• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.668-674
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• 2019

Objectives: Modern people spend most of their day indoors. As the health impact of radon becomes an issue, public interest also has been growing. The primary route of potential human exposure to radon is inhalation. Long-term exposure to high levels of radon increases the risk of developing lung cancer. Radon exposure is known to be the second-leading cause of lung cancer, following tobacco smoke. This study measures the indoor radon concentrations in detached houses in area A of Chungcheongbuk-do Province considering the construction year, cracks in the houses, the location of installed detectors, and seasonal effects. Methods: The survey was conducted from September 2017 to April 2018 on 1,872 private households located in selected areas in northern Chungcheongbuk-do Province to figure out the year of building construction and the location of detector installed and identify the factors which affect radon concentrations in the air within the building. Radon was measured using a manual alpha track detector (Raduet, Hungary) with a sampling period of longer than 90 days. Results: Indoor radon concentrations in winter within area A was surveyed to be 168.3±193.3 Bq/㎥. There was more than a 2.3 times difference between buildings built before 1979 and those built after 2010. The concentration reached 195.4±221.9 Bq/㎥ for buildings with fractures and 167.2±192.4 Bq/㎥ for buildings without fractures. It was found that detectors installed in household areas with windows exhibited a lower concentration than those installed in concealed spaces. Conclusion: High concentrations of indoor radon were shown when there was a crack in the house. Also, ventilation seems to significantly affect radon concentrations because when the location of the detector in the installed site was near windows compared to an enclosed area, radon concentration variation increased. Therefore, it is considered that radon concentration is lower in summer because natural ventilation occurs more often than in winter.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Oriental Medical Informatics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.82-129
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• 2011

"Beijijiufa" is a medical book republished by Sun Ju Qing in 1245. He compiled this book having added "Qizhumajiufa" and "Zhugejingyanbeijiyaofang" to the contents of "Beijijiufa" authored by Wen Ren Qi Nian. In "Beijijiufa" the author described treatment methods making use of moxibustion methods in connection with 22 cases of acute diseases. The author had collected the moxibustion methods used to treat acute diseases, which had been practiced by the medical practitioners of many generations, and quoted total 13 medical men's practices. In the book, the greatest parts of details were quoted especially from the writings of Sun Si Miao and Ge Hong, and this shows that the medical philosophies of both Sun Si Miao and Ge Hong were reflected onto "Beijijiufa". He had differed on his moxibustion practice: the size of moxa wool, the number of moxibustion treatment, and method of moxibustion for male and female were differed from one another according to the disease. As to the area of moxibustion, he chose the body parts around under four limbs and joints, and mostly used extraordinary acupoints rather than twelve main meridians. In his descriptions of finding meridian points, he did not describe it by its specific name of the reaction point, but explained the location of moxibustion points in detail through pictures. "Qizhumajiufa" is related to moxibustion method and prescriptions to treat surgical diseases, like skin boils or furuncle on the back, etc. He easily explained the method to find the meridian points for moxibustion treatment by using particular way through diagrams and pictures. Eight prescriptions he used were the collections among the historical practices of medical practitioners of many generations for skin boils which showed excellent therapeutic actions. In "Zhugejingyanbeijiyaofang", there are prescribed for 36 disease, also is the records of treatment methods for medical emergency which would be encountered easily in everyday life. As to therapeutic remedies, varied treatment methods, including the treatment by means of pasting and attaching medicinal substance to the spot, the treatment by means of mixing medicinal substance with alcoholic beverage, cleansing method, smoke inhalation remedy etc. were introduced. In "Beijijiufa" moxibustion was regarded as a top priority for treatment of acute disease, and the author strived to present remedies to the readers as easily as possible through 19 pictures. Regarding prescriptions, the author introduced diverse treatment methods with respect to various disease symptoms, and described the method to treat disease symptoms making use of medicinal ingredients which can easily be found in daily life. Likewise, "Beijijiufa" compiled by Sun Ju Qing was intended for clinical practice, and was indeed a medical book having been utilized for treatment of acute diseases in those days.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.267-279
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• 2003

Background : The purpose of this study was to analyze the smoking habits in patients with lung cancer and identify any difference of prevalence according to histologic types of lung cancer. Methods : The data were calculated by total amounts of tar and nicotine inhaled during the whole lifetime according to variation of smoking habit. This study was to investigated any difference of prevalence in lung cancer according to smoking habits. The subjects comprised 150 lung cancer cases and 300 hospital control cases that were matched by age and sex. Smoking habits during the whole lifetime were surveyed by standardized questionnaire. Odds ratios were estimated by unconditional logistic regression analysis. Results : There were 104 male and 34 female lung cancer cases. By histologic type, there were 53 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 67 of adenocarcinoma and 30 of small cell lung carcinoma. The differences between lung cancer cases and controls according to smoking habits were total duration of smoking, total pack years of smoking and number of cigarettes smoked per day during the previous two years. The odds ratio were higher in Kreyberg I, but not in Kreyberg II, for the longer duration of smoking, the greater total pack years of cigarettes consumed, the more cigarettes smoked per day during the previous two years, the longer duration on non-filter smoking, the earlier life cases who began to smoke, and the higher amounts of calculated total tar and nicotine inhaled over the whole lifetime. When we added grade of inhalation to calculation of amounts of tar and nicotine inhaled over the lifetime, the odds ratios of total inhalation amounts of tar and nicotine were as high as those the without them. Conclusions : This study reconfirmed that smoking habits were strongly associated with lung cancer and that there were different associations between smoking habits and histologic types of lung cancer. In particular, calculations of total tar and nicotine amounts inhaled over the whole lifetime were calculated for the first time in trials from lung cancer epidemiologic studies.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.576-584
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• 2000

