Objectives: The purposes of the present study were to (1) analyze the relationship between clinical oral health status and subjective oral health status, (2) explore the association between perceived oral symptoms and subjective oral health status, and (3) investigate the effects of factors on subjective oral health status. Methods: A total of 771 subjects, aged over 35 years of age, from a dental hospital in Gwangju metropolitan city, were surveyed cross-sectionally using a self-report questionnaire. We investigated the relationship of subjective oral health status with clinical oral health status, and with perceived oral symptoms using a Chi-squared test (P<0.05). To investigate the effects of factors on subjective oral health status relationship, a logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: The odds ratios of subjective oral health status between ‘Bad’ vs ‘Good’ were as follows: frequent oral concern, 43.41; occasional oral concern, 2.94; toothache, 6.08; hypersensitivity to coldness, 2.13; 1-3 year’s periodic preventive oral care, 0.19; 4-7 and periodic preventive oral care, 0.14. Conclusions Periodic preventive oral care appears to be associated with self-rated subjective oral health status.

Aging ; Hope ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Men's Health ; Quality of Life ; Risk Factors ; Testosterone

Background: Obesity is considered a state of enhanced oxidative stress as well as chronic and low-grade inflammation. The copper–zinc ratio in obese individuals has been reported to reflect systemic oxidative stress and inflammatory status. We investigated whether the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio is related to the copper–zinc ratio in hair, within the context of a normal white blood cell count among overweight or obese Korean individuals. Methods: We included 56 participants aged older than 20 years who voluntarily sought weight reduction treatment and met the inclusion criterion of body mass index of 23 kg/m2 or greater. Intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue was measured by computed tomography imaging, while the copper and zinc levels were measured by hair mineral analysis. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we examined the associations between the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio and the copper–zinc ratio. Results: The mean age, body mass index, and visceral adipose tissue were 46.0±10.5 years, 29.0±4.1 kg/cm2 , and 142.9±68.8 cm2 , respectively. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed the association of the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio with copper level (r=0.475, P<0.001) and copper–zinc ratio (r=0.494, P<0.001). After adjusting for confounding variables, we found the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio was significantly associated with the level of copper and the copper–zinc ratio in hair (regression coefficient: 0.055±0.015; P<0.001 and regression coefficient: 0.761±0.185; P<0.001, respectively). Conclusion A higher copper–zinc ratio in hair is positively and independently associated with the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio. Thus, a high hair copper–zinc ratio could be a useful parameter for oxidative burden of individuals predisposed to obesity-related comorbidity.

Background: Obesity is considered a state of enhanced oxidative stress as well as chronic and low-grade inflammation. The copper–zinc ratio in obese individuals has been reported to reflect systemic oxidative stress and inflammatory status. We investigated whether the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio is related to the copper–zinc ratio in hair, within the context of a normal white blood cell count among overweight or obese Korean individuals. Methods: We included 56 participants aged older than 20 years who voluntarily sought weight reduction treatment and met the inclusion criterion of body mass index of 23 kg/m2 or greater. Intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue was measured by computed tomography imaging, while the copper and zinc levels were measured by hair mineral analysis. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we examined the associations between the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio and the copper–zinc ratio. Results: The mean age, body mass index, and visceral adipose tissue were 46.0±10.5 years, 29.0±4.1 kg/cm2 , and 142.9±68.8 cm2 , respectively. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed the association of the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio with copper level (r=0.475, P<0.001) and copper–zinc ratio (r=0.494, P<0.001). After adjusting for confounding variables, we found the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio was significantly associated with the level of copper and the copper–zinc ratio in hair (regression coefficient: 0.055±0.015; P<0.001 and regression coefficient: 0.761±0.185; P<0.001, respectively). Conclusion A higher copper–zinc ratio in hair is positively and independently associated with the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio. Thus, a high hair copper–zinc ratio could be a useful parameter for oxidative burden of individuals predisposed to obesity-related comorbidity.

Background: The interaction between calcium and magnesium as a risk modifier for insulin resistance may be largely overlooked because the strict regulatory system in blood has been thought to maintain such homeostatic interactions under tight control. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the calcium-magnesium ratio in hair with the triglyceride glucose index (TyG index) and triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio (TG/ HDL ratio) among overweight or obese Korean individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 56 participants fulfilling the inclusion criterion of a body mass index of 23 kg/m2 or more. Intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was measured by fat measurement computed tomography, while calcium and magnesium levels were measured by hair mineral analysis. A high TyG index and a high TG/HDL ratio were defined as >9.3 and >4.0, respectively (>75th percentile). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, we examined the associations between the TyG index, TG/HDL ratio, and calcium–magnesium ratio in hair. Results: The mean age, body mass index, and VAT were 45.3 years, 28.5 kg/cm2 , and 137.4 cm2 , respectively. Compared to the controls, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for a high TyG index and a high TG/HDL ratio were 16.03 (1.32–194.23) and 9.98 (1.05–94.98) per one increment of log (calcium-magnesium ratio), respectively, after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, visceral adipose tissue, white blood cell count, total cholesterol, hypertension medication, diabetes medication, and dyslipidemia medication. Conclusion We found that the calcium-magnesium ratio in hair was positively and independently associated with the TyG index and TG/HDL ratio.

