• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.215-222
• /
• 2012

Objective: A prediabetes hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level of 5.7%-6.4% is considered a risk factor for diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the USA. In this study, we assessed the HbA1c and visceral fat levels as CVD risk factors in health check-up examinees who were not yet diagnosed with diabetes. Methods: Totally, 507 study subject were categorized as per criteria of the American Diabetes Association, depending on whether the HbA1c level was ${\geq}5.7%$ or <5.7%. Lipid levels, blood pressure, BMI (kg/$m^2$), total abdominal, and visceral fat levels were measured by computed tomography. Results: The mean of HbA1c in the male group was larger than the mean in the female group and their values were, respectively, $6.03{\pm}0.82%$ and $5.88{\pm}0.72%$(p<0.05). Only the mean values of age and visceral fat area were different between $HbA1c{\geq}5.7%$ and <5.7% in both male and female group(p<0.05). Visceral fat levels were significantly associated with HbA1c in the group of HbA1c ${\geq}5.7%$ (odds ratio=1.005, 95% CI 1.002~1.008). Conclusions: Visceral fat levels were significantly higher and correlated with the group which HbA1c level is ${\geq}5.7%$. This finding suggests that subjects who have high levels of HbA1c should be carefully monitored during prediabetes and should have chance to have health education programs.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.526-534
• /
• 2009

Purpose: We retrospectively investigated the diagnostic performance of $^{18}F$-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT for cancer detection in asymptomatic health-check examinees. Materials and Methods: This study consisted of 5091 PET or PET/CT conducted as part of annual health examination at one hospital from March 1998 to February 2008. To find the incidence of cancers, medical records of the subjects were thoroughly reviewed for a follow-up period of one year. The patterns of formal readings of PET and PET/CT were analyzed to assess the sensitivity and specificity for cancer detection. The histopathology and stage of the cancers were evaluated in relation to the results of PET. Results: Eighty-six cancers (1.7%) were diagnosed within one year after PET or PET/CT. When PET and PET/CT results were combined, the sensitivity was 48.8% and specificity was 81.1% for cancer detection. PET only had a sensitivity of 46.2% and a specificity of 81.4%, and PET/CT only had a sensitivity of 75.0% and a specificity of 78.5% respectively. There were no significant differences in cancer site, stage and histopathology between PET positive and PET negative cancers. In 19.3% of formal readings of PET and PET/CT, further evaluation to exclude malignancy or significant disease was recommended. Head and neck area and upper gastrointestinal tract were commonly recommended sites for further evaluation. Conclusions: PET and PET/CT showed moderate performance for detecting cancers in asymptomatic adults in this study. More experience and further investigation are needed to overcome limitations of PET and PET/CT for cancer screening.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Navigation
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.57-68
• /
• 1993

The economy of Korea has grown up significantly in its scale. It has, therefore, become imperative to develop countermeasures to prevent work related injuries and occupational illnesses resultining from haza-rdous working conditions and handling harmful substances. A lot of cargo handling accident in port have occurred due to the characteristics of poor working environment, diversity of working place and method, fluctuation of the amount of cargo and handling of heavy, long, harmful and dangerous cargo, etc. According to '91 industrial accident analysis carried out by the ministry of labour, the number of the stevedores injured by cargo handling accident in port were 1, 432 persons (the death accident : 22 per-sons), the amount of industrial accident compensation in port was 6.7 billion won (the amount of economic loss : 33.6 billion won), and the injury occurance rate of the stevedoring industry was higher than that of the whole industry. This paper, therefore, aims to the actual status of the stevedoring industry and to extract the main cau-ses of the accidents related to cargo handling in port through factor analysis using the data of the accide-nts in the whole habour from 1990 to 1992, and to suggest the countermeasures to prevent such accident. The main causes of the accident and countermeasures are found to be as follows through the factor analy-sis : Factor1, factor2, and factor3 related to a defect of human being and management, a defect of state and environment, and an insufficiency of education and law are extracted. The short-term countermeasures to prevent these accidents are 1) to consolidate the safety and health organization in the working spot, 2) to secure a safe condition in working spot before dock work, 3) to strengthen a dock worker's safety educa-tion. The long-term countermeasures are 1) to promote a decasualisation of dock workers, 2) to modernize the cargo working methods through constructing exclusive pier and introducing exclusive cargo handling equipment, 3) to establish a exclusive dock accident prevention organization and the dock workers law. Factor 4, factor5, factor6, and factor7 related to an unfitness, a deficiency of technical knowledge, a nonfu-lfilment of safety measures, and a bad arrangement are extracted. The countermeasures to prevent these accidents are 1) to perform a complete safety inspection of cargo handling equipments and tools and to carry out the dock work according to a working plan, 2) to publish and supply technical safety books, safety instruction book, safety check list, etc., 3) to strengthen the safety patrol at the working spot in habour and to activate a safety fund, 4) to maintain always a clean workshop with the safety consciousness in which the good arragement of the working spot is considered to be the beginning of safety.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.7-12
• /
• 2014

