30 [persistent MS]). Individuals with incident and persistent abdominal obesity, low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperglycemia had a significantly increased risks of PD compared with those without either condition over 2 years. CONCLUSION: Persistent and incident MS and its components may be risk factors for incident PD. Ever exposure to MS may also be associated with PD risk. Appropriate intervention for preventing and improving MS may be crucial in decreasing the PD incidence.

Frailty and hospitalization-associated disability after pneumonia: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults. The role of frailty assessment in older adults with pneumonia is not well defined. Our purpose of the study was to investigate 30-day clinical course and functional outcomes of pneumonia in older adults with different levels of frailty. METHODS: A prospective cohort was conducted at a university hospital in Seoul, Korea with 176 patients who were 65 years or older and hospitalized with pneumonia. A 50-item deficit-accumulation frailty index (FI) (range: 0-1; robust < 0.15, pre-frail 0.15-0.24, mild-to-moderately frail 0.25-0.44, and severely frail ≥ 0.45) and the pneumonia severity CURB-65 score (range: 0-5) were measured. Primary outcome was death or functional decline, defined as worsening dependencies in 21 daily activities and physical tasks in 30 days. Secondary outcomes were intensive care unit admission, psychoactive drug use, nasogastric tube feeding, prolonged hospitalization (length of stay > 15 days), and discharge to a long-term care institution. RESULTS: The population had a median age 79 (interquartile range, 75-84) years, 68 (38.6 %) female, and 45 (25.5 %) robust, 36 (47.4 %) pre-frail, 37 (21.0 %) mild-to-moderately frail, and 58 (33.0 %) severely frail patients. After adjusting for age, sex, and CURB-65, the risk of primary outcome for increasing frailty categories was 46.7 %, 61.1 %, 83.8 %, and 86.2 %, respectively (p = 0.014). The risk was higher in patients with frailty (FI ≥ 0.25) than without (FI < 0.25) among those with CURB-65 0-2 points (75 % vs. 52 %; p = 0.022) and among those with CURB-65 3-5 points (93 % vs. 65 %; p = 0.007). In addition, patients with greater frailty were more likely to require nasogastric tube feeding (robust vs. severe frailty: 13.9 % vs. 60.3 %) and prolonged hospitalization (18.2 % vs. 50.9 %) and discharge to a long-term care institution (4.4 % vs. 59.3 %) (p < 0.05 for all). Rates of intensive care unit admission and psychoactive drug use were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with frailty experience high rates of death or functional decline in 30 days of pneumonia hospitalization, regardless of the pneumonia severity. These results underscore the importance of frailty assessment in the acute care setting.

Impact of waist circumference on the risk of vertebral fracture: A nationwide cohort study in South Korea.

Evidence on the association between abdominal obesity and vertebral fracture (VF) risk is limited. We examined the association of waist circumference (WC) and abdominal obesity with VF risk in 352,095 South Korean participants aged ≥40 years who underwent health checkups between 2009 and 2012. Abdominal obesity was defined by WC ≥90 cm in men and ≥ 85 cm in women according to the Asian-specific WC cutoff for abdominal obesity. Participants were a representative sample cohort of the Korean National Health Insurance System. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs of VF development were determined using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. During the 5.5 years of follow-up, there were 2030 and 4968 new cases of VF in men and women, respectively. In men, those with abdominal obesity showed an elevated HR (1.11, 95% CI: 1.01-1.23) of incident VF than did those without abdominal obesity. In women, the HRs of VF increased in higher WC groups after adjusting for confounders (P for trend <0.001); the HR decreased in those with WC <75.0 cm (HR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.75-0.88) and increased in those with WC 85.0-89.9 cm (HR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02-1.22), 90.0-94.9 cm (HR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.08-1.32), and ≥ 95.0 cm (HR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.12-1.43) compared with those with WC 80.0-84.9 cm. This association persisted after stratification by age in women. WC and abdominal obesity were positively associated with VF risk in women, and abdominal obesity was associated with VF risk even in men. The consideration of WC and controlling abdominal obesity may be helpful in reducing future VF risk.

Association between living alone and incident type 2 diabetes among middle-aged individuals in Korea: a nationwide cohort study.

We studied the association between living alone and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes in middle-aged individuals using nationwide cohort data from the Korean population. 11,686, 677 middle-aged individuals aged 40-64 years who underwent health examinations by the Korean National Health Insurance System between 2009 and 2012 were followed up until December 31, 2015. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. During the median follow-up duration of 5.6 years, 393,438 individuals developed type 2 diabetes. Living alone was significantly associated with incident type 2 diabetes in all adjusted models (HR 1.08; 95% CI 1.07-1.09 in model 4). Individuals who lived alone for < 1 year and 1-7 years were associated with increased HRs of 1.07 (1.04-1.09) and 1.08 (1.07-1.09). Living alone was associated with incident type 2 diabetes in all subgroups. The association was stronger in men than in women and younger individuals than in older individuals. Living alone, even for a short duration, may be an important factor in type 2 diabetes development. Better household conditions and appropriate support to one-person households may be needed to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Body Weight Variability and the Risk of Cardiovascular Outcomes and Mortality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and mortality, and they commonly result in weight variabilities. We aimed to investigate the association between body weight variability and risk of major cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in individuals with type 2 diabetes using large-scale, nationwide cohort data on the Korean population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We enrolled 624,237 individuals with type 2 diabetes who underwent health examinations provided by the Korean National Health Insurance System between 2009 and 2010, with three or more body weight measurements within 5 years since enrollment and followed up until the end of 2017. We assessed body weight variability using four indices, including variability independent of the mean (VIM). A multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 15,832, 25,038, and 44,716 cases of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and all-cause mortality, respectively, were recorded. Body weight variability was associated with increased risks of major cardiovascular outcomes after adjusting for confounding variables. Compared with the hazard ratios (HRs) of the lowest quartile group, the HRs (95% CIs) of the highest quartile group of VIM for body weight were 1.15 (1.10-1.20), 1.22 (1.18-1.26), and 1.58 (1.53-1.62) for MI, stroke, and all-cause mortality, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Body weight variability was associated with increased risks of MI, stroke, and all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes and may be a predictor of cardiovascular outcomes in such patients. Appropriate interventions to maintain stable weight could positively influence health outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes.