Efficacy of fermented grain using Bacillus coagulans in reducing visceral fat among people with obesity: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundObesity is a socioeconomic problem, and visceral obesity, in particular, is related to cardiovascular diseases or metabolic syndrome. Fermented grains and various microorganisms are known to help with anti-obesity effects and weight management. Studies on the relationship between Bacillus coagulans and anti-obesity effects are not well known, and studies on the application of fermented grains and microorganisms to the human body are also insufficient.ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Curezyme–LAC, an ingredient mixed with six-grain types fermented by B. coagulans, in reducing fat mass in adults with obesity.MethodsIn this randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study, 100 participants [aged 40–65 years; body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 to ≤ 33 kg/m2) were randomly allocated to two groups: 4 g/day Curezyme–LAC administered as a granulated powder or placebo (steamed grain powder mixture).ResultsAfter 12 weeks, visceral adipose tissue decreased significantly in the Curezyme–LAC group compared with that in the placebo group (mean ± standard error, SE of −9.3 cm2 ± 5.1) vs. (6.8 cm2 ± 3.4; p = 0.008). Compared to the placebo group, the Curezyme–LAC group also showed significant reductions in total fat mass (−0.43 ± 0.24 kg vs. 0.31 ± 0.19 kg, p = 0.011), body weight (−0.4 ± 0.3 kg vs. 0.3 ± 0.2 kg, p = 0.021), BMI (−0.14 ± 0.12 vs. 0.10 ± 0.07, p = 0.028), and waist circumference (−0.6 ± 0.2 cm vs. −0.1 ± 0.2 cm, p = 0.018) without a change in dietary intake and physical activity.ConclusionCurezyme–LAC supplementation for 12 weeks may benefit individuals with obesity by reducing visceral fat mass

Association of timed up and go test outcomes with future incidence of cardiovascular disease and mortality in adults aged 66 years: Korean national representative longitudinal study over 5.7 years

The timed up and go test (TUG) is one of the most widely used tests of mobility. We aimed to examine whether the TUG is associated with cardiovascular (CV) events, CV mortality, and all-cause mortality. Subjects in the senior cohort database of the Korean National Health Insurance Service (2002–2013) who completed the TUG as part of the National Screening Program for Transitional Ages (NSPTA) during 2007–2008 were identified. An abnormal TUG result was defined as a time ≥ 10 s. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the associations between TUG results and CV events, CV mortality, and all-cause mortality. The mean follow-up period was 5.7 years. Incidence rates of CV events in the normal and abnormal TUG groups were 7.93 and 8.98 per 1000 person-years, while CV mortality rates were 0.96 and 1.51 per 1000 person-years, respectively. In a fully adjusted model, we found that abnormal TUG results were not associated with the incidences of CV events and CV mortality. However, abnormal TUG results (≥10 s) resulted in a 2.9-fold increase in CV mortality in women (adjusted hazard ratio 2.90, 95% confidence interval 1.15–7.30). Further, participants lacking certain CV risk factors, such as current cigarette smoking, obesity, or diabetes, had a higher CV mortality rate when TUG results were abnormal. Abnormal TUG results in subjects aged 66 years were associated with future CV mortality in women and in subjects without obesity, diabetes, or cigarette smoking. In patient with mobility impairment, physicians should consider CV disease risk, especially in women.This study was supported by the Hammi Group [0620140890 (2013–2607)], Seoul, Korea. The funder had no role in the design or conduct of the stud

Implementation of a Videoconferencing System between Multiple Family Medicine Departments

Attending conferences is important for doctors and residents in family medicine. Nevertheless, departments of family medicine at many hospitals find it difficult to hold regular conferences. Holding joint videoconferences between Family Medicine Departments of several hospitals through a videoconferencing system could solve this problem. Therefore, Family Medicine Departments of Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, and Kangwon National University Hospital decided to hold regular joint videoconferences via a videoconferencing system. Eighty-one joint videoconferences were held from April 1 to October 29, 2010. PowerPoint slideshows were transferred to the other two locations in the same resolution as presenter's monitor. Image and voice of the speaker were transferred in real time and in acceptable quality. Joint videoconferences are feasible, satisfactory and useful for medical education, especially when individual family medicine departments are small and lack resources to hold face-to-face conferences. We expect that more family medicine departments will choose to participate in implementing similar joint videoconferencing systems in the future

Acute high-dose and chronic lifetime exposure to alcohol consumption and differentiated thyroid cancer: T-CALOS Korea

