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Abstract  The aims of this study were to establish reference data for bone mineral density (BMD) at central skeletal sites using Lunar dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and to estimate the age-and sex-specific prevalence of osteoporosis in a Korean population. We performed a population-based, cross-sectional study. The subjects were 4148 (1810 men and 2338 women) Korean adults, aged 20–79 years. The BMD for central sites (lumbar spine, femoral neck, trochanter, and Ward’s triangle) were measured by DXA. The standardized prevalence of osteoporosis among individual aged 50–79 years in lumbar spine, femoral neck, Ward’s triangle, and trochanter was 40.1%, 12.4%, 28.4%, and 4.4% in women and 6.5%, 5.9%, 3.7%, and 1.6% in men, respectively. In women, peak BMD occurred in the age range 40–49 years for the femoral neck and trochanter, 30–39 years for the lumbar spine, and 20–29 years for Ward’s triangle. In men, peak BMD values were observed at 20–29 years for all measured sites. This study establishes a normative database for BMD at central skeletal sites using dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry and provides more reliable information on the prevalence of osteoporosis in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor about the rapid increase of scrub typhus, or tsutsugamushi disease, in South Korea between 2001 and 2006 is presented.

Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. However, few studies have evaluated the association between vitamin D status and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). We therefore aimed to investigate whether low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels were associated with increased risk of PAD in the Korean population. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 8,960 subjects aged 50 years or older without known myocardial infarction or stroke. PAD was defined by an ankle brachial blood pressure index ＜0.9. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between serum 25(OH)D levels and risk of PAD. Of the 8,960 subjects, 3.0% had PAD and the age and sex adjusted prevalence of PAD decreased with the increasing 25(OH)D quartile. After adjusting for potential confounders and parathyroid hormones, serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with a significantly decreased risk of PAD (OR for one SD increase, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.95-1.0, P for trend=0.040). Compared with the first 25(OH)D quartile, the odds of PAD were 0.86 (95% CI, 0.62-1.21), 0.67 (95% CI, 0.46-0.97), and 0.71 (95% CI, 0.49-1.04) for the second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively. In this cross-sectional study, we found that low serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with an increased risk of PAD, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and parathyroid hormone. Our findings suggest that low vitamin D levels may contribute to PAD in the Korean population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have investigated relationships between APOE genotype and bone mineral density (BMD). However, the results of these studies have been inconsistent. Few studies have been carried out in Asian populations. We studied the relationship of the APOE gene polymorphism and BMD in two large population-based studies. The datasets included the Dong-gu Study (3575 men and 5335 women) and the Namwon Study (2310 men, 3512 women). Lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD were measured by dual- energy X-ray absorptiometry. APOE genotypes were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism. The APOE genotypes were classified into APOE E2 (E2/E2 and E2/E3), APOE E3 (E3/E3), and APOE E4 (E3/E4 and E4/E4). The genotype distribution of the study population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. There were no significant differences among APOE genotype groups in lumbar and femoral neck BMD in either cohort. Our data do not support the hypothesis that the APOE genotype is associated with BMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. No previous study examined a disease modifying effect of APOE E4 status on the association between the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and cognition. This study aimed to investigate whether APOE E4 modified the association in Korean adults. Methods. We performed a cross-sectional study in adults aged 45 to 74 who were living in Namwon City, Republic of Korea. Cognitive function was measured with the Korean version of modified Mini-Mental State Examination (K-mMMSE) and cognitive impairment was defined as scores falling below the 25th percentile of the K-mMMSE according to age, sex, and educational attainments. Results. A total of 10,190 participants (4006 men and 6184 women) were analyzed in the present study. Of these, 1698 subjects (16.7%) were APOE E4 carriers. The UACR values were negatively associated with the K-mMMSE scores, even after adjusting for potential confounders including age, sex, education, and vascular risk factors. APOE E4 modified the association significantly, resulting in a steeper decline of cognitive function with the increase in UACR in E4 carriers (P for interaction = 0.021). Conclusion. Higher UACR values were significantly associated with cognitive dysfunction in the general Korean population, with cognition in APOE E4 carriers being more severely affected by increased UACR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folate and vitamin B12 involved in the one-carbon metabolism may play a key role in carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through influencing DNA integrity. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association of plasma folate and vitamin B12 levels with HCC in a case-control study on 312 HCC patients and 325 cancer-free controls. Plasma concentrations of folate and vitamin B12 in all the subjects were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Meanwhile, the information of HCC patients' clinical characteristics including tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, tumor size and tumor markers were collected. The patients of HCC had significantly lower folate levels than those of controls; there was no significant difference in the mean of plasma vitamin B12 levels. We also observed an inverse association between the levels of plasma folate and HCC: the adjusted odds ratios (OR) (95% confidence intervals (CI)) of HCC from the highest to lowest quartile of folate were 0.30 (0.15-0.60), 0.33 (0.17-0.65), and 0.19 (0.09-0.38). Compared to the subjects in the lowest quartile of plasma vitamin B12, only the subjects in the highest quartile of vitamin B12 exhibited a significant positive relationship with HCC, the adjusted OR was 2.01 (95% CI, 1.02-3.98). HCC patients with Stage III and IV or bigger tumor size had lower folate and higher vitamin B12 levels. There was no significant difference in the mean plasma folate levels of the HCC cases in tumor markers status (AFP, CEA and CA19-9 levels), whereas patients with higher CEA or CA19-9 levels retained significantly more plasma vitamin B12 than those with normal-CEA or CA19-9 level. In conclusion, plasma folate and vitamin B12 levels could be associated with HCC, and might be used as predictors of clinical characteristics of HCC patients. However, further prospective studies are essential to confirm the observed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Large waist circumference is linked to poor health. Investigations of the relationship between waist circumference, as an index of abdominal fat, and bone mineral density (BMD) have yielded inconsistent results. We investigated the association between abdominal obesity measured using waist circumference and BMD in a large-scale population-based study. Methods: We enrolled 8981 Korean (3592 males and 5389 females) community-dwelling individuals aged ≥50 years from 2007 to 2010. BMD was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at lumbar spine and femoral neck skeletal sites. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between waist circumference quartiles and BMD after adjusting for age, height, weight, and regular exercise. Results: The adjustment for age, height, weight, and regular exercise revealed a negative linear association between quartile of waist circumference and BMD at the femoral neck and lumbar spine sites in males and females. Waist circumference was more strongly correlated with BMD in males than in females. Although the correlations were slightly attenuated following further adjustment for percent body fat, they remained statistically significant. Conclusions: Our results revealed that waist circumference is independently and inversely associated with BMD after adjusting for age, weight, height, regular exercise and percent body fat, suggesting that waist circumference is a potential predictor of osteoporosis in middle-aged and older Korean males and females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damage caused by oxidative stress and exposure to cigarette smoke and alcohol necessitate DNA damage repair and transport by multidrug resistance-1 (MDR1). To explore the association between polymorphisms in these genes and non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk, we analyzed 15 polymorphisms of 12 genes in a population-based study in Korea (694 cases and 1700 controls). Four genotypes of DNA repair pathway genes (XRCC1 399 GA, OGG1 326 GG, BRCA1 871 TT, and WRN 787 TT) were associated with a decreased risk for NHL [odds ratio (OR)XRCC1 GA = 0.80, p = 0.02; OROGG1 GG = 0.70, p = 0.008; ORBRCA1 TT = 0.71, p = 0.048; ORWRN TT = 0.68, p = 0.01]. Conversely, the MGMT 115 CT genotype was associated with an increased risk for NHL (OR = 1.25, p = 0.04). In the MDR1 gene, the 1236 CC genotype was associated with a decreased risk for NHL (OR = 0.74, p = 0.04), and the 3435 CT and TT genotypes were associated with an increased risk (OR3435CT = 1.50, p < 0.0001; OR3435TT = 1.43, p = 0.02). These results suggest that polymorphisms in the DNA repair genes XRCC1, OGG1, BRCA1, WRN1, and MGMT and in the MDR1 gene may affect the risk for NHL in Korean patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We examined the association between liver enzymes and development of type 2 diabetes in a general Korean population. Methods A total of 10,667 subjects (4,201 males and 6,466 females) aged 45 to 74 years participated in a baseline examination between 2004 and 2007. Among the subjects, 8,157 (3,231 males and 4,926 females) underwent follow-up examination from 2007 to 2011, for a median follow-up period of 4.2 years. Type 2 diabetes was defined as intake of anti-diabetic agents, insulin treatment, fasting glucose concentration of more than 126 mg/dl, or hemoglobin A1c of more than 6.5% at re-examination. Associations of liver enzymes with incidence of type 2 diabetes were analyzed using logistic regression models. Results During the follow-up period, 548 subjects (235 males, 313 females) developed type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for comprehensive diabetes risk factor, the risk of type 2 diabetes was significantly higher in the highest alanine aminotransferase (ALT) quartile than in the lowest quartile (odds ratio (OR): 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18-3.21 in males; OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.03-2.16 in females). Similar results were observed for gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT) quartiles, but in the fully adjusted analysis, the OR for the highest versus lowest quartiles was significant only for females (OR: 1.58, 95% CI: 0.95-2.63 in males; OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.23-2.79 in females). Conclusions Our results suggest that serum ALT concentrations were independently associated with type 2 diabetes in both sexes, and that GGT was also independently associated but only in females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High normal values of urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) have been reported to have predictive values for hypertension, incident stroke, and higher mortality in the general population. This study aimed to investigate the association between normal ranges of UACR and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in adult population. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in adults aged 45 to 74 years who were living in Namwon City, South Korea. Both common CIMTs were measured, and mean values were calculated. Normal values of UACR were defined as <30mg/g and categorized into quintiles; less than 6.50, 6.51-9.79, 9.80-13.49, 13.50-18.89, and more than 18.90 mg/g. The association between the quintiles of UACR and common CIMT was analyzed and stratified by sex. Results: A total of 7555 participants (3084 men and 4471 women) with normal UACR were enrolled in the present study. Common CIMT was positively and independently associated with increasing quintiles of UACR in men and women, even after adjusting for potential confounders including age and cardiovascular risk factors. Compared to the first quintile, the fifth quintile showed odds ratios of 1.80 (95% confidence intervals, 1.26-2.55) and 1.97 (1.28-3.04) for increased CIMT (>0.9mm) in men and women, respectively. Conclusion: Higher UACR values within normal ranges (<30 mg/g) were positively and independently associated with CIMT in a Korean general population, suggesting that higher normal values of UACR might be a risk marker of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The common p53 codon 72 polymorphism has been investigated as a risk factor for cancer in different populations; however, the results have been inconsistent. This study investigated the risk of developing gastric or colorectal cancer associated with the p53 codon 72 polymorphism in a Korean population. Methods: We conducted a large-scale case-control study that included 2,213 gastric cancer patients; 1,829 colorectal cancer patients; and 1,700 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using a TaqMan single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assay. Results: The frequencies of Arg/Arg, Arg/Pro, and Pro/Pro genotypes of the p53 codon 72 polymorphism were 43.3, 42.0, and 13.0% in the gastric cancer patients; 40.5, 45.0, and 14.0% in the colorectal cancer patients; and 43.2, 45.6, and 11.2% in the controls, respectively. The Pro/Pro genotype was associated with an increased risk of gastric [age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.56, P = 0.04] and colorectal cancer (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.07-1.72, P = 0.01). There were no significant interactions between the p53 codon 72 polymorphism and smoking or drinking. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the Pro/Pro genotype is associated with modest increases in the risks of gastric cancer and colorectal cancer in a Korean population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We investigated the association of cumulative smoking exposure and duration of smoking cessation with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Methods: The study population consisted of 2517 community-dwelling Korean men aged 50 years and older. Information on smoking characteristics such as smoking status, pack-years of smoking, and years since quitting smoking was collected using a standardized questionnaire. PAD was defined as an ankle-brachial index (ABI) less than 0.90 in either leg. Results: The odds ratio (OR, 95% confidence interval) of PAD was 2.31 (1.20-4.42) for former smokers and 4.30 (2.13-8.66) for current smokers, after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors. There was a significant doseresponse relationship between pack-years of smoking and PAD. Compared with those who had never smoked, the multivariate-adjusted ORs of PAD for smokers of 0.1-20.0, 20.1-40.0, and >40.0 pack-years were 2.15 (1.06-4.38), 2.24 (1.08-4.65), and 2.93 (1.41-6.09), respectively. There was a significant decrease in PAD risk as the years since quitting smoking increased. The multivariate-adjusted ORs of PAD for 11-20 and ≥21 years smoking cessation were 0.41 (0.19-0.86) and 0.49 (0.24-0.98), compared with current smokers. Conclusions: Cumulative smoking exposure and duration of smoking cessation were significantly associated with PAD in middle aged and older Korean men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was designed to investigate an association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and the risk of lung cancer in a Korean population. Methods: We conducted a large-scale, case-control study involving 3938 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer and 1700 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed with peripheral blood DNA for MTHFR C677T polymorphisms. Statistical significance was estimated by logistic regression analysis. Results: The MTHFR C677T frequencies of CC, CT, and TT genotypes were 34.5%, 48.5%, and 17% among lung cancer patients, and 31.8%, 50.7%, and 17.5% in the controls, respectively. The MTHFR 677CT and TT genotype showed a weak protection against lung cancer compared with the homozygous CC genotype, although the results did not reach statistical significance. The age- and gender-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of overall lung cancer was 0.90 