Due to rapid westernization, Korean dietary habits have emerged as significant risk factors for chronic disease and cancer. Despite this transition, Korea’s cancer prevention guidelines have remained consistent since their establishment about 18 years ago. This study aimed to investigate the degree of awareness and practice to global dietary guidelines among Korean adults and identify demographic and lifestyle factors associated with low practice. A cross-sectional survey conducted in 2023 included 4,000 adults and assessed their awareness and practice of four global recommendations: “Eat a diet rich in whole grains,” “Limit consumption of processed meat,” “Limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages,” and “Limit consumption of fast and other processed foods.” While more than half of the participants recognized the guidelines’ importance for cancer prevention, implementation rates remained below 40%. Furthermore, over 80% of the respondents expressed a compelling requirement for updated and tailored dietary guidelines. Younger individuals, those who were physically inactive, individuals who had not received prior nutrition education, and participants with obesity were more likely to exhibit low practice, particularly to guidelines limiting processed foods and sugary beverages intake. These findings highlight the need to revise Korea’s cancer prevention recommendations by incorporating global dietary practices and addressing the westernized eating patterns prevalent within the population. Efforts should focus on promoting these updated guidelines through targeted education and public health interventions that improve practice, especially in high-risk groups, and effectively mitigate the burden of diet-related cancers in Korea.

Due to rapid westernization, Korean dietary habits have emerged as significant risk factors for chronic disease and cancer. Despite this transition, Korea’s cancer prevention guidelines have remained consistent since their establishment about 18 years ago. This study aimed to investigate the degree of awareness and practice to global dietary guidelines among Korean adults and identify demographic and lifestyle factors associated with low practice. A cross-sectional survey conducted in 2023 included 4,000 adults and assessed their awareness and practice of four global recommendations: “Eat a diet rich in whole grains,” “Limit consumption of processed meat,” “Limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages,” and “Limit consumption of fast and other processed foods.” While more than half of the participants recognized the guidelines’ importance for cancer prevention, implementation rates remained below 40%. Furthermore, over 80% of the respondents expressed a compelling requirement for updated and tailored dietary guidelines. Younger individuals, those who were physically inactive, individuals who had not received prior nutrition education, and participants with obesity were more likely to exhibit low practice, particularly to guidelines limiting processed foods and sugary beverages intake. These findings highlight the need to revise Korea’s cancer prevention recommendations by incorporating global dietary practices and addressing the westernized eating patterns prevalent within the population. Efforts should focus on promoting these updated guidelines through targeted education and public health interventions that improve practice, especially in high-risk groups, and effectively mitigate the burden of diet-related cancers in Korea.

Due to rapid westernization, Korean dietary habits have emerged as significant risk factors for chronic disease and cancer. Despite this transition, Korea’s cancer prevention guidelines have remained consistent since their establishment about 18 years ago. This study aimed to investigate the degree of awareness and practice to global dietary guidelines among Korean adults and identify demographic and lifestyle factors associated with low practice. A cross-sectional survey conducted in 2023 included 4,000 adults and assessed their awareness and practice of four global recommendations: “Eat a diet rich in whole grains,” “Limit consumption of processed meat,” “Limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages,” and “Limit consumption of fast and other processed foods.” While more than half of the participants recognized the guidelines’ importance for cancer prevention, implementation rates remained below 40%. Furthermore, over 80% of the respondents expressed a compelling requirement for updated and tailored dietary guidelines. Younger individuals, those who were physically inactive, individuals who had not received prior nutrition education, and participants with obesity were more likely to exhibit low practice, particularly to guidelines limiting processed foods and sugary beverages intake. These findings highlight the need to revise Korea’s cancer prevention recommendations by incorporating global dietary practices and addressing the westernized eating patterns prevalent within the population. Efforts should focus on promoting these updated guidelines through targeted education and public health interventions that improve practice, especially in high-risk groups, and effectively mitigate the burden of diet-related cancers in Korea.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of hypertension is increasing, and noodles have a high sodium content, so noodle consumption might be associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension. This study aimed to analyze the association between total and types of noodle intake and the risk of hypertension among Korean adults. Subjects aged 40–69 years were selected for this study. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study included 56,580 participants (18,246 men and 38,334 women) aged 40–69 years old from the Health Examinees study. Noodle and nutrient intakes were assessed using the food frequency questionnaire. Hypertension was diagnosed as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg or antihypertensive medication use. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for hypertension. RESULTS: Higher noodle consumption was associated with increased hypertension among men (HR, 1.273; 95% CI, 1.166–1.390) and women (HR, 1.116; 95% CI, 1.038–1.199). CONCLUSION We recommended reducing noodle intake and consuming vegetables and fruits to increase potassium intake, which can prevent vascular diseases.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between gaming time and problematic game use (PGU) within a large sample of Korean male gamers and to examine the potential moderating effects of loneliness, living alone, and household size. Methods: This study employed data from 743 male gamers from the National Mental Health Survey 2021, a nationally representative survey of mental illness conducted in South Korea. Self-reported data on the average gaming time per day, severity of PGU, loneliness, living alone, and household size were used. Results: Gaming time was positively associated with PGU and this relationship was significantly moderated by loneliness such that the positive effect of gaming time on PGU was greater when the levels of loneliness were high. The three-way interaction effect of gaming time, loneliness, and living alone was also significant, in that the moderating effect of loneliness on the relationship between gaming time and PGU was significant only in the living alone group. However, household size (i.e., number of housemates) did not moderate the interaction between gaming time and loneliness among gamers living with housemates. Conclusion These results suggest the importance of considering loneliness and living arrangements of male gamers, in addition to gaming time, in identifying and intervening with individuals at heightened risk of PGU.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been shown significant oncological improvements in several cancers.However, ICIs are still in their infancy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) have been known as prognostic factors in HCC. Therefore, we have focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms between each marker to evaluate a predictive role. Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples were obtained from 166 patients with HCC who underwent surgery. The expression of PD-L1 and TILs and EMT marker were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis. Results: The multivariate analysis showed that TIL expression (hazard ratio [HR], 0.483; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.269–0.866; P = 0.015) were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. The prognostic factors for disease-free survival were EMT marker expression (HR, 1.565; 95% CI, 1.019–2.403; P = 0.005). Patients with high expression of TILs had significantly better survival compared to patients with low expression (P = 0.023). Patients who were TIL+/EMT– showed a significantly better prognosis than those who were TIL–/EMT+ (P = 0.049). Conclusion This study demonstrates that PD-L1 expression of TILs is closely associated with EMT marker expression in HCC. Clinical investigations using anti–PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with EMT-associated PD-L1 upregulation are warranted.

