Heated tobacco products (HTPs), a hybrid between conventional and electronic cigarettes, were first launched in South Korea in June 2017. Owing to advertisements stating that HTPs are odorless, tar-free, and less harmful to health, the sales of HTPs have grown quickly enough to account for about 10% of the total tobacco market in a year. HTP use by young, highly educated, and high-income groups had a significant impact on both the overall tobacco market over the past 3 years and the smoking and quitting behaviors of smokers. Based on national smoking rate statistics, tobacco sales trends, and the number of visitors to smoking cessation clinics, the following changes have been identified: (1) The decline in current smoking rates has slowed or rose in some groups. (2) The decline in total cigarette sales has slowed but rose again in the first quarter of 2020. (3) The number of visitors to smoking cessation clinics decreased just after the advent of HTPs. These results may be due to the insufficient support of tobacco regulation policies but also coincide chronologically with the appearance of HTPs in South Korea. It is necessary to investigate the usage rate of various tobacco products, including HTPs and e-cigarettes, to examine the health risks of novel tobacco products and provide accurate information to users and policymakers. Finally, tobacco companies are continuously developing new product concepts to escape the regulation of existing cigarettes; thus, comprehensive management measures for all nicotine-containing products are needed.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Maintaining optimal cardiovascular health metrics and carotid intima-media thickness among Korean adolescents Fumie Kaneko, Hokyou Lee, Jee-Seon Shim, Hyeon Chang Kim Clinical Hypertension.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Assessing use of inhalable nicotine products within complex markets: the dilemma of heated tobacco products Connor Richard Miller, Steve S Xu, Danielle M Smith, Edward Sutanto, Maciej Lukasz Goniewicz, Anne C K Quah, Geoffrey T Fong Tobacco Control.2024; 33(1): 103. CrossRef
The smoking population is not hardening in South Korea: a study using the Korea Community Health Survey from 2010 to 2018 Boyoung Jung, Jung Ah Lee, Ye-Jee Kim, Hong-Jun Cho Tobacco Control.2024; 33(2): 171. CrossRef
Heated Tobacco Product Use and Mental Health: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2018–2020) Young-Gyun Seo, Sungkyu Lee, Min Kyung Lim, Yu-Jin Paek International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.2024; 22(3): 979. CrossRef
Perception of heated tobacco products and support for regulations: a cross-sectional study in Hong Kong Yongda Socrates Wu, Yee Tak Derek Cheung, Sai Yin Ho, Henry Sau Chai Tong, Vienna Wai Yin Lai, Tai Hing Lam, Man Ping Wang Tobacco Control.2024; 33(e1): e132. CrossRef
Heated tobacco products do not help smokers quit or prevent relapse: a longitudinal study in Japan Satomi Odani, Kanami Tsuno, Israel T Agaku, Takahiro Tabuchi Tobacco Control.2024; 33(4): 472. CrossRef
A Scoping Review of Behavioural Studies on Heated Tobacco Products Ian M Fearon, Sarah F Cordery, Martin Fitzpatrick, Sarah Weaver, Matthew Stevenson, Erika Grandolfo, Layla Malt, Keith Thompson, Thomas Nahde Cureus.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting COPD: A nationwide population-based study in South Korea Seungeun Oh, Hyungkyun Mok, Kyuhee Jo Medicine.2024; 103(39): e39901. CrossRef
Association between the dual use of electronic and
conventional cigarettes and NAFLD status in Korean men Minjung Han, Seogsong Jeong, Jihun Song, Sun Jae Park, Cheol Min Lee, Kiheon Lee, Sang Min Park Tobacco Induced Diseases.2023; 21(February): 1. CrossRef
JUUL preference among Korean adult tobacco users and its effect on attempts to quit tobacco: A follow- up survey four months post JUUL launch Ju Sam Hwang+, Kiheon Lee+, Choon-Young Kim, Heejin Kim, Sungroul Kim, Cheol Lee Tobacco Induced Diseases.2023; 21(March): 1. CrossRef
Electronic device or regulated tobacco product? Learning from the diffusion of heated tobacco products in Spain J.M. Martín-Álvarez, A. Almeida, A.A. Golpe, E. Asensio Public Health.2023; 219: 61. CrossRef
Is Using Heated Tobacco Products Helpful in Smoking Cessation? Young Gyu Cho Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2023; 44(3): 127. CrossRef
Comparison of the Smoking Cessation of Heated Tobacco Product Users and Conventional Cigarette Smokers in Korea Doyeon Won, Wonyoung Jung, Dongwook Shin Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2023; 44(3): 151. CrossRef
The relationship between heated cigarette smoking and blood white blood cell count: a population-based cross-sectional study D.-H. Koh Public Health.2023; 222: 154. CrossRef
The Need for Policy Changes for Tobacco End Game Cheol Min Lee Journal of the Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.2023; 14(3): 118. CrossRef
Relationship between heated tobacco product use and allergic
rhinitis in Korean adults Young-Gyun Seo, Yu-Jin Paek, Joo-Hee Kim, Jwa-Kyung Kim, Hye-Mi Noh Tobacco Induced Diseases.2023; 21(November): 1. CrossRef
