BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is an important health concern among the postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is necessary to find out acceptable screening tools for osteoporotic patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Risk Index by OSTA as a screening test for osteoporosis. METHODS: The study population was 322 naturally caused menopausal women in Korea. Their was of femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD measured by DEXA. Risk Index by OSTA, based on weight and age, was calculated and the sensitivity and specificity for osteoporosis and osteopenia were evaluated. To find out the proper cut-off point for osteoporosis and osteopenia among the postmenopausal women in Korea, we also compared the sensitivity and specificity of each Risk Index value. RESULTS: The mean age and ages at menopause were 59.1(+/-6.2) and 50.7 (+/-2.7) years, respectively. The prevalence of osteoporosis was 9.6% with femoral neck BMD. For oeteoporosis, using a cut-off point of -1 yielded a sensitivity of 74.3% and a specificity of 52.2% with femoral neck BMD. Using a cut-off of -2 yielded a sensitivity of 87.3% and a specificity of 70.9%. The ROC curve showed an AUROC 0.88 for Risk Index in identifying osteoporosis. CONCLUSION: The Risk Index is an acceptable, simple and useful method in the diagnosis of osteoporosis with a Risk Index of -2 in Korean postmenopausal women.
Bone Diseases, Metabolic* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Menopause ; Osteoporosis* ; Prevalence ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spine

PURPOSE: The design of the attachment must provide an optimum stress distribution around the implant. In this study, for implant overdentures with a bar/clip attachment or a locator attachment, the stress transmitted to the implant in accordance with the change in the denture base length and the vertical pressure was measured and analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Test model was created with epoxy resin. The strain gauges made a tight contact with implant surfaces. A universal testing machine was used to exert a vertical pressure on the mandibular implant overdenture and the strain rate of the implants was measured. RESULTS: Means and standard deviations of the maximum micro-deformation rates were determined. 1) Locator attachment: The implants on the working side generally showed higher strain than those on the non-working side. Tensile force was observed on the mesial surface of the implant on the working side, and the compressive force was applied to the buccal surface and on the surfaces of the implant on the non-working side. 2) Bar/clip attachment: The implants on the both non-working and working sides showed high strain; all surfaces except the mesial surface of the implant on the non-working side showed a compressive force. CONCLUSION: To minimize the strain on implants in mandibular implant overdentures, the attachment of the implant should be carefully selected and the denture base should be extended as much as possible.
Denture Bases* ; Denture, Overlay* ; Dentures*

BACKGROUND: As one of harm reduction strategies, tobacco manufacturers have begun to introduce lower-yield cigarettes. Lower-yield cigarettes, so called light cigarettes, have been perceived as less hazardous by some smokers. However, there have been very few studies concerning smoking lower yield products the lead to lower nicotine absorption. We evaluated the association between brand nicotine yield of cigarettes and actual nicotine intake by measuring urinary cotinine. METHODS: Four hundred sixty four male smokers aged 18 or over who participated in health check-ups in a hospital from May to October 2007 filled out a self-administered smoking questionnaire. Urinary cotinine concentration was measured at the time of participation. The subjects were divided into three groups (ultralight [nicotine: 0.05 mg], light [0.1 mg], and regular [> 0.1 mg] group) according to the level of brand nicotine yield of cigarettes which they smoked. RESULTS: The median urinary cotinine concentrations of ultralight (N = 62), light (N = 216), and regular (N = 186) groups were 735.5 ng/mL (interquartile range, 320 to 1,300 ng/mL), 956.0 ng/mL (429 to 1,491 ng/mL), and 1,067.5 ng/mL (615 to 1,613 ng/mL), respectively. There was a signifi cant difference in urinary cotinine between the regular and the other groups (P = 0.015). However, multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the risk of being in the highest quartile of urinary cotinine concentration (> or = 1,532 ng/mL) after adjusting for possible confounding variables showed that the odds ratios were 0.84 (95% CI, 0.52 to 1.37) in the light nicotine group and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.38 to1.72) in the ultralight nicotine group compared to the regular nicotine group. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the risk of elevated urinary cotinine concentrations in male adult smokers according to brand nicotine yield of cigarettes groups.
Absorption ; Adult ; Aged ; Androsterone ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Cotinine ; Harm Reduction ; Humans ; Light ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nicotine ; Odds Ratio ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco ; Tobacco Products