This work was conducted to study the improvement of reproduction rate from the breeding data collected from four farms from January 2007 to October 2010. The average numbers of service per conception were 1) A farm $1.7{\pm}0.1$ times, 2) B farm $1.5{\pm}0.1$ times, 3) C farm $1.5{\pm}0.1$ times, 4) D farm $1.4{\pm}0.1$ times. The average days from calving to conception was $77.4{\pm}4.8$ days in A farm, $150.8{\pm}11.2$ days in B farm, $90.4{\pm}4.5$ days in C farm, and $71.4{\pm}2.5$ days in D farm. Number of artificial insemination (AI) service per conception was higher at the 30 days before first AI ($2.1{\pm}0.2$ times) than at the 31 days after first AI, and the days from calving to conception were shorter at the 90 days before first AI than at the 91 days after first AI. After timed AI (TAI) treatment, the pregnancy rate was 60.3% for the 58 cows with reproductive disorder. In order to improvement of reproduction rates, the farms has to improve the accuracy of estrus detection, pregnancy diagnosis, check-up for reproductive health, and control of day for first AI periods after calving. The result suggests that farmers need the careful management and reproductive examination of farm animals to improve of reproductive efficiency.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.81-91
• /
• 1974

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of obstetric knowledge of pregnant women and postpartum mothers, and to contribute the data to community health teaching program as well as maternity nursing. 385 pregnant women and postpartum mothers visited at or admitted to Seoul Adventist Hospital were sampled. The results of the study were as follows. 1. 97.9% of the subjects were between the age of 21 to 35, most of them (82.9%) were housewives with high school education and with a middle class family background. 2. The first symptoms of pregnancy were amenorrhea (70.4%), nausea & vomiting (23.9%), change of skin color (1.6%). 3. 77.9% of the subjects did not know how to deal with morning sickness. 4. 52.9% did not know when the sex determination of the fetus-occurs. 5. Concerning the fetus position; 77.1% of them believed it lies head down. head up (12.0%). and not knowing (10.9%). 6. 73.2% recognized the need for a well balanced food during pregnancy. 7. As to the dangerous symptoms during pregnancy: vaginal bleeding was considered the 1st, edema, the and, continuous abdominal pain, the 3rd. 82% of them would confer with physician in case of vaginal bleeding. As to the type of activities restricted by pregnancy: hard exercise was considered first, travel the second, and coitus during 1st and last trimester of pregnancy the 3rd. 8. 82.4% of them visited antenatal clinic at the second or third month of amenorrhea and 88.5% realized the regular physical examination imperative. 9. The purpose of urine test was recognized correctly by 44.7%, blood test: 89.4%, B. P. and weight check ; 69.9%. 10. The need of breast care during pregnancy was recognized by 76.9% of the subject. 11. 75.8% realized that prenatal exercise was needed. The higher the education the better the understanding of the need for it before delivery. 12. The concept of postpartum period was understood correctly by 54.4%. 13. The state of uterus after delivery was understood correctly by 49.1% only. 14, Regarding the management of colostrums: 48.3% knew it was to feed infants, and it was to squeeze and discard 43.4%. 15. Dealing with postpartum exercise; 67.8% answered it was needed, 9.1% not needed, not heard about 23, 1%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.39 no.9
• /
• pp.1279-1285
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of green tea or coffee consumption on the serum lipids profiles. This study analyzed data of 1,343 participants (753 males and 590 females) among the people who underwent medical check-up. The subjects were divided by three groups as pattern of green tea or coffee consumption. Anthropometric measurements, biochemical analysis and nutrient intake using a food frequency questionnaire were performed. There were no significant differences among groups in height, % body fat, waist circumference, and body mass index. There was no significant difference among groups in energy intake. Fat intake was significantly higher in green tea and coffee group than the control group in men subjects. The intakes of dietary Fe, vitamin A, $\beta$-carotene, and folate was the lowest in coffee group (p<0.05). The intakes of dietary fat was the highest in coffee group in male subjects (p<0.05). Serum concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were green tea< control< coffee group in order by multivariate analysis after adjusting for confounding factors. The serum concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were significantly lower in green tea group than coffee group by multivariate analysis after adjusting for confounding factors (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the serum concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol between green tea and control group. These results suggest that green tea consumption didn't show positive effects in preventing hyperlipidemia but coffee consumption showed negative effects in hyperlipidemia.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.324-331
• /
• 2015

Thyroid hormones are essential for cellular energy homeostasis and regulation by interacting with the sympathetic nervous system. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between thyroid hormone and risk factors of metabolic syndrome for medical checkups of male patients. The study subjects were 12,250 males between 20~80 years old who visited the hospital for a health check-up at one General Hospital in Gyeonggi-do during the period of January 2011 to December 2013. According to the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI), the metabolic syndrome criteria is defined as the presence of 3 or more risk factors. FT4 was lower in the metabolic syndrome group than in the normal group (p<0.001). The level of FT4 decreased as the levels of abdominal obesity (p=0.001), hypertriglyceridemia (p<0.001), blood pressure (p=0.005) and blood glucose (p=0.005) increased. The TSH level increased hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.047). FT4 had an influence on the waist circumference and triglyceride (p<0.001). HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, hs-CRP were higher in the lowest quartile than in the highest quartile (p<0.001). FT4 had effects on the waist circumference and triglyceride, but TSH had no effect on metabolic syndrome risk factors. The metabolic syndrome was lower in the highest quartile of FT4 than in its lowest quartile.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.28 no.3 s.51
• /
• pp.623-639
• /
• 1995

