BACKGROUND/AIMS: The objective of this study was to determine whether insulin resistance is associated with gallbladder stone formation in Korean women based on menopausal status. METHODS: The study included 4,125 consecutive Korean subjects (30-79 years of age). Subjects who had a medical history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, other cardiovascular disorders, or hormone replacement therapy were excluded. The women were subdivided into two groups according to their menopausal status. RESULTS: Analysis of premenopausal women showed no significant differences in the homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index between the two groups in terms of gallstone disease. The associations between the occurrence of gallbladder stones and age, obesity, abdominal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and high HOMA-IR index were statistically significant in the analysis with postmenopausal women. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol was an independent predictor of gallbladder stone formation in premenopausal women. However, the multiple logistic regression analysis also showed that age and HOMA-IR were significantly associated with gallbladder stone formation in postmenopausal women. In an additional analysis stratified by obesity, insulin resistance was a significant risk factor for gallbladder stone formation only in the abdominally obese premenopausal group. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin resistance may be associated with gallbladder stone formation in Korean postmenopausal women with abdominal obesity.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*statistics & numerical data ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Female ; Gallstones/*ethnology/physiopathology/ultrasonography ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance/*ethnology ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Obesity, Abdominal/ethnology ; Odds Ratio ; Postmenopause/*ethnology ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: The efficacy and safety of denosumab was compared with placebo in Korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in this phase III study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women aged 60 to 90 years with a T-score of <-2.5 and ≥-4.0 at the lumbar spine or total hip were randomized to a single 60 mg subcutaneous dose of denosumab or placebo for the 6-month double-blind phase. Eligible subjects entered the 6-month open-label extension phase and received a single dose of denosumab 60 mg. RESULTS: Baseline demographics were similar in the 62 denosumab- and 64 placebo-treated subjects who completed the double-blind phase. Treatment favored denosumab over placebo for the primary endpoint {mean percent change from baseline in lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) at Month 6 [3.2% (95% confidence interval 2.1%, 4.4%; p<0.0001)]}; and secondary endpoints (mean percent change from baseline in lumbar spine BMD at Month 1, total hip, femoral neck, and trochanter BMD at Months 1 and 6, and median percent change from baseline in bone turnover markers at Months 1, 3, and 6). Endpoint improvements were sustained over 12 months in the open-label extension (n=119). There were no new or unexpected safety signals. CONCLUSION: Denosumab was well tolerated and effective in increasing BMD and decreasing bone turnover markers over a 12-month period in Korean postmenopausal women. The findings of this study demonstrate that denosumab has beneficial effects on the measures of osteoporosis in Korean postmenopausal women.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bone Density ; Bone Density Conservation Agents/*therapeutic use ; Denosumab/*therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Femur ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/*drug therapy/*ethnology ; Postmenopause ; Republic of Korea

PURPOSE: Up to 71% of South Korean postmenopausal women have vitamin D deficiency {serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] level <50 nmol/L}. Data on vitamin D supplementation was collected during the screening phase of an efficacy/safety study of denosumab in Korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. This report describes the effect of vitamin D supplementation on repletion to 25(OH)D levels ≥50 nmol/L in Korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Vitamin D levels of Korean postmenopausal women (60-90 years old) were measured by extracting 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 from serum samples via protein precipitation and using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection. Calibration curves were constructed from the mass chromatograms to obtain total vitamin D levels. Subjects with serum 25(OH)D levels <50 nmol/L were supplemented with 1000 IU of vitamin D tablets during the 2.5-month-long screening period. Dose, frequency, and duration were determined by the investigator. If repletion was achieved (≥50 nmol/L) on retest, subjects were eligible to be rescreened for study entry. RESULTS: Of 371 subjects screened, 191 (52%) required vitamin D supplementation, and 88% (168 of 191) were successfully repleted. More than half of the subjects (58%) who were successfully repleted received doses of 2000 IU daily. The mean time to successful repletion was 31 days (standard deviation 8.4 days; range 11-48 days). CONCLUSION: Supplementation with daily median doses of 2000 IU vitamin D successfully repleted 88% of Korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis within 48 days to a serum vitamin D level of 50 nmol/L.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bone Density Conservation Agents/*therapeutic use ; *Dietary Supplements ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/*complications/drug therapy/ethnology ; Postmenopause/blood ; Republic of Korea ; Vitamin D/analogs & derivatives/blood/*therapeutic use ; Vitamin D Deficiency/diagnosis/*drug therapy/ethnology

A recent genome-wide association study identified a new susceptibility locus for breast cancer, rs2046210, which is a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located upstream of the estrogen receptor α(ESR1) gene on chromosome 6q25.1. Given that endometrial cancer shares many risk factors with breast cancer and both are related to estrogen exposure and that rs2046210 is in close proximity to the ESR1 gene, we evaluated the association of SNP rs2046210 with endometrial cancer risk among 953 cases and 947 controls in a population-based, case-control study conducted in Shanghai, China. Logistic regression models were used to derive odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) after adjusting for potential confounders. We found that the A allele of rs2046210, linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, was associated with increased but not statistically significant risk of endometrial cancer (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.96-1.41 for the GA and AA genotypes compared with the GG genotype); the association was stronger among post-menopausal women (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.00-1.65). The association tended to be stronger among women with higher or longer estrogen exposure than among women with relatively lower or shorter exposure to estrogen. Our study suggests that rs2046210 may play a role in the etiology of endometrial cancer. Additional studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Adult ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Body Weight ; Case-Control Studies ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 ; Confidence Intervals ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; ethnology ; genetics ; Estrogen Receptor alpha ; genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Postmenopause ; Risk Factors ; Waist-Hip Ratio