Menarche is a main indicator of sexual maturity which relates to a reproductive function. The onset of the menstrual cycle differs individually and is influenced by many variables such as socio-economic situation, race, genetics, climate, altitude, nutritional status, and physical growth. Among them physical growth has been known to be the most influencing factor, particularly when expressed as body fat designated by weight. This study intended to investigate the body composition of girls around the menarche period and to evaluate the minimal levels of weight and fat percentage needed for the onset of menarche. A total of 101 female subjects, aged 11 to 13 years, were recruited from the 5th and 6th grades of an elementary school, in Mokpo, Korea. The subjects were placed into one of two groups Pre-menarche and Post-menarche groups according to their experience with menarche. Thereafter, the subjects in the Post-group were placed into 4 subgroups based on the number of menstruations they experienced: Post-I (1 - 3 times), Post-II (4 - 6 times), Post-III (7 - 9 times), and Post-IV (> 10 times). The average age at the onset of menarche of the subjects in Post groups was 11.2 +/- 0.6 years. There were significant differences in the data of anthropometry and body composition between the Pre and Post groups, although the mean ages of both Pre and Post groups were the same. Weight, waist, hip and thigh girths, fat percentage, and lean body mass of the Post groups were significantly higher than those of the Pre group. Height was not significantly different between the groups. Weight was highly correlated with body fat mass (r = 0.92, p < 0.001), fat percentage (r = 0.85, p < 0.001), and body mass index (r = 0.91, p < 0.001). These results indicate that weight, compared with height, reflects body composition well and influences the onset of the menstrual cycle. It could also be suggested that the minimal weight and fat percentage needed for the onset of menarche in Korean females are 41 kg and 17% to 19%, respectively.
Adipose Tissue* ; Altitude ; Anthropometry ; Body Composition ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Climate ; Continental Population Groups ; Female ; Female* ; Genetics ; Hip ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Korea ; Menarche* ; Menstrual Cycle ; Menstruation ; Nutritional Status ; Thigh

This study was performed to determine the iron status of the adolescent Korean girls before and after menarche. The 101 subjects aged 11-13 years who attending in an elementary school in Mokpo were recruited. They were divided into pre-menarche (A) group or post-menarche (B) group based on their menstruation status. The latter subjects were sub-divided into one of the four groups according to the times of their menstruation B-I(> or =3 times), B-II (4-6 times), B-III (7-9 times) or B-W (> or =10 times). In the total subjects, dietary iron intake, 11.3 mg/day, was below the Korean RDA for iron, the percentage of heme iron to total iron intake, 15%, and the bioavailability of dietary iron, 12.3%, seemed to be low. And their body iron storage, 140.8 mg, seemed to be insufficient. However, they tended to meet body's iron requirement in the cell level. Red blood cell number (RBC), hematocrit (Hct), and hemoglobin (Hb) level in the total subjects were 4.5 1012/I, 39.3%, and 13.0 g/dl, respectively. The subjects in B group had lower (p<0.05) RBC and Hct compared to those in A group and the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia tended to be high. Serum iron, ferritin, and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and sTfR:ferritin ratio were 86.7microgram/d, 17.6microgram/l, 3.58 mg/1, and 230, respectively. Those four indices were not significantly different among the groups. The results of this study imply that, although there a tendency to affect negatively iron status, menstrual blood loss in adolescent females does not deteriorate obviously their iron status during the relatively short period up to 1 you. However, it should be better to improve their iron status after starting menarche by increasing iron intake, especially heme-iron, and enhancing factors for iron absorption.
Absorption ; Adolescent* ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Biological Availability ; Erythrocytes ; Female* ; Ferritins ; Hematocrit ; Heme ; Humans ; Iron* ; Iron, Dietary ; Jeollanam-do ; Menarche* ; Menstruation ; Prevalence ; Receptors, Transferrin

