Symptomatic hyperventilation (SH) is a pathological condition that manifests with breathlessness, dyspnea, light-headedness, anxiety, and paresthesia. However, little is known about the prevalence of SH and its association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a young population. The Nijmegen questionnaire (NQ), which measures severity of SH, had not previously been cross-culturally translated into Korean. In this study, the NQ was cross-culturally translated into Korean (KNQ), using translation and back-translation methods. To examine the reliability and validity levels of the KNQ, as well as its association with HRQoL, 237 college students (21.38 ± 2.45 years) were asked to complete the KNQ, the Korean version of the general health questionnaire (K-GHQ-30) and the short form-36 (K-SF-36). The KNQ showed satisfactory reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.878). In the construct validity test, four factors (neuropsychological, respiratory, neurogastrointestinal, and neuromuscular) were extracted (% of total variance = 59.8). Using a KNQ cut-off score of 23 points, the prevalence of SH was 22.8%. Physical and mental HRQoL levels estimated by the K-GHQ-30 score and the 8 subscale scores of the K-SF-36 were lower in the SH group than in those of the non-SH group. It is concluded that the cross-culturally translated KNQ is reliable and valid, and management of SH may prevent a reduction in physical and mental HRQoL in a young population.

The objective of this study was to summarize randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that have assessed efficacy and safety of mahuang and ephedrine on treatment of obesity and to propose better process of study. Methods: NLM Medline (pubmed), the Cochrane library, Scopus, Science Direct, RISS, KISS were systemically searched for clinical trials investigating the efficacy, safety of mahuang and ephedrine on treatment of obesity from 2000 to 2017. Results: 16 RCTs met all the inclusion criteria. In most reports, mahuang and ephedrine significantly reduced body weight, body fat mass. There were no serious adverse events associated with mahuang and ephedrine in all studies. Conclusions: In appropriate dose of mahuang and ephedrine for healthy adult was safe, and weight loss effect of mahuang and ephedrine was better than control group. Improved clinical practice guidelines should be developed for safe use of mahuang and ephedrine.

The purpose of this study is to predict the weight loss by applying machine learning using real-world clinical data from overweight and obese adults on weight loss program in 4 Korean Medicine obesity clinics. Methods: From January, 2017 to May, 2019, we collected data from overweight and obese adults (BMI≥23 kg/m2) who registered for a 3-month Gamitaeeumjowi-tang prescription program. Predictive analysis was conducted at the time of three prescriptions, and the expected reduced rate and reduced weight at the next order of prescription were predicted as binary classification (classification benchmark: highest quartile, median, lowest quartile). For the median, further analysis was conducted after using the variable selection method. The data set for each analysis was 25,988 in the first, 6,304 in the second, and 833 in the third. 5-fold cross validation was used to prevent overfitting. Results: Prediction accuracy was increased from 1 st to 2 nd and 3 rd analysis. After selecting the variables based on the median, artificial neural network showed the highest accuracy in 1 st (54.69%), 2 nd (73.52%), and 3 rd (81.88%) prediction analysis based on reduced rate. The prediction performance was additionally confirmed through AUC, Random Forest showed the highest in 1 st (0.640), 2 nd (0.816), and 3 rd (0.939) prediction analysis based on reduced weight. Conclusions: The prediction of weight loss by applying machine learning showed that the accuracy was improved by using the initial weight loss information. There is a possibility that it can be used to screen patients who need intensive intervention when expected weight loss is low.

Objectives: Eating self-efficacy is an important predictor of successful weight control behaviors during obesity treatment. The Weight Efficacy LifeStyle Questionnaire (WEL) is an internationally used measure of eating self-efficacy. The objective of this study was to develop the Korean version of WEL (K-WEL) and verify face validity. Methods: According to previously published guidelines, the cross-cultural translation was conducted through organizing the expert committee, translation, back-translation, synthesis, grammar review, and final synthesis. Following the translation of the WEL into Korean, face validity was performed for 35 subjects. Results: After all the versions of the questionnaire were examined, the translated WEL questionnaires were finally synthesized and licensed by the developer in writing. Regarding the translated WEL questionnaires, seven out of 35 subjects (20%) offered ideas about ambiguous expressions in them. All four points indicated in the face validity verification were additionally modified for greater clarity and understanding. Conclusions: We developed the Korean version of WEL and completed face validity. In future research, it would be necessary to provide further study on the reliability and validity of the Korean version of WEL.

Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is characterized by abnormal breathing patterns and often results from psychogenic causes in the absence of organic diseases. Although acupuncture and herbal treatments have been suggested as alternative therapies for DB, few studies have addressed the relationship between DB and pathological patterns from a diagnostic perspective. We asked 237 college students (130 men aged 21.4 ± 1.9 years; 107 women aged 21.4 ± 3.0 years) to complete the Korean version of the General Health Questionnaire-30 (K-GHQ-30) and four validated pathological pattern questionnaires regarding qi and yin deficiencies, phlegm, and cold-heat patterns. The Korean version of the Nijmegen Questionnaire was used to classify participants into DB and non-DB groups. Effects of age, gender, and DB on pathological patterns were examined using simple regression and two-way MANCOVA models. Age had an effect on all pattern scores except heat pattern scores (β: 0.154–0.098). DB group showed a moderate main effect (η2 = 0.167) on pathological patterns, while gender showed a minimal main effect (η2 = 0.096); qi and yin deficiencies, phlegm, and cold-heat pattern scores in DB and female groups were higher than those in non-DB and male groups. The K-GHQ-30 scores showed significant positive correlations with the pathological pattern scores (r: 0.243–0.533), indicating that disruption of pathological patterns could be associated with patients’ psychological disturbance. In conclusion, these questionnaires may help to identify pathological patterns related to DB and determine individually tailored alternative therapies.