Jihye Kim

Kyung Hee University Global campus · Dept of Genetics and Biotechnology

Background Although nuts are a well-known healthy food group, the relationship between nut consumption and mortality remains unclear, particularly among Asians. This prospective cohort study examined the association between nut consumption and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality in Korean adults. Methods Data...

Our study harnesses the power of natural language processing (NLP) to explore the relationship between dietary patterns and metabolic health outcomes among Korean adults using data from the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VII). Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) analysis, we identified three distinct die...

Background/objectives: Prior studies, mostly conducted in Western countries, have suggested that the low cost of energy-dense foods is associated with an increased risk of obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association between food costs and obesity risk among Koreans who may have different food cost and dietary patterns than those of We...

Background and Aims We examined multiple dietary patterns in relation to total digestive system cancer (DSC) incidence and death. Method A total of 213,038 health professionals from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2016) and the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) (1986-2018) and the NHS II (1991-2017) with no cancer diagnosis at baseline wer...

Little is known about the relation between plant-based dietary patterns and digestive system cancers. This study investigated the prospective association between 3 pre-defined indices of plant-based dietary pattern and risk of digestive system cancers, as a whole or individually. We utilized data from 3 prospective cohorts, the Nurses’ Health Study...

Background: Plant-based dietary patterns assessed by a priori indices are associated with various health outcomes, but rarely have been examined in relation to liver cancer. Objective: This study investigated the associations between plant-based diets and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and evaluated whether the associations vary by sex a...

Background Plant-based diets assessed by a priori indices are associated with health outcomes. This study investigated the associations between pre-defined indices of plant-based diets and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and evaluated whether the association varies by sex, race and ethnicity, and anatomic subsite of tumors. Methods A total of 79,9...

Background/objectives: This study examined socio-economic differences in diverse food consumption among children 6-23 months of age in South Asia and Southeast Asian countries. Subjects/methods: Data from Demographic and Health Surveys in four countries in South Asia (n = 15,749) and four countries in Southeast Asia (n = 10,789) were used. Surve...

Plant-based diets have been suggested to be beneficial for type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, studies investigating the association between the healthiness of a plant-based diet and T2D risk are limited. This study explored the prospective association between scores from three different plant-based diet indices and risk of T2D and investigated whether...

In this study, we observed the changes in dietary patterns among Korean adults in the previous decade. We evaluated dietary intake using 24-h recall data from the fourth (2007–2009) and seventh (2016–2018) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Machine learning-based methodologies were used to extract these dietary patterns. Partic...

The relationship between the various types of diets derived from plants and vulnerability of dyslipidemia has rarely been investigated, and limited data exist in Asians whose dietary pattern is fairly different from that of the Western population. We aim to analyze the relationship between three plant-based diet indices (PDI) and the risk of dyslip...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study examined socioeconomic differences in diverse food consumption among children 6-23 months of age in South Asia and Southeast Asian countries. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data from Demographic and Health Surveys in four countries in South Asia (n = 15,749) and four countries in Southeast Asia (n = 10,789) were used. Survey-de...

Background and aimsPlant-based diets have been suggested to have beneficial effects on various health outcomes. However, the evidence on the association of plant-based diet quality with health outcomes is very limited in Asian populations, who may have a different dietary pattern than western populations. This study explored the prospective associa...

Background and Aims Plant-based diets have been suggested to have health benefits, and risk differs by quality of plant foods. However, evidences on the association between the quality of plant-based diets and mortality are limited. This study examined the associations between 3 different types of plant-based diet indices and risk of total and dise...

This study investigated the association between the different types of plant-based diets and dyslipidemia in Korean adults using data from the nationally representative sample. Using the 2012-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey data, a total of 14,167 adults (≥19 years old) participated in this study. Dietary intake was assessed by a se...

