• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 1996

The voice of aged persons is known generally to be somewhat different from that of other adults, suggesting that laryngeal change occurs with advancing age. However, because knowledge of the voice characteristics of aged persons is limited, it is difficult to judge whether their voices arc normal. Chart review and laryngoscopic examination from ninety-one patients with hoarseness over the age of 60(1st group) and one hundred sixteen patients with hoarseness below the age of 50(2nd group) were done to define aging related voice disorders. The following results were obtained. 1) Associated diseases related to laryngeal disease were hypertension(12%), pulmonary disease(4.4%), thyroid disease(1.1%) in 1st group and hypertension(9.5%), thyroid disease(1.7%) in 2nd group. 2) The underlying diseases causing hoarseness in order of frequency were benign vocal fold lesion(37.7%), inflammatory disease(36.8%), functional dysphonia(17%) in 1st group and benign vocal fold lesion(43.6%), functional dysphonia(26.3%), inflammatory disease(16.5%) in 2nd group. 3) In stroboscopic findings, atrophy and sulcus of vocal cords are more prevalent in males than in females and edema of vocal cords is more common in females. Generally the voice characteristics of aged persons depend on the mass of the vocal folds which may be decreased through atrophy or be increased by edema. However, other factors such as systemic diseases, drug side effects and compensatory mechanism to presbylaryngis must be taken into account in diagnosing and treating voice disorders in aged persons.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.2
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• pp.132-140
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• 2020

In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is a well-known opportunistic infection and its management has been established. However, PCP is an emerging threat to immunocompromised patients without HIV infection, such as those receiving novel immunosuppressive therapeutics for malignancy, organ transplantation, or connective tissue diseases. Clinical manifestations of PCP are quite different between patients with and without HIV infections. In patients without HIV infection, PCP rapidly progresses, is difficult to diagnose correctly, and causes severe respiratory failure with a poor prognosis. High-resolution computed tomography findings are different between PCP patients with HIV infection and those without. These differences in clinical and radiological features are due to severe or dysregulated inflammatory responses that are evoked by a relatively small number of Pneumocystis organisms in patients without HIV infection. In recent years, the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction and serum β-D-glucan assay for rapid and non-invasive diagnosis of PCP has been revealed. Although corticosteroid adjunctive to anti-Pneumocystis agents has been shown to be beneficial in some populations, the optimal dose and duration remain to be determined. Recent investigations revealed that Pneumocystis colonization is prevalent and that asymptomatic carriers are at risk for developing PCP and can serve as the reservoir for the spread of Pneumocystis by airborne transmission. These findings suggest the need for chemoprophylaxis in immunocompromised patients as well as infection control measures, although the indications remain controversial. Because a variety of novel immunosuppressive therapeutics have been emerging in medical practice, further innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of PCP are needed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.173-182
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• 2013

Obesity during childhood is a dominant risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and is itself considered a disease that needs to be treated. Recently, the growth in childhood obesity in Korea has become stagnant; however, two in every ten children are still overweight. In addition, 60% or more of overweight children have at least one metabolic syndrome risk factor. Thus, childhood obesity should be controlled through lifestyle modification. This paper reviews studies of the modifiable risk factors of obesity in Korean children. According to the life-course approach, preschool-aged children (<5 years) are influenced by their parents rather than individual habits because they are under mostly parental care. Elementary school-aged children (6 to 11 years) are affected by overlapping individual and parental effects. This may mean that the establishment of individual behavior patterns begins during this period. The conditions of poor eating habits such as skipping meals, eating out, and high fat intake, along with low physical activity, facilitate increased obesity among adolescents (12 to 18 years). Notably, adolescent girls show high rates of both underweight and obesity, which may lead to the development of NCDs in their offspring. Therefore, the problem of NCDs is no longer limited to adults, but is also prevalent among children. In addition, early intervention offers cost-effective opportunities for preventing NCDs. Thus, children need primary consideration, adequate monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment to reduce the burden of NCDs later in adulthood.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.43 no.4 s.136
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• pp.129-134
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• 2005

