Metabolism-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver condition worldwide and affects nearly 30% of the global population. While traditionally associated with metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and insulin resistance, increasing attention is being directed toward socioeconomic and environmental determinants that contribute to disparities in MASLD prevalence and outcomes. Low-income populations often experience higher rates of MASLD owing to limited access to healthcare, poor diet quality, and reduced opportunities for physical activity. Conversely, high-income countries are witnessing a paradoxical rise in MASLD cases, driven by sedentary lifestyles and excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods. This review examined the effects of socioeconomic status, education, healthcare access, and environmental exposure on the epidemiology of MASLD. The findings revealed that individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and migrant populations experience a disproportionately higher burden of MASLD due to systemic healthcare barriers, dietary transitions, and occupational exposure. Children and adolescents face increasing susceptibility owing to rising obesity rates, and geographic disparities highlight Europe as the most affected region, followed by Asia and North America. Given the growing public health impact of MASLD, addressing both socioeconomic and environmental determinants is essential. Future efforts should prioritize policy-driven interventions, including equitable healthcare access, lifestyle modifications, and research into novel therapeutic approaches to mitigate the disease burden and improve patient outcomes.

Background
The prognosis of end-of-life patients is challenging, and clinicians have attempted to predict survival more accurately. High serum creatinine (sCr) levels are associated with lower survival rates in patients with various cancers; however, low sCr levels are commonly expected in patients with terminal cancer because of muscle wasting and malnutrition. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of low and high sCr levels and their association with survival duration in patients with terminal cancer in a palliative care unit.
Methods
We analyzed the medical records of 280 patients admitted to a palliative care unit. Patients were divided into low (<0.5 mg/dL), normal (0.5–1.2 mg/dL), and high (>1.2 mg/dL) sCr groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves using sCr levels were plotted and compared using the log-rank test. Using stepwise selection, a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify the significant prognostic factors.
Results
The median survival durations in the high-, low-, and normal-sCr groups were 9.57 days, 22.26 days, and 27.51 days, respectively. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard model identified that males (hazard ratio [HR], 1.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.85), poor performance status (HR, 3.43; 95% CI, 1.12–10.54), total parenteral nutrition use (HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.09–3.1), high sCr (HR, 2.74; 95% CI, 1.52–4.94), and low sCr (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07–1.43) were significantly associated with a shorter survival time.
Conclusion
Low and high serum creatinine levels were significantly associated with poor survival in patients with cancer at the end-of-life stage. Therefore, readily available and simple biomarkers may help plan advanced care in palliative care settings.

Background
The Web is an important source of health information, but the quality of such online information is highly variable. This study evaluates the quality of health articles published on Naver News, Korea’s most popular portal, using the Health Information Quality Assessment Tool (HIQUAL).
Methods
We collected 712 health-related articles published on Naver News from May 1 to 7, 2023. After applying exclusion criteria, we selected 116 articles for analysis. Two clinicians independently assessed the quality of these articles using the HIQUAL, which scores articles based on five domains: “reliability,” “usefulness,” “understandability,” “sufficiency,” and “transparency.”
Results
Overall article quality was generally considered recommendable (mean±standard deviation: 7.52±2.00). “Usefulness,” one item of “reliability,” and “understandability” were the three items with the highest levels of satisfaction. “Sufficiency” criteria for costs, risks, and benefits received low scores. Quality scores for articles focused on health risk factors and intervention showed a statistically significant difference.
Conclusion
While the overall quality of health information in Korean online newspaper articles is acceptable, room for improvement remains in some areas, particularly with regard to the fair presentation of costs, risks, and benefits. The study highlights the need for ongoing quality improvement and evaluation initiatives for online health information.

Background
Prevention and management of metabolic syndrome (MetS) during childhood are crucial. Recently, obesity among children and adolescents has increased with an increase in mothers’ working hours. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between mothers’ working hours and MetS in their children.
Methods
Data from the 2016–2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used, and 2,598 children and adolescents aged 10–18 years were included. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to confirm the association between MetS and mothers’ working hours for each risk factor. Linear regression analysis was conducted to confirm the association between mothers’ working hours and the number of risk factors for MetS.
Results
Abdominal obesity in children was higher when the mothers’ working hours were 53 hours or more (odds ratio [OR], 2.267; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–4.25). In the trend analysis, the OR of children’s abdominal obesity increased significantly as mothers’ working hours increased (P-value <0.05). Additionally, sex-stratified analysis revealed a significant trend between maternal work hours and the presence of MetS in female children (P=0.016). The adjusted OR of the presence of MetS in female children with mothers working 53 hours or more weekly was 6.065 (95% CI, 1.954–18.822).
Conclusion
Mothers’ working hours were highly correlated with the risk of abdominal obesity in their children. The OR of the presence of MetS significantly increased in female children with mothers having longer working hours compared with those with stay-at-home mothers.