BACKGROUND: Amezinium methylsulfate(Risumic) is the useful drug in the treatment of essential hypotension. This drug elevate blood pressure by stimulating sympathetic nervous system and improve symptoms related hypotension. This study was designed to evaluate efficacy and safety of Risumic for patients with essential hypotension. METHODS: This study was performed in patients with systolic blood pressure less than 100mmHg from June, 1999 to December, 1999. Risumic blood pressure response, improvement of symptom and side effect were examined in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. RESULTS: Total of 54 patients participated in this study and only 55.6% of them were finished and the rest of them(44.4%) was stopped. 6 patients of this patients were stopped because of side effects. But there was no difference in side effects in Risumic and placebo periods. In diastolic BP, Risumic group is 5mmHg higher than placebo group. And then there was significant difference in statistics. CONCLUSIONS: In essential hypotensive patients, Risumic is elevater DBP than SBP, side effects frequency was no significance difference in Risumic and placebo group.
Blood Pressure ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Sympathetic Nervous System

BACKGROUND: It is reported that abnormal eating behavior is more frequent in the group of weight control than those of no control. Repeated and chronic binge eating behavior has associations with impaired work and social functioning, overconcerns with body shape and weight. The purpose of this study is to investigate the degree of abnormal eating behavior according to weight management, depression level and obesity. METHODS: From June 1999 to July 1999, we collected self record questionnaire including body mass index(BMI), Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), Eating Attitude Test(EAT) from 1292 students of one girl's high school in Seoul. Study subjects were divided by BMI, the set point was 25 kg/m2. EAT score associated with weight control, BMI, BDI, smoking and alcohol was assessed by multiple linear regression. Study subjects were also grouped by the existence of the history of weight management behavoir, then BMI, EAT score and BDI in each subgroups was assessed by t test. RESULTS: Obese students were 42, whereas those of BMI under 25 kg/m2 were 1191. BDI score ranging from 5 to 20 were 940, 21 to 63 were 179. The EAT score has significant relevance to the history of weight control, BMI, and BDI score in order. The EAT score and BMI were higher in the subjects who experienced various modes of weight control (48.41+/-14.47 vs 33.63+/-12.52 in EAT, 20.34+/-2.26 vs 18.72+/-1.89)(p<0.01). CONCLUSION: EAT score was associated with weight control, BMI and BDI. EAT score and BMI were higher in weight control samples.
Bulimia ; Depression* ; Eating ; Feeding and Eating Disorders ; Feeding Behavior ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Obesity ; Seoul ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the association between physical activity and depressive mood among Korean adults with chronic diseases. METHODS: This study analyzed the 2014 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. The study was restricted to participants aged ≥20 years who had completed the survey and were not diagnosed as having depression. After exclusion, 4,676 participants were included in the final analysis. Subjects were categorized according to their level of physical activity. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Patients were categorized into two groups according to depressive traits (normal and depressed) based on the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire scores. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, significant associations were observed between the level of physical activity and depressive mood in both chronic and healthy groups. Participants with higher levels of physical activity had lower risks of depressive mood than those with lower levels of physical activity, especially patients with chronic diseases (odds ratio [OR], 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31–0.73). Similar trends were observed in multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.34–0.88). CONCLUSION: Physical activity significantly decreased the development of depressive mood among Korean adults with chronic diseases compared with their healthy counterparts. Physical activity must be emphasized in patients with chronic diseases.
Adult* ; Chronic Disease* ; Depression ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Motor Activity* ; Nutrition Surveys

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death, with smoking cessation representing the most effective strategy to reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases. Pharmacotherapeutic interventions for smoking cessation such as nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, and varenicline aim to manage the symptoms of nicotine cravings and withdrawal. Evidence-based practice guidelines for pharmacotherapy in smoking cessation have been recently developed in Korea.Current Concepts: Among the general population, varenicline is the recommended first-line therapy for smoking cessation, surpassing nicotine patches and bupropion therapy. Although varenicline is commonly effective, combination therapy with varenicline and a nicotine patches may be considered when varenicline monotherapy is insufficient for managing nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Extended-duration therapy (>12 weeks) has demonstrated greater efficacy compared to standard therapy (6-12 weeks). Varenicline can promote attempts to quit smoking in smokers who are not yet prepared to quit. In cases of smokers with comorbid psychiatric conditions, varenicline is preferred over nicotine patches. The efficacy and safety profiles of smoking cessation medications have been well established in patients with cardiovascular diseases.Discussion and Conclusion: Smoking is a chronic condition associated with a high risk of relapse, emphasizing the crucial role of pharmacotherapy in increasing the success rates of smoking cessation. In accordance with evidence-based smoking cessation guidelines, the careful selection of pharmacotherapeutic agents tailored to individual smokers is pivotal.

