BACKGROUND: Shift work is associated with health problems, including metabolic syndrome. This study investigated the association between shift work and metabolic syndrome in young workers. METHODS: A total of 3,317 subjects aged 20–40 years enrolled in the 2011–2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were divided into shift and day workers. We conducted a cross-sectional study and calculated odds ratios using multivariate logistic regression analysis in order to examine the association between shift work and metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 14.3% and 7.1% among male and female shift workers, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, shift work was associated with metabolic syndrome in female workers (odds ratio, 2.53; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 5.70). CONCLUSION: Shift work was associated with metabolic syndrome in young women. Timely efforts are necessary to manage metabolic syndrome in the workplace.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupations ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVES: We compared the difference of lipid, insulin resistance and metabolic markers based on HCV RNA in Korean adults. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 222 subjects visited the health promotion center of Pusan national university hospital from 2004 to 2007. Subjects were anti-HCV antibody positive and were performed RT-PCR for HCV RNA. The HCV RNA (+) group were 85 subjects, HCV RNA (−) control group were 115 subjects, and the HCV RNA (−) but past positive group were 22 subjects. We performed anthropometry, anti-HCV, RT-PCR, plasma concentrations of insulin, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride. RESULTS: BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, insulin resistance such as HOMA-IR and QUICKI were not significantly different between HCV RNA positive and negative groups. The serum total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol level were significantly lower in the HCV RNA positive group than in the negative group (186.24±37.63 vs 197.22±37.23 mg/dl, p=0.041, 111.66±34.06 vs 121.38±35.50 mg/dl, p=0.042). After adjusting age and sex, high total cholesterol (≥ 200mg/dl) (adjusted OR=0.51, 95%CI 0.28-0.94, p=0.03) and high LDL cholesterol (≥ 130mg/dl) (adjusted OR=0.46, 95%CI 0.24~0.87, p=0.02) were inversely associated with being HCV RNA positive (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol level were significantly lower in HCV RNA (+) group than in HCV RNA (−) group, but not in HCV RNA (−) but past positive group. Prospective cohort studies are needed to clarify the relationship between HCV RNA and metabolic markers.
Adult ; Anthropometry ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Busan ; Cholesterol* ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Cohort Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Fasting ; Health Promotion ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance* ; Insulin* ; Plasma ; Prospective Studies ; RNA ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference

OBJECTIVES: Colonoscopy is a popular tool for screening for colon cancer throughout the world. The incidence of polypectomy and follow-up colonoscopy are persistently increasing but the studies about follow-up test after polypectomy are still lack of its domestic sources. This study is designed to look into the recurrence rate of colon polyps and risk factors after polypectomy. METHODS: This is a retrospective study by reviewing medical charts of 147 patients who underwent polypectomy and follow-up colonoscopy from Jan. 2000 to Mar. 2008. The Kudo classification was used to describe the polyps found in the colonoscopy. The follow-up period was defined as the term between polypectomy and the first colonoscopy follow up. RESULTS: Seventy six point two percent of the enrolled patient were male and the mean age was 56.5 +/- 8.1. Mean follow-up period was 24.9 +/- 13.7 (6 - 65) months. The cumulative recurrence rate of 1 year was 11.6%. The rate of 2 years was 36.7% and that of 3 years was 55.8%. The number of polyps was the factor which statistically showed significant relation of its recurrence rate. The histological morphology characteristic of polyps could be one independent factor which may be associated to the recurrence of polyps. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of colonoscopy follow up after polypectomy was clearly emphasized through the cumulative recurrence rate of 55.8%. Therefore, there is a need for more domestic studies with a large number of patients about the recurrence of polyps after polypectomy.
Adenomatous Polyps* ; Classification ; Colon* ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colonic Polyps ; Colonoscopy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Polyps ; Recurrence* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

The funding acknowledgment in this article was omitted as published.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The combination of an aging population with a chronic diseased population is leading to an increase in the mortality rate due to cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Korean population and to evaluate its related factors for sex differences. METHODS: From April 2007 to December 2008, a total of 2,729 volunteers aged 40-69 years living in Changwon city underwent a clinical examination at a hospital in Changwon, Korea. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed following the criteria defined in Circulation 2009. The clinical examination included measuring anthropometric variables and cardiovascular risk factors, while lifestyle factors were assessed through a questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in our sampling pool was 25.2% with a break down by sex showing a rate of 30.2% in men and 22.2% in women. Related factors associated with metabolic syndrome common to both sex were age, self-health assessment, and alcohol consumption. Sleep duration seemed to be a related factor in men, while income, education, and menstruation status played significant roles in women. CONCLUSIONS: To better manage metabolic syndrome, men need to be educated on alcohol use and women of low socioeconomic status require particular attention as do the aging population and postmenopausal women.
Adult ; Aged ; Aging ; Alcohol Drinking ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Male ; Menstruation ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Sex Characteristics ; Social Class

