BackgroundThe association between sarcopenia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in elderly people has not been adequately assessed. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CVD is more prevalent in subjects with sarcopenia independent of other well-established cardiovascular risk factors in older Korean adults.MethodThis study utilized the representative Korean population data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) which was conducted in 2009. Subjects older than 65 years of age with appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry were selected. The prevalence of sarcopenia in the older Korean adults was investigated, and it was determined whether sarcopenia is associated with CVD independent of other well-known risk factors.Results1,578 subjects aged 65 years and older with the data for ASM were selected, and the overall prevalence of sarcopenia was 30.3% in men and 29.3% in women. Most of the risk factors for CVD such as age, waist circumference, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and total cholesterol showed significant negative correlations with the ratio between appendicular skeletal muscle mass and body weight. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that sarcopenia was associated with CVD independent of other well-documented risk factors, renal function and medications (OR, 1.768; 95% CI, 1.075–2.909, P = 0.025).ConclusionsSarcopenia was associated with the presence of CVD independent of other cardiovascular risk factors after adjusting renal function and medications.

This first meta-analysis showed that BIS monitoring appears to be an effective and safe method for avoiding unnecessary administration of propofol and for providing adequate sedation during endoscopic procedures.

Optimal vitamin D concentrations for bone health have not been determined in the Korean population. The aim of this study was to define serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations that indicate insufficiency among older Korean adults as measured by serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) concentrations and bone mineral density (BMD). We analyzed data from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV-3), which was conducted in Korea in 2009. We enrolled 1,451 men and 1,870 women aged 49 years and above. After adjusting for variables that could potentially affect serum 25(OH)D concentrations, we found that serum iPTH concentrations began to increase at serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 12.1 ng/mL (30.2 nmol/L). In addition, total-femur BMD increased until serum 25(OH)D concentrations dropped below 20.4 ng/mL (50.9 nmol/L); no significant changes were observed thereafter. Assuming that serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 12.1 and 20.4 ng/mL represent vitamin D insufficiency, the prevalences of vitamin D insufficiency were 8.7 and 50.4 % in men and 17.9 and 66.3 % in women, respectively. Serum 25(OH)D cutoff values of 12.1 ng/mL (OR = 1.26) and 20.4 ng/mL (OR = 1.54) were associated with osteoporosis (P < 0.01); osteoporosis was not associated with a 25(OH)D cutoff value of 30 ng/mL (75.0 nmol/L). In conclusion, serum 25(OH)D concentrations of 20 ng/mL might be sufficient for bone health in older Korean adults.

Objective: It was hypothesized that the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at baseline predicts future conversion from the metabolically healthy (MH) to the metabolically unhealthy (MU) phenotype according to body fat mass. Methods: A total of 22,551 Korean participants (13,601 men and 8,950 women) aged 18 to 78 years in the Kangbuk Samsung Health Study cohort were enrolled from 2007 to 2013. Results: During a median of 5.1 years of follow-up (interquartile range 2.1-9.8 years), 23.5% (n = 5,298) of MH individuals converted to the MU phenotype. NAFLD at baseline predicted conversion independent of age, sex, BMI, lifestyle factors, individual components of metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance (HR, 1.29; 95% CI: 1.19-1.39; P < 0.0001). In participants with lower BMI and fat mass, NAFLD was strongly associated with conversion; however, as BMI and fat mass increased, the risk decreased, and there was no association in participants with higher BMI and fat mass (P < 0.0001 for trend). Conclusions: NAFLD at baseline was independently associated with future conversion from the MH to the MU phenotype.

BackgroundCluster headache is famous for attacks with seasonal and diurnal periodicity. This diurnal and seasonal variation might be related to sunlight and vitamin D metabolism. We investigated the serum vitamin D levels in patients with cluster headache.MethodsWe enrolled patients with cluster headache and age- and sex-matched migraineurs and normal controls. From October 2016 to March 2018, non-fasting serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured using a chemiluminescent immunoassay. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a concentration < 20 ng/mL.ResultsThe study enrolled 28 patients with cluster headache, 36 migraineurs, and 36 normal controls. In the patients with cluster headache, the serum 25(OH)D concentration averaged 14.0 ± 3.9 ng/mL and 92.8% had vitamin D deficiency. There was no significant difference among the patients with cluster headache, migraineurs, and controls. In the patients with cluster headache, there was no difference in the serum 25(OH)D concentrations between men and women, cluster and remission periods, first and recurrent attack, presence and absence of daily or seasonal periodicity, and 3-month recurrence. In the 14 patients with seasonal periodicity, patients with periodicity of winter to spring had a trend of lower serum 25(OH)D concentrations than those with periodicity of summer to autumn (12.30 ± 1.58 vs. 16.96 ± 4.69 ng/mL, p = 0.097).ConclusionsVitamin D deficiency is common in patients with cluster headache, but the role of vitamin D deficiency is uncertain, except for its seasonal influence.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s10194-018-0886-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.