Men In Korea Research Articles

Assessing COVID-19 Vulnerability Among HIV-positive Men Who Have Sex With Men in Korea: The Role of Vaccination and Sexual Behaviors.

Comorbidities increase susceptibility to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, but limited information has been published regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and COVID-19 co-infections. This study explored the relationships among socioeconomic characteristics, sexual behaviors, and COVID-19 infection rates among Korean men who have sex with men (MSM) who are also living with HIV. Data were collected through a web survey aimed at members of the largest gay portal site in Korea, supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (n=1005). The primary independent variables included COVID-19-related vaccinations and sexual behaviors. The dependent variable was the incidence of COVID-19 infection among respondents during the pandemic. For statistical analysis, hierarchical multiple logistic regression was performed, controlling for potential confounding variables. Model I indicated that older MSM were less likely to contract COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96 to 0.99). Model II demonstrated that HIV-positive MSM were nearly twice as likely to be infected with COVID-19 compared to their HIV-negative counterparts (aOR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.14 to 3.41). Furthermore, even after accounting for COVID-19 vaccination status in model III, HIV-positive MSM continued to show a higher risk of infection (aOR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.12 to 3.35). The findings of this study indicate that HIV-positive MSM are at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, even when their vaccination status is considered. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize the prevention of COVID-19 infections in HIV-positive individuals by administering appropriate antiretroviral therapy and ensuring adherence to public health guidelines.

Association between Percent Body Fat and Low High-Density Lipoproteinemia in Middle-Aged Men in Korea

Association between Percent Body Fat and Low High-Density Lipoproteinemia in Middle-Aged Men in Korea

Gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation in a 67-year-old man in Korea: a case report

Gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation in a 67-year-old man in Korea: a case report

Factors associated with high-risk drinking among men in Korea: a secondary analysis

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify factors associated with high-risk drinking in Korean men. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VIII-2), 2020. Data were downloaded from the KNHANES website. The subjects of this study were 1,653 alcohol-drinking men between 19 and 65 years of age. Data were analyzed using the Rao-Scott chi-square test and complex sample logistic regression statistics. Results: The high-risk drinking rate among alcohol-drinking men was 27.1%. High-risk drinking was more common in men who smoked (odds ratio [OR] = 2.11, p < .001), men with a middle school education or lower (OR = 1.91, p = .016), men who lived with a spouse (OR = 1.61, p = .025), men who slept less than 6 hours on weekends (OR = 1.51, p = .016), and men who perceived stress (OR = 1.30, p = .044), while it was lower in men who were underweight (OR = 0.19, p = .006). Conclusion: To reduce the rate of high-risk drinking, it is necessary to provide an intervention that considers factors associated with high-risk drinking among men. In particular, smoking was the most important factor associated with high-risk drinking, implying that the integrated management of drinking and smoking is necessary to reduce high-risk drinking.

Interactive associations of smoking and physical activity with metabolic syndrome in adult men in Korea.

This study aimed to investigate the association of smoking and physical activity (PA) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adult men in Korea. This study analyzed data of 7,229 adult men aged 19-64 years obtained from the 2014-2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Information on smoking habits was obtained using KNHANES data, while that on total PA (TPA), leisure-time PA (LTPA), and occupational PA (OPA) was collected using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Smoking status was classified into non-smokers and smokers, and PA was categorized into three groups (total, leisure time, and occupational) according to the time spent engaging in moderate or high-intensity PA areas. The diagnosis of MetS was based on the Adult Treatment Program III of the National Cholesterol Education Program and Koreans' waist circumference criteria. Logistic regression revealed that the risk of MetS was significantly lower in non-smokers than in smokers, even after adjusting for all covariates. The risk of MetS was significantly lower in individuals who engaged in at least 150 min of moderate- and high-intensity TPA or LTPA per week than in those who did not engage in PA. Furthermore, smokers who engaged in at least 150 min of moderate- to high-intensity TPA and LTPA per week had a significantly lower risk of MetS than those who did not engage in PA. Meanwhile, OPA was not associated with MetS. The findings suggest that engaging in moderate- to high-intensity TPA or LTPA for at least 150 min per week attenuates the risk of MetS caused by smoking.

