OBJECTIVE The aims of the present study were to investigate the women's perspective on influenza infection and vaccination and to evaluate how they influence vaccine acceptability, in Korean women of childbearing age. METHODS This was a prospective study by random survey of women of childbearing age (20 to 45 years). They were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their knowledge, attit...

BACKGROUND Although hemorrhoids are one of the most common anal diseases among Koreans, risk factors for hemorrhoids have not been well identified. METHODS We analyzed the data from the 4th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) between 2007 and 2009. Study subjects were 17,228 participants of KNHANES who were aged 19 years or older. Logistic regression analysis was...

BACKGROUND It is thought that small volumes of alcohol may have positive effects on health. However, excessive drinking results in serious health problems. An accurate method to determine individual alcohol use behaviors are needed to assess objectively the extent to which drinking affects health. This study investigated the association between risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and alcohol use ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to explore health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Korean patients with osteoporosis and to measure the impact of fractures and comorbidity on their quality of life (QOL) using the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data with a nationwide representativeness. METHODS This study was based on 4-year-data obtained from t...

BACKGROUND Body mass index (BMI) is formulated on the assumption that body weight (BW) scales to height with a power of 2 (BW∝height(2)), independent of sex and race-ethnicity. Powers differing from 2 are observed in studies of selected samples, thus raising the question if BMI is a generalizable metric that makes BW independent of height across populations. OBJECTIVES The objectives were to ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There is a need for simple risk scores that identify individuals at high risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS). Therefore, this study was performed to develop and validate a self-assessment score for MetS risk in non-obese Korean adults. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN Data from the fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV), 2007-2009 were used...

Epidemiological studies have suggested that flavonoids exhibit preventive effects on degenerative diseases. However, lack of sufficient data on flavonoid intake has limited evaluating the proposed effects in populations. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the total and individual flavonoid intakes among Korean adults and determine the major dietary sources of these flavonoids. We constructed a fla...

BACKGROUND Chronic laryngitis (CL) has been described as chronic inflammation of the larynx. CL have various causes such as long-term smoking, acid reflux, voice overuse, bronchitis, allergies, pneumonia, excessive exposure to toxic chemicals and complications from the flu or a chronic cold. However, the prevalence of CL and role of air pollution in the etiology is uncertain. OBJECTIVE The ai...

BACKGROUND Microalbuminuria is associated with increased risk of renal disease and cardiovascular diseases even in non-diabetic subjects. High incidence rates of microalbuminuria have been found in a number of population-based studies. However, the prevalence and risk factors associated with microalbuminuria in the general population in Korea are unclear. OBJECTIVES The present study was perf...