Background Obesity is an important risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Atherosclerosis can be considered an important signal of CVD. Primary physicians can reduce the risk of CVD by preventing and treating obesity. Therefore, finding a tool to diagnose the association of obesity with arteriosclerosis is important. The association between obesity parameters and arterial stiffness remains controversial. To our knowledge, no previous studies reported the relationships between multiple new anthropometric parameters (a body shape index [ABSI], body round index [BRI], and visceral adiposity index [VAI]) and brachial-ankle wave velocity (ba-PWV) as an indicator of CVD risk, especially in the Korean population. Objective To investigate the relationships between arterial stiffness (assessed using ba-PWV) and anthropometric parameters estimated on the basis of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), ABSI, BRI, and VAI, and to identify the indicators of obesity that best represents CVD risk. Methods A total of 2,647 adults (1,474 men and 1,173 women) were recruited for this cross-sectional study. The correlations between the anthropometric indexes (BMI, WC, ABSI, BRI, and VAI) and mean ba-PWV were analyzed. A multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between each anthropometric and the presence of arterial stiffness. Results We investigated the relationships between the obesity parameters and ba-PWV by adjusting the covariates (age, diabetes mellitus [DM], hypertension [HTN], and smoking status) related to the mean ba-PWV. In the multivariate regression analysis, ABSI (men: β =0.066, p <0.01; women: β =0.087, p <0.001) and VAI (men: β =0.067, p <0.01; women: β =0.136, p <0.001) were found to be significantly correlated with the mean ba-PWV in both men and women in Korea. Conclusion Among the new obesity indices, ABSI and VAI were found to be significantly associated with arterial stiffness, represented by the mean ba-PWV, in both men and women in Korea. These results suggest that ABSI and VAI may be convenient, highly cost-effective, and simple assessment tools for obesity and CVD risk in clinical practice.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate multiple anthropometric parameters used to evaluate obesity, particularly visceral abdominal fat area, and various metabolic parameters including malondialdehyde (MDA) as an oxidative stress marker. We evaluated various measures of obesity, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), sagittal abdominal diameter, fat percentages using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area, multiple biomarkers related to metabolic disease, and urinary MDA, in 73 asymptomatic middle-aged men who were not severely obese. We examined relationships between multiple measures of obesity, metabolic markers, and urinary MDA levels and evaluated associations between VFA and urinary MDA. In the visceral obesity group, γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), uric acid, and urinary MDA levels were significantly higher than in the nonvisceral obesity group (P = 0.008, P = 0.002, and P = 0.018). Urinary MDA (r = 0.357, P = 0.002) and uric acid (r = 0.263, P = 0.027) levels were only significantly positively correlated with VFA among measures of obesity. Urinary MDA, serum GGT, and serum CRP were significantly positively associated with VFA (P = 0.001, P = 0.046, and P = 0.023, resp.), even after adjusting for BMI and WC.

BackgroundHigh intraocular pressure (IOP) is well established as the most significant risk factor for both the development and progression of primary open-angle glaucoma. Elevated IOP is more frequently seen in the presence of metabolic disturbances that are associated with the components of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between ocular hypertension and MetS.Patients and methodsWe examined the relationship between ocular hypertension and MetS in 17,160 Korean adults without glaucoma aged >19 years (7,368 men and 9,792 women) who participated in the 2008–2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between MetS and ocular hypertension, after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, and regular exercise.ResultsThe prevalence of MetS was 35.1% among males and 30.1% among females. The prevalence of ocular hypertension was 1.3% among males with MetS and 0.7% among females with MetS. Participants with MetS had a significantly higher IOP than those without MetS (P≤0.001), and each component of MetS had a different effect on the IOP. Hypertension was the strongest predictor of an elevated IOP. In multivariate regression analysis, ocular hypertension was significantly associated with MetS (P=0.027 for men; P=0.015 for women).ConclusionThere is a statistically significant relationship between MetS and ocular hypertension.

IntroductionHypertension is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The majority of patients, however, cannot easily maintain a healthy blood pressure. Therefore, lifestyle modifications are important and may include getting enough sleep. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between sleep duration and hypertension, as defined by the Joint National Committee (JNC) 7 and JNC 8 guidelines.MethodsWe used the data from 6,365 individuals aged ≥ 18 years based on national data from a representative sample of the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V-3 in 2012. The participants were divided into three categories: JNC 7, JNC 8, and newly excluded only. The duration of sleep was classified as less than 5, 6, 7, 8, or more than 9 hours.ResultsCompared with the appropriate sleep duration of 7 hours, with a sleep duration of less than 5 hours, the recommended pharmacological treatment of hypertension rate increased 1.908-fold (95% CI = 1.483-2.456) according to the JNC 8 guidelines and 1.864-fold (95% CI = 1.446-2.403) according to the JNC 7 guidelines. However, there was no statistical difference with the other sleep categories.DiscussionThe recommended hypertension treatment rate increased significantly in the less than 5 hours sleep group according to the JNC 8 guidelines. To manage hypertension effectively, it may be useful to maintain a lifestyle of sleeping more than 6 hours.

Few studies have shown the combined impact of sitting time and physical activity on quality of life in older people. This cross-sectional study, using data from the 2016–2018 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, examines the association between sitting time and physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Korean adults aged ≥ 65 years. HRQoL was assessed using the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D, three-level version). We divided subjects into groups based on sitting time and physical activity and analyzed the combined association of sitting time and physical activity with HRQoL. The association between longer sitting time (≥8 h) and HRQoL was analyzed using multiple logistic regression. In total, 4276 participants were included. Prolonged sitting time was associated with all of the EQ-5D dimensions: mobility (odds ratio [OR]: 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22–1.68), self-care (OR: 1.65 [95% CI 1.25–2.17]), usual activities (OR: 2.07 [95% CI 1.69–2.52]), pain/discomfort (OR: 1.57 [95% CI 1.34–1.84]), and anxiety/depression (OR: 1.49 [95% CI 1.17–1.91]). The prolonged sitting time/inactive group had higher ORs for all the EQ-5D dimensions than the low sitting time/active group. Prolonged sitting time was associated with low HRQoL in elderly Korean adults; physical activity could weaken the negative influence of prolonged sitting time on HRQoL.