Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2005
Attitudes and reported practice for obesity management in Korea after introduction of anti-obesity agents.
This study aimed to evaluate current clinical assessments and management of obesity in the primary care setting in Korea since anti-obesity agents have become available. A questionnaire was sent to eligible primary care physicians selected from a national probability sample in two specialties: family physicians and internists. Of 939 randomly selected physicians, 452 (48.1%) replied. ⋯ About 47.3% of physicians prescribed an anti-obesity medication without allowing sufficient time for nonpharmacologic therapy to take effect, and 68.8% of physicians prescribed anti-obesity medications to patients that requested them regardless of obesity status. The majority of respondents did not appropriately evaluate obesity and its risk factors, and were readily susceptible to prescribing anti-obesity medications. Our findings suggest that primary care physicians in Korea need additional education on obesity and its management.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2005
Prevalence of and risk factors for atrial fibrillation in Korean adults older than 40 years.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia that is a potent independent risk factor for stroke. The incidence of AF increase with age and most affected people have underlying cardiac disease. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of and risk factors for AF in Korean. ⋯ In univariate analysis, male sex, old age (> or =65 yr), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, left ventricular hypertrophy in ECG, stroke, and cardiac disease were associated with an increased risk of AF. In multivariate analysis, however, risk factors of AF were male (odds ratio, OR 4.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] : 2.6 to 6.5; p=0.000), old age (OR 5.3; 95% CI:3.5 to 7.9; p=0.000), and cardiac disease (OR 19.8; 95% CI:12.3 to 31.8; p=0.000). In this study, the most potent risk factors of AF was cardiac disease.