Background: Middle-aged cancer survivors lack specific health guidelines compared to young and old cancer survivors. Their increased prevalence necessitates the establishment of tailored health guidelines. This study aimed to investigate the health-related behaviors of middle-aged cancer survivors compared to those of the general population. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed 17,332 adults aged 40–65 years who participated in the sixth and seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2018). Data on cancer screening, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, sedentary time, and dietary management were collected via self-reported questionnaires. Propensity score matching (1:5) revealed 591 middle-aged cancer survivors and 2,955 non-cancer controls. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the demographic characteristics and health-related behaviors of both groups. Results: Multivariate analysis revealed that middle-aged cancer survivors were significantly less likely to consume alcohol (odds ratio [OR]: 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51–0.81) and smoke (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.43–0.99) and more likely to engage in aerobic physical activity (OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.08–1.64) and practice dietary management (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.17–1.84) than the non-cancer controls. However, no significant differences in cancer screening adherence and sedentary time were observed between both groups. Conclusions Overall, this study provides fundamental data for the development of tailored health guidelines and patient education programs for cancer survivors.

Long coronavirus disease (COVID) is a condition in which coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms persist for over 3 months, and currently poses a global public health challenge. Due to varying manifestations and lack of standardized definitions, diagnostic methods, and treatments, comprehensive clinical guidelines are required. This review article, summarizing research and expert consensus up to June 2023, provides recommendations for diagnosis and long-term management of long COVID symptoms. It emphasizes thorough patient evaluation, including medical history, physical examinations, and tests, and advocates vaccination and antiviral treatments to reduce risk. Guidelines for long COVID will be updated as new knowledge emerges.

Purpose: To report a case of ocular inflammation after bisphosphonate use in a patient with osteoporosis.Case summary: A 54-year-old female presented to our clinic with eye pain and conjunctival and episcleral vessel injection in both eyes for 1 month. The patient was diagnosed with osteoporosis by the Department of Endocrinology 7 weeks ago and prescribed risedronate, a bisphosphonate. After using risedronate for 3 weeks, the patient developed generalized body pain, eye pain, and conjunctival injection. Slit lamp examination demonstrated conjunctival injection, whereas fundus examination did not reveal any cells in the anterior chamber or any other abnormal findings. Subsequently, risedronate was discontinued, which relieved the pain. At the 2-month follow-up visit in the outpatient department, the patient was asymptomatic, and there was no conjunctival injection. Conclusions Bisphosphonates can lead to ocular adverse effects, which should be considered in patients with osteoporosis presenting with nonspecific ocular inflammation.

Purpose: This study investigated the factors influencing smartphone overdependence in university students using an ecological model and descriptive research. Methods: Data were collected from 482 students at 13 universities in the six regions in South Korea from October 20, 2020, to March 25, 2021. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, the independent samples t-test, analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results: The significant ecological factors influencing smartphone overdependence included self-awareness of smartphone overdependence (β=.33, p<.001), autonomy (β=–.25, p<.001), average daily smartphone usage time (β=.18, p<.001), gender (β=.15, p=.001), college year (β=.15, p=.020), forming relationships with others as a motivation for smartphone use (β=–.15, p=.008), friend support (β=.14, p=.006), and age (β=–.12, p=.047). The model explained 34.9% of the variance. Conclusion The study emphasized the role of personal and interpersonal factors, in smartphone overdependence among university students. Tailored intervention strategies are necessary to address smartphone overdependence, considering the unique characteristics of students’ environments. A significant aspect of this study is that it provides an explanation of the multidimensional factors contributing to smartphone overdependence among university students, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental influences.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of an intervention combining warm therapy (via a thermoelectric-element tourniquet) and a distraction-based approach (via an augmented reality-based app known as TWINKLE) on pain, stress, and satisfaction during intravenous catheterization in adults. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in South Korea with 93 healthy adults who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the experimental group (TWINKLE app with warm therapy), the comparison group (warm therapy only), and the control group (no treatment). Participants’ pain, stress, and satisfaction, as well as practitioner satisfaction, were measured after the intervention. Results: Pain scores differed significantly among the three groups (F = 5.68, p = .005), with the experimental group showing significantly lower scores than the control group (p = .003). Stress levels were also significantly lower in the experimental group than in the other groups (F = 9.42, p < .001). Participant satisfaction was highest in the experimental group (F = 17.65, p < .001), while nurse satisfaction was significantly higher in the comparison group than in the experimental and control groups (F = 67.91, p < .001), suggesting that the additional distraction intervention may have increased nurses’ workload. Conclusion Combining digital distraction with warm therapy using a thermoelectric-element tourniquet effectively reduces pain and stress while improving patient satisfaction during intravenous catheterization. Further research is needed to optimize this approach, with a particular focus on targeting digital distraction interventions to patients with higher levels of procedural anxiety and finding ways to minimize practitioner workload.

Purpose: This study investigated the factors influencing smartphone overdependence in university students using an ecological model and descriptive research. Methods: Data were collected from 482 students at 13 universities in the six regions in South Korea from October 20, 2020, to March 25, 2021. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, the independent samples t-test, analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results: The significant ecological factors influencing smartphone overdependence included self-awareness of smartphone overdependence (β=.33, p<.001), autonomy (β=–.25, p<.001), average daily smartphone usage time (β=.18, p<.001), gender (β=.15, p=.001), college year (β=.15, p=.020), forming relationships with others as a motivation for smartphone use (β=–.15, p=.008), friend support (β=.14, p=.006), and age (β=–.12, p=.047). The model explained 34.9% of the variance. Conclusion The study emphasized the role of personal and interpersonal factors, in smartphone overdependence among university students. Tailored intervention strategies are necessary to address smartphone overdependence, considering the unique characteristics of students’ environments. A significant aspect of this study is that it provides an explanation of the multidimensional factors contributing to smartphone overdependence among university students, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental influences.