In with the New: Homoregionalism of Gay Men in Korea

This article introduces “homoregionalism” as a subcategory of regionalism practiced by and as gay men in Korea. Regionalism is alive, complex, and witnessing a transformation by a new online generation. Korean gay men—with both regional identities and sexually oriented lifestyles—through their own practice of regionalism, contribute to the construction of this subregionalism influenced by consumer culture and sexual imaginaries, including perceptions of masculinity that establish subtle (not always concurrent) hierarchies of desire. In the broader landscape, homoregionalism functions as a regionalizing means of classifying gay space, place, and identity in Korea.

Education, Employment, Family Formation Behaviors, and the Gender Health Gap: A Cross-National Comparison of Korea, the United States, and Finland

Abstract Despite improvements in the social status of women in recent decades, women still tend to report lower levels of health compared to men. This study examines the role of individual factors (i.e., education, employment, and family formation behaviors) and aggregate factors (i.e., gender context, work cultures, and work-family policy) in the association between gender and health using the cases of Korea, the United States, and Finland. The study’s results indicate that women experience lower levels of health than men in Korea and the United States, especially among younger adults, even after accounting for education, employment, and family status. In Finland, however, women do not have lower levels of health than men. Moreover, among older individuals, Finnish women exhibit a health advantage relative to Finnish men. The findings indicate that traditional gender role expectations, long hours at work, and inadequate work-family balance largely account for gender disparities in health in Korea and the United States. Gender egalitarianism at work, reduced work hours, and more family friendly work policies should help reduce such disparities.

Factors associated with myopia in 19-year-old adult men in Korea between 2014 and 2020

Numerous environmental factors that influence myopia have been studied, but only few factors have been definitively identified. We examined factors influencing myopia using data from 2014 to 2020 physical examinations received from the Korean Military Manpower Administration. We used the Cochran–Armitage trend test to investigate the annual prevalence of myopia and high myopia. To determine risk factors for myopia, logistic regression was performed. The data of 2,215,126 19-year-old Korean men were examined. The myopia and high myopia prevalences showed significant annual increases; in 2020, these prevalences were 58.9% and 18.0%, respectively. The myopia prevalence was high when the birth season was spring, education level was high, height was small, weight and body mass index (BMI) were low (< 18.5 kg/m2), and color vision was normal (all, p < 0.05). The high myopia prevalence was high when the birth season was spring, education level was high, height was tall, weight and BMI were low (< 18.5 kg/m2), and color vision was normal (all, p < 0.05). The prevalence of myopia and high myopia in this population is increasing annually. The risk of both conditions increased when the birth season was spring, education level was high, BMI was low, color vision was normal, and diabetes was present.

Obesity-Status-Linked Affecting Factors of Dyslipidemia in Korean Young-Adult Men: Based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2019-2021).

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of obesity and dyslipidemia among young adult men in South Korea. Therefore, we aimed to identify the obesity-related factors of dyslipidemia among young adult men in Korea using 3-year data (2019-2021) from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We included 1559 eligible men aged 19-39 years and examined the association between dyslipidemia and participants' general characteristics, health-related characteristics, and food intake according to obesity status. Statistical analysis was performed using complex sample analysis with weighted household and individual data. The affecting factors of dyslipidemia included age, body image perception, stress, and waist circumference (WC) in the body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m2 group and age and WC in the BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 group. To prevent and manage dyslipidemia in young adult men, interventions should be developed separately for the normal, underweight, and obese groups. Effective intervention requires measuring WC and focusing on body fat control. Moreover, regular screening of this population should be performed to ensure early diagnosis and management of dyslipidemia.