Backgroud/objectives: Evidence has suggested an association between serum vitamin D and metabolic syndrome (MetS), but prospective studies are very limited. The objective was to assess the dose-response association between serum vitamin D concentration and MetS risk using a systematic review and meta-analysis of updated observational studies. Mat...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has more than 100 different types, some of which are associated with cancer. The most common example is that of cervical cancer, which is associated with HPV16 and HPV18. Here, we performed next-generation sequencing (NGS) to type 2,436 samples obtained from Korean women to elucidate the correlation between multiple infec...

Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), various vaccines are being developed, with most vaccine candidates focusing on the viral spike protein. Here, we developed a previously unknown subunit vaccine comprising the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein fused with the tetanus toxoid epitope P...

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), a newly emerging tick-borne viral disease, has been detected in Asia since 2009, and person-to-person transmission is possible. SFTS is characterized by atypical signs, including mild to severe febrile illness similar to that associated with hemorrhagic fever, with 16.2 to 30% mortality. We found...

We evaluated the associations among different types of plant-based diet indices, risk of dyslipidemia, and individual lipid disorders in Asian populations with different dietary patterns from Western populations. Participants included 4507 Korean adults aged ≥40 years without dyslipidemia and related chronic diseases at baseline (2001–2002). Dietar...

Background Prior studies have shown that plant-based diets are associated with lower risk of cardiovascular risk factors and incident cardiovascular disease, but risks differed by quality of plant-based diets. No prospective studies have evaluated the associations between different types of plant-based diets and incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) a...

No studies have investigated the associations between established plant-based diet indices and metabolic syndrome (MetS). We evaluated the associations between an overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI), unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI), and MetS in a nationally representative sample using data from 14,450...

Aims: The joint effects of chronic alcohol consumption and smoking on dyslipidemia remain unclear in a prospective design. This study examined the effect of smoking on the association between long-term alcohol consumption and risk of incident dyslipidemia. Methods: A total of 4467 participants (1866 men and 2601women) aged 40-69 years without dy...

Prevalence of childhood stunting in Myanmar is one of the highest in the South-East Asia countries. Cross-sectional data from the Demographic Health Survey 2015–16 were used to examine risk factors for stunting, wasting, and underweight among children aged 0–59 months. The prevalence of stunting (height-for-age z-score < -2), wasting (weight-for-he...

Purpose This study examined the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in middle-aged and older adults using data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Methods A total of 5688 participants aged 40–69 years without MetS at baseline were recruited and followed for 8 y...

Background: The effect of smoking and sex on the relationship between alcohol consumption and risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components has not been investigated. Methods: A total of 5,629 Korean adults aged 40–69 years without MetS were recruited at baseline. Alcohol consumption was assessed biennially and classified as light...

Many internal and external factors are related to obesity. Pathogens that can induce obesity are the most interesting external factors. While the relationship between pathogenic human intestinal microbiota and obesity has been extensively studied, viruses have received relatively little attention. Among the human obesity-related viruses, adenovirus...

A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies were performed to assess the dose–response associations between fruit or vegetable consumption and the chance of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Studies on the association between fruit or vegetable consumption and the risk of the MetS published from January 1958 to 30 October 2018 were...

Background: Evidence on the prospective association between grain consumption and metabolic syndrome (MetS) is lacking. Objective: This study explored the association between grain intake by subtype or various combinations of grain intake and the risk of developing MetS in South Korean adults using data from a community-based prospective cohort...

Anemia is prevalent among preschool‐aged children in Myanmar, but few epidemiological studies of anemia at the national level were reported. Using data from the Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey 2015‐16, we examined risk factors for anemia at household, maternal, and individual levels for children aged 6–23 months (n=1,133) and 24–59 months (n=...

Dairy food consumption is known to be inversely associated with periodontal disease. However, there are conflicting results depending on the type of dairy foods. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between individual dairy food consumption and periodontal disease. A total of 9798 Korean adults, aged ≥30 years, who participated i...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES This study examined the association between refined grain consumption by subtype and the incidence of hypertension from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study data. SUBJECTS/METHODS In total, 5,018 participants (2,439 men and 2,579 women) from 40 to 69 years without hypertension were recruited at the beginning (2001–2002)....

