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Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) on growth in Korean children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: The medical records of 157 subjects (mean age 8.9±2.2 years; 134 boys) with ADHD who received treatment with MPH for at least 1 year at the Department of Psychiatry at Asan Medical Center were retrospectively reviewed. Height and weight were prospectively obtained and retrospectively gathered. Height and weight were converted to age- and gender-corrected standard scores ( z scores) using norms from the Korean population. Growth changes were analyzed from the starting to the end of treatment using random coefficients models with change in weight or height z score as the dependent variable. Results: Weight ( β = −0.109, p<0.001) and height ( β = −0.072, p<0.001) z scores significantly decreased during treatment. Weight z score decreased more in girls ( β = −0.247, p<0.001) than in boys ( β = −0.090, p<0.001). Weight z score decreased during the 1st year of medication ( β = −0.327, p<0.001 for boys; β = −0.646, p<0.001 for girls), and did not change or increase after the 1st year. Height z score significantly decreased during treatment ( β = −0.072, p<0.001) after controlling for the effect of age at treatment, gender, mean daily mg/kg dose, and comorbid depressive disorder. Height z score also decreased during the 1st year of medication ( β = −0.089, p<0.001) but did not change after the 1st year. Conclusions: These results suggest that MPH could be related to weight and height deficit in Korean children and adolescents, although the effects were minor, and disappeared after the 1st year. Because of the limitations of this study such as retrospective design, selection bias, and high attrition rate, further prospective studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aims to highlight the factors associated with suicide method among psychiatric patients in a general hospital in Korea. In a sample of 467 suicides by patients who had received mental health care in a general hospital in Korea, the relationship between suicide method and time of death as well as clinical characteristics, including psychiatric adiagnosis, was examined using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Compared with the general population, psychiatric patients, regardless of disorder, committed suicide by jumping from heights more often than by hanging (OR=2.35–8.64). In particular, patients with psychotic disorders and female patients were more likely to use jumping from a height than hanging to kill themselves (OR=2.98 and 1.83, respectively). Patients were more likely to use suicide methods other than hanging (e.g., OR=6.7 for jumping, 5.3 for drowning, and 2.7 for self-poisoning) between midnight and dawn. Possible suicide-prevention strategies suggested by this study include limiting access to or fencing off tall structures in close proximity to psychiatric institutions and residential care homes. At night, limiting access to or instituting heightened supervision of tall structures is specifically indicated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background & Aims: Few data are available on risk of herpes zoster (HZ) infection in Asian patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). We investigated whether patients with IBD in Korea have an increased risk of HZ and sought to identify risk factors for infection., Methods: We performed a nationwide population-based study and a hospital-based, nested case-control study. Using the 2009-2013 data from the Korean national health insurance claims database, we calculated incidence rates and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of HZ infection in patients with IBD compared with the entire Korean population. In the nested case-control study, within a hospital-based cohort, 300 patients with IBD and HZ infection were matched with 895 patients with IBD without HZ., Results: In the nationwide population-based study, the incidence rate and SIR of HZ infection in patients with IBD were 18.34/1000 person-years and 1.48 (95% CI, 1.42-1.54), respectively. The SIR for HZ infection was higher in patients with Crohn's disease than in patients with ulcerative colitis (1.90 vs 1.36; P < .001) and higher in male patients than female patients (1.63 vs 1.33; P < .001). The incidence rate of HZ increased with age (P trend < .001), whereas the SIR of HZ infection decreased with age (P trend < .001). In the nested case-control study, corticosteroid use was associated with HZ infection (for ulcerative colitis, adjusted odds ratio, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.18-5.05 and for Crohn's disease, adjusted odds ratio, 2.70; 95% CI 1.25-5.83)., Conclusions: In a population-based study in Korea, we found patients with IBD to have an increased risk for HZ infection-especially among patients who are male, younger, or have Crohn's disease. Corticosteroid use increases risk of HZ infection in patients with IBD., (Copyright © 2018 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)