Inverse Association between Statin Use and Stomach Cancer Incidence in Individuals with Hypercholesterolemia, from the 2002-2015 NHIS-HEALS Data.

Purpose: To investigate the association between statin use and stomach cancer incidence in individuals with hypercholesterolemia. Materials and methods: To examine the cumulative effect of statins, we defined a statin user as one who used statins during 2002-2003 at baseline. Statin users were further classified into high and low users according to the medication possession rate. Statin non-users consisted of participants who had never used statins during the entire period of 2002-2015, despite having hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol level ≥250 mg/dL at baseline). Ultimately, 17,737 statin users and 13,412 statin non-users were used in the analysis. We performed survival analyses, considering the diagnosis of stomach cancer as an event of interest. Results: Median follow-up duration was 12.9 years. The cumulative incidence rates of stomach cancer were lowest in high users (1.90% in men and 0.98% in women). Compared to non-users, hazard ratios (95% confidential intervals) for stomach cancer of low users and high users were 0.953 (0.755-1.203) and 0.526 (0.399-0.693) in men and 0.629 (0.457-0.865) and 0.370 (0.256-0.535) in women, respectively, after adjusting for possible confounders. Conclusions: We observed an inverse association between statin use and stomach cancer incidence in participants with hypercholesterolemia.

The Association between Socioeconomic Status and Adherence to Health Check-up in Korean Adults, Based on the 2010-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the association between socioeconomic status and adherence to health check-ups in a Korean population aged 40 years or older. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 12,311 participants who participated in the 2010-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Self-reported questionnaires were used to assess each participant's socioeconomic status (household income, occupation, and education) and adherence to health check-ups. RESULTS: Men with a higher income (highest vs. lowest: odds ratio [OR], 1.799; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.296-2.497) and men with a higher education level (≥12 vs. <6 years: OR, 1.488; 95% CI, 1.078-2.054) and office workers compared with manual workers (men: OR, 1.431; 95% CI, 1.077-1.902; women: OR, 1.783; 95% CI, 1.256-2.532) appeared to undergo more health check-ups. In particular, men and women with a higher income and education appeared more likely to undergo opportunistic health check-ups (men: highest vs. lowest income: OR, 2.380; 95% CI, 1.218-4.653; ≥12 vs. <6 years education: OR, 2.121; 95% CI, 1.142-3.936; women: highest vs. lowest income: OR, 4.042; 95% CI, 2.239-7.297; ≥12 vs. <6 years education: OR, 2.475; 95% CI, 1.283-4.775). CONCLUSION: A higher socioeconomic status was associated with a higher rate of participation in health check-ups. More efforts are needed to identify the factors associated with disparity in adherence to health check-ups.

Trends in Blood Pressure and Prevalence of Hypertension in Korean Adults Based on the 1998-2014 KNHANES.

PURPOSE: To investigate trends in blood pressure (BP) and hypertension prevalence in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) I (1998), II (2001), III (2005), IV (2007-2009), V (2010-2012), and VI (2013-2014), 56077 participants (23974 men and 32103 women) were included. RESULTS: Mean systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) decreased in both sexes (male SBP: 128.1 to 120.2 mm Hg, male DBP: 82.0 to 78.5 mm Hg; female SBP: 125.7 to 116.0 mm Hg and female DBP: 77.4 to 73.2 mm Hg from the KNHANES I-VI). The age-standardized prevalence of hypertension was significantly decreased in both sexes (male; 33.3% to 30.3%, female; 28.7% to 22.7%, all p for trend <0.001). Regardless of taking anti-hypertensive medication or not, SBP and DBP declined universally in both sexes. Compared to the KNHANES I, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the KNHANES II to VI for less-than-normotensive and less-than-hypertensive BP increased in both sexes. CONCLUSION: Mean BP levels in both sexes and hypertension prevalence showed downward trends during the 16-year period.

Recent Trends in Weight Loss Attempts: Data From the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Obesity is global health concern. It is important to understand trends in weight loss attempts from a preventive health standpoint. This study aimed to investigate trends in weight loss attempts among Korean adults. Data from 81 605 adults ≥18 years who participated in the 2005 to 2015 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Participants were classified into 5 groups by body mass index. The percentage of weight loss attempts was standardized with the 2010 Korean Housing Census. The percentage of weight loss attempts increased significantly over time in both sexes. Stratified subgroups showed various trends in the percentage of weight loss attempts by the subjects. In particular, older men aged 60 to 69 years and ≥80 years and women aged 70 to 79 years showed significant increasing trends in the percentage of weight loss attempts. More obese subjects attempted to lose weight more frequently during the entire survey period in both sexes.

Trends in diabetes prevalence among Korean adults based on Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys III-VI.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to investigate trends in diabetic prevalence over the past 11 years using Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data. In addition, we aimed to examine trends in diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes after stratification. METHODS: We used data from the KNHANES III (2005), IV (2007-2009), V (2010-2012), and VI (2013-2015). 46,157 participants were included in this study. Diabetes was defined as follows: (1) an answer of 'yes' to whether the participants had ever been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician, (2) fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥126 mg/dL, or (3) taking oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin. All sampling and weight variables were stratified, and analysis to account for the complex sampling design. The prevalence of diabetes was standardized by the 2005 Korean Housing Census. RESULTS: In men, the crude prevalence of total and undiagnosed diabetes were significantly increased with KNHANES phase (P for trend = 0.002 and 0.004, respectively). The age-standardized prevalence of total, diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes of both sexes increased with the KNHANES phase (all P for trend < 0.001). Compared with the KNHANES III, the age-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the crude-prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes in KNHANES IV, V, and VI were 1.00 (0.72-1.41), 1.08 (0.78-1.51), and 1.42 (1.04-1.96) for men. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of total, diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes steadily increased and public efforts should focus on screening for the detection of diabetes, especially in men.