(370) The Prevalence and Genotype Distribution of Human Papillomaviruses among Men in Korea

Abstract Introduction Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and genotype distribution are different between various nations and regions. Additionally, previous studies have mainly focused on HPV infection in women and epidemiological studies of HPV infection in men have been rarely reported. The lack of information on the HPV genotype distribution of men in each individual country or region raises questions about the effectiveness of the current 9-valent vaccination. Objective Therefore, we aimed to investigate the HPV infection status in men in Korea to establish vaccine-based HPV prevention strategies. Methods Between January 2014 to June 2022, samples of 44,065 men, who were volunteered for testing or recommended to be tested by a clinician, were tested for the HPV detection and genotyping. Samples were collected from the coronal sulcus, glans penis, shaft, and scrotum. HPV detection and typing was conducted using the Anyplex™ II HPV 28 Detection system, which detects 19 high-risk (HR) HPVs and 9 low-risk (LR) HPVs. Results Overall HPV prevalence was 59.7%, and overall prevalence of HR and LR HPVs were 30.6% and 50.1%, respectively. The most prevalent genotypes of HR were 16 (5.2%), 53 (4.6%), 51 (4.2%), 52 (3.8%), 58 (3.7%), 39(3.6%) and 66(3.4%). Overall HPV prevalence was not associated with age. However, the prevalence of HR HPVs in teens (34.1%) and 20s (33.8%) were significantly higher than in other age groups. Of the 26,299 men with HR HPV infection, 9259 (35.2%) had a genotype that could not prevented by the 9-valent vaccine. Conclusions In this study, men aged under 30 years show high prevalence of HR HPVs. A significant number of infections of genotypes that were not prevented by 9-valent vaccine were observed. Based on this, it is considered necessary to evaluate the usefulness of developing HPV vaccination for men. Disclosure No

MP15-05 THE PREVALENCE AND GENOTYPE DISTRIBUTION OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUSES AMONG MEN IN KOREA

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023MP15-05 THE PREVALENCE AND GENOTYPE DISTRIBUTION OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUSES AMONG MEN IN KOREA Hyun Soo Lee, Sun Tae Ahn, Wonku Hwang, Seon Beom Jo, Jong Wook Kim, Mi Mi Oh, Hong Seok Park, and Du Geon Moon Hyun Soo LeeHyun Soo Lee More articles by this author , Sun Tae AhnSun Tae Ahn More articles by this author , Wonku HwangWonku Hwang More articles by this author , Seon Beom JoSeon Beom Jo More articles by this author , Jong Wook KimJong Wook Kim More articles by this author , Mi Mi OhMi Mi Oh More articles by this author , Hong Seok ParkHong Seok Park More articles by this author , and Du Geon MoonDu Geon Moon More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003235.05AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and genotype distribution are different between various nations and regions. Additionally, previous studies have mainly focused on HPV infection in women and epidemiological studies of HPV infection in men have been rarely reported. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the HPV infection status in men in Korea to establish vaccine-based HPV prevention strategies. METHODS: Between January 2014 to June 2022, samples of 44,065 men, who were volunteered for testing or recommended to be tested by a clinician, were tested for the HPV detection and genotyping. Samples were collected from the coronal sulcus, glans penis, shaft, and scrotum. HPV detection and typing was conducted using the Anyplex™ II HPV 28 Detection system, which detects 19 high-risk (HR) HPVs and 9 low-risk (LR) HPVs. This study was approved by Ethical Committee of the Korea University Hospital. RESULTS: Overall prevalence was 59.7%, and overall prevalence of HR and LR HPVs were 30.6% and 50.1%, respectively. The most prevalent genotypes of HR were 16 (5.2%), 53 (4.6%), 51 (4.2%), 52 (3.8%), 58 (3.7%), 39(3.6%) and 66(3.4%). Overall HPV prevalence was not associated with age. However, the prevalence of HR HPVs in teens (34.1%) and 20 s (33.8%) were significantly higher than in other age groups. Of the 26,299 men with HPV infection, 9259 (35.2%) had a genotype that could not prevented by the 9-valent vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of infections of genotypes that were not prevented by 9-valent vaccine were observed. Based on this, it is considered necessary to evaluate the usefulness of developing HPV vaccination for men. Source of Funding: None © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e193 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Hyun Soo Lee More articles by this author Sun Tae Ahn More articles by this author Wonku Hwang More articles by this author Seon Beom Jo More articles by this author Jong Wook Kim More articles by this author Mi Mi Oh More articles by this author Hong Seok Park More articles by this author Du Geon Moon More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