The prevalence of childhood stunting in Myanmar is one of the highest among the countries of Southeast Asia. Cross‐sectional data from the Demographic Health Survey 2015‐16 were used to examine risk factors for stunting, wasting, and underweight among children aged 0‐59 months. The prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was 29.0%, 7.3%, a...

Objective We analysed optimal nutrient levels using linear programming (LP) to reveal nutritional shortcomings of Korean dine-out meals and to stress the importance of fruits and dairy products for maintaining a healthy diet. Design LP models that minimize deviation from recommended nutrient values were formulated to analyse deficiency or excess o...

Since 1990, many nucleic acid expression platforms consisting of DNA or RNA have been developed. However, although RNA expression platforms have been relatively neglected, several such platforms capped at the 5' end of RNA by an anti-reverse cap analog have now been developed. At the same time, the capping reaction is a bottleneck in the production...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES This prospective study examined gender-specific associations between egg intake and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes using data from a large-scale cohort study. SUBJECTS/METHODS A total of 7,002 Korean adults (40–69 years) without type 2 diabetes at baseline were analyzed. Dietary intake was evaluated by a food frequenc...

This study investigated the associations of green tea, coffee, and caffeine consumption with self-report lifetime depression in the Korean population using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In total, 9576 participants (3852 men and 5724 women) aged 19 years or older were selected for the present study. Green tea...

A systematic review and a meta-analysis of observational studies were performed to assess the dose–response relationship between specific types of dairy foods and the risk of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components. Studies of dairy foods and the risk of the MetS and its components published up to June 2016 were searched using PubMed, EMBA...

We examined gender differences in the association between dietary patterns and the risk of hypertension, using the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study data. A total of 5090 participants (2457 men and 2633 women) aged 40–69 years without hypertension at baseline were selected. Dietary patterns were obtained using factor analysis based on 26 food gr...

We examined the gender-specific association between dietary pattern and risk of developing cholesterolemia based on the data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology study. A total of 7515 individuals aged 40-69 years participated in this study between 2005 and 2010. Dietary intake was assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Lo...

Background: High fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake may be beneficial for hypertension prevention. However, a prospective association has not been investigated in a Korean population, and differences exist between typical diets in Korea and those of Western populations. Objective: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the associatio...

Prospective studies on the association between soft drink consumption and incident risk of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) have not been carried out in Asians. We explored the sex-specific association between soft drink consumption and incident risk of the MetS in Korean adults during 10 years of follow-up. A total of 5797 subjects who were free of t...

This cohort study examined the association between total and individual dairy products and the risk of developing the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Korean adults from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. We prospectively analysed 5510 participants aged 40-69 years without the MetS at baseline during a 10-year follow-up period...

Purpose: Dietary patterns are found to be associated with metabolic risk factors. We explored gender difference on the association between dietary patterns and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the general Korean population. Method: A total of 13,410 Korean adults (aged ≥19 years, 5384 men and 8026 women) who participated in the fifth KNH...

Background/objectives: Obesity, which is a known risk factor for many chronic diseases, has also been associated with vitamin D deficiency. This study explored the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and adiposity measures in a general Korean population using the most recent, nationally representative survey da...

The present study explored the relationships between fried food consumption and metabolic risk factors and hypertension in Korean adults. The study was based on the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2010 and 2011. A total of 9221 Korean adults aged ≥19 years were studied. Fried food consumption was assessed using...

This study investigated the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between Adenovirus 36 (Ad36) and obesity in seventy-nine Korean adolescent boys over 1 year. We analyzed the changes in body composition and metabolic risk factors according to the presence of Ad36 antibodies. Ad36 antibodies in serum were detected using the constant virus-dec...

Previous studies have suggested that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is associated with hypertension. However, the effects of age and sex on the relation between serum 25(OH)D and hypertension has not been examined. The present study examined the relationship between serum 25(OH)D and hypertension by age and sex in the general Korean population...

