Showing papers by "Hai-Rim Shin published in 2009"

Dietary intake, eating habits, and metabolic syndrome in Korean men.

Abstract: Background Dietary factors contribute to the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a disorder associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and some cancers. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the intake frequencies of certain food groups, eating habits, and the risk of metabolic syndrome in a cross-sectional study of Korean men. Methods Study participants were recruited from the National Cancer Center in South Korea. A total of 7,081 men aged 30 years and older were recruited between August 2002 and May 2007. Metabolic syndrome was defined as having three or more of the following conditions: obesity, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, high triglyceride level, and high fasting blood glucose level. The association of metabolic syndrome and sociodemographic characteristics, food intake frequencies, and eating habits assessed by a food frequency questionnaire, was examined. Results The prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome for men aged 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, and 60+ years was 18.2%, 19.8%, 21.9%, and 20.5%, respectively. The study participants with metabolic syndrome had significantly higher family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (27.6% vs 21.6%, P P =0.005) than their counterparts. Among food group items, participants with metabolic syndrome showed significantly higher intake of seaweed (odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05 to 1.50), and oily foods (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.57) than participants without metabolic syndrome. In addition, the group with metabolic syndrome was more likely to eat quickly (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.60 to 3.12 for fast vs slow) and to overeat frequently (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.85 to 3.05 for more than 4 times a week vs less than once a week). Conclusions The results suggest that high intake of seaweed and oily foods as well as eating habits such as eating faster and frequent overeating, are associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome. In contrast, high fruit intake may be associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome. The importance of dietary habits in metabolic syndrome development needs to be pursued in further studies.

Geographic variation in the prevalence of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and risk factors for transmission.

Abstract: Financial support: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (contract N01-CO-12400); Spanish platform Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (grant 06/0673).

The role of TNF genetic variants and the interaction with cigarette smoking for gastric cancer risk: a nested case-control study

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of TNF genetic variants and the combined effect between TNF gene and cigarette smoking in the development of gastric cancer in the Korean population. We selected 84 incident gastric cancer cases and 336 matched controls nested within the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort. Six SNPs on the TNF gene, TNF-α-238 G/A, -308 G/A, -857 C/T, -863 C/A, -1031 T/C, and TNF-β 252 A/G were genotyped. The ORs (95% CIs) were calculated using unconditional logistic regression model to detect each SNP and haplotype-pair effects for gastric cancer. The combined effects between the TNF gene and smoking on gastric cancer risk were also evaluated. Multi dimensionality reduction (MDR) analyses were performed to explore the potential TNF gene-gene interactions. TNF-α-857 C/T containing the T allele was significantly associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer and a linear trend effect was observed in the additive model (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.0–2.5 for CT genotype; OR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.0–6.4 for TT genotype). All haplotype-pairs that contained TCT or CCC of TNF-α-1031 T/C, TNF-α-863 C/A, and TNF-α-857 C/T were associated with a significantly higher risk for gastric cancer only among smokers. In the MDR analysis, regardless of smoking status, TNF-α-857 C/T was included in the first list of SNPs with a significant main effect. TNF-α-857 C/T polymorphism may play an independent role in gastric carcinogenesis and the risk for gastric cancer by TNF genetic effect is pronounced by cigarette smoking.

Soybean Product Intake Modifies the Association between Interleukin-10 Genetic Polymorphisms and Gastric Cancer Risk

Abstract: In this study, our aim was to investigate the association of inflammation-related genetic polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk and to examine whether the combined effect of soybean product intake modified cancer risk. Eighty-four incident gastric cancer cases and 336 matched controls were selected from the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort. We selected 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) from 5 genes [interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, and IL-10] and used unconditional logistic regression model to calculate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI adjusting for H. pylori seropositivity, smoking, age, sex, enrollment year, and residential area. The risk for gastric cancer in relation to genetic polymorphisms and haplotypes were assessed according to soybean product intake levels. Although no single SNP effect was found, the combined effect between IL-10 gene variants of -592 GG/GA, -819 TC/CC, or -1082 AG/GG and low intake of soybean products had an increased risk for gastric cancer compared with the group with no risk gene variants and a high intake of soybean products (OR [95% CI] = 2.82 [1.04-7.62], 2.75 [1.02-7.44], and 4.34 [1.51-12.5], respectively). Among the low-soybean product intake group, IL-10 CCG haplotype had an increased risk of gastric cancer (OR = 3.38 [1.40-8.13]) relative to the ATA haplotype. Our results suggest that the association between IL-10 genetic polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk was modified by soybean product intake.

