BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is characterized by pruritic and eczematous skin lesions, which often cause depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, sleep disturbances, social withdrawal, and stigmatization. METHODS: In total, 23,442 subjects (434 AD patients and 23,008 control subjects) aged 19 years or older and without a history of major medical illness or depressive disorders were selected from The Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2012. Following the initial selection, 2,170 age- and sex-matched control subjects were selected using 1:5 propensity score matching. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the presence of depressive symptoms of at least 2 weeks in duration. RESULTS: The demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics of AD patients and control subjects were presented and compared, and some variables differed significantly between groups. Presence of depressive symptoms was set as dependent variable, and multiple logistic regression analysis was performed as follows: (1) unadjusted; (2) with alcohol use, exercise status, smoking status, and body mass index (BMI) adjusted for; and (3) with alcohol use, exercise status, smoking status, marital status, occupation, BMI, total caloric intake, history of hypertension, and history of diabetes mellitus adjusted for. Depressive symptoms were significantly higher (odds ratios, 1.46, 1.40, and 1.36; 95% confidence intervals, 1.09-1.95, 1.0.4-1.88, and 1.01-1.85, respectively) in AD patients relative to those of matched controls. CONCLUSION: AD and clinical depression interact closely, and causal relationships between the two conditions have frequently been observed. Physicians should consider mental health interventions cautiously. It is particularly important that primary care physicians provide comprehensive, continuous long-term care.
Adult* ; Anxiety ; Body Mass Index ; Depression* ; Depressive Disorder ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Energy Intake ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Long-Term Care ; Marital Status ; Mental Health ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Occupations ; Physicians, Primary Care ; Propensity Score ; Skin ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stereotyping

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the physical activity and caloric intake trends of lipid-lowering drug users with those of non-users among Korean adults with dyslipidemia. METHODS: This study was a repeated cross-sectional study with a nationally representative sample of 2,635 Korean adults with dyslipidemia based on the 2010-2013 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and caloric intake was estimated through 24-hour dietary recall. All statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 21.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). The changes in physical activity and caloric intake were investigated for lipid-lowering drug users and non-users using generalized linear models. RESULTS: The proportion of lipid-lowering drug users in the 2010-2013 survey population increased from 3.5% to 5.0% (P<0.001). Among adults of dyslipidemia, total of 1,562 participants (56.6%) reported taking lipid-lowering drugs, and 1,073 (43.4%) reported not taking lipid-lowering drugs. Drug users were more likely to be older and less educated and to have a diagnosis of diabetes, higher body mass index, and lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Physical activity trends were tested separately for the lipid-lowering drug users and non-users, and a significant decrease was found among the drug users during the study period. Physical activity among the drug users in 2013 was 38% lower (1,357.3±382.7 metabolic equivalent [MET]; P for trend=0.002) than in 2010 (2,201.4±442.6 MET). In contrast, there was no statistically significant difference between drug users and non-users in the trend of caloric intake during the same period. CONCLUSION: Physical activity significantly decreased among lipid-lowering drug users between 2010 and 2013, which was not observed among non-users. The importance of physical activity may need to be re-emphasized for lipid-lowering drug users.
Adult* ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diagnosis ; Drug Users* ; Dyslipidemias* ; Energy Intake* ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Metabolic Equivalent ; Morinda* ; Motor Activity* ; Nutrition Surveys