OBJECTIVES: Identify the characteristics related to the suicide rates in rural and urban areas of Korea and discover the factors that influence the suicide rate of the rural and urban areas. METHODS: Using the data on causes of death from 2006 to 2008, the suicide rates were calculated and compared after age-standardization based on gender, age group and urbanicity. And, in order to understand the factors that influence suicide rate, total 10 local characteristics in four domains - public service, social integration, residential environment, and economic status - were selected for multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The suicide rates were higher in men than women, in rural areas than urban, and in older people than the younger. Generally, although there were variations according to age group and urbanicity, suicide rates were significantly related to residential environment and regional economic status but not related to regional welfare spending and social integration. In addition, the population over the age of 65 years, only regional economic status has significantly influence on their suicide rates. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of characteristics of regions on suicide rate is various by age-group, gender, and urbanicity. Therefore, in order to lower suicide rate and reduce the gap between regions, various approaches must be adopted by taking into account the socioeconomic characteristics of the regions.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Cause of Death/trends ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Residence Characteristics ; Rural Population/*statistics & numerical data ; Sex Distribution ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Suicide/*statistics & numerical data ; Urban Population/*statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: Busan is reported to have the highest mortality rate among 16 provinces in Korea, as well as considerable health inequality across its districts. This study sought to examine overall and cause-specific mortality and deprivation at the town level in Busan, thereby identifying towns and causes of deaths to be targeted for improving overall health and alleviating health inequality. METHODS: Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for all-cause and four specific leading causes of death were calculated at the town level in Busan for the years 2005 through 2008. To construct a deprivation index, principal components and factor analysis were adopted, using 10% sample data from the 2005 census. Geographic information system (GIS) mapping techniques were applied to compare spatial distributions between the deprivation index and SMRs. We fitted the Gaussian conditional autoregressive model (CAR) to estimate the relative risks of mortality by deprivation level, controlling for both the heterogeneity effect and spatial autocorrelation. RESULTS: The SMRs of towns in Busan averaged 100.3, ranging from 70.7 to 139.8. In old inner cities and towns reclaimed for replaced households, the deprivation index and SMRs were relatively high. CAR modeling showed that gaps in SMRs for heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and physical injury were particularly high. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that more deprived towns are likely to have higher mortality, in particular from cardiovascular disease and physical injury. To improve overall health status and address health inequality, such deprived towns should be targeted.
Cause of Death ; Confidence Intervals ; Geographic Information Systems ; Health Services Accessibility ; *Health Status Disparities ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Life Expectancy ; Mortality/*trends ; Normal Distribution ; Poverty/*statistics & numerical data ; Regression Analysis ; Risk ; Socioeconomic Factors

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the luminal stenosis of the internal carotid artery with calcification detected on panoramic radiographs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used fifty carotid arteries of 36 dental patients whose panoramic radiograph and computed tomography angiography (CTA) revealed the presence of carotid artery calcification. A neuroradiologist interpreted CTA to determine the degree of stenosis of the internal carotid arteries. The degree of stenosis was stratified in four stages; normal (no stenosis), mild stenosis (1-49%), moderate stenosis (50-69%) and severe stenosis (70-99%). RESULTS: Among the fifty carotid arteries with calcification detected on both panoramic radiography and CTA, 20carotid arteries (40%) were normal, 29 carotid arteries (18%) had mild stenosis, 1 carotid artery (2%) had moderate stenosis, and there was none with severe stenosis. CONCLUSION: Sixty percent of the carotid arteries with calcification detected on both panoramic radiography and CTA had internal luminal stenosis, and two percent had moderate stenosis. When carotid atheroma is detected on panoramic radiograph, it is possible that the dental patient has luminal stenosis of the internal carotid artery.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Humans ; Phenobarbital ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Radiography, Panoramic

OBJECTIVE: In Korea, there appears to be an increase in the diagnosis of lumbar spine disorders recently. This trend has urged employers to screen new employees for this disorder. One of the methods for the investigation is the radiological examination of the lumbar spine. We studied the prevalence of spondylolysis according to age and sex with lumbar X-ray (anterior-posterior view and lateral view) of new employees in pre-employment screening examination. We also estimated the outbreak period of spondylolysis by analysing the prevalence rates at each age group, which were the results of our study. METHODS: We gathered the data of lumbar X-ray findings for new employees, who had recieved pre-employment screening examinations in the department of occupational and environmental medicine of Masan Samsung Hospital Korea during a period from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2005. We analyzed the data to obtain the age and sex prevalence of spondylolysis and spina bifida. RESULTS: The prevalence of spondylolysis for the pre-employment screening examination was 5.9% (male 6.6%; female 4.3%) in this study. The prevalence of spondylolysis after adjusting age and sex was 9.0%. The prevalence of spondylolysis was positively correlated with age, and showed to be higher in female than male. Body mass index of spondylolytic subjects was higher than that of normal. The prevalence of spondylolysis was significantly higher in those with spina bifida than normal subjects. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of spondylolysis of the pre-employment screening examination was 5.9% in this study. The factors which relates with spondylolysis were age, BMI and the prevalence of spina bifida.
Body Mass Index ; Environmental Medicine ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Nitroimidazoles ; Prevalence ; Spinal Dysraphism ; Spine ; Spondylolysis ; Sulfonamides

BACKGROUND: The metabolic syndrome has been known as the cluster of insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and abdominal obesity. There have been many studies about the inflammatory role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, also. We aimed to elucidate the role of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as a inflammation-related factor in metabolic syndrome in Korean adults by correlation and factor analysis. METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out in 1,512 men and 1,836 women (over 20 years old) who had an examination at a center for health promotion of an university hospital from May 2004 through March 2005. The NCEP-ATP III definition and Asian-Pacific adjusted criteria were used to obtain the metabolic syndrome group. And we evaluated the role and gender difference of hs-CRP in metabolic syndrome by correlation and factor analysis. RESULTS: In women, hs-CRP was statistically correlated with most metabolic variables, especially insulin resistance. In factor analysis, 3 factors (obesity, blood pressure, and insulin resistance) were obtained in men and 4 factors (obesity, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia) in women, respectively. In women, hs-CRP was a part of dyslipidemia factor. CONCLUSION: In factor anaylsis of metabolic syndrome factors with hs-CRP, hs-CRP was not a significant factor in men, but was included as a part of dyslipidemia factor in women.
Adult ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Pressure ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Dyslipidemias ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Inflammation ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Obesity, Abdominal