OBJECTIVES: Secondhand smoke is an issue that cannot be ignored due to its various negative effects. Especially, secondhand smoke inside the household is an area where health policy must pay attention as it can affect all age groups. This study aims to identify the factors associated with smoking inside the household focusing on socioeconomic status in Korea. METHODS: We used data from the Community Health Survey of 2017 and a total of 33,462 participated in the study. Data were analyzed through IBM SPSS version 25.0 to conduct binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Results indicated that indoor smoking had a significant association with socioeconomic status. This association was more marked in those participants who had low household income or those with elementary school education level or less. Furthermore, the study indicates that when the smoker is a woman, older, has higher stress, and is a heavier smoker, the probability of her smoking inside the house is higher. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results, it is meaningful that this study has found the factors of smoking inside household. The result identify the factors associated with indoor smoking at home, and it can be used as baseline data for developing new smoking cessation policies.

OBJECTIVES: Secondhand smoke is an issue that cannot be ignored due to its various negative effects. Especially, secondhand smoke inside the household is an area where health policy must pay attention as it can affect all age groups. This study aims to identify the factors associated with smoking inside the household focusing on socioeconomic status in Korea. METHODS: We used data from the Community Health Survey of 2017 and a total of 33,462 participated in the study. Data were analyzed through IBM SPSS version 25.0 to conduct binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Results indicated that indoor smoking had a significant association with socioeconomic status. This association was more marked in those participants who had low household income or those with elementary school education level or less. Furthermore, the study indicates that when the smoker is a woman, older, has higher stress, and is a heavier smoker, the probability of her smoking inside the house is higher. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results, it is meaningful that this study has found the factors of smoking inside household. The result identify the factors associated with indoor smoking at home, and it can be used as baseline data for developing new smoking cessation policies.

PURPOSE: While sleeping problems increase with advancing age, there are inherent differences in sleep between males and females. Previous studies have shown inconsistent results of the relationship between sleep duration and risk of injury from falling. While controlling various sociodemographic and health-related factors, national representative data were used in order to analyze the association between sleep duration and injury from falling among older adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data were obtained from the Korean Community Health Survey of 2011. A total of 55654 individuals aged 65 years and older participated in the study. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors associated with injury from falling. RESULTS: After adjusting for covariates, such as age, sex, marital status, whether or not an individual is a recipient of benefits from the National Basic Livelihood Act, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, stress level, and self-rated health status, those who slept five hours or less per day [odds ratio (OR)=1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.18–1.34; p<0.001] or eight hours or more per day (OR=1.11; 95% CI=1.04–1.17; p=0.001) presented significantly higher ORs for injury from falling. A similar result was found when we conducted stratification by sex. CONCLUSION: The current study supports that there is a relationship between short sleep duration and injury from falling and also identified a marginal risk of long sleep in older adults. Therefore, sleep management in older adults with inadequate sleep duration may be necessary.
Accidental Falls* ; Adult* ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dyslipidemias ; Female ; Health Surveys* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Marital Status

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care testing (POCT) is designed to be used near the site where the clinical care is being delivered. The demand for POCT in the medical field is expanding significantly, given that rapid results can eventually lead to early diagnosis and immediate clinical management of diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the i-STAT POC analyser (Abbott Diagnostics, USA) for testing 8 chemical analytes (viz., sodium, potassium, chloride, total carbon dioxide, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose, and ionised calcium) and 2 hematological analytes (hematocrit [HCT], hemoglobin [Hb]). METHODS: The precision and linearity of the 10 analytes were measured according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) EP15-A3 and EP6-A guidelines. Comparisons with a central laboratory hematology analyser, Coulter LH 780 (Beckman Coulter Inc., USA), and a chemical analyser, UniCel DxC 880i (Beckman Coulter Inc.), were performed using 85 patient samples according to CLSI EP9-A3. RESULTS: The coefficient of variation values for the within-run precision and total precision at 3 levels of all analytes were within 5%, except those for low level creatinine. In the aspect of linearity, the correlation coefficient values of all analytes were over 0.975 in the clinically important concentration range. A very high correlation was observed in glucose, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine (R>0.975), high correlation was observed in sodium, potassium, Hct and Hb (R>0.9), and relatively good correlation was observed in chloride and total carbon dioxide (R>0.7) compared to the central laboratory analysers. CONCLUSIONS: i-STAT showed relatively high precision and linearity, and comparable data to that of routine hematology and chemistry analysers. This device was concluded to have potential for providing faster results and relatively acceptable values to clinicians in need of immediate results.
Blood Glucose ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Carbon Dioxide ; Chemistry ; Creatinine ; Early Diagnosis ; Glucose ; Hematology ; Humans ; Nitrogen ; Point-of-Care Systems* ; Point-of-Care Testing ; Potassium ; Sodium ; Urea

