Background: Few studies have investigated the association between religion and health behaviors in Korea, where various religions coexist. The present study aimed to investigate the association between religion and health behaviors among primary care patients in Korea. Methods: We analyzed data from the Family Cohort Study in Primary Care. Among the 1,040 participants in the cohort, 973 of those who had reported their religion were included in the analysis. Participants completed standardized questionnaires that included religious status and lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, smoking status, drinking status, and dietary habits. The association between religion and health behaviors was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression models. Results: Among the 973 participants, 345 (35.5%) were Christian, 153 (15.7%) were Roman Catholic, 308 (31.7%) were Buddhist, and 163 (16.8%) did not have any religion. Compared with those without a religion, the odds ratio (OR) for vigorous physical activity (OR, 1.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–2.28) increased, and that for binge drinking (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.46–0.78) and problematic drinking (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.35–0.99) decreased among participants with a religion. Compared with those without a religion, Catholics were more likely to engage in vigorous physical activity (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.31–3.67), whereas Christians were less likely to engage in heavy (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.30–0.84), binge (OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.22–0.54), and problematic drinking (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.25–0.86). Smoking, meal regularity, and breakfast consumption were not associated with religion. Conclusion The status of drinking and physical activities were different according to religion. As religion is one of the psychosocial characteristics of patients, knowing patients’ religion can be helpful for primary physicians.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop hypotheses on trends in malaria incidence in North Korea using malaria incidence among South Korean visitors to North Korea. METHODS: The number of South Korean tourists who visited Mount Kumgang from 2000 to 2008 and the number of South Korean employees at the Kaesong Industrial Complex from 2005 to 2015 were obtained from the Korean Statistical Information Service. The number of malaria cases among South Koreans who visited North Korea was obtained from a previous report. The incidence of malaria per 100,000 person-years was calculated using these data and compared with the malaria incidence in North Korea derived from published articles. RESULTS: A high incidence of malaria in 2001 and a sharp decline in the following years were observed in both South and North Korean data. Since then, North Korean data showed a relatively low and stable incidence, but the incidence among South Koreans visiting North Korea increased in 2006. Considering the trends in mass primaquine preventive treatment, floods, and economic growth rate, the incidence of malaria may have increased in North Korea in 2006. Since 2009, the incidence of malaria decreased gradually according to both South and North Korean data. CONCLUSIONS The trends of malaria incidence in North Korea could be reflected through its incidence among South Koreans who visited North Korea. For future inter-Korean collaboration aiming to eradicate malaria, we propose that a North Korean malaria monitoring system be established applying this method.

For the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), predictive modeling, in the literature, uses broadly susceptible exposed infected recoverd (SEIR)/SIR, agent-based, curve-fitting models. Governments and legislative bodies rely on insights from prediction models to suggest new policies and to assess the effectiveness of enforced policies. Therefore, access to accurate outbreak prediction models is essential to obtain insights into the likely spread and consequences of infectious diseases. The objective of this study is to predict the future COVID-19 situation of Korea. Here, we employed 5 models for this analysis; SEIR, local linear regression (LLR), negative binomial (NB) regression, segment Poisson, deep-learning based long short-term memory models (LSTM) and tree based gradient boosting machine (GBM). After prediction, model performance comparison was evelauated using relative mean squared errors (RMSE) for two sets of train (January 20, 2020‒December 31, 2020 and January 20, 2020‒January 31, 2021) and testing data (January 1, 2021‒February 28, 2021 and February 1, 2021‒February 28, 2021) . Except for segmented Poisson model, the other models predicted a decline in the daily confirmed cases in the country for the coming future. RMSE values’ comparison showed that LLR, GBM, SEIR, NB, and LSTM respectively, performed well in the forecasting of the pandemic situation of the country. A good understanding of the epidemic dynamics would greatly enhance the control and prevention of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Therefore, with increasing daily confirmed cases since this year, these results could help in the pandemic response by informing decisions about planning, resource allocation, and decision concerning social distancing policies.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop hypotheses on trends in malaria incidence in North Korea using malaria incidence among South Korean visitors to North Korea. METHODS: The number of South Korean tourists who visited Mount Kumgang from 2000 to 2008 and the number of South Korean employees at the Kaesong Industrial Complex from 2005 to 2015 were obtained from the Korean Statistical Information Service. The number of malaria cases among South Koreans who visited North Korea was obtained from a previous report. The incidence of malaria per 100,000 person-years was calculated using these data and compared with the malaria incidence in North Korea derived from published articles. RESULTS: A high incidence of malaria in 2001 and a sharp decline in the following years were observed in both South and North Korean data. Since then, North Korean data showed a relatively low and stable incidence, but the incidence among South Koreans visiting North Korea increased in 2006. Considering the trends in mass primaquine preventive treatment, floods, and economic growth rate, the incidence of malaria may have increased in North Korea in 2006. Since 2009, the incidence of malaria decreased gradually according to both South and North Korean data. CONCLUSIONS The trends of malaria incidence in North Korea could be reflected through its incidence among South Koreans who visited North Korea. For future inter-Korean collaboration aiming to eradicate malaria, we propose that a North Korean malaria monitoring system be established applying this method.

