• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.232-244
• /
• 2002

This study investigated the correlation between health-related habits and the biochemical characteristics of the blood of Korean bus drivers. A total of 178 bus drivers working in the Masan area participated in this study. The general characteristics and health-related habits of the subjects were surveyed using a serf-administered questionnaire. The biochemical date were collected from regular health check-ups done through their workshop health insurance company in lune, 1999. The results were as follows : The average age of the subjects was 38 years, and 44.2% had a driving career of between 10 and 19 years. About 90% of the subjects ate irregularly, and 36% ate. health floods. Their rates of drinking, smoking and exercise were 74.6%, 83.6% and 70.8%, respectively. Their frequency of drinking was significantly increased as the length of their driving career increased (p < 0.001). Their levels of total serum cholesterol, in relation to the length of their driving career was significantly higher in the over 20 year group than in the below 10 year group (p < 0.05). Their systolic blood pressures, according to age, were significantly higher in the 51 to 60 age group than in the other groups (p < 0.05). Their total um cholesterol levels signiscantly increased with increasing age (p < 0.001). Their diastolic blood pressures (p < 0.001) and blood glucose levels (p < 0.05) were significantly higher among the subjects who drinking alcohol almost everyday, than among other subjects. Their systolic blood pressures who significantly increased with increasing frequency of their drinking (p < 0.001). The systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were positively related to age, the amount of drinking, the frequency of drinking and the obesity index, and negatively related to exercise and the duration of exercise. The hemoglobin was positively related to age, preference for a meat diet and the obesity index. The blood glucose was positively related to the amount of drinking, and the total serum cholesterol was positively related to age, length of driving career, period of smoking and the obesity index. The results of this study indicated that bus drivers need regular exercise, moderation of their drinking and smoking, and control of their body weights so as to prevent chronic diseases.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.123-129
• /
• 2006

Objectives : The incidence of colorectal cancer increased greatly among the elderly in Korea, but the relationship between smoking and colon cancer remains controversial. Few studies have targeted Asian elderly people. We analyzed the smoking status, the amount smoked, and the smoking duration as risk factors of colorectal cancer to determine their association and causality. Methods: The cohort members (n=14, 103) consisted of 4,694 males and 9,409 females, and they were derived from the Korea Elderly Phamacepidemilogic Cohort (KEPEC), which was a population-based dynamic cohort. They were aged 65 years or more and they lived in Busan Metropolitan City between from 1993-1998; they were beneficiaries of the Korean Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC). The baseline information was surveyed by a self-administered mailed questionnaire; after 8.7 person-years of mean follow up period, 100 cases of colorectal cancer occurred. The adjusted relative ratio (aRR) of smoking status, the smoking amount and the smoking duration were calculated from the Cox's proportional hazard model with the never-smokers as a reference group and the Cox model controlled for age, gender, precancerous lesions of CRC, medication history of NSAIDs & antibiotics, the alcohol drinking status and BMI. Results : Compared with the never smokers, the aRRs were 2.03 (95% CI=1.02-4.03) and 1.36 (95% CI=0.80-2.32) for the ex-smokers and current smokers, respectively. Statistical significant trends were not observed for the dose-relationship among the elderly, either for the mean daily amount smoked (p for trend=0.28) or for the total amount (p for trend=0.15). Still, the aRRs were 1.51 (95% CI=0.97-2.34) for the elderly who smoked less than 40 years and 2.35 (95% CI=1.16-4.74) for the elderly who had 40 years or more of smoking (p for trend=0.06). Smokers who started smoking before the age 20 had an increased aRR of 2.15 (95% CI=1.17-3.93) compared to the never smokers. Conclusions : After controlling for age, gender, precancerous lesion of CRC, medication history of NSAIDs & antibiotics, the alcohol drinking status and BMI, smoking increases the risk of colorectal cancer among elderly people. The age when starting smoking is also important.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.62 no.5
• /
• pp.502-518
• /
• 2019