p53 is a well-known multi-functional transcription regulator and is critical in the induction of apoptosis in response to various stresses. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection induced the accumulation of p53, which was partly relocalized in cytoplasm, but no apparent cell death in human fibroblasts. p53 in HCMV-infected cells was mainly mono-ubiquitinated, which might be resulted from the decreased expression of MDM2 in the course of HCMV infection. Ubiquitinated p53 was also phosphorylated at serine 20. CRM1 increased in the cytoplasm of HCMV-infected cells. It was found that p53 and its mutant in nuclear export sequences were localized in the cytoplasm of cells when co-expressed with CRM1. Collectively, our data suggest that HCMV infection modifies p53 into a stable and exportable form and accumulates it in the cytoplasm, but does not result in apoptotic death of cells.
Active Transport, Cell Nucleus ; Apoptosis ; Cell Death ; Cytomegalovirus Infections* ; Cytomegalovirus* ; Cytoplasm* ; Fibroblasts ; Humans* ; Serine ; Ubiquitin

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by impaired glucose regulation and various complications. It is known that chronic inflammation and platelet activation play a role in development of insulin resistance or diabetic complications. This study investigated whether hematologic parameters are useful for monitoring blood glucose regulation or complications in DM patients. METHODS: Total 90 diabetic patients were divided into two groups according to their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels: 59 regulated DM patients with HbA1c levels<7% and 31 unregulated DM patients with HbA1c levels≥7%. RESULTS: White blood cell counts (P=0.021), neutrophil counts (P=0.005), monocyte counts (P=0.040), neutrophil % (P=0.042) and the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P=0.032) were significantly higher in the unregulated DM group compared to that in the regulated DM group. There were no differences in lymphocyte counts, lymphocyte %, monocyte %, mean neutrophil volume, mean monocyte volume, platelet count, and mean platelet volume between groups. Neutrophil counts and NLR were higher in unregulated DM patients with complications than in the regulated DM group. A positive correlation was observed between HbA1c and white blood cell count (r=0.389, P<0.001) and neutrophil count (r=0.361, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In DM patients, neutrophil counts and NLR were related to glycemic control and the presence of complications. Additionally, neutrophil counts showed a positive correlation with HbA1c. Therefore, neutrophil counts and NLR can be used as related markers for diabetic regulation and complications during the follow-up of diabetic patients.
Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Complications ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glucose ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Insulin Resistance ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymphocyte Count ; Lymphocytes ; Mean Platelet Volume ; Monocytes ; Neutrophils ; Platelet Activation ; Platelet Count

Roseomonas is a genus of pink-pigmented, oxidative, gram-negative coccobacilli and rarely causes opportunistic infection. We report a case of wound infection by Roseomonas species in a 53-yr-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing was performed to confirm the infectious agent. The patient recovered without complication after ciprofloxacin treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of Roseomonas infection reported in Korea.
Ciprofloxacin ; Humans ; Korea* ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Methylobacteriaceae* ; Opportunistic Infections ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; Wound Infection

