BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to estimate socioeconomic costs caused by alcohol drinking in Korea as of 2004 in an effort to raise the awareness of the gravity of problems associated with alcohol drinking and the necessity of active intervention by family physicians. METHODS: The costs were classified as direct costs, indirect costs and other costs. The direct costs consisted of direct medical costs and direct non-medical costs. The indirect costs were computed by the reduction and loss of productivity and the loss of workforce. Other costs consisted of property loss, administration costs and costs of alcohol beverage. RESULTS: The annual costs, which seemed to be attributable to alcohol drinking, were estimated to be 200,990 hundred million won (2.9% of GDP). In the case of the former, the amount included 38.83% for reduction of productivity, 26.92% for loss of the workforce, 22.24% for alcoholic beverage, 5.34% for direct medical costs, 2.29% for loss of productivity, 1.87% for direct non- medical costs, 1.54% for administration costs and 0.97% for loss of property. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that compared with the cases of Japan (1.9% of GNP), Canada (1.09% of GDP), France (1.42% of GDP) and Scotland (1.19% of GDP), alcohol drinking incurs substantial socioeconomic costs to Koreans. An active intervention by family physicians is suggested.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages ; Canada ; Efficiency ; France ; Gravitation ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Physicians, Family ; Scotland

BACKGROUND: According to previous epidemiologic studies, the metabolic syndrome, dietary and lifestyle factors were associated with colon polyps. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the relationship between the risk of the colorectal adenoma incidence and the individual components of the metabolic syndrome with lifestyle factors such as drinking, cigarette smoking and physical activity. METHODS: Sigmoidoscopic examination for colon cancer screening was performed from January 2002 to December 2003 at the Health Promotion Center of Ulsan University Hospital in Ulsan, Korea. A total of 1,565 subjects underwent satisfactory sigmoidoscopy. The subjects with a history of colon cancer or polyps or inflammatory bowel disease were excluded from the study. Alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and other confounding factors were included as covariates in the models. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, physical activity,smoking and alcohol intake, the subjects of metabolic syndrome (> or =3 vs. 0 components) combined with cigarette smoking had a positive association with colorectal adenoma incidence (OR 3.63, 95% CI 1.49~8.89). Physical activity was negatively associated the risk of the colorectal adenoma incidence (OR 0.60 95% CI 0.44~0.81). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that clustering of components of the metabolic syndrome combined with cigarette smoking significantly increased the colorectal adenoma risk, but physical activity reduced the risk of colorectal adenoma incidence in Korean adult males after multivariate adjustment.
Adenoma ; Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drinking ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Korea ; Life Style ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Motor Activity ; Polyps ; Sigmoidoscopy ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance is one of the underlying causes for atherosclerosis. The monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) plays a crucial role in initiating atherogenesis by recruiting monocytes/macrophages to vessel wall. In this study, we investigated the relationship between homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and circulating level of MCP-1 in healthy adults. METHODS: By reviewing the medical records of 171 healthy adults, we determined the circulating level of MCP-1, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL- cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin level and HOMA-IR. We studied the relationship between the variables by Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: MCP-1 correlated positively with HOMA-IR (r=0.28; P<0.01). Age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, fasting glucose and insulin level also showed stastically significant correlation. Age, gender, HOMA-IR were the variables which affected MCP-1 by multiple regression analysis adjusting for body mass index, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol. CONCLUSION: In our study, circulating levels of MCP-1 were associated with insulin resistance. These findings support the potential role of MCP-1 as a biomarker for subclinical atherosclerosis.
Adult ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Chemokine CCL2 ; Cholesterol ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Linear Models ; Medical Records ; Monocytes ; Triglycerides

BACKGROUND: TV viewing and computer use are sedentary behaviors and recent surveys report that they are associated with obesity in children. Association of these activities with obesity or obesity related lifestyles was investigated in this study. METHODS: Using the database of questionnaires and physical check-ups among 4th to 6th grade elementary school students in Incheon, the association of television viewing and internet using time with obesity and obesity related factors (dietary habits, and physical activities) were investigated. A total of 2,750 students (1,100 normal weighted/1,650 overweight or obese) were included. RESULTS: In the multiple analyses of computer using time among the boys and girls in weekdays and weekends respectively, according to their obesity degree, except for overweight and obese boys in weekends (P<0.001), there were no significant differences examined. Multiple logistic regression revealed that children who watched TV more than 2 hours per day ate faster (OR 1.27), had breakfast more irregularly (OR 1.41) and ate vegetables more rarely (OR 1.53). The children who used computer more than 1 hour per day in weekdays were faster eaters (OR 1.38) and hardly ate fruits (OR 1.26) or vegetables (OR 1.60). In weekends, the children who spent time more than 90 minutes in the computer were faster to eat (OR 1.46), more snack eating (OR 1.22), less vegetable consuming (OR 1.59) and more obese (OR 1.46, 95%CI 1.24~1.73) compared to the others. CONCLUSION: TV viewing and computer use were associated with several obesity related lifestyles in children.
Breakfast ; Child ; Eating ; Fruit ; Humans ; Internet ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Risk Factors ; Snacks ; Television ; Vegetables ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Recently, an elevated serum homocysteine level has been reported to be associated with increased fracture risk and reduced bone mineral density (BMD). So far, little research has been done to evaluate such association in Korean population. Therefore, we investigated the association between serum homocysteine levels and BMD in Korean adults. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 2,750 adults who visited a health promotion center at a university hospital from January 2005 to March 2006. Self-administered questionnaires provided information about lifestyle and medical history. Fasting plasma samples were collected and BMD of the lumbar spine and femoral neck were obtained by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. To adjust for menopausal state, the female subjects were divided into three groups according to age (< or =45 yrs, 46~55 yrs, 55 yrs <). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between serum homocysteine levels and BMD in each gender and age group. RESULTS: The results adjusted for alcohol and smoking history showed significant association between serum homocysteine levels and BMD in women (Lumbar spine: beta=-0.006, P=0.015, Femoral neck: beta=-0.065, P=0.012) but not in men (Lumbar spine: beta=0.001, P=0.240, Femoral neck: beta=0.001, P=0.242). With analyses by three age groups, plasma homocysteine level was associated with both lumbar and femoral BMD in age 46~55 women (Lumbar spine: beta=-0.014, P=0.024, Femoral neck: beta= -0.007, P=0.019). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that increased serum homocysteine level is an independent risk factor for low BMD among women, especially perimenopausal women. Further studies about the sexual differences and the mechanisms linking serum homocysteine level to BMD are needed.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Adult ; Bone Density ; Fasting ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Health Promotion ; Homocysteine ; Humans ; Life Style ; Linear Models ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; Plasma ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spine ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Plagiarism

