Journal of Korean medical science
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2014
Sleep disturbances and glucoregulation in patients with type 2 diabetes.
We investigated the frequency of sleep disturbances and the association between sleep disturbances and glucoregulation in type 2 diabetic patients. The frequency of sleep disturbances in 614 type 2 diabetic patients was investigated using validated sleep questionnaires. There were 381 male and 233 female patients. ⋯ Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that there was no significant association between HbA1c and other sleep disturbances, such as poor sleep, insomnia, and short duration of sleep. Sleep disturbances were very common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, whereas there was no association between poor or short sleep and glucoregulation. Awareness and identifying sleep complaints in such patients are necessary to improve their quality of daily life.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2014
Cost-of-illness and quality of life in patients with ankylosing spondylitis at a tertiary hospital in Korea.
The objectives of this study were to estimate the cost-of-illness (COI) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Korea and to evaluate the effects of socio-demographic and clinical factors on the COI and the HRQOL. Face-to-face interview surveys were taken from patients with AS at the Rheumatology Clinic of Seoul National University Hospital. Direct medical and non-medical costs, indirect costs (productivity loss due to job loss and sick leave), and deterioration of HRQOL in patients with AS were measured. ⋯ The COI in patients with AS amounted to 11,646,180 Korean Won (KRW) per patient, and their HRQOL was 0.62. As functional severity worsened, the total costs increased (class I, KRW 7.7 million; class II, KRW 12.9 million; classes III & IV, KRW 25.2 million) and the HRQOL scores decreased (class I, 0.72; class II, 0.61; classes III & IV, 0.24). Functional severity is the major determinant of the COI and HRQOL in patients with AS.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2014
Microarray analysis for genes associated with angiogenesis in diabetic OLETF keratocytes.
The purpose of this study was to identify the differences in angiogenesis gene expression between normal and diabetic keratocytes stimulated with interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Primarily cultured normal and diabetic keratocytes were treated with 20 ng/mL of IL-1a and TNF-α for 6 hr. cDNA was hybridized to an oligonucleotide microarray. Microarray analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes that were further evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). ⋯ Agtr1 and Itga1 showed an increased expression in diabetic keratocytes compared with normal corneal keratocytes, especially after TNF-α treatment. Il6 appeared strong expression after interleukin-1α treatment, but showed down expression after TNF-α treatment. Further studies to analyze and confirm the significance of the identified angiogenetic genes of diabetes are needed.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyRisk of bladder cancer among patients with diabetes treated with a 15 mg pioglitazone dose in Korea: a multi-center retrospective cohort study.
It has not yet been determined whether chronic exposure to relatively low doses of pioglitazone increases risk of bladder cancer. We aimed to assess the risk of bladder cancer associated with pioglitazone in Korean patients. This was a retrospective cohort study of diabetic patients who had ≥ 2 clinic visits between November 2005 and June 2011 at one of four tertiary referral hospitals in Korea. ⋯ A total of 101,953 control patients and 11,240 pioglitazone-treated patients were included, in which there were 237 and 30 cases of incidental bladder cancer (64.9 and 54.9 per 100,000 person-years; age, sex-adjusted HR 1.135, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.769-1.677), respectively. In the prevalent case-control analysis nested within the cohort, use of pioglitazone for a duration of > 6 months, but not ever use of pioglitazone, was associated with an increased rate of bladder cancer as compared to never use of pioglitazone. In conclusion, we failed to exclude the possible association between use of pioglitazone for a duration of > 6 months and bladder cancer.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyClinical characteristics and outcomes of acute hepatitis a in Korea: a nationwide multicenter study.
The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of acute hepatitis A during a recent outbreak in Korea. Data of patients diagnosed with acute hepatitis A from 2007 to 2009 were collected from 21 tertiary hospitals retrospectively. Their demographic, clinical, and serological characteristics and their clinical outcomes were analyzed. ⋯ Complications of renal failure or prolonged cholestasis were more frequent in patients older than 30 yr. In conclusion, most patients with acute hepatitis A recover uneventfully, however, complication rates are higher in patients older than 30 yr than younger patients. Preventive strategies including universal vaccination in infants and active immunization of hepatitis A to adult population should be considered for prevention of community-wide outbreaks of hepatitis A in Korea.