Characterizing Heated Tobacco Product Use Among Adult Cigarette Smokers and Nicotine Vaping Product Users in the 2018 ITC Four Country Smoking & Vaping Survey Connor R Miller, Edward Sutanto, Danielle M Smith, Sara C Hitchman, Shannon Gravely, Hua-Hie Yong, Ron Borland, Richard J O’Connor, K Michael Cummings, Geoffrey T Fong, Andrew Hyland, Anne C K Quah, Maciej L Goniewicz Nicotine & Tobacco Research.2022; 24(4): 493. CrossRef
Heated tobacco products for smoking cessation and reducing smoking prevalence Harry Tattan-Birch, Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Loren Kock, Erikas Simonavicius, Leonie Brose, Sarah Jackson, Lion Shahab, Jamie Brown Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Perceived relative harm of heated tobacco products and
electronic cigarettes and its association with use in smoke-free
places: A cross-sectional analysis of Korean adults Choon-Young Kim*+, Kiheon Lee*+, Cheol Min Lee, Sungroul Kim, Hong-Jun Cho Tobacco Induced Diseases.2022; 20(February): 1. CrossRef
Subjective Changes in Tobacco Product Use among Korean Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic Jieun Hwang International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(6): 3272. CrossRef
Methods of the 2020 (Wave 1) International Tobacco Control (ITC) Korea Survey Anne Quah, Sungkyu Lee, Hong Gwan Seo, Sung-il Cho, Sujin Lim, Yeol Kim, Steve Xu, Matthew Grey, Mi Yan, Christian Boudreau, Mary Thompson, Pete Driezen, Geoffrey Fong Tobacco Prevention & Cessation.2022; 8(March): 1. CrossRef
Evaluation of Japanese university students' perception of smoking, interest in quitting, and smoking behavior: An examination and public health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic Makoto Aoike, Yukihiro Mori, Kiyoshi Hotta, Yukihiro Shigeno, Yuka Aoyama, Mamoru Tanaka, Hana Kouzai, Hatsumi Kawamura, Masato Tsurudome, Morihiro Ito Drug Discoveries & Therapeutics.2022; 16(3): 118. CrossRef
Factors Associated with Quit Intentions among Adult Smokers in South Korea: Findings from the 2020 ITC Korea Survey Minjung Han, Donghee Seo, Yeol Kim, Hong Gwan Seo, Sung-il Cho, Sungkyu Lee, Sujin Lim, Susan C. Kaai, Anne C. K. Quah, Mi Yan, Steve S. Xu, Geoffrey T. Fong International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(17): 10839. CrossRef
Comparison of Tobacco Use and Cessation Behavior between Conventional Cigarette and Heated Tobacco Product Users: Based on the Analyses of the Eighth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2019 Hyeree Yu, Cheol Min Lee Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2022; 43(5): 296. CrossRef
Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia after Combined Use of Conventional and Heat-Not-Burn Cigarettes: A Case Report Bo Hyoung Kang, Dong Hyun Lee, Mee Sook Roh, Soo-Jung Um, Insu Kim Medicina.2022; 58(11): 1527. CrossRef
Current status of tobacco use, cessation and control policy in Korea Cheol Min Lee Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2022; 65(12): 789. CrossRef
Prevalence and predictors of heated tobacco products use among male ever smokers: results from a Korean longitudinal study Jeeeun Yi, Cheol Min Lee, Seung-sik Hwang, Sung-il Cho BMC Public Health.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Nicotine Dependence of Electronic Cigarette, Dual Combustible and Electronic Cigarette Users Jungun Lee Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2021; 42(3): 189. CrossRef
Prevalence and reasons for use of Heated Tobacco Products (HTP) in Europe: an analysis of Eurobarometer data in 28 countries Anthony A. Laverty, Constantine I. Vardavas, Filippos T. Filippidis The Lancet Regional Health - Europe.2021; 8: 100159. CrossRef
Combined Associations of Changes in Noncombustible Nicotine or Tobacco Product and Combustible Cigarette Use Habits With Subsequent Short-Term Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among South Korean Men: A Nationwide Cohort Study Seulggie Choi, Kiheon Lee, Sang Min Park Circulation.2021; 144(19): 1528. CrossRef
Bibliometric Analysis of Publications Related to Heated Tobacco Products Reported over the Period 2015-2020 Min Joo Jeon, Su Mi Lee, Kiheon Lee, Eunbyul Cho, Joo Young Kim, Woo Kyung Bae, Jong Soo Han, Hyejin Lee, Se Young Jung Journal of the Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.2021; 12(2): 74. CrossRef
Reasons for Using Heated Tobacco Products among South Korean Adults Ji Min Kim, Hong-Jun Cho Journal of the Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.2021; 12(2): 53. CrossRef
Are Heated Tobacco Product Users Less Likely to Quit than Cigarette Smokers? Findings from THINK (Tobacco and Health IN Korea) Study Cheol Min Lee, Choon-Young Kim, Kiheon Lee, Sungroul Kim International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020; 17(22): 8622. CrossRef
The Change of Tobacco Use Pattern among Adolescents after the Introduction of Novel Tobacco Products Cheol Min Lee Journal of the Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.2020; 11(2): 84. CrossRef
Background Avoidable hospitalizations (AHs) are defined as hospitalizations that could have been prevented through timely and effective services. AHs are, therefore, an indicator used to evaluate the access and effectiveness of primary health care services.
