Objective: This study aimed to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of chronic disease management services utilizing ICT for patients with chronic illnesses. Methods: From May to December, 2023, 452 people who were diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes at 9 participating public health centers were provided with customized health care services for 24 weeks, and 15 performance indicators were analyzed to evaluate their effectiveness. Results: Health behavior indicators and health risk factors decreased before and after participation in the project, blood pressure control rate, hypertension and diabetes management rate, medication compliance, weight, BMI, BP, WC, FBG, and HDL-cholesterol improved(p<0.001).Service factors that influence the improvement of health behaviors included the number of activity monitor transmissions(p=0.049), confirmed concentrated consultations on physical activity(p=0.003) and nutrition(p=0.005), and the adherence to medication missions for hypertension(p=0.020).As for service factors influencing chronic disease management, the improvement in blood pressure regulation rate was due to the number of times the blood pressure monitor was linked(p=0.004), and the number of confirmed intensive consultations on physical activity(p=0.026), and nutrition(p=0.049); the improvement in hypertension control rate was due to the number of times the activity monitor and blood pressure monitor were linked(p<0.001), and the number of hypertension medication missions carried out (p=0.004); and the improvement in diabetes control rate was due to the number of times the blood pressure monitor(p=0.022) and blood sugar system were linked(p=0.017). Conclusion Although this study has limitations as a comparative study before and after the service, it has proved that chronic disease management using ICT has a positive effect on improvement of health behavior indicator, reduction of health risk factors, hypertension, diabetes management index, weight, BMI, TG, BP, FBG improvement.

Objective: This study aimed to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of chronic disease management services utilizing ICT for patients with chronic illnesses. Methods: From May to December, 2023, 452 people who were diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes at 9 participating public health centers were provided with customized health care services for 24 weeks, and 15 performance indicators were analyzed to evaluate their effectiveness. Results: Health behavior indicators and health risk factors decreased before and after participation in the project, blood pressure control rate, hypertension and diabetes management rate, medication compliance, weight, BMI, BP, WC, FBG, and HDL-cholesterol improved(p<0.001).Service factors that influence the improvement of health behaviors included the number of activity monitor transmissions(p=0.049), confirmed concentrated consultations on physical activity(p=0.003) and nutrition(p=0.005), and the adherence to medication missions for hypertension(p=0.020).As for service factors influencing chronic disease management, the improvement in blood pressure regulation rate was due to the number of times the blood pressure monitor was linked(p=0.004), and the number of confirmed intensive consultations on physical activity(p=0.026), and nutrition(p=0.049); the improvement in hypertension control rate was due to the number of times the activity monitor and blood pressure monitor were linked(p<0.001), and the number of hypertension medication missions carried out (p=0.004); and the improvement in diabetes control rate was due to the number of times the blood pressure monitor(p=0.022) and blood sugar system were linked(p=0.017). Conclusion Although this study has limitations as a comparative study before and after the service, it has proved that chronic disease management using ICT has a positive effect on improvement of health behavior indicator, reduction of health risk factors, hypertension, diabetes management index, weight, BMI, TG, BP, FBG improvement.

Objective: This study aimed to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of chronic disease management services utilizing ICT for patients with chronic illnesses. Methods: From May to December, 2023, 452 people who were diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes at 9 participating public health centers were provided with customized health care services for 24 weeks, and 15 performance indicators were analyzed to evaluate their effectiveness. Results: Health behavior indicators and health risk factors decreased before and after participation in the project, blood pressure control rate, hypertension and diabetes management rate, medication compliance, weight, BMI, BP, WC, FBG, and HDL-cholesterol improved(p<0.001).Service factors that influence the improvement of health behaviors included the number of activity monitor transmissions(p=0.049), confirmed concentrated consultations on physical activity(p=0.003) and nutrition(p=0.005), and the adherence to medication missions for hypertension(p=0.020).As for service factors influencing chronic disease management, the improvement in blood pressure regulation rate was due to the number of times the blood pressure monitor was linked(p=0.004), and the number of confirmed intensive consultations on physical activity(p=0.026), and nutrition(p=0.049); the improvement in hypertension control rate was due to the number of times the activity monitor and blood pressure monitor were linked(p<0.001), and the number of hypertension medication missions carried out (p=0.004); and the improvement in diabetes control rate was due to the number of times the blood pressure monitor(p=0.022) and blood sugar system were linked(p=0.017). Conclusion Although this study has limitations as a comparative study before and after the service, it has proved that chronic disease management using ICT has a positive effect on improvement of health behavior indicator, reduction of health risk factors, hypertension, diabetes management index, weight, BMI, TG, BP, FBG improvement.