To determine the status of Enterobius vermicularis infection among children living on western and southern coastal islands of the Republic of Korea, children (3-10 years) in 39 kindergartens and primary schools were examined using the cello-tape anal swab method, during July and August 2000. Of 1,661 children examined, $307(18.5\%) $were found to be positive for E. vermicularis eggs. The highest infection rate $(59.3\%)$ was found in a kindergarten and a branch school of Shinyang primary school on Chujado, Jeju-do (Province), Remarkable differences in egg positive rates were observed in different localities. The egg positive rate for boys $(21.3\%)$ was significantly higher than that of girls $(15.4\%)$ (P=0.02). However, positive rates were not significantly dependent on age. The results of the present study show that E. vermicularis infection is highly prevalent among pre-school and primary school children living on the western and southern coastal islands of the Republic of Korea, and indicate the need for efforts to control this infection.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.145-150
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• 2017

Purpose: The gut microbiota can influence several diseases through immune modulation; however, the exact role of microbes such as Clostridium difficile and the relationship between microbiota colonization and allergic diseases are not well known. This study aimed to determine the relationship between C. difficile colonization and/or infection (CDCI) during infancy and allergic diseases during early childhood. Methods: Infants 1-12 months of age presenting changes in bowel habits for more than 2 weeks were enrolled in this study. After dividing them into 2 groups according to the presence and absence of C. difficile, the risk of allergic disease development during childhood was identified and compared. Results: Sixty-five patients were included in this study; 22 (33.8%) were diagnosed with CDCI. No significant differences were observed in baseline characteristics between the C. difficile-positive and-negative groups except for antibiotic exposure (22.7% vs. 60.5%, P=0.004). Compared to the C. difficile-negative group, the risk of developing at least one allergic disease was higher in the C. difficile-positive group after adjusting other variables (adjusted odds ratios, 5.61; 95% confidence interval, 1.52-20.74; P=0.007). Furthermore, food allergies were more prevalent in the C. difficile-positive group (P=0.03). Conclusion: CDCI during infancy were associated with a higher risk of developing allergic diseases during early childhood. These results suggest that CDCI during infancy might reflect the reduced diversity of the intestinal microbiota, which is associated with an increased risk of allergic sensitization. To identify the underlying mechanism, further investigation and a larger cohort study will be needed.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2002

Purpose : To investigate the diagnostic significance of cortical changes in the bone of diseased jaws utilizing computed tomography (CT). Materials and Methods: Computed tomographic images of 91 patients, consisting of 7 osteomyelitis, 46 cysts, 18 benign tumors, and 20 malignant tumors, were analyzed. The pattern of cortical expansion was classified into three types: no expansion (N), buccal or lingual expansion (B/L), and buccolingual expansion (B & L). The pattern of cortical destruction was classified into four types: no destruction (N), point destruction (PO), gross destruction (GR), and permeative destruction (PE). The pattern of periosteal reaction was classified into four types: parallel, irregular, spicule, and Codmans triangle. The relationship between the pattern of cortical bone changes and diseases of the jaws was assessed. Results: When the pattern of cortical expansion was compared to diseases of the jaw, N-type was most prevalent in cases of osteomyelitis and malignant tumors, B/L-type with cysts, and B&L-types with benign tumors. Comparison between the pattern of cortical bone destruction with diseases of the jaw showed strong correlations between PO and PE-types to osteomyelitis, N-type with cysts, N and GR-types with benign tumors, and GR-type with malignant tumors. Finally, the relationship between the pattern of periosteal reaction to diseases of the jaw showed a strong correlation between parallel-type to osteomyelitis and spicule-type to malignant tumors. Conclusion : The pattern of cortical expansion and cortical destruction is useful in differentiating diseases of the jaws.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.511-522
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• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to provide some information on the development of oral health care programs geared toward diabetics and ways of promoting their oral health. Methods : The subjects in this study were 586 diabetics who were selected from the 2009 third-year raw data of the 4th(2007~2009) National Health & Nutrition Survey. The data were analyzed with the statistical package SPSS 12.0 to grasp the influence of their sociodemographic characteristics and oral health behaviors on the presence or absence of periodontal diseases and missing tooth. Results : 1. Periodontal diseases were twofold more prevalent among the men than the women(p<0.01). By age, those who were in their 60s had 1.11-fold more periodontal diseases than those who were in their 70s and up(p<0.05). 2. The men and women were similar to each other in the number of missing tooth. By age, the number of missing tooth got smaller in proportion to decrease in age. By income, the number of missing tooth was 1.48-fold larger among the patients who earned an income of one million won or less than those who earned an income of two million won or more(p<0.01). Conclusions : The above-mentioned findings suggest that prospective cohort studies should be implemented to present prediction models of periodontal diseases and diabetes instead of merely sticking to cross-sectional studies. And oral health programs should be developed based on the findings of cohort studies to encourage diabetics to care about their oral health, and in which way they should be helped to promote their oral health should carefully be considered.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.125-131
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• 2011