Methods A retrospective time-series study spanning 8 years (2006–2013) was conducted to determine the relationship between AHs and gender, age, and access to primary health care physicians in rural areas in Tehran province, the capital of Iran. The total number of avoidable hospitalizations was 22,570; logistic regression was estimated for each year separately.
Results Total hospitalizations and AHs increased during the study period, especially during the first 3 years of the study. AHs, as a percentage of total hospitalizations, did not change significantly throughout the study years. This value was 22.3% during the first year of study and varied between 17% and 19.6% from 2007 to 2013. No statistically significant relationship was seen between AH occurrence and access to a physician during the study years.
Conclusion Increasing access to primary health care physicians cannot necessarily result in decreased AHs. Considering the factors influencing AHs while designing and implementing the family physicians program is important to achieve the expected results regarding the effectiveness of primary health care services.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Government purchasing initiatives involving private providers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a systematic review of impact on health service utilisation Shehla Zaidi, Jai K Das, Wafa Jamal, Ammarah Ali, Faareha Siddiqui, Aya Thabet, Hassan Salah, Awad Mataria BMJ Open.2023; 13(2): e063327. CrossRef
Background Muscle strength has been suggested as a cardiovascular marker. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between hand grip strength and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease in the Korean population.
Methods A total of 9,083 participants aged 20–80 years from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015–2016 were investigated.
Results Among men, both relative and dominant hand grip strength showed a positive association with diastolic blood pressure in those aged 65–80 years (95% confidence interval, P-value of dominant and relative hand grip strength: β=0.06, 0.01; P<0.05). Among women, relative and dominant hand grip strength showed a positive relationship to diastolic blood pressure in those aged 20–64 years (β=0.06, 0.01; P<0.001). Body mass index was positively associated with dominant hand grip strength in younger women (β=0.18, P<0.05), whereas it was positively associated with relative hand grip strength in all sex and age groups. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein showed a negative association with relative and dominant hand grip strength in all women, although the same association was observed only in younger men. Diabetes was inversely related to hand grip strength in younger women and men.
Conclusion Increased hand grip strength may be associated with lower C-reactive protein in women and with less risk of diabetes in the Korean adult population. Further prospective studies are needed for the determination of causality between cardiometabolic markers and hand grip strength.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
The impact of reduced muscular fitness on cardiometabolic risk factors in children aged 9–11 years Eva Rodríguez‐Gutiérrez, Ana Torres‐Costoso, Lidia Lucas‐de la Cruz, Arthur E. Mesas, Vicente Martínez‐Vizcaíno, Ana Díez‐Fernández Acta Paediatrica.2024; 113(6): 1364. CrossRef
Association between handgrip strength and metabolic syndrome in relation to gender and adiposity among middle aged and older Saudi populations Shaea A. Alkahtani, Ghedeir M. Alshammari, Aishah Alzuwaydi, Abdulaziz Alfuhaid, Abeer A. Al-Masri, Rizwan Qaisar, Syed Shahid Habib The Aging Male.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Higher dietary methyl donor micronutrient consumption is associated with higher muscle strength in adults: a cross-sectional study Amin Mirrafiei, Parisa Radkhah, Mahla Chambari, Samira Davarzani, Nadia Babaee, Kurosh Djafarian, Sakineh Shab-Bidar British Journal of Nutrition.2024; 131(11): 1926. CrossRef
The combined effect of handgrip strength and obesity phenotype on the risk of stroke in Chinese middle-aged and elderly: A cohort study Kai-jie Qi, Qiang Li, Gao-lei Lu, Min-jie Zhang, Min-zhe Zhang, Jia-min Yan, Qi-qiang He Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.2024; 124: 105481. CrossRef
The Relationship Between Health Parameters, Body Size, Elements of Lifestyle, and Hand Grip Strength in a Group of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes, Aged 40–98, from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Myadagmaa Jaalkhorol, Agata Cieślik, Myagmartseren Dashtseren, Anya Khairat, Otgonbayar Damdinbazar, Gerelmaa Ochirdorj, Tsetsegsuren Khurelbaatar, Ganbayar Batmunkh, Ulemjjargal Ganzorig, Sławomir Kozieł Journal of Clinical Medicine.2024; 14(1): 102. CrossRef
Relación entre adiposidad corporal y fuerza de prensión manual con la preocupación por la alimentación en deportistas universitarios Jorge Mendez-Cornejo, Ruben Vidal-Espinoza, Fernando Alvear-Vasquez, Ana Belen-Guzman, Rossana Gomez-Campos, Marco Cossio Bolaños Nutrición Clínica y Dietética Hospitalaria.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
C-reactive protein and muscle-related measures over 14 years in Chinese community-dwelling older adults Suey S.Y. Yeung, Timothy Kwok, Jean Woo Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.2023; 106: 104878. CrossRef
Increasing muscular strength to improve cardiometabolic risk factors Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo, Jose P. Lopez-Lopez, Maria Camila Tole, Daniel D. Cohen Clínica e Investigación en Arteriosclerosis.2023; 35(3): 144. CrossRef
