BACKGROUND: Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) occurs when medical expenditure of a household passes over a certain ratio of household income. This research studied the effect of gender on CHE based on Korea Health Panel data. METHODS: This study implemented binary logistic regression model to figure out whether gender affects CHE and how different gender groups show pattern of CHE process. With gender, age, marital status, income level, economic activity, membership of private insurance, existence of chronic disease, and self-rated health were included in the model. RESULTS: Results showed that females faced CHE 1.5 times more than males (odds ratio, 1.241). Also, main determinants of CHE in female groups were marital status, while age and economic activity status were significant in male groups. Subgroup analysis displayed that married female under 35 years old are located in intersectionality of CHE including pregnancy and delivery, multiple health risk behaviors, mental stress, and relatively vulnerable social status due to lower income. Meanwhile, both gender above 50 years old faced remarkably high chance of CHE, which seems to be caused by complex health risk behaviors and chronic diseases. CONCLUSION: Such results implied not only that gender is an important determinant of CHE, but also other determinants of CHE differ according to gender, which suggests a necessity of gender-based CHE support and rescue policy.
Chronic Disease ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Insurance ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Marital Status ; Pregnancy ; Risk-Taking

Purpose: Our primary aim was to elucidate the association between relative grip strength levels and the risk of developing diabetes, utilizing longitudinal data. Methods: A total of 1,935 participants in this study comprised general adults aged 51 to 81 years, who had engagedin the survey both in 2013–2014 and during the subsequent follow-up in 2019–2020. The criteria for diagnosingdiabetes included receiving a diabetes diagnosis and treatment. grip strength was converted into relative grip strength by dividing it by body mass index. To validate the relationship between the interaction of relative grip strength and resting heart rate and its impact on risk of developing diabetes, a proportional hazards Cox regression model was used.Subsequently, we computed the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for risk of developing diabetes. Results: After adjusting for various confounding variables, we observed a significant 46% reduction in the risk of developing diabetes in the high relative grip strength group compared to the low relativegrip strength group (HR,0.54; 95% CI, 0.36–0.80). However, upon additional adjustment for waist circumference, no significant findings couldbe yielded. Furthermore, we found significant differences the relationship between relative grip strength, resting heart rate, and the risk of developing diabetes among different groups. Conclusion This study investigates the relationship between relative grip strength and incidence of diabetes, attributed to the accumulation of body fat. Notably, both resting heart rate and relative grip strength emerge as predictive indicators for assessing the risk of diabetes development.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify relationships between acculturation, social network, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Korean-Chinese immigrants. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 147 Korean-Chinese immigrants who were residing more than 1 year in Korea. Physical and mental dimensions of HRQOL were assessed by Short Form-12 Health Survey that consisted of a physical component summary (PCS) and a mental component summary (MCS). Data were analyzed with Pearson's correlation and multiple regression. RESULTS: The mean PCS score was 41.14+/-10.72 and the mean MCS score was 49.09+/-11.31 (possible range 10-70). Depression (beta=-6.43) and Social network frequency (beta=2.44) explained 28.4% of the variance in PCS while depression (beta=-11.54) and visiting clinic/hospital (beta=-4.00) explained 34.3% of the variance in MCS. Acculturation was not significantly associated with HRQOL. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that the social network frequency influences HRQOL among Korean-Chinese Immigrants. The findings suggest that social network analysis should be considered in the process of developing health intervention strategies for Korean-Chinese immigrants.
Acculturation* ; Depression ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Korea ; Quality of Life*

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the association between resistance exercise frequency, aerobic physical activity level, and health-related quality of life in Korean older adults from the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2018. Methods: Complex samples logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between resistance exercise frequency, aerobic physical activity level, and health-related quality of life in Korean older adults. Odds ratio, covariate-adjusted odds ratio, and 95% confidence interval were calculated for the relationship. Covariates were age, sex, educational status, alcohol drinking, smoking, household income status, and body mass index. Results: In all variables related to resistance exercise frequency and aerobic physical activity level, the group performing below the recommended level was significantly higher in odds ratio and covariate-adjusted odds ratio on EuroQol-5 Dimension index score of less than 1 (having problems with health-related quality of life) than the group performing above the recommended level. Conclusion The results of this study showed that performing above the recommended level of resistance exercise frequency and aerobic physical activity is associated with improved health-related quality of life in Korean older adults.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore uncertainty, depression, and anxiety in isolated inpatients and to identify associations between them, with specific focus on state anxiety. METHODS: Data were collected using structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, administered to isolated inpatients at an acute care hospital (N=92). The structured questionnaires consisted of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multiple linear regression and content analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Isolated inpatients showed significant differences in uncertainty, depression, trait anxiety, and state anxiety according to gender, perception of sufficient information about isolation, and the type of isolation. State anxiety scores increased when sufficient information about isolation was not provided (β=.23, p=.005), with higher levels of depression (β=.24, p=.020) and trait anxiety (β=.49, p<.001). Through the content analysis, three themes were identified regarding patient's information needs about isolation specifically for disease, explanation, and environment. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, it is crucial to improve the awareness of emotional responses of isolated patients experiencing uncertainty, depression, and anxiety. Our study findings are expected to support the development of nursing interventions to provide proper information and mental health support when caring for isolated inpatients.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Humans ; Information Seeking Behavior ; Inpatients ; Linear Models ; Mental Health ; Nursing ; Patient Isolation ; Uncertainty