Objective: This study evaluated the association between mood and anxiety symptoms and suicidal attempt (SA) and/or non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents seeking mental health services. We also tested predictors of SA and NSSI. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 220 adolescents who completed psychological assessment in clinical sample. Participants did the Adolescent General Behavior Inventory (A-GBI) and Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). SA and NSSI were assessed retrospectively by interview. The caregiver of participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for themselves. Results: 17% of total participants had a history of SA, and 24% experienced NSSI. Both SA and NSSI were more common in girls. The score of depressive subscale on A-GBI was higher in adolescents with SA than those without. The participants with NSSI showed higher scores on CDI and depressive subscale on A-GBI than those without. SA was associated with maternal BDI and history of NSSI; female sex, depressive subscale on A-GBI, and history of SA with NSSI. Conclusion Our study found that NSSI and SA are strongly associated in adolescents. Female sex and depressive symptoms of the adolescents were also significantly associated with NSSI in Korean adolescent. Findings are consistent with patterns in other countries.

Purpose: Osteoporosis is characterized by structural deterioration of the bone tissue because of the loss of osteoblastic activity or the increase in osteoclastic activity, resulting in bone fragility and an increased risk of fractures. Hederagenin (Hed) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid saponin isolated from Dipsaci Radix, the dried root of Dipsacus asper Wall. Dipsaci Radix has been used in Korean herbal medicine to treat bone fractures. In this study, we attempted to demonstrate the potential anti-osteoporotic effect of Hed by examining its effect on osteoblast differentiation in MC3T3-E1 cells. Methods: Osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in 0, 1, and 10 μg/mL Hed for 3 and 7 days. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone nodule formation and level of expression of bone-related genes and proteins were measured in MC3T3-E1 cells exposed to Hed. The western blot test was used to detect the activation of the bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2)/ Suppressor of Mothers against Decapentaplegic (SMAD)1 pathway. Results: Hed significantly increased the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Intracellular ALP activity was significantly increased in the 1 μg/mL Hed-treated group. Hed significantly increased the concentration of calcified nodules. Furthermore, Hed significantly upregulated the expression of genes and proteins associated with osteoblast proliferation and differentiation, such as Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), ALP, osteopontin (OPN), and type I procollagen (ProCOL1). Induction of osteoblast differentiation by Hed was associated with increased BMP2. In addition, Hed induced osteoblast differentiation by increasing the activity of SMAD1/5/8. These results suggest that Hed has the potential to prevent osteoporosis by promoting osteoblastogenesis in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells via the modulation of the BMP2/SMAD1 pathway. Conclusion The results presented in this study indicate that Hed isolated from Dipsaci Radix has the potential to be developed as a healthcare food and functional material possessing anti-osteoporosis effects.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the factor structure of the Adolescent version of the General Behavior Inventory (A-GBI) for Koreans. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 220 adolescents (age, 12–18 years) who completed the A-GBI through the Department of Psychiatry at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, from October 2011 to December 2018. Caregivers of the study participants completed the Parent version of the GBI (P-GBI) 10-item Mania Scale. The adolescents were evaluated based on the A-GBI, Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and Revised-Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). Subsequently, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using the maximum likelihood method with direct oblimin rotation and correlation analyses with other scales were performed. RESULTS: The EFA identified a two-factor structure as having the best fit: factor I included depressive symptoms and factor II included hypomanic/biphasic symptoms. Factor I was very strongly correlated with the A-GBI depressive subscale (r=0.990, p<0.001) and strongly correlated with CDI (r=0.764, p<0.001) and RCMAS (r=0.666, p<0.001). Factor II was also very strongly correlated with the A-GBI hypomanic/biphasic subscale (r=0.877, p<0.001) and weakly correlated with CDI (r=0.274, p<0.001) and RCMAS (r=0.332, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The above findings support a two-dimensional model of mood symptoms in Korean youth.
Adolescent ; Bipolar Disorder ; Caregivers ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Depression ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Fibrinogen ; Humans ; Korea ; Manifest Anxiety Scale ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Parents ; Prothrombin ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Weights and Measures