Background: There are differences in risk and risk factor findings of postpartum type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after gestational diabetes depending on study design and subjects of previous studies. This study aimed to assess these risk and risk factors more accurately through a population-based study to provide basic data for prevention strategies. Methods: This open retrospective cohort included data of 419,101 women with gestational diabetes and matched 1,228,802 control women who delivered between 2004 and 2016 from the South Korea National Health Information Database of the National Health Insurance Service. Following 14 (median 5.9) years of follow-up, the incidence and hazard ratio (HR) of postpartum T2DM were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional regression models. Results: The incidence and HR of postpartum T2DM in women with gestational diabetes (compared to women without gestational diabetes) after the 14-year follow-up was 21.3% and 2.78 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.74 to 2.82), respectively. Comorbid obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥25 kg/m2) increased postpartum T2DM risk 7.59 times (95% CI, 7.33 to 7.86). Significant risk factors for postpartum T2DM were fasting glucose level, BMI, age, family history of diabetes, hypertension, and insulin use during pregnancy. Conclusion This population-based study showed higher postpartum T2DM risk in women with gestational diabetes than in those without, which was further increased by comorbid obesity. BMI and fasting glucose level were important postpartum risk factors. The management of obesity and glycemic control may be important strategies to prevent the incidence of diabetes after delivery.

Meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies differs from the usual meta-analysis of therapeutic/interventional studies in that, it is required to simultaneously analyze a pair of two outcome measures such as sensitivity and specificity, instead of a single outcome. Since sensitivity and specificity are generally inversely correlated and could be affected by a threshold effect, more sophisticated statistical methods are required for the meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy. Hierarchical models including the bivariate model and the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic model are increasingly being accepted as standard methods for meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies. We provide a conceptual review of statistical methods currently used and recommended for meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies. This article could serve as a methodological reference for those who perform systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies.
Area Under Curve ; Databases, Factual ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine/*statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; ROC Curve ; *Research ; Software

Background: We investigated how 100-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results can be used to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients. Methods: We analyzed 1,059 pregnant women who completed the 100-g OGTT between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. We compared the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes according to OGTT patterns by latent profile analysis (LPA), numbers to meet the OGTT criteria, and area under the curve (AUC) of the OGTT graph. Adverse pregnancy outcomes were defined as a composite of preterm birth, macrosomia, large for gestational age, low APGAR score at 1 minute, and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Results: Overall, 257 participants were diagnosed with GDM, with a median age of 34 years. An LPA led to three different clusters of OGTT patterns; however, there were no significant associations between the clusters and adverse pregnancy outcomes after adjusting for confounders. Notwithstanding, the risk of adverse pregnancy outcome increased with an increase in number to meet the OGTT criteria (P for trend=0.011); odds ratios in a full adjustment model were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 2.23), 2.16 (95% CI, 1.21 to 3.85), and 2.32 (95% CI, 0.66 to 8.15) in those meeting the 2, 3, and 4 criteria, respectively. The AUCs of the OGTT curves also distinguished the patients at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes; the larger the AUC, the higher the risk (P for trend=0.007). Conclusion The total number of abnormal values and calculated AUCs for the 100-g OGTT may facilitate tailored management of patients with GDM by predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that patients with neurological disorders are vulnerable to depression. However, in Korea, National Health Insurance services had banned non-psychiatrists from prescribing antidepressants for more than 2 months until January 2017. Now, neurologists are able to prescribe antidepressants to patients with only four neurological disorders. Due to this recent change in national health insurance policy, there will be a large change in the prescription pattern of antidepressants. In this study, we performed an analysis of antidepressant prescription patterns in Korea prior to this recent policy change. METHODS: The source population of this retrospective cohort study is the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service database. We analyzed the claim database for patients who have one of four major neurologic disorders and had healthcare documentation submitted by healthcare providers between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2016. RESULTS: During 2012–2016, antidepressant prescription rates of 6.21% (127,192 of a total 2,048,165 patients), 9.93% (81,861 out of 824,290), 10.12% (173,582 of 1,714,776), and 13.36% (48,530 of 363,347) were found for cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy, dementia, and Parkinson's disease respectively. The most frequently prescribed antidepressant in cerebrovascular disease and epilepsy was tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). In Parkinson's disease and dementia, the most frequently used antidepressant was selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: The overall prescription rate of antidepressants was much lower than the estimated rates reported in other countries. TCAs were the primarily prescribed antidepressant. It is now expected that TCAs will be replaced by newer antidepressants.
Antidepressive Agents ; Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; Cohort Studies ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dementia ; Depression ; Epilepsy ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Nervous System Diseases ; Parkinson Disease ; Prescriptions ; Retrospective Studies ; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors

Background: The weight-adjusted waist index (WWI) reflected body compositional changes with aging. This study was to investigate the association of WWI with abdominal fat and muscle mass in a diverse race/ethnic population. Methods: Computed tomography (CT) data from 1,946 participants for abdominal fat and muscle areas from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (785 Whites, 252 Asians, 406 African American, and 503 Hispanics) were used. Among them, 595 participants underwent repeated CT. The WWI was calculated as waist circumference (cm) divided by the square root of body weight (kg). The associations of WWI with abdominal fat and muscle measures were examined, and longitudinal changes in abdominal composition measures were compared. Results: In all race/ethnic groups, WWI was positively correlated with total abdominal fat area (TFA), subcutaneous fat area, and visceral fat area, but negatively correlated with total abdominal muscle area (TMA) and abdominal muscle radiodensity (P<0.001 for all). WWI showed a linear increase with aging regardless of race and there were no significant differences in the WWI distribution between Whites, Asians, and African Americans. In longitudinal analyses, over 38.6 months of follow-up, all abdominal fat measures increased but muscle measures decreased, along with increase in WWI. The more the WWI increased, the more the TFA increased and the more the TMA decreased. Conclusion WWI showed positive associations with abdominal fat mass and negative associations with abdominal muscle mass, which likely reflects the abdominal compositional changes with aging in a multi-ethnic population.

