• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.418-428
• /
• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship between low blood lead levels and increasing blood pressure among Korean adults using a nationally representative sample of the Korean population: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2008. Methods: A total of 918 subjects aged 40 and older and not currently being treated for hypertension participated in this study. Information about age, gender, smoking status, alcohol consumption, education level, and the use of anti-hypertensive medication was collected. The blood pressure was defined as the mean of the second and the third measurements after three time measurements. Lead levels were determined by an analysis of blood samples. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were implemented after adjusting for covariates including age, gender, educational level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and BMI. Results: This study showed that the average differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure comparing the lowest to highest quintile of blood lead were 4.33 mmHg (95% CI, 0.66-8.00; p for trend = 0.027) and 2.66 mmHg (95% CI, 0.26-5.06; p for trend = 0.021), respectively. After multivariate adjustment for covariates, the prevalence odds ratio (POR) of subjects in the highest quintile was associated with a 1.70-fold increase in the risks of hypertension (95% CI, 0.83-3.49; p for trend test = 0.112) over those in the lowest quintile of blood lead concentration, However, it was not statistically significant. Conclusions: This study provided evidence for an association between low- levels of blood lead and elevations in blood pressure and risk for hypertension in the general population of Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.1415-1418
• /
• 2014

The ABO blood group has been recently proposed to influence development of oral cancer. The aim ofthis study was to evaluate the association between the type of ABO blood group and oral cancer. In a case-control study, 104 patients with oral cancer were compared with 90 blood donors without cancer as controls. Data regarding the patient demographics, blood groups, Rh status, cancer characteristics and oral habits were also compared between two subgroups of squamous and non-squamous oral cancers. For statistical analysis, Chi-square test, t-student Test and Logistic Regression were used to analyze the relationship between ABO blood groups and oral cancer. The frequency of blood group B was significantly higher in oral cancer patients than controls (32% vs 13%) (p value=0.01), but Rh factor did not show significant difference between cases and controls. According to Logistic Regression, people with blood group B and those older than 50 had 3.5 and 19.4 times elevated risk of developing oral cancer, respectively. The frequency of squamous cell cancer was also significantly higher in men and people older than 50. On the other hand, females, people under 50, and those with blood group B were at 5.6, 2.9 and 4.3 times higher risk of developing non-squamous cell oral cancer,respectively. People with blood group B are at a greater risk of developing oral cancer, and female patients under 50 years of age with blood group B have the highest risk to develop non-squamous cell oral cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.453-456
• /
• 2013

Introduction: Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths, is divided into 2 main classes based on its biology, therapy and prognosis: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Many cases are at an advanced stage at diagnosis, which is a major obstacle to improving outcomes. It is important to define the high risk group patients for early diagnosis and chance of cure. Blood group antigens are chemical components on erythrocyte membranes but they are also expressed on a variety of epithelial cells. Links between ABO blood groups with benign or malignant diseases, such as gastric and pancreas cancers, have been observed for a long time. In this study, we aimed to investigate any possible relationship between lung cancer histological subtypes and ABO-Rh blood groups. Materials and Methods: The files of 307 pathologically confirmed lung cancer patients were reviewed retrospectively. Cases with a serologically determined blood group and Rh factor were included and those with a history of another primary cancer were excluded, leaving a total of 221. The distribution of blood groups of the lung cancer patients were compared with the distribution of blood groups of healthy donors admitted to the Turkish Red Crescent Blood Service in our city in the year 2012. Results: There was no significant difference between patients with lung cancer of either type and the control group in terms of distribution of ABO blood groups and Rh factor (p: 0.073). There was also no relationship with non small cell cancer histological subtypes. Conclusions: In this study, we found no relationship between the ABO-Rhesus blood groups and NSCLC and SCLC groups. To our knowledge this is the first analysis of ABO blood groups in SCLC patients.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.144-152
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence rate of hypertension and diabetes a in the urban communities and to provide the basic data for development of health promot The subjects of this study were 526 people over the age of 20, living in Seoul. Data for this collected from June 19, 2001 to September 25, 2001. The results of this study are as follows: 1. The subject group is comprised of males, $57.4\%$ and females, $42.6\%$. Their ages range from 20 to 89, and the weights from 40 to 94 kilograms. 2. In the systolic blood pressure, $36.1\%$ showed high, $56.5\%$ normal. and $7.4\%$ low. In the diastolic blood pressure, $50.5\%$ showed high, $48.9\%$ normal, and $1.7\%$. low. In the blood glucose, $70.3\%$ showed normal. $27.9\%$ high, and $1.7\%$. low. 3. There was a significant difference in the mean(SD) of the systolic blood pressure by age(p=.017) and weight(p=.005). Another significant difference was found in the mean (SD) of the diastolic blood pressure by age(p=.006) and weight(p=.007). There was a significant difference in the mean(SD) of the blood glucose by sex and age(p=.001). 4. There were significant correlations between the blood pressure and the blood glucose and the sex, age and weight. 5. The multiple regression analysis showed that the age and weight explained $9.9\%$ of the systolic blood pressure, that the weight and age explained $7.1\%$ of the diastolic blood pressure, and that the age and systolic blood pressure explained $7.0\%$ of blood glucose. The results were useful in developing health promotion programs. This study suggests that a further study be needed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.10
• /
• pp.5091-5096
• /
• 2012