BACKGROUND: To assess the diagnostic value of 13C-UBT using capsulated 38 mg low dose for H. pylori infection, we investigated the sensitivity and specificity of 13C-UBT and to suggest the optimal positive cut-off value of DOB20 in 13C-UBT using ROC analysis. METHODS: The study subjects were 76 healthy individuals (males; 52, females; 24) who visited a health promotion center at a university hospital between July 2005 and June 2007. We tested for H. pylori infection by 38 mg low dose 13C-UBT and histology. We measured the expiratory 13C-urea concentration of basal and 20 minutes value after oral ingestion of 38 mg 13C- labelled urea with capsulated. The breath samples were analysed by gas chromatograph isotope ratio mass spectrometer and expressed as units of delta. RESULTS: Fifty subjects (65.8%) were H. pylori positive as judged from histology. ROC analysis showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.943 (95% confidence interval: 0.891~0.995), indicating an excellent classification performance of the model. The sensitivity of 96%, specificity of 85% were achieved at the optimal cut-off value of DOB20 which was 1.39. The 38 mg low dose 13C-UBT was a non-invasive, simple, short-time required and highly accurate method. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that capsulated 38 mg low dose 13C-UBT is considered more in term of accuracy, costeffectiveness and convenient method for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Further long-term research and meta analysis based on large-scale investigations is needed to establish a standardized testing method in creating protocol of 13C-UBT.
Breath Tests ; Eating ; Health Promotion ; Helicobacter ; Helicobacter pylori ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Urea

BACKGROUND: There have been many studies on osteoporosis, which is one of the most important cause of fracture in adults. However, whether moderate physical activity during youth confers lasting benefits for bone is unclear. Thus, we are here concerned with the relation of teenage physical activity and bone mineral density in Korean premenopausal women. METHODS: From March to June 2007, 75 clients who visited a general hospital for medical check-up were enrolled in this study. The subjects reported physical activity for four age periods (12~18, 19~34, 35~49, current) using self reporting questionnaire. And they completed two 3-day food records, had measurements of height and weight, and aBMD assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine (L2-4) and femoral neck. RESULTS: There was a significant relation of teenage physical activity (especially weight bearing physical activity) and aBMD in both sites (lumbar spine r=0.42, P<0.01; femoral neck r=0.33, P<0.01). But the activity during other age periods was not associated with the current aBMD at both sites. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that moderate physical activity during the teen years appears to have lasting benefits for lumbar spine and femoral neck aBMD in Korean premenopausal women.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Bone Density ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Motor Activity ; Osteoporosis ; Self Report ; Spine ; Weight-Bearing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: This study was done to examine the impact of diabetes fear of self-injecting (FSI) and fear of self-testing (FST) on glycemic control and diabetes self-management. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was performed in the form of one-on-one interviews with 100 insulin-treated diabetic patients. The questions included subject traits, FSI/FST, and confidence in diabetes self-care (CIDS). Glycemic control was determined by the measurement of glycated hemoglobin (Hemoglobin A1C). RESULTS: The patients who did not have a spouse and were less well educated showed high FSI/FST scores and low CIDS scores. The patients who had taken high quantities of insulin, had diabetes related complications, and performed self-monitoring of blood glucose less frequently showed high FSI/FST scores. The patients who had received diabetes education, possessed glucometer and performed self-monitoring of blood glucose frequently had high CIDS scores. High FSI/FST scores were positively related to each other, negatively related to low CIDS scores and not significantly related to Hemoglobin A1C. On the other hand, a significant correlation was seen between CIDS scores and Hemoglobin A1C. CONCLUSION: High levels of FSI and/or FST were associated with high diabetes-related distress, poor general well-being, and psychologic comorbidity as well as poorer adherence to the diabetes treatment regimen. It is important in diabetes care to lower injection-related fears and improve diabetes self-management through systematic desensitization, relaxation therapy, the use of pen-type injection device, and proper education such as insulin injection amount adjustment, properties of insulin, and the risk of hypoglycemia for the patients and their families.
Blood Glucose ; Comorbidity ; Diabetes Complications ; Hand ; Hemoglobins ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia ; Insulin ; Relaxation Therapy ; Self Care ; Spouses ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity