BACKGROUND/AIMS: Current international guidelines recommend colorectal cancer screening for average-risk people over 50 years of age. Accordingly, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of colorectal neoplasms in all age groups and evaluate associated risk factors. METHODS: Data of 14,932 subjects who underwent colonoscopy from July 2006 to January 2012 at Health Promotion Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital (Seoul, Korea) as part of a health check-up were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of colorectal neoplasms and adenoma were 34.6% and 25.3%, respectively. Colorectal adenoma was found in 3.2%, 13.0%, 21.7%, 33.8%, 44.0%, 50.5%, and 54.2% of subjects under 30 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-59 years, 60-69 years, 70-79 years, and over 80 years of age (trend p<0.0001). Independent predictors of colorectal adenoma included male gender (OR 2.38, 95% CI 2.084-2.718), positive occult blood (2.266, 1.761-2.917), positive serology of Helicobacter pylori (1.253, 1.114-1.409) and hypertriglyceremia (1.267, 1.065-1.508). Compared to the 30-39 years of age reference group, the ORs for each age group were 0.195 (under 30 years), 1.634 (40-49 years), 2.954 (50-59 years), 5.159 (60-69 years), 5.640 (70-79 years), 11.020 (over 80 years), while the 95% CIs were 0.071-0.536 (under 30 years), 1.340-1.992 (40-49 years), 2.421-3.604 (50-59 years), 4.109-6.476 (60-69 years), 3.822-8.322 (70-79 years), and 2.809-42.234 (over 80 years). CONCLUSIONS: Colorectal adenoma prevalence increased proportionally with age. Only subjects under the age of 30 years had a definitely lower prevalence of colorectal adenoma. Male gender, positive occult blood, positive serology of H. pylori, and hypertriglyceremia were associated risk factors of colorectal adenoma.
Adenoma/*epidemiology/etiology ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms/*epidemiology/etiology ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections/complications ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Hypertriglyceridemia/complications ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors

Background: Balancing parenting and work life poses challenges for women with children, potentially making them vulnerable to depression owing to their dual responsibilities.Investigating working mothers’ mental health status is important on both the individual and societal levels. This study aimed to explore the relationship between economic activity participation and depressive symptoms among working mothers. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study and used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. The participants in the study were women aged 19 to 50 who were residing with their children.In the total, 3,151 participants were used in the analysis. The independent variable was economic activity, categorized into two groups: 1) economically active and 2) economically inactive. The dependent variable was the depressive symptoms, categorized as present for a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score of ≥ 10 and absent for a score < 10. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between economic activity and depressive symptoms, and sensitivity analyses were performed based on the severity of depressive symptoms. Results: Among women with children, economically active women had reduced odds ratio of depressive symptoms compared with economically inactive women (odds ratio [OR], 0.54;95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36–0.80). In additional analysis, women working as wage earners had the lowest odds of depressive symptoms (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.28–0.66). Women working an average of 40 hours or less per week were least likely to have depressive symptoms (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.25–0.69). Conclusion Economic activity is significantly associated with depressive symptoms among women with children. Environmental support and policy approaches are needed to ensure that women remain economically active after childbirth.

Korean autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) criteria 2007 was aimed to diagnose the wide spectrum of AIP with high sensitivity. The most crucial issue when caring for patients with suspected AIP is to differentiate AIP from pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can be distinguished from AIP by pancreatic imaging, measurement of serum IgG4 levels, endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration and trucut biopsy, and steroid trial. Autoimmune pancreatitis is a rare systemic fibroinflammatory disease which can affect not only the pancreas, but also a variety of organs such as the bile ducts, salivary glands, retroperitoneum, and lymph nodes. Organs affected by AIP have a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate rich in IgG4-positive cells. This inflammatory process responds dramatically to oral steroid therapy. Granulocytic epithelial lesion (GEL) positive AIP patients differ from GEL negative AIP patients in clinical features such as equal gender ratio, younger mean age, no increase in serum IgG4, no association with extrapancreatic involvement, no relapse, and frequent association with inflammatory bowel disease. Further investigation is needed to clarify the pathogenic mechanisms including more definite serological markers for theses two entities.
Autoimmune Diseases/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Common Bile Duct/radiography ; Fibrosis/pathology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Pancreatitis/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Salivary Glands/pathology

