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Background: Acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease (AE-ILD) significantly impacts prognosis, leading to high mortality rates. Although lung transplantation is a life-saving treatment for selected patients with ILD, its outcomes in those presenting with AE-ILD have yielded conflicting results compared with those with stable ILD. This study aims to investigate the impact of pre-existing AE on the prognosis of ILD patients who underwent lung transplantation. Method: We conducted a single-center retrospective study by reviewing the medical records of 108 patients who underwent lung transplantation for predisposing ILD at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea, between 2008 and 2022. The primary objective was to compare the survival of patients with AE-ILD at the time of transplantation with those without AE-ILD. Results: Among the 108 patients, 52 (48.1%) experienced AE-ILD at the time of lung transplantation, and 81 (75.0%) required pre-transplant mechanical ventilation. Although the type of ILD (IPF vs. non-IPF ILD) did not affect clinical outcomes after transplantation, AE-ILD was associated with worse survival outcomes. The survival probabilities at 90 days, 1 year, and 3 years post-transplant for patients with AE-ILD were 86.5%, 73.1%, and 60.1%, respectively, while those for patients without AE-ILD were higher, at 92.9%, 83.9%, and 79.6% (p = 0.032). In the multivariable analysis, pre-existing AE was an independent prognostic factor for mortality in ILD patients who underwent lung transplantation. Conclusions: Although lung transplantation remains an effective treatment option for ILD patients with pre-existing AE, careful consideration is needed, especially in patients requiring pre-transplant mechanical respiratory support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the association between psychological resilience and cognitive function and investigate the role of acute inflammation as an effect modifier. Total 7535 people from the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Etiology Research Center (CMERC), aged ≥ 50 years and residing in areas near Seoul, South Korea, were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Stressful life events in the past 6 months were gauged by the Life Experience Survey, and current depression symptoms were analyzed with the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Participants were categorized into the following four groups according to their past experience and depression status: reference, resilient, reactive depression, and vulnerable depression. Cognitive function was evaluated using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE). The level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was measured from blood samples. A generalized linear model was used. Upon adjusting for socio-demographic factors, comorbidity, and lifestyle factors, the final model was stratified with the highest quartile of the hsCRP level by sex. Compared to the reference group, the resilient group showed higher MMSE, which was also significant in women (adj-β = 0.280, p-value < 0.001). Vulnerable depression group showed a significantly lower MMSE (adj-β = − -0.997, p-value 0.002), especially in men. This pattern seemed to be limited to the low hsCRP subgroup. We provided evidence from the largest Korean population used to evaluate the association between psychological resilience and cognition, which was more prominent in low inflammatory status. Psychological resilience was associated with a lower likelihood of cognitive deficit in women. This pattern was modulated by inflammatory status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To study the epidemiologic details of urolithiasis in Seoul, Korea. The prevalence of urolithiasis varies by different regions in the world and has been reported to be 4% to 15%.Methods. A total of 2643 persons 40 to 79 years old living in Seoul were selected by stepwise random sampling. Questionnaires were used and completed by trained interviewers concerning whether the subjects had experienced urinary stone disease at any time in their life.Results. Of 2643 persons interviewed, 65 experienced 78 episodes of urinary stone formation in their lifetime. Calibrated after the Seoul population census, the overall standardized lifetime prevalence rate was estimated to be 3.5%, 6.0% in men and 1.8% in women. The point prevalence rate was estimated to be 0.9%, 1.9% in men and 0.3% in women. Most of the urinary stone diseases were diagnosed at the fifth decade. Kidney stones in family members were present in 8.1% of patients with stones and 4.1% of stone-free control individuals. Twenty percent of the patients with stones experienced recurrences.Conclusions. In this first systematically assessed epidemiologic survey about the rate of urolithiasis in Korea, 6.0% of Korean men and 1.8% of women are expected to experience urinary stone disease during their lifetime. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The effect of healthism and household income on the food choice behavioral intent of mothers in Korea. • We designed a 2 (type of food: sweet snack as hedonic food vs. milk as utilitarian food) × 2 (household income: low vs. high) × 2 (healthism: low vs. high) stimulus. • This study found the household income influenced the food choice behavioral intent of mothers in Korea. • Also, the influence of this economic factor can be controlled by the psychological factor of healthism. This study identifies how economic factors, like household income, and psychological factors, like healthism, affect the food choice behavioral intent of mothers in Korea. We designed a 2 (type of food: sweet snack as hedonic food vs. milk as utilitarian food) × 2 (household income: low vs. high) × 2 (healthism: low vs. high) stimulus. The participants were Korean mothers raising children in Seoul, Korea. Participants were exposed to an advertisement for milk as the utilitarian food and a sweet snack as the hedonic food and then asked for favorability and purchase intention toward each type of food and about participants' household income and concerns regarding health. Our study found high-income mothers were not influenced by food type, but low-income mothers were. Lower-income mothers were more willing to purchase utilitarian foods than hedonic foods. High-healthism mothers did not favor hedonic foods, regardless of household income, while low-healthism, high-income mothers favored hedonic foods more than low-healthism, low-income mothers. In contrast, low-healthism mothers did not favor utilitarian foods, regardless of their household income, while high-healthism, low-income mothers favored utilitarian foods more than high-healthism, high-income mothers. The results of our study may assist the government and marketers to understand how healthism and household income affect food choice behavioral intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is an opportunistic fungal infection that mostly occurs in immunocompromised patients, such as those having hematologic malignancy or receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Inhalation of Aspergillus spores is the main transmission route of IA in immunocompromised patients. Construction work in hospitals is a risk factor for environmental fungal contamination. We measured airborne fungal contamination and the incidence of IA among immunocompromised patients, and evaluated their correlation with different types of construction works. Methods: Our tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea underwent facility construction from September 2017 to February 2018. We divided the entire construction period into period 1 (heavier works: demolition and excavation) and period 2 (lighter works: framing, interior designing, plumbing, and finishing). We conducted monthly air sampling for environmental spore surveillance in three hematologic wards. We evaluated the incidence of IA among all immunocompromised patients hospitalized in the three hematologic wards (2 adult wards and 1 pediatric ward) during this period. IA was categorized into proven, probable, and possible aspergillosis based on the revised European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycosis Study Group (EORTC/MSG) criteria. Results: A total of 15 patients was diagnosed with proven (1 case), probable (8 cases), or possible (6 cases) hospital-acquired IA during period 1. In period 2, 14 patients were diagnosed with either proven (1 case), probable (10 cases), or possible (3 cases) hospital-acquired IA. Total mold and Aspergillus spp. spore levels in the air tended to be higher in period 1 (p = 0.06 and 0.48, respectively). The incidence rate of all IA by the EORTC/MSG criteria was significantly higher in period 1 than in period 2 (1.891 vs. 0.930 per 1000 person-days, p = 0.05). Conclusions: Airborne fungal spore levels tended to be higher during the period with heavier construction works involving demolition and excavation, during which the incidence of IA was significantly higher as well. We recommend monitoring airborne fungal spore levels during construction periods in hospitals with immunocompromised patients. Subsequently, the effect of airborne fungal spore level monitoring in reducing hospital-acquired IA should be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]