BACKGROUND: Uric acid has been reported to function both as an oxidant or antioxidant depending on the context. A previous study in the Korean population reported a positive linear association between serum uric acid level and arterial stiffness in men, but little is known about how serum uric acid level is related to the risk of increased arterial stiffness in Korean postmenopausal women. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 293 subjects who participated in a health examination program run by the health promotion center of Gangnam Severance Hospital between October 2007 and July 2010. High brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity was defined as a brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity of more than 1,450 cm/s. The odds ratios (ORs) for high brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity were calculated using multivariate logistic regression analysis across uric acid quartiles after adjusting for other indicators of cardiovascular risk. RESULTS: The 293 postmenopausal women were divided into quartiles according to uric acid level. The mean brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity values of each quartile were as follows: Q1, 1,474 cm/s; Q2, 1,375 cm/s; Q3, 1,422 cm/s; Q4, 1,528 cm/s. The second quartile was designated as the control group based on mean brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity value. Multivariate adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals) for brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity across the uric acid quartiles were 2.642 (Q1, 1.095–6.3373), 1.00, 4.305 (Q3, 1.798–10.307), and 4.375 (Q4, 1.923–9.949), after adjusting for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: Serum uric acid level has a J-shaped association with arterial stiffness in Korean postmenopausal women.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Menopause ; Odds Ratio ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Uric Acid* ; Vascular Stiffness*

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies suggest that serum calcium levels correlate with cardiovascular events. An ankle-brachial index (ABI) between 0.9 and 1.00 is a surrogate estimation of preclinical peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Prior studies have shown that an ABI of 0.9–1.0 is also associated with endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, we sought to investigate the relationship between serum calcium levels and preclinical PAD in apparently healthy Korean individuals. METHODS: We evaluated the association between serum calcium levels and preclinical PAD in 596 participants (334 males, 262 females) in a health examination program. Preclinical PAD was defined by an ABI of 0.9–1.0. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether the serum calcium level was an independent determinant of preclinical PAD. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of preclinical PAD was 14.3%. The mean age was 44.0±12.5 years in the non-PAD group and 48.3±11.4 years in the preclinical PAD group (P=0.001). After adjusting for age, gender, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, g-glutamyltransferase, uric acid, hypertension medication, diabetes medication, and hyperlipidemia medication, the odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) for preclinical PAD was 2.28 (1.02–5.11) with a 1-mg/dL increase in the serum calcium. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that increased serum calcium is independently and positively associated with preclinical PAD regardless of the presence of classic cardiovascular risk factors.
Ankle Brachial Index ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; C-Reactive Protein ; Calcium* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Fasting ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Lipoproteins ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Peripheral Arterial Disease* ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides ; Uric Acid

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to compare the diagnostic performance of initial procalcitonin, lactate, and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) for predicting bacteremia in female patients with acute pyelonephritis (APN). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of female APN patients who visited the emergency department (ED) at the studied hospital between January 2015 and December 2016. The main outcome was bacteremia, which was reported via the first blood culture at ED. The patient demographics, co-morbidities, physiologies, and laboratory variables including initial procalcitonin, lactate, and hsCRP levels, were collected and analyzed to identify associations with the presence of bacteremia. The area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) and sensitivity (SE)/specificity (SP) were calculated for each variable. RESULTS: During the study period, 282 patients were enrolled. A total of 105 (37.2%) patients had bacteremia. Escherichia coli was the most frequent pathogen. The AUROC was 0.70 (0.63–0.76), 0.70 (0.63–0.76), and 0.56 (0.49–0.63) for the procalcitonin, lactate, and hsCRP, respectively. At a cut-off value of 0.163 ng/mL, the procalcitonin level predicted bacteremia, with a SE/SP of 95.2%/22.6%, respectively. At a cut-off value of 0.7 mmol/L, the lactate level predicted bacteremia with a SE/SP of 96.2%/20.9%, respectively. The combination of a procalcitonin level >0.447 ng/mL or a lactate level >0.7 mmo/L was chosen, as they showed 100% SE and a 100% negative predictive value. CONCLUSION: The initial serum procalcitonin and lactate levels showed similar and fair discriminative performance for predicting bacteremia in female APN patients, while the hsCRP level showed poor performance. The combination of procalcitonin and lactate (procalcitonin level≤0.447 ng/mL and lactate≤0.7 mmol/L) can be used to identify patients at low risk of bacteremia.
Bacteremia ; C-Reactive Protein ; Demography ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Escherichia coli ; Female ; Humans ; Lactic Acid ; Pyelonephritis ; Retrospective Studies

Aging has become a global problem, and the interest in healthy aging is growing. Healthy aging involves a focus on the maintenance of the function and well-being of elderly adults, rather than a specific disease. Thus, the management of frailty, which is an accumulated decline in function, is important for healthy aging. The adaptation method was used to develop clinical practice guidelines on frailty management that are applicable in primary care settings. The guidelines were developed in three phases: preparation (organization of committees and establishment of the scope of development), literature screening and evaluation (selection of the clinical practice guidelines to be adapted and evaluation of the guidelines using the Korean Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool), and confirmation of recommendations (three rounds of Delphi consensus and internal and external reviews). A total of 16 recommendations (five recommendations for diagnosis and assessment, 11 recommendations for intervention of frailty) were made through the guideline development process. These clinical practice guidelines provide overall guidance on the identification, evaluation, intervention, and monitoring of frailty, making them applicable in primary care settings. As aging and “healthy aging” become more and more important, these guidelines are also expected to increase in clinical usefulness.