The appropriate plot effectively conveys the author’s conclusions to the readers. Journal of Korean Medical Science is providing a series of guidelines to show you how to make consistent and excellent plots more easily. In this article, we introduce scatter plots and more.

The appropriate plot effectively conveys the author’s conclusions to the readers. Journal of Korean Medical Science will provide a series of special articles to show you how to more easily make consistent and excellent plots. In this article, we will cover plots with numeric data.

Background: Risk assessment tools have been actively studied, and they summarize key predictors with relative weights/importance for a disease. Currently, standardized screening scores for type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD)—two key global health problems—are available in United States and Korea. We aimed to compare and evaluate screening scores for DM (or combined with prediabetes) and CKD, and assess the risk in contemporary United States and Korean populations. Methods: Four (2×2) models were evaluated in the United States-National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2015–2018) and Korea-NHANES (2016–2018)—8,928 and 16,209 adults. Weighted statistics were used to describe population characteristics. We used logistic regression for predictors in the models to assess associations with study outcomes (undiagnosed DM and CKD) and diagnostic measures for temporal and cross-validation. Results: Korean adult population (mean age 47.5 years) appeared to be healthier than United States counterpart, in terms of DM and CKD risks and associated factors, with exceptions of undiagnosed DM, prediabetes and prehypertension. Models performed well in own country and external populations regarding predictor-outcome association and discrimination. Risk tests (high vs. low) showed area under the curve >0.75, sensitivity >84%, specificity >45%, positive predictive value >8%, and negative predictive value >99%. Discrimination was better for DM, compared to the combined outcome of DM and prediabetes, and excellent for CKD due to age. Conclusion Four easy-to-use screening scores for DM and CKD are well-validated in contemporary United States and Korean populations. Prevention of DM and CKD may serve as first-step in public health, with these self-assessment tools as basic tools to help health education and disparity.

The appropriate plot effectively conveys the author’s conclusions to the readers. Journal of Korean Medical Science (JKMS) will provide a series of special articles to show you how to make consistent and excellent plots more easily. In this article, we will cover pyramid charts. A pyramid chart is a simple yet popular tool for looking at the structure of a population by age and gender. Other variables can also be applied. This article helps researchers use these charts more easily by introducing effective tools and explaining how to use them.

Background/Aims: Dietary factors can aggravate the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Many IBS patients try restrictive diets to relieve their symptoms, but the types of diets with an exacerbating factor are unknown. Therefore, this paper reports the results of a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) reviewing the efficacy of food restriction diets in IBS. Methods: The MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched until July 21, 2021, to retrieve RCTs assessing the efficacy of restriction diets in adults with IBS. Two independent reviewers performed the eligibility assessment and data abstraction. RCTs that evaluated a restriction diet versus a control diet and assessed the improvement in global IBS symptoms were included. These trials reported a dichotomous assessment of the overall response to therapy. Results: A total of 1,949 citations were identified. After full-text screening, 14 RCTs were considered eligible for the systematic review and network meta-analysis. A starch- and sucrose-reduced diet and a diet with low-fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) showed significantly better results than a usual diet. Symptom flare-ups in patients on a gluten-free diet were also significantly lower than in those on high-gluten diets. Conclusions These findings showed that the starch- and sucrose-reduced, low FODMAP, and gluten-free diets had superior effects in reducing IBS symptoms. Further studies, including head-to-head trials will be needed to establish the effectiveness of dietary restrictions on IBS symptoms.

Purpose: This study examined the subjective frame of patient satisfaction in the comprehensive nursing care services and explored future directions by investigating subjective frame types. Methods: P-Samples were collected from 30 patients who underwent the comprehensive nursing care service. To enable a forced normal distribution, 31 Q-samples were classified on a 9-point scale considering the degree of agreement. The collected data were analyzed by principal component factor analysis and varimax rotation using the PQ method program. Results: The subjective frame of patient satisfaction with the comprehensive nursing care service was divided into four types. Considering the characteristics of each, the types were labeled as “the formation of relationships with the surroundings”, “autonomous decision-making”, “non-verbal empathy”, and “therapeutic support resources”. Each type can be classified into therapeutic relationship and therapeutic process categories. Conclusion This study revealed changes in expectations regarding new medical services and that the subjective frames that affect the formation of satisfaction are diverse. The study results are expected to be used as basic data to develop strategies for creating a therapeutic environment that improves patient satisfaction in the comprehensive nursing care service.

The appropriate plot effectively conveys the author's conclusions to the readers. JKMS will provide a series of special articles to show you how to make consistent and excellent plots easier. In this article, we will cover plots with categorical data. We will show what ‘Bubble Plot,’ ‘Matrix Bubble Plot,’ and ‘Matrix Bar Plot’ are and how to make them.

The appropriate plots effectively convey the author’s conclusions to the readers. ‘Hip and Pelvis’ will provide a series of special articles to show how to make consistent and excellent plots easier. In this article, we will cover plots with error bars.

The appropriate plot effectively conveys the author's conclusions to the readers. The Journal of Korean Medical Science provides a series of special articles to show you how to make consistent and excellent plots easier. In the second article, drawing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is introduced. A ROC curve is a graphic plot that illustrates the diagnostic ability as its discrimination threshold is varied. It is widely used as logistic regression analysis as machine learning becomes widespread. It has great visual effect in comparing various diagnostic tools.

PURPOSE: Postmenopausal women are a unique population with high risk for the degeneration of muscle. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to accurately evaluate the effects of vitamin D on muscular strength in postmenopausal women.METHODS: A review was conducted using electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid Medline, CINAHL complete, and the Cochrane Library from inception through 19 March 2019. Included studies were selected by two independent reviewers. The meta-analysis were performed using Review Manager 5.3 software.RESULTS: A total of nine randomized controlled clinical trials were included in this review. Vitamin D interventions led to no changes in the upper limb muscle strength (mean difference –0.16, 95% CI: –1.09 to 0.77), lower body muscle strength (standard mean difference 0.08, 95% CI: –0.11 to 0.26), and back/hip muscle strength (standard mean difference 0.06, 95% CI: -0.05 to 0.17).CONCLUSION: Pooled results from eight studies indicated that supplementation of vitamin D did not increase muscle strength in postmenopausal women. Apparently, the present review suggests that supplementation of vitamin D alone had no didn't show any beneficial effects on muscle strength in postmenopausal women.
Female ; Humans ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Muscle Strength ; Postmenopause ; Upper Extremity ; Vitamin D ; Vitamins