Handgrip strength is associated with risks of new-onset stroke and heart disease: results from 3 prospective cohorts Guochen Li, Yanqiang Lu, Liping Shao, Luying Wu, Yanan Qiao, Yi Ding, Chaofu Ke BMC Geriatrics.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Increasing muscular strength to improve cardiometabolic risk factors Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo, Jose P. Lopez-Lopez, Maria Camila Tole, Daniel D. Cohen Clínica e Investigación en Arteriosclerosis (English Edition).2023; 35(3): 144. CrossRef
Lower handgrip strength levels probably precede triglyceride glucose index and associated with diabetes in men not in women Jia Zheng, Lu Zhang, Min Jiang Journal of Diabetes Investigation.2022; 13(1): 148. CrossRef
Changes in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels and metabolic indices according to grip strength in Korean postmenopausal women Y. N. Kim, J.-h. Jung, S. B. Park Climacteric.2022; 25(3): 306. CrossRef
Factors Associated with Handgrip Strength Among Older Adults in Malaysia Shamsul Azhar Shah, Nazarudin Safian, Zulkefley Mohammad, Siti Rohani Nurumal, Wan Abdul Hannan Wan Ibadullah, Juliana Mansor, Saharuddin Ahmad, Mohd Rohaizat Hassan, Yugo Shobugawa Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare.2022; Volume 15: 1023. CrossRef
Associations of handgrip strength with morbidity and all-cause mortality of cardiometabolic multimorbidity Yanqiang Lu, Guochen Li, Pietro Ferrari, Heinz Freisling, Yanan Qiao, Luying Wu, Liping Shao, Chaofu Ke BMC Medicine.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between Grip Strength, Obesity, and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors among the Community-Dwelling Elderly Population in Taiwan Chun-Yung Chang, Nain-Feng Chu, Ming-Hsun Lin, Shu-Chuan Wang, Der-Min Wu, Ming-Kai Tsai, Chieh-Hua Lu International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(18): 11359. CrossRef
Association of Absolute and Relative Handgrip Strength with Prevalent Metabolic Syndrome in Adults: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2014–2018 Sunghyun Hong, Minsuk Oh, Youngwon Kim, Justin Y. Jeon International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(19): 12585. CrossRef
Factors Influencing the Muscle Strength of the Elderly Without Activity Restrictions By Gender Myoungjin Kwon, Moonkyoung Park, Hyun Joo Kim, Jong Im Kim, Sun Ae Kim Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing.2021; 23(1): 43. CrossRef
Relationship Between Handgrip Strength and the Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus Among Korean Adults: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2014-2018 Sung-hyun Hong, Ji-yong Byeon, Ji-hee Min, Dong-hyuk Park, Won-hee Cho, Justin Y. Jeon Exercise Science.2021; 30(1): 110. CrossRef
Role of handgrip strength in predicting new-onset diabetes: findings from the survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe Guochen Li, Yanan Qiao, Yanqiang Lu, Siyuan Liu, Yi Ding, Xing Chen, Chaofu Ke BMC Geriatrics.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between Adjusted Handgrip Strength and Metabolic Syndrome in Arab Men Shaea Alkahtani International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(20): 10898. CrossRef
Association between relative handgrip strength and abdominal obesity, type-2 diabetes and hypertension in a Mexican population Iris Paola Guzmán-Guzmán, Pedro Delgado-Floody, Ilse Adriana Gutiérrez-Pérez, Felipe Caamaño-Navarrete, Daniel Jerez-Mayorga, Óscar Zaragoza-García, Isela Parra-Rojas Nutrición Hospitalaria.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Dietary Calcium Intake and Fat Mass in Spanish Young Adults: The Role of Muscle Strength Ana Torres-Costoso, Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno, Rubén Fernández-Rodríguez, Irene Sequí-Dominguez, Sara Reina-Gutiérrez, Sergio Núñez de Arenas-Arroyo, Miriam Garrido-Miguel Nutrients.2021; 13(12): 4498. CrossRef
Grip Strength as a Cardiometabolic Marker Jungun Lee Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2020; 41(5): 271. CrossRef
Background Depression is suggested to be associated with cardiovascular disease, including ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. This study investigated the impact of depression on cardiovascular disease in the elderly population in Korea.
Methods This retrospective cohort study was performed using the Senior Cohort database released by the Korean National Health Insurance Services from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012, or January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2013. The study group constituted participants newly diagnosed with depression, but not cardiovascular disease. The control group constituted participants with no past history of depression or cardiovascular disease, and were not diagnosed with depression during the follow-up period. During the 5-year follow-up period, development of ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease was assessed. Depression and cardiovascular disease were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, Clinical Modification codes. The data was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards model.
Results The hazard ratio (HR) between depression and ischemic heart disease was 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23 to 1.55) and the HR between depression and cerebrovascular disease was 1.46 (95% CI, 1.32 to 1.62), after adjusting all confounding variables.
