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Purpose Quality of life may be influenced by the presence of eating disorders. This study investigated the association between night eating syndrome (NES) and health-related quality of life in the general population. Methods Data were from the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey. The presence of NES was determined using the Night Eating Questionnaire. Health-related quality of life was measured using the 3-level EuroQoL-5 Dimension Index. Multivariable linear regression analyses assessed the association between NES and health-related quality of life. Subgroup analyses were performed based on daily sleep duration. Results A total of 34,434 individuals aged 19 years or older were included in the study population. Participants with NES (β = − 4.85, p β = − 12.03, p = 0.004), followed by those who slept less than 6 h (β = − 5.90, p = 0.006) and participants who slept between 6 and 8 h (β = − 3.40, p = 0.026) daily. Conclusion Individuals with NES were more likely to have a lower health-related quality of life than those without NES. These findings highlight the potential importance of considering NES in investigating the health-related quality of life. Level of evidence Level III, well-designed case–control analytic studies.

Introduction Since adolescent with obesity is closely linked with the incidence of cardiovascular disease, it is important to identify the factors that increase the prevalence of adolescent with obesity and prevent it early. This study aimed to examine which of the demographic and lifestyle factors including sitting hours per week for purposes other than study had the greatest influence on Korean adolescents with obesity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods We used the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS) data. The primary outcome was the relationship between sitting hours and obesity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine which of the demographic and lifestyle factors including sitting hours per week for purposes other than study had the greatest influence on Korean adolescents’ obesity status. Results The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher during the COVID-19 than before the COVID-19 (OR, 1.268, CI:1.232–1.305). There was a significant increase in the OR for sitting hours per week for purposes other than study (OR, 1.021, 95% CI, 1.019–1.024). Compared to low household income, the OR decreased for middle (OR = 0.798, 95% CI:0.77, 0.826) and high-income household students (OR, 0.833, 95% CI: 0.803–0.865). Discussion/Conclusion The results of this study confirmed the relationship between sit-ting hours and obesity in adolescents during the pandemic. To prevent adolescent with obesity, further studies are needed to focus on the importance of promoting health policy in adolescents to avoid the continuous rising of its prevalence and needed to understand whether the increase in obesity rates during the pandemic is a temporary trend.

The purpose of this study was to investigate influence of gene polymorphisms of APOB and APOE on risk of bleeding complications at therapeutic INR, during warfarin treatment in Korean patients with mechanical cardiac valves. The study included 142 patients from the EwhA-Severance Treatment Group (EAST) of Warfarin. A total of 12 SNPs was investigated. Five SNPs of APOB (c.13013G>A, c.1853C>T, c.1594C>T, c.293C>T, and c.7545C>T) and five SNPs of APOE (g.4798T>G, g.6406G>A, g.10413T>C, c.388T>C, and c.526C>T) were selected. In addition to selected SNPs, VKORC1 g.6399C>T, and CYP2C9 c.1075A>C, which were known to have significant effects on warfarin stable doses, were also included in the study. Two SNPs of APOB (c.293C>T and c.1853C>T) were associated with bleeding complications. T allele carriers of c.293C>T had 8.6 times (95% CI 2.9–25.5, p T had 6.4 times (95% CI 2.3–17.9, p T and c.293C>T were 0.771 and 0.802, respectively. Among demographic characteristics, age was the only significant factor. This study revealed that APOB was associated with bleeding complications in patients with warfarin treatment after mechanical cardiac valves.

Background In March 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration decided that the dangers related to neuropsychiatric events (NPEs) of montelukast, one of the leukotriene modifying agents (LTMAs), should be communicated through ‘boxed warning’. In case of NPEs, the prevalence has been the highest in elderly people. Because the characteristics of the elderly such as old age itself can act as risk factors. Therefore, an investigation on safety of LTMAs related to NPEs in elderly using LTMAs is needed. Method A nested case-control study using an elderly sample cohort from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database was used. The asthma cohort included asthma patients newly diagnosed between 2003 and 2013. Within the asthma cohort, the case group was defined as patients who were diagnosed with NPEs. Among patients who had never been diagnosed with NPEs, the control group was selected by matching 1:1 by propensity score. Patients who were prescribed LTMAs for 1 year prior to index date were defined as the exposure group. The logistic regression model was used to measure the effect of LTMAs on NPEs. Results We identified 141,165 patients with newly diagnosed asthma, and selected 31,992 patients per each case and control group. Exposure to LTMAs significantly increased the risk of overall NPEs about in comparison with the absence of exposure (crude odds ratio [OR] 1.58, 95% CI 1.50–1.68). After adjusting for confounding factors, the overall NPEs risk increased (adjusted OR, 1.67, 95% CI 1.58–1.78). Conclusion This study suggests that elderly asthma patients prescribed LTMAs had a higher risk of NPEs than patients who were not treated with LTMAs. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the potential risks of LTMAs.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in Table 2 in their paper. The table entry “Men’s P value” was mistakenly included under the table heading “Women”. The original article [1] has been updated.

