Comparison of extracellular vesicles carrying bacterial DNA in urine and serum from a Korean population.

Introduction: Bacteria-derived extracellular vesicles (BEVs) are emerging as key biomarkers of host-microbiota interactions. However, little is known about how BEV profiles differ across different biofluids or how these differences relate to clinical phenotypes. We aimed to examine the BEV distribution and site-specific and shared associations with host phenotypes, and evaluated the clinical relevance of microbial distance between sampling sites.

Health-Oriented Sleep States: Making Sleep States Reflect Health Conditions.

Study Objectives: The rich information in sleep offers insights into brain function and overall health. The current guidelines for sleep staging by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) rely on relatively broad categorizations. These traditional sleep stages are not optimized to reflect health status.

Impact of Sleep Apnea on Perivascular Diffusivity and Cognition: A 4-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may impair perivascular diffusivity, a proposed glymphatic biomarker, contributing to cognitive decline.

Objectives: To investigate the longitudinal impact of OSA on cognitive performance and perivascular diffusivity, measured by diffusion tensor imaging along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS), and whether changes in diffusivity mediate the relationship between OSA and cognition.

Methods: In a community-based cohort, 1,110 participants underwent polysomnography, brain DTI, and cognitive assessments at baseline and four-year follow-up.

Impact of Muscle Quality on Muscle Strength and Physical Performance Beyond Muscle Mass or Diabetes Status.

Background: Muscle quality, represented by myosteatosis, is recognized as an important factor in sarcopenia. In this study, we aimed to determine the associations between myosteatosis, muscle strength and physical performance among the elderly South Korean population.

Methods: We included 1440 participants (mean age 62.

Genome-wide identification and functional validation of the WW domain containing oxidoreductase gene associated with sleep duration.

Individual differences in sleep duration have been reported, and genetic components of sleep duration have been identified showing various heritability. To identify genetic variants that contribute to sleep duration, we conducted a human genome-wide identification on sleep duration and performed confirmatory experiments using a Drosophila model. Genome-wide association study in human was analyzed to determine the association of the genetic variants with self-aware sleep duration from two community-based cohort, Ansan (cohort 1, n = 4635) and Ansung (cohort 2, n = 4205), recruited from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study.

Association of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease with white matter hyperintensity and cognitive decline: A longitudinal cohort study.

Aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has recently been proposed to describe the hepatic steatosis associated with metabolic abnormalities. Substantial evidence has shown that hepatic steatosis may be linked with cognitive impairment and dementia. This study aimed to clarify the association between MAFLD and brain structural and cognitive changes.

Middle-age cerebral small vessel disease and cognitive function in later life: a population-based prospective cohort study.

Background: Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is a major pathologic substrate of vascular contribution to cognitive impairment. However, population based long-term longitudinal cognitive function data in relation to cSVD are rare. We investigated the relationship between cSVD and cognitive decline over time in middle-aged through elderly population.

Deep Learning Analysis of White Matter Hyperintensity and its Association with Comprehensive Vascular Factors in Two Large General Populations.

Although the relationships between basic clinical parameters and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) have been studied, the associations between vascular factors and WMH volume in general populations remain unclear. We investigated the associations between clinical parameters including comprehensive vascular factors and WMH in two large general populations. This retrospective, cross-sectional study involved two populations: individuals who underwent general health examinations at the Asan Medical Center (AMC) and participants from a regional cohort, the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES).

Epilepsy is associated with the accelerated aging of brain activity in sleep.

Objective: Although seizures are the cardinal feature, epilepsy is associated with other forms of brain dysfunction including impaired cognition, abnormal sleep, and increased risk of developing dementia. We hypothesized that, given the widespread neurologic dysfunction caused by epilepsy, accelerated brain aging would be seen. We measured the sleep-based brain age index (BAI) in a diverse group of patients with epilepsy.

Comparative Analysis of the Clinical Manifestations of Sinonasal Natural Killer T-Cell Lymphoma and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Background And Objectives: Natural killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are the two most prevalent subtypes of lymphoma in the sinonasal region. Accurately differentiating between sinonasal DLBCL and NKTCL is crucial for determining the appropriate treatment and prognosis. The present study compared the clinical characteristics of these two conditions.

Refining sleep staging accuracy: transfer learning coupled with scorability models.

Study Objectives: This study aimed to (1) improve sleep staging accuracy through transfer learning (TL), to achieve or exceed human inter-expert agreement and (2) introduce a scorability model to assess the quality and trustworthiness of automated sleep staging.

Methods: A deep neural network (base model) was trained on a large multi-site polysomnography (PSG) dataset from the United States. TL was used to calibrate the model to a reduced montage and limited samples from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) dataset.

Association of nightmares with cardio-cerebrovascular disease, hypertension and hyperlipidemia in older adults: A population-based cross-sectional study.

