Abstract: Foreign-population has rapidly increased in the Republic of Korea and little is known about the effect acculturation on the risk non-communicable diseases among these new comers. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 391 participants. Using logistic regression, the research questions were whether the acculturation process measured by duration of residence in Korea might be linked to a higher obesity, or whether Korean diet favors obesity and consequently the risk of non-communicable diseases. Hypertension, diabetes, cancer and the body mass index were significantly associated with duration of residence in Korea. Foreign-born teachers who resided in Korea for >6 years had greater odds of reporting hypertension (OR= 2.07), heart disease (OR= 6.58), and diabetes (OR=8.66) compared to those who resided in Korea <1 year or 1 to 5 years. Foreign-born teachers between 41 and 50 years old also had greater odds of reporting hypertension (OR= 3.29), heart disease (OR= 4.39), diabetes (OR=11.09), cancer (OR=38.7) and being overweight/obese (OR=1.91) compared to those <30 years old. As for the gender, men had 2.3 greater odds (95% CI 1.26-4.20) of reporting hypertension and 1.89 greater odds (95% CI 1.26-2.83) of being overweight/obese compared to women. Finally, active smokers had 5.15 greater odds (95% CI 1.19-22.34) of reporting heart diseases than non-smokers and teachers with one of the parents with hypertension had 1.89 odds or reporting hypertension (95% CI 1.04-3.41). Eating typical food of Korea over 5 times a week was not associated with any non-communicable diseases nor contributed to increase BMI.
Keywords: Dietary Acculturation; Hypertension; Diabetes; Heart disease; cancer; Duration of residence; Body mass index.
Title: Association of Duration of Residence, Obesity and Diet to Current Self-Reported Non-Communicable Diseases among Teachers in Korea
Author: Brice Wilfried Obiang Obounou
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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