Background : With the increase of cigarette consumption by women and the young, the incidence of lung cancer is expected to increase during the next three or four decades in Korea. The purpose of this study was to analyze the smoking habits in patients with lung cancer and to identify the gender differences in terms of their susceptibility to cigarette related carcinogens. Method : This investigation was a hospital-based case control study, which included the data of 178 case subjects (72 females, 106 males) with lung cancer and 218 control subjects (97 females, 121 males) with diseases unrelated to smoking. The information was obtained through a direct personal interview and a questionnaire related to personal smoking history. Results : The relative frequency of the squamous cell carcinoma was substantially higher in males than in females (61.3% in males, and 29.2% in females), while adenocarcinoma including bronchoalveolar cell carcinoma was higher in females(31.9% in females, 18.9% in males). Kreyberg I lung cancer was of relatively higher frequencies in males and smokers, while Kreyberg II lung cancer was higher in females and never smokers. The odds ratios (ORs) at each exposure level were consistently higher in females than males. For all cell types, the risk of lung cancer was increased with the quantity of smoked cigarettes, duration of smoking, and depth of inhalation. Odds ratio was distinctly higher in Kreyberg I lung cancer than in total lung cancer and a steeper gradient of risk with increased smoking was observed in females. Conclusion : The relative risk for lung cancer was consistently higher in females than in males at every level of exposure to cigarette smoke. This is believed to be due to the higher susceptibility of females to tobacco carcinogens, such as gender associated differences of carcinogen activation and/or the elimination of smoking related metabolites.

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
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• 1972.03a
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• pp.6-7
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• 1972

The air pollutants can be classified into the irritant gas and the asphixation gas, and the irritant gas is closely related to the otorhinolaryngological diseases. The common irritant gases are nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrogen carbon compounds, and the potent and irritating PAN (peroxy acyl nitrate) which is secondarily liberated from photosynthesis. Those gases adhers to the mucous membrane to result in ulceration and secondary infection due to their potent oxidizing power. 1. Sulfur dioxide gas Sulfur dioxide gas has the typical characteristics of the air pollutants. Because of its high solubility it gets easily absorbed in the respiratory tract, when the symptoms and signs by irritation become manifested initially and later the resistance in the respiratory tract brings central about pulmonary edema and respiratory paralysis of origin. Chronic exposure to the gas leads to rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, and olfactory or gustatory disturbances. 2. Carbon monoxide Toxicity of carbon monoxide is due to its deprivation of the oxygen carrying capacity of the hemoglobin. The degree of the carbon monoxide intoxication varies according to its concentration and the duration of inhalation. It starts with headache, vertigo, nausea, vomiting and tinnitus, which can progress to respiratory difficulty, muscular laxity, syncope, and coma leading to death. 3. Nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide causes respiratory disturbances by formation of methemoglobin. In acute poisoning, it can cause pulmonary congestion, pulmonary edema, bronchitis, and pneumonia due to its strong irritation on the eyes and the nose. In chronic poisoning, it causes chronic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary edema. 4. Ozone It has offending irritating odor, and causes dryness of na sopharyngolaryngeal mucosa, headache and depressed pulmonary function which may eventually lead to pulmonary congestion or edema. 5. Smog The most outstanding incident of the smog occurred in London from December 5 through 8, 1952, because of which the mortality of the respiratory diseases increased fourfold. The smog was thought to be due to the smoke produced by incomplete combustion and its byproduct the sulfur oxides, and the dust was thought to play the secondary role. In new sense, hazardous is the photochemical smog which is produced by combination of light energy and the hydrocarbons and oxidant in the air. The Yonsei University Institute for Environmental :pollution Research launched a project to determine the relationship between the pollution and the medical, ophthalmological and rhinopharyngological disorders. The students (469) of the "S" Technical School in the most heavily polluted area in Pusan (Uham Dong district) were compared with those (345) of "K" High School in the less polluted area. The investigated group had those with subjective symptoms twice as much as the control group, 22.6% (106) in investigated group and 11.3% (39) in the control group. Among those symptomatic students of the investigated group. There were 29 with respiratory symptoms (29%), 22 with eye symptoms (21%), 50 with stuffy nose and rhinorrhea (47%), and 5 with sore thorat (5%), which revealed that more than half the students (52%) had subjective symptoms of the rhinopharyngological aspects. Physical examination revealed that the investigated group had more number of students with signs than those of the control group by 10%, 180 (38.4%) versus 99 (28.8%). Among the preceding 180 students of the investigated group, there were 8 with eye diseases (44%), 1 with respiratory disease (0.6%), 97 with rhinitis (54%), and 74 with pharyngotonsillitis (41%) which means that 95% of them had rharygoical diseases. The preceding data revealed that the otolaryngological diseases are conspicuously outnumbered in the heavily polluted area, and that there must be very close relationship between the air pollution and the otolaryngological diseases, and the anti-pollution measure is urgently needed.