Conclusion Independent of other cardiovascular risk factors, depression increased the risk of ischemic heart disease by 38% and cerebrovascular disease by 46% among older adults in Korea. Since depression may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, future research should focus on the diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular disease in people with depression.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
The effect of scutellaria baicalensis and its active ingredients on major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of literature in pre-clinical research Ying Ma, Xun Zhou, Feng Zhang, Cuiyun Huang, Hong Yang, Wansheng Chen, Xia Tao Frontiers in Pharmacology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
A Potential Role for MAGI-1 in the Bi-Directional Relationship Between Major Depressive Disorder and Cardiovascular Disease Priyanka Banerjee, Khanh Chau, Sivareddy Kotla, Eleanor L. Davis, Estefani Berrios Turcios, Shengyu Li, Zhang Pengzhi, Guangyu Wang, Gopi Krishna Kolluru, Abhishek Jain, John P. Cooke, Junichi Abe, Nhat-Tu Le Current Atherosclerosis Reports.2024; 26(9): 463. CrossRef
The Connection Between Depression and Ischemic Heart Disease: Analyzing Demographic Characteristics, Risk Factors, Symptoms, and Treatment Approaches to Identify Their Relationship Laura Ioana Bondar, Brigitte Osser, Gyongyi Osser, Mariana Adelina Mariș, Ligia Elisaveta Piroș, Robert Almășan, Csongor Toth, Caius Calin Miuta, Gabriel Roberto Marconi, Ana-Liana Bouroș-Tataru, Victor Măduța, Dana Tăședan, Mircea Ioachim Popescu Clinics and Practice.2024; 14(5): 2166. CrossRef
Psycho-Cardiological Disease: A Bibliometric Review From 2001 to 2021 Yaping You, Xintian Shou, Xuesong Zhang, Shaowei Fan, Ruoning Chai, Wenjing Xue, Yuanhui Hu, Qingyong He Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
A comprehensive review on bioavailability, safety and antidepressant potential of natural bioactive components from tea Jie Shao, Yang Wei, Xinlin Wei Food Research International.2022; 158: 111540. CrossRef
Sang-Woo Lee, Byoungduck Han, Sung Jung Cho, Seung Jin Jung, Youn Huh, Junghun Kim, Do Hyun Eum, Taeryoon Kim, Soon-Hong Min, Woohyun Lee, Jinhee Cho, Min Hee Kwon, Ga Eun Nam
Korean J Fam Med 2020;41(5):306-311. Published online May 26, 2020
Background Recently, single-person households have increased in Korea and this trend may have potential public health implications and affect various health behaviors. This study investigated the associations between living alone and health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption among Korean adults.
Methods We used data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2013 and 2015 and a total of 17,088 adults were included. We performed a multivariable logistic regression analysis and calculated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results Single-person households accounted for about 10% of the total participants. The proportions of currently smoking and heavy alcohol consumption were higher among individuals living alone than those living together among younger women and middle-aged and elderly men and women. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, living alone was associated with increased odds of currently smoking compared to living together among middle-aged men and women (OR, 7.37; 95% CI, 2.33–23.32 in men and OR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.04–5.36 in women) after adjusting for confounding variables.
Conclusion From this nationwide, population-based study, we found that living alone is associated with increased odds of currently smoking, especially in middle-aged people. Public health concerns may be warranted for middle-aged single-person households to reduce health risks related to smoking.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Associations of social isolation with sleep duration and sleep quality in the elderly: Mediating influence of depression Hong-Ying Yang, Lian Li, Lu-Jie Yu, Guo-Lin Bian World Journal of Psychiatry.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Living alone and cancer mortality by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status among US working‐age adults Hyunjung Lee, Gopal K. Singh, Ahmedin Jemal, Farhad Islami Cancer.2024; 130(1): 86. CrossRef
Association between living alone and all-cause mortality of young and middle-aged patients with acute myocardial infarction: analysis of the China Acute Myocardial Infarction (CAMI) registry Yu Jiang, Jin-Gang Yang, Hai-Yan Qian, Yue-Jin Yang BMC Public Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Smaller household size and higher prevalence of serious psychological distress in younger people and never-married people: a nationwide cross-sectional survey in Japan Kimiko Tomioka, Midori Shima, Keigo Saeki Frontiers in Public Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Longitudinal associations between living alone, childlessness and mental health and mortality in ageing adults in Thailand Supa Pengpid, Karl Peltzer, Dararatt Anantanasuwong, Wasin Kaewchankha Global Transitions.2024; 6: 145. CrossRef
The influencing factors of health status among low-income individuals living alone in Wuxi, China Shiming Li, Yue Wu, Queping Yang, Ying Jiang, Haohao Zhu Scientific Reports.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Стресові стани українців, які проживають соло, під час війни Дар’я Яшкіна Sociological Studios.2024; (2(25)): 34. CrossRef
Determinants of Problem Drinking by Regional Variation among Adult Males in Single-Person Households: Geographically Weighted Regression Model Analysis Junggeun Ahn, Heeseung Choi, Jiu Kim Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing.2023; 53(1): 101. CrossRef
