• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.405-425
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between Stomach Qi Deficiency and gastric emptying as measured by abdominal ultrasonography in postprandial distress syndrome (PDS), a subgroup of functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods: Ten patients who met the Rome III diagnostic criteria for PDS and ten healthy controls participated in this study Gastric emptying shown as the half-life of gastric volume ($T_{1/2}$) was measured by abdominal ultrasonography. The degree of Stomach Qi Deficiency was assessed using the scale for Stomach Qi Deficiency pattern (SSQD). In addition, functional dyspepsia-related quality of life (FD-QoL), Nepean dyspepsia index-Korean version (NDI-K), and visual analogue scale (VAS) of distention and fullness were conducted on all subjects. Results: The scores of SSQD, FD-QoL, NDI-K, and VAS of distention and fullness in the patient group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05). $T_{1/2}$ was also higher in the patient group than in the control group. The SSQD score significantly correlated positively with $T_{1/2}$ in the patient group (r=0.640, p=0.046). However, there was no significant correlation between $T_{1/2}$ and other questionnaire scores in the patient group. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the gastric emptying measured by abdominal ultrasonography could be a quantitative indicator to diagnose Stomach Qi Deficiency in FD patients, especially the PDS subtype.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.16-31
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• 2021

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of clinical practice for gout in Korean Medicine (KM). Methods : On-line survey was adopted for this study, targeted at KM Doctors who were registered in the Association of Korean Medicine. The questionnaire included the general status of treatment, pattern identification and treatment method according to three stages given: acute, chronic and asymptomatic hyperuricemia stage. Results : Data from a total of 384 respondents was analyzed. Participants who responded most were in their 40s, working in KM clinics located in Seoul. Acupuncture and herbal medicines were the top priority treatments in preparing recommendations in clinical practice guidelines for gout, and where clinical trials were considered essential. As of the past year, the average number of first visits per month was 86.7%, and the average treatment duration was less than 1 month, accounting for 72.9%. As for the diagnostic method used for gout patients, the "diagnosed by clinical pattern" response was the highest, and the "blood and urine test" response was the highest as the diagnostic equipment used. As for the evaluation scale being used, the "VAS/NRS" response was the highest. Regardless of the gout stage, acupuncture was the most commonly used treatment method for gout patients, and bee venom pharmacopuncture was the highest for the pharmacopuncture used. In the case of herbal medicine, it was found that a wider variety of herbal medication uninsured in health insurance and herbal prescription were used for the staged treatment of gout than herbal medication in national health insurance coverage. In clinical practice, "acupuncture treatment three times a week" was the most common, and the "acupoints in the limb" were the most frequently used; LR3 and SP3 were the most frequently used acupoints. Conclusions : It is suggested that this survey should be helpful to develop clinical practice guideline for gout that reflects actual clinical practice.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.211-218
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• 2021

In order to increase the clinical value of an identification of patterns according to the eight principles (IPEP) in Korean medicine practice, The research on the Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) of IPEP should comprehend the situation of clinical usage of IPEP practiced by Korean medicine doctors at first. Google survey form were emailed to Korean Medicine doctors registered in the Association of Korean Medicine on 04/15/2021 and the survey was closed at 04/22/2021. Data of 505 answered cases were analyzed by Frequency analysis, Chi-Square analysis, correlation analysis for understanding differences by groups. Out of 505 respondents, 57.6% have answered that they are using IPEP. It means that 42.4% of KM doctors don't use in the medical practice reversely in spite of fundamental diagnostic theory. The 64.7% respondents of no using IPEP presented their opinion about the theoretical problem that it is difficult to use because the concept of IPEP is ambiguous. And next, the 52.1% of the respondents expressed that there is no objective tools to measure and record the IPEP evidences in actual implementation. And 49.6% of the respondents also suggested that it is hard to trust and use IPEP similar to the previous comment. Even about 50% of the respondents are carrying out diagnosis and treatment using IPEP, it showed that there were several unsolved problems such as lack of understanding and practical tools or objective indicators for diagnosis of IPEP. Through the above results, the concept, usage, measurement requirements with indices and discriminant logic of IPEP were manifested as the main hopes of attending members of Korean medicine in the survey, so the IPEP CPG should make clear about these difficult but necessary assignment in the near future.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2009