Objective: This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship of nightmares with cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CVD), hypertension and hyperlipidemia which are major preceding diseases of CVD in older adults.

Methods: Participants (n = 2824; mean age 63.6 ± 6.

Linking brain structure, cognition, and sleep: insights from clinical data.

Study Objectives: To use relatively noisy routinely collected clinical data (brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, clinical polysomnography (PSG) recordings, and neuropsychological testing), to investigate hypothesis-driven and data-driven relationships between brain physiology, structure, and cognition.

Methods: We analyzed data from patients with clinical PSG, brain MRI, and neuropsychological evaluations. SynthSeg, a neural network-based tool, provided high-quality segmentations despite noise.

Increased Blood Pressure Variability Over a 16-Year Period Is Associated With Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in a Population-Based Cohort.

Background: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is often associated with elevated blood pressure (BP). It is prevalent among hypertensive patients. Additionally, increased BP variability has been linked to LVDD.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and Its Possible Prodromes in General Population: Prevalence, Polysomnography Findings, and Associated Factors.

Background And Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and its possible prodromal conditions, isolated dream enactment behavior (DEB) and isolated REM without atonia (RWA), in a general population sample, and the factors associated with diagnosis and symptom frequency.

Methods: From a population-based prospective cohort in Korea, 1,075 participants (age 60.1 ± 7.

All-cause and major-cause mortality associated with sleep latency in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES): a population-based prospective cohort study.

Background: The all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk associated with sleep latencies in the general adult population is unknown. We aimed to investigate the association of habitual prolonged sleep latency with long-term all-cause and cause-specific mortality in adults.

Methods: The Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) is a population-based prospective cohort study comprising community-dwelling men and women aged 40-69 years from Ansan, South Korea.

Effect of physical activity on the change in carotid intima-media thickness: An 8-year prospective cohort study.

Background And Aims: There is a demand for longitudinal studies that use both objective and subjective measures of physical activity to investigate the association of physical activity with the change in carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). In order to investigate such association, we conducted an 8-year follow-up study that used both objective and subjective measures of physical activity.

Methods: This cohort study used subsamples of the ongoing Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES).

Association of blood pressure measurements in sitting, supine, and standing positions with the 10-year risk of mortality in Korean adults.

Objectives: This prospective cohort study investigated the association between blood pressure (BP) as measured in different body postures and all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality risk.

Methods: This population-based investigation included 8,901 Korean adults in 2001 and 2002. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured sequentially in the sitting, supine, and standing positions and classified into 4 categories: 1) normal, SBP <120 mmHg and DBP <80 mmHg; 2) high normal/prehypertension, SBP 120-129 mmHg and DBP <80 mmHg/SBP 130-139 mmHg or DBP 80-89 mmHg; 3) grade 1 hypertension (HTN), with SBP 140-159 mmHg or DBP 90-99 mmHg; and 4) grade 2 HTN, SBP ≥160 mmHg or DBP ≥100 mmHg.

The eGFR Decline as a Risk Factor for Metabolic Syndrome in the Korean General Population: A Longitudinal Study of Individuals with Normal or Mildly Reduced Kidney Function.

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, it is unclear whether decreased renal function affects MS. Through a longitudinal study, we investigated the effect of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) changes on MS in participants with an eGFR above 60 mL/min/1.

Characteristics of Hearing Loss Among Older Adults in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study: A Community-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study With an 8-Year Follow-up.

Objectives: This study investigated the 8-year incidence and progression of hearing loss (HL) and its types and examined the risk factors for changes in HL.

Methods: This longitudinal cohort study analyzed data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES), an ongoing, prospective, community-based cohort study that has been conducted since 2001. Altogether, 1,890 residents of urban areas in Korea aged 45-75 years at time 1 (baseline) were included in the study.

Bacterial Extracellular Vesicle Composition in Human Urine and the 10-Year Risk of Abdominal Obesity.

We aimed to evaluate a causal relationship between commensal bacteria and abdominal obesity. A prospective study, including 2222 adults who provided urine samples at baseline, was performed. These samples were used for assays of genomic DNA from bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Earlier chronotype in midlife as a predictor of accelerated brain aging: a population-based longitudinal cohort study.

Study Objectives: Evidence suggests that sleep-wake cycle disruption could be an early manifestation of neurodegeneration and might even be a risk factor for developing diseases in healthy adults. We investigated the impact of circadian phase change on structural and functional brain deterioration in a late-adulthood population.

Methods: We analyzed the data of 1874 participants (mean age 58.

Obstructive sleep apnoea and long-term risk of incident diabetes in the middle-aged and older general population.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. However, results from large population-based prospective cohort studies are rare. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the relative risk of 8-year incident type 2 diabetes in relation to OSA severity in a prospective cohort study of middle-aged and older adults.