• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.12-21
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• 2011

The objective of this study is to review retrospective exposure assessment methods used in wafer fabrication operations to determine whether adverse health effects including mortality or cancer incidence are related to employment in particular work activities and to recommend an appropriate approach for retrospective exposure assessment methods for epidemiological study. The goal of retrospective exposure assessment for such studies is to assign each study subject to a workgroup in such a way that differences in exposure within the workgroups are minimized, as well as to maximize the contrasts in exposure between workgroups. To reduce the misclassification of exposure and to determine if adverse health effects including mortality or cancer incidence are related to particular work activities of wafer fabrication workers, a minimum requirement of work history information on the wafer manufacturing eras, job and department at which they were exposed should be assessed. Retrospective assessment of the task that semiconductor workers performed should be conducted to determine not only the effect of a particular job on the development of adverse health effects including mortality or cancer incidence, but also to adjust for the healthy worker effect. In order to identify specific hazardous agents that may cause adverse health effects, past exposure to a specific agent or agent matrices should also be assessed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.18-27
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• 2008

This study investigated social relief schemes for serious adverse drug reactions in foreign countries and deduced lessons and implications for Korea to implement the scheme. A social relief scheme for serious adverse drug reactions provides reliefs for diseases and such health effects as disabilities or deaths that were caused by adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals prescribed at hospitals and clinics as well as those purchased at pharmacies notwithstanding their proper use. The US and the UK do not have specific relief schemes for adverse drug reactions but apply rules of strict liability or negligence. New Zealand and Nordic countries provide no-fault compensation schemes for health effects or injuries caused by medical treatments or medicinal products. Japan and Taiwan have operated the schemes since 1980 and 2000, respectively. In designing the scheme in Korea, we suggested that cases eligible for relief be confined to serious adverse reactions such as death or disability and then extended to diseases. It is desirable to encourage the reporting system of adverse drug reactions and quality use of medicines for the relief scheme to work efficiently.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2021

There is a growing body of literature on the adverse health effects of ambient air pollution. Children are more adversely affected by air pollution due to their biological susceptibility and exposure patterns. This review summarized the accumulated epidemiologic evidence with emphasis on studies conducted in Korea and heterogeneity in the literature. Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there is consistent evidence on the association between exposure to ambient air pollution and children's health, especially respiratory health and adverse birth outcomes, and growing evidence on neurodevelopmental outcomes. Despite these existing studies, the mechanism of the adverse health effects of air pollution and the critical window of susceptibility remain unclear. There is also a need to identify causes of heterogeneity between studies in terms of measurement of exposure/outcome, study design, and the differential characteristics of air pollutants and population.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.143-152
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• 2009

Indoor air quality at classrooms is of special concern since students are susceptible and indoor air problems can be so subtle that it does not always produce easily recognizable health effects. The main objectives of the study were to investigate the time-activity pattern of school students, to determine the sources of poor indoor air quality in schools, and to demonstrate how indoor air quality in schools causes adverse health effects such as headache, upper airway irritation, fatigue, and lethargy. Recent articles ranging from 1987-2009 related to school indoor air quality were systematically reviewed. Building-associated health effects can increase student absences from school and degrade the performance of children while in school. The reduced ventilation rate was associated with a decreased ability to concentrate along with increased adverse health symptoms. There was an association between residential proximity to busy roads and a variety of adverse respiratory health outcomes in children. Consequently, the current findings suggest the need for control strategy for school indoor air pollutants with multidisciplinary approach methods because Korea has no other natural resources except manpower especially.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10675-10681
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• 2015

Background: The ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein and p53 play key roles in sensing and repairing radiation-induced DNA double strand breaks (DSBs). Accumulating epidemiological evidence indicates that functional genetic variants in ATM and TP53 genes may have an impact on the risk of radiotherapy-induced side effects. Here we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the potential interaction between ATM Asp1853Asn and TP53 polymorphisms and risk of radiotherapy-induced adverse effects quantitatively. Materials and Methods: Relevant articles were retrieved from PubMed, ISI Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. Eligible studies were selected according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to estimate the association between ATM Asp1853Asn and TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphisms and risk of radiotherapy adverse effects. All analyses were performed using the Stata software. Results: A total of twenty articles were included in the present analysis. In the overall analysis, no significant associations between ATM Asp1853Asn and TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphisms and the risk of radiotherapy adverse effects were found. We conducted subgroup analysis stratified by type of cancer, region and time of appearance of side effects subsequently. No significant association between ATM Asp1853Asn and risk of radiotherapy adverse effects was found in any subgroup analysis. For TP53 Arg72Pro, variant C allele was associated with decreased radiotherapy adverse effects risk among Asian cancer patients in the stratified analysis by region (OR=0.71, 95%CI: 0.54-0.93, p=0.012). No significant results were found in the subgroup analysis of tumor type and time of appearance of side effects. Conclusions: The TP53 Arg72Pro C allele might be a protective factor of radiotherapy-induced adverse effects among cancer patients from Asia. Further studies that take into consideration treatment-related factors and patient lifestyle including environmental exposures are warranted.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to obtain information of use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) and any reported adverse effects of them on vulnerable elders in a community. Methods: 1,837 elderly subjects aged 65 or higher with health problems were selected from those who were enrolled in a public health care center and received visiting health management services. A proportional stratified sampling method was used. Data collection was completed by face to face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The descriptive statistics and ${\chi}^2$-test were used to analyze the data. Results: The prevalence of CAM use last year was 57.5%, and 10.4% of the subjects reported adverse effects of the therapies. The mean score of the subjects' attitudes towards CAM was $4.1{\pm}3.44$ (range 1~10). The major sources of advice and exposure to CAM therapies were most likely to be from family and friends (72.5%). The primary reason for choosing CAM was to manage symptoms and relieve pain (86.6%). Conclusion: These findings suggest the need to develop nursing strategies for reducing and preventing adverse effects of CAM use by promoting awareness of using safe and appropriate CAM therapies.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.71-75
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• 2014

