명우재 교수

Suicide is not only an individual phenomenon, but it is also influenced by social and environmental factors. With the high suicide rate and the abundance of social media data in South Korea, we have studied the potential of this new medium for predicting completed suicide at the population level. We tested two social media variables (suicide-related and dysphoria-related weblog entries) along with classical social, economic and meteorological variables as predictors of suicide over 3 years (2008

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidal behavior have been associated with structural and functional changes in the brain. However, little is known regarding alterations of brain networks in MDD patients with suicidal ideation. We investigated whether or not MDD patients with suicidal ideation have different topological organizations of white matter networks compared with MDD patients without suicidal ideation. Participants consisted of 24 patients with MDD and suicidal ideation, 25 age- an

Our study provides new evidence that air pollution exposure may trigger migraine especially on high-temperature days, and this finding may contribute in establishing preventive measures against migraine.

The annual suicide rate in South Korea is the highest among the developed countries. Paraquat is a highly lethal herbicide, commonly used in South Korea as a means for suicide. We have studied the effect of the 2011 paraquat prohibition on the national suicide rate and method of suicide in South Korea. We obtained the monthly suicide rate from 2005 to 2013 in South Korea. In our analyses, we adjusted for the effects of celebrity suicides, and economic, meteorological, and seasonal factors on sui

Occupational attainment, which represents middle-age cognitive activities, is a known proxy marker of cognitive reserve for Alzheimer's disease. Previous genome-wide association studies have identified numerous genetic variants and revealed the genetic architecture of educational attainment, another marker of cognitive reserve. However, the genetic architecture and heritability for occupational attainment remain elusive. We performed a large-scale genome-wide association study of occupational at

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complex hereditary condition comprising various metabolic traits as risk factors. Although the genetics of individual MetS components have been investigated actively through large-scale genome-wide association studies, the conjoint genetic architecture has not been fully elucidated. Here, we performed the largest multivariate genome-wide association study of MetS in Europe (nobserved = 4,947,860) by leveraging genetic correlation between MetS components. We identif

BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a potential risk factor for dementia. We aimed to investigate the association between SCD and subsequent dementia in a nationwide population-based cohort in South Korea. METHODS: This cohort included 579,710 66-year-old adults who were followed for a total of 3,870,293 person-years (average 6.68 ± 1.33 years per person). All subjects completed a questionnaire about subjective memory impairment, the Pre-screening Korean Dementia Screening Question

We conducted a three-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) of response to antidepressant drugs in an ethnically homogeneous sample of Korean patients in untreated episodes of nonpsychotic unipolar depression, mostly of mature onset. Strict quality control was maintained in case selection, diagnosis, verification of adherence and outcome assessments. Analyzed cases completed 6 weeks of treatment with adequate plasma drug concentrations. The overall successful completion rate was 85.5%. Four

We provide new evidence that exposure to short-term air pollution may increase the risk of acute exacerbation of ALS. Further studies are warranted to understand the underlying mechanisms.

BACKGROUND: The clinical guidelines related to the primary prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have focused on the management of vascular risk factors. However, the link between vascular risk factors and AD in older adults remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the association between vascular risk factors and subsequent AD in 178,586 older adults (age ≥ 65 years). METHODS: Participants were recruited from 2009 through 2010 and followed up for 6 years. We assessed various vascular ris

These findings suggest the roles of cytokines in MDD are complex, and could vary according to the individual characteristics of each patient. Further studies regarding the relationship between cytokines and MDD will be required.

Exposure to ADSs was associated with an increased risk of suicide, especially on the same day. This study provides novel evidence of a relationship between ADSs and suicide. These findings could help in establishing public health interventions for suicide prevention as well as in establishing dust storm warning systems. Future studies are warranted to confirm if our findings are replicable and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.