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Research is important for the development of family medicine as a professional field in primary care. The aim of this study was to suggest directions for the development of family medicine research by analyzing research trends in original papers published in the Korean Journal of Family Medicine (KJFM) and international journals.
We investigated original research papers published in KJFM and 4 international journals from August 2009 to July 2010. Analysis was conducted according to research topics, authors, methods, participants, and data sources.
'Clinical research' was the most common research topic in both the KJFM (88.3%) and international journals (57.3%); however, international journals had more studies in other domains ('education and research,' 'health service,' and 'family medicine'). More authors other than family physicians participated in international journals than in the KJFM (58% and 3.3%, respectively). Most studies were 'cross-sectional' in KJFM (77.0%) and international journals (51.5%): however, the latter had more 'qualitative' studies, 'cohort' studies, and 'systematic reviews' than the former. The largest study population was 'visitors of health promotion center' in the KJFM and 'outpatients' in international journals. Most of the study sources were 'survey' and 'medical records' in both.
There were limitations of diversity in the papers of the KJFM. Future investigation on papers of other than family medicine journals should be planned to assess research trends of family physicians.
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Few studies have investigated the association between Apolipoprotein E (
The current study population was composed of 9,033 subjects aged ≥ 50 years who participated in the baseline survey of the Dong-gu Study, which was conducted in Korea between 2007 and 2010.
Individuals with the
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Prognosis in Palliative Care Study (PiPS) predictor models were developed in 2011 to estimate the survival of terminal cancer patients in the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to validate the PiPS model for terminal cancer patients in Korea, and evaluate its value in clinical practice.
This study included 202 advanced cancer patients who were admitted to the cancer hospital's palliative care ward from November 2011 to February 2013. On admission, physicians recorded the PiPS-A, PiPS-B, and doctor's survival estimates in inpatients.
The median survival across PiPS-A categories was 9, 28, and 33 days, and the median survival across PiPS-B was 9.5, 27, and 43 days. The median actual survival was 25 days; overall accuracy between the PiPS-A, PiPS-B, doctor's estimates of survival, and actual survival was 52.0%, 49.5%, and 46.5%, respectively. The PiPS-A and PiPS-B groups for survival in 'days' showed a sensitivity of 48.4% and 64.1%, and specificity of 87.7%, and 77.5%, respectively. The PiPS-A and PiPS-B groups for survival in 'weeks' showed a sensitivity of 59.2%, and 44.7%, and specificity of 61.6%, and 64.7%, respectively. The PiPS-A and PiPS-B 'months' group showed a sensitivity of 37.1% and 37.1%, and specificity of 74.9% and 78.4%, respectively. The 'weeks' and 'months' groups showed significantly prolonged survival rates than 'days' group did in both PiPS-A and PiPS-B, by the Kaplan-Meier method.
The PiPS predictor models effectively predicted the survival ≥14 days in terminal cancer patients, and were superior to doctor's estimates.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cardiovascular disease risk and alcohol consumption according to facial flushing after drinking among Korean men.
The subjects were 1,817 Korean men (non-drinker group, 283 men; drinking-related facial flushing group, 662 men; non-flushing group, 872 men) >30 years who had undergone comprehensive health examinations at the health promotion center of a Chungnam National University Hospital between 2007 and 2009. Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related facial flushing were assessed through a questionnaire. Cardiovascular disease risk was investigated based on the 2008 Framingham Heart Study. With the non-drinker group as reference, logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between weekly alcohol intake and cardiovascular disease risk within 10 years for the flushing and non-flushing groups, with adjustment for confounding factors such as body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and exercise patterns.
Individuals in the non-flushing group with alcohol consumption of ≤4 standard drinks (1 standard drink = 14 g of alcohol) per week had significantly lower moderate or high cardiovascular disease risk than individuals in the nondrinker group (adjusted odds ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.37 to 0.71). However, no significant relationship between the drinking amount and cardiovascular disease risk was observed in the flushing group.
Cardiovascular disease risk is likely lowered by alcohol consumption among non-flushers, and the relationship between the drinking amount and cardiovascular disease risk may differ according to facial flushing after drinking, representing an individual's vulnerability.
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The relationships of total and regional body fat percent with bone mineral density (BMD) in Korean adolescents were examined using the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-1), 2010.
Body fat percent at whole body (WBFP), trunk (TBFP), and extremities (both upper and lower extremities fat mass/body weight, EBFP), ratio of trunk fat mass to extremities fat mass (TEFR), and BMD at whole body, total femur, and lumbar spine were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in a population-based sample of 433 boys and 362 girls, aged 12 to 18 years. The analyses were conducted using linear regression analysis with complex sampling design.
After adjusting for confounders such as age, height, weight, serum 25-(OH) vitamin D concentration, energy intake, calcium intake, physical activity, and menarche status for girls, WBFP, TBFP, and EBFP were inversely associated with whole and regional BMD in both sexes (P < 0.05). TEFR was positively associated with whole and regional BMD in boys after adjusting for confounders, while it was negatively associated in girls (P < 0.05). However, the associations were non-significant when bone mass-free lean mass was adjusted instead of bodyweight except for a positive association between TEFR and BMD in boys.
In Korean adolescents, total and regional body fat percent is not independently associated with BMD after adjusting for bone mass-free lean mass but higher fat in trunk as compared to extremities may be protective for BMD in boys.
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Frailty and cognitive impairment are considered the most common and yet least understood conditions in older adults. This study was conducted to investigate the correlation between frailty and cognitive function in non-demented older Koreans.
Korean Mini-Mental Status Examination (K-MMSE) scores and Cardiovascular Health Study Frailty Indices were obtained for 486 older adults aged 65 and over who registered at six senior welfare centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify the association between frailty and K-MMSE scores.
Of the 486 older adults, 206 (42.4%) were robust, 244 (50.2%) were prefrail, and 36 (7.4%) were frail. Prevalence of cognitive impairment (K-MMSE ≤ 23) was 6.3% in the robust group, 16.8% in the prefrail group, and 30.6% in the frail group (P < 0.001), and mean K-MMSE score was 27.5 ± 2.2, 26.5 ± 3.1, and 23.7 ± 5.3, respectively (P < 0.001). Frailty tended to be associated with lower MMSE scores (B = -1.92, standard error, 0.52; P < 0.001).
Frailty was found to be correlated with cognitive impairment in non-demented older Koreans. However, further cohort studies are required to determine the association between frailty and cognitive function.
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Limb paralysis can develop for various reasons. We found a 13-year-old patient who became paralyzed in her lower extremities after laparoscopic appendectomy. Some tests, including electrodiagnostic studies and magnetic resonance imaging, were performed to evaluate the cause of lower limb paralysis. None of the tests yielded definite abnormal findings. We subsequently decided to explore the possibility of psychological problems. The patient was treated with simultaneous rehabilitation and psychological counseling. Paralysis of the patient's lower extremity improved gradually and the patient returned to normal life. Our findings indicate that psychological problems can be related to limb paralysis without organ damage in patients who have undergone laparoscopic surgical procedures.
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