• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.194-204
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are regarded as modifiable risk factors for mental health in several populations. Although the consumption of SSBs is steadily increasing in Korea, there is scant evidence regarding the impact of SSB consumption on depression and suicidal ideation. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of SSB consumption with depression and suicidal ideation among adults in Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We used the data for 5,465 participants (2,170 men and 3,295 women) aged ≥ 20 years from the 2014 and 2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The subjects were divided into four groups according to SSB consumption using a food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of SSB consumption with depression and suicidal ideation, adjusting for sociodemographic, health behavior, and dietary variables. RESULTS: Participants consuming ≥ 1 SSB/day had a significantly higher risk of depression (odds ratio [OR], 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-2.18; P < 0.001) and suicidal ideation (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.13-4.28; P < 0.001) compared with those in the non-SSB group after adjusting for potential confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that SSB consumption is positively associated with depression and suicidal ideation in Korean adults.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.87-100
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors affecting Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure in children and adolescents using the results of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 3. Methods: A total of 2,380 subjects (n=571, 887, and 922 for 3-5, 6-11, and 12-17 years of age, respectively) were analyzed using an environmental exposure survey and environmental chemical substances concentration levels. Univariable linear regression analysis was performed to determine associated variables such as sex, age, income level, housing type, secondhand smoke time, cup noodles and canned food consumption, seafood consumption, new furniture (within the previous six months), drinking water type, and consumption of herbal medicines. Variables with p-values of less than 0.2 were extracted from the results and a multivariable linear regression analysis was performed using stepwise selection. Results: Univariable linear regression analysis showed positive associations between BPA concentration levels and variables including sex, age, secondhand smoke time, new furniture (within the previous six months), renovated living space (within the previous six months), fish and shellfish consumption, plastic-bottled drink consumption, and herbal medicine. As a result of performing multivariable linear regression analysis, the lower was the age the higher was the concentration of BPA levels. Additionally, women showed higher BPA levels than those of men. The more frequently fish was consumed, the higher was the BPA concentration. Moreover, higher BPA concentrations were observed when taking herbal medicine. Conclusions: The main factors affecting BPA concentration levels were age, gender, and consumption of fish and herbal medicine.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1009-1022
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the beverage consumption and related factors of undergraduates in Jeonnam. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 480 undergraduates in Jeonnam from June 1 to 15, 2016 based on convenience sampling. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, beverage intake frequency, and awareness of beverage. Results: Carbonated beverage intake was 3.05 times per week and five kinds of beverage consumption was 12.48 times per week. Higher beverage intake was closely related to male students, higher beverage purchase, and lower awareness toward oral health impact by beverage and sugar contents. Conclusions: The recognition level of beverage related to oral health had an impact on the frequency of drink intake. It is necessary to educate the dietary guide for appropriate oral health management in beverage intake.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.174-181
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• 2004

Objective : To examine the association between dietary factors and cognitive impairment in older Korean women living in the community. Methods : Wave 2 data, from the Suwon Longitudinal Aging Study (SLAS), of 365 women aged 65 years or over, were used. The Korean version of the 30-point Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) was used to assess cognitive impairment (score$\geq$19). Dietary habits and frequencies of food group consumption were also examined. Results : A total of 67 women (18.4%) were found to be cognitively impaired. In bivariate analyses, nondietary factors, such as age, marital status, education, income, self-rated health, depression, emotional support, social activity, exercise, and dietary factors, such as self-rated nutritional status, frequency of beans and bean products and milk and dairy products consumption were associated with cognitive impairment. In the multivariate analysis, a higher frequency ($\geq$1 vs. <1 time/day) of beans and bean products (OR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.23-0.99) and milk and dairy products (OR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.10-0.61) consumption was inversely associated with cognitive impairment, after adjustment for non-dietary factors. Conclusion : These results suggest that dietary factors may play a significant role in cognitive impairment of older Korean women.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.212-220
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Curcumin, an active ingredient in turmeric, is highly consumed in South Asia. However, curry that contains turmeric as its main spice might be the major source of curcumin in most other countries. Although curcumin consumption is not as high in these countries as South Asia, the regular consumption of curcumin may provide a significant health-beneficial effect. This study evaluated whether the moderate consumption of curry can affect blood glucose and lipid levels that become dysregulated with age. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study used data obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted from 2012 to 2013, to assess curry consumption frequency as well as blood glucose and blood lipid levels. The levels of blood glucose and lipids were subdivided by age, sex, and body mass index, and compared according to the curry consumption level. The estimates in each subgroup were further adjusted for potential confounding factors, including the diagnosis of diseases, physical activity, and smoking. RESULTS: After adjusting for the above confounding factors, the blood glucose and triglyceride levels were significantly lower in the moderate curry consumption group compared to the low curry consumption group, both in older (> 45) male and younger (30 to 44) female overweight individuals who have high blood glucose and triglyceride levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that curcumin consumption, in an ordinary diet, can have health-beneficial effects, including being helpful in maintaining blood glucose and triglyceride levels that become dysregulated with age. The results should be further confirmed in future studies.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that influence problematic drinking among adolescents in South Korea. The first aim of this study was to examined the problematic drinking status according to ocio-demographics characteristics, mental-health, and health behavior factors. The second aim was to identify factors affecting problematic drinking. Methods: Using statistics from the $11^{th}$(2015) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, any variations among the subjects were presented by percentages and analyzed by $x^2$-tests, and then logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: In the final model, gender, economic status, weekly allowance, father's education level, experience of sadness, smoking, and consumption of high-caffeine drinks were all significantly associated with problematic drinking. Conclusions: Awareness of teenagers regarding the potential health effects of problematic drinking, in particular in regards to mixing smoking and high-caffeine drinks with consumption of alcoholic beverages, should be increased through health education. Teenagers need to be taught the physical and mental dangers of drinking. A program that can teach proper drinking habits and prevent excessive drinking is needed. It should be a national matter just like the smoking policy.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.1-12
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• 2013