Background: There is a large amount of evidence that the ABO blood group system may play a role in disease etiology. A relationship between ABO and Rhesus blood groups and cancer risk has been demonstrated in a number of studies. However, in relation to gynecological malignancies, these findings are inconsistent and contradictory. Aim: To perform a case-control study for analysis of the distribution of ABO and Rh blood antigens among women from South-East Siberia who suffered from ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer, and to assess the potential role of these antigens in carcinogenesis. Design, Subjects and Methods: A total of 1,163 cases with ovarian cancer (n=551), endometrial cancer (n=440) and cervical cancer (n=172) were involved in the study. The control group was formed from 22,581 female blood donors. Blood groups were determined through patients medical records and blood donor records. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. The blood group O was defined as the referent group, as it has the greatest frequency in the populations of Southern Siberia. P values less than 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant. Results: We found that carriage of non-O blood types increased the risk of ovarian cancer by 40-60%, and the magnitude of this relationship was strongest in women with the AB (IV) blood group. Carriage of the A (II) blood group strongly correlated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer in premenopausal, but not in postmenopausal women. No statistically significant correlations were obtained for endometrial cancer and cervical cancer. Additionally, we did not observe a relationship between Rhesus factor and cancer risk. Conclusion: We suggest that carriage of non-O blood groups may elevate risk of ovarian cancer and can play a role in its development.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.493-504
• /
• 2008

This paper presents a computation of nonlinear elastic strains that may occur in the leaflet of the Edwards MIRA mechanical heart valve by the applied high blood pressure using the finite element analysis methodology. By adopting numerical analysis techniques of the commercial finite element analysis code, NISA, structural analyses of the Edwards MIRA mechanical heart valve are performed for the slight variation of leaflet thickness to get the elastic strains occurring in the leaflet while the high blood fluid pressures are applied to the leaflet surface in order that the maximum stress occurring in the leaflet may be less than the yield stress of the leaflet material(Si-Alloyed PyC). And so, only the geometric non-linearity is assumed because large geometric nonlinear elastic strains are expected rather than material nonlinear strains due to the applied high blood pressure. Computed linear and nonlinear elastic strains are compared to make sure the non-linearity of the computed elastic strain. The comparison result shows that large elastic strains occur clearly in the very thin leaflets as high blood pressures are applied. However, only the linear elastic strains occur for low blood pressures, and also for thick leaflets even for the high blood pressures. Hence the nonlinear structural analysis is very required in the structural design of a mechanical heart valve.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.19-28
• /
• 2010

This study was designed to investigate the effect of increased blood and tibia lead on the change of bone mineral density in retired male lead workers. One hundred nine retired male lead workers who worked in 4 different lead industries and 51 nonoccupationally lead exposed male subjects were recruited from March 2004 to October 2004. Bone mineral density(BMD) was measured by broadband ultrasound attenuation(BUA) at left calcaneous bone area with broadband ultrasound attenuation method of QUS-2(Metra Biosystems Inc, USA). Tibia bone lead was measured for skeletal bone lead with K-xray fluorescence(K-XRF) and blood lead was analyzed with flameless atomic spectrophotometer. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum calcium and iron were also analyzed. In addition, information for smoking and drinking status and basic personal data such as age and lead exposure were also collected using questionnaire inquiry. Blood lead was correlated with tibia lead (r=0.711) and these two variables were negatively correlated with BUA in bivariate analysis. BUA and tibia lead showed significant main effects on the change of blood lead after adjusting covariates. The effect modification by the level of BMD (low: lower than the median of BUA and high: higher than the median of BUA) was observed between the association of tibia lead and blood lead after adjustment of covariates. The subjects who had higher BMD seemed to have lower blood lead by the increase of tibia lead than those of lower BMD. In the multiple regression analysis of blood lead and tibia lead on BUA after adjustment of covariates, only blood lead showed statistically significant effect on BUA. This study confirmed that BMD and blood lead were significantly associated. To verify the causal association of BMD on blood lead and vice versa, further longitudinal studies are needed.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.1073-1082
• /
• 2003