Background: The Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) and new visceral adiposity index (NVAI) are novel indices of visceral adiposity used to predict metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in Asian populations. However, the relationships of CVAI and NVAI with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have not been investigated. We aimed to characterize the relationships of CVAI and NVAI with the prevalence of CKD in Korean adults. Methods: A total of 14,068 participants in the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (6,182 men and 7,886 women) were included. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were employed to compare the associations between indices of adiposity and CKD, and a logistic regression model was used to characterize the relationships of CVAI and NVAI with CKD prevalence. Results: The areas under the ROC curves for CVAI and NVAI were significantly larger than for the other indices, including the visceral adiposity index and lipid accumulation product, in both men and women (all P<0.001). In addition, high CVAI or NVAI was significantly associated with a high CKD prevalence in both men (odds ratio [OR], 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31 to 3.48 in CVAI and OR, 6.47; 95% CI, 2.91 to 14.38 in NVAI, P<0.05) and women (OR, 4.87; 95% CI, 1.85 to 12.79 in CVAI and OR, 3.03; 95% CI, 1.35 to 6.82 in NVAI, P<0.05); this association remained significant after adjustment for multiple confounding factors in men and women. Conclusion CVAI and NVAI are positively associated with CKD prevalence in a Korean population. CVAI and NVAI may be useful for the identification of CKD in Asian populations, including in Korea.

Purpose: Several studies have been conducted on the relationship between green tea intake and metabolic syndrome. However, compared to the studies carried out internationally, there is inadequate research on the relationship between domestic green tea consumption and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, in this study, the general characteristics of Koreans according to their green tea intake and its association with metabolic syndrome were examined. Methods: A total of 44,611 subjects were included in the study, and analysis was carried out using data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) for Korean adults aged 40 or older. Green tea consumption was estimated using 106 verified food frequency questionnaires (FFQ). Metabolic syndrome was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) parameters. After adjusting for confounding variables by performing a Cox regression analysis, the association between green tea consumption and metabolic syndrome was confirmed through the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The average incidence of metabolic syndrome was 18.7% (20.8% in men and 17.8% in women). Compared to those who drank almost no green tea, in subject groups consuming more than one cup of green tea a day, the metabolic syndrome incidence was significantly reduced by 15% (HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74–0.96; p trend = 0.0200) among men and by 19% (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.73–0.90; p trend < 0.0001) among women. In addition, the biomarkers related to metabolic syndrome also tended to decrease overall in these groups. Conclusion This study concluded that as the intake of green tea increased, the incidence of metabolic syndrome and related indicators decreased. Therefore, green tea intake is believed to have a positive effect on the prevention and management of the metabolic syndrome.

Purpose: The 2020 Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) serves as a foundation for daily nutrient and energy recommendations aiming to enhance public health and prevent chronic diseases. They act as guidelines for maintaining proper nutrition and overall health.Using KDRIs is crucial for promoting healthier lifestyles and making informed dietary choices. Thus, this study explores the influence of a nutrition education program, based on the 2020 KDRIs, on the nutrition knowledge and dietary habits of undergraduates in Gyeongsangnam-do and Gyeonggi-do. Methods: The nutrition education program, designed with diverse instructional materials, was executed across a wide range of universities. The education group (n = 75) engaged in the program for a 6-week instructional period, while the control group (n = 53) underwent the survey without participating in the education program. Nutrition Quotient (NQ) and knowledge assessments were administered to both groups immediately before and after the instructional period. Results: Within the education group, the nutrition education program positively impacted responses to NQ practice items, including knowledge of nutrition, daily intake, and portion sizes (p < 0.05). In contrast, there were no significant differences between the before and after responses of the control group for most survey items. Post-program evaluations showed significantly higher self-assessment scores and increased satisfaction levels (p < 0.05), with the satisfaction rate for the education program using the 2020 KDRIs reaching 99.2%. Conclusion This study has demonstrated the positive impact of an effective nutrition education program. However, there is a need for the continuous development and implementation of nutrition education programs to sustain these outcomes and further enhance the nutritional education experience.