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in anthropometric, hematologic, and lipidologic data between normocholesterolemia and hypercholesterolemia and influencing factors in hypercholesterolemia in middle-aged men in Kwang-ju. 179 middle-aged men were involved. Anthropometric data(body weight, height, body circumferences and skinfold thickness) and hematologic data(blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, albumin and hemoglobin) were measured. Bleed lipid profile(total cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipid, HDI-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol) were analyzed. To determined using questionnaire. The subjects were classified as hypercholesterolemic based on The Guideline for Korean Hyperlipidemia. body mass index, systolic blood pressure, waist and hip circumference, and triceps, subcostal, abdomen, subscapular and suprailliac skinfold thicknesses of the hypercholesterolemic group were significantly higher than in the normocholesterolemic group. The concentration of cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipod. HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and VLDL -cholesterol of the hypercholesterolemic group were significantly higher than normocholesterolemic group. The concentration of cholesterol has a significantly positive correlation with body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, waist/thigh ratio and skinfold thickness(triceps, subcostal, abdomen, and supraillic skin-fold thickness). The general tendency of socioeconomec status, frequencyu of meat intake, smoking amounts and duration and duration and drinking frequencies and amount were higher in the hypercholesteolemic group but not significant. In conclusion, hypercholesterolemia in middle-aged men was closely correlated with upper body fat obesity and most of them had an accompanied high triglyceride level tendency.
Abdomen ; Adipose Tissue ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Drinking ; Fasting ; Gwangju* ; Hip ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia* ; Hyperlipidemias ; Male ; Meat ; Obesity ; Skinfold Thickness ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Anemia in women during pregnancy and after delivery has been known to affect the mother, the fetus, and the infant's growth and health status. Studies examining, changes in iron and folate status associated with anemia during pregnancy and during pregnancy, and those supplements are stopped after postpartum. However, the effects of those have not been clearly determined in pregnant and lactating Korea women. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the changes in maternal iron and folate status during pregnancy and six months after delivery longitudinally in six pregnant women who consumed supplements from 20 wk to delivery. We concluded that the iron status deteriorated during pregnancy and especially was weak in the third trimester, but had a tendency to recovery after delivery. On the other hand, the folate status deteriorated in the first and second trimester and was good in the third trimester, but had a tendency to decrease after delivery. These results suggested that the iron status was not improved despite consuming total iron supplements of 50 mg/day through diets and supplements during the second half of the pregnancy. On the other hand, the folate status improved at the end of pregnancy by consuming folate supplements of a total of 800 mg/day through diets and supplements. However, folate status was poor in the first half of the pregnancy, and the tendency of folate status to decrease during postpartum was advanced. At the point in which iron and therefore supplementation is essential. However, the effects of supplement intake time and intake dosage need to be verified and the nutritional status changes of postpartum women should be carefully monitored.
Anemia ; Diet ; Female ; Fetus ; Folic Acid* ; Hand ; Humans ; Iron* ; Korea ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Mothers ; Nutritional Status ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women

Recently elevated plasma homocysteine concentration is considered an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and thrombosis with coronary artery disease. Folate and vitamin B12 are cofactors and closely related with metabolism of homocysteine. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the correlation between homocysteine and folate and vitamin B12 in patients with ischemic heart disease. Twenty-six patients, in whom coronary angiographic finding revealed more than 50% of stenosis at least in one coronary vessel were enrolled as the patient group, and thirty subjects, in whom angiographic finding revealed in not significant stenosis, but complained of chest pain, were selected as the control group. Fasting venous blood was obtained and measured the concentration of plasma total homocysteine, folate and vitamin B12 by high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection method. We examined the correlation between homocysteine and folate and/or vitamin B12 in the control group and the patient group, respectively. Compared with the control group, the patient group had relatively higher plasma total homocysteine concentration (10.7 +/- 4.2 vs 9.6 +/- 3.5 umol/L), but showed no significant difference. Folate and vitamin B12 concentration are low in the patient group, but showed no significant difference between patient and control group. Plasma total homocysteine concentration showed negative correlation with folate and vitamin B12 in both the control group and the patient group, and showed significantly negative correlation in patient group {r = -0.550 (p<0.01) vs r = -0.609 (p<0.01)}. We knew that the plasma total homocysteine concentration were relatively elevated in patient group compared with the control group. Because plasma total homocysteine concentrations are closely negative correlated with folate and vitamin B12 in the patient group, folate and vitamin B12 supplement can lower the mortality and morbidity of ischemic heart disease.
Atherosclerosis ; Chest Pain ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Coronary Vessels ; Fasting ; Fluorescence ; Folic Acid* ; Homocysteine* ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Mortality ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Plasma* ; Risk Factors ; Thrombosis ; Vitamin B 12* ; Vitamins*