Objective : Since less invasive endovascular treatment was introduced to South Korea in 1994, a considerable proportion of endovascular treatments have been performed by neuroradiology doctors, and endovascular treatments by vascular neurosurgeons have recently increased. However, few specific statistics are known regarding how many endovascular treatments are performed by neurosurgeons. Thus, authors compared endovascular treatments collaboratively performed by vascular neurosurgeons with all cases throughout South Korea from 2013 to 2017 to elucidate the role of neurosurgeons in the field of endovascular treatment in South Korea. Methods : The Society of Korean Endovascular Neurosurgeons (SKEN) has issued annual reports every year since 2014. These reports cover statistics on endovascular treatments collaboratively or individually performed by SKEN members from 2013 to 2017. The data was requested and collected from vascular neurosurgeons in various hospitals. The study involved 77 hospitals in its first year, and 100 in its last. National statistics on endovascular treatment from all over South Korea were obtained from the Healthcare Bigdata Hub website of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service based on the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) codes (in the case of intra-arterial (IA) thrombolysis, however, statistics were based on a combination of the EDI and I63 codes, a cerebral infarction disease code) from 2013 to 2017. These two data sets were directly compared and the ratios were obtained. Results : Regionally, during the entire study period, endovascular treatments by SKEN members were most common in Gyeonggido, followed by Seoul and Busan. Among the endovascular treatments, conventional cerebral angiography was the most common, followed by cerebral aneurysmal coiling, endovascular treatments for ischemic stroke, and finally endovascular treatments for vascular malformation and tumor embolization. The number of endovascular treatments performed by SKEN members increased every year. Conclusion : The SKEN members have been responsible for the major role of endovascular treatments in South Korea for the recent 5 years. This was achieved through the perseverance of senior members who started out in the midst of hardship, the establishment of standards for the training/certification of endovascular neurosurgery, and the enthusiasm of current SKEN members who followed. To provide better treatment to patients, we will have to make further progress in SKEN.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2012

Purpose: Toxic alcohols are responsible for accidental and suicide motivated poisonings, resulting in death or permanent sequelae for the afflicted patients. Major therapeutic modalities in these cases include treatment with alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitors and extracorporeal elimination. There have been a number of case reports of toxic alcohol intoxication in Korea. The purpose of this study was to review the clinical characteristics of patients suffering toxic alcohol intoxication. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who presented with toxic alcohol intoxication at 8 emergency departments (ED) from Jun 2005 to Nov 2011. Patients who ingested methanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, and other alcohols except ethanol, were included in this study. The clinical characteristics of these patients were analyzed to include anion and osmolar gap, and estimated concentration of alcohol in the body. Results: During the study period, 21 patients were identified who had ingested toxic alcohol (methanol; 12 patients, ethylene glycol; 9 patients). At ED arrival, the mean anion gap was $18.7{\pm}6.9$ and the osmolar gap was elevated in 13 patients. Oral and IV ethanol were administrated to 11 patients in order to inhibit alcohol dehydrogenase. Extracorporeal elimination procedures such as hemodialysis were performed in 9 patients. There were no fatalities, but the one patient suffered permanent blindness. Conclusion: This study found that ethylene glycol and methanol were the substances ingested which produced toxic alcohol intoxication. The patients presented with high anion gap metabolic acidosis and were typically treated with oral ethanol and hemodialysis.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.299-317
• /
• 1989

This study was attempted to find out the distribution of industrial nurses, analyze job performance by function and utilization state of medical dispensary among workers. The subjects for this study were 32 nurses working at industry located in Kyungpook and Taegu area. The data was collected through questionaire during the period of August 5-31, 1986, and analysed by the method of frequency and percentage. The following is the main findings of the study; 1. 72.2% of respondents was engaged in manufacturing industry, 33.3% in workplace whose regular workers was more than 2,000 workers. 67.7% in occupational health physicians was part-time system. 2. 93.1% of respondents was 20-29 years age group, 93.1% was graduates of junior nursing college, 96.6% was unmarried. 448% had 1-4 years of total working experiences. 3. For the motives which made them becomes industrial health nurse, 'good employment condition' was 62.1%. For the job satisfaction, 'moderate' was 586%. For the interest about the industrial health, 'moderate' was most frequent (58.6%). In the inservice education, 86.2% of the subjects was received education. 4. For the attitude of the dispensary and industrial nursing of employer, 'necessary' was most frequent (72.4%, 62.6%). 5. All establishment had dispensary facilities, 65.5% of them had independent dispensary. 6. In duty shift, 93.1% of respondents was working in one shift system. 41.4% of respondents was received from 250,000 won to 290,000 Won and 41.4% was belong to personnel section and 24.1% was direct controlled by general business section chief. 7. In the main health problem of their factories, 48.3% of respondents was work-environmental state, 24.1% was health education. 8. In the Dispensary budget, 60% of respondents was under 3,000 won per worker. 9. In the job performance rate by function, nursing service 73.1%, industrial health and nursing management 63.7%, environmental hygiene and safety management 54.5%, medical insurance 44.9%, welfare 38.4%. 10. Main health complaints among workers utilizing medical dispensary was 35.9% of respiratory system, 21.5% of gastro-intestinal system, 11.0% of skeletomuscular system.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.73-84
• /
• 2018

Objectives While Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is highly prevalent in Korea, studies examining its Korean medical treatment are currently lacking. The aim of this study was to assess current Korean medical treatment practice patterns for TMD. Methods A preliminary questionnaire was developed to investigate current practice patterns of TMD treatment and underwent further revision through external review. The final questionnaire was distributed as a web-based survey to 18,289 potential respondents by email. Results The response rate was 2.23%. Most participants replied that they received multiple Korean medicine interventions for TMD treatment consisting of such methods as acupuncture, chuna manipulation, electroacupuncture. The percentage of treatment services among uncovered services, which need to be covered by national health insurance was high in the order of pharmacopuncture, chuna manipulation, and herbal medicine. The most commonly used diagnostic examination tools for TMD was Physical examination and next was Imaging diagnosis. The frequency of TMD treatment was the highest at 2~3 times per week (76%) and the period was from 4 to 12 weeks (63%). Conclusions This survey study helps determine current practice patterns of TMD, and recognizes the need for use of diagnostic devices in TMD treatment. These results are further anticipated to provide basic data for clinical practice guide lines (CPGs).

