Several nutrients have been suggested to protect against airway destruction via antioxidant activity. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between disease severity and dietary nutrient intake in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Of the 22,948 participants, 702 patients (418 men and 284 women) with COPD, who were defined as the fifth percentile from a reference population were selected. The severity of airflow limitation was measured by the predicted percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁%). The Jonckheere–Terpstra test was used to evaluate the dose-dependent association between nutrient intake and disease severity. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between dietary nutrient intake and predicted FEV₁%. Vitamin A intake showed a positive association with FEV₁% in men in a model adjusted for covariates. Carbohydrate, protein, fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C intake were significantly associated with decreased disease severity in elderly men (aged ≥60 years). On the contrary, statistical significance was not observed for all the nutrients in women. In conclusion, intake of carbohydrate, protein, fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C was associated with decreased severity of airway impairment in elderly men with COPD. Our results are in line with those of previous studies into the importance of nutritional status in airway disease. A longitudinal study is required to clarify the mechanisms underlying the association between dietary nutrient intake and COPD severity.

(1) Background: To evaluate the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the general population using a nationally representative sample from South Korea; (2) Methods: This study included 4275 adults aged ≥40 years who completed the snoring, tiredness, observed apnea, high blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), age, neck circumference, and gender (STOP-Bang) questionnaire. The risk of OSA was stratified into low, intermediate, and high grades according to the STOP-Bang score. The prevalence of NAFLD according to the STOP-Bang score was calculated, and the increasing trend was measured. A complex sample multivariable regression analysis with adjustments for possible confounding variables was used to calculate the odds ratio of NAFLD and advanced fibrosis. Subgroup analysis was conducted with stratification based on sex and obesity status; (3) Results: We identified 1021 adults with NAFLD and 3254 adults without NAFLD. The prevalence of NAFLD increased significantly with higher STOP-Bang scores in both men and women. Participants of both sexes with high STOP-Bang scores were more likely to have NAFLD. Compared to non-obese individuals, the risk of NAFLD according to the STOP-Bang score was more intense in obese individuals. With respect to hepatic steatosis, there was no significant association between advanced fibrosis and STOP-Bang score; (4) Conclusions: OSA, the risk of which was measured using the STOP-Bang model, was closely associated with NAFLD in both Korean men and women. Clinicians should consider screening for NAFLD in individuals with a high STOP-Bang score.

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are thought to modify systemic inflammation. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between PUFA intake, lung function, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, we used the dataset of 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, in which, a total of 22,948 individuals including 573 participants with a high probability of developing COPD were enrolled. Participants with missing data for the investigated variables were excluded. Linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between PUFA intake (omega-3 [N3], omega-6 [N6], and total) with lung function, and HRQoL. HRQoL was determined according to the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Subgroup analysis of older patients was performed. Age, sex, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, education, residence, total calorie intake, and predicted FEV1% were adjusted in all analyses. Although lung function was not associated with PUFA intake, EQ-5D index was remarkably associated with N3, N6, and total PUFA intake in a dose-dependent manner. This association was more pronounced in elderly COPD patients. Mean levels of N3, N6, and total PUFA intake were significantly higher in patients having better HRQoL with respect to mobility, self-care, and usual activities. Our results suggest that N3, N6, and total PUFA intake are associated with HRQoL in COPD patients. This association may be attributed to mobility, self-care, and usual activities. Further longitudinal study is required to clarify this relationship.

The immune-acquired responses after vaccination vary depending on the type of vaccine and the individual. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the acquisition of immunity and the side effects, health status, and lifestyle after completion of the second dose of AZD1222. Blood samples were collected after a second dose of AZD1222. The Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA (IgG) for anti-S1 antibody, the cPASS SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody detection kit for the surrogate virus neutralization test, and the T-spot Discovery SARS-CoV-2 kit were used to identify cellular immunogenicity. Patient experience of adverse effects was investigated using questionnaires. Information on health status and lifestyle were collected from the most recent health checkup data. Generally, females experience more reactogenicity in both intensity and duration. The rash of the first shot and chills of the second shot were associated with humoral immunity. However, comprehensive adverse effects had no correlation with humoral and cellular immunity. The T-spot-positive group had a higher creatinine level, which reflects muscle mass, than the T-spot-negative group. Males presented a higher level of T-spot assays. Body mass index and age were negatively correlated with the T-spot assay and anti-S1 antibody, respectively. Immune acquisition after the second AZD1222 shot was not associated with reactogenicity. However, individuals’ sex, age, and BMI were found to be associated with immunogenicity after vaccination.

Mortality at an early stage after kidney transplantation is a catastrophic event. Treatment-related mortality (TRM) within 1 or 3 months after kidney transplantation has been seldom reported. We designed a retrospective observational cohort study using a national population-based database, which included information about all kidney recipients between 2003 and 2016. A total of 16,073 patients who underwent kidney transplantation were included. The mortality rates 1 month (early TRM) and 3 months (TRM) after transplantation were 0.5% (n = 74) and 1.0% (n = 160), respectively. Based on a multivariate analysis, older age (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.06; P < 0.001), coronary artery disease (HR = 3.02; P = 0.002), and hemodialysis compared with pre-emptive kidney transplantation (HR = 2.53; P = 0.046) were the risk factors for early TRM. Older age (HR = 1.07; P < 0.001), coronary artery disease (HR = 2.88; P < 0.001), and hemodialysis (HR = 2.35; P = 0.004) were the common independent risk factors for TRM. In contrast, cardiac arrhythmia (HR = 1.98; P = 0.027) was associated only with early TRM, and fungal infection (HR = 2.61; P < 0.001), and epoch of transplantation (HR = 0.34; P < 0.001) were the factors associated with only TRM. The identified risk factors should be considered in patient counselling, selection, and management to prevent TRM.

Background: The clinical utility of urinary red blood cell (RBC) distribution (URD) remains limited. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of URD and dysmorphic RBC (dRBC) in a multicenter study.Methods: This study enrolled 703 patients who visited four tertiary medical centers in Korea. Patients were classified into glomerular diseases with biopsy (N = 169), renal diseases including chronic kidney disease (N = 194), nephrotic syndrome (NS; N = 88), tubulointerstitial diseases (N = 36), acute kidney injury (N = 32), others (N = 10), and extrarenal diseases (N = 174). Renal parameters, urine microscopic examination, urinalysis, and URD assessments were conducted. The diagnostic performances of dRBC and URD were evaluated.Results: Median values of both dRBC and URD were significantly elevated in patients with glomerular diseases. URD exhibited a significant correlation with dRBC (r = 0.536) and albumin creatinine ratio (r = 0.186), while no significant correlation was observed with specific gravity (r = −0.03). Among renal diseases, dRBC and URD values were notably higher in patients with NS. The agreement rate between dRBC and URD results was 78.3% (112/143), with 31 instances showing discrepancies. ROC curve analysis comparing glomerular and extrarenal diseases yielded cutoff values of 18% for dRBC and 31.9% for URD, resulting in corresponding areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.79 and 0.83, respectively.Conclusions: URD exhibited a comparable diagnostic performance, as indicated by a similar AUC value to that of dRBC, while offering the added advantage of providing objective and standardizable results. This attribute enhances its utility as a parameter for distinguishing between patients with glomerular hematuria (GH) and those with non‐GH.