BackgroundChild malnutrition is not only a major contributor to child mortality and morbidity, but it can also determine socioeconomic status in adult life. The rate of under-five child malnutrition in Vietnam has significantly decreased, but associated inequality issues still need attention.ObjectiveThis study aims to explore trends, contributing factors, and changes in inequalities for under-five child malnutrition in Vietnam between 2000 and 2011.DesignData were drawn from the Viet Nam Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey for the years 2000 and 2011. The dependent variables used for the study were stunting, underweight, and wasting of under-five children. The concentration index was calculated to see the magnitude of child malnutrition, and the inequality was decomposed to understand the contributions of determinants to child malnutrition. The total differential decomposition was used to identify and explore factors contributing to changes in child malnutrition inequalities.ResultsInequality in child malnutrition increased between 2000 and 2011, even though the overall rate declined. Most of the inequality in malnutrition was due to ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The total differential decomposition showed that the biggest and second biggest contributors to the changes in underweight inequalities were age and socioeconomic status, respectively. Socioeconomic status was the largest contributor to inequalities in stunting.ConclusionsAlthough the overall level of child malnutrition was improved in Vietnam, there were significant differences in under-five child malnutrition that favored those who were more advantaged in socioeconomic terms. The impact of socioeconomic inequalities in child malnutrition has increased over time. Multifaceted approaches, connecting several relevant ministries and sectors, may be necessary to reduce inequalities in childhood malnutrition.

Background and Purpose— This study aims to investigate the association between insulin resistance (IR) and silent lacunar infarction (SLI) in healthy adults. Methods— We recruited 2326 healthy Korean adults who took health checkups, including a brain magnetic resonance imaging. SLI was defined as an infarction measuring 0.3 to 1.5 cm in diameter that was localized in the territory of perforating branches of cerebral arteries, as seen in the brain magnetic resonance imaging. The homeostasis model assessment–estimated insulin resistance index was used for IR estimation, and the cutoff value for its diagnosis for Koreans was 2.56. Results— The mean age of the study population was 56.2 years (range, 40–79 years), and 1279 subjects (55.0%) were male. The prevalence of SLI and IR was 8.1% and 18.1%, respectively. In multivariate logistic analysis, after adjusting for traditional SLI-associated risk factors, IR was positively associated with the prevalence of SLI (adjusted odds ratio, 1.69; 95% confidence interval, 1.16–2.46). The proportion of subjects with multiple SLI lesions (≥2) was also higher in the IR (+) group than that in the IR (−) group (4.3% versus 1.7%; P <0.001). In ordered logistic regression, IR was positively associated with an increase in SLI severity (adjusted odds ratio, 1.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.21–2.56). Conclusions— IR is an independent risk factor of SLI presence and its severity in Koreans. Whether improvement of IR might prevent SLI occurrence needs to be addressed by clinical trials.

BackgroundA high number of elderly people with multiple comorbidities are exposed to the risk of polypharmacy and prescription of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and patterns of PIM prescription in Korean older adults according to the 2012 Beers Criteria.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted using data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment (KHIRA) database of outpatient prescription claims collected from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2011. A total of 523,811 elderly subjects aged 65 years and older were included in the study, and several covariates related to the prescription of PIMs were obtained from the KHIRA database. These covariates were analyzed using Student’s t test and the chi-square test; furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors associated with the prescription of PIMs.ResultsA total of 80.96 % subjects were prescribed at least one PIM independent of their diagnosis or condition according to the 2012 Beers Criteria. The most commonly prescribed medication class was first-generation antihistamines with anticholinergic properties (52.33 %). Pain medications (43.04 %) and benzodiazepines (42.53 %) were next in line. When considering subjects’ diagnoses or conditions, subjects diagnosed with central nervous system conditions were most often prescribed PIMs. Female sex, severity of comorbidities, and polypharmacy were significant risk factors for PIM prescriptions.ConclusionsThis study confirmed that PIM prescription is common among elderly Koreans. A clinical decision support system should be developed to decrease the prevalence of PIM prescriptions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0285-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.