Six-year mortality associated with living alone and loneliness in Swedish men and women born in 1930 Masuma Novak, Margda Waern, Lena Johansson, Anna Zettergren, Lina Ryden, Hanna Wetterberg, Therese Rydberg Sterner, Madeleine Mellqvist Fässberg, Pia Gudmundsson, Ingmar Skoog BMC Geriatrics.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between Increasing Social Capital and Decreasing Prevalence of Smoking at the Municipality Level: Repeated Cross-Sectional Study from the JAGES Hiroki Takeuchi, Kazushige Ide, Ryota Watanabe, Yasuhiro Miyaguni, Katsunori Kondo International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(8): 4472. CrossRef
Living Alone Is Not Associated With Cardiovascular Events and Hypoglycemia in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Zhaowei Zhu, Zhenyu Peng, Zhenhua Xing Frontiers in Public Health.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Living alone and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis Yunli Zhao, Gordon Guyatt, Ya Gao, Qiukui Hao, Ream Abdullah, John Basmaji, Farid Foroutan eClinicalMedicine.2022; 54: 101677. CrossRef
Current status of health promotion in Korea Soo Young Kim Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2022; 65(12): 776. CrossRef
Hoon Sung Choi, Hyuki Kwon, Keun-Hyok Cho, Le Cong Thuc, So Young Park, Nam-Hun Kim, Wae-Jung Kim, Yun-Ki Kim, Woo-Seok Jeon, Ju-Ah Lee, Hyoung-Chun Kim, Eun-Hee Cho
Korean J Fam Med 2020;41(5):312-317. Published online May 21, 2020
Background Dry sauna treatments improve the quality of life for chronic pain, congestive heart failure, and type 2 diabetes patients. This study aimed to determine whether dry sauna therapy improved the quality of life of obese people.
Methods A total of 38 consecutive participants aged over 20 years with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 were recruited for the study. The participants were treated with a 90°C dry sauna for 15 minutes, twice daily for 4 consecutive days. To assess the quality of life, all participants completed the 5 level EQ-5D questionnaires and the EQ-Visual Analog Scale. Study parameters were measured on the same day prior to commencing the sauna sessions in a fasted state and 2 days after the last sauna session.
Results The average age was 62.3±9.5 years; 84.2% of the participants were female. The mean body mass index was 28.5±2.4 kg/m2. Dry sauna significantly improved the mean 5 level EQ-5D index scores from 0.83±0.12 to 0.89±0.11 and increased the mean EQ-Visual Analog Scale from 79.0±15.2 to 91.1±9.7. However, there were no significant changes in body mass index, blood pressure, heart rate, or body composition before and after the 8-session sauna therapy.
Conclusion Dry sauna improved the health-related quality of life of obese patients without adverse events. Further clinical studies in larger study populations are needed to verify these findings and provide concrete evidence for obesity treatment.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Clinical Implication of Korean Dry Sauna Therapy Teruhiko Imamura Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2021; 42(3): 257. CrossRef
Background This study investigated the differences in the risk of potentially avoidable hospitalization (PAH) among eligible long-term care insurance (LTCI) beneficiaries with dementia for LTCI services in Korea. Nested case-control study was conducted using the National Health Insurance Service–Senior claim database.
Methods Cases of individuals who had a PAH incident diagnosis and controls were selected by incidence density sampling and matched to cases based on age, sex, and difficulty of daily living among dementia patients. We conducted incidence density sampling three times by PAH type.
Results Our main results were presented by conditional logistic regression analysis for the matched case–control studies. Out of the 7,352 eligible LTCI beneficiary patients, there were 1,231 cases (16.7%) in overall PAH, 132 cases (19.0%) in acute PAH and 1,114 cases (16.7%) in chronic PAH categories. In terms of individual risk of overall and chronic PAH, the odds ratios of those who did not receive any services were 1.336 time higher (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.159–1.540) and 1.280 time higher (95% CI, 1.103–1.485) compared to those who received home care, respectively. For risk of acute PAH, the odds ratios of those who did receive institutional care were 2.046 time higher (95% CI, 1.170–3.578) compared to those who received home care.
Conclusion This study identified the differences in risk of PAH incidents according to the type of LTCI service in the elderly population in Korea. Therefore, it will require substantial effort and strategy from health policy makers to improve care quality.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Cost of Care and Pattern of Medical Care Use in the Last Year of Life among Long-Term Care Insurance Beneficiaries in South Korea: Using National Claims Data Sunjoo Boo, Jungah Lee, Hyunjin Oh International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020; 17(23): 9078. CrossRef
Background The family, as the smallest social institution, has responsibilities across many functions, including maintaining family health. Increases in chronic diseases and life expectancy require more family support to prevent disease and implement treatment for family members with chronic diseases. Therefore, physician involvement in not only the treatment of diseases but also their prevention and rehabilitation is required In Indonesia. Hence, a new approach for physician involvement with families is required, especially with regard to comprehensiveness. This study aimed to develop a physician involvement program with the family model for primary healthcare in Indonesia.