Previous studies have suggested that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels are associated with hypertension. However, the associations have yet to be studied in Koreans. This study explored the relationship among serum 25(OH)D, PTH concentrations, and the presence of hypertension in middle-aged and older Korean ad...

Background Previous studies have suggested that serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is associated with hypertension. However, it has not been examined the age difference on the relation between serum 25(OH)D and the risk of hypertension. Objective The present study examined the relationship between serum 25(OH)D and the risk of hypertension by age...

Background/objectives: This study explored the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) or parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in middle-aged and older Korean adults using the most recent, nationally representative survey data. Subjects/methods: The study sample consisted of 2624 Kore...

Obesity is associated with an alteration in zinc metabolism. This alteration may be associated with changes in gene expression of zinc transporters. In this study, we examined the leukocyte expression of zinc transporter ZnTs in response to zinc supplementation in young obese women. Thirty-five young obese women (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m(2)), aged 18-28 years...

Obesity, a chronic inflammatory state, is associated with altered zinc metabolism. ZnT and Zip transporters are involved in the regulation of zinc metabolism. This study examined the relationships among obesity, zinc transporter gene expression, and inflammatory markers in young Korean women. The messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of leukocyte zinc transp...

Obesity is a chronic inflammatory state characterized by altered adipokine production and increased levels of inflammatory cytokines. The study explored the effect of zinc supplementation on inflammatory markers and adipocyte hormones in young obese women. Twenty five non-obese women and forty obese women (body mass index ≥25 kg/m(2)) aged 19-28 ye...

Salty taste perception affects salt intake, of which excess amounts is a major public health concern. Gene polymorphisms in salty taste receptors, zinc status and their interaction may affect salty taste perception. In this study, we examined the relationships among the α-epithelial sodium channel (αENaC) A663T genotype, zinc intake, and salty tast...

Zinc may participate in blood pressure regulation and in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The study examined the relationship between zinc status and blood pressure in obese Korean women. Forty obese women (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m(2)) aged 19-28 years participated in this study. Zinc intake was estimated from one 24 hour recall and 2-day d...

Several evidences indicate that various elements including antioxidant minerals might play an important role in preeclampsia (PE). This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between serum mineral levels such as zinc, calcium, iron and selenium and the risk of preeclampsia in Korean women. Thirty women with preeclampsia and 29 normal...

This study explored the association between dairy food consumption and the risk of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. The study sample comprised 4,862 Korean adults (≥ 19 years) who participated in the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Dairy food consumption was assessed using a food‐frequency questionnaire. Metaboli...

Obesity has been associated with altered zinc metabolism. Two families of zinc transporters, the ZnT (SLC30) and the Zip (SLC29) family, are known to be involved in the regulation of zinc metabolism. In the current study, we examined the gene expression levels of leukocyte zinc transporters between obese (BMI=28.3±3.0, n=35) and non‐obese (BMI=20.7...

Recently bone health is an important issue in public health aspect and calcium is the most critical nutrient to influence bone mass and bone mineral density, and consequently bone fracture. Calcium DRIs of Korea are much lower than those of US/Canada which have been revised recently. Since the requirement of calcium in Asians may be different from...

Evidence indicates that various elements, including antioxidant minerals, might play an important role in preeclampsia (PE). This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between serum mineral levelsof zinc, calcium, iron, and selenium and the risk of preeclampsia in Korean women. Twenty-nine normal controls and 30 women with preeclamp...

Zinc deficiency is known to be associated with insulin resistance in obese individuals. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation on insulin resistance and metabolic risk factors in obese Korean women. Forty obese women (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m(2)) aged 19-28 years were recruited for this study. Twenty women of...

Dietary patterns are critical in the prevention of chronic disease. The relationship between specific dietary patterns and obesity has not been evaluated in a Korean adult population. This study examined whether specific dietary patterns are associated with obesity using survey data of the largest, nationally representative, general Korean populati...

This study was done to determine the effect of age on zinc metabolism and status among healthy Korean women. Measures of zinc metabolism and status were measured in eight young women (22-24 years) and seven elderly women (66-75 years) consuming a typical Korean diet. Oral and intravenous tracers highly enriched in (67)Zn and (70)Zn were administere...