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.77-1.04) for MTHFR 677 CT and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.71-1.07) for MTHFR 677TT. However, after stratification analysis by histological type, the MTHFR 677CT genotype showed a significantly decreased risk for squamous cell carcinoma (age- and gender-adjusted OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.64-0.96). The combination of 677 TT homozygous with 677 CT heterozygous also appeared to have a protection effect on the risk of squamous cell carcinoma. We observed no significant interaction between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and age and gender or smoking habit. Conclusions: This is the first reported study focusing on the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphisms and the risk of lung cancer in a Korean population. The T allele was found to provide a weak protective association with lung squamous cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) polymorphisms in the promoter regions influence transcriptional activities. The interaction of these two genes plays a crucial role in apoptotic cell death regulation. They have been associated with esophageal, lung, uterine cervical, and urinary bladder cancers in human. We performed a case-control study to investigate the association between Fas and FasL polymorphisms and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) risk. Fas−1377G>A (rs2234767), −670T>C (rs1800682), and FasL−844T>C (rs763110) polymorphisms in 592 AML patients and 858 healthy controls were genotyped and tested for associations between polymorphisms and AML risk. There were no significant differences in genotypic and haplotypic distributions and gene-gene interaction between patients and controls in the overall analysis ( p > 0.05). These results suggested that polymorphisms of Fas and FasL genes were not associated with AML risk in the Korean population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the association between albuminuria, carotid atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: In total, 673 type 2 diabetic patients registered with the public health center participated. Following an overnight fast, venous blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed. The carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), amount of carotid plaque, brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and the ankle-brachial index of each patient were also assessed. Results: Albuminuria was significantly associated with PAD (odds ratio (OR) 2.33; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28–4.25 for normoalbuminuria vs. microalbuminuria and OR 3.28; 95% CI 1.40–7.66 for normoalbuminuria vs. macroalbuminuria), but not with carotid plaque. The mean baPWV differed significantly according to the level of albumin relative to the creatinine ratio (1,764.79, 1,778.98, and 2,001.33, respectively; p < 0.001), while no significant difference was observed in the mean IMT value (0.73, 0.74, and 0.72, respectively; p = 0.399). Conclusions: Albuminuria was significantly associated with baPWV and PAD, but not with carotid plaque or CCA-IMT, in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is a nuclear enzyme that plays a role in DNA repair, differentiation, proliferation, and cell death. The polymorphisms of PARP-1 have been associated with the risk of various carcinomas, including breast, lung, and prostate. We investigated whether PARP-1 polymorphisms are associated with the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Methods: Subjects from a Korean population consisting of 573 NHL patients and 721 controls were genotyped for 5 PARP-1 polymorphisms (Asp81Asp, Ala284Ala, Lys352Lys, IVS13+118A>G, and Val762Ala) using High Resolution Melting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and an automatic sequencer. Results: None of the 5 polymorphisms were associated with overall risk for NHL. However, the Val762Ala polymorphism was associated with reduced risk for NHL in males [odds ratio (OR), 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.41-0.93 for CC genotype and OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.60-1.16 for TC genotype] with a trend toward a gene dose effect (p for trend, 0.02). The Asp81Asp (p for trend, 0.04) and Lys352Lys (p for trend, 0.03) polymorphisms revealed the same trend. In an association study of PARP-1 haplotypes, the haplotype-ACAAC was associated with decreased risk of NHL in males (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.59-0.94). Conclusion: The present data suggest that Val762Ala, Asp81Asp, and Lys352Lys polymorphisms and the haplotype- ACAAC in PARP-1 are associated with reduced risk of NHL in Korean males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was designed to investigate an association between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and the risk of gastric and colorectal cancer in the Korean population. Methods: We conducted a population-based large-scale case-control study involving 2,213 patients with newly diagnosed gastric cancer, 1,829 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer, and 1,700 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed with peripheral blood DNA for MTHFR C677T polymorphisms. The statistical significance was estimated by logistic regression analysis. Results: The MTHFR C677T frequencies of CC, CT, and TT genotypes were 35.2%, 47.5%, and 17.3% among stomach cancer, 34%, 50.5%, and 15.5% in colorectal cancer, and 31.8%, 50.7%, and 17.5% in the controls, respectively. The MTHFR 677TT genotype showed a weak opposite association with colorectal cancer compared to the homozygous CC genotype [adjusted age and sex odds ratio (OR) = 0.792, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.638-0.984, P = 0.035]. Subjects with the