Biomedical Issues of Dietary fiber β-Glucan

β-glucan is a polysaccharide in the form of fiber and the main element of fiber in grains such as barley, oats, yeast and mushrooms. Many studies have examined the efficacy of β-glucan in terms of the lipid lowering effects, blood sugar reduction, weight reduction, immune modulator, and anticarcinogenic effect. However, there is no comprehensive review article on the biomedical issues regarding β-glucan. The authors searched for systematic reviews and clinical experiments for each relevant topic and reviewed the biomedical effects of β-glucan, for the purpose of developing research strategies for the future

Fall predictors beyond fall risk assessment tool items for acute hospitalized older adults: a matched case–control study

Abstract We investigated whether clinical factors including comorbidities, medications, and laboratory results predict inpatient fall risk in older adults. The participants in this case–control study included hospitalized older adults with acute conditions who had falls during their hospital stay (case group) and 410 hospitalized older adults who did not experience falls (control group). Data on medical history, fall risk assessment (Morse Fall Scale; MFS), medications, and laboratory results were obtained. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the association between clinical factors and falls. Receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve (AUC) were used to determine whether clinical factors could discriminate between fallers and controls. We evaluated three models: (M1) MFS, (M2) M1 plus age, sex, ward, and polypharmacy, and (M3) M2 plus clinical factors. Patients with diabetes mellitus or MFS scores ≥ 45 had the highest risk of falls. Calcium channel blockers, diuretics, anticonvulsants, and benzodiazepines were associated with high fall risk. The AUC of the three models was 0.615, 0.646, and 0.725, respectively (M1 vs. M2, P = 0.042 and M2 vs. M3, P < .001). Examining clinical factors led to significant improvements in fall prediction beyond that of the MFS in hospitalized older adults

Weight Status and All-Cause Mortality in Older Adults: A Study of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Undergoing Subtotal Gastrectomy for Cancer

Background : The survival benefit of excess body weight is controversial across various subpopulations. We assessed the effect of weight status on all-cause mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) undergoing subtotal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods : Medical charts of 210 patients with T2DM treated at 2 university hospitals were examined retrospectively. All patients had undergone subtotal gastrectomy for cancer between January 1993 and December 2012. Participants were categorized as normal weight (body mass index [BMI], 18.5-24.99 kg/m²) or overweight/obese (BMI≥25 kg/m²). The association between weight status and all-cause mortality was assessed using weighted Cox proportional hazard regression models and inverse probability weighting. Results : The mortality rate was 25.2% after a median follow-up duration of 6.1 years (interquartile range, 3.5-8.3 years; maximum, 14.4 years). The overweight/obese group had a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-0.77; p=0.001) compared with the normal weight group. Overweight/obesity was associated with reduced all-cause mortality in patients aged <65 years (p=0.01 for interaction). Conclusion : Among T2DM patients who underwent subtotal gastrectomy for cancer, only the subgroup of patients aged <65 years in the overweight/obese group showed reduced allcause mortality compared with the normal weight group

Modeling for Estimating Influenza Patients from ILI Surveillance Data in Korea

AbstractObjectivePrediction of influenza incidence among outpatients from an influenza surveillance system is important for public influenza strategy.MethodsWe developed two influenza prediction models through influenza surveillance data of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (each year, each province and metropolitan city; total reported patients with influenza-like illness stratified by age) for 6 years from 2005 to 2010 and disease-specific data (influenza code J09-J11, monthly number of influenza patients, total number of outpatients and hospital visits) from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment service.ResultsIncidence of influenza in each area, year, and month was estimated from our prediction models, which were validated by simulation processes. For example, in November 2009, Seoul and Joenbuk, the final number of influenza patients calculated by prediction models A and B underestimated actual reported cases by 64 and 833 patients, respectively, in Seoul and 6 and 9 patients, respectively, in Joenbuk. R-square demonstrated that prediction model A was more suitable than model B for estimating the number of influenza patients.ConclusionOur prediction models from the influenza surveillance system could estimate the nationwide incidence of influenza. This prediction will provide important basic data for national quarantine activities and distributing medical resources in future pandemics

Dipstick proteinuria predicts all-cause mortality in general population: A study of 17 million Korean adults.

OBJECTIVE:A quantitative basis for the use of dipstick urinalysis for risk assessment of all-cause mortality is scarce. Therefore, we investigated the association between dipstick proteinuria and all-cause mortality in a general population and evaluated the effect of confounders on this association. METHODS:The study population included 17,342,956 adults who underwent health examinations between 2005 and 2008 under the National Health Insurance System. Proteinuria was determined using a single dipstick urinalysis, and the primary outcome of this study was all-cause mortality. The prognostic impact of proteinuria was assessed by constructing a multivariable Cox model. RESULTS:The mean age of the study population (53.24% male) was 46.06 years; 724,681 deaths from all causes occurred over a median follow-up period of 9.34 years (interquartile range 8.17-10.16), and the maximum follow-up was 12.12 years. After full adjustment for covariates, a higher level of dipstick proteinuria indicated a higher risk of all-cause death [Hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals); 1.22 (1.20-1.24), 1.47 (1.45-1.49), 1.81 (1.77-1.84), 2.32 (2.24-2.41), 2.74 (2.54-2.96); trace to 4+, respectively], and various subgroup analyses did not affect the main outcome for the total population. ≥1+ proteinuria in the group without metabolic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, or obesity) resulted in higher hazard ratios than those in the group with metabolic diseases and negative or trace proteinuria. CONCLUSIONS:Our study showed a strong association between dipstick proteinuria and all-cause mortality in this nationwide population-based cohort in South Korea