BACKGROUND: The regional fat distribution is known to be related with some cardiovasular risk factors independently to total body fat amount. Regional fat distribution pattern can be assessed by waist to-hip ratio(WHR). WHR distribution patterns depend on age, sex, race and show regional difference. But, our own unique data are inadequate, so we tried to investigate distribution patterns, cut off points and related factors of WHR in middle aged men and women among Korean. METHODS: The study population were middle aged men and women above 40 years old who visited our hospital for routine check up from April to July, 1996. We measured height, weight, blood pressure, waist circumference, hip circumference, fasting blood sugar and total cholesterol in 1,000 persons. We gathered data about diet habits, exercise, smoking and drinking status by standard questionnaire. We analized above data by using SAS for Window 6.10. RESULTS: The study population numbers of men and women were 494 and 499, and average ages of men and women were 49.3 and 50.5 years respectively. For men, the average WHRs as a whole were 0.895, and 0.893, 0.893 and 0.911 in their forties, fifties and above sixties respectively. For women, the average WHRs as a whole were 0.827, and 0.816, 0.837 and 0.850 in their forties, fifties and above sixties respectively. The percentage above WHR 1.0, 0.95, and 0.90 in men were 2.4%, 11.7% and 46% and the percentage above WHR 0.90, 0.85, and 0.80 in women were 8.2%, 32.9% and 68.7%. Adjusting by age, body mass index, WHR was significantly correlated with weight, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure in men only. For men, WHR was associated with alcohol drinking positively and with exercise negatively. For women, WHR was associated with alcohol drinking and smoking status positively. CONCLUSIONS: The WHR had a tendency to increase according to age. The 90th percentile points in men and women were 0.957 and 0.894 respectively. WHR was related with several cardiovascular risk factors and several life styles.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Continental Population Groups ; Drinking ; Fasting ; Female ; Food Habits ; Hip ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Middle Aged* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The echocardiographic results obtained from normal group(910 cases), borderline hypertention group(78 cases), define hypertension group(182 cases) and hypertensive heart disease group(55 cases) in Heart Center, Paik Hospital, Inje Medical College, Pusan, Korea between September 1985, were as followings; 1) LVDeD, 5.94+/-1.07cm in hypertensive heart disease group was significantly increased compared with 4.93+/-0.64cm in normal group, 4.92+/-0.73cm in borderline hypertension group and 4.90+/-0.64cm in define hypertension group. LVSeD, 4.86+/-0.98cm in hypertensive heart disease group was significantly increased compared with 3.24+/-0.58cm in normal group, 3.21+/-0.52cm in definite hypertension group. 2) LVDeV/s, 180.26+/-84.76ml/m2 in hypertensive heart disease group was significantly increased compared with 86.13+/-37.34ml/m2 in normal group, 86.26+/-41.02ml/m2 in borderline hypertension group and 83.78+/-30.86ml/m2 in definite hypertension group, and LVSeV/S, 97.51+/-55.67ml/m2 in hypertensive heart disease group was significantly increased compared with 25.28+/-13.25ml/m2 in normal group, 23.68+/-14.62ml/m2 in borderline hypertension group and 24.02+/-14.36ml/m2 in definite hypertension group. 3) There was no significant differance of SV/S, between 61.50+/-26.02ml/m2 in normal, 63.98+/-30.86ml/m2 in borderline, 63.06+/-22.96ml/m2 in definite hypertension group and 61.82+/-30.67ml/m2 in hypertesive heart disease group. E.F. 44.06+/-9.94% in hypertensive heart disease group was significantly reduced comparing with 71.08+/-8.89% in normal group, while 74.35+/-8.26% in borderline and 73.28+/-8.49% in definite hypertensive was significantly increased. F.S., 17.02+/-5.18% in hypertensive heart disease group was significantly reduced comparing with 34.44+/-6.81% in normal, while 35.64+/-7.62% in borderline and 36.87+/-7.26% in definite hypertension group was significantly increased. 4) VSTh, 1.24+/-0.32cm in hypertensive heart disease group, 1.17+/-0.12cm in definite hypertension group and 1.16+/-0.41cm in borderline hypertension group are significantly increased comparing with 0.99+/-0.21cm in normal group. LVPWTh, 1.01+/-0.27cm in hypertensive heart disease group and 0.90+/-0.21cm in definite hypertension group was significantly increased comparing with 0.79+/-0.16cm in normal group. 5) VSTh was increased in 13.3% of borderline hypertension group, 32.8% of definite hypertension group and 31.6% of hypertensive heart disease group. LVPWTh was increased in 4.4% of borderline hypertensive group, 26.9% of definite hypertension group and 30.2% of hypertensive heart disease group. Symmetrical septal hypertrophy was noted in 5.1% of borderline hypertension group, 20.1% of definite hypertension group and 32.1% of hypertensive heart disease group. Total septal or left ventricular posteior wall hypertrophy was noted in 17(21.8%) of 78 borderline hypertension group, 154(89.8%) of definite hypertension group and 51(93.9%) of 55 hypertensive heart disease group.
Busan ; Echocardiography* ; Heart ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy ; Korea ; Ventricular Function, Left*