Background The number of patients with depressive symptoms worldwide is increasing steadily, and the prevalence of depression among caregivers is high. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the effects of individuals’ caregiving status with respect to their family members requiring activities of daily living (ADLs) assistance on depressive symptoms among those aged 45 or over. Methods Data were collected from the 2006–2016 using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging surveys. Participants were categorized into three groups based on their caregiving status with respect to family members requiring ADL assistance: whether they provided the assistance themselves, whether the assistance was provided by other caregivers, or whether no assistance was required. We analyzed the generalized estimating equation model and subgroups. Results A total of 3744 men and 4386 women were included for the analysis. Men who cared for family members requiring ADL assistance had higher depressive symptoms than those with family members who did not require ADL assistance. Among women, participants who had family members requiring ADL assistance that they themselves or others were providing had higher depressive symptoms than those without family members requiring ADL assistance. Subgroup analysis was conducted based on age, job status, regular physical activities, participation status in social activities, and the number of cohabiting generations. Conclusions The study results indicated higher depressive symptoms among those with family members requiring ADL assistance and those who care for such family members themselves. This suggests that an alternative to family caregiving is necessary, especially for the elderly, regardless of caregiver sex.

Background The Chronic Disease Care System (CDCS) has been implemented in Korea to encourage treatment continuity in chronic disease patients. This study investigated the effect of the introduction of the CDCS on health care costs and continuity of care in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods The National Health Insurance data from August, 2010 to March, 2012 (pre-policy) and from May, 2012 to December, 2013 (post-policy) were used. Introduction of the CDCS was defined as the intervention. The intervention group consisted of T2DM patients participating in the program and the control group patients not participating in the program. The Difference-in-Differences (DID) method was used to estimate the differences in total health care costs for outpatient services and continuity of care between the intervention and the control group before and after the intervention period. Results Implementation of the CDCS was associated with decreased health care costs (β = − 46,877 Korean Won, P

Background The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with the use of mental health consultation for depressive symptoms. Methods We used data from the 2013 Community Health Survey, which included responses from 13,269 individuals who reported that they had experienced depressive symptoms for more than 2 weeks in Korea. We investigated associations between mental health consultation rates for depressive symptoms and sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the significance of associations. Results Among participants who report depressive symptoms, 16.0% (n = 2120) undergo mental health consultation. Respondents with a college education or over are more likely to undergo mental health consultation (odds ratio (OR) = 1.49; 95% CI: 1.21–1.84) than respondents with less education. Individuals aged 70 years or above are less likely to receive mental health consultation than those aged between 19 and 29 years. Females exhibit higher mental health consultation rates than males. Respondents who are divorced show greater odds of receiving mental health consultation than respondents who are married and cohabitate with their spouse. Conclusions This study indicates that rates of use of mental health consultation services are lower among older adults and men and higher among divorced people. Educational level shows a significant positive association with mental health consultation among Koreans. The results could have implications for mental health policy in many ways in Korea.