Citations

• No, either or both parents with metabolic syndrome: comparative study of its impact on sons and daughters
  Jun-Hong Park, Min Hyung Cho, Hae Sang Lee, Young Suk Shim
  Frontiers in Endocrinology.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef

Background
Skipping breakfast is associated with an increased risk of chronic inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to examine the association between breakfast-eating habits and inflammation, using high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as a marker.
Methods
A total of 4,000 Korean adult males with no history of myocardial infarction, angina, stroke, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, or current smoking were included. Data from the 2016–2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used for analysis. The frequency of breakfast consumption was assessed through a questionnaire item in the dietary survey section asking participants about their weekly breakfast consumption routines over the past year. Participants were categorized into two groups, namely “0–2 breakfasts per week” and “3–7 breakfasts per week”; hs-CRP concentrations were measured through blood tests.
Results
Comparing between the “infrequent breakfast consumption (0–2 breakfasts per week)” and “frequent breakfast consumption (3–7 breakfasts per week)” groups, the mean hs-CRP was found to be significantly higher in the “infrequent breakfast consumption” group, even after adjusting for age, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption, systolic blood pressure, blood pressure medication, fasting blood glucose, and triglycerides (mean hs-CRP: frequent breakfast consumption, 1.36±0.09 mg/L; infrequent breakfast consumption, 1.17±0.05 mg/L; P-value=0.036).
Conclusion
Less frequent breakfast consumption was associated with elevated hs-CRP levels. Further large-scale studies incorporating adjusted measures of daily eating patterns as well as food quality and quantity are required for a deeper understanding of the role of breakfast in the primary prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Background
Adolescent dependency on smartphones is the highest among all age groups. Adolescents can be influenced to evaluate their body image by popular ideals about beautiful bodies via smartphone content, which can cause body image distortion. This study aimed to examine the association between body image distortion and smartphone dependency and the duration of smartphone usage among Korean adolescents.
Methods
This study used data from the 16th Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (2020), and included 42,981 participants, who were grouped according to self-reported duration of smartphone usage and smartphone dependency, as measured by a questionnaire. Body image distortion is defined as an exaggerated subjective body image compared to the actual body image. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was used to determine the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of body image distortion on smartphone dependency and usage time after adjusting for various factors related to body image distortion.
Results
Among the 42,981 participants, both moderate and high levels of smartphone dependency were associated with body image distortion in boys (moderate: adjusted OR [aOR], 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01–1.22; high: aOR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.05–1.32) and girls (moderate: aOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05–1.23; high: aOR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.18–1.42) compared to the low-level dependency group. However, no significant association was found between smartphone usage duration and body image distortion.
Conclusion
Our study demonstrated that moderate to high levels of smartphone dependency are associated with body image distortion in adolescents. Therefore, it is necessary to establish strategies for checking and managing adolescents’ smartphone dependence.

Citations

• Excessive smartphone use, smartphone dependency and body image distortion in Korean adolescents
  Young Gyu Cho
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(2): 58.     CrossRef
• Social Media Use and Body Image Dissatisfaction Among University Students of Health Sciences in Saudi Arabia
  Ihdaa J Abdulwahab, Jumana H Khouja, Noha A Alzahrani, Amina Bargawi
  Cureus.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef

Background
Interest in healthy aging has grown with the increase in the older population. Nutritional intake is crucial in frailty. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationship between frailty and multivitamin and mineral supplements (MVMS), which can easily provide micronutrients.
Methods
The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted from 2018 to 2019 included 3,395 adults aged ≥65 years. Of these, 1,511 who did not consume dietary supplements (DS, non-DS group) and 415 who took MVMS (MVMS group) were included in the study. We modified Fried’s definition of frailty to fit the KNHANES data. Using multivariate logistic regression, we examined the association between MVMS use and frailty, which varied with satisfaction with total energy intake. Additional subgroup analyses were performed based on age, sex, and income.
Results
MVMS reduced most micronutrient deficiencies compared to obtaining nutrients solely through food. The overall analysis revealed no association between MVMS use and frailty (odds ratio [OR], 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52–1.09). However, a subanalysis revealed that participants with a low income (≤25%) who took MVMS had decreased odds for frailty (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.35–0.88) compared with the non-DS group. Furthermore, a significant association between using MVMS and frailty was confirmed in the group with low income and energy intake below the recommended daily allowance, with a low OR of 0.52 (95% CI, 0.30–0.90).
Conclusion
MVMS use was significantly associated with frailty among the low-income and low-daily energy intake groups.

Quetiapine-induced hypokalemic periodic paralysis (QIHPP) is a rare condition. Herein, we present the case of a 31-year-old pregnant Malay woman diagnosed with bipolar II disorder and QIHPP. She presented to the casualty department with a 2-day history of bilateral lower limb weakness and numbness. Her renal function tests showed moderate hypokalemia (2.5 mmol/L), whereas other investigations were normal. Quetiapine was suspected to be the cause, prompting a psychiatric referral to manage her acute condition. Balancing the risks of untreated QIHPP against the potential relapse of bipolar symptoms from quetiapine discontinuation or dosage reduction poses a significant treatment challenge for pregnant women with QIHPP. Finally, we reduced the quetiapine dosage after careful consideration, leading to the normalization of potassium levels and symptom resolution. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of this side effect when initiating or continuing quetiapine treatment in women of childbearing age or pregnant women with psychiatric disorders. It is crucial to monitor serum electrolytes, especially potassium, following quetiapine administration and warn patients about its potential side effects.