The LEPR (leptin receptor) genotype is associated with obesity. Gut microbiome composition differs between obese and nonobese adults. However, the impact of LEPR genotype on gut microbiome composition in humans has not yet been studied. In this study, the association between LEPR single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1173100, rs1137101, and rs790419) and the gut microbiome composition in 65 non-obese Korean adults was investigated. Leptin, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were also measured in all participants. Mean ± SD (standard deviation) of age, body mass index, and leptin hormone levels of participants was 35.2 ± 8.1 years, 21.4 ± 1.8 kg/m 2 , and 7989.1 ± 6687.4 pg/mL, respectively. Gut microbiome analysis was performed at the phylum level by 16S rRNA sequencing. Among the 11 phyla detected, only one showed significantly different relative abundances between LEPR genotypes. The relative abundance of Candidatus Saccharibacteria was higher in the G/A genotype group than in the G/G genotype group for the rs1137101 single nucleotide polymorphism (p=0.0322). Participant characteristics, including body mass index, leptin levels, and other lipid levels, were similar between the rs1137101 G/G and G/A genotypes. In addition, the relative abundances of Fusobacteria and Tenericutes showed significant positive relationship with plasma leptin concentrations (p=0.0036 and p=0.0000, respectively). In conclusion, LEPR genotype and gut microbiome may be associated even in normal-weight Korean adults. However, further studies with a greater number of obese adults are needed to confirm whether LEPR genotype is related to gut microbiome composition.

Background: Chronic stress is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. This study aimed to assess whether better coping with stress, as assessed using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), is associated with slower cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This study used 2018/2019 data and 2-year follow-up data from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. Of the 3,014 total participants, we included 1,826 participants (mean age, 77.6±3.7 years, 51.9% female) who completed BRS and Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Battery and the Korean version of the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Results: Higher BRS score at baseline was associated with a lesser decline in the Mini-Mental State Examination score over 2 years after adjusting for age, sex, years of education, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, and depression (B, 0.175; 95% confidence interval, 0.025–0.325) for 2 years, which represents global cognitive function. Other cognitive function measurements (Word List Memory, Word List Recall, Word List Recognition, Digit Span, Trail Making Test-A, and FAB) did not change significantly with the BRS score at baseline. Conclusion These findings suggest that better stress-coping ability, meaning faster termination of the stress response, may limit the decline in cognitive function.

Background: Lung cancer has a high incidence and mortality worldwide, and smoking, age, sex, and body mass index are known risk factors. Using a health examination cohort, we constructed a comprehensive lung cancer risk-prediction model. Methods: This study comprised 308,804 adults aged 20 years and older who underwent health examinations at one general hospital in Korea, from 2011 to 2018. We developed a lung cancer risk prediction model using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis for lung cancer risk factors and estimated the hazard ratios and coefficients. The model evaluation included discrimination and calibration assessments. Results: Among the 308,804 adults in the study cohort, there were 338 (0.11%) patients lung cancer, with 215 males (0.07% of 169,420 males) and 123 females (0.04% of 139,384 females). The prevalence of lung cancer was higher in males and females aged over 60 years. Age, sex, body mass index, and smoking behavior were identified as risk factors for lung cancer prevalence in this model through multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis. The C-statistic of the development cohort was 0.785 (0.749, 0.821) and that of the validation cohort was 0.823 (0.769, 0.878). Conclusion Our lung cancer risk prediction model showed statistical significance, similar to previous prediction models, among variables that included young age, female sex, and body mass index. Future improvements should focus on population-wide applicability and associated health examination policies.

Background: The study aim was to investigate the level of restrictions on daily life and concern about economic damage caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and analyze the effects on daily life satisfaction. Methods: 2021 Community Health Survey data of 229,242 individuals were analyzed. Such factors as restrictions on daily life, changes in physical activity and instant food consumption and concern about economic damage were selected as variables for analysis, as they were presumed to impact daily life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The odds ratio for poor daily life satisfaction was 1.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83–1.94) for those who experienced moderate restrictions and 3.48 (95% CI, 3.31–3.65) for those who experienced severe restrictions, compared to those who had no restrictions in daily life. The group with reduced physical activity had an odds ratio of 1.29 (95% CI, 1.26–1.33) for poor daily life satisfaction compared to the group with no change. The group with increased consumption of instant foods had an odds ratio of 1.23 (95% CI, 1.18–1.28) for poor daily life satisfaction compared to the group without such an increase. Regarding the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the odds ratio for experiencing negative daily life satisfaction was 1.17 (95% CI, 1.10–1.24) for those with moderate concern and 1.43 (95% CI, 1.37–1.50) for those with severe concern, compared to those who were not worried. Conclusion The results of this study could be helpful in planning public health and medical policies for population groups that are relatively vulnerable to decreased daily life satisfaction.

Background: Chronic stress is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. This study aimed to assess whether better coping with stress, as assessed using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), is associated with slower cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This study used 2018/2019 data and 2-year follow-up data from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. Of the 3,014 total participants, we included 1,826 participants (mean age, 77.6±3.7 years, 51.9% female) who completed BRS and Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Battery and the Korean version of the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Results: Higher BRS score at baseline was associated with a lesser decline in the Mini-Mental State Examination score over 2 years after adjusting for age, sex, years of education, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, and depression (B, 0.175; 95% confidence interval, 0.025–0.325) for 2 years, which represents global cognitive function. Other cognitive function measurements (Word List Memory, Word List Recall, Word List Recognition, Digit Span, Trail Making Test-A, and FAB) did not change significantly with the BRS score at baseline. Conclusion These findings suggest that better stress-coping ability, meaning faster termination of the stress response, may limit the decline in cognitive function.