Purpose: Although activating thermogenic adipocytes is a promising strategy to reduce the risk of obesity and related metabolic disorders, emerging evidence suggests that it is difficult to induce adipocyte thermogenesis in obesity. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the regulation of adipocyte thermogenesis in diet-induced obesity. Methods: Adipose progenitor cells were isolated from the white and brown adipose tissues of control diet (CD) or high-fat diet (HFD) fed mice, and fully differentiated white and brown adipocytes were treated with β-agonists or 18-carbon fatty acids for β-adrenergic activation or peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) activation. Results: Compared to the CD-fed mice, the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) was lower in the white adipose tissue of the HFD-fed mice; however, this was not observed in the brown adipose tissue. The expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (Pparg) was lower in the brown adipose progenitor cells isolated from HFD-fed mice than in those isolated from the CD-fed mice. Norepinephrine (NE) treatment exerted lesser effect on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator (Pgc1a) upregulation in white adipocytes derived from HFD-fed mice than those derived from CD-fed mice. Regardless which 18-carbon fatty acids were treated, the expression levels of thermogenic genes including Ucp1, Pgc1a, and positive regulatory domain zinc finger region protein 16 (Prdm16) were higher in the white adipocytes derived from HFD-fed mice. Oleic acid (OLA) and γ-linolenic acid (GLA) upregulated Pgc1a expression in white adipocytes derived from HFDfed mice. Brown adipocytes derived from HFD-fed mice had higher expression levels of Pgc1a and Prdm16 compared to their counterparts. Conclusion These results indicate that diet-induced obesity may downregulate brown adipogenesis and NE-induced thermogenesis in white adipocytes. Also, HFD feeding may induce thermogenic gene expression in white and brown primary adipocytes, and OLA and GLA could augment the expression levels.

Background: To precisely build a healthcare delivery system at regional levels, local patients’ healthcare service utilization patterns must be examined. Hence, this study utilized trend analysis of the relevance index of each disease of each essential medical service field at the municipal and provincial levels. Methods: This study analyzed customized databases released by the National Health Insurance Service from 2016–2020. Diseases defined in the Korean National Burden of Disease (KNBD) study were categorized into the following essential medical service fields:trauma care, cardiocerebrovascular, maternal and neonatal, mental health, infection, cancer, older adults’ care and rehabilitation, and others. Relevance index, the percentage of medical service utilization in a region by the residents of that region relative to their total medical service utilization, was examined by region (17 municipal and provincial regions) and disease area. The relevance index was determined based on the number of patients and the total outof-pocket expenses.Result: Eight of the 17 regions showed over a 90.0% relevance index in the infection area. In the cancer area, 14 regions (not including Seoul, Daegu, and Busan) had a relevance index lower than 75.0%. Throughout the analysis period (2016–2020), there were no significant variations in the relevance index. Diseases such as bone and connective tissue cancer (39.0%), neural tube defects (16.7%), and autism (57.1%) had low relevance index in the essential medical service fields. In all 17 regions, the relevance index of inpatients was lower than that of outpatients, and that for out-of-pocket expenses was lower than that based on the number of patients. Conclusion The relevance index of major diseases of each essential medical service field calculated in this study can provide good indicators for monitoring the level of an independent regional healthcare delivery system.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Many studies have revealed an association between fat mass and the obesity-related gene (FTO) and obesity. On the other hand, no meta-analysis was conducted with data from only Koreans. Therefore, this study performed a meta-analysis using Korean data to provide evidence for the association between FTO single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the risk of obesity among Korean adults.SUBJECT/METHODS: Meta-analysis was finally conducted with data extracted from seven datasets of four studies performed on Korean adults after the screening passed. Five kinds of FTO SNPs (rs9939609, rs7193144, rs9940128, rs8050136, and rs9926289) were included, and the relationship between FTO SNPs and body mass index (BMI) was investigated using linear regression with an additive model adjusted for covariants, such as age, sex, and area. RESULTS: The minor alleles of FTO SNPs were associated with increased BMI (odds ratio [OR], 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–1.42). In sub-group analysis, FTO rs9939609 T>A was significantly associated with BMI (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.06–1.42). The other FTO SNPs together were significantly associated with BMI (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.25–1.49). The publication bias was not observed based on Egger’s test. CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis showed that minor alleles in the FTO SNPs were significantly associated with an increased BMI among Korean adults. This meta-analysis is the first to demonstrate that minor alleles in the FTO SNPs contribute significantly to the increased risk of obesity among Korean adults using data from a Korean population.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate manifestations and patterns of care for patients with brain metastasis (BM) from breast cancer (BC) and compared their overall survival (OS) from 2005 through 2014 in Korea. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 600 BC patients with BM diagnosed between 2005 and 2014. The median follow-up duration was 12.5 months. We categorized the patients into three groups according to the year when BM was initially diagnosed (group I [2005-2008], 98 patients; group II [2009-2011], 200 patients; and group III [2012-2014], 302 patients). Results: Over time, the median age at BM diagnosis increased by 2.2 years (group I, 49.0 years; group II, 48.3 years; and group III, 51.2 years; p=0.008). The percentage of patients with extracranial metastasis was 73.5%, 83.5%, and 86.4% for group I, II, and III, respectively (p=0.011). The time interval between BC and BM was prolonged in patients with stage III primary BC (median, 2.4 to 3 years; p=0.029). As an initial brain-directed treatment, whole-brain radiotherapy alone decreased from 80.0% in 2005 to 41.1% in 2014. Meanwhile, stereotactic radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy alone increased from 13.3% to 34.7% during the same period (p=0.005). The median OS for group I, II, and III was 15.6, 17.9, and 15.0 months, respectively, with no statistical significance. Conclusion The manifestations of BM from BC and the pattern of care have changed from 2005 to 2014 in Korea. However, the OS has remained relatively unchanged over the 10 years.