Many researchers have investigated the blood flow characteristics through bileaflet mechanical heart valves using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. Their numerical approach methods can be classified into three types; steady flow analysis, pulsatile flow analysis with fixed leaflets, and pulsatile flow analysis with moving leaflets. The first and second methods have been generally employed for two-dimensional and three-dimensional calculations. The pulsatile flow analysis interacted with moving leaflets has been recently introduced and tried only in two-dimensional analysis because this approach method has difficulty in considering simultaneously two physics of blood flow and leaflet behavior interacted with blood flow. In this publication, numerical calculation for pulsatile flow with moving leaflets using a fluid-structure interaction method has been performed in a three-dimensional geometry. Also, pulsatile flow with fixed leaflets has been analyzed for comparison with the case with moving leaflets. The calculated results using the fluid-structure interaction model have shown good agreements with results visualized by previous experiments. In peak systole. calculations with the two approach methods have predicted similar flow fields. However, the model with fixed leaflets has not been able to predict the flow fields during opening and closing phases. Therefore, the model with moving leaflets is rigorously required for advanced analysis of flow fields.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.93-98
• /
• 2012

This study has attempted to establish an analysis method through validation against heavy metals in the body (Pb, Cd and Hg) using ICP-MS and Gold amalgamation and find out the relevance between heavy metal and Alzheimer's disease after analyzing the distribution of heavy metal concentration (Pb, Cd and Hg) and correlations between a control group and Alzheimer's disease group. In this study, Pb and Cd levels in the blood and serum were validation using ICP-MS. For analysis of Hg levels in the blood and serum, the gold amalgamation-based 'Direct Mercury Analyzer' has been used. According to an analysis on the heavy metal concentration (Pb, Cd and Hg concentration) in the blood, Cd concentration was high in the Alzheimer's disease group. In the serum, on the contrary, Pb and Hg were high in the Alzheimer's disease group. For analysis of correlations between heavy metal levels in the blood and serum and Alzheimer's disease, t-test has been performed. Even though correlations were observed between the blood lead levels and Alzheimer's disease, they were statistically insignificant because the concentration was higher in a control group. No significance was found in Cd and Hg. In the serum, on the other hand, no statistical significance was found between the heavy metal (Pb, Cd and Hg) and Alzheimer's disease. In this study, no statistical significance was observed between heavy metal and decrease in cognitive intelligence. However, it appears that a further study needs to be performed because the results of the conventional studies were inconsistent.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.89-100
• /
• 2024

Purpose : The objective of this study was to determine the major factors influencing the onset of diabetes and prediabetes and for collection of the basic data required to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and plan for administration of an effective health care system. By classifying the level of blood sugar management according to three categories: normal, prediabetes, and diabetes diagnosis, and determining the causes of diabetes in consideration of various variables, we will conduct an analysis of the main factors to be addressed for effective management of blood sugar and for preparation of basic data for use in early management. Methods : In this study, an analysis of raw data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected over a period of three years from 2019 to 2021, including 8,110 subjects in 2019, 7,359 subjects in 2020, and 7,090 subjects in 2021 was performed. A total of 22,559 subjects were aged 19 years or older, and 15,821 subjects were classified as subjects for inclusion in the final analysis. In the analysis, categorical variables were tested for difference, analysis of continuous variables using regression was performed, and analysis of influencing factors was performed using multinomial logistic analysis. Result : Significant factors related to the onset of diabetes and prediabetes included age (p<.001), marital status (p<.001), occupation (p<.001), hypertension (p<.001), dyslipidemia (p<.001), cardiovascular disease (p=.008), alcohol (p=.030) smoking (p=.005), systolic blood pressure (p<.001), diastolic blood pressure (p<.001), body mass index (p<.001) and waist circumference (p=.037), blood triglycerides (p<.001), and blood cholesterol (p<.001). Conclusion : Diabetes, a complex disease affected by a variety of diseases, requires active management from the prediabetes stage, and providing an appropriate level of medical information and services to elderly individuals without family support is considered a long-term health care system requirement in Korean society where the demographic structure is changing. In particular, determining the causes of prediabetes and development of a preventive approach to administering the health care system will be important for efficient management of diabetic patients.