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Background: Frailty is related to adverse outcomes in the elderly. However, current status and clinical significance of frailty have not been evaluated for the Korean elderly population. We aimed to investigate the usefulness of established frailty criteria for community-dwelling Korean elderly. We also tried to develop and validate a new frailty index based on a multidimensional model. Methods: We studied 693 participants of the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging (KLoSHA). We developed a new frailty index (KLoSHA Frailty Index, KFI) and compared predictability of it with the established frailty indexes from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) and Study of Osteoporotic Fracture (SOF). Mortality, hospitalization, and functional decline were evaluated. Results: The prevalence of frailty was 9.2% (SOF index), 13.2% (CHS index), and 15.6% (KFI). The criteria from CHS and KFI correlated with each other, but SOF did not correlate with KFI. During the follow-up period (5.6±0.9 years), 97 participants (14.0%) died. Frailty defined by KFI predicted mortality better than CHS index (c-index: 0.713 and 0.596, respectively; p<0.001, better for KFI). In contrast, frailty by SOF index was not related to mortality. The KFI showed better predictability for following functional decline than CHS index (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.937 for KFI and 0.704 for CHS index, p = 0.001). However, the SOF index could not predict subsequent functional decline. Frailty by the KFI (OR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.04–4.35) and CHS index (OR = 2.24, 95% CI 1.05–4.76) were associated with hospitalization. In contrast, frailty by the SOF index was not correlated with hospitalization (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 0.68–3.01). Conclusion: Prevalence of frailty was higher in Korea compared to previous studies in other countries. A novel frailty index (KFI), which includes domains of comprehensive geriatric assessment, is a valid criterion for the evaluation and prediction of frailty in the Korean elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of dialysis modality on survival is still somewhat controversial. Given possible differences in patients’ characteristics and the cause and rate of death in different countries, the issue needs to be evaluated in Korean cohorts. Methods: A nationwide prospective observational cohort study (NCT00931970) was performed to compare survival between peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD). A total of 1,060 end-stage renal disease patients in Korea who began dialysis between September 1, 2008 and June 30, 2011 were followed through December 31, 2011. Results: The patients (PD, 30.6%; HD, 69.4%) were followed up for 16.3±7.9 months. PD patients were significantly younger, less likely to be diabetic, with lower body mass index, and larger urinary volume than HD patients. Infection was the most common cause of death. Multivariate Cox regression with the entire cohort revealed that PD tended to be associated with a lower risk of death compared to HD [hazard ratio (HR) 0.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.36–1.08]. In propensity score matched pairs (n = 278 in each modality), cumulative survival probabilities for PD and HD patients were 96.9% and 94.1% at 12 months (P = 0.152) and 94.3% and 87.6% at 24 months (P = 0.022), respectively. Patients on PD had a 51% lower risk of death compared to those on HD (HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.25–0.97). Conclusions: PD exhibits superior survival to HD in the early period of dialysis, even after adjusting for differences in the patients’ characteristics between the two modalities. Notably, the most common cause of death was infection in this Korean cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the longitudinal relationship of weight change on incidence and remission of insulin resistance (IR). Methods: We performed a cohort study in apparently healthy Korean men, 30 to 59 years of age, who underwent a health checkup and were followed annually or biennially between 2002 and 2009. The computer model of homeostasis model assessment, HOMA2-IR, was obtained at each visit, and IR was defined as HOMA2-IR ≥75th percentile. Results: For IR development, 1,755 of the 6,612 IR-free participants at baseline developed IR (rate 5.1 per 100 person-years) during 34,294.8 person-years of follow-up. The hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for incident IR with weight changes of <−0.9 kg, 0.6–2.1 kg and ≥2.2 kg from visit 1 to visit 2 (average 1.8 years) compared to weight change of −0.9–0.5 kg (reference) were 0.78 (0.68–0.90), 1.19 (1.04–1.35) and 1.26 (1.11–1.44), respectively. This association persisted in normal-weight individuals or those without any metabolic syndrome traits and remained significant after introducing weight categories and confounders as time-dependent exposures (P-trend <0.001). For IR remission, 903 of 1,696 IR participants had no IR (remission rate 10.3 per 100 person-years) during 8,777.4 person-years of follow-up. IR remission decreased with increasing quartiles of weight change (P-trend <0.001) and this association persisted in normal-weight individuals. Conclusions: Weight gain was associated with increased IR development and decreased IR remission regardless of baseline BMI status. Preventing weight gain, even in healthy and normal-weight individuals, is an important strategy for reducing IR and its associated consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was performed to identify factors associated with screening for diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy. Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 and 2009 were analyzed. Of 24,871 participants, 1,288 patients diagnosed with diabetes at ≥30 years of age were included. 36.3% received screening for diabetic retinopathy, and 40.5% received screening for diabetic nephropathy during the previous year. Patients living in rural areas, those with less education, those who had not received education about diabetes care, and those who did not receive medical care for diabetes were screened less often for retinopathy or nephropathy. Patients with poorer self-reported health status were screened more often. Occupation, smoking status, and diabetes duration were associated with retinopathy screening. Lower family income was associated with decreased nephropathy screening. Receiving education about diabetes care and receiving medical care for diabetes were significant factors in patients with a shorter duration of diabetes (the significant odds ratio [OR] of not receiving education varied between 0.27 and 0.51, and that of not receiving medical care varied between 0.34 and 0.42). Sociodemographic factors and health-related factors as well as education and medical care influenced screening for diabetic complications among those with a longer duration of diabetes (for retinopathy and nephropathy, the significant OR of living in a rural area varied between 0.56 and 0.61; for retinopathy, the significant OR of current smokers was 0.55, and the p-trend of subjective health status was <0.001; for nephropathy, the significant OR of a monthly household income of <3000 dollars was 0.61 and the p-trends of education and subjective health status were 0.030 and 0.007, respectively). Efforts to decrease sociodemographic disparities should be combined with education about diabetes care to increase the screening, especially for those with a longer duration of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prospective investigation of obesity and renal function decline in Asia is sparse. We examined the associations of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with renal function decline in a prospective study of Korean population. Methods: A total of 454 participants who had baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) levels of more than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 in Hallym Aging Study (HAS) were included and followed for 6 years. Renal function decline was defined as follows: (1) an eGFR decline ≥3 mL/min/1.73 m2/year (n = 82 cases); (2) an eGFR decrease of 20% or greater (n = 87 cases) at follow-up; (3) an eGFR decrease of 20% greater at follow-up or eGFR decline ≥3 mL/min/1.73 m2/year (n = 91 cases); and (4) an eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at follow-up (n = 54 cases). eGFR was determined based on the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the association between obesity and renal function decline. Results: We found that central obesity was associated with faster renal function decline. Comparing WC of >95 cm in men or >90 cm in women with ≤90 cm in men or ≤85 cm in women, ORs (95% CIs) ranged from 2.31 (1.14–4.69) to 2.78 (1.19–6.50) for the 4 definitions of renal function decline (all p-values for trend <0.05). Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) also was associated with renal function decline. There was no significant association of BMI with renal function decline. Conclusions: Central obesity, but not BMI, is associated with faster renal function decline in Korean population. Our results provide important evidence that simple measurement of central fat deposition rather than BMI could predict decline in renal function in Korean population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]