Who is my family?: A comparative study of the family boundary in East Asia

AbstractMost Asian countries are regarded as Confucian countries although each has its own historical and cultural background. Little is known about how people in different Asian countries perceive their family boundaries. This study is an attempt to compare the perception of the family in China, Japan, and Korea. We examined the family perception and found substantial differences among the three. Chinese people showed the widest and paternally extended perception of family. Data from people in Korea nearly matched data from China, but family perception developed bilaterally. People in Japan, however, perceived only blood‐tied, intimate relations as family members. In addition, the perception of the family was not substantially different between the genders in Japan and China, but in South Korea, men perceived family boundaries more widely than women, implying that women have a greater family burden than men in Korea. Considering the heterogeneity in family perceptions in these countries, this paper tries to explain how social institutions interact with individuals and impact the perception of family. Finally, this paper concludes that it is inappropriate to tie the three East Asian countries as ‘Confucian civilizations’ in terms of family perception.

Relationship between Abdominal Obesity and Prevalence of Other Chronic Diseases in Korean Adults: Based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016 to 2020

Background: The burden of disease caused by obesity is high worldwide, and the rate of obesity among adult men in Korea is increasing rapidly. Previous studies have shown that people with abdominal obesity have a higher risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the association between abdominal obesity and the risk of chronic diseases among Korean adults.Methods: Using raw data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016-2020, adults over 19 years of age were selected as research subjects. A chi square independence test was conducted to investigate the basic demographic characteristics of patients with abdominal obesity and the prevalence of chronic diseases. The relationship between abdominal obesity and each chronic disease was verified using multiple logistic regression analysis that adjusted for multiple chronic diseases.Results: The risk of all chronic diseases was higher in the abdominal obesity group than in the non-abdominal obese group. When multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with adjustments for age, gender, education level, income level, smoking, alcohol use and multiple chronic disease, the risk of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and arthritis was higher in the abdominal obesity group.Conclusions: Abdominal obesity is related to chronic diseases. The management and prevention of abdominal obesity should be emphasized to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

THU053 - Prevalence trends of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among young men in Korea: korean military population-based cross-sectional study

THU053 - Prevalence trends of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among young men in Korea: korean military population-based cross-sectional study

Internalized homophobia and HIV testing among Korean gay and bisexual men: a study in a high-income country with pervasive HIV/AIDS stigma

ABSTRACT Limited research has been conducted on factors contributing to HIV testing among sexual minority populations in South Korea (hereafter, Korea), where stigma against homosexuality and HIV/AIDS is pervasive. We used a nationwide cross-sectional survey of 907 Korean cisgender gay and bisexual (GB) men who were HIV-negative or HIV-unknown in 2016. Regarding internalized homophobia (IHP), participants were categorized into tertiles (low, moderate, and high). Past 12-month HIV testing was assessed via a single yes/no question. Using a modified Poisson regression model, we examined the association between IHP and HIV testing among cisgender GB men in Korea. The overall prevalence of obtaining an HIV test was 41.8% among Korean cisgender GB men. We also found a statistically significant association between IHP and past 12-month HIV testing in this population. Specifically, participants with low IHP had a higher prevalence of HIV testing (adjusted PR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.14–1.65) compared to those with high IHP. Given these findings, more efforts are needed in Korea to enhance GB men's access to HIV testing, such as improving social circumstances to lower IHP of GB men and creating an environment that enables and facilitates GB men to receive HIV testing without stigma against their sexual identity.

