Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is a useful biomarker to identify excessive alcohol consumption; however, few studies have validated the %CDT cut-off value in elderly men. This study estimated the optimal %CDT cut-off value that could identify excessive alcohol consumption in men aged ≥65 years.
This retrospective study included 120 men who visited the department of family medicine at Chungnam National University Hospital for health check-up between January 2010 and August 2013. At-risk drinking included heavy- and binge drinking. Heavy drinking was defined as more than seven standard drinks/wk, and binge drinking was defined as more than three standard drinks/d. The cut-off %CDT values for at-risk drinking were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
Based on the ROC curves, the optimal %CDT cut-off values in ≥65-year-old men were 1.95% for at-risk drinking, 1.81% for heavy drinking, and 2.07% for binge drinking. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 58.7%, 83.6%, 69.2%, and 76.2% for at-risk drinking, respectively. The AUROC were >0.7 for all three evaluated cut-offs.
Our results suggest that the %CDT cut-off value for at-risk drinking in elderly Korean men (≥65 years) should be readjusted to a lower value of 1.95%.
Citations
There needs to be an amendment to the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) with regards to the recent change in percent alcohol by volume (ABV) Korean liquor. This study was performed to suggest a cutoff value, reliability and validity of AUDIT-Korean revised version (AUDIT-KR), which reflect the change of the ABV of Korean alcohol.
The subjects were 435 peoples (210 males and 225 females), who visited the Chungnam National University Hospital for a comprehensive medical examination. The respondents completed the AUDIT-KR. At-risk drinking and alcohol use disorders had been evaluated by diagnostic interview. The Cronbach's alpha value, the receiver operating characteristic curve, the appropriate cutoff value, sensitivity and specificity of the AUDIT-KR were evaluated.
There were 190 at-risk drinkers (111 males and 79 females), and 66 people with alcohol use disorders (48 males and 18 females). The cutoff value of the AUDIT-KR for at-risk drinking was 3 points (sensitivity 93.69% and specificity 78.79%) for males and 3 points (sensitivity 92.40% and specificity 78.08%) for females. The cutoff value for alcohol use disorders was 10 points (sensitivity 100.00% and specificity 89.51%) for males and 8 points (sensitivity 100.00% and specificity 93.71%) for females. Cronbach's alpha of the AUDIT-KR was 0.885.
The above results suggest that the AUDIT-KR shows a high reliability and validity in identifying at-risk drinking and alcohol use disorders.
Citations
This study examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and hyperhomocysteinemia based on facial flushing caused by drinking.
Among male patients aged ≥ 18 years who visited Health Promotion Center of Chungnam National University Hospital in Daejeon from January 2008 to December 2010, 948 males (182 nondrinkers, 348 subjects with drinking-related facial flushing, and 418 subjects without drinking-related facial flushing) were selected. After adjusting for confounding factors such as age, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, a multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia in the nonfacial flushing and facial flushing groups compared with the nondrinkers.
After adjusting for confounding factors, risk of hyperhomocysteinemia was significantly lower in the group with a weekly alcohol consumption of < 8 standard drinks (1 drink = 14 g alcohol) in the nonfacial flushing group (<4 drinks: odds ratio [OR], 0.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10 to 0.74; 4≤, <8 drinks: OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.73). Risk of hyperhomocysteinemia was significantly lower in the group with a weekly alcohol consumption < 4 drinks in the facial flushing group (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.68).
Our results suggest that the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia is likely lowered by alcohol consumption based on drinking quantity, as lowering the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia differs depending on vulnerability associated with facial flushing.
Citations
Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is a marker of subclinical atherosclerotic disease and an independent predictor of subsequent vascular morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted to investigate the association of AAC with lifestyle and risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
The results of the abdominal computed tomography of 380 patients who visited Chungnam National University Hospital for a health checkup from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009 were reviewed. A six-point scale was used in grading the overall severity of the calcification in three areas of the abdominal aorta, including the area superior to the renal artery, the upper-half area inferior to the renal artery, and the lower-half area inferior to the renal artery, in addition to the common iliac artery. The association of the AAC severity with the age, lifestyle factors, and risk factors of cardiovascular disease was analyzed via multiple linear regression analysis.
In the male subjects, the age, presence of dyslipidemia and smoking were positively related to AAC, but exercising was negatively related to AAC (total R2 = 0.563). In the female subjects, the age and presence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were positively related to AAC, but exercising was negatively related to AAC (total R2 = 0.547).
AAC was related to both the male and female subjects' age, presence of dyslipidemia, and exercising, to smoking in the male subjects and to the presence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in the female subjects.
Citations
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) according to alcohol consumption for those subjects showing facial flushing, as well as the absence of facial flushing.
One thousand two hundred and one males were recruited in the health promotion center of a university hospital. Evaluation of alcohol consumption and facial flushing was assessed via questionnaires and interviews. The criteria for MS were defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria with a modified waist circumference cutoff value (men ≥ 90 cm) for Korean subjects. Subjects were divided into three groups according to the amount of alcohol they consume: nondrinkers, moderate drinkers (≤14 standard drinks per week), and heavy drinkers (>14 standard drinks per week). They were also separated into two groups according to facial flushing: non-flushers (no occurrence) and flushers (steady occurrence). Factors related to MS were assessed by logistic regression analysis.
In non-flushing moderate drinkers, the risk of MS did not significantly increase compared to non-drinkers. However in flushing moderate drinkers, there was significant increase (odds ratio [OR], 1.81; confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 3.06) compared to non-drinkers. In non-flushing and flushing heavy drinkers, significant increase (OR, 2.23; CI, 1.23 to 4.04; OR, 2.90; CI, 1.25 to 6.73, respectively) was evident compared to non-drinkers.
Non-flushing moderate drinkers did not show an increased risk of metabolic syndrome compared to the non-drinkers, but flushing moderate drinkers showed an increased risk of metabolic syndrome compared to non-drinkers.
Citations