Source: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151562Background: This study evaluated the effects of acute high-dose and chronic lifetime exposure to alcohol and exposure patterns on the development of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Methods: The Thyroid Cancer Longitudinal Study (T-CALOS) included 2,258 DTC patients (449 men and 1,809 women) and 22,580 healthy participants (4,490 men and 18,090 women) who were individually matched by age, gender, and enrollment year. In-person interviews were conducted with a structured questionnaire to obtain epidemiologic data. Clinicopathologic features of the patients were obtained by chart reviews. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated using conditional regression models. Results: While light or moderate drinking behavior was related to a reduced risk of DTC, acute heavy alcohol consumption (151 g or more per event or on a single occasion) was associated with increased risks in men (OR = 2.22, 95%CI = 1.27–3.87) and women (OR = 3.61, 95%CI = 1.52–8.58) compared with never-drinkers. The consumption of alcohol for 31 or more years was a significant risk factor for DTC for both men (31–40 years: OR = 1.58, 95%CI = 1.10– 2.28; 41+ years: OR = 3.46, 95%CI = 2.06–5.80) and women (31–40 years: OR = 2.18, 95%CI = 1.62–2.92; 41+ years: OR = 2.71, 95%CI = 1.36–5.05) compared with never-drinkers. The consumption of a large amount of alcohol on a single occasion was also a significant risk factor, even after restricting DTC outcomes to tumor size, lymph node metastasis, extrathyroidal extension and TNM stage. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that the threshold effects of acute high-dose alcohol consumption and long-term alcohol consumption are linked to an increased risk of DTC

Factors Related to Self-Confidence to Live Alone in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Many older adults prefer to live alone in their own homes, with age-related issues in physical movement, regardless of their cultural background. Importantly, however, to identify the features of successfully ageing in place (AIP), and foster independent living among these individuals, this study explored their level of self-confidence to live alone and its related factors. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using secondary data from an earlier study with older adults living alone in South Korea recruited by convenience sampling methods (N = 936, mean age = 77.1 years, 76.1% female). Data regarding the general, health-related, and social characteristics as well as self-confidence to live alone were collected via face-to-face interviews in 2019. Self-confidence to live alone was measured with a numeric rating scale of 0 to 10. Results The average self-confidence score to live alone was 6.59. A regression analysis showed that mould exposure at home, depression, emergency department visits, and loneliness hinder self-confidence to live alone. Meanwhile, such self-confidence was facilitated by independency in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), interactions with family members, social service utilisation, and social support. Conclusions This study suggests that healthcare providers need to consider the importance of self-confidence to live alone and influencing functional, mental, social, and environmental factors to promote quality of life as well as successful AIP for older adults living alone. Further, self-confidence to live alone could be a new practical index in the field of health and ageing to screen the successful AIP of older adults living alone.This work was supported by a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI18C1284)

Efficacy of vitamin and antioxidant supplements in prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Objective : To assess the efficacy of vitamin and antioxidant supplements in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Design : Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Data sources and study selection : PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.gov searched in June and November 2012. Two authors independently reviewed and selected eligible randomised controlled trials, based on predetermined selection criteria. Results : Out of 2240 articles retrieved from databases and relevant bibliographies, 50 randomised controlled trials with 294 478 participants (156 663 in intervention groups and 137 815 in control groups) were included in the final analyses. In a fixed effect meta-analysis of the 50 trials, supplementation with vitamins and antioxidants was not associated with reductions in the risk of major cardiovascular events (relative risk 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.98 to 1.02; I-2=42%). Overall, there was no beneficial effect of these supplements in the subgroup meta-analyses by type of prevention, type of vitamins and antioxidants, type of cardiovascular outcomes, study design, methodological quality, duration of treatment, funding source, provider of supplements, type of control, number of participants in each trial, and supplements given singly or in combination with other supplements. Among the subgroup meta-analyses by type of cardiovascular outcomes, vitamin and antioxidant supplementation was associated with a marginally increased risk of angina pectoris, while low dose vitamin B-6 supplementation was associated with a slightly decreased risk of major cardiovascular events. Those beneficial or harmful effects disappeared in subgroup meta-analysis of high quality randomised controlled trials within each category. Also, even though supplementation with vitamin B-6 was associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular death in high quality trials, and vitamin E supplementation with a decreased risk of myocardial infarction, those beneficial effects were seen only in randomised controlled trials in which the supplements were supplied by the pharmaceutical industry.Conclusion There is no evidence to support the use of vitamin and antioxidant supplements for prevention of cardiovascular diseases.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2013-01/102/0000052039/7SEQ:7PERF_CD:SNU2013-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000052039ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A077862DEPT_CD:806CITE_RATE:14.093FILENAME:Efficacy of vitamin and antioxidant supplements in prevention of cardiovascular disease.pdfDEPT_NM:의과학과EMAIL:[email protected]_YN:YCONFIRM:

Do People Have Healthier Lifestyles in Greener Environments? An Analysis of the Association between Green Environments and Physical Activity in Seven Large Korean Cities

