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This study examined the gender-specific association between stroke status and depression in South Korea. A total of 5,746 men and 7,608 women aged ≥30 years who participated in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included in the analysis. The cross-sectional surveys targeted the general population consisting of nationally representative adults (≥19 years) residing in Korea. A 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire score of 10 or more was regarded as depression. A higher risk of depression in stroke survivors compared to the non-stroke population was not observed in men (odds ratio [OR], 1.51; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.82-2.81), while it was observed in women (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.64-3.77). Compared to non-stroke women, women stroke survivors with a younger age at diagnosis (<60 years) (OR, 4.05; 95% CI, 2.28-7.20) and stroke with duration of ≥10 years (OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.63-5.97) had a higher risk for depression. Gender aspects should be more intensively considered in the association between stroke status and depression in community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate differences in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)-related indicators among families of community-dwelling coronary heart disease (CHD) patients according to their occupation. A total of 6,867 family members living with CHD patients were selected for analysis from the 2016 Korea Community Health Survey. Respondents' occupations were classified into managers and professionals (MP), clerks (CL), service and sales workers (SSW), agricultural/forestry/fishery workers (AFFW), mechanical and manual laborers (MML), and homemakers and unemployed (HU). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for awareness of CPR in the MP (3.82), SSW (1.73), and MML (1.29) groups were higher than that in HU (reference), while the CL (1.42) and AFFW (1.04) groups showed no significant difference compared to HU. The aORs for experience with CPR education and manikin-assisted CPR training were higher among the MP (4.00 and 3.94), CL (2.61 and 2.26), SSW (2.02 and 1.91), and MML (1.99 and 1.69) groups than in HU, and only AFFW (1.22 and 1.18) showed no difference from HU. Finally, the aOR for self-efficacy in CPR performance was significantly higher among the MP (3.17), CL (1.64), SSW (1.87), and MML (1.44) groups than in HU. However, there was no significant difference between AFFW (1.22) and HU in self-efficacy in CPR performance. To improve the survival rate of CHD patients through successful CPR at the pre-hospital stage during cardiac arrest, it is important to increase the ability of family members of CHD patients to perform CPR, especially among those in AFFW and HU occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the association between falls and the fear of falling (FOF) with the risk of all-cause mortality in Korean adults. The study enrolled 4,386 subjects aged 50 years and over who participated in the Dong-gu Study. Falls in the past year were categorized as yes or no. Injurious falls were defined as falls that resulted in fractures, head injuries, sprains or strains, bruising or bleeding, or other unspecified injuries. FOF was classified as low or high. The associations of falls and fall-related characteristics with mortality were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models. The average follow-up was 7.8 years. During this period, 255 men and 146 women died. In a fully adjusted model, falls in the past year were not associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85-1.58), but a history of injurious falls was associated with an increased risk of mortality (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.04-1.79). Compared with subjects without a FOF, subjects who were moderately or very afraid of falling had a higher mortality rate (HR 1.26, 95% CI 0.97-1.63). In conclusion, injurious falls and a high FOF increased the risk of all-cause mortality in Koreans. This study suggests that injurious falls and FOF can predict mortality in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and left ventricular hypertrophy on electrocardiogram (ECG-LVH) on adults living in the community. A total of 9,266 adults who participated in the Namwon Study were included in this analysis. Carotid atherosclerosis, including intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques, were assessed using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound. ECG-LVH was determined using the Sokolow-Lyon voltage (SokV) and Cornell voltage (CorV) criteria. The prevalence of ECG-LVH was 12.7% using the SokV criteria and 9.7% using the CorV criteria. After full adjustment, compared to the lowest quartile of common carotid artery IMT (CCA-IMT), the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for ECG-LVH of the carotid IMT quartiles 2, 3, and 4 increased linearly as follows: 1.54 (1.24-1.90), 1.62 (1.31-2.02), and 1.91 (1.54-2.38), respectively, for the SokV criteria (p <0.001); and 1.33 (1.05-1.68), 1.41 (1.11-1.78), and 1.48 (1.16-1.88), respectively, for the CorV criteria (p=0.003). Positive associations between the carotid bulb IMT (CB-IMT) quartiles and the ECG-LVH were also observed, although the magnitudes of association between CB-IMT and ECG-LVH were slightly lower than those of CCA-IMT. However, no significant association between carotid plaques and ECG-LVH as defined by the SokV or CorV criteria was found. The present study demonstrated that increased carotid IMT, but not carotid plaques, is significantly associated with LVH defined by various ECG criteria in a large population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]