Neurotoxicity in the workplace may occur with exposure to scores of chemicals. Although large acute outbreaks of the occupational neurological disease are rare, the incidence of occupational neurotoxicity in its subtler aspects is unknown. A working knowledge of both the major occupational neurotoxic solvents and the tools used by clinical neurologists and neurotoxicologists to evaluate neurotoxicity in working population is a necessity for the occupational physician. To investigate the effects of carbon disulfide(CS2) on the peripheral nerve system using the nervous conduction study, 105 male workers working in the spinning room of a viscose rayon factory were examined and compared with a sex and age matched, unexposed 105 male controls using t-test analysis. 72.4% of CS2-exposed workers complained of neurological symptoms, and the abnormal cases in nerve conduction study were 48.6%. The abnormal cases of nerve conduction study increased in number according as the age and duration of exposure increased. In this study, asymptomatic workers were confirmed to have subclinical neuropathy by nerve conduction study. Also as there were abnormal cases even in its duration of exposure below 4 years, nerve conduction study turned out to be ways of discovering of early peripheral neuropathy. In nerve conduction study, the amplitude, velocity, F-wave latency and H-reflex of the motor and sensory nerves in both upper and lower extremities were significant different between CS2-exposed workers and the controls. From the pathological viewpoint, both segmental and axonal degenerations were assumed in this study.
Axons ; Carbon Disulfide* ; Carbon* ; Disease Outbreaks ; H-Reflex ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Neural Conduction ; Peripheral Nerves ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases* ; Solvents

We report 56 year old female with the left atrial myxoma diagnosed by M mode and 2-D Echocardiography, to be complicated with the cerebral embolism with review of literatures.
Echocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Intracranial Embolism* ; Middle Aged ; Myxoma*

A case of porphyria cutanca tarda is reported, in which the photosensitive cutaneous symptoms developed in association with impaired hepatic function possibly related to chronic consumption of alcohol. Wood's light examination of the urine revealed coral red fluorescence, and qualitative chemical urinalysis was strong positive for uroporphyrin and coproporphyrin. Biopsy of the skin showed subepidermal bulla with festooning arrangement of the naked papillae and basophilic degeneration of the dermis. The patient's favorable response to alkalinization therapy by sodium bicarbonate per os is encouraging, even for a short period's observation. Clinical, histopathological, and biochemical features of this disease are also discussed.
Anthozoa ; Basophils ; Biopsy ; Dermis ; Fluorescence ; Porphyrias ; Skin ; Sodium Bicarbonate ; Urinalysis

No abstract available.
Neurofibromatoses*

OBJECTIVES: Acrylamide is a neurotoxin inducing central-peripheral distal axonopathy. The authors evaluated several neurologic tests to screen the early effect of occupational acrylamide exposure. METHODS: Fifty-two males working either in the production of acrylamide monomer or in the handling of acrylamide in Ulsan, Korea, were selected and subcategorized into the high-exposure group (n=10, mean age of 30. 4 years) and the low-exposure group (n=42, mean age of 28.9 years). Twenty-three males (mean age 29.4 years) from medical professionals and students were chosen as a non-exposed reference group. Symptom questionnaire, neurologic examination, electrodiagnostic test, vibrotactile threshold test, and Lanthony desaturated 15 panel test (LD-15D) were done. RESULTS: The high-exposure group showed more number of specific symptoms on questionnaire and more abnormal two point discrimination test. High-exposure group showed a significant difference in the median motor conduction velocity, peroneal nerve motor latency, sensory amplitude of median nerve action potential, and sensory latency of sural nerve. The vibrotactile threshold of the high-exposure group was significantly higher in both hands and feet than that of the low-exposure group and the reference group. Average color confusion index on the LD-15D was significantly higher in the high-exposure group (median 22.7, range 0-135.7) than in the reference group (median 2.4, range 0-33.2). CONCLUSIONS: The symptom questionnaire, vibrotactile threshold test, and color discrimination test are sensitive in detection of the early acrylamide-induced neuropathy, and the combination of these tests would further facilitate the effectiveness of the screening.
Acrylamide* ; Action Potentials ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Median Nerve ; Neurologic Examination ; Peroneal Nerve ; Questionnaires ; Sural Nerve ; Ulsan

