Citations
Citations
We investigated the association between socioeconomic status and adherence to health check-ups in a Korean population aged 40 years or older.
This cross-sectional study included 12,311 participants who participated in the 2010–2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Self-reported questionnaires were used to assess each participant's socioeconomic status (household income, occupation, and education) and adherence to health check-ups.
Men with a higher income (highest vs. lowest: odds ratio [OR], 1.799; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.296–2.497) and men with a higher education level (≥12 vs. <6 years: OR, 1.488; 95% CI, 1.078–2.054) and office workers compared with manual workers (men: OR, 1.431; 95% CI, 1.077–1.902; women: OR, 1.783; 95% CI, 1.256–2.532) appeared to undergo more health check-ups. In particular, men and women with a higher income and education appeared more likely to undergo opportunistic health check-ups (men: highest vs. lowest income: OR, 2.380; 95% CI, 1.218–4.653; ≥12 vs. <6 years education: OR, 2.121; 95% CI, 1.142–3.936; women: highest vs. lowest income: OR, 4.042; 95% CI, 2.239–7.297; ≥12 vs. <6 years education: OR, 2.475; 95% CI, 1.283–4.775).
A higher socioeconomic status was associated with a higher rate of participation in health check-ups. More efforts are needed to identify the factors associated with disparity in adherence to health check-ups.
Citations
The prevalence of hearing impairment is increasing and an association between hearing impairment and mental health has been reported. Our study aimed to determine the association between hearing impairment and mental health in Korea.
This was a cross-sectional study of data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010–2013, with a sample size of 18,563 individuals (6,395 with hearing impairment and 12,168 without hearing impairment), aged ≥20 years.
The female group with hearing impairment tended to have a higher rate of stress (odds ratio [OR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 1.56). The association between hearing impairment and depressive symptoms was higher in elderly males (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.10 to 2.32), while the association of hearing impairment with suicide ideation was higher in elderly females (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.75).
Elderly individuals with hearing impairment are easily susceptible to poor mental health status. Early targeted intervention to address mental health problems is recommended for people with hearing impairment.
Citations
Though adiponectin has been associated with insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk factors, the relationship between adiponectin and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remains controversial. The aim of this study was to compare adiponectin level in women with PCOS and without PCOS, and to investigate the relationship between adiponectin level and metabolic variables including insulin resistance.
60 women with PCOS were enrolled along with a control group of 80 healthy women, matched for age and body mass index (BMI). We measured hormonal and metabolic parameters, as well as the plasma adiponectin concentration of each participant. We estimated the insulin sensitivity according to the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI).
The PCOS group displayed significantly lower level of adiponectin (P < 0.001) after adjustment for age, BMI, mean blood pressure, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and several metabolic parameters. Adiponectin levels were positively correlated with QUICKI in the PCOS group (P < 0.001) and the control group (P = 0.03). Following step-wise multiple regression analysis, however, adiponectin level was positively correlated with QUICKI in the control group only (P = 0.03). In addition, adiponectin level was found to be independently associated with HDL-cholesterol level (P < 0.001) and BMI (P = 0.02) in the PCOS group and independently associated with HDL-cholesterol (P = 0.02) in the control group.
We report decreased adiponectin level in PCOS patients in relation to controls independently of insulin resistance or other metabolic factors. And adiponectin is associated with both lipid metabolism and obesity, which, in turn, is related to insulin resistance in PCOS. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanism of adiponectin in PCOS.
Citations
First
Prev
