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Background: Obesity is becoming prevalent in Korean children. Because body image is becoming increasingly important, it is likely that obesity-induced stress has a significant effect on childhood depression., Aims: To examine the correlation between obesity-induced stress and depressive symptoms in Korean elementary school students., Methods: The study participants were 2,305 elementary school children and their parents in the districts of Jeju-si, Seogwipo-si, Namjeju-gun and Bukjeju-gun on Jeju Island, Korea, who completed questionnaires involving demographic information, an obesity-induced stress scale and the Korean form of Kovacs' Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) from September to December 2006., Results: After controlling for significant independent variables that are wellknown correlates of depressive symptoms in children (e.g. age, gender, residence, family monthly income, obesity status of both parents, family history of chronic illness, and time spent with mother), obesity-induced stress had an odds ratio of 1.128 (95% CI 1.111-1.146)., Conclusions: Reducing the prevalence of depressive symptoms in elementary school children in Jeju Island will require special attention, particularly the development of coping strategies to resolve obesity-induced stress in various areas including school, family and society.

Genomic rearrangement occasionally affects the BRCA1/2 genes in Caucasian breast cancer patients. However, the incidence of BRCA1/2 genomic rearrangement in Asians, including the Korean population, has not been well established. Here, we investigated the contribution of BRCA1/2 genomic rearrangement to high-risk breast cancer patients in this population. We screened for BRCA1/2 genomic rearrangement using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification for 122 high-risk breast cancer patients who tested negative for BRCA1/2 mutations. A novel deletion of exons 13-15 in BRCA1 was identified in one patient (0.8% occurrence frequency). Further analyses revealed that this c.4186-1593_4676-1465del might be the result of homologous recombination mediated by two Alu-elements: the AluY in intron 12, and an AluSp in intron 15. This result suggests that subsequent screening for BRCA1/2 genomic rearrangements should be considered in high-risk Korean breast cancer patients who test negative for BRCA1/2 mutations. BRCA1/2 genomic rearrangement, however, is likely to make only a small contribution to breast cancer in this population.