Ambient air pollution (AAP) and particulate matters (PM) have been closely associated with adverse health effects such as respiratory disease and cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies have examined the adverse health effects associated with short- and long-term exposure to AAP and outdoor PM on respiratory disease. However, the effect of PM size ($PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$) on cardiovascular disease has not been well studied. Thus, it remains unclear how the size of the inhalable particles (coarse, fine, or ultrafine) affects mortality and morbidity. Airborne PM concentrations are commonly used for ambient air quality management worldwide, owing to the known effects on cardiorespiratory health. In this article, we assess the relationship between cardiovascular diseases and PM, with a particular focus on PM size. We discuss the association of $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$, nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$), and elemental carbon with mortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and altered blood pressure, based on epidemiological studies. In addition, we provide evidence that the adverse health effects of AAP and PM are more pronounced among the elderly, children, and people with preexisting cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. Finally, we critically summarize the literature pertaining to cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis and stroke, and introduce potential studies to better understand the health significance of AAP and PM on cardiovascular disease.

• Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.471-482
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• 2014

It is known that the smart education has a positive impact of critical thinking skills and problem solving, communication and collaboration, creativity and innovation in the 21st century. However, some people concern about the adverse effects of smart education such as smart devices addiction and health problems. In this study, we conducted the adverse effects of education using smart devices on students. The questionnaire survey was conducted and analyzed for students in 9 schools at A city(four elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools) that are receiving smart education. The types of adverse effects of smart education includes smartphone addiction, lack of information ethics, health problems, and lack of social and learning ability. We showed the differences each item compared among elementary school, middle school and high school about adverse effects of smart education. The result of survey didn't have any adverse affect of smart education such as internet addiction or smartphone addiction. However in order to protect the copyright, the school needs to fight against indiscriminated downloads and perform the information ethics education. Plus we surely need to be more open-minded in reading and exercise at school and home.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2010

In recent years, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has become an important worldwide public health issue. Children are particularly vulnerable to ETS because they are still developing. ETS exposure causes a wide range of adverse health effects on childhood asthma. There is convincing evidence that ETS exposure is causally associated with an increased prevalence of asthma, increased severity of asthma and worsening asthma control in children who already have the disease, even though a causal relationship with asthma onset is not yet established for asthma incidence. Mechanisms underlying these adverse effects of ETS are not clearly elucidated but e studies on this issue suggest that genetic susceptibility, impaired lung function, and augmented airway inflammation and remodeling may be involved. Children with asthma are just as likely to be exposed to ETS as children in general and there is no risk-free level of exposure. Therefore, providing a smoke-free environment may be of particular importance to the asthmatic children exposed to ETS who have adverse asthma outcomes, as well as to children with genetic susceptibility who are at increased risk of developing asthma upon exposure to ETS in early childhood.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.173-180
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was to explore the perception about menstruation and discomforts of using disposable menstrual pads in menstruating women. Method: A survey was conducted of 132 menstrual women recruited by convenience sampling. Data were collected by a face-to-face interview and a study questionnaire, and analyzed by frequency and $X^2$-test. Result: More than half of the subjects expressed a negative perception about menstruation, while 25% expressed a mixed perception and 24.2% expressed a positive perception. Women who perceived their menstruation negatively had more menstrual pain than the others (p<.001). The most frequently experienced discomforts of using disposable pads were an unpleasant smell (18.9%), leakage (18.9%), and discomfort (16.6%). Adverse effects of using disposable pads were reported as an itching sense (23.1%). skin rash (20.2%), and skin irritation (10.6%). Alternate materials were reported with tampons, alternate washable pads, and maternity pads. Conclusion: The results indicate that disposable menstrual pads cause several discomforts and common adverse effects such as skin problems. To decrease these discomforts and relieve adverse effects, planned nursing education including women's personal hygiene methods and information about an alternate pad may be helpful.