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.17 no.8
• /
• pp.407-414
• /
• 2016

This study was conducted to provide basic data to evaluate the appropriateness of convalescent hospitalization treatment by investigating the number of hospitalization days and the total treatment expenses of a total of 44,037 monthly billing statements requested from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Evaluated data consisted of medical care expenses of patients of the diem payment system hospitalized at convalescent hospitals in Daejeon, Chungnam, Chungbuk and Sejong from January through December of 2014. According to the analysis result of the general characteristics of the study objects and the canonical correlation analysis of the top 15 main diagnosis names, 7 canonical functions have been deducted. Among them, six canonical functions were shown to be statistically significant (p<0.001), and canonical function 1 had a chi-squared value of 5955.49 and 98 degrees of freedom at p<0.001 level. Overall, the results indicated that if health and welfare service in the regional society is magnified, social hospitalization can be reduced.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.42-53
• /
• 2012

Lawsuits related to defects in apartment buildings involve a range of legal issues, based on which the current subjective judgment system has been established. This study aims to organize the judgment system by stage of lawsuit from a legal perspective by reviewing the factors dealt with in precedent research. The main issues at hand include assignment of obligation, the day on which the computation of exclusion period begins and the day on which the defect repair is completed. The rationality of the current subjective judgment system could be determined by reviewing the recent cases. Based on the findings of the review, the following are suggestions for improvements and complements of the system. First, the process of assignment of obligation should be systemized, and the guarantee insurance system that provides a warranty deed should be improved as well. In addition, improvements and systemization should be made to clarify the responsibilities for any defect arising from the agreements that are not stipulated on the contract, computation of abatement rate of compensation and the system by which the responsibility for the defects is completed when residents acquire ownership from rental status.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.299-308
• /
• 2014

Nowadays, dental tourism becomes phenomenon because of its cost-effectiveness, improvement of quality and technology, dental infrastructure, and attractive tourism. Korea as one of popular destination country had established dental system. On the other hand, Indonesia with high number of population is potential market for dental tourism. The aim of this study is to compare the knowledge, attitude, and experience towards dental tourism among Indonesian and Korean. Two cross-sectional descriptive surveys were conducted to collect the data. This study was used one questionnaire in two different languages due to nature of the study population. Data from a total 923 of Indonesian from 33 provinces in Indonesia was collected during the period from April through July 2010. On the other hand, during May until August 2010 data from a total of 312 Korean were obtained. It was found that the majority of participants in both countries had never heard about dental tourism. Among those who had heard about dental tourism, the most common source was internet. Ownership of dental insurance had significant relationship with knowledge of dental tourism among Indonesian while level of education and monthly internet usage had it among Korean (p<0.05). Attitudes of Indonesian and Korean people about dental tourism were negative due to assumption that dental services in their home country were satisfactory. 100% of Korean had no experience on dental treatment in other countries while 2.4% of Indonesian had experience with it. In conclusion, regarding all these evidences, comprehensive and positive information about dental tourism is needed to enhance people's knowledge, attitude, and experience.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.55-67
• /
• 2022

Objectives : This study is aimed to survey Korean Medicine Doctors's perceptions in Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline and Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways for its spread(to increase utilization in clinical sites). Methods : The research population was set at 14,831 Korean medical institutions registered with the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service for sampling representative of Korean Medicine Doctors, and the final 2,007 subjects were selected in consideration of the research period and budget. This survey was conducted based on a telephone survey, and in some cases, a fax or e-mail survey was also conducted together. Six questions were asked about the perception of 'Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline and Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways', and three questions about the characteristics of the respondent. Results : The rate of recognizing Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline was 36.1%. Those who worked at Korean medicine hospitals, were under 39 years of age, and had less than 11-20 years of experience as an Korean medical doctor were more likely to be aware of it. Regarding the experience of using Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline, the rate of 'not used in the past and not used now' was very high at 82.9%, but the intention to use it in the future was high at 60.7%. About the Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways, 79.9% of respondents answered that they did not know. 80.6% of respondents recognized the need for the development of clinical manuals such as Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline and Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways. Conclusion : Their low awareness of Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline seems to affect its low utilization. Therefore, active education and public relations are required in the future.