Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2019
Association between Serum Uric Acid and Metabolic Syndrome in Koreans.
Although previous studies have highlighted the importance of serum uric acid as a risk factor of metabolic syndrome, no study has previously used a national Korean survey to examine the association between serum uric acid level and metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to investigate this association among Korean adults, to determine whether it varies by age and gender, and to identify optimal serum uric acid level cutoffs for predicting the presence of metabolic syndrome by gender and age. ⋯ Among Korean adults, serum uric acid levels were found to be strongly associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome. More importantly, our findings suggest that derived optimal cutoff values of uric acid might offer a useful means of diagnosing metabolic syndrome in clinical settings.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2019
Changes in Clinical and Legal Autopsy Rates in Korea from 2001 to 2015.
The autopsy is the medical examination of a deceased person that mainly provides information on the cause and manner of death. Two types are conducted in Korea: clinical and legal, depending on its purpose. Despite this procedure's importance, autopsy rates have been decreasing worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the nationwide autopsy rate in Korea and compare it with that in other countries. ⋯ The autopsy rate in Korea is lower compared to that of the advanced countries. These findings implicate the need for nationwide policy to promote both clinical and legal autopsy, which remain crucial parts of medical science and public health.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2019
Correlation of Clinical and Histopathologic Parameters with Ultrasonographic Grades in Pediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
Liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but liver biopsy in children is not available in many institutes and many parents are reluctant to agree with the procedure. We investigated the correlation of clinical and pathologic parameters with the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in pediatric patients using ultrasonographic examination methods and measured the prevalence of fatty pancreas in pediatric NAFLD. ⋯ Altogether, ultrasonographic severity of fatty liver shows good correlation with that of clinical parameters and hepatic pathology.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2019
Validation of Previous Spirometric Reference Equations and New Equations.
Pulmonary functions are interpreted using predicted values from reference equations that vary with ethnicity, gender, age, height, and weight. The universally used Choi's reference equations are not validated for Korean populations, and the purpose of this study was to validate them and develop new reference equations. ⋯ Because Choi's reference equations presented larger differences from the observed values, despite reliability, and the new reference equations showed better goodness of fit, we suggest the latter for Korean populations.