Vitamin-mineral supplements are the most popular dietary supplements in Korea. However, few studies have assessed the relationship between vitamin-mineral supplementation and associated factors among the Korean elderly. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of vitamin-mineral supplements among elderly in Korea as well as its association with sociodemographic factors, health-related behaviors, medical conditions, and nutrient intake.
This study was based on data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare from 2008 to 2009. Data from 3,294 elderly men and women (65 years of age and older) were analyzed. Multivariable-weighted logistic regression model analysis was used to evaluate the association between vitamin-mineral supplement use and sociodemographic factors, health-related habits, and medical conditions.
Vitamin-mineral supplementation was reported by 16.3% of the participants. The most common reason for using dietary supplements was recommendations from friends and acquaintances. Highly educated person, female participants had a greater likelihood of taking vitamin-mineral supplements. In addition, analysis of nutrient intake from food sources alone revealed a lower proportion of vitamin-mineral supplement users with nutrient intakes below the estimated average requirements for vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, and phosphorus, compared to nonusers. However, vitamin-mineral supplementation was not associated with health-related behaviors or medical conditions.
Highly educated person, elderly Korean women had a greater likelihood of using vitamin-mineral supplements. In addition, nutrient intakes from food sources alone were significantly higher among vitamin-mineral supplement users. Finally, vitamin-mineral supplementation may be an indicator of healthier diet in elderly Koreans.
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Acupuncture treatment is generally regarded as a relatively safe procedure. However, most procedures have some complications and acupuncture treatment is no exception. Reported complications of acupuncture treatment were mostly mild or temporary symptoms, but certain severe adverse effects were also observed. We report here for the first time a case of liver abscess following acupuncture and moxibustion treatment.
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We report a case of acute calculous cholecystitis through scrub typhus. A 69-year-old woman presented with a history of general myalgia, fever, and right abdominal pain. She referred to our hospital for surgical treatment of clinically suspected acute cholecystitis. Physicians concluded the cause of cholecystitis as gall bladder (GB) stone and proper antibiotics treatment of scrub typhus was started later. The patient developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi organ failure through scrub typhus. Five days after admission, the patient was treated with proper antibiotics and discharged on the 13th day after starting doxycycline treatment without any sequelae. In areas endemic for tsutsugamushi disease, even though a patient with GB stone presents with symptoms of acute cholecystitis, careful history and physical examination are required to reveal the existence of eschars or skin eruptions.
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This study was performed to assess changes in skin color over 1 month after smoking cessation. The study population consisted of 49 men who participated in a smoking cessation program from March 2010 to June 2010 at a public health centre in Yangsan, South Korea. Thirty-four men who stop smoking completely were included in our study. Instrumental evaluations of skin color were performed using Mexameter (MX 18; Courage and Khazaka Electronic GmbH) at the beginning of the study and at 1-week and 4-week follow-up visits. Skin color was evaluated by measurement of 2 main color bases-melanin and haemoglobin-with the results expressed as melanin index (MI) and erythema index (EI). Both MI and EI were significantly reduced at the 4-week follow-up visit on all 7 sites measured. We anticipate that desirable effects on skin color after smoking cessation will play a positive role in maintaining smoking abstinence in routine clinical practice.
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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between the extent of bladder distention and the rise of blood pressure in middle aged women.
In a cross-sectional, descriptive observational study, we obtained data from 172 middle aged women at a health promotion center of Pusan National University Hospital. We measured duration of urine-holding as the degree of the extension of bladder distention. Blood pressure was measured twice while holding urine and immediately after urination. Urine holding with full bladder was confirmed by abdominal ultrasound.
Difference in systolic blood pressure was 4.2 ± 10.7 (P < 0.001), and that in diastolic blood pressure was 2.8 ± 7.7 mm Hg (P < 0.001) between holding urine and immediately after urination. There was no significant correlation between the urine-holding duration and differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Our findings suggest that systolic and diastolic blood pressure is increased by urine-holding at least 3 hours after the last urination in middle aged women. Thus in practice, blood pressure should be measured after the bladder is emptied.
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