This study was done to determine the trans fatty acid (tFA) composition of human milk from postpartum to sixth months after delivery, to investigate the tFA intake of lactating women, and to estimate the intakes of tFA by infants exclusively fed breast milk. A total of 27 lactating Korean women participated to this study voluntarily, gave their breast milk, and responded to an investigation of their diets. The lactating women consumed 2.3-2.8 g/d of tFAs over the period of the first, second, third, and sixth months postpartum, which was 3.4-4.9% of the total fat intake and 0.8%-1.2% of the total energy intake. The proportions of tFAs in the breast milk were 1.89% in colostrum, 1.78% in transitional milk, and 1.78-2.25 in mature milk of the first, second, third, and sixth months postpartum. The tFAs of the breast milk identified in this study were C16:1n9t, C18:1n9t, C18:2n6t12t, C18:2 n6t12c, C18:2n6c12t and C18:2n6t11t. Among them, C18:1n9t was predominant, which made up 59.26% of all tFAs in colostrum, 62.36% in transitional milk, and 64.42% in mature milk. The proportion of total tFA was unchanged with time, although some significant differences were noted for individual tFAs. The percentages of C18:2n6t12c and C18:2n6c12t decreased over the study period. Estimated tFA intake of the exclusively breast-fed infants was 0.18 g/d when fed colostrum, 0.29 g/d when fed transitional milk, and 0.53 g/d when fed mature milk until the sixth month of postpartum. Those were 0.5%, 0.8%, and 1.1% of the total energy intake. The results in this study indicate that lactating Korean women consume not a large quantity of tFAs, secrete breast milk not containing much tFA, and the estimated intake of tFAs by infants fed exclusively breast milk is not great.
Breast* ; Colostrum ; Diet ; Energy Intake ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Milk ; Milk, Human* ; Postpartum Period* ; Trans Fatty Acids*

It is a common clinical practice to recommend taking iron supplements for pregnant women during gestation. Although it is required to ensure adequate iron stores during pregnancy, there has been some debate over the interference effects of excessive iron load, because it is possible to compete in the transport in the intestine and placenta and in binding to serum proteins of other trace minerals. In this study, maternal and neonatal serum concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cu, Se, Cr, Mn, and Co were assessed along with maternal Fe intakes. A total of 124 pregnant women and their term neonates participated voluntarily in this research. The women were divided into one of the three groups {high Fe intake (HFI), median Fe intake (MFI), and low Fe intake (LFI)} by their total Fe intakes and one of the two groups (Anemic and Normal) by their Fe nutritional status. All the data were compared among the three groups and between the two groups also. Total Fe intakes of HFI, MFI, and LFI groups were 140.8 +/- 76.1, 68.0 +/- 11.2, and 30.2 +/- 8.6 mg/day, respectively. Those of Anemic and Normal groups were 90.1 +/- 74.8 and 86.6 +/- 46.8 mg/day, respectively. Maternal Hb concentration and Hct were not significantly different among HFI, MFI, and LFI groups but those were significantly different between Anemic and Normal groups. However, neonatal Hb concentration was not significantly different among HFI, MFI, and LFI groups and between Anemic and Normal groups either. Maternal serum Fe concentrations of the three groups, HFI, MFI, and LFI, were similar but that of Anemic group was significantly lower compared to Normal group. However, there was no significant difference in neonatal serum Fe concentrations among the three groups and between the two groups either. Serum concentrations of the other trace minerals in both mothers and neonates were not significantly different among HFI, MFI, and LFI groups and between Anemic and Normal groups. In addition, in the maternal serum, Fe concentration was positively correlated to Zn and Se concentration, respectively. As for the neonatal serum, Fe concentration showed a positive correlation to Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, and Co concentration, respectively. No trace mineral concentration was found to correlate negatively to Fe concentration in both maternal and neonatal serum, The results in this study indicate that Fe intakes of pregnant women, even if it is considerably above the level of estimated average requirement (EAR), may not affect serum Fe concentration in both mothers and neonates. In addition it might not influence adversely on the availability of other trace minerals including Zn and Cu in both mothers and neonates.
Blood Proteins ; Dietary Sucrose ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intestines ; Iron ; Minerals ; Mothers ; Nutritional Status ; Placenta ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Zinc