Methods A two-round Delphi method with family medicine experts from 17 of the highest accredited medical faculties in Indonesia as participants was conducted, and factor analysis performed thereafter. The items were considered relevant at ≤0.8 validity content ratio. The second step of this research is survey using e-questionnaire involving 101 primary care physician from all over Indonesia. They live scattered in several provinces in the main islands of Indonesia such Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi dan Bali.
Results Results showed an adequately measured sample and correlation for all items (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin of sampling=0.821; Bartlett’s test <0.001). Seven dimensions were derived from results with eigenvalue of >1, and 25 items were filtered after determining the loading factor of >0.5. The Cronbach’s α for each factor varied from 0.602 to 0.829, and that for the total 25 items was 0.913, with a total variation documented as high as 66%.
Conclusion A new physician involvement model with the family approach model, known as the “GENOGRAM model,” was developed, which consisted of seven dimensions and 25 items.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Comprehensiveness in Primary Care: A Scoping Review AGNES GRUDNIEWICZ, ELLEN RANDALL, LORI JONES, AIDAN BODNER, M. RUTH LAVERGNE The Milbank Quarterly.2025; 103(1): 153. CrossRef
Background Previous studies have shown that body composition is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and perimenopause is associated with increased fat mass and decreased lean body mass. Muscle wasting is common among patients with CKD. Sarcopenic obesity (SO) refers to excess adiposity with decreased muscle mass. However, little is known about the relationship between SO and renal function decline. Here, we identified the relationship between SO and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in postmenopausal women.
Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008–2011). We analyzed 4,560 postmenopausal women who underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined based on weight-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle mass. Obesity was defined based on body mass index. The eGFR was calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. Subjects were classified into four groups: normal, obese, sarcopenic, and sarcopenic obese. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between SO and decreased eGFR. The results were adjusted for variable confounders.
Results In the unadjusted model, the odds ratio (OR) of decreased eGFR for SO was 1.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–2.26). The obese and sarcopenic groups had ORs of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.44–1.03) and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.44–1.10), respectively. After controlling for confounding variables, there was also a significant association between SO and decreased eGFR (adjusted OR, 1.48; 95% Cl, 1.05–2.07).
Conclusion SO was independently associated with decreased eGFR in postmenopausal Korean women.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Sarcopenic obesity in predialysis chronic kidney disease: Muscle strength is a predictor of mortlity and disease progression in a six-year prospective cohort Dílmerson Oliveira, Viviane Angelina de Souza, Guilherme Cardenaz Souza, Lucas Fernandes Suassuna, Marcus Gomes Bastos, Maycon Moura Reboredo, Natália Maria da Silva Fernandes, Jeremy P Loenneke, PLOS ONE.2025; 20(3): e0318773. CrossRef
Obesity paradox in older sarcopenic adults ― a delay in aging: A systematic review and meta-analysis Szimonetta Eitmann, Peter Matrai, Peter Hegyi, Marta Balasko, Balint Eross, Kira Dorogi, Erika Petervari Ageing Research Reviews.2024; 93: 102164. CrossRef
Association of skeletal muscle index with postoperative acute kidney injury in living donor hepatectomy: A retrospective single‐centre cohort study Ji‐Hoon Sim, Hye‐Mee Kwon, In‐Gu Jun, Sung‐Hoon Kim, Kyoung‐Sun Kim, Young‐Jin Moon, Jun‐Gol Song, Gyu‐Sam Hwang, YouSun Ko, Kyung‐Won Kim Liver International.2022; 42(2): 425. CrossRef
Dynapenic-abdominal obesity as an independent risk factor for chronic kidney disease in postmenopausal women: a population-based cohort study Youngju Choi, Jinkyung Cho, Jiyeon Kim, Jun Hyun Bae, Eun-Jeong Cho, Eunwook Chang, Kyung-Lim Joa, Junghoon Kim, Dong-Ho Park, Ju-Hee Kang, Hyo-Bum Kwak Menopause.2022; 29(9): 1040. CrossRef
Current status of health promotion in Korea Soo Young Kim Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2022; 65(12): 776. CrossRef
Global prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis Qianqian Gao, Fan Mei, Yi Shang, Kaiyan Hu, Fei Chen, Li Zhao, Bin Ma Clinical Nutrition.2021; 40(7): 4633. CrossRef
Background Intermittent dosing regimens for oral risedronate (once-monthly and once-weekly) were developed for patient convenience. While several studies have reported the anti-fracture efficacy of weekly dosing, few have assessed monthly dosing. The lower efficacy of monthly dosing has been previously suggested. The aim of this study was to compare the anti-fracture efficacy of monthly and weekly dosing.
Methods We obtained information from the Korea National Health Insurance Service database from 2012 to 2017 of Korean women of ≥50 years of age who used weekly or monthly risedronate. We compared the time of occurrence of the first osteoporotic fracture after the first prescription of risedronate. Using a Cox proportional model, we assessed incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for fractures at any site, and the hip, vertebral, and non-vertebral sites between both regimens. Propensity score weighting was used to balance the treatment groups.
