Development of models for predicting biological age (BA) with physical, biochemical, and hormonal parameters.

Individual differences are the hallmark of aging. Chronological age (CHA) is known that fails to provide an accurate indicator of the aging but biological age (BA) estimates the functional status of an individual in reference to his or her chronological peers on the basis of how well he or she functions in comparison with others of the same CHA. Therefore, we developed models for predicting BA that can be applicable in clinical practice settings. This was a community-based cross-sectional study. Subjects were recruited from the health promotion center in Korea from 2001 to 2005. Among these, data obtained from the 3575 participants (1302 men and 2273 women) was used for clinical evaluation and statistical analysis. For our test battery we selected 25 parameters among the routine tests. For males, the best models were developed using 15, 7, 5, and 4 of the 25 chosen parameters for total, physical, biochemical and hormonal characteristics, respectively (R(2)=0.62, 0.38, 0.33, and 0.36, respectively). Similar to males, for the females, 14, 6, 8, and 3 parameters were developed as the models (R(2)=0.66, 0.40, 0.42, and 0.37, respectively). Our BA prediction models may be used as supplementary tools adding knowledge in the evaluation of aging status.

Effects on weight reduction and safety of short-term phentermine administration in Korean obese people.

The phentermine, an appetite suppressant, has been widely applied in Korea since 2004. However, there have been relatively few reports about the efficacy and the safety of phentermine in Korea. The aim of this study is to verify the effect of phentermine on weight reduction and the safety in Korean patients. This randomized, double-blind, placebo- controlled study had been performed between February and July, 2005, in Seoul on 68 relatively healthy obese adults whose body mass index was 25 kg/m2 or greater. They received phentermine-HCl 37.5 mg or placebo once daily with behavioral therapy for obesity. The primary endpoints were the changes of body weight and waist circumference from the baseline in the intention-to-treat population. Mean decrease of both body weight and waist circumference in phentermine-treated subjects were significantly greater than that of placebo group (weight: -6.7 +/- 2.5 kg, p < 0.001; waist circumference: -6.2 +/- 3.5 cm, p < 0.001). Significant number of subjects in phentermine group accomplished weight reduction of 5% or greater from the baseline and 10% or more (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the groups (p = 0.122 for systolic BP; p = 0.219 for diastolic BP). Dry mouth and insomnia were the only statistically significant adverse events that occurred more frequently in phentermine group. Most side effects of phentermine were mild to moderate in intensity. Short-term phentermine administration induced significant weight reduction and reduction of waist circumference without clinically problematic adverse events on relatively healthy Korean obese people.