Lactating women have an increased need of folate in the breastfeeding period and, as a consequence, may be in risk of folate deficiency. Folate content of breast milk, furthermore, is important for infants to support exponential growth. However, little is known about the folate content of breast milk from Korean lactating women and their folate nutritional status. In this study, therefore, we investigated the folate status of Korean lactating women and the folate content of their breast milk during extended lactation. A total of 10 subjects who delivered full-term infants participated this study voluntarily. Dietary folate intakes were measured and blood and breast milk were collected at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months postpartum. The women who did not take folic acid supplements failed to meet the recommended intake (RI) of folate for lactating women during all the study periods but those who did met the RI. The unsupplemented women showed lower plasma folate concentrations compared to the supplemented women and all the women were in suboptimal folate status determined by plasma folate concentration throughout the study periods. But the supplemented women showed lower prevalence of suboptimal folate status only at 3 or 6 months postpartum. Plasma folate concentrations of both groups decreased with the progression of lactation. Erythrocyte folate concentrations were not different between the two groups, however, that of the unsupplemented reduced further as time progressed. Plasma homocysteine levels were not different between the two groups. Concentrations of erythrocyte folate and plasma homocysteine were not changed throughout the study periods. Folate contents of their breast milk through the study periods were not different between the two groups and it decreased as lactation progressed in both groups. The results of this study suggest that the folate nutritional status of Korean lactating women might be deteriorated with the progression of lactation without folic acid supplements.
Breast Feeding ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Folic Acid ; Homocysteine ; Humans ; Infant ; Korea ; Lactation ; Milk, Human ; Nutritional Status ; Plasma ; Postpartum Period ; Prevalence

Recent epidemiologic and clinical students have shown that plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels are independent risk factors for coronary heart disease. However, there is not much data on the characteristics of anthropometry and lipid profiles of hypercholesterolemic patients with hypertiglyceridemia. In this study, 112 hypercholesterolemic subjects(T-C 240mg/dl) were divided into two groups by their plasma triglyceride levels. We compared the anthropometric measurements and lipid profiles of the subjects between the two groups : the simples hypercholesterolemic group(SHC, TG<200mg/dl) and the combined hypercholesterolemic group(CHC, TG 250mg/dl). The distribution of the subjects into the SHC and CHC groups was 36.6% and 47.3%, respectively. The frequency of the CHC patients decreased with age. The subjects in this group had higher weight, BMI, HWR, cricumferences of mid arm, waist, hip and thigh, and skinfold thicknesses of biceps and triceps than those of the SHC subjects. The difference of plasma total cholesterol level was mainly due to the difference of VLDL-C levels. These differences resulted in the CHC subjects having higher atherogenic indexes and T-C/HDL-C ratios than those of the SHC subjects. Also, the former had higher Apo-B and insulin levels than those the latter. However, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and HDL-C levels were not significantly different between the two groups. These results suggest that hypercholesterolemic patients with hypertriglyceridemia have riskier lipid profiles for CHD than those of patients with normal triglyceridemia. They also indicate that CHC is closely associated with glucose resistance syndrome(obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia), and more prevalent in young people.
Anthropometry* ; Apolipoproteins B ; Arm ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Cholesterol ; Coronary Disease ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hip ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia* ; Hyperglycemia ; Hyperinsulinism ; Hypertriglyceridemia ; Insulin ; Obesity ; Plasma* ; Risk Factors ; Skinfold Thickness ; Thigh ; Triglycerides

To increase both iron and enhancers for iron absorption through diets should be a basic strategy to sufficiently provide increased iron for pregnancy. Previous studies reported that iron intakes of Korean pregnant women were short and their iron status deteriorated as pregnancy progressed. However, there is little data about the bioavailability of dietary iron during pregnancy. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the changes of dietary iron intakes, its bioa-vailability and iron status during pregnancy longitudinally in Korean women. A total of 151 pregnant women in their first trimester of pregnancy voluntarily participated. Among them, 72 women finished the research protocol during the second trimester and 55 did it during the third trimester. Dietary intakes of total iron, both non-heme and heme iron, as well as enhancers, both MPF (meat, poulty, and fish) and vitamin C, increased significantly as pregnancy progressed. As the results, bioavailability of dietary iron and iron absorbed increased significantly as pregnancy progressed. However, the amount of iron absorbed at each trimester did not meet considerably the iron needed during pregnancy. All five indices examined in the study, Hb level, Hct, serum concentrations of ferritin and sTfR (soluble transferrin receptor), and sTfR:ferritin ratio, showed that iron status of the subjects deteriorated as pregnancy progressed. The rate of anemia of the subjects increased as pregnancy progressed although more than 80% of the subjects took iron supplements after the 20th week of pregnancy. These results imply that it is needed to provide more iron especially, heme iron and dietary enhancers to prevent the deterioration of iron status during pregnancy. Future research on bioavaila-blility of supplemental iron should be performed to determine the iron balance precisely.
Absorption ; Anemia ; Ascorbic Acid ; Biological Availability* ; Diet ; Female ; Ferritins ; Heme ; Humans ; Iron* ; Iron, Dietary* ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Transferrin