We performed a study to examine the association between diet quality and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Our study included 3,586 women aged 40-64 years who participated in the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study subjects were classified into the NAFLD group (n=816) and the normal group (n=2,770) using the hepatic steatosis index. The anthropometric indices, blood profiles, and dietary intake data of the subjects were obtained. The waist circumference, body mass index, and the serum levels of triglycerides, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher in the NAFLD compared to the normal groups (p<0.001, respectively). The intakes of protein (g/kg body weight, p<0.001), potassium (p<0.001), and vitamin A (p=0.006) were significantly lower in the NAFLD group. It was observed that the higher the total Korean Healthy Eating Index score, the lower the risk of NAFLD. A reverse relationship was shown between the NAFLD risk and the intakes of total fruits, total vegetables, vegetables excluding Kimchi and pickled vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and beans. Therefore, it is recommended that middleaged women in Korea increase their intakes of fruits, vegetables, and foods high in protein for the proper management of NAFLD.

Diet is important for muscle health and offers a protective effects against the loss of skeletal muscle mass and physical functions with advancing age. We analyzed the relationship between diet, metabolic disease risk, and sarcopenia in Korean female adults using the 2009-2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). A total of 2038 adult women aged 50-64 years were classified into four groups based on the diagnosis of menopause and sarcopenia. The groups were the non-menopause and non-sarcopenia group (NMNS, n=249), the non-menopause and sarcopenia group (NMS, n=14), the menopause and non-sarcopenia group (MNS, n=1,653), and the menopause and sarcopenia group (MS, n=122). The socio-demographics, anthropometrics, blood profile, and dietary data of the subjects were collected. Those who were in both the sarcopenia groups were more obese (p<0.001), had greater waist circumferences (p<0.001), higher body mass index (p<0.001), and higher obesity rates (p<0.001) after adjustment for covariants. Both the sarcopenia groups also had higher plasma levels of total cholesterol (p<0.001), HbA1c (p=0.001), and vitamin D (p=0.020) than both the non-sarcopenia groups. Both the sarcopenia groups demonstrated a decreased intake of calcium (p=0.05), potassium (p=0.008), and niacin (p=0.008) than both the non-sarcopenia ones. Among the four groups, the NMS group showed the highest levels of total cholesterol, obesity, and lowest intake of micronutrients such as calcium, niacin, and potassium. Thus, muscle mass maintenance through weight control and adequate nutrient intake appears to demonstrate a potential association with preventing sarcopenia in Korean middle-aged women.

Dietary components can modulate stress, inflammatory indicators, and health risk. This study examined the relationship among diet, metabolic disease risk, and perceived stress in Korean adult females using the 2017-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 4,353 adult women aged 19-64 years were classified into four groups according to perceived stress level: very high stress group (VHSG, n=225), high stress group (HSG, n=1,079), moderate stress group (MSG, n=2,532), and low stress group (LSG, n=517). Data collection included the sociodemographics, anthropometrics, blood profile, and dietary survey. After adjusting for covariates, those in the VHSG had a higher body mass index (p=0.013) and obesity rate (p=0.053) with a shorter sleep time than the LSG group. The VHSG also tended to have a higher plasma LDL-cholesterol, hsC-reactive protein and lower levels of HDL-cholesterol, vitamin A, and vitamin E than the low stress group. High stress subjects demonstrated increased breakfast skipping frequency (p<0.0001), decreased fiber intake (p=0.001), potassium (p=0.041), and vitamin A (p=0.011) than the low stress ones. Therefore the perceived stress level was associated with the inflammatory indicators, obesity, and lack of anti-inflammatory or antioxidant nutrients. The dietary components may be an important mediator of stress and metabolic disease.

This study analyzed the health characteristics and comorbidity of adult men aged 40 years by dividing them into a control group of those without any disease related to fine dust and a patient group with one or more diseases related to fine dust in areas with high levels of fine dust pollution using the sixth and seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2017). Among the general characteristics, the mean age of the patient group was significantly older than that of the control group (p<0.001), and in terms of the health-related characteristics, the frequency of breakfast consumption in the patient group was higher than in the control group (p<0.043). The body measurements were similar in the patient and control groups. Regarding the prevalence of comorbidity, the patient group showed a higher prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and diabetes than the control group, but the differences were not statistically significant. On the other hand, the prevalence of other cancers (except stomach cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer) in the patient group was higher than in the control group (p<0.05). In terms of the clinical characteristics, the glycated hemoglobin levels in the patient group were significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.048). Information on nutrition and health in areas with frequent occurrences of fine dust was obtained through the study results, which can be used as basic data for measures of health and diet management against diseases that will increase in relation to fine dust.

The aim of this study was to examine the association between egg consumption and the risk of chronic disease in Korean adult females using the 2013 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 1,230 subjects aged 40~64 were classified into the 4 groups according to the number of egg consumed per week: <1, 1~2.9, 3~5, ≥5.1 As egg consumption increased, the intake of energy, protein, fiber, cholesterol, calcium, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin C increased. The percentage of the subjects with lower intake of energy, protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C than the estimated average requirement in the <1 group were the highest among the groups. The blood lipid profile including total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol was not significantly different among the 4 egg groups. The higher egg consumption was inversely related to a lower odds ratio of metabolic syndrome, hypertriglycemia, hyperglycemia, hypoHDL-cholesterolemia, and hypertension. This result indicates that egg consumption does not elevate the plasma cholesterol level and has a beneficial effect of decreasing the risk of chronic disease. (175)

This study was conducted to investigate the risk of chronic disease as predicted by abdominal obesity in Korean adult females. Data on 2,738 adult females aged 40~64 yrs was obtained from the 2013~2014 Korean National Health Nutrition Examination Survey. The subjects were divided into normal (n=1,835), abdominal obesity (AO, n=73), and BMI-diagnosed abdominal obesity (BMI-AO, n=505) groups based on the NCEP-ATP III guidelines and by applying the KSSO definition regarding waist circumference. Triglyceride blood levels, fasting blood sugar levels, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure were higher in the AO and BMI-AO groups than in the normal group. The HDL-cholesterol levels of subjects in the two abdominal groups were lower as compared to those of subjects in the normal group. The mean adequacy ratio was lower among subjects in the AO and BMI-AO groups than among those in the normal group. Moreover, the NAR and INQ scores of some micro-nutrients in both of the abdominal obesity groups were lower than those in the normal group. Both the AO and BMI-AO groups showed significantly higher risks of hypertriglycemia, hyperglycemia, hypertension, hypoHDL-cholesterolemia, and metabolic syndrome than were shown by the normal group. Notably, as compared to the normal group, the AO group showed higher risk of hypercholesterolemia, hyperLDL-cholesterolemia, hypertriglycemia, and metabolic syndrome than did the BMI-AO group. This finding suggests that it is essential to develop prevention programs including programs for those with abdominal obesity despite their having a BMI within the normal range.