For the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), predictive modeling, in the literature, uses broadly susceptible exposed infected recoverd (SEIR)/SIR, agent-based, curve-fitting models. Governments and legislative bodies rely on insights from prediction models to suggest new policies and to assess the effectiveness of enforced policies. Therefore, access to accurate outbreak prediction models is essential to obtain insights into the likely spread and consequences of infectious diseases. The objective of this study is to predict the future COVID-19 situation of Korea. Here, we employed 5 models for this analysis; SEIR, local linear regression (LLR), negative binomial (NB) regression, segment Poisson, deep-learning based long short-term memory models (LSTM) and tree based gradient boosting machine (GBM). After prediction, model performance comparison was evelauated using relative mean squared errors (RMSE) for two sets of train (January 20, 2020‒December 31, 2020 and January 20, 2020‒January 31, 2021) and testing data (January 1, 2021‒February 28, 2021 and February 1, 2021‒February 28, 2021) . Except for segmented Poisson model, the other models predicted a decline in the daily confirmed cases in the country for the coming future. RMSE values’ comparison showed that LLR, GBM, SEIR, NB, and LSTM respectively, performed well in the forecasting of the pandemic situation of the country. A good understanding of the epidemic dynamics would greatly enhance the control and prevention of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Therefore, with increasing daily confirmed cases since this year, these results could help in the pandemic response by informing decisions about planning, resource allocation, and decision concerning social distancing policies.

Cardiac organoids have emerged as invaluable tools for assessing the impact of diverse substances on heart function.This report introduces guidelines for general requirements for manufacturing cardiac organoids and conducting cardiac organoid-based assays, encompassing protocols, analytical methodologies, and ethical considerations. In the quest to employ recently developed three-dimensional cardiac organoid models as substitutes for animal testing, it becomes imperative to establish robust criteria for evaluating organoid quality and conducting toxicity assessments. This guideline addresses this need, catering to regulatory requirements, and describes common standards for organoid quality and toxicity assessment methodologies, commensurate with current technological capabilities. While acknowledging the dynamic nature of technological progress and the potential for future comparative studies, this guideline serves as a foundational framework. It offers a comprehensive approach to standardized cardiac organoid testing, ensuring scientific rigor, reproducibility, and ethical integrity in investigations of cardiotoxicity, particularly through the utilization of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac organoids.

After discussion about the need to develop an obesity educator training program and certification for obesity educators, the Education Committee of the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity has developed and determined the main theme for the Obesity Educator Training Program implemented as a workshop and public hearing. We reviewed the process of the determination of the main theme and discuss topics such as subjects, operation of the program, and certification processing to design a credible obesity educator training program.
Certification ; Education ; Hearing ; Obesity

