• 과학기술학연구
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.229-262
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• 2015

20세기 중반 이후, 거대과학기술 시스템과 대량생산 체제의 발달에 수반되어 방사능, 공해, 새로운 합성물질 및 제조물 등 후기 근대적 위험(late modern risk)에 노출된 다수의 피해자들이 나타났다. 이들이 제기한 환경 공해소송 및 제조물 책임 소송에서 과학적 인과관계 규명과 법적 책임 판단은 과학기술과 법 영역에서 가장 첨예한 논쟁의 대상으로 부상했다. 이 글은 한국 담배소송에서 후기 근대적 위험에 대응하고자 나타났던 여러 과학기술적, 법적 도구들이 어떻게 적극적으로 사용되며 흡연과 폐암의 인과관계에 대한 새로운 법적 판단을 이끌어 내었는지 분석했다. 한국 법정에서 역학과 위험사회 질병의 정의를 둘러싼 첨예한 논쟁이 벌어졌으며, 인과관계 논쟁의 '해결' 과정에서 법적 규범, 책임 및 과학적 증거에 대한 후기 근대적 재해석의 틀이 마련되었던 것이다. 결론으로 위험사회에서의 피해와 법적 정의 구현에 대한 새로운 합의 도출 과정에서 과학기술과 법의 상호작용과 그 변화에 대한 이해가 핵심적이었으며, 이러한 이해가 후기 근대적 환경 공해소송과 제조물 소송에 대한 과학기술학적 분석에 유용할 것이라 제안한다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.107-110
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• 2014

Background: Increasing uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine should be a priority in developing countries since they suffer 88% of the world's cervical cancer burden. In many countries studies show that age at vaccination is an important determinate of parental acceptability. This study explores parental preferences on age-to-vaccinate for adolescent school-going girls. Materials and Methods: The sample was selected using a two-stage probability proportional to size cluster sampling methodology. Questionnaires were sent home with a random sample of 800 adolescent girls attending 12 schools in Mysore to be completed by parents. Descriptive statistics including frequencies, percentages and proportions were generated for independent variables and bivariate analyses (Chi square test) were used to assess the relationship between independent and appropriate age-to-vaccinate. Results: HPV vaccination acceptability was high at 71%. While 5.3% of parents felt girls should be vaccinated by 10 years or younger; 38.3% said 11-15 years; 14.8% said 16-18 years; 5.8% suggested over 19 years; and 33% didn't know. Only 2.8% of parents would not vaccinate their daughters. Conclusions: Delaying HPV vaccination until later ages may signifivantly increase uptake of the HPV vaccine in India.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.141-150
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• 2019

Background: Evidence on associations between occupational diesel exhaust and gasoline exposure and colorectal cancer is limited. We aimed to assess the effect of workplace exposure to diesel exhaust and gasoline on the risk of colorectal cancer. Methods: This case-control study included 181,709 colon cancer and 109,227 rectal cancer cases diagnosed between 1961 and 2005 in Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Cases and controls were identified from the Nordic Occupational Cancer Study cohort and matched for country, birth year, and sex. Diesel exhaust and gasoline exposure values were assigned by country-specific job-exposure matrices. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using conditional logistic regression models. The results were adjusted for physical strain at work and occupational exposure to benzene, formaldehyde, ionizing radiation, chlorinated hydrocarbons, chromium, and wood dust. Results: Diesel exhaust exposure was associated with a small increase in the risk of rectal cancer (odds ratio - 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.08). Gasoline exposure was not associated with colorectal cancer risk. Conclusion: This study showed a small risk increase for rectal cancer after workplace diesel exhaust exposure. However, this finding could be due to chance, given the limitations of the study.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.25-37
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• 2005

Objective : To estimate the magnitude of psychosocial distress and examine eligible factors associated with the development of psychosocial distress in Korean employees, using a nationwide sample. Methods : A total of 6,977 workers were recruited from 245 companies. A structured questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographics, health-related behaviors, job characteristics, social support at work, personality traits (locus of control, type A behavior pattern), self-esteem, and psychosocial distress. Results : The results showed that 23 % of workers were categorized as high stress, 73% as moderate, and 5% as normal. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that psychosocial distress was more common in younger workers, both male and female. Regular exercise was negatively associated with increase of psychosocial distress. In job characteristics, as expected, low decision latitude, high job insecurity, and low social support at work were related to high psychosocial distress. Personality traits such as locus of control and type A behavior pattern, and self-esteem were more powerful predictors of psychosocial distress than general characteristics, health-related behavior, and job characteristics. There were some gender differences. While men who are less educated and single (unmarried, divorced, and separated) experienced higher levels of psychosocial distress than those who are educated and married, women who feel high job demand experienced higher levels of psychosocial distress than those who feel low job demand. Conclusions : The proportion of the high stress group was higher than expected, and psychosocial factors like social support and personality characteristics (e. g. locus of control, type A behavior pattern and self-esteem) were more significant factors for psychosocial distress than other variables. This finding suggests that some psychosocial factors, especially inadequate social support, low self-esteem and lack of internal locus of control for the development of psychosocial distress, will also operate as an intervention strategy in the worksite stress reduction program. It is strongly required that worksite stress reduction programs should be established in at both occupational and level as well as in individual levels.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.195-201
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• 2022

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the volume of trauma patients, the number of orthopedic trauma operations, and the severity of injuries. We also investigated the correlations between social distancing and these variables. Methods: This was a retrospective review of trauma patient cases at a single focused training center for trauma in Korea from January 2017 to April 2021. The COVID-19 group included patients treated from January 1 to April 30 in 2020 and 2021, and the control group included patients treated during the same months from 2017 to 2019. The volume of trauma patients according to the level of social distancing was evaluated among patients treated from August 2, 2020 to November 23, 2020. Results: The study included 3,032 patients who presented to the emergency department with traumatic injuries from January to April 2017 to 2021. The average number of patients was 646.7 and 546.0 in the control and COVID-19 groups, respectively. The percentage of patients injured in traffic accidents (TAs) decreased from 25.0% to 18.2% (P<0.0001). The proportions of in-car TAs and pedestrian TAs also decreased from 6.7% and 10.8% to 3.5% and 6.0%, respectively (P=0.0002 and P<0.0001). The percentage of bicycle TAs increased from 2.4% to 4.0% (P=0.0128). The proportion of patients with an Injury Severity Score above 15 and the mortality rate did not change significantly. As the level of social distancing increased, the number of trauma patients and the number of trauma injuries from TAs decreased. The number of orthopedic trauma operations also depended on the social distancing level. Conclusions: The number of trauma patients presenting to the emergency department decreased during the COVID-19 period. The volume of trauma patients and orthopedic trauma operations decreased as the social distance level increased.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제61권8호
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• pp.231-238
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• 2018

Purpose: Wasting and underweight are the 2 main indicators of children's undernutrition. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of undernutrition at the national level in Iran. Methods: We performed a search for original articles published in international and Iranian databases including MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, CINHAL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Scientific Information Database, Irandoc, Iranmedex, and Magiran during January 1989-August 2017. Seven keywords, in English and Persian, including malnutrition, protein energy malnutrition, growth disorders, underweight wasting, weight loss, children below 5 years old, and children, were used to search the databases. Results: Finally, 17 articles were included in the meta-analysis, based on which the prevalence of underweight and wasting in Iranian children were estimated to be 11% and 5%, respectively. The prevalence rates of underweight among children in the central, western, southern, and northern parts of Iran and at the national level were 24%, 5%, 20%, 17%, and 6%, respectively. The prevalence rates of wasting in the central, western, southern, and northern parts of Iran and at the national level were 9%, 4%, 11%, 5%, and 4%, respectively. Conclusion: Although the prevalence of underweight and wasting in Iran was low, some parts of the country showed high prevalence. The main reason behind this difference in the prevalence of malnutrition may be due to the level of development in different regions.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제28권
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• pp.8.1-8.5
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• 2013

Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Korea for the last 30 years. Cancer patients' 5-year survival rate between 2005 and 2009 was 62.0%, representing a highly advanced standard of care, as much as developed countries in the EU and the US. The Korean government formulated its first 10-year plan for cancer control in 1996 and has been carrying out a second 10-year plan for cancer control since 2006. But despite the Korean government's efforts, the cancer burden in Korea continues to increase. Many separate laws have gone into effect concerning the management of carcinogen exposure. However, there are no integrated regulatory laws or management systems against carcinogen exposure in Korea. Dead zones remain where carcinogen exposure cannot be controlled properly in Korea. In this paper, we suggest the need to establish a national carcinogen list based on international harmonization as a prerequisite for a paradigm shift in cancer control policy from treatment to primary prevention.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.83-90
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• 2017

Objectives: The aim of this study was to model the avoidable burden of the risk factors of road traffic crashes in Iran and to prioritize interventions to reduce that burden. Methods: The prevalence and the effect size of the risk factors were obtained from data documented by the traffic police of Iran in 2013. The effect size was estimated using an ordinal regression model. The potential impact fraction index was applied to calculate the avoidable burden in order to prioritize interventions. This index was calculated for theoretical, plausible, and feasible minimum risk level scenarios. The joint effects of the risk factors were then estimated for all the scenarios. Results: The highest avoidable burdens in the theoretical, plausible, and feasible minimum risk level scenarios for the non-use of child restraints on urban roads were 52.25, 28.63, and 46.67, respectively. In contrast, the value of this index for speeding was 76.24, 37.00, and 62.23, respectively, for rural roads. Conclusions: On the basis of the different scenarios considered in this research, we suggest focusing on future interventions to decrease the prevalence of speeding, the non-use of child restraints, the use of cell phones while driving, and helmet disuse, and the laws related to these items should be considered seriously.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제51권5호
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• pp.219-226
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• 2018

Objectives: This study aimed to explain the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) gap between the poorest and the wealthiest quintiles in the capitals of Kermanshah and Kurdistan Provinces (Kermanshah and Sanandaj), in western Iran. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 1772 adults. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status (SES), lifestyle factors, body mass index, and HRQoL of participants were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The slope and relative indices of inequality (SII and RII, respectively) were employed to examine socioeconomic inequality in poor HRQoL. Blinder-Oaxaca (BO) decomposition was used to quantify the contribution of explanatory variables to the gap in the prevalence of poor HRQoL between the wealthiest and the poorest groups. Results: The overall crude and age-adjusted prevalence of poor HRQoL among adults was 32.0 and 41.8%, respectively. The SII and RII indicated that poor HRQoL was mainly concentrated among individuals with lower SES. The absolute difference (%) in the prevalence of poor HRQoL between the highest and lowest SES groups was 28.4. The BO results indicated that 49.9% of the difference was explained by different distributions of age, smoking behavior, physical inactivity, chronic health conditions, and obesity between the highest and lowest SES groups, while the remaining half of the gap was explained by the response effect. Conclusions: We observed a pro-rich distribution of poor HRQoL among adults in the capitals of Kermanshah and Kurdistan Provinces. Policies and strategies aimed at preventing and reducing smoking, physical inactivity, chronic health conditions, and obesity among the poor may reduce the gap in poor HRQoL between the highest and lowest SES groups in Iran.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.393-399
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• 2019

Objective: This study investigates the impact of multimorbidity on work through a literature review of longitudinal studies. Methods: A systematic review was carried out in the databases Lilacs, SciELO, PAHO, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane. There were no restrictions regarding the year of publication or language to maximize the identification of relevant literature. The quality of studies was assessed by the protocol STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE). Results: An initial database search identified 7522 registries, and at the end of the analysis, 7 manuscripts were included in the review. Several studies have demonstrated direct and indirect impacts of multimorbidity on the health of workers. For this, the number of missed days due to health-related issues was evaluated, as well as the reduction in work productivity of the unhealthy worker, vulnerability of the worker with multimorbidity regarding higher indices of dismissal and recruitment difficulties, and incidence of early retirement and/or receipt of benefits due to disabilities. Conclusions: Multimorbidity has a negative impact on work, with damages to quality of life and work productivity, worsening the absenteeism/presenteeism indices, enhancing the chances of temporary or permanent leaves, and lowering employability and admission of individuals with