title: Prevalence of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance in an elderly urban Korean population.
abstract: Research on the epidemiology of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) is limited in Korea. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of MGUS in an elderly urban Korean population. A random sample of 1118 Korean elders was selected from residents aged 65 years or older living in Seongnam, Korea 1 year from August 2005. We obtained plasma samples remaining after scheduled tests for the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging. The mean age of the study population was 72 years (range, 65-97 years). To screen for MGUS, immunofixation and free light-chain (FLC) assays were performed. Age-adjusted and gender-adjusted MGUS prevalence rates in 680 responders were estimated as 3.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.0-4.6%], and the estimated age-adjusted prevalence of MGUS was 4.3% in men (95% CI = 1.9-6.6%) and 2.6% in women (95% CI = 1.0-4.2%). Abnormal FLC ratios were detected in 10% of MGUS cases. Multivariate analysis of 945 participants revealed that significant risk factors for MGUS included advanced age, male sex, hyperproteinemia, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and abnormal FLC ratio. MGUS is less prevalent among elderly Koreans (3.3%) than other races. This is the first study to estimate the prevalence of MGUS in the Korean elderly population. Our findings should be confirmed with additional studies analyzing follow-up samples from 2010.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul Clinical Laboratories, Seoul Medical Science Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kyoung-Ryul
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Han-Ik
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eun Kim
authors.forename: Ki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Woong Kim
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jung Kim
authors.forename: Keun-Wook
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hyun Kim
authors.forename: Soo-Mee
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bang
authors.forename: Jong-Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008998:Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains