Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2016
The Association between Parameters of Socioeconomic Status and Hypertension in Korea: the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study.
We investigated the association between socioeconomic status and hypertension in Korea, a country that has experienced a dynamic socioeconomic transition. We analyzed participants of a prospective cohort study-the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study-enrolled between 2001 and 2003. We recruited 7,089 subjects who underwent a 4-year follow up till 2007. ⋯ In multivariate adjusted analysis, the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for incident hypertension across the longer education groups were 0.749 (0.544-1.032), 0.639 (0.462-0.884), and 0.583 (0.387-0.879), compared with the shortest education group. There was no significant association between incident hypertension and income across higher income groups: 0.988 (0.714-1.366), 0.780 (0.542-1.121), and 0.693 (0.454-1.056), compared with the lowest income group. In conclusion, education and income levels are associated with the prevalence and incidence of hypertension, but only education is an independent prognostic factor in Korea.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2016
Validation of the Shock Index, Modified Shock Index, and Age Shock Index for Predicting Mortality of Geriatric Trauma Patients in Emergency Departments.
The shock index (SI), modified shock index (MSI), and age multiplied by SI (Age SI) are used to assess the severity and predict the mortality of trauma patients, but their validity for geriatric patients is controversial. The purpose of this investigation was to assess predictive value of the SI, MSI, and Age SI for geriatric trauma patients. We used the Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS), which has data from 20 EDs across Korea. ⋯ The percentage of cases classified as unstable was greater among non-survivors than survivors for the SI (36.6% vs. 1.8%, P < 0.001), the MSI (38.6% vs. 2.2%, P < 0.001), and the Age SI (69.4% vs. 21.3%, P < 0.001). Non-survivors had higher median values than survivors on the SI (0.84 vs. 0.57, P < 0.001), MSI (0.79 vs. 1.14, P < 0.001), and Age SI (64.0 vs. 41.5, P < 0.001). The predictive power of the Age SI for in-hospital mortality was higher than SI (AUROC: 0.740 vs. 0.674, P < 0.001) or MSI (0.682, P < 0.001) in geriatric trauma patients.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2016
The Association between Self-reported Sleep Duration and Body Mass Index among Korean Adolescents.
Previous research has shown that lack of sleep is related to Body Mass Index (BMI) in adolescence. This study was designed to investigate the association between sleep duration and BMI among Korean adolescents. We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study of 3,785 adolescents (males: 58.2%, females: 41.8%) in middle and high school between the ages of 11 and 18 years (mean age 15.26 ± 1.45). ⋯ Increased weekend catch-up sleep duration was associated with decreased BMI in females (P = 0.038), but not in males (P = 0.343). The results of the present study indicated that longer sleep duration on weekdays and weekends in adolescents was associated with lower BMI. Longer weekend catch-up sleep may compensate effects of insufficient sleep on BMI for female adolescents.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2016
Acquired Bilateral Dyspigmentation on Face and Neck: Clinically Appropriate Approaches.
Facial dyspigmentation in Asian women often poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Recently, a distinctive bilateral hyperpigmentation of face and neck has occasionally been observed. This study was performed to investigate the clinico-pathological features of this dyspigmentation as well as proper treatment approaches. ⋯ Among 19 patients managed with a step-by-step approach, seven improved with using only topical anti-inflammatory agents and moisturizer, and 12 patients gained clinical benefit after laser therapy without clinical aggravation. Both clinical and histopathologic findings of the cases suggest a distinctive acquired hyperpigmentary disorder related with subclinical inflammation. Proper step-by-step evaluation and management of underlying subclinical inflammation would provide clinical benefit.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Dec 2016
Seroprevalences of Specific IgG Antibodies to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella in Korean Infants.
In this study, the seroprevalences of measles, mumps, and rubella antibodies in infants were determined to assess the immunization strategy and control measures for these infectious diseases. Serum samples from infants < 1 year of age and their mothers were collected to measure the concentrations of specific IgG antibodies to measles, mumps, and rubella by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. For selected infant serum samples, measles-specific neutralizing antibody levels were determined by using the plaque reduction neutralization test. ⋯ The seropositivity of measles-specific neutralizing antibody was 63.6% in infants aged 2 months and undetectable in infants ≥ 6 months old. Because the seropositivity rates of measles, mumps, and rubella antibodies were low after the first few months of age in Korean infants, active immunization with vaccines is strongly recommended for infants aged 6-11 months when measles is epidemic. Timely administration of the first dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine at 12 months of age should be encouraged in non-epidemic situations.