Background: Lung cancer has a high incidence and mortality worldwide, and smoking, age, sex, and body mass index are known risk factors. Using a health examination cohort, we constructed a comprehensive lung cancer risk-prediction model. Methods: This study comprised 308,804 adults aged 20 years and older who underwent health examinations at one general hospital in Korea, from 2011 to 2018. We developed a lung cancer risk prediction model using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis for lung cancer risk factors and estimated the hazard ratios and coefficients. The model evaluation included discrimination and calibration assessments. Results: Among the 308,804 adults in the study cohort, there were 338 (0.11%) patients lung cancer, with 215 males (0.07% of 169,420 males) and 123 females (0.04% of 139,384 females). The prevalence of lung cancer was higher in males and females aged over 60 years. Age, sex, body mass index, and smoking behavior were identified as risk factors for lung cancer prevalence in this model through multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis. The C-statistic of the development cohort was 0.785 (0.749, 0.821) and that of the validation cohort was 0.823 (0.769, 0.878). Conclusion Our lung cancer risk prediction model showed statistical significance, similar to previous prediction models, among variables that included young age, female sex, and body mass index. Future improvements should focus on population-wide applicability and associated health examination policies.

Background: The study aim was to investigate the level of restrictions on daily life and concern about economic damage caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and analyze the effects on daily life satisfaction. Methods: 2021 Community Health Survey data of 229,242 individuals were analyzed. Such factors as restrictions on daily life, changes in physical activity and instant food consumption and concern about economic damage were selected as variables for analysis, as they were presumed to impact daily life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The odds ratio for poor daily life satisfaction was 1.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83–1.94) for those who experienced moderate restrictions and 3.48 (95% CI, 3.31–3.65) for those who experienced severe restrictions, compared to those who had no restrictions in daily life. The group with reduced physical activity had an odds ratio of 1.29 (95% CI, 1.26–1.33) for poor daily life satisfaction compared to the group with no change. The group with increased consumption of instant foods had an odds ratio of 1.23 (95% CI, 1.18–1.28) for poor daily life satisfaction compared to the group without such an increase. Regarding the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the odds ratio for experiencing negative daily life satisfaction was 1.17 (95% CI, 1.10–1.24) for those with moderate concern and 1.43 (95% CI, 1.37–1.50) for those with severe concern, compared to those who were not worried. Conclusion The results of this study could be helpful in planning public health and medical policies for population groups that are relatively vulnerable to decreased daily life satisfaction.

Background: Chronic stress is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. This study aimed to assess whether better coping with stress, as assessed using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), is associated with slower cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This study used 2018/2019 data and 2-year follow-up data from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. Of the 3,014 total participants, we included 1,826 participants (mean age, 77.6±3.7 years, 51.9% female) who completed BRS and Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Battery and the Korean version of the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Results: Higher BRS score at baseline was associated with a lesser decline in the Mini-Mental State Examination score over 2 years after adjusting for age, sex, years of education, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, and depression (B, 0.175; 95% confidence interval, 0.025–0.325) for 2 years, which represents global cognitive function. Other cognitive function measurements (Word List Memory, Word List Recall, Word List Recognition, Digit Span, Trail Making Test-A, and FAB) did not change significantly with the BRS score at baseline. Conclusion These findings suggest that better stress-coping ability, meaning faster termination of the stress response, may limit the decline in cognitive function.

Background: Lung cancer has a high incidence and mortality worldwide, and smoking, age, sex, and body mass index are known risk factors. Using a health examination cohort, we constructed a comprehensive lung cancer risk-prediction model. Methods: This study comprised 308,804 adults aged 20 years and older who underwent health examinations at one general hospital in Korea, from 2011 to 2018. We developed a lung cancer risk prediction model using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis for lung cancer risk factors and estimated the hazard ratios and coefficients. The model evaluation included discrimination and calibration assessments. Results: Among the 308,804 adults in the study cohort, there were 338 (0.11%) patients lung cancer, with 215 males (0.07% of 169,420 males) and 123 females (0.04% of 139,384 females). The prevalence of lung cancer was higher in males and females aged over 60 years. Age, sex, body mass index, and smoking behavior were identified as risk factors for lung cancer prevalence in this model through multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis. The C-statistic of the development cohort was 0.785 (0.749, 0.821) and that of the validation cohort was 0.823 (0.769, 0.878). Conclusion Our lung cancer risk prediction model showed statistical significance, similar to previous prediction models, among variables that included young age, female sex, and body mass index. Future improvements should focus on population-wide applicability and associated health examination policies.

Background: The study aim was to investigate the level of restrictions on daily life and concern about economic damage caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and analyze the effects on daily life satisfaction. Methods: 2021 Community Health Survey data of 229,242 individuals were analyzed. Such factors as restrictions on daily life, changes in physical activity and instant food consumption and concern about economic damage were selected as variables for analysis, as they were presumed to impact daily life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The odds ratio for poor daily life satisfaction was 1.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83–1.94) for those who experienced moderate restrictions and 3.48 (95% CI, 3.31–3.65) for those who experienced severe restrictions, compared to those who had no restrictions in daily life. The group with reduced physical activity had an odds ratio of 1.29 (95% CI, 1.26–1.33) for poor daily life satisfaction compared to the group with no change. The group with increased consumption of instant foods had an odds ratio of 1.23 (95% CI, 1.18–1.28) for poor daily life satisfaction compared to the group without such an increase. Regarding the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the odds ratio for experiencing negative daily life satisfaction was 1.17 (95% CI, 1.10–1.24) for those with moderate concern and 1.43 (95% CI, 1.37–1.50) for those with severe concern, compared to those who were not worried. Conclusion The results of this study could be helpful in planning public health and medical policies for population groups that are relatively vulnerable to decreased daily life satisfaction.