Background Quality of life (QoL) in old age is of major importance because the global population is aging rapidly. Offspring support, including financial and emotional support, is important in later life and directly affects the wellbeing of elderly individuals. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between QoL in older parents and offspring support. Methods We used baseline data from the 2006–2012 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, from 3,274 individuals aged 65 years or older. We measured the individual’s QoL using a visual analog scale and included both relationship satisfaction and regular economic support as variables. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) model was used to perform longitudinal regression analysis on the data. Results Regarding the QoL of older parents, those with an unsatisfying relationship with their offspring had a QoL of -21.93 (SE = 0.55; P

Background Korea has the highest suicide rate in the OECD and is one of the few OECD countries whose suicide rates have not decreased in recent years. To address these issues, we investigated the effects of weight control failure on suicidal ideation in the overweight and obese populations. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008–2012) consisting of 6621 individuals 40 years of age or older. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between weight control failure and suicidal ideation in the overweight and obese populations. Results A total of 6621 participants were analyzed in this study (overweight group: 2439; obese group: 4182). Among them, weight control failure (weight gain with weight loss efforts) was experienced in 962 obese (males 16.3 %, females 29.6 %) and 412 overweight individuals (males 9.1 %, females 23.4 %). Weight control failure was significantly associated with suicidal ideation in obese females (OR = 1.70, 95 % CI 1.21–2.39), but this association was not significant in obese males or in either sex of the overweight group. Conclusions Findings from this study suggest that weight control failure is associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation among obese women. Furthermore, intervention programs that aim to address the prevalence of suicide, especially for obese women, are needed.

Background In the year 2000, the South Korean government introduced a program for separation of drug prescribing and dispensing. The goals of the program are to reduce misuse of drugs and to contain drug expenditures. The government also designated exception regions for the program to reduce the inconvenience for people who reside in areas with a shortage of health care resources. However, according to government reports, many adverse events related to drug misuse occurred in these exception regions after the program reforms were introduced. Therefore, it is worth investigating the factors that relate to drug consumption so that misuse in exception regions can be reduced. Methods Data from medical institutions, detailed drug supply data, and community health survey data were included in the analysis. Multilevel linear regression analysis using mixed models that included pharmacy—and regional-level variables were used to examine the associations regarding the percentages of drug types consumed (i.e., antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory drugs, psychotropic drugs, adrenal cortical hormones, and antibiotics). Results The data used in this analysis were from a total of 16,455 pharmacies. There were 1.9 % pharmacies from program exception regions and 98.1 % pharmacies from program application regions. Compared with the pharmacies in the program application regions, the exception region pharmacies had higher values for percent consumption of the antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory drugs category, and of the adrenal cortical hormones category (antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory drugs = β: 3.19, Standard Error (SE): 0.82, t: 3.88, p-value

Background Body mass index (BMI) has been used as an indirect predictor for the risk of metabolic syndrome. However, there are challenges in evaluating the risk of metabolic syndrome using BMI in certain parts of the world. Therefore, it is worth exploring additional factors that could supplement BMI to predict the risk of metabolic syndrome. In this study, we assessed the combined effect of BMI and perception for predicting metabolic syndrome. Methods We used the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES V, 2010–12, N = 16,537) in this study. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association while controlling for potential confounding variables. We also performed an analysis for the combined effect of BMI and perception of body size, and subgroup analysis by age group or moderate physical activity. Results Data from 16,537 participants were analyzed in this study (males: 6,978, females: 9,559). Among them, metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 1,252 (17.9 %) males and 2,445 (25.6 %) females, respectively. The combination of BMI and body size perception had a positive relation with the presence of metabolic syndrome. People who perceived themselves to be overweight for their body size had a higher risk for metabolic syndrome even if they have the same BMI. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the combination of body size perception and BMI is useful in predicting the risk of metabolic syndrome. The use of complementary predictors could reduce the risk for inaccurate prediction of metabolic syndrome.

Background Private health insurance in South Korea mainly functions as supplementary and complementary health insurance that compensates for insufficient coverage by National Health Insurance. However, full private coverage of public sector cost-sharing led to the problem of encouraging moral hazard–induced utilization, resulting in a policy change that occurred in October 2009. At that time, the Korean government introduced a minimum cost-sharing policy for indemnity health insurance. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of cost-sharing in private health insurance on health care utilization. Methods We analyzed data collected from the Korean Health Panel Survey from October 2008 to December 2011. We restricted the two groups to 803 purchasers with indemnity health insurance and 7023 non-purchasers who did not obtain any private health insurance. A difference-in-difference analysis was used to evaluate the effect of the 2009 policy. Results After the policy change, the utilization of outpatient visits by purchasers gradually decreased more than non-purchasers (0.015 in 2009 [p = 0.758], −0.117 in 2010 [p