Dietary patterns are critical in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. We examined the association between habitual dietary patterns and the risk of metabolic syndrome in South Korean adults. The study sample was composed of 9,850 Korean adults (aged ≥19 years) who participated in the second and third Korean National Health and Nutriti...

The gradual decrease in the age of onset of puberty raises concerns about the contribution of phytoestrogen intake on sexual maturation. However, no data are available on the association between serum isoflavone (genistein, daidzein) concentration and central precocious puberty (CPP). The aim of the study was to test the association between serum i...

Although human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) has been reported to be associated with obesity in US adults and children, Korean children and the Italian population, the association has not been found in Dutch or Belgian populations or in US military subjects. Therefore, we examined whether Ad-36 infection is associated with obesity in Korean adults. A total...

In Western countries, sleep deprivation has been reported to elevate blood pressure. Here, we examined whether this association is true also for an Asian population. The study sample comprised 5,393 Korean adults aged 19-99 years who had participated in the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Hypertension was defined as a...

The current study is to examine the association between obesity and depressive symptoms and to test the validity of "Jolly Fat" hypothesis in elderly Koreans. A total of 1229 elderly (60-85 years old) Koreans selected from the Ansan Geriatric Study participated in this study. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the measured weights and height...

The elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) have been strongly associated with adiposity and may represent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We investigated the relationship between metabolic syndrome and elevated ALT in the general Korean population. The study sample was comprised of 4,781 Korean adults who had participated in the 2005 Korean...

Little is known about the bioavailability of isoflavones in children. Previous studies have shown that children excrete more isoflavone in urine compared with adults. Thus we examined the relationship between usual dietary isoflavone intake and the urinary excretion of isoflavonoids in Korean girls of pubertal age. Twelve girls each were selected f...

Obesity has been identified as an important factor of elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a surrogate of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. We investigated the relationship between obesity and elevated ALT in the general Korean population. The study sample was comprised of 3098 Korean adults who had participated in the 2005 Korean National Hea...

Although the human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) has been associated with obesity and related lipid disorders in the United States, this association has yet to be identified in other countries. Therefore, we tried to determine whether Ad-36 is associated with obesity or lipid disorders in Korean schoolchildren. A total of 318 Korean schoolchildren aged 6-1...

This study was done to determine the effect of age on zinc metabolism and status among healthy Korean women. Zinc measures were assessed in 8 young and 7 elderly women. Oral and intravenous tracers enriched in ⁶⁷ Zn and ⁷⁰ Zn, were administered. Multiple plasma and 24‐h urines were collected for 5 d with complete fecal samples for 9 d after isotope...

We investigated the adverse effect of phytate on mineral absorption and the effect of dietary phytate and age on the relationship between faecal phytate and faecal mineral excretion. Fourteen young women (aged 19-24 years) and fourteen elderly women (64-75 years) were studied for two metabolic periods (MP). In MP1, the subjects consumed a controlle...

This study investigated the usefulness of serum leptin as a predictor of fatty liver disease in Korean children. One hundred and twenty-four children were recruited from urban areas in Korea. Anthropometrical parameters and clinical variables, such as the levels of serum lipids, insulin and leptin, were measured. Fatty liver disease was detected vi...

The study was done to determine the effect of dietary phytate and age on the relationships between fecal phytate and mineral excretions. Fourteen young and 14 elderly women were fed two experimental diets, high phytate (HP) and low phytate (LP), for 10 days each with a washout period. Duplicate diet samples from two different menus and complete fec...

Elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at high risk for developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have proposed that elevated plasma homocysteine might be a risk factor for dementia. However, the impact of plasma homocysteine on MCI remains controversial. We investigated the relation between hyperhom...

Information on the excretion of dietary phytate in humans under different conditions is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate fecal excretion of dietary phytate and phosphorus in a group of young and elderly women consuming high and low phytate diets. Fifteen young and fourteen elderly women were fed two experimental diets, high phy...