Oxidative balance score and serum γ-glutamyltransferase level among Korean adults: a nationwide population-based study.

PURPOSE: The oxidative balance score (OBS) comprises dietary and non-dietary lifestyle pro-oxidants and antioxidants. Elevated serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) level has currently emerged as a biomarker of oxidative stress. In this study, we examined whether OBS was inversely associated with serum GGT level and whether OBS could be a useful marker to predict GGT among Korean adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was based on data obtained from the 2010 and 2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 2087 men and 2071 women were included in final analysis. The OBS was divided into five equal interval categories, and GGT was dichotomized into low and high using its sex-specific median value. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between OBS categories and high GGT. RESULTS: Compared with the lowest OBS category as reference, the multivariable adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for the highest OBS category of men and women were 0.05 (0.01-0.19) and 0.27 (0.09-0.78), respectively (p for trend <0.01). CONCLUSION: A higher OBS that indicates a predominance of antioxidant over pro-oxidant exposure was strongly inversely associated with GGT level among Korean adults.

Triglyceride to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and its association with periodontal disease in Korean adults: findings based on the 2012-2014 Korean national health and nutrition examination survey.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio is associated with periodontal disease in Korean adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 12,249 individuals (4,941 men and 7,308 women) who took part in the 2012-2014 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We categorized the TG/HDL-C ratio into three groups. Periodontal disease was defined as a community pocket index score ≥3 with at least one affected site. Multiple logistic analyses were used to analyze the association between TG/HDL-C ratio and periodontal disease. RESULTS: In the study population, prevalence of periodontal disease was 31.6% in men and 21% in women. Compared to the lowest tertile group, OR (95% CI) of the highest tertile group for periodontal disease was 1.474 (1.220-1.780) in men and 1.259 (1.041-1.522) in women after adjusting for age, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, current smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, household income, oral health behavior, and use of anti-dyslipidemia medication. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the TG/HDL-C ratio is associated with periodontal disease in Korean adults. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: TG/HDL-C ratio is a simple and useful marker to reflect insulin resistance. And periodontal disease is also known to be related with insulin resistance. This study indicates that TG/HDL-C ratio was associated with periodontal disease in Korean adults.

Factors Positively Influencing Health Are Associated with a Lower Risk of Development of Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Men: The 2007-2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has risen rapidly worldwide, including in South Korea. Factors related to lifestyle are closely associated with the development of MetS. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between MetS and a number of factors positively influencing health, namely non-smoking, low-risk drinking, sufficient sleep, regular exercise, and the habit of reading food labels, among Korean men. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 3,869 men from the 2007-2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Information on five factors positively influencing their health was obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. We categorized subjects into four groups, depending on the number of positive factors reported (group I, 0-1 factor; group II, 2 factors; group III, 3 factors; group IV, 4-5 factors). RESULTS: Men who reported a greater number of positive health factors had better laboratory and anthropometric values than men who reported fewer positive health factors. The prevalence of MetS was 29.1, 27.2, 20.7, and 14.6% in groups I to IV, respectively. Compared to group I, odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for MetS were 0.96 (0.78-1.19) in group II, 0.67 (0.52-0.87) in group III, and 0.52 (0.35-0.76) in group IV, after adjusting for confounding factors. Odds ratios for abdominal obesity, glucose intolerance, and hypertriglyceridemia were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: A greater number of positive lifestyle factors influencing health were associated with a lower risk of developing MetS, in a nationally representative sample of Korean men.

Associations between high-risk alcohol consumption and sarcopenia among postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: Sarcopenia is an age-related process, leading to cardio-metabolic diseases and disabilities. High-risk drinking is also closely related to diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, which are modifiable risk factors for sarcopenia. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the association between alcohol-drinking patterns and sarcopenia in Korean postmenopausal women. METHODS: Data from 2,373 postmenopausal women were analyzed from the 2008 to 2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We defined sarcopenia as two standard deviations below the sex-specific means of the appendicular skeletal muscle/weight (percentage) values of a young reference group. Participants were categorized into three groups according to alcohol-drinking patterns, as assessed by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test questionnaire. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for sarcopenia were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: In total, 8.2% of Korean postmenopausal women met criteria for sarcopenia. The prevalence of sarcopenia increased from low-risk to high-risk alcohol-drinking groups as follows: 7.6, 11.0, and 22.7%, respectively. Compared with the low-risk group, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for the high-risk group was 4.29 (1.87-9.82) after adjusting for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, household income, education level, daily calorie intake, current smoking and regular exercise, and household food security status CONCLUSIONS:: High-risk alcohol drinking was associated with a higher risk of sarcopenia in postmenopausal Korean women.

The association between platelet count and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents.

UNLABELLED: The goal of this study was to evaluate the association between platelet count and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children and adolescents in Korea. This study included data from 2228 subjects (1201 boys and 1027 girls) who participated in the 2010-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES-V). We used the modified National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria to define MetS. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for MetS were calculated with a multiple logistic regression analysis after adjusting for confounding factors across platelet count quartiles. The overall prevalence of MetS according to the modified NCEP-ATP III criteria was 4.9% (± 0.7%) in boys and 5.7% (± 0.9%) in girls. The prevalence of MetS significantly increased with increasing platelet quartiles in both boys and girls. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for the highest vs. the lowest quartile were 5.03 (1.30-19.48) in boys and 4.08 (1.20-13.93) in girls after adjusting for age and total cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: Higher platelet count was associated with increased prevalence and risk of MetS in children and adolescents.