Eun‐Jung Rhee

The Twenty Statements Test (TST) was administered in Seoul and New York, to 454 students from 2 cultures that emphasize collectivism and individualism, respectively. Responses, coded into 33 categories, were classified as either abstract or specific and as either autonomous or social. These 2 dichotomies were more independent in Seoul than in New York. The New York sample included Asian American whose spontaneous social identities differed. They either never listed ethnicity-nationality on the T

eases of the circulatory system was 187 men per 100,000 population and 145 women per 100,000 population in 1983 and 111 men per 100,000 population and 125 women per 100,000 in 2016, indicating little change over the years. However, the age-adjusted mortality rate, which excludes the influence of aging of the population during this period, decreased to about one-fifth of the initial rate (Fig. Death from CAD has consistently increased since 1983, when the cause of death statistics were first meas

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The prevalence of diabetes is increasing globally, particularly in Asia. According to the 2013 Diabetes Atlas, an estimated 366 million people are affected by diabetes worldwide; 36% of those affected live in the Western Pacific region, with a significant proportion in East Asia. The reasons for this marked increase in the prevalence of diabetes can be extrapolated from several distinct features of the Asian region. First, the two most populated countries, China and India, are located in Asia. S

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is thought to stem from the body's inability to store excess energy in adipocytes; as such, it is commonly viewed as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. The pathogenesis of NAFLD involves ectopic fat accumulation, which also takes place in the liver, muscle and visceral fat. NAFLD is rapidly becoming more widespread in Korea, with an estimated prevalence of 30% in adults. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and NAFLD share insulin resistance as a

Recent studies suggest an association of vitamin D with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. We analyzed the association of serum vitamin D level assessed by 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 {25(OH)D3 } with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in apparently healthy men. We performed a cross-sectional study of 6,567 Korean men who participated in a health screening program, evaluating the association of serum 25(OH)D3 levels with the risk of NAFLD assessed by abdominal ultrasonogram. Of the pa

Serum FABP4 levels increased as the numbers of stenotic coronary artery increased, although these differences were attenuated after adjustment for age and fasting glucose levels. Various anti-atherogenic medications showed different effects on the serum FABP4 levels, which need further investigation.

Dieting has multiple meanings including "intentional weight loss" or "a specific eating pattern." Although obesity is considered a deleterious health problem worldwide, there are many problems caused by "too strict" weight control and the need for excessive leanness. Many people with normal weight want to lose weight, and they repeat losing and gaining weight multiple times through their lives. This is called "weight cycling." Recent studies report not just the negative impact of being obese, bu

OPG (osteoprotegerin) is an inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis and recent work suggests it has a role in atherosclerosis. Therefore we measured serum OPG levels in patients with coronary artery disease, compared the serum OPG levels among the different groups according to the number of stenotic vessels and determined whether there was any correlation with aortic calcification, LV (left ventricular) mass index and serum CRP (C-reactive protein) levels. Subjects (n=100; mean age, 57 years) who underw