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the levels of sedentary time, physical activity, and obesity in Korean older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed on 1,396 Korean older adults aged 65 to 80 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2018. Complex samples logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the levels of sedentary time, physical activity, and obesity. Results: The high sedentary group (≥ 8 hours/day) had significantly greater odds of having obesity than the low sedentary group (＜ 8 hours/day). But there was no statistically significant difference in odds of having obesity between the high active group (≥ 600 metabolic equivalent of task [MET]-minute/week) and the low active group (＜ 600 MET-minute/week). The high sedentary/low active group had significantly greater odds of having obesity than the low sedentary/high active group and the low sedentary/low active group. But there was no statistically significant difference in odds of having obesity compared to the high sedentary/high active group. Conclusion Higher sedentary time (≥ 8 hours/day) was associated with a higher risk of having obesity, independent of meeting higher physical activity level (≥ 600 MET-minute/week) in Korean older adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the levels of sedentary time, physical activity, and obesity in Korean older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed on 1,396 Korean older adults aged 65 to 80 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2018. Complex samples logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the levels of sedentary time, physical activity, and obesity. Results: The high sedentary group (≥ 8 hours/day) had significantly greater odds of having obesity than the low sedentary group (＜ 8 hours/day). But there was no statistically significant difference in odds of having obesity between the high active group (≥ 600 metabolic equivalent of task [MET]-minute/week) and the low active group (＜ 600 MET-minute/week). The high sedentary/low active group had significantly greater odds of having obesity than the low sedentary/high active group and the low sedentary/low active group. But there was no statistically significant difference in odds of having obesity compared to the high sedentary/high active group. Conclusion Higher sedentary time (≥ 8 hours/day) was associated with a higher risk of having obesity, independent of meeting higher physical activity level (≥ 600 MET-minute/week) in Korean older adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (eCRF) and insulin resistance in Korean adults, and to compare this association through sex and age-specific analyses. Methods: A total of 13,405 adults aged 19 years and older (male, 5,869; female, 7,536) were analyzed using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES) for the years 2019 to 2021. eCRF was analyzed by dividing it into quartiles using the estimation equation based on age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking status, resting heart rate, and self-reported physical activity level. Insulin resistance was measured to calculate the HOMA-IR. Logistic regression was used to predict the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the relationship between the two variables, with adjustment for potential confounders. Results: The results showed a stronger association between fitness level and insulin resistance. Based on the first quartile (reference group), the lower the cardiorespiratory fitness level, the higher the OR. In male subjects, the lowest quartilehad an OR of insulin resistance 17.65 (95% CI, 13.76–22.64). For female subjects, the lowest quartile had an OR of insulin resistance 7.96 (95% CI, 6.37–9.94). These results indicate a strong inverse relationship between cardiorespiratoryfitness and insulin resistance and younger groups exhibited significantly higher ORs in age-specific ORs. Conclusion The analysis results demonstrated that increasing cardiorespiratory fitness levels can significantly impact insulin sensitivity and reduce insulin resistance risk.

Since lung cancer is a major causative for cancer-related deaths, the investigations for discovering biomarkers to diagnose at an early stage and to apply therapeutic strategies have been continuously conducted. Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are being exponentially studied as promising biomarkers of lung cancer. Moreover, supportive evidence provides the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network between lncRNAs and miRNAs participating in lung tumorigenesis. This review introduced the oncogenic or tumor-suppressive roles of lncRNAs and miRNAs in lung cancer cells and summarized the involvement of the lncRNA/miRNA ceRNA networks in carcinogenesis and therapeutic resistance of lung cancer.

Since lung cancer is a major causative for cancer-related deaths, the investigations for discovering biomarkers to diagnose at an early stage and to apply therapeutic strategies have been continuously conducted. Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are being exponentially studied as promising biomarkers of lung cancer. Moreover, supportive evidence provides the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network between lncRNAs and miRNAs participating in lung tumorigenesis. This review introduced the oncogenic or tumor-suppressive roles of lncRNAs and miRNAs in lung cancer cells and summarized the involvement of the lncRNA/miRNA ceRNA networks in carcinogenesis and therapeutic resistance of lung cancer.