• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.8.1-8.12
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• 2023

Background: Prolonged use of visual display terminal (VDT) can cause eyestrain, dry eyes, blurred vision, double vision, headache and musculoskeletal symptoms (neck, shoulder, and wrist pain). VDT working hours among workers have greatly increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between VDT working hours and headache/eyestrain in wage workers using data from the sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) (2020-2021) conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We analyzed the sixth KWCS data of 28,442 wage workers aged 15 years or older. The headache/eyestrain that occurred in the last year was assessed. The VDT work group included workers who use VDT always, almost always, and three-fourth of the working hours, while the non-VDT work group included workers who use VDT half of the working hours, one-fourth of the working hours, almost never, and never. To analyze the relationship between VDT working hours and headache/eyestrain, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using logistic regression analysis. Results: Among the non-VDT work group, 14.4% workers experienced headache/eyestrain, whereas 27.5% workers of the VDT work group experienced these symptoms. For headache/eyestrain, the VDT work group showed adjusted OR of 1.94 (95% CI: 1.80-2.09), compared with the non-VDT work group, and the group that always used VDT showed adjusted OR of 2.54 (95% CI: 2.26-2.86), compared with the group that never used VDT. Conclusions: This study suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, as VDT working hours increased, the risk of headache/eyestrain increased for Korean wage workers.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.1-13
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• 2023

The apprenticeship-based training method (ABTM) is highly effective for gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic training. However, the conventional ABTM has significant issues. Although many supplementary training methods (TMs) have been developed and utilized, they cannot entirely replace the ABTM, which remains the major TM strategy. Currently, new TM construction is crucial and necessary due to financial constraints, difficulty of obtaining sufficient training time due to patient safety-related regulations, and catastrophic damage caused by disasters such as the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The simulator-based TM (SBTM) is widely accepted as an alternative to the ABTM, owing to the SBTM's advantages. Since the 1960s, many GI endoscopy training simulators have been developed and numerous studies have been published on their effectiveness. While previous studies have focused on the simulator's validity, this review focused on the accessibility of simulators that were introduced by the end of 2021. Although the current SBTM is effective in GI endoscopic education, extensive improvements are needed to replace the ABTM. Incorporating simulator-incorporated TMs into an improved ABTM is an attempt to overcome the incompleteness of the current SBTM. Until a new simulator is developed to replace the ABTM, it is desirable to operate a simulator-integrated and well-coordinated TM that is suitable for each country and institution.

• Hip & pelvis
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• 제35권4호
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• pp.253-258
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• 2023

Purpose: To figure out how complete control of family visits to prevent infection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected the activity recovery of hip fracture patients admitted to nursing hospitals. Materials and Methods: Eighty-one patients with hip surgery in the two years prior to COVID-19 pandemic were classified as Group A, and 103 patients in the next two years were designated as Group B. The subjects' walking ability was evaluated by using the modified Koval index (MKI). In order to analyze the impact of the family visit control to the subjects, each group was classified into two different groups: (1) inpatients group who admitted to nursing hospitals and (2) home-treated patients. Additionally, statistical elements were processed in consideration of other factors that may affect the results of the experiment. Results: The MKI evaluated at 6 months postoperative was 3.31±1.79 in Group A and 2.77±1.91 in Group B, and it was meaningfully low after the pandemic (P=0.04). There was significantly low among both of Group A 2.74±1.76 and Group B 1.93±1.81 after the pandemic (P=0.03) among those treated at the nursing hospital. The rate of deterioration of the MKI was 35 (43.2%) in Group A and 57 (55.3%) in Group B, which increased by 12.1% after the pandemic. Conclusion: The pandemic had a negative effect on the recovery of postoperative activities of elderly hip fracture patients who admitted to nursing hospitals when family access was completely restricted to prevent infection.