The use of sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine (SP) for treatment of vivax malaria is uncommon in most malarious areas, but Plasmodium vivax isolates are exposed to SP because of mixed infections with other Plasmodium species. As P. vivax is the most prevalent species of human malaria parasites in Iran, monitoring of resistance of the parasite against the drug is necessary. In the present study, 50 blood samples of symptomatic patients were collected from 4 separated geographical regions of south-east Iran. Point mutations at residues 57, 58, 61, and 117 were detected by the PCR-RFLP method. Polymorphism at positions 58R, 117N, and 117T of P. vivax dihydrofolate reductase (Pvdhfr) gene has been found in 12%, 34%, and 2% of isolates, respectively. Mutation at residues F57 and T61 was not detected. Five distinct haplotypes of the Pvdhfr gene were demonstrated. The 2 most prevalent haplotypes were F57S58T61S117 (62%) and F57S58T61N117 (24%). Haplotypes with 3 and 4 point mutations were not found. The present study suggested that P. vivax in Iran is under the pressure of SP and the sensitivity level of the parasite to SP is diminishing and this fact must be considered in development of malaria control programs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.41-50
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• 2019

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate cancer patients' utilization of tertiary hospitals in Seoul before and after the benefit expansion policy implemented in 2013. Methods: This was a before-and-after study using claims data of the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2011 to 2016. The unit of analysis was inpatient episodes, and inpatient episodes involving a malignant neoplasm (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes: C00-C97) were included in this study. The total sample (n=5 565 076) was divided into incident cases and prevalent cases according to medical use due to cancer in prior years. The tertiary hospitals in Seoul were divided into two groups (the five largest hospitals and the other tertiary hospitals in Seoul). Results: The proportions of the incident and prevalent episodes occurring in tertiary hospitals in Seoul were 34.9% and 37.2%, respectively, of which more than 70% occurred in the five largest hospitals in Seoul. Utilization of tertiary hospitals in Seoul was higher for inpatient episodes involving cancer surgery, patients with a higher income, patients living in areas close to Seoul, and patients living in areas without a metropolitan city. The utilization of the five largest hospitals increased by 2 percentage points after the policy went into effect. Conclusions: The utilization of tertiary hospitals in Seoul was concentrated among the five largest hospitals. Future research is necessary to identify the consequences of this utilization pattern.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1177-1180
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• 2014

Background: Anogenital warts (AGWs) are common results of sexually transmitted infection (STI). Human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11, which are non-oncogenic types, account for 90% of the clinical manifestations. Although the quadrivalent HPV vaccine has been launched, AGW remains prevalent in some countries and shows association with abnormal cervical cytology. Objectives: To study the prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology (low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or worse; LSIL+) in immunocompetent Thai women newly presenting with external AGWs. Materials and Methods: Medical charts of all women attending Siriraj STI clinic during 2007-2011 were reviewed. Only women presenting with external AGWs who were not immunocompromised (pregnant, human immunodeficiency virus positive or being on immunosuppressant drugs) and had not been diagnosed with cervical cancer were included into the study. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the association between the characteristics of the patients and those of AGWs and LSIL+. Results: A total of 191 women were eligible, with a mean age of $27.0{\pm}8.9$ years; and a mean body mass index of $20.6{\pm}8.9kg/m^2$. Half of them finished university. The most common type of AGWs was exophytic (80.1%). The posterior fourchette appeared to be the most common affected site of the warts (31.9%), followed by labia minora (26.6%) and mons pubis (19.9%). The median number of lesions was 3 (range 1-20). Around 40% of them had recurrent warts within 6 months after completing the treatment. The prevalence of LSIL+ at the first visit was 16.3% (LSIL 12.6%, ASC-H 1.1%, HSIL 2.6%). After adjusting for age, parity and miscarriage, number of warts ${\geq}5$ was the only factor associated with LSIL+(aOR 2.65, 95%CI 1.11-6.29, p 0.027). Conclusions: LSIL+ is prevalent among immunocompetent Thai women presenting with external AGWs, especially those with multiple lesions.