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

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis of the coronary artery is related to the obstructive coronary artery disease. The coronary artery calcium score test is a non-invasive and useful indicator of atherosclerosis. The Framingham risk scoring system is a traditional indicator of the cardiovascular risk. This cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the relation of the coronary artery calcium scores with Framingham risk scores. METHODS: We evaluated 135 patients who visited the Department of Family Medicine in Severance Hospital and had a test of the coronary artery calcium scores from January 5th, 2005, to August 12th, 2006. The Framingham risk scores were calculated. We analyzed the correlation between the coronary artery calcium scores and the Framingham risk scores and tested the difference between the groups divided by categorization of the calcium scores. RESULTS: The coronary artery calcium scores were significantly correlated with the Framingham risk scores (r=0.282, P<0.01). There was a significant correlation in case of women (r=0.349, P<0.01), but not in case of men. There was a significant difference between the group whose calcium score was 0 and the group whose calcium scores were above 0 (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: There was a positive correlation between the coronary artery calcium scores and the Framingham risk scores. The coronary artery calcium score seems to be a significant factor to assess the cardiovascular risk.
Atherosclerosis ; Calcium ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male

BACKGROUND: In these days the metabolic syndrome threatens many people of Korea. Several studies have suggested that the dietary habits are associated with the risk of the metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this study was to find out relations between the components of the metabolic syndrome and the dietary habits. METHODS: The subjects of this study included 1,005 non-smoking premenopausal females aged from 20 to 49 years old who visited the health promotion center of a university hospital. Dietary questionnaire was composed of dietary habits and specific food intake frequency during the past 3 months. RESULTS: The subjects who had more than one metabolic components were 361 (36%), and those who had the metabolic syndrome was 35 (3.5%). After multivariate logistic analysis adjusted with age, BMI, smoking status, alcohol intake, and exercise, the abdominal obesity risk was significantly increased in those who had irregular meals (P for trend= 0.049), skip meals (P for trend=0.050), faster meal time (P=0.017), and intake of saturated fat more frequently (P=0.043). The abdominal obesity risk was significantly increased in those who overate or binged eating 7gt; or =3 times/week than <1 time/week {OR (95% CI), 2.49 (1.07~5.80)}, intake fruit <1 time/week than 6~7 times/week {OR (95% CI), 4.46 (1.20~16.54)}. A risk for high blood pressure was significantly increased in those who had breakfast 1~2 times/week than those had it 6~7 times/week {OR (95% CI), 1.91 (1.07~3.42)}. The risk for impaired fasting glucose was significantly increased in those had breakfast <1 time/week than those who had 6~7 times/week {OR (95% CI), 2.27 (1.20~4.28), P for trend=0.018}. CONCLUSION: There was a correlation between dietary habits and metabolic syndrome components. Among the dietary habits, irregular meals, skipping breakfast, skipping meals, fast meal time, overeating or binge eating tendency, low intake of fruits and high intake of saturated fat were associated with the risk of the metabolic syndrome components.
Aged ; Breakfast ; Bulimia ; Eating ; Fasting ; Female ; Food Habits ; Fruit ; Glucose ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Meals ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Appetite control and weight reduction is important for the treatment of chronic disease such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Visual analogue scales (VAS) is widely used to assess appetite. We investigated the reproducibility and the validity of the Korean version of VAS for appetite which will be helpful for clinical use. METHODS: The subjects received the same test meal and 8 VAS questionnaires between 6 weeks. They started to fill out the questionnaire before lunch, continued after lunch every hour, and ended after dinner. The questionnaire was asked about hunger, satiety, fullness, prospective consumption, sweet, salty, savoury, and fatty. During the test meal, the subjects could eat ad libitum until 'comfortable satisfaction'; and after the test meal we calculated energy intake. We assessed the correlation between test-retest VAS for each appetite and evaluated the validity of VAS for hunger with energy intake as "gold-standard". RESULTS: The VAS curves of each appetite were similar between the test and the retest. The VAS of each appetite on the test day was strongly correlated with that on the retest day. The CRs of 4.5 hour mean VAS (20~34 mm) was smaller than the CRs of fasting VAS (35~54 mm). The correlation coefficient of Hunger VAS before dinner and the energy intake was 0.436 on the test day and 0.400 on the retest day. The VAS of the sweet was correlated to the total glucose intake (P<0.05), and the VAS of salty to the salt intake. CONCLUSION: The validity of the VAS score for appetite, especially hunger, sweet and salty taste was good. Indeed, the reliability of VAS for appetite was good to use this scale in a clinical setting.
Appetite ; Chronic Disease ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Energy Intake ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hunger ; Hypertension ; Lunch ; Meals ; Obesity ; Sensation ; Weight Loss ; Weights and Measures ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Chronic Disease ; Glycemic Index

BACKGROUND: Depression increases the risk of cardiovascular risk factors in adults. However, the association between depression and cardiovascular risk factors was not well evaluated in South Korea. Our study was done to evaluate the association between depression and cardiovascular risk factors in workers. METHODS: The study population was selected among adults working in several industries that had more than 50 employees. They had received their medical examinations at the Health Promotion Center of Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital between March and November 2005. We estimated the odds ratio to determine whether depression (Korean Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score > or =21) was associated with each cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity). RESULTS: The prevalence of depression was 15.5%. Depression was significantly associated with hypertension (P<0.001), obesity (P=0.03) and hypercholesterolemia (P=0.004). The adjusted odds ratio for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were 1.41 (95% CI 1.04~1.91) and 1.59 (95% CI 1.05~2.40), respectively. The association between depression and obesity was eliminated after adjustment (1.25, 95% CI: 0.97~1.61). CONCLUSION: Depression was significantly associated with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia in workers. Further long-term study on the association of depression with cardiovascular risk factors is necessary.
Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Depression ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Health Promotion ; Heart ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors

No abstract available.