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is the second most common cancer in Korea. Fatigue is a common symptom among cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with fatigue in gastric cancer survivors. METHODS: Data were analyzed from 199 gastric cancer survivors who visited a cancer survivor outpatient clinic from July 2013 to June 2014. Patients were surveyed using a questionnaire containing a fatigue severity scale (FSS) and questions regarding associated symptoms. Participants were divided into fatigue (FSS) and non-fatigue groups based on FSS scores (> or =4 and <4, respectively). Age, sex, weight, body mass index, cancer stage, pathology, surgery type, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, comorbid disease, family history of cancer, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, and laboratory results were investigated. RESULTS: The fatigue and non-fatigue groups contained 42 and 157 survivors, respectively. Their mean age was 58 years, and the mean post-operative period was 6.58 years. Arthralgia (odds ratio [OR], 12.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.21-52.34), dyspnea (OR, 10.54; 95% CI, 2.94-37.80), dyspepsia (OR, 8.26; 95% CI, 2.63-25.96), changed bowel habits (OR, 4.56; 95% CI, 1.09-19.11), anemia (OR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.26-8.05), and regular exercise (OR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.12-0.77) were significantly associated with fatigue in gastric cancer survivors, while weight, treatment, and depressive mood were not. CONCLUSION: Arthralgia, dyspnea, dyspepsia, bowel habit change, anemia, and regular exercise are associated with fatigue in gastric cancer survivors.
Alcohol Drinking ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Anemia ; Arthralgia ; Body Weight ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspepsia ; Dyspnea ; Fatigue* ; Humans ; Korea ; Pathology ; Radiotherapy ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survivors*

BACKGROUND: Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is an established risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This study evaluated the relationship between sleep duration and IFG. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 14,925 Korean adults (5,868 men and 9,057 women) > or =19 years of age who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2012. Blood glucose levels were measured after at least eight hours of fasting. Study subjects were categorized into three groups based on self-reported sleep duration (<7, 7-8, or >8 h/d). IFG was diagnosed according to recommendations American Diabetes Association guidelines. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with adjustment for covariates. RESULTS: In men, short sleep duration (<7 hours) was associated with increased risk of IFG (odds ratio [OR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 1.96) compared to adequate sleep duration (7-8 hours), whereas long sleep duration (>8 hours) was not associated with risk of IFG (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.37 to 2.18). In women, sleep duration was not associated with risk of IFG. CONCLUSION: The association between sleep duration and IFG differed by sex; sleep deprivation, was associated with increased risk of IFG, especially in men.
Adult* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Glucose ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Fasting* ; Female ; Glucose* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Prediabetic State ; Risk Factors ; Sleep Deprivation