Sexing East Asian History

Sexing East Asian History Sabine Frühstück (bio) Todd A. Henry, ed. Queer Korea. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2020. 400 pp.; ill. ISBN 9781478001928 (cl); 9781478002901 (pb). Howard Chiang. After Eunuchs: Science, Medicine, and the Transformation of Sex in Modern China. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018. 416 pp.; ill. ISBN 9780231185783 (cl); 9780231185790 (pb); 9780231546331 (ebook). Howard Chiang, ed. Sexuality in China: Histories of Power and Pleasure. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2018. 272 pp. ISBN 9780295743462 (cl); 9780295743479 (pb). Recently, the flagship Journal of Asian Studies devoted a substantial portion of its November 2020 issue to reflections on the impact of Judith Butler's Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990) on the historiography of gender and sexuality in Asia over the last thirty years. Three of that historiography's leading pioneers—Gail Hershatter (China), Tamara Loos (Southeast Asia), and Geeta Patel (South Asia)—uniformly acknowledge the game-changing quality of Butler's book.1 In a parallel recent move, the historiography of gender and sexuality has been more frequently deployed regarding regional rather than either national or global frameworks, in part due to the fact that "global history" has lost its initial glamor. Conversely, it is more difficult to determine what impact the historiography of gender and sexuality out of Asia has had on Euro-American theory. Although its representative reach is minimal given both the quantity of scholarly production in the region itself and the size of its population, a range of publishing venues suggests that the history of gender and sexuality out of Asia is in the process of securing a place within the larger field. In addition to its solid footprint in this journal, it is featured in recent issues of The Journal of Homosexuality and, slightly less substantially, The Journal of the History of Sexuality. The works reviewed here make powerful contributions to the field of gender and sexuality studies at large—as well as (in part) to women's history and, of course, Asian Studies. Until recently, queer sexualities have been notoriously underacknowledged in both Korea and China—in contrast to the increasing devotion to interstitial loci and queer identities in current scholarship that recognize the troubled nature of sex and gender elsewhere. Indeed, when sexuality in Korea has been the focus of academic and public attention, it is often with regards to either the victimized (heteronormative) female former sex slaves of the Japanese empire or the globally prominent male [End Page 153] representatives of K-pop's sexualities. Queer Korea, by contrast, is a collective, multidisciplinary pursuit with two goals: to queer the field of Korean Studies, which editor Todd A. Henry, a rising star in the field, (uncontroversially) diagnoses as "nationalistically heteronormative;" and to critique the field of queer studies that has remained stubbornly Euro-America-centric (8). As Henry notes in an exemplary introduction, Christian rhetoric in part informs the frequently aggressive posturing of South Korean conservatives against sexual and gender minorities; one result of such posturing has been that individuals characterized by their non-normative sexualities and gender variances are denied full citizenship rights. Korean conservatives frame their refusal to grant those rights with respect to "past traditions, especially by highlighting the purported lack thereof" (4). It is worth noting that, even on the superficial level of conservative rhetoric, this position differs from that of the country's (largely non-Christian) neighbor and former colonial ruler Japan; Japanese conservatives evoke traditions with an added declaration, stating that traditional Japan has always been "accepting" of such individuals and practices and, thus—to the chagrin of Japanese queer rights activists—there is no need to explicitly formulate rights for non-normative genders and sexualities.2 Henry's introduction suggests that it is primarily fundamentalist Christians who enact reactionary speech and politics in South Korea. But in so doing he downplays the degree to which militarization both governs homo- and transphobia and helps to conceal the fragility of heteronormative masculinity. Few able-bodied men in Korea escape the country's mandatory military service—which is sustained in part by the continuing threat of a hostile regime in the North, and in part by the shadow of military...

Changes in the prevalence of hepatitis B and metabolic abnormalities among young men in Korea.

Changes in the prevalence of disease over time provide valuable information from a public health perspective. We used data from Korea Military Manpower Administration medical examinations for conscription between 2003 and 2019 (n = 5,355,941), which involved young men aged 19 years, to observe changes in liver disease over time at a population level. Trends in the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, obesity, and hypertension were assessed. The prevalence of HBsAg steadily decreased from 3.19% for men born in 1984 to 0.18% for men born in 2000. Among HBsAg-negative subjects, the prevalence of elevated ALT levels increased from 13.15% for men born in 1986 to 16.48% for men born in 2000. The prevalence of obesity, hypertension and the proportion with high FIB-4 scores (≥ 1.45) also increased. This population-based nationwide analysis showed a decreasing trend of HBsAg and increasing trends of possible non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Trends in the association between body mass index and blood pressure among 19-year-old men in Korea from 2003 to 2017