Purpose: To report a case of ocular inflammation after bisphosphonate use in a patient with osteoporosis.Case summary: A 54-year-old female presented to our clinic with eye pain and conjunctival and episcleral vessel injection in both eyes for 1 month. The patient was diagnosed with osteoporosis by the Department of Endocrinology 7 weeks ago and prescribed risedronate, a bisphosphonate. After using risedronate for 3 weeks, the patient developed generalized body pain, eye pain, and conjunctival injection. Slit lamp examination demonstrated conjunctival injection, whereas fundus examination did not reveal any cells in the anterior chamber or any other abnormal findings. Subsequently, risedronate was discontinued, which relieved the pain. At the 2-month follow-up visit in the outpatient department, the patient was asymptomatic, and there was no conjunctival injection. Conclusions Bisphosphonates can lead to ocular adverse effects, which should be considered in patients with osteoporosis presenting with nonspecific ocular inflammation.

Background: Residential smoking cessation therapy programs offer intensive treatment for heavy smokers who struggle to quit independently, particularly those with high nicotine dependence and health conditions that necessitate urgent cessation. While previous studies have established the effectiveness of such programs and identified various factors influencing smoking cessation success, it remains unclear how changes in smokers’ thoughts and attitudes following residential therapy correlate with their ability to quit smoking. We investigated the relationship between smoking cessation-related characteristics, smoking-related psychological status, and participants’ smoking cessation success after a residential smoking cessation therapy program. Methods: From January 2017 to December 2018, 291 participants completed the program. All participants completed questionnaires on smoking cessation-related characteristics and smoking-related psychological status before the program and on the 5th day. Six months later, smoking cessation success was assessed using a urine cotinine test. Results: After 6 months, 222 participants successfully quit smoking, while 69 failed. The success and failure groups exhibited statistically significant differences in age, marital status, total smoking duration, stress, and emotion regulation strategies. Participants who used ineffective emotion regulation strategies more frequently had a lower rate of smoking cessation success (odds ratio [OR], 0.969; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.948–0.991). Moreover, an increase in the perception of the negative effects of smoking cessation (OR, 0.982; 95% CI, 0.967–0.997) and smoking temptation (OR, 0.960; 95% CI, 0.929–0.993) was associated with higher cessation success. Conclusion Emotion regulation strategies, perceptions of the effects of smoking cessation, and smoking temptation were associated with successful smoking cessation.

Background and Objectives: Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis.Nicotine, a crucial constituent of tobacco, contributes to atherosclerosis development and progression. However, evidence of the association between nicotine and neointima formation is limited. We aimed to evaluate whether nicotine enhances neointimal hyperplasia in the native epicardial coronary arteries of pigs after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES). Methods: After coronary angiography (CAG) and quantitative coronary angiography (QCA), we implanted 20 DES into 20 pigs allocated to 2 groups: no-nicotine (n=10) and nicotine (n=10) groups. Post-PCI CAG and QCA were performed immediately. Follow-up CAG, QCA, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and histopathological analyses were performed 2 months post-PCI. Results: Despite intergroup similarities in the baseline QCA findings, OCT analysis showed that the nicotine group had a smaller mean stent and lumen areas, a larger mean neointimal area, greater percent area stenosis, and higher peri-strut fibrin and inflammation scores than the no-nicotine group. In immunofluorescence analysis, the nicotine group displayed higher expression of CD68 and α-smooth muscle actin but lower CD31 expression than the no-nicotine group. Conclusions Nicotine inhibited re-endothelialization and promoted inflammation and NIH after PCI with DES in a porcine model.

Background and Objectives: Outcomes of deferring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) without invasive physiologic assessment for intermediate coronary lesions is uncertain.We sought to compare long-term outcomes between medical treatment and PCI of intermediate lesions without invasive physiologic assessment. Methods: A total of 899 patients with intermediate coronary lesions between 50% and 70% diameter-stenosis were randomized to the conservative group (n=449) or the aggressive group (n=450). For intermediate lesions, PCI was performed in the aggressive group, but was deferred in the conservative group. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE, a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction [MI], or ischemia-driven any revascularization) at 3 years. Results: The number of treated lesions per patient was 0.8±0.9 in the conservative group and 1.7±0.9 in the aggressive group (p=0.001). At 3 years, the conservative group had a significantly higher incidence of MACE than the aggressive group (13.8% vs. 9.3%; hazard ratio [HR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00–2.21; p=0.049), mainly driven by revascularization of target intermediate lesion (6.5% vs. 1.1%; HR, 5.69; 95% CI, 2.20–14.73;p<0.001). Between 1 and 3 years after the index procedure, compared to the aggressive group, the conservative group had significantly higher incidence of cardiac death or MI (3.2% vs.0.7%; HR, 4.34; 95% CI, 1.24–15.22; p=0.022) and ischemia-driven any revascularization. Conclusions For intermediate lesions, medical therapy alone, guided only by angiography, was associated with a higher risk of MACE at 3 years compared with performing PCI, mainly due to increased revascularization.