MTHFR 677CT showed a significantly reduced risk of gastric cancer compared whose with the 677CC genotype (age- and sex-adjusted OR = 0.810; 95% CI = 0.696-0.942, P = 0.006). We also observed no significant interactions between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and smoking or drinking in the risk of gastric and colorectal cancer. Conclusions: The T allele was found to provide a weak protective association with gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidemiologic studies of the association between alcohol consumption and carotid artery structure have reported conflicting results. We investigated the association between alcohol consumption and carotid atherosclerosis by evaluating the effects of alcohol intake on carotid artery enlargement. Methods: The study population consisted of 4302 community-dwelling Koreans (1577 men and 2725 women) aged 50 years and over. All the subjects had participated in the baseline survey of the Dong-gu Study conducted between 2007 and 2008. Daily alcohol consumption was determined by the number and frequency of alcoholic beverages consumed. We measured common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT), common carotid and bulb IMT (CB-IMT), carotid plaques, and the diameter of the common carotid artery (CCA-diameter) using high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography. We used analysis of covariance and multiple logistic regressions to determine the relationship between alcohol consumption and carotid artery parameters. Results: CCA-IMT and CB-IMT were negatively correlated with alcohol consumption after controlling for cardiovascular risk factors in men (p for linear trend = 0.009 and = 0.038, respectively). The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for carotid plaques was significantly higher in men who consumed >40.0 g/d (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.13-2.91), although a significant positive correlation was observed between alcohol consumption and carotid plaques (p for linear trend = 0.027). Neither carotid IMT nor carotid plaques were correlated with alcohol intake in women. Alcohol intake was positively correlated with CCA-diameter adjusted for carotid IMT and plaques in the multivariate-adjusted model in both sexes (p for linear trend <0.001 for men and 0.020 for women). Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that alcohol consumption is inversely related to carotid IMT and positively related to carotid plaques in men, but not women. However, alcohol intake is positively associated with CCA-diameter in both men and women. Additional large population-based prospective studies are needed to confirm the effects of alcohol consumption on carotid artery structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymorphisms in the genes coding folate-metabolizing enzymes affect the risk of some forms of cancer. We investigated the association between these polymorphisms and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk in a population-based study (583 cases and 1700 controls). The MTHFR 677TT and CT genotypes were associated with reduced risk for NHL [odds ratios (OR) = 0·79; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0·65–0·98 for 677CT and 0·61; 0·45–0·82 for 677TT] and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (OR = 0·68; 0·51–0·88 for 677CT; OR = 0·56; 0·38–0·83 for 677TT). The MTHFR 1298CC genotype was associated with increased risk for NHL (OR = 1·71; 1·07–2·75) and T-cell lymphoma (OR = 3·05; 1·53-6·11). The MTRR 66GG genotype was associated with increased risk for DLBCL (OR = 1·56; 1·03-2·38) and the TYMS 2R2R genotype was associated with increased risk for T-cell lymphoma (OR = 2·83; 1·33–6·01). Using subjects with 3RG3RG as a reference group, TYMS 2R2R was associated with increased risk for T-cell lymphoma (OR = 2·46; 1·04–5·79). Interestingly, we observed a reduced association between the TYMS 2R3RG genotype and DLBCL (OR = 0·61; 0·38–0·99). These results suggest that MTHFR, MTRR and TYMS polymorphisms may play a significant role in the risk for NHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  We examined the relative contribution of body composition to bone mineral density (BMD) at various sites in 1406 Korean rural men and women, aged 19–80 years, from July to August 2004. The BMD was measured at peripheral (distal forearm and calcaneus) and central (lumbar spine at L1–L4, femoral neck, trochanter, and Ward's triangle) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. In multivariate analyses, the linear regression models were adjusted for relevant covariates. In premenopausal women, only lean mass had a significant positive correlation with BMD at all sites. In postmenopausal women, fat mass was significantly positively correlated with BMD at all sites, except the Ward's triangle; fat mass was the only determinant of BMD at the lumbar, distal forearm, and calcaneus sites, whereas both lean and fat mass contributed to BMD at the hip, with the effect of lean mass being slightly greater than that of fat mass. In younger men, lean mass had a significant positive contribution to BMD at all sites, whereas fat mass appeared to contribute negatively to BMD at all sites, except the calcaneus. In older men, lean mass made a significant positive contribution to the BMD at all sites; fat mass also made a significant positive contribution to the BMD at the forearm and calcaneus. These data indicate that in the Korean rural population, lean mass may be an important determinant of the BMD, whereas fat mass may contribute positively to BMD only in postmenopausal women and older men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "p53 codon 72 polymorphism in patients with gastric and colorectal cancer in a Korean population," by Hye-Rim Song and colleagues is presented.