The recommended meal composition allows the general people to organize meals using the number of intakes of foods from each of six food groups (grains, meat·fish·eggs·beans, vegetables, fruits, milk·dairy products and oils·sugars) to meet Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) without calculating complex nutritional values. Through an integrated analysis of data from the 6th to 7th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2013–2018), representative foods for each food group were selected, and the amounts of representative foods per person were derived based on energy. Based on the EER by age and gender from the KDRIs, a total of 12 kinds of diets were suggested by differentiating meal compositions by age (aged 1–2, 3–5, 6–11, 12–18, 19–64, 65–74 and ≥ 75 years) and gender.The 2020 Food Balance Wheel included the 6th food group of oils and sugars to raise public awareness and avoid confusion in the practical utilization of the model by industries or individuals in reducing the consistent increasing intakes of oils and sugars. To promote the everyday use of the Food Balance Wheel and recommended meal compositions among the general public, the poster of the Food Balance Wheel was created in five languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese) along with card news. A survey was conducted to provide a basis for categorizing nutritional problems by life cycles and developing customized web-based messages to the public. Based on survey results two types of card news were produced for the general public and youth. Additionally, the educational program was developed through a series of processes, such as prioritization of educational topics, setting educational goals for each stage, creation of a detailed educational system chart and teachinglearning plans for the development of educational materials and media.

The study aims to examine the current status and differences in the burden of disease in Korea during 2008-2018. We calculated the burden of disease for Koreans from 2008 to 2018 using an incidence-based approach. Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) were expressed in units per 100 000 population by adding years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). DALY calculation results were presented by gender, age group, disease, region, and income level. To explore differences in DALYs by region and income level, we used administrative district and insurance premium information from the National Health Insurance Service claims data. The burden of disease among Koreans showed an increasing trend from 2008 to 2018. By 2017, the burden of disease among men was higher than that among women. Diabetes mellitus, low back pain, and chronic lower respiratory disease were ranked high in the burden of disease; the sum of DALY rates for these diseases accounted for 18.4% of the total burden of disease among Koreans in 2018. The top leading causes associated with a high burden of disease differed slightly according to gender, age group, and income level. In this study, we measured the health status of Koreans and differences in the population health level according to gender, age group, region, and income level. This data can be used as an indicator of health equity, and the results derived from this study can be used to guide community-centered (or customized) health promotion policies and projects, and for setting national health policy goals.