Heavy metals ingested through the consumption of aquatic products can accumulate in the human body over the long-term and cause various health problems. This study aims to present comprehensive data on the amount of heavy metals found in fish and shellfish in Korea using a systematic review of studies that report on that issue.

The study used the following databases: PubMed, Korean Studies Information Service System, and Research Information Sharing Service. The search terms for PubMed included fish OR shellfish OR seafood AND mercury OR cadmium OR lead OR heavy metal AND Korea. The search terms for Korean Studies Information Service System and Research Information Sharing Service included eoryu sueun, eoryu kadeumyum, eoryu nab, eoryu jung-geumsog, paeryu sueun, paeryu kadeumyum, paeryu nab, paeryu jung-geumsog, eopaeryu sueun, eopaeryu kadeumyum, eopaeryu nab, and eopaeryu jung-geumsog.

A total of 32 articles were selected for review. The total mercury, lead, and cadmium concentrations in fish and shellfish reported in each of the articles are summarized, as are the species of fish and shellfish with relatively high concentrations of heavy metals. Total mercury concentrations tended to be higher in predatory fish species, such as sharks, billfishes, and tuna, while lead and cadmium concentrations tended to be higher in shellfish.

This paper is the first to report a comprehensive summary of the concentrations of heavy metals in fish and shellfish. This data could be used as evidence to protect Koreans from exposure to heavy metals due to the consumption of highly polluted aquatic products.

The insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBP) regulate the bioavailability and bioactivity of insulin-like growth factor. We aimed to evaluate whether the IGFBP-3 level undergo major changes during perioperative periods according to the different kind of anesthetic agents.

Eighteen adults scheduled for elective total abdominal hysterectomy were enrolled. The patients were randomly assigned to have either propofol or isoflurane for maintenance of general anesthesia. A venous sample was taken for analysis of IGFBP-3 at the following time points: before induction, at the time of peritoneal closure, 1 hour after extubation at recovery room, and 2 and 5 postoperative days. The samples were analyzed by enzyme linked immunosolvent assay.

Demographic data were similar between groups. In the both groups, the IGFBP-3 concentration decreased after anesthesia induction, reaching a nadir at the time of peritoneal closure without a significant difference between groups. In analysis between groups, the IGFBP-3 concentration in the isoflurane group on the postoperative 5th day was recovered to preoperative value and significantly higher than that in the propofol group (P<0.05).

This is the first study to show that the anesthetics used for general anesthesia affect the IGFBP-3 level during perioperative periods. The decrease of IGFBP-3 level following anesthesia induction in the isoflurane group was recovered to preoperative value, whereas that observed in the propofol group was not recovered on the postoperative 5th day. Further study is needed to establish the definitive effect of general anesthetics on IGFBP-3 and provide a comprehensive interpretation.

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hypertension in adolescents and to find the relationship between an increase of body mass index and waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP).

Four hundred twenty-nine adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 at high school in Seoul were enrolled and their anthropometric data and body composition were measured. BP was measured by oscillometric devices at least twice. Hypertension was defined according to the normative BP reference for Korean children and adolescents.

The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 14.0%, 9.2% in boys and 9.0%, 10.2% in girls. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 9.0%, 6.0% in the normal body mass index group, 14.6 %, 16.7% in the overweight group, 21.7%, 29.8% in the obese group. The prevalence of systolic hypertension was 3.6% in the normal group, 12.5% in the overweight group and 29.8% in the obese group. However, the prevalence of diastolic hypertension had significant differences between the groups, which were 3.3% in the normal group, 6.3% in the overweight group and 4.3% in the obese group. According to WC, the prevalence of hypertension was 6.2% in the below 75th percentile WC group, 22.2% in the75th to 90th percentile WC group and 25.6% in ≥90th percentile WC group. The risk of hypertension was 5.55 times higher in the obese group and 2.04 times higher in the overweight group, 3.93 times higher in ≥90th percentile of WC group.

The risk of hypertension is markedly increased with obesity in high school students.

The phase of the menstrual cycle was demonstrated to have an influence on the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after gynecologic laparoscopic surgery, but little was known for breast surgery, which was shown to have relatively higher incidence of PONV, >60%. We performed this study to investigate the influence of the phase of menstrual cycle on PONV after breast cancer surgery.

A total of 103 patients, who were scheduled for breast cancer surgery under general anesthesia, were recruited, and patients with irregular menstrual cycles, history of previous history of PONV were excluded. Groups were divided in two ways as follows: 1) gynecologic classification: premenstrual and menstrual (days 25 to 6), follicular (days 8 to 12), ovulation (days 13 to 15), and luteal phase (days 20 to 24); 2) menstrual classification: menstrual (days 1 to 8) and non-menstrual (days 9 to 28). PONV were recorded using Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting and retching at postoperative 6 and 24 hours.

The overall incidence of PONV during postoperative 24 hours was 35.4%. At the menstrual classification, the incidence of PONV at postoperative 24 hours was higher in the menstrual group than that in the non-menstrual group (16.7% vs. 4.2%, P=0.057). The severity of PONV, measured with Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting and retching was significantly different between menstrual and non-menstrual groups (P=0.034).

The duration and severity of the PONV after breast cancer surgery were demonstrated to be prolonged and aggravated during menstruation, respectively. Therefore, consideration of menstrual cycle for scheduling breast cancer surgery could effectively prevent the PONV and reduce medical cost.