The demand of research for the development of pulse meter and analyzer by the examination questionnaire made from repeated preliminary investigations. Which was presented in the exhibition KIMES 2008, it's has been proved to be practical. 159 people(oriental medical doctor) sent in the question papers and selected the double answers in the relevant question. At the time of the development of the pulse meter and analyzer, we put the investigation for oriental medical doctor's demands in practice and found the following results. The development of the pulse analyzer is getting more important for modernization of oriental medicine. The purpose of this study was to find out the research needs for the pulse analyzer considering the practical use in the oriental medical clinics. A survey was conducted at the KIMES 2008 exhibition with a set of questionnaires. We collected the data from 159 oriental medical doctors who attended the exhibition, and we found following results. The more oriental doctors did not think the diagnostic devices were important in their clinical practices. Most responders preferred to use the Chon-Kwan-Cheok pulse diagnosis. To find out the mechanism of the pulse diagnosis and to standardize it, the clinical data base containing the results of the pulse diagnosis and the patten discrimination of each patient should be established. In conclusion, the researches on the standardization of Chon-Kwan-Chuk pulse diagnosis including the measurement techniques and the pulse-pattern correlations are very important for developing the pulse analyzer.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.293-309
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• 2022

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of predicting the degree of smartphone overdependence based on mobile phone usage patterns. Design/methodology/approach - In this study, a survey conducted by Korea Internet and Security Agency(KISA) called "problematic smartphone use survey" was analyzed. The survey consists of 180 questions, and data were collected from 29,712 participants. Based on the data on the smartphone usage pattern obtained through the questionnaire, the smartphone addiction level was predicted using machine learning techniques. k-NN, gradient boosting, XGBoost, CatBoost, AdaBoost and random forest algorithms were employed. Findings - First, while various factors together influence the smartphone overdependence level, the results show that all machine learning techniques perform well to predict the smartphone overdependence level. Especially, we focus on the features which can be obtained from the smartphone log data (without psychological factors). It means that our results can be a basis for diagnostic programs to detect problematic smartphone use. Second, the results show that information on users' age, marriage and smartphone usage patterns can be used as predictors to determine whether users are addicted to smartphones. Other demographic characteristics such as sex or region did not appear to significantly affect smartphone overdependence levels. Research implications or Originality - While there are some studies that predict smartphone overdependence level using machine learning techniques, but the studies only present algorithm performance based on survey data. In this study, based on the information gain measure, questions that have more influence on the smartphone overdependence level are presented, and the performance of algorithms according to the questions is compared. Through the results of this study, it is shown that smartphone overdependence level can be predicted with less information if questions about smartphone use are given appropriately.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.703-725
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• 2023

Objectives: This study investigated Korean medicine doctors' perspectives on clinical practice patterns in the process of developing Korean medicine clinical practice guidelines for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Methods: A questionnaire was developed for Korean medicine doctors. A total of 323 oriental medicine doctors participated in the survey, which was live for a total of 9 days from September 22, 2022, to September 30, 2022. Results: Regarding awareness of treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia, 63.8% of respondents showed high awareness of Korean medical treatments. However, items such as diagnostic criteria (17.7%), evaluation methods (17.0%), and Western medical treatments (22.9%) showed low recognition rates. In clinical practice, 76.2% of respondents were found to treat five or fewer patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia per month, and the average treatment period was 1 to 3 months for most at 41.2%. Korean medicine doctors diagnosed benign prostatic hyperplasia based on clinical features. The main interventions used were acupuncture, herbal medicine (prescription medicine), and moxibustion. This study has several limitations because of the low response rate for this survey; therefore, the participants are not representative of all Korean medicine doctors. In addition, because the study was conducted broadly on various topics related to benign prostatic hyperplasia, sufficient quality management was not carried out. Further studies that include a larger sample size and more in-depth studies on benign prostatic hyperplasia are needed. Conclusions: It is necessary to develop appropriate and reasonable Korean medicine clinical practice guidelines for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4517-4520
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• 2012

Introduction: Northeastern Iran is known as a high risk area of upper gastrointestinal cancers. Recent reports have suggested a declining trend for these cancers as well as an increase in the incidence of other malignancies including breast cancer. Our present aim was to describe the epidemiological pattern of breast cancer in this region during 2004-2009. Methods: All new cancer cases from public and private diagnostic and therapeutic centers of Golestan province were registered. A structured questionnaire was prepared and used based on the standerds of the International Association of Cancer Registries. The international classification of diseases for oncology was considered for coding. Age standardized incidence rates (ASR) of breast cancer were calculated. Results: A total of 11,038 new cancer cases were registered during 2004-2009, of which, 1,101 (10%) were females with breast cancer. The median age of the breast cancer patients was 46 years. The ASR for breast cancer was 28 per 100,000 person-years. We found an unusual rapid increase in breast cancer rate at the age of 25 years. The ASR of breast cancer was significantly lower in females from Turkmen ethnicity and those from rural areas(P value <0.01). Conclusion: Our study showed high rate of breast cancer in Golestan province of Iran. We found an unusual peak of breast cancer in young women. So, the age of starting screening programs may need to be revised in this area. The rate of breast cancer was significantly lower in women from Turkmen ethnicity. Further studies are warranted to clarify the role of important determinants, especially regarding the ethnic disparity, on breast cancer in this region.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.297-303
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• 2011