Paragonimiasis has been continuously decreasing in Korea. However, it still occurs by ingesting raw or incompletely cooked fresh water crab or crayfish. The diagnosis of paragonimiasis is challenging because of its rarity. It may be confused with other inflammatory disease or carcinomatosis. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has lower risk of complications such as bleeding, perforation than percutaneous fine needle aspiration. EUS-FNA is more accurate and popular method to find mucosal or submucosal tumors and the lesions of several organs. Benign and malignant tumors, infectious diseases have been diagnosed by EUS-FNA, but there was no report describing the use of EUS-FNA for diagnosing paragonimiasis. Herein, we present a 47-year-old male patient with paragonimiasis diagnosed by EUS-FNA. Imaging studies revealed mass lesions in the lung and peritoneal cavity, which was eventually confirmed as paragonimiasis using EUS-FNA.
Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Paragonimiasis/*diagnosis/diagnostic imaging/immunology ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the measurements of diameter and volume of hepatic metastases from CT images with the overall survival and tumor response, in patients with unresectable liver metastases of colorectal cancer treated with a targeted agent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 43 patients with unresectable liver metastases of colorectal cancer, in whom targeted therapy was used as the first-line treatment. Three-dimensional quantification of the volume of hepatic metastases was performed for each patient. An independent survival analysis using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors guidelines was performed and compared to the volumetric measurement. Overall survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared to the Cox proportional hazard ratios (HRs) following univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: In patients classified as non-progressing and progressing by the volumetric criteria, the median overall survival time was 21 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 491.25–768.75] and 11 months (95% CI: 0–949.42), respectively (p = 0.001). Using a multivariate analysis, we found that volumetric response (HR: 3.467; p = 0.002) was a significant factor affecting the overall survival in patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION Volumetric assessment of liver metastases could be an alternative predictor of the overall survival of patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer treated with a targeted agent.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how shift-working nursing professionals perceive the current lights-off time in wards as early, appropriate, or late and how their perceptions can be influenced when considering people’s usual bedtimes. Methods: An online survey was conducted comprising queries about the current lights-off time in wards and respondents’ opinions, self-rated psychological status, and perceptions of the current lights-off time considering others’ usual bedtimes. Psychological status was evaluated using the Insomnia Severity Index, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep-16, and the Discrepancy between Desired Time in Bed and Desired Total Sleep Time (DBST) Index, along with the expected DBST Index of others. Results: Of 159 nursing professionals, 88.7% regarded the current lights-off time of 9:46±0:29 PM as appropriate. However, when considering others’ usual bedtimes, the proportion perceiving the lights-off time as too early rose from 6.9% to 28.3%. Participants recommended delaying the lights-off time to 10:06±0:42 PM for patients’ sleep and 10.22±0:46 PM for nursing care activities. Nursing professionals’ insomnia severity was significantly higher among who responded that current light off time is too early after considering usual bedtime of other people. Conclusion This study underscores the need to reassess lights-off times in wards given individuals’ typical bedtimes. The findings emphasize the need to address nursing professionals’ perspectives and insomnia severity when optimizing lights-off schedules in healthcare settings.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how shift-working nursing professionals perceive the current lights-off time in wards as early, appropriate, or late and how their perceptions can be influenced when considering people’s usual bedtimes. Methods: An online survey was conducted comprising queries about the current lights-off time in wards and respondents’ opinions, self-rated psychological status, and perceptions of the current lights-off time considering others’ usual bedtimes. Psychological status was evaluated using the Insomnia Severity Index, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep-16, and the Discrepancy between Desired Time in Bed and Desired Total Sleep Time (DBST) Index, along with the expected DBST Index of others. Results: Of 159 nursing professionals, 88.7% regarded the current lights-off time of 9:46±0:29 PM as appropriate. However, when considering others’ usual bedtimes, the proportion perceiving the lights-off time as too early rose from 6.9% to 28.3%. Participants recommended delaying the lights-off time to 10:06±0:42 PM for patients’ sleep and 10.22±0:46 PM for nursing care activities. Nursing professionals’ insomnia severity was significantly higher among who responded that current light off time is too early after considering usual bedtime of other people. Conclusion This study underscores the need to reassess lights-off times in wards given individuals’ typical bedtimes. The findings emphasize the need to address nursing professionals’ perspectives and insomnia severity when optimizing lights-off schedules in healthcare settings.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how shift-working nursing professionals perceive the current lights-off time in wards as early, appropriate, or late and how their perceptions can be influenced when considering people’s usual bedtimes. Methods: An online survey was conducted comprising queries about the current lights-off time in wards and respondents’ opinions, self-rated psychological status, and perceptions of the current lights-off time considering others’ usual bedtimes. Psychological status was evaluated using the Insomnia Severity Index, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep-16, and the Discrepancy between Desired Time in Bed and Desired Total Sleep Time (DBST) Index, along with the expected DBST Index of others. Results: Of 159 nursing professionals, 88.7% regarded the current lights-off time of 9:46±0:29 PM as appropriate. However, when considering others’ usual bedtimes, the proportion perceiving the lights-off time as too early rose from 6.9% to 28.3%. Participants recommended delaying the lights-off time to 10:06±0:42 PM for patients’ sleep and 10.22±0:46 PM for nursing care activities. Nursing professionals’ insomnia severity was significantly higher among who responded that current light off time is too early after considering usual bedtime of other people. Conclusion This study underscores the need to reassess lights-off times in wards given individuals’ typical bedtimes. The findings emphasize the need to address nursing professionals’ perspectives and insomnia severity when optimizing lights-off schedules in healthcare settings.