What is the optimal number of physicians for a sustainable healthcare system? Seung-Won Oh Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(1): 1. CrossRef
Reinforcing Primary Care in Korea: Policy Implications, Data Sources, and Research Methods Chung-Nyun Kim, Seok-Jun Yoon Journal of Korean Medical Science.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Reflecting on progress and challenges: the Korean Journal of Family Medicine in 2024 Seung-Won Oh Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(2): 55. CrossRef
Primary Care Physicians’ Important Role: Lifestyle Modification for Chronic Disease Management Su-Min Jeong Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2024; 45(5): 237. CrossRef
Reducing Population Mortality through Primary Care Physicians John Patrick Cruz Toledo Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2024; 45(5): 301. CrossRef
The burgeoning interest in precision medicine has propelled an increase in the use of genome tests for screening purposes within the healthy population. Gene screening tests aim to pre-emptively identify those individuals who may be genetically predisposed to certain diseases. However, as genetic screening becomes more commonplace, it is essential to acknowledge the unique challenges it poses. A prevalent issue in this regard is the occurrence of falsepositive results, which can lead to unnecessary additional tests or treatments, and psychological distress. Additionally, the interpretation of genomic variants is based on current research evidence, and can accordingly change as new research findings emerge, potentially altering the clinical significance of these variants. Conversely, a further prominent concern regards false assurances in genetic testing, as genetic tests can yield false-negative results, potentially posing a significant clinical risk. Moreover, the results obtained for the same disease can vary among different genetic testing services, due to differences in the types of variants assessed, the scope of tests, analytical methods, and the algorithms used for predicting diseases. Consequently, whereas genetic testing holds significant promise for the future of medicine, it poses unique challenges. If conducted without a full understanding of its implications, genetic testing may fail to achieve its purpose potentially hindering effective health management. Therefore, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the implications of genetic testing within the general population, sufficient discussion and careful consideration should be given to counseling based on gene test results.
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Implementation of Precision Medicine in Primary Care: A Struggle to Improve Disease Prevention Erlina Wijayanti, Zwasta Pribadi Mahardhika Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2024; 45(6): 359. CrossRef
Cheol Min Lee, Yoo-Bin Seo, Yu-Jin Paek, Eon Sook Lee, Hye Seon Kang, Soo Young Kim, Sungwon Roh, Dong Won Park, Yoo Suk An, Sang-Ho Jo, The Guideline Development Group for Developing the Korean Clinical Practice Guideline for Tobacco Cessation
Korean J Fam Med 2024;45(2):69-81. Published online February 28, 2024
Although major countries, such as South Korea, have developed and disseminated national smoking cessation guidelines, these efforts have been limited to developing individual societies or specialized institution-based recommendations. Therefore, evidence-based clinical guidelines are essential for developing smoking cessation interventions and promoting effective smoking cessation treatments. This guideline targets frontline clinical practitioners involved in a smoking cessation treatment support program implemented in 2015 with the support of the National Health Insurance Service. The Guideline Development Group of 10 multidisciplinary smoking cessation experts employed the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE)-ADOLOPMENT approach to review recent domestic and international research and guidelines and to determine evidence levels using the GRADE methodology. The guideline panel formulated six strong recommendations and one conditional recommendation regarding pharmacotherapy choices among general and special populations (mental disorders and chronic obstructive lung disease [COPD]). Strong recommendations favor varenicline rather than a nicotine patch or bupropion, using varenicline even if they are not ready to quit, using extended pharmacotherapy (>12 weeks) rather than standard treatment (8–12 weeks), or using pharmacotherapy for individuals with mental disorders or COPD. The conditional recommendation suggests combining varenicline with a nicotine patch instead of using varenicline alone. Aligned with the Korean Society of Medicine’s clinical guideline development process, this is South Korea’s first domestic smoking cessation treatment guideline that follows standardized guidelines. Primarily focusing on pharmacotherapy, it can serve as a foundation for comprehensive future smoking cessation clinical guidelines, encompassing broader treatment topics beyond medications.
Background Maintaining a usual source of care (USC), which is crucial for primary healthcare, encompasses initial contact, comprehensive services, coordinated care, and ongoing support. However, limited research exists on the relationship between USC and medication adherence in patients with hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the association between USC and medication adherence among patients with hypertension.
Methods Data from the 2nd Korea Health Panel Survey 2020 were analyzed. The final sample consisted of 3,318 participants aged 19 years or older diagnosed with hypertension. USC was categorized into three groups: no USC, place only (without a regular doctor), and regular doctor. Medication adherence was assessed using detailed items (dose, frequency, time, no stop) and a 4-point Likert scale. A logistic regression analysis was conducted with control for relevant variables.
Results Compared to the no USC group, the regular doctor group had significantly higher odds ratios (ORs) for overall perfect/high medication adherence rates: 1.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.42–2.03) and 1.59 (95% CI, 1.14–2.20). Similar results were observed for each adherence item, including prefect dose (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.73– 2.63), frequency (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.53–2.28), time (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.43–2.07), and no stop (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.09–2.23)/high frequency (OR, 2.47; 95% CI, 1.21–5.01), time (OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.19–4.44). However, the place only group showed no significant differences in medication adherence except for perfect adherence to dose (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.06–1.71).
Conclusion These findings provide evidence supporting the need for healthcare policies that encourage having a regular doctor in South Korea, which has a healthcare system with limited primary care.