Results The study populations were distributed according to dosing frequency (monthly, 27,329; weekly, 47,652). There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of new fractures in any site (IRR, 1.008; 95% CI,0.963– 1.055; P=0.737), hip (IRR, 0.999; 95% CI, 0.769–1.298; P=0.996), vertebral (IRR, 0.962; 95% CI, 0.890–1.040; P=0.330), or non-vertebral (1.022; 95% CI, 0.968–1.078; P=0.439) sites between monthly and weekly risedronate.
Conclusion The anti-fracture efficacy at any site and the examined individual sites was similar for the monthly and weekly risedronate regimens. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are required for confirmation.
Background Obesity in adolescence can continue up to adulthood and lead to various complications. There has been a continuous increase in the obesity incidence among adolescents, which is an emerging social issue. Studies have reported that decreased sleep duration in adolescents can have negative effects on health, leading to obesity. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index among South Korean middle and high school students aged 12–18 years.
Methods The participants of the Sixth National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted during 2013–2015 were screened. We selected 1,177 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years who were enrolled in middle and high school or on leave of absence and had available data for sleep duration and body mass index (BMI) in the survey. Analyses of variance and covariance were performed after adjusting for confounding variables, including age, gender, waist circumference, and drinking experience, that showed significant correlations in univariate logistic regression.
Results The analysis of covariance revealed that an increase in sleep duration led to a corresponding decrease in the mean BMI among all students and middle school students.
Conclusion Significant negative correlations were confirmed between sleep duration and BMI in all students and middle school students.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Current status of health promotion in Korea Soo Young Kim Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2022; 65(12): 776. CrossRef
Background The medial temporal region is the earliest affected structure in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and its atrophy is known as the hallmark of AD. This study aimed to investigate the value of medial temporal atrophy (MTA) for detecting 18F-florbetaben positron emission tomography (PET)-proven AD pathology.
Methods We retrospectively enrolled 265 subjects complaining of cognitive decline at a dementia outpatient clinic from March 2015 to December 2017. All subjects underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET, and 18F-florbetaben PET at baseline. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses on variables including age, sex, years of education, white matter hyperintensities, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, and memory composite scores in various combinations to investigate whether MTA was indicative of underlying AD pathology.
Results Our sample population of 265 patients comprised 121 with AD-related cognitive impairment, 42 with Lewy bodies-related cognitive impairment, 32 with vascular cognitive impairment, and 70 with other or undetermined pathologies. In the multivariable logistic regression analyses, MTA was not an independent predictor of underlying AD pathology (P>0.200). The predictive power of underlying AD-related cognitive impairment significantly increased when multiple variables including APOE genotype and memory composite scores were considered together (area under the curve >0.750).
Conclusion Our results suggest that MTA alone may be insufficient to accurately predict the presence of AD pathology. It is necessary to comprehensively consider various other factors such as APOE genotype and a detailed memory function to determine whether the patient is at high risk of AD.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Brain MRI volumetry and atrophy rating scales as predictors of amyloid status and eligibility for anti-amyloid treatment in a real-world memory clinic setting A. Zilioli, A. Rosenberg, R. Mohanty, A. Matton, T. Granberg, G. Hagman, J. Lötjönen, M. Kivipelto, E. Westman Journal of Neurology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
CAPS: a simple clinical tool for β-amyloid positivity prediction in clinical Alzheimer syndrome Durjoy Lahiri, Bruna Seixas-Lima, Carlos Roncero, Nicolaas Paul Verhoeff, Morris Freedman, Sarmad Al-Shamaa, Howard Chertkow Frontiers in Neurology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
White matter hyperintensities in cholinergic pathways are associated with dementia severity in e4 carriers but not in non-carriers Ming-Chun Yu, Yi-Fang Chuang, Shu-Ching Wu, Cheng-Feng Ho, Yi-Chien Liu, Chia-Ju Chou Frontiers in Neurology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Brain atrophy pattern in patients with mild cognitive impairment: MRI study Rosalinda Calandrelli, Marco Panfili, Valeria Onofrj, Huong Elena Tran, Francesca Piludu, Valeria Guglielmi, Cesare Colosimo, Fabio Pilato Translational Neuroscience.2022; 13(1): 335. CrossRef
We report a case of steroid withdrawal syndrome in a 74-year-old woman who was suspected of having an occult exogenous Cushing’s syndrome secondary to prolonged traditional complementary medicine use. She presented with non-specific symptoms of lethargy, malaise, and poor oral intake with weight loss for 1 month, and investigations showed suboptimal 9 AM cortisol level. She has responded well to steroid replacement.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Glucocorticoid-Induced Side Effects Cause Oral Lesions in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Case Report Zulfa Pranadwista, Novia Hasanah, Tenny Dewi, Wahyu Hidayat International Medical Case Reports Journal.2024; Volume 17: 919. CrossRef
A patient with a bronchial carcinoid presents with Cushingoid symptoms due to an atypical and potentially dangerous supplement Tomas Morales, Shanika Samarasinghe Journal of Clinical and Translational Endocrinology: Case Reports.2023; 30: 100157. CrossRef
First
Prev