DNA barcoding has been widely used in species identification and biodiversity research. A short fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence serves as a DNA bio-barcode. We collected DNA barcodes, based on COI sequences from 156 species (529 sequences) of fish, insects, and shellfish. We present results on phylogenetic relationships to assess biodiversity the in the Korean peninsula. Average GC% contents of the 68 fish species (46.9%), the 59 shellfish species (38.0%), and the 29 insect species (33.2%) are reported. Using the Kimura 2 parameter in all possible pairwise comparisons, the average interspecific distances were compared with the average intraspecific distances in fish (3.22 vs. 0.41), insects (2.06 vs. 0.25), and shellfish (3.58 vs. 0.14). Our results confirm that distance-based DNA barcoding provides sufficient information to identify and delineate fish, insect, and shellfish species by means of all possible pairwise comparisons. These results also confirm that the development of an effective molecular barcode identification system is possible. All DNA barcode sequences collected from our study will be useful for the interpretation of species-level identification and community-level patterns in fish, insects, and shellfish in Korea, although at the species level, the rate of correct identification in a diversified environment might be low.
Biodiversity ; DNA ; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; Electron Transport Complex IV ; Insects ; Korea ; Shellfish

Mitochondrial dysfunction in dopaminergic neurons of patients with idiopathic and familial Parkinson's disease (PD) is well known although the underlying mechanism is not clear. We established a homogeneous population of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hAD-MSCs) from human adult patients with early-onset hereditary familial Parkin-defect PD as well as late-onset idiopathic PD by immortalizing cells with the hTERT gene to better understand the underlying mechanism of PD. The hAD-MSCs from patients with idiopathic PD were designated as "PD", from patients with Parkin-defect PD as "Parkin" and from patients with pituitary adenomas as "non-PD" in short. The pGRN145 plasmid containing hTERT was introduced to establish telomerase immortalized cells. The established hTERT-immortalized cell lines showed chromosomal aneuploidy sustained stably over two-years. The morphological study of mitochondria in the primary and immortalized hAD-MSCs showed that the mitochondria of the non-PD were normal; however, those of the PD and Parkin were gradually damaged. A striking decrease in mitochondrial complex I, II, and IV activities was observed in the hTERT-immortalized cells from the patients with idiopathic and Parkin-defect PD. Comparative Western blot analyses were performed to investigate the expressions of PD specific marker proteins in the hTERT-immortalized cell lines. This study suggests that the hTERT-immortalized hAD-MSC cell lines established from patients with idiopathic and familial Parkin-defect PD could be good cellular models to evaluate mitochondrial dysfunction to better understand the pathogenesis of PD and to develop early diagnostic markers and effective therapy targets for the treatment of PD.
Adult ; Aneuploidy ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line ; Diagnosis ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Humans* ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Mitochondria ; Parkinson Disease* ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Plasmids ; Strikes, Employee ; Telomerase

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nutrition counseling on improving metabolic syndrome (MS) risk factors. Sixty-eight subjects were grouped according to their numbers of MS risk factors. Subjects who have three or more risk factors of MS were defined as "High risk", subjects who have two risk factors of MS were defined as "low risk", and subjects who have below two risk factors of MS were defined as "no risk" group. All groups finished nutrition counseling every three weeks for 12 weeks. Anthropometric, dietary assessments (24 hr-recall) and blood samples were measured at 0 and 12 weeks nutrition counseling. After 12 weeks of intervention, anthropometric data (weight, BMI, body fat (%), and waist/hip ratio) were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in all groups. Daily consumption of calorie was decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in the group of low risk and high risk. Blood level of fasting plasma glucose was significantly decreased (p < 0.001) in all groups after 12 weeks of intervention. Significantly, the fasting plasma glucose level was returned to normal range in the high risk group. The number of people who have three or more risk factors of MS (high risk group) was decreased from 25 to 12. Sum of MS Criteria decreased from 85 to 52 in the group of MS and decreased from 143 to 99 in all groups. These results indicate that nutrition counseling for male workers at the worksite proved to be helpful by reducing the risk factors of MS and thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Continuing and systematic nutritional management programs should be developed and implemented for male workers at the worksites.
Adipose Tissue ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Counseling ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Male ; Plasma ; Reference Values ; Risk Factors ; Workplace