Background : Recent studies suggest that neighborhood environments influence levels of health and disease in individuals. Evidence suggests that green environments have positive effects on physical and psychological health. In this study, we examined the association between public park per person (PPP) and physical activity in 7 large Korean cities with a population of over 1 million. Methods : We obtained data from the third Korea National Health and Nutritional Survey and data on the area of PPP from the Korean national statistics office. Results : Physical activity and adjusted mean of physical activity increased significantly with PPP. When stratified by family income, physical activity increased significantly in all groups in a PPP-dependent manner. Physical activity significantly increased as PPP increased (coefficient, 16.025; 95% confidence interval, 12.392 to 19.658) before and after adjustment for age, sex, and family income. Physical activity increased in all income groups including the low income group. Conclusion : These results show that green park spaces independently promote physical activity and influence healthy lifestyles. Therefore, the importance of PPP for physical activity and health should be emphasized in urban planning.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2013-01/102/0000052039/3SEQ:3PERF_CD:SNU2013-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000052039ADJUST_YN:NEMP_ID:A077862DEPT_CD:806FILENAME:Do People Have Healthier Lifestyles in Greener Environments..pdfDEPT_NM:의과학과EMAIL:[email protected]_YN:NCONFIRM:

Determinants of gastric cancer screening attendance in Korea: a multi-level analysis

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Abstract Background We aimed to assess individual and area-level determinants of gastric cancer screening participation. Method Data on gastric cancer screening and individual-level characteristics were obtained from the 2007–2009 Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The area-level variables were collected from the 2005 National Population Census, 2008 Korea Medical Association, and 2010 National Health Insurance Corporation. The data were analyzed using multilevel logistic regression models. Results The estimated participation rate in gastric cancer screening adhered to the Korea National Cancer Screening Program guidelines was 44.0% among 10,658 individuals aged over 40 years who were included in the analysis. Among the individual-level variables, the highest income quartile, a college or higher education level, living with spouse, having a private health insurance, limited general activity, previous history of gastric or duodenal ulcer, and not currently smoking were associated with a higher participation rate in gastric cancer screening. Urbanization showed a significant negative association with gastric cancer screening attendance among the area-level factors (odds ratio (OR) = 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.57-0.93 for the most urbanized quartile vs. least urbanized quartile). Conclusion There are differences in gastric cancer screening attendance according to both individual and regional area characteristics

National Screening Program for Transitional Ages in Korea: A New Screening for Strengthening Primary Prevention and Follow-up Care

Screening can effectively reduce mortality and morbidity in some diseases. In Korea, a practical national screening program for chronic disease was launched in 1995 and several problems were discussed. The program focused primarily on disease detection without follow-up care. In addition, the test items were uniform regardless of subject's age, sex, or risk factors; and people with low socioeconomic status were excluded. To improve the quality of program, a new national screening program called the "National Screening Program for Transitional Ages (NSPTA)" was initiated in 2007. It targeted two age groups, ages 40 and 66, because these ages are important transition periods in one's lifecycle. Follow-up care and education for lifestyle modification has been intensified; screening tests for mental health problems and osteoporosis have been introduced. The pool of eligible participants has been expanded to include people supported by Medicaid. This review aimed to describe the contents, process, and characteristics of the NSPTA and to compare it with the previous program. In addition, some preliminary results from 2007 to 2009 were presented. Lastly, we suggest several points that need to be considered to improve the program such as enhancement of participation rates, necessity of specialized committee and research for current screening program to be supported by evidence

Association between Cigarette Smoking History and Mortality in 36,446 Health Examinees in Korea

Background: It is well known that smoking is a preventable factor for all-cause mortality; however, it is still questionable how many years after smoking cessation that people will have reduced risk for mortality, in particular in those with a high interest in their own health. We aimed to examine the association between time since quitting smoking and total mortality among past-smokers relative to current smokers. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 36,446 health examinees that voluntarily taken with diverse health check-up packages of high cost burden in 1995-2003 and followed them till death by 2004. The history of cigarette smoking consumption was collected using a self-administrative questionnaire at the first visit time. Mortality risk by smoking cessation years was analyzed using Cox's proportional hazard model. Results: Compared to non-smokers, male smokers over 15 pack-years had higher risk for total mortality (HR=1.60, 95% CI 1.23-2.14). The mortality risk in female smokers with same pack-years was more pronounced than that in male smokers (HR=2.83, 95% CI 1.17-7.04) despite a small number of cases. Compared to current smokers, a decrease of total mortality was observed among those who ceased smoking, and inverse dose-response was found with years after cessation: RR 0.98 ( 95% CI, 0.64-1.41) (= 10 yrs). Conclusions: A reduced risk of total mortality was observed after 3 years of smoking cessation. Our findings suggest that at least 3 years of smoking cessation may contribute to reduce premature mortality among Asian men.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2014-01/102/0000052039/11SEQ:11PERF_CD:SNU2014-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000052039ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A079543DEPT_CD:806CITE_RATE:1.5FILENAME:association between cigarette smoking history and mortality in 36,446 health examinees in korea..pdfDEPT_NM:의과학과SCOPUS_YN:YCONFIRM: