Citations

• Pharmacotherapy guidelines for smoking cessation in primary healthcare clinics
  Cheol Min Lee, Yu Jin Paek, Yoo Bin Seo, Eon Sook Lee
  Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2024; 67(4): 230.     CrossRef

Since each person has a different ability to break down alcohol, it is inappropriate to apply a uniform standard to everyone when evaluating drinking status. In Korea, there has been a guideline for moderate drinking based not only on sex and age but Koreans’ alcohol metabolism capabilities that can be predicted by presence of facial flushing response. So far, there have been no studies that have investigated drinking habits of Koreans in accordance with the guideline. This study tried to identify the current drinking status of Koreans according to the guideline. As a result, it was confirmed that about 1/3 of the total population was accompanied by facial flushing when drinking alcohol, and it was found that different drinking habits were shown even in the same age and gender groups according to the presence of facial flushing. It is difficult to accurately evaluate drinking habits because facial flushing has not yet been investigated in some large data or various medical examinations. In the future, it is necessary to ensure that the presence of facial flushing can be confirmed at the medical treatment or examination site so that accurate drinking habit evaluation and prevention and resolution of drinking problems can be achieved.

Citations

• Unhealthy alcohol use: screening and behavioral counseling interventions
  Wonyoung Jung, Seung-Won Oh, Se-Hong Kim, Soo Young Kim
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(1): 20.     CrossRef
• The preventative effects of statin on lung cancer development in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis using the National Health Insurance Service Database in Korea
  Yoo Jung Lee, Nayoon Kang, Junghyun Nam, Eung Gu Lee, Jiwon Ryoo, Soon Seog Kwon, Yong Hyun Kim, Hye Seon Kang, Tsai-Ching Hsu
  PLOS ONE.2024; 19(3): e0299484.     CrossRef
• Cancer risk based on alcohol consumption levels: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis
  Seunghee Jun, Hyunjin Park, Ui-Jeong Kim, Eun Jeong Choi, Hye Ah Lee, Bomi Park, Soon Young Lee, Sun Ha Jee, Hyesook Park
  Epidemiology and Health.2023; 45: e2023092.     CrossRef

Background
Despite increased clinical and research interest in sarcopenia, even in Asia, not much is known about the association between sarcopenia and depressive symptoms. Sarcopenia and depressive symptoms are associated with several health problems in older adults; therefore, we investigated the association between sarcopenia and depression in Korean older adults.
Methods
The study sample included 1,929 participants aged over 60 years (44.6% men; mean age, 69.7 years) from nationally representative data of the 2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination survey. Possible sarcopenia was defined according to the diagnostic algorithm of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019; however, we measured only hand-grip strength (kg) in this study. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used for screening for symptoms of depression. A cross-sectional analysis was used to examine the relationship between possible sarcopenia and depressive symptoms.
Results
Possible sarcopenia and depressive symptoms were identified in 538 (27.9%) and 97 (5.0%) participants, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, and other potential covariates, possible sarcopenia was positively associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms (odds ratio, 2.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.36–3.11; P<0.001).
Conclusion
Possible sarcopenia was significantly associated with depressive symptoms in Korean older adults. Early interventions for possible sarcopenia and depressive symptoms in routine clinical practice could help Korean older adults to have healthy aging. Future studies are required to explore any causal relationship between possible sarcopenia and depressive symptoms in Korean older adults.

Citations

• Social media-based Health Education plus Exercise Program (SHEEP) to improve muscle function among young-old adults with possible sarcopenia in the community: A feasibility study protocol
  Ya Shi, Emma Stanmore, Lisa McGarrigle, Chris Todd, Marina De Rui
  PLOS ONE.2025; 20(1): e0303481.     CrossRef
• Association between sarcopenia components and depressed mood varies by sex among community-dwelling older adults from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study
  Yong Soon Park, Keunjoong Yoo, Hye Jin Kim, Miji Kim, Chang Won Won
  Scientific Reports.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Bidirectional association between sarcopenia and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis
  Xiangpeng Meng, Ze Wang, Linyu Lyu
  Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.2025; 132: 105787.     CrossRef
• Association between handgrip strength, handgrip strength asymmetry, and anxiety in Korean older adults: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2022
  Sang-Youn Choi, Su-Min Park, Eun-Cheol Park, Marina De Rui
  PLOS ONE.2025; 20(4): e0315256.     CrossRef
• Relationship between dietary protein and amino acid intake and handgrip strength in Korean adults: data from the 2014–2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
  Hyunji Ham, Sumin Kim, Kyungho Ha
  Nutrition Journal.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Análisis de la relación entre sarcopenia y síntomas depresivos en adultos mayores: una revisión de alcance
  Miguel Ángel Hernández Real, Uriel Nahum Hernández Puebla
  RESPYN Revista Salud Pública y Nutrición.2024; 23(2): 23.     CrossRef

Background
Since the introduction of heated tobacco products (HTPs) in Korea in 2017, their annual sales have increased. Several studies have investigated the perceptions of HTPs and smoking cessation behaviors. For the first time, In 2019, questions focused on HTP use were introduced in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHNES). This study aimed to compare smoking cessation behaviors between HTP users and conventional cigarette smokers using KNHANES data.
Methods
Data of 947 current adult smokers from the 8th KNHNES (2019) were analyzed. Current smokers were divided into conventional cigarette (CC)–only, HTP-only, and dual-use groups. The general characteristics of the three groups were investigated. Differences in current intention to quit smoking and past attempts to quit smoking among the three groups were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis by IBM SPSS ver. 25.0.
Results
HTP-only users demonstrated fewer future smoking cessation plans (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.398; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.195–0.813; P=0.012) and fewer smoking cessation attempts in the past year (AOR, 0.533; 95% CI, 0.298–0.954; P=0.034) than CC-only smokers. However, there was no significant difference between dual-use (CC+HTP) and CC-only smokers.
Conclusion
While dual-use and CC-only smokers showed similar smoking cessation behaviors, HTP-only users had fewer previous attempts to quit smoking and were less likely to be currently ready to quit smoking. These findings can be explained by a decrease in the need to quit smoking due to the convenience of HTP and the perception that HTPs are less harmful than CC.

Citations

• Association between type of smoking and smoking cessation plans in Korean adults: A nationwide cross-sectional study
  Kitae Park, Dan Bi Kim, Jae Yong Shin, Chung-Mo Nam, Eun-Cheol Park
  Tobacco Induced Diseases.2025; 23(February): 1.     CrossRef
• Neue Konsumformen von Nikotin
  Anna Rahofer, Katharina Sternberg, Tobias Rüther, Andrea Rabenstein
  PSYCH up2date.2025; 19(03): 217.     CrossRef
• Pharmacotherapy guidelines for smoking cessation in primary healthcare clinics
  Cheol Min Lee, Yu Jin Paek, Yoo Bin Seo, Eon Sook Lee
  Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2024; 67(4): 230.     CrossRef
• Three in four smokers want to quit tobacco (reference to reassessing the smoking target in Japan): findings from the JASTIS2021 study
  Masayuki Sugihara, Takahiro Tabuchi
  Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine.2024; 29: 28.     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
• Is Using Heated Tobacco Products Helpful in Smoking Cessation?
  Young Gyu Cho
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2023; 44(3): 127.     CrossRef

Background
This study aimed to improve the clinical course of patients through rapid response by analyzing the characteristics of critically ill patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Busan between December 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021.
Methods
We divided patients diagnosed with COVID-19 into mild-to-moderate and critical groups based on their clinical severity. The critically ill patients were further sub-divided into delta and delta variant non-epidemic group.
Results
The following factors were significantly more frequent in critically ill patients than in patients with mild-tomoderate symptoms: male sex, age ≥60 years, symptoms at the time of diagnosis, and those with underlying diseases. The following factors were significantly more common in the non-delta variant epidemic group than in the delta variant epidemic group in critically ill patients: male sex, age ≥60 years, underlying diseases, and not being vaccinated. In the delta variant epidemic group, the duration between confirmation of disease and its progression to critically ill status was significantly shorter than that in the non-delta variant epidemic group.
Conclusion
COVID-19 is characterized by the emergence of new variants and repeated epidemics. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of critically ill patients to efficiently distribute and manage medical resources.

Background
This study explored the psychosocial needs of family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injuries from the perspective of rehabilitation professionals.
Methods
An exploratory qualitative approach was used, and a total of 14 rehabilitation professionals from various backgrounds participated in face-to-face interviews. All interviews were audio recorded, and session notes were added to the existing data and later transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes.
Results
Nine need themes emerged: informational, psychological, personal care, financial, social support, welfare, vocational, telemedicine, and referral.
Conclusion
The findings of this study will aid the design or development of need-based customized psychosocial interventions for family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injuries in India. Multiple stakeholders involved in spinal cord injury management should understand the importance of meeting the needs of family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injuries and the timely delivery of customized psychosocial interventions.

Acute pancreatitis is a sudden inflammation affecting the exocrine region of the pancreatic parenchyma. Infectious etiologies are rare. Here we report an exceptional case of a 44-year-old woman from a rural area who was referred to our hospital with fever and abdominal pain. A physical examination revealed pale skin and epigastric tenderness. Thoracoabdominal computed tomography revealed a Balthazar score of D. Serum laboratory findings revealed hemolytic anemia, hepatic cytolysis, and high C-reactive protein level. Calcium and lipase levels were normal. There was no history of recent trauma, alcohol consumption, or drug intoxication. The diagnosis of “query” pancreatitis was confirmed by serological Coxiella burnetii positivity. Oral doxycycline 200 mg daily was initiated. The clinical evolution was favorable. To our knowledge, no association between acute pancreatitis and hemolytic anemia caused by C. burnetii was reported previously. Q fever must be considered in cases of acute pancreatitis, especially when the patient is from a rural area or has a high-risk profession.