Association between Sasang constitutional types with obesity factors and sleep quality

Individual Differences in the Association of Lifestyle with Cardiometabolic Risk in Middle-Aged Koreans Based on Traditional Korean Medicine

Cardiometabolic (CM) risk differs in morbidity and disease progression depending on lifestyle and individual characteristics. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the association between CM risk and lifestyle and examine whether this association varies based on Sasang constitution (SC), a Korean medicine classification. Data were analyzed from 1996 individuals participating in the Korean Medicine Daejeon Citizen Cohort study. Individuals with CM risk had two to five CM risk factors. Lifestyle factors included physical activity, sleep duration, and eating index. SC types were Taeeum-in (TE) and non-TE. We estimated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval for CM risk based on SC and lifestyle factors. Among the participants, 33.9% had a CM risk, and the TE and non-TE groups were 26.2% and 7.7%, respectively. In the TE group, CM risk was associated with low physical activity (OR, 1.63) and moderate eating index (OR, 1.41). In the non-TE group, CM risk was associated with ≥8 h of sleep (OR, 1.87) and marginally associated with ≤6 h of sleep. In the TE group alone, CM risk was significantly associated with lifestyle patterns that combined the three lifestyle factors and was approximately two-fold higher in patterns involving less physical activity. The effects of lifestyle on CM risk differed across SC types. To decrease the burden of cardiovascular diseases in middle-aged adults, we recommend an individualized management strategy of healthy lifestyle interventions for cardiovascular risks.

Evaluation of sleep quality and duration using wearable sensors in shift laborers of construction industry: A public health perspective

Approximately 21% of the workers in developing and developed countries are shift laborers. The laborer's work shifts can affect personal life and sleep standards, adversely impacting laborers and their manage. This study assesses the impact of various shift plans (seven evenings/7 days, fixed-night or fixed-day, and backup shifts) on shift laborers, considering four shift schedules. Most laborers were on rotational shifts, whereas others were on a permanent day, permanent night, and standby shifts. In a cross-sectional study, 45 development laborers from the National Construction firm were enlisted. Bio-wearable sensors were provided to monitor sleep. Participants were approached and asked to complete a survey bundle comprising the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Differences in sleep models were estimated using a Fitbit watch at various shift schedules. The average age of laborers who participated in the study was 37.5 years, and their average experience in the construction company was 6.5 years. The average total sleep time was 346 ± 46 min. The rotational shift laborers yielded the minimum total sleep time compared to the average PSQI and ESS scores of 7.66 ± 1.3 and 6.94 ± 3.4, respectively. Fifteen shift laborers (33.33%) were affected by a sleeping disorder in the present experimental investigation, and 30 participants had inadequate standards of sleep based on the PSQI scores. Poor sleep quality and duration among construction shift laborers decrease productivity at work. Additional studies are expected to assess sleep-related issues affecting construction shift laborers.

Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Exercises on Parameters Related to the Sleep Quality in Metabolic Syndrome Individuals: A Clinical Trial Study

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an undesirable clinical condition with physiological, biochemical, clinical, and metabolic factors that contribute to increased cardiovascular risks (CR). A poor sleep quality might be found in obese and MetS individuals. Whole-body vibration (WBV) exercise has been used on the management of MetS individuals. This clinical trial investigated the effect of WBV exercise on parameters related to the sleep quality in MetS individuals. After randomization, nine individuals (seven women and two men) were exposed to a fixed frequency (FF) and ten individuals (eight women and two men) were exposed to a variable frequency (VF). Both groups performed the protocol twice a week, for 6 weeks. All of the evaluations were performed before the first and after the last sessions. Anthropometric and cardiovascular parameters were measured before and after the 6-week intervention. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Berlin Questionnaire were also used to evaluate the quality of the sleep. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) reduction of the waist circumference in the VFG and an increase of the heart rate were found in the FFG and VFG group. The score of the PSQI of the both groups decreased significantly (p = 0.01). The score of the ESS decreased (p = 0.04) only in the VF group. The scores of the Berlin Questionnaire were not altered in both groups. In conclusion, WBV intervention was capable in interfering with physiological mechanisms with effects on the WC and HR, leading to the improvement of the quality of sleep in MetS individuals. WBV exercise might be an important clinical intervention to the management of some factors associated with poor quality of sleep (FFG and VFG) and in the daytime sleepiness in MetS individuals with variable frequencies (5–16 Hz) (VFG).

Research trends in Korean medicine based on temporal and network analysis

Background

Much research on Korean medicine has been recently published in Korea. The aim of this study was to determine the research trends in Korean medicine by performing a comprehensive analysis of articles that have been published in Korea using temporal and network analysis methods.

Methods

A total of 29,876 articles from 1963 to 2018 were prepared from OASIS (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System), the largest portal for Korean medicine. After the keywords and years were extracted from the metadata of the articles, an annual frequency matrix was obtained for the keywords. By using the matrix, the temporal trends of the keywords were analyzed by comparing the changes in similarity between the lists of keywords by year. Moreover, to analyze the relationship among research topics, a clustered network was constructed in which a node was a keyword and an edge was a similarity between two keywords.

Results

The temporal trend of the keywords was classified into six chronological phases. The appearance frequency of most keywords tended to increase gradually, but only the keywords “mibyeong,” “systems biology” and “korean medicine hospital” appeared in the most recent phase. The network of keywords was clustered and visualized into thirteen groups with the Gephi software. The main keywords in each group were related to effects such as “anti-inflammation” and “antioxidant,” to diseases such as “allergic rhinitis” and “diabetes” and to therapies such as “herbal acupuncture” and “herbal formula.”

Conclusions

The analysis of the trends determined in this study provides a systematic understanding as well as future research directions in Korean medicine to researchers. In the future, an overall analysis of the research trends in Korean medicine will be done by analyzing articles published in Korea and other countries.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-019-2562-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.