• 여성건강간호학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.274-290
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of prenatal education characteristics, pandemic-related pregnancy stress, and health behaviors during pregnancy on prenatal depression in pregnant women during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: The participants were 180 pregnant Korean women, recruited from internet communities for pregnancy preparation, childbirth, and childcare, from July 5 to 15, 2022. The collected data were analyzed using the t-test, analysis of variance, the Mann-Whitney U-test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The scores for pandemic-related pregnancy stress (24.50±6.37) and health behaviors during pregnancy (67.07±9.20) were high. Nearly half of the participants (n=89, 49.4%) presented with prenatal depression, with scores of 10 or greater. Prenatal depression had a positive correlation with gestational age (r=.18, p=.019) and pandemic-related pregnancy stress (r=.27, p<.001), and a negative correlation with health behaviors during pregnancy (r=-.42, p<.001). The factors associated with prenatal depression were pandemic-related pregnancy stress (t=4.70, p<.001), marital satisfaction (dissatisfied) (t=3.66, p<.001), pregnancy healthcare practice behaviors (t=-3.31, p=.001), family type (weekend couple) (t=2.84, p=.005), and gestational age (t=2.32, p=.022). The explanatory power of these variables was 38.2%. Conclusion: Since participants had a high level of prenatal depression during the pandemic, and infectious diseases such as COVID-19 may recur, strategies should be developed to improve pregnant women's mental health with consideration of the unique variables that are relevant in a pandemic. It is also necessary to develop efficient online prenatal education programs that can be implemented even in special circumstances such as social distancing, and to evaluate their effectiveness.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제57권2호
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• pp.108-119
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• 2024

Objectives: Abrupt changes in air pollution levels associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak present a unique opportunity to evaluate the effects of air pollution on influenza risk, at a time when emission sources were less active and personal hygiene practices were more rigorous. Methods: This time-series study examined the relationship between influenza cases (n=22 874) and air pollutant concentrations from 2018 to 2021, comparing the timeframes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in and around Thailand's Khon Kaen province. Poisson generalized additive modeling was employed to estimate the relative risk of hospitalization for influenza associated with air pollutant levels. Results: Before the COVID-19 outbreak, both the average daily number of influenza hospitalizations and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 ㎛ or less (PM_2.5) concentration exceeded those later observed during the pandemic (p<0.001). In single-pollutant models, a 10 ㎍/m³ increase in PM_2.5 before COVID-19 was significantly associated with increased influenza risk upon exposure to cumulative-day lags, specifically lags 0-5 and 0-6 (p<0.01). After adjustment for co-pollutants, PM_2.5 demonstrated the strongest effects at lags 0 and 4, with elevated risk found across all cumulative-day lags (0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, and 0-6) and significantly greater risk in the winter and summer at lag 0-5 (p<0.01). However, the PM_2.5 level was not significantly associated with influenza risk during the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions: Lockdown measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic could mitigate the risk of PM_2.5-induced influenza. Effective regulatory actions in the context of COVID-19 may decrease PM_2.5 emissions and improve hygiene practices, thereby reducing influenza hospitalizations.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제57권2호
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• pp.120-127
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• 2024

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to increased mortality rates. To assess this impact, this ecological study aimed to estimate the excess death counts in southern Iran. Methods: The study obtained weekly death counts by linking the National Death Registry and Medical Care Monitoring Center repositories. The P-score was initially estimated using a simple method that involved calculating the difference between the observed and expected death counts. The interrupted time series analysis was then used to calculate the mean relative risk (RR) of death during the first year of the pandemic. Results: Our study found that there were 5571 excess deaths from all causes (P-score=33.29%) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 48.03% of these deaths directly related to COVID-19. The pandemic was found to increase the risk of death from all causes (RR, 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19 to 1.33), as well as in specific age groups such as those aged 35-49 (RR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.32), 50-64 (RR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.28 to 1.49), and ≥65 (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.32) years old. Furthermore, there was an increased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases (RR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.22). Conclusions: There was a 26% increase in the death count in southern Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half of these excess deaths were not directly related to COVID-19, but rather other causes, with cardiovascular diseases being a major contributor.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제21권10호
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• pp.1150-1160
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• 2020

Objective: To describe the experience of implementing a deep learning-based computer-aided detection (CAD) system for the interpretation of chest X-ray radiographs (CXR) of suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients and investigate the diagnostic performance of CXR interpretation with CAD assistance. Materials and Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, initial CXR of patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were investigated. A commercialized deep learning-based CAD system that can identify various abnormalities on CXR was implemented for the interpretation of CXR in daily practice. The diagnostic performance of radiologists with CAD assistance were evaluated based on two different reference standards: 1) real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) results for COVID-19 and 2) pulmonary abnormality suggesting pneumonia on chest CT. The turnaround times (TATs) of radiology reports for CXR and rRT-PCR results were also evaluated. Results: Among 332 patients (male:female, 173:159; mean age, 57 years) with available rRT-PCR results, 16 patients (4.8%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. Using CXR, radiologists with CAD assistance identified rRT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients with sensitivity and specificity of 68.8% and 66.7%, respectively. Among 119 patients (male:female, 75:44; mean age, 69 years) with available chest CTs, radiologists assisted by CAD reported pneumonia on CXR with a sensitivity of 81.5% and a specificity of 72.3%. The TATs of CXR reports were significantly shorter than those of rRT-PCR results (median 51 vs. 507 minutes; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Radiologists with CAD assistance could identify patients with rRT-PCR-positive COVID-19 or pneumonia on CXR with a reasonably acceptable performance. In patients suspected with COVID-19, CXR had much faster TATs than rRT-PCRs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제57권1호
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• pp.18-27
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• 2024