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Types of Usual Source of Care and Medication Adherence in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Yoon-Eui Choi, Nak-Jin Sung Korean Journal of Family Practice.2025; 15(1): 47. CrossRef
Supply of Primary Care Physicians: A Key Strategy to Reduce Population Mortality Young Gyu Cho Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2024; 45(2): 59. CrossRef
Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) recently became a leading liver disease that threatens health worldwide. Low muscle strength, obesity, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome are recognized key factors for NAFLD. However, the impact of low muscle strength itself in different metabolic conditions has not been widely studied.
Methods A cross-sectional analysis was performed of a sample of 5,427 participants from the 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Relative handgrip strength (rHGS, defined as handgrip strength/body mass index) was used to assess muscle strength. The cut-off values for a low rHGS were 1.405 for men and 0.850 for women. NAFLD was diagnosed if the Hepatic Steatosis Index was >36. Participants were stratified according to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and central obesity for the subgroup analyses.
Results Complex sample multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between low muscle strength and NAFLD after the adjustment for other confounders (odds ratio [OR], 1.92; P<0.001). In the insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and central obesity subgroups, a significant association between low muscle strength and NAFLD remained (OR, 1.66–4.19 depending on subgroup; all P<0.05), whereas it did not in the no central obesity group.
Conclusion This study demonstrated that low muscle strength is correlated with a risk of NAFLD. This relationship was independent of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome but was dependent on the presence of central obesity.
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Possible association between metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease predictors and hand grip strength Suyeon Lee, Jong-Koo Kim, Taesic Lee Scientific Reports.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Association Between Relative Grip Strength, Insulin Resistance, and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study DooYong Park, Byungul Lim, On Lee Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
The impact of appendicular skeletal muscle index and trunk muscle index on stress urinary incontinence risk in female adults: a retrospective study Junwei Wang, Cunming Zhang, Aiwei Zhang Frontiers in Nutrition.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Joint Association of Relative Grip Strength and Regular Exercise Participation with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study Sujung Yoo, Dooyong Park The Korean Journal of Sports Medicine.2024; 42(4): 262. CrossRef
Background Primary care physicians perform a comprehensive role by providing continuous, patient-centered, and accessible healthcare and establishing connections with specialized care. However, the association between the supply of primary care physicians and mortality rates in South Korea has not been thoroughly investigated.
Methods This study utilized data from 229 si-gun-gu in South Korea from 2016 to 2020. The densities of primary care physicians, physicians in functional primary clinics, specialists in primary care facilities, and active physicians per 100,000 people were independent variables. Age-adjusted all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality rates per 100,000 individuals were the dependent variables. Negative binomial regression, negative binomial regression with a pseudo-panel approach, and geographically weighted regression were used to analyze the data.
Results Our study revealed a significant negative association between the density of primary care physicians and all-cause mortality. An increase in a primary care physician per 100,000 population was significantly linked to a 0.11% reduction in all-cause mortality (incidence rate ratio, 0.9989; 95% confidence interval, 0.9983–0.9995). Similar associations have been observed between mortality rates owing to cardiovascular diseases, respiratory tract diseases, and traffic accidents.
Conclusion This study provides evidence that having a higher number of primary care physicians in South Korea is associated with lower mortality rates. Future research should consider better indicators that reflect the quality of primary care to better understand its impact on population health outcomes. These findings emphasize the significance of strengthening primary care in the South Korean healthcare system to improve the overall health and wellbeing.
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What is the optimal number of physicians for a sustainable healthcare system? Seung-Won Oh Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(1): 1. CrossRef
Reinforcing Primary Care in Korea: Policy Implications, Data Sources, and Research Methods Chung-Nyun Kim, Seok-Jun Yoon Journal of Korean Medical Science.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Obesity management in primary care: A joint clinical perspective and expert review from the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) - 2025 Nicholas Pennings, Catherine Varney, Shaun Hines, Bernadette Riley, Patricia Happel, Samir Patel, Harold Edward Bays Obesity Pillars.2025; 14: 100172. CrossRef
Reflecting on progress and challenges: the Korean Journal of Family Medicine in 2024 Seung-Won Oh Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(2): 55. CrossRef
Current Status and Future Directions of Primary Care in the World: Insights from Japan Sinyoung Cho, Belong Cho, Seo Eun Hwang Korean Journal of Family Practice.2025; 15(1): 22. CrossRef
Supply of Primary Care Physicians: A Key Strategy to Reduce Population Mortality Young Gyu Cho Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2024; 45(2): 59. CrossRef
Primary Care Physicians’ Important Role: Lifestyle Modification for Chronic Disease Management Su-Min Jeong Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2024; 45(5): 237. CrossRef
We report a rare case of high-volume training-related myopericarditis. A male, 18 years old, elite road bicycle racing cyclist with high-volume training of 1,000 km per week for >7 years, presented with progressively worsening exertional breathlessness, reduced effort tolerance, and one episode of cardiac syncope. The symptoms were present prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic but made worse with the sudden increase in the volume of training after lockdown periods in preparation for competition. He exhibited multiple premature ventricular ectopic beats during his resting electrocardiogram, with a normal echocardiogram and non-elevated cardiac enzyme. The exercise stress test revealed similar multiple premature ventricular beats, warranting further investigation using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The findings of the cardiac MRI were suggestive of myopericarditis. He was instructed to refrain from training and initially started with a short course of colchicine. However, his symptoms deteriorated, and cardiac MRI revealed a decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction from 59% to 50%. His treatment was escalated to a short course of tapered dose steroid, anti-failure medication and gradual, supervised, return to sports program. This case report highlights the discussion of return to play in athletes with myopericarditis.
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