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the patterns of energy drink consumption and associated factors in a group of college students in South Korea. Methods: Cross-sectional, self-report survey data were collected from 231 college students in November of 2012 and were analyzed by logistic regression. Results: Students consuming energy drinks accounted for 81.8% of the entire sample and 40.3% of the sample reported that they mixed with alcoholic drink. The most common reason for drinking an energy drink was "To stay awake", followed by "To relieve fatigue". In logistic regression analysis, statistically significant predictors of energy drink consumption was alcohol drinking behavior. Conclusions: Consumption of energy drinks has been quite common in college students. Awareness of college students regarding potential health effects of energy drinks, in particular, those of mixing alcoholic beverage, should be increased through health education.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5123-5125
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is one the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of dietary factors and health status indicators on breast cancer (BC) incidence. Materials and Methods: Risk factor data (RFD) of 89,404 individuals (15-64 years old) were gathered by questionnaire and laboratory examinations through a cross sectional study from the Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (NCDSC) of Iran. BC incidences of all provinces through 2001-2006 segregated by age and gender were obtained from the Cancer Registry Ministry of Health (CRMH). Results: a significant positive relationship was seen between diabetes mellitus, fish comsupmption, percent of academic education and non-consumption of fruit, and breast cancer in women. However, non fish consumption, percent age illiteracy and taking fruit showed a significant negative relationship with the incidence of breast cancer. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis showed associations among percentage with academic education, fruit consumption and diabetes. Conclusions: We conclude that dietary factors such as fish and furit consumption, dairy products, health status indicators, academic education, and some diseases like diabetes mellitus can affect the BC incidence, although the results of ecologic studies like this must naturally be interpreted with caution.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.604-613
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• 2014

This study was carried out to investigate consumption patterns of health functional foods (HFF) and analyze their related factors in male workers in order to provide basic data for appropriate understanding and optimal use of HFF. The subjects were 325 shipbuilding workers aged 20~50 in the Geoje area. About 84% of subjects reported that they were currently consuming or had experience of consuming HFF. The most commonly used type of HFF was vitamins (53.5%), followed by red ginseng (28.9%) and vegetable extract (15.4%). The major reasons for consuming and not-consuming HFF were 'to recovery from fatigue' (49.5%) and 'can not trust the effects' (39.4%), respectively. The intake period was 'less than 3 months' (35.5%), average monthly expense was 'less than 50,000 won' (49.1%), and purchase place was 'store of health functional foods' (32.2%) as the most common answers. The effects after consuming HFF were 'moderate' (51.3%) as the most common answer, and 16.1% of subjects experienced side effects, such as diarrhea, indigestion and nausea. Contributing factors for selecting and desire for future use of HFF were 'effectiveness' (52.2%) and 'when necessary' (67.8%) as the most common answers. Experience of using HFF was positively correlated with age (p<0.05), marital status (p<0.05), unbalanced diet (p<0.01), concern about health (p<0.05), and fear for disease (p<0.05). Purchase of HFF was positively correlated with fear of disease (p<0.01), whereas it was negatively correlated with frequency of exercise (p<0.05). The desire for future use of HFF was positively correlated with concern about health (p<0.05), fear of disease (p<0.01) and drinking (p<0.05). In conclusion, factors affecting consumption patterns of health functional foods (HFF) were age, marital status, unbalanced diet, concern about health, fear of disease and drinking.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.899-910
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to determine factors related to the consumption of energy drinks among male and female high school students in Daejeon. The research data, derived from the self-administered questionnaire method, was collected from 664 students in fifteen high schools during the spring of 2016. A total of 542 complete questionnaires were analyzed (response rate: 79.8%). Approximately 73% of the students self-reported having consumed energy drinks, with a greater percentage of male (as opposed to female) students self-reporting as having done so. The most common reasons given for the consumption of energy drinks were to stay awake (54.8%), the good taste of the drink (28.0%), to concentrate during studying (17.2%), and to relieve fatigue (16.9%). The adverse effects were palpitation (59.3%), insomnia (35.6%), and experiencing difficulty in waking up (30.5%). More than two in three (67.8%) students who experienced adverse effects still consumed energy drinks. The average level of health consciousness was lower than 3 out of 5 points. The results of the logistic regression analyses indicated a positive relationship between monthly allowance (OR=1.01 for male and female students) and the consumption of energy drinks by both male and female students. Among the male students, freshmen (OR=0.23) were less likely to have consumed energy drinks than juniors. Male students' sleeping hours (OR=0.65) and perceived school life satisfaction scores (OR=0.63) were negatively associated with the consumption of energy drinks. In the case of female students, study hours (OR=0.83) and energy drinks consumption were negatively related. These factors affecting energy drinks consumption could be considered in the development of dietary education programs aimed at protecting high school students from the adverse health impacts of energy drinks.