Background: A substantial cardiovascular disease risk remains even after optimal statin therapy. Comparative predictiveness of major lipid and lipoprotein parameters for cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who are treated with statins is not well documented. Methods: From the Korean Nationwide Cohort, 11,900 patients with T2DM (≥40 years of age) without a history of cardiovascular disease and receiving moderate- or high-intensity statins were included. The primary outcome was the first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, and cardiovascular death. The risk of MACE was estimated according to on-statin levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and non-HDL-C. Results: MACE occurred in 712 patients during a median follow-up period of 37.9 months (interquartile range, 21.7 to 54.9). Among patients achieving LDL-C levels less than 100 mg/dL, the hazard ratios for MACE per 1-standard deviation change in ontreatment values were 1.25 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07 to 1.47) for LDL-C, 1.31 (95% CI, 1.09 to 1.57) for non-HDL-C, 1.05 (95% CI, 0.91 to 1.21) for TG, and 1.16 (95% CI, 0.98 to 1.37) for HDL-C, after adjusting for potential confounders and lipid parameters mutually. The predictive ability of on-statin LDL-C and non-HDL-C for MACE was prominent in patients at high cardiovascular risk or those with LDL-C ≥70 mg/dL. Conclusion On-statin LDL-C and non-HDL-C levels are better predictors of the first cardiovascular event than TG or HDL-C in patients with T2DM.

Treatment patterns and preferences for patients with Graves’ disease (GD) vary across countries. In this study, we assessed the initial therapies and subsequent treatment modalities employed for GD in real-world clinical practice in Korea. We analyzed 452,001 patients with GD from 2004 to 2020, obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Initial treatments included antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy (98% of cases), thyroidectomy (1.3%), and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy (0.7%). The rates of initial treatment failure were 58.5% for ATDs, 21.3% for RAI, and 2.1% for thyroidectomy. Even among cases of ATD treatment failure or recurrence, the rates of RAI therapy remained low. Regarding initial treatment, the 5-year remission rate was 46.8% among patients administered ATDs versus 91.0% among recipients of RAI therapy; at 10 years, these rates were 59.2% and 94.0%, respectively. Our findings highlight a marked disparity in the use of RAI therapy in Korea compared to Western countries. Further research is required to understand the reasons for these differences in treatment patterns.

Treatment patterns and preferences for patients with Graves’ disease (GD) vary across countries. In this study, we assessed the initial therapies and subsequent treatment modalities employed for GD in real-world clinical practice in Korea. We analyzed 452,001 patients with GD from 2004 to 2020, obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Initial treatments included antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy (98% of cases), thyroidectomy (1.3%), and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy (0.7%). The rates of initial treatment failure were 58.5% for ATDs, 21.3% for RAI, and 2.1% for thyroidectomy. Even among cases of ATD treatment failure or recurrence, the rates of RAI therapy remained low. Regarding initial treatment, the 5-year remission rate was 46.8% among patients administered ATDs versus 91.0% among recipients of RAI therapy; at 10 years, these rates were 59.2% and 94.0%, respectively. Our findings highlight a marked disparity in the use of RAI therapy in Korea compared to Western countries. Further research is required to understand the reasons for these differences in treatment patterns.

Treatment patterns and preferences for patients with Graves’ disease (GD) vary across countries. In this study, we assessed the initial therapies and subsequent treatment modalities employed for GD in real-world clinical practice in Korea. We analyzed 452,001 patients with GD from 2004 to 2020, obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Initial treatments included antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy (98% of cases), thyroidectomy (1.3%), and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy (0.7%). The rates of initial treatment failure were 58.5% for ATDs, 21.3% for RAI, and 2.1% for thyroidectomy. Even among cases of ATD treatment failure or recurrence, the rates of RAI therapy remained low. Regarding initial treatment, the 5-year remission rate was 46.8% among patients administered ATDs versus 91.0% among recipients of RAI therapy; at 10 years, these rates were 59.2% and 94.0%, respectively. Our findings highlight a marked disparity in the use of RAI therapy in Korea compared to Western countries. Further research is required to understand the reasons for these differences in treatment patterns.

Treatment patterns and preferences for patients with Graves’ disease (GD) vary across countries. In this study, we assessed the initial therapies and subsequent treatment modalities employed for GD in real-world clinical practice in Korea. We analyzed 452,001 patients with GD from 2004 to 2020, obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Initial treatments included antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy (98% of cases), thyroidectomy (1.3%), and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy (0.7%). The rates of initial treatment failure were 58.5% for ATDs, 21.3% for RAI, and 2.1% for thyroidectomy. Even among cases of ATD treatment failure or recurrence, the rates of RAI therapy remained low. Regarding initial treatment, the 5-year remission rate was 46.8% among patients administered ATDs versus 91.0% among recipients of RAI therapy; at 10 years, these rates were 59.2% and 94.0%, respectively. Our findings highlight a marked disparity in the use of RAI therapy in Korea compared to Western countries. Further research is required to understand the reasons for these differences in treatment patterns.