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been considered as the most important cells in regenerative medicine as they are able to differentiate into all types of cells in the human body. PSCs have been established from several sources of embryo tissue or by reprogramming of terminally differentiated adult tissue by transduction of so-called Yamanaka factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and cMyc). Interestingly, accumulating evidence has demonstrated the residence of PSCs in adult tissue and with the ability to differentiate into multiple types of tissue-committed stem cells (TCSCs). We also recently demonstrated that a population of pluripotent Oct4(+) SSEA-1(+)Sca-1(+)Lin-CD45(-) very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) resides in the adult murine bone marrow (BM) and in other murine tissue. These very small (~3-6 microm) cells express pluripotent markers such as Oct4, Nanog, and SSEA-1. VSELs could be specified into several tissue-residing TCSCs in response to tissue/organ injury, and thus suggesting that these cells have a physiological role in the rejuvenation of a pool of TCSCs under steady-state conditions. In this review article, we discuss the molecular nature of the rare population of VSELs which have a crucial role in regulating the pluripotency, proliferation, differentiation, and aging of these cells.
Adult* ; Aging ; Antigens, CD15 ; Bone Marrow ; DNA Methylation ; Embryonic Structures ; Genomic Imprinting ; Human Body ; Humans ; Pluripotent Stem Cells ; Regenerative Medicine ; Rejuvenation ; Stem Cells*

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a major contributor to the global disease burden of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. The aim of this study was to determine demographic and clinical factors associated with adherence to antihypertensive medication. METHODS: From August 2012 to February 2015, we recruited 1,523 Korean patients with hypertension who visited family physicians. The study was conducted in 24 facilities located in urban and metropolitan areas. Of these facilities, two were primary care clinics and 22 were level 2 or 3 hospitals. Adherence was assessed using the pill count method; a cut-off value of 80% was used as the criterion for good adherence. Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were compared between the adherent and nonadherent groups using the chi-square test for categorical variables and t-test for continuous variables. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed with medication adherence as the outcome variable. RESULTS: Of the 1,523 patients, 1,245 (81.7%) showed good adherence to antihypertensive medication. In the multivariate logistic analysis, age ≥65 years, exercise, treatment in a metropolitan-located hospital, being on ≥2 classes of antihypertensive medication and concomitant medication for diabetes, and a family history of hypertension or cardiovascular diseases were associated with good adherence. Patients who had a habit of high salt intake were less adherent to medication. CONCLUSION: Multiple classes of antihypertensive medications, concomitant medication, and exercise were associated with good adherence to antihypertensive medication, and high salt intake was associated with poor adherence to antihypertensive medication. These factors should be considered to improve hypertension control.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Medication Adherence ; Methods ; Patient Compliance ; Physicians, Family ; Primary Health Care

BACKGROUND: Korea's population is aging rapidly. Aged people who lead a solitary life are in a state of social isolation and face a greater risk of lower quality of life. The purpose of this study was to analyze the health behaviors and lifestyle patterns of aged people who lead a solitary life in Korea.METHODS: We analyzed 4,471 subjects (1,933 men and 2,538 women)-aged people aged 65 or above-based on data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2013–2015). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted with age, household income level, occupational status, and geographical region.RESULTS: Socioeconomic status was lower in aged people who lead a solitary life than in those living with family. The ORs for frequent eating out alone (OR=2.93; 95% CI 1.83–4.38), daily eating out alone (OR=2.40; 95% CI 1.25–4.60), smoking (OR=1.57; 95% CI 1.06–2.32), feeling sick or uncomfortable (OR=1.59; 95% CI 1.08–2.36), feeling depressed (OR=4.10; 95% CI 2.53–6.65), and suicide ideation (OR=2.06; 95% CI 1.21–3.51) were significantly higher in male subjects who lead a solitary life. The ORs for frequent eating out alone (OR=1.57; 95% CI 1.10–2.24) and inadequate sleep duration (OR=1.29; 95% CI 1.03–1.61) were significantly higher in female subjects who lead a solitary life.CONCLUSION: Aged people who lead a solitary life exhibited unhealthy behaviors and poor mental health. The elderly men who lead a solitary life faced higher risk of poor health than the women. Integrated management of lifestyle behaviors is required to improve the quality of health in aged people who lead a solitary life.
Aged ; Aging ; Eating ; Employment ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mental Health ; Nutrition Surveys ; Nutritional Status ; Odds Ratio ; Quality of Life ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Social Class ; Social Isolation ; Suicide