Prevalence of human papillomavirus and Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women attending cervical cancer screening in the Republic of Korea

Abstract: Cervical cancer screening with the conventional Papanicolaou test is recommended for the women aged 30 years and more in Korea. Cervical infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most important cause of cervical cancer and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection and may also be associated with risk of cervical cancer. A cross-sectional study of women attending the National Cervical Cancer Screening Program in Busan and Suwon was carried out. Exfoliated cervical cells were collected, and questionnaires were administered to 4595 women. High-risk HPV types and CT were tested by Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2). HPV genotyping of 355 high-risk HPV-positive women at HC2 was performed using linear array. Age-standardized prevalence of high-risk HPV types and CT was 10.4% (95% confidence interval: 9.5-11.3) and 4.3% (95% confidence interval: 3.7-4.8). That 68.5% of women were high-risk HPV-positive at HC2 was confirmed by Linear Array whereas 17.5% seemed to be infected with only low-risk HPV types, not normally detected by HC2. Korean women showed a relatively high prevalence of high-risk HPV and a rather low prevalence of CT. As in cancer-free women in other Asian populations, HPV 52, 58, and 39 were detected more frequently than HPV 16. Cross-reaction of HC2 with low-risk HPV types is of some concern, were the test to be used in primary screening.

Factors Associated with Awareness of Infection Status among Chronic Hepatitis B and C Carriers in Korea

Abstract: Hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) viral infections are the most important risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is responsible for 17.5% of cancer deaths in Korea. The objectives of this study were to identify demographic characteristics that may affect hepatitis carriers' awareness of their infection status, and to assess whether health-related behaviors differed by awareness of the infection. Among 18,636 persons who were recruited from a cancer screenee cohort, 904 were HBV carriers and 146 were HCV carriers. Among the HBV carriers, 74.2% were aware of their infection status. Higher education (odds ratio, 1.8; college versus middle school or less), family history of liver cancer or disease, and marriage were associated with awareness of HBV infection status. Participants who were aware of their HBV carrier status were more likely to be former smokers or drinkers than those who were not aware of their status. Only 34.9% of HCV carriers were aware of their HCV infection status. No demographic characteristics were related to awareness of HCV infection status among HCV carriers. However, HCV carriers who were aware of their infection status were more likely to be former drinkers (odds ratio, 9.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-47.2). In conclusion, two thirds of HCV carriers and one fourth of HBV carriers in this study population were not aware of their infection status, and awareness of hepatitis infection status was significantly associated with other risk behaviors, such as alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking.

Geographic variation of the prevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and risk factors for transmission in women from 8 countries in four continents

Abstract: Transmission routes of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) in the general population are poorly understood. Sexual transmission appears to be common in homosexual men, but heterosexual transmission has not been clearly documented. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of KSHV in the female general populations of Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Spain, Vietnam, Thailand and Korea to explore geographical variation and potential heterosexual transmission. Samples and questionnaire data were available from a study organized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to estimate the prevalence of distinct sexually transmitted infections. The study includes 10,963 women from 10 centers with questionnaire information available on socio-demographic, reproductive and sexual lifetime experiences, smoking habits. HPV DNA detection was previously measured. Antibodies against KSHV encoded K8.1 and orf73 were determined. Prevalence of antibodies to any of the two antigens k8.1 or orf73 was 13.9 percent with an important geographical variation (range = Nigeria 46%–3.8% in Spain). Antibodies increased with increasing age particularly in high prevalent countries such as Nigeria, Colombia and Costa Rica. KSHV was not related to education, age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, number of children, patterns of use of oral contraceptives or presence of cervical HPV DNA. A decreased prevalence was observed with increasing number of cigarettes smoked per day (p = 0.000). The study provides reliable and comparable estimates of KSHV in diverse cultural settings across four continents and provides a powerful indication of absence of heterosexual transmission of KSHV.