Two cases of tuberous sclerosis are reported. Case 1: A 13 years-old girl had a triad of adenoma sebaceum, mental deficiency and epileptic seizures associated with ichthyosis vulgaris, but family history revealed no evidences of the disease except ichthyosis in her mother. Case 2 : A 21 year-old woman had a adenoma sebaceum, shagreen patch, periungual fibroma and fihromatous plaque, showing intracranial calcificatins on roentgenographic examination, but has not demonstrated any neurological manifestations as yet. Family history also revealed adenoma sebaceum in her father and two younger sisters. We feel this case is a "forme fruste" of tuberous sclerosis.
Adolescent ; Epilepsy ; Fathers ; Female ; Fibroma ; Humans ; Ichthyosis ; Ichthyosis Vulgaris ; Intellectual Disability ; Korea* ; Mothers ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Siblings ; Tuberous Sclerosis* ; Young Adult

A case of dermatitis herpetiformis assaciated with erythema annulare centrifugum is reported. The patient was a 21 year-old male, who had papulovesieles, erythematous lesions, pigmentation, and erythema annulare centrifugum lesions on the trunk, shoulders, buttocks and extensor surfaces of the extremities, and severe itching sensation of 9 months' duration. The skin biopsy from the vesicular and erythema annulare centrifugum lesion showed subepidermal bulla and vesicles with neutrophil and eosinophil infiltrations.
Biopsy ; Buttocks ; Dermatitis Herpetiformis* ; Dermatitis* ; Eosinophils ; Erythema* ; Extremities ; Humans ; Male ; Neutrophils ; Pigmentation ; Pruritus ; Sensation ; Shoulder ; Skin ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: We measured pulmonary epithelial permeability by Tc-DTPA radioaerosol clearance in patients with diabetes and correlated with the presence of microangiopathy to understand the pathophysiology of pulmonary microangiopathy and evaluate Tc-DTPA radioaerosol clearance as a diagnostic test to assess pulmonary microangiopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed ' Tc-DTPA radioaerosol scan in 10 normal subjects, 10 asym-ptomatic smokers, 20 diabetic patients without history of smoking (10 with microangiopathy, 10 without microangiopathy). Tc-DTPA clearance half-time (T1/2) was calculated, then compared with the result of chest radiography and pulmonary function test. RESULTS: Chest radiography and pulmonary function test were normal in all subjects. There were no significant difference of clinical or laboratory characteristics between these groups except age. The diabetic patients with micraangiopathy were significantly older (p<0.05). The T1/2of normal subjects and asyrnptomatic smokers were significantly different (65.2+23.7min vs 39.6+9.8min, p<0.05). For diabetic patients with microangiopathy, the T, was 90 5+46.5min and significantly delayed when compared with those of normals and asymptomatic smokers (p<0.05). However, the T1/2of diabetic patients without microangiopathy, 70.0+12.7 min, was not significantly different from those of normals or asyrnptomatic smokers (p>0.05). No significant correlation was found between the T1/2and spirometric parameters including DLcc>, FVC, FEV>, FEV(/FVC (%) and FEF)5-75g in all subjects, and between the T1/2 and duration of diabetes in diabetic patients. CONCLUSION: Eventhough the influence of age cant be excluded, delayed Tc-DTPA clearance half-time (T1/2)in diabetic patients with microangiopathy indicates decreased pulmonary cspillary permeability as one of the pathophysiologic results of pulmonary microangiopaththy. Further studies are needed in larger number of age matched control and diabetic patients to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Humans ; Permeability ; Radiography ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate ; Thorax