Objectives: This study investigated the association between exacerbated economic hardship during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and changes in the health behaviors of Korean adolescents. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2021 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey and included 44 908 students (22 823 boys and 22 085 girls) as study subjects. The dependent variables included changes in health behaviors (breakfast habits, physical activity, and alcohol use) that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aggravation of economic hardship by COVID-19 and the subjective economic status of the family were used as exposure variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was utilized to calculate the prevalence odds ratios (PORs). Results: Severe exacerbation of a family's economic hardship due to COVID-19 was negatively associated with the health behaviors of adolescents, including increased breakfast skipping (POR, 1.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55 to 2.21 for boys and POR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.27 to 1.92 for girls) and decreased physical activity (POR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.57 for boys and POR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.60 for girls). These negative changes in health behaviors were further amplified when combined with a low subjective family economic status. Conclusions: The experience of worsening household hardship can lead to negative changes in health behavior among adolescents. It is crucial to implement measures that address the economic challenges that arise from stressful events such as COVID-19 and to strive to improve the lifestyles of adolescents under such circumstances.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제57권1호
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• pp.28-36
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• 2024

Objectives: This study investigated the impact of socioeconomic factors and sexual orientation-related attributes on the rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods: A web-based survey, supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, was conducted among paying members of the leading online portal for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) community in Korea. The study participants were MSM living in Korea (n=942). COVID-19 vaccination and infection were considered dependent variables, while sexual orientation-related characteristics and adherence to non-pharmacological intervention (NPI) practices served as primary independent variables. To ensure analytical precision, nested logistic regression analyses were employed. These were further refined by dividing respondents into 4 categories based on sexual orientation and disclosure (or "coming-out") status. Results: Among MSM, no definitive association was found between COVID-19 vaccination status and factors such as socioeconomic or sexual orientation-related attributes (with the latter including human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] status, sexual orientation, and disclosure experience). However, key determinants influencing COVID-19 infection were identified. Notably, people living with HIV (PLWH) exhibited a statistically significant predisposition towards COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, greater adherence to NPI practices among MSM corresponded to a lower likelihood of COVID-19 infection. Conclusions: This study underscores the high susceptibility to COVID-19 among PLWH within the LGBTQ+ community relative to their healthy MSM counterparts. Consequently, it is crucial to advocate for tailored preventive strategies, including robust NPIs, to protect these at-risk groups. Such measures are essential in reducing the disparities that may emerge in a post-COVID-19 environment.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제57권1호
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• pp.47-54
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• 2024

Objectives: This study was conducted to systematically summarize trends in research concerning patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as reported in Korean medical journals. Methods: We performed a literature search of KoreaMed from January 2020 to September 2022. We included only primary studies of patients with COVID-19. Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts, then performed full-text screening, both independently and in duplicate. We first identified the 5 journals with the greatest numbers of eligible publications, then extracted data pertaining to the general characteristics, study population attributes, and research features of papers published in these journals. Results: Our analysis encompassed 142 primary studies. Of these, approximately 41.0% reported a funding source, while 3.5% disclosed a conflict of interest. In 2020, 42.9% of studies included fewer than 10 participants; however, by 2022, the proportion of studies with over 200 participants had increased to 40.6%. The most common design was the cohort study (48.6%), followed by case reports/series (35.2%). Only 3 randomized controlled trials were identified. Studies most frequently focused on prognosis (58.5%), followed by therapy/intervention (20.4%). Regarding the type of intervention/exposure, therapeutic clinical interventions comprised 26.1%, while studies of morbidity accounted for 13.4%. As for the outcomes measured, 50.7% of studies assessed symptoms/clinical status/improvement, and 14.1% evaluated mortality. Conclusions: Employing a systematic approach, we examined the characteristics of research involving patients with COVID-19 that was published in Korean medical journals from 2020 onward. Subsequent research should assess not only publication trends over a longer timeframe but also the quality of evidence provided.