The strength of association between the body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) varies with population and time. Therefore, identifying the trends in BMI-BP association in adolescents can help predict the upcoming metabolic and cardiovascular disease burden. For this reason, from physical examination data collected from 2003 to 2017, a total of 5,133,246 Korean men aged 19 years were assessed for the annual trends and changes in the BMI-BP association. During the 15-year period, the mean BMI increased from 22.5 to 23.5 kg/m2, and the prevalence of obesity increased from 16.7 to 21.4%. Meanwhile, the mean systolic BP (SBP) decreased from 122.8 to 122.3 mmHg in the first year and gradually increased to 125.9 mmHg afterward. The diastolic BP (DBP) decreased from 71.5 to 70.0 mmHg in the first 4 years and then rose to 74.8 mmHg in the following years. The association analysis between BMI and SBP resulted in an annual increase in the correlation coefficient (SBP: 0.257–0.495, DBP: 0.164–0.413). The regression coefficient similarly increased between 2003 and 2015 but slightly decreased between 2015 and 2017 (SBP: 0.896–1.569, DBP: 0.405–0.861). The BMI-BP association increased over time (coefficient of the interaction term > 0, P < 0.001). Moreover, as the BMI increased, the annual increase in BP and BP per unit BMI also increased. In conclusion, this study emphasized a continuous shift towards obesity in BMI distribution and intensifying BMI-BP association over time in young men. Further research on factors affecting this BMI-BP association is needed to fully validate the potential applications of this hypothesis.

High serum folate level is positively associated with pulmonary function in elderly Korean men, but not in women

A limited number of studies have been conducted on the relationship between serum vitamin levels and pulmonary function, particularly in the elderly population. This study attempted to confirm the association between serum vitamin levels (folate, vitamin A, and vitamin E) and pulmonary function in the elderly population of Korea. A total of 1166 subjects (528 men and 637 women) participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2016 to 2018. Serum levels of folate, vitamin A, and vitamin E were measured in the subjects. The subjects’ pulmonary function measurement items were as follows: forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), forced expiratory flow at 25% and 75% of the pulmonary volume (FEF25–75%), forced expiratory volume in 6 s (FEV6), and peak expiratory velocity (PEV). We performed regression analysis considering FEV1, PEV, FVC, FEF25–75%, and FEV1/FVC and FEV6 as dependent variables. Serum vitamin A levels were not associated with pulmonary function. In elderly men, serum vitamin E levels were negatively correlated with FVC [B = − 0.012, 95% confidence interval (CI) − 0.022 to − 0.003, p = 0.012] and FEV1 (B = − 0.010, 95% CI − 0.115 to − 0.007, p = 0.028). We confirmed a positive correlation of the serum folate level with FEV1 (B = 0.017, 95% CI 0.004–0.030, p = 0.009), FEV1/FVC (B = 0.003, 95% CI 0.001–0.005, p = 0.007), and FEF25–75% (B = 0.031, 95% CI 0.010–0.053, p = 0.005) in elderly men. This study confirmed that high serum folate levels were positively associated with pulmonary function in elderly men in Korea. Further studies are needed to understand the longitudinal effect of folate and its biological mechanism in pulmonary function.

The association between prolonged sedentary time and coronary artery calcification in young healthy men in Korea: a cohort study

Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is a useful method for predicting coronary artery disease in asymptomatic adults. In this study, we investigated the association between prolonged sedentary time and CACS. A cohort study was conducted in 14949 men with negative CACS (CACS = 0) at baseline who were followed up at least once. Sedentary time was categorized into < 7, 7–8, and ≥ 9 h/day. CACS was calculated by cardiac tomography. During 60,112.1 person-years of follow-up, 569 participants developed positive CACS. The multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for incident positive CACS comparing sedentary times of 7–8 h/day and ≥ 9 h/day to sedentary time of < 7 h/day were 1.25 (0.97–1.62) and 1.28 (1.03–1.59), respectively. This association was more strongly observed in the non-obese group (BMI < 25 kg/m2). In contrast, in the obese group (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), there was no significant association between sedentary time and incidence of positive CACS. Prolonged sedentary time was significantly associated with incidence of positive CACS in the study. CACS is also an effective screening tool for predicting future cardiovascular events in asymptomatic patients. Therefore, CACS can be an effective screening method for predicting coronary artery diseases in people with prolonged sedentary time, especially in metabolically healthy people.