The existing studies of VDT syndrome have been researched only about for nurse groups without radiological technologists. The target of this study was workers who perform VDT task in general hospital placed in Daejun City such as insurance judgement, patient affairs, medical record management, medical computing service, hospital administration, and radiological sections. This study was conducted at October 15, 2009 to November 2, 2009 using structured questionnaire. Results of group A (age 20-29, less than 5 years experience at clinical site, normal staff, and unmarried group) showed significant skin and psychological conditions among recognition symptoms of VDT syndrome. Group B (age 30-39, 6-10 years experience at clinical site, managing staff, and married group) tends to be similar at orbital, whole body and muscles' frame response among recognition symptoms of VDT syndrome. Results of "Multiple Linear Regression" with dependent variable that is scores of recognition symptoms of VDT syndrome are as follows. The factors which influences for orbital-related problem is gender, health cares and obstacles during daily life. The factors which influences for whole body-related is exercise, stress and recognition for health condition and the factors which influences muscles' frame-related is 6-10 years experience at clinical site, human relationship, health cares and obstacles during daily life. These are proved to be similar by statistic analysis. There is small difference at recognition symptom of VDT syndrome between the radiological technologist and other groups in general hospital. Yet, as the working circumstance of radiological technologist gradually changes to VDT environment, the recognition symptom of VDT syndrome became conscious. This can be prevented by regular job rotation, which will escape the continuous repetition of working pattern.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2010

Objectives: "Internet-addiction" came into common use not only in clinical setting but also in everyday life. But, pathophysiology and diagnostic criteria of the internet addiction remain unknown. Because adolescents are in developing period, they might be vulnerable to the internet addiction, depression and sleep-related problem. The objectives of this study were to investigate the characteristics of internet addiction and its association with sleep pattern and depression in Korean adolescence. Methods: Subjects were 799 middle and high school students in Seoul, Korea. We administered a self-reported questionnaire including socio-demographic data, Korean versions of Young's Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PS-QI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression Scale (CES-D) and questions about internet using patterns. Data of 696 subjects were included in analysis. Chi-square tests were used to analyze proportional differences, and ANOVA with post-hoc tests were used to analyze differences among groups. Partial correlation analyses were performed to analyze the correlation of internet addiction with other variables (two-tailed, p<0.05). Results: Of the 696 participants (grade 2 of middle school; M2 135 vs. grade 1 of high school; H1 238 vs. grade 2 of high school; H2 323), 2.0% (n=14) were internet-addicted (IA), 27.7% (n=193) were over-using (OU) and 70.3% (n=489) were not-addicted (NA). The mean scores of YIAS, PSQI and CES-D scores were 35.24${\pm}$12.78, 5.53${\pm}$3.04 and 16.72${\pm}$8.69, respectively. In higher grade students, average total sleep time was shorter (M2 426.20${\pm}$67.68 min. vs. H1 380.47${\pm}$62.57 min. vs. H2 354.67${\pm}$73.37 min., F=51.909, p<0.001), and PSQI (4.69${\pm}$3.14 vs. 5.42${\pm}$3.15 vs. 5.97${\pm}$2.83, F=8.871, p<0.001) CES-D (13.53${\pm}$8.37 vs. 16.96${\pm}$8.24 vs. 17.87${\pm}$8.84, F=12.373, p<0.001) scores were higher than those of lower grade students. Comparing variables among IA, OU and NA groups, computer using time not for study (96.36${\pm}$63.31 min. vs. 134.92${\pm}$86.79 min. vs. 213.57${\pm}$136.87 min., F=34.287, p<0.001) and portable device using time not for study (84.22${\pm}$79.11 min. vs. 96.97${\pm}$91.89 min. vs. 152.31${\pm}$93.64 min., F= 5.400, p=0.005) were different among groups. PSQI (5.26${\pm}$2.97 vs. 6.08${\pm}$2.97 vs. 7.50${\pm}$4.41, F=8.218, p<0.001) and CES-D scores (15.40${\pm}$8.08 vs. 19.05${\pm}$8.42 vs. 30.43${\pm}$13.69, F=32.692, p<0.001) were also different among groups. YIAS score were correlated with computer using time not for study (r=0.356, p<0.001) and portable device using time not for study (r= 0.136, p<0.001). PSQI score (r=0.237, p<0.001) and CES-D score (r=0.332, p<0.001). YIAS score and PSQI score (r=0.131, p= 0.001), YIAS and CES-D score (r=0.265, p<0.001), PSQI score and CES-D score (r=0.357, p<0.001) were correlated each other. Conclusion: These results suggested that adolescents' internet-addiction was correlated with not only computer and portable device using time not for study but also depression and sleep-related problems. We should pay attention to depression and sleep-related problems, when evaluating internet-addiction in adolescents.