We have never seen any method to cope basically with complicated situation and problems around medical reimbursement rates here in Korea since 1977 witnessed by the beginning of medical insurance. By the way researchers concerned are beginning to propose some kinds of innovative and detailed ideas to government these days. They are Diagnosis-related group(DRG) and Resource-based .elative value scale(RBRVS). In the light of this situation it is so encouraging that our government can come up with that and move. In case of RBRVS research we have already been reaching even to the level of reviewing and revising methodology for its further development after naive pilot study on internal medicine and general surgery last year. However there might be something different conditions between USA and Korea to apply the same Dr. Hsiao's method and it must be vital to check so called' total work approach' compared with 'intra-service work approach' before expanding to the whole medical fields. According to the' Intra-service approach', the physician's work is supposed to be divided into three sub-works by the name of intraservice work, pre, and post service work. These sub-works, again should be merged together to be the pre-postwork subset through some statistical methods of the estimation process applied by Dr. Hsiao's methodology in RBRVS development later on. But in this paper that estimation process was not taken because we could have real values for all of those surveyed items related to just one specialty, OB & GY. Instead, We used some statistical comparison procedures relevant to demographic characteristics, reliability & validity and correlation analysis with American RVU(Relative value unit) between the total work and merged total work from intraservice work approach. The unit of analysis was individual physicians of OB & GY and 300 physicians were selected for each approach through statistical sampling method based on national population of OB & GY physicians in Korea. And also with the thankful help of Advisory Committee under Korean Association of OB & GY, questionnaires were made and mailed to the subjects, two times. As a result there were not any statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics between the two approaches except for the variable 'Response time for the questionnaires', but in other sections of comparisons, response rate, representative values, reliability & validity test, correlation analysis with American RVU, all showed 'Total approach' was not only more rational and statistically meaningful than 'Intra-service approach' but also had considerable merits. But we are not absolutely sure about this paper's robustness. Because of some limitations, we'd rather like to suggest further researches should be followed. In that sense the first thing would be a research for the influence of doctor's characteristics, especially 'frequency' on the rating of work and the way to define total work more clearly.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.57 no.12
• /
• pp.526-532
• /
• 2014

Purpose: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in atherosclerosis, and therefore, are considered risk factors for metabolic dysfunction in adults. However, there is little data on circulating levels of MMPs and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) with regard to obesity-related biomarkers in the general adolescent population. In the present study, we determined the associations of MMP-8, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 levels and MMP-8/TIMP-1 and MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratios with obesity-related biomarkers in apparently healthy adolescent boys. Methods: We measured MMP and TIMP concentrations in plasma samples using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and analyzed their associations with obesity-related biomarkers, such as liver enzymes and lipid profiles, in a sample of 91 Korean boys aged 13-14 years who participated in a general health check-up. Results: The mean age of the boys was $13.8{\pm}0.3years$; 72 boys were normal weight and 19 were overweight/obese. The Pearson correlation coefficients revealed a significant correlation between MMP-8 and aspartate aminotransferase (r=0.217, P=0.039) and alanine aminotransferase (r=0.250, P=0.017) and between TIMP-1 and aspartate aminotransferase (r=0.267, P=0.011). In a multivariate linear regression analysis, serum alanine aminotransferase was positively associated with the MMP-8 level. There were no significant differences in the MMP-8, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 levels or MMP-8/TIMP-1 and MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratios between control and overweight/obese subjects. Conclusion: We found a significant association between the MMP-8 level and alanine aminotransferase in the apparently healthy adolescent boys. These findings indicate that there may be a pathophysiological mechanism underlying the relationship between MMP-8 and liver enzymes in young adolescents.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.14 no.7
• /
• pp.376-385
• /
• 2014

This study is aimed to ascertain the hospital information inquired by medical consumers and to propose the consumer-oriented marketing direction of the medical institutions. In the pursuit of this purpose, we examined about the purpose of the hospital information usage by medical consumers, the contents of the inquired information, the method of the information acquisition and the practicability of the acquired information. As the result of this study, more than 90% out of the purposes of hospital information usage is for the practical use of the medical institution, especially, 58.7% is for the effective selection of the medical institutions when consumer's family or relatives are sick. Regardless of the purpose of hospital information usage, for the contents of the inquired information, more than 50% responded with the medical institution facility, the specific contents about the professional field and the special field. The most favorite method to acquire the information according to the purpose of hospital information usage is through 'Acquaintance' which are the highest rate, more than 50% and the level of 24~28% are through 'Internet'. And the practicability of the acquired information was fairly low like the result as 4.8% for the selection of the medical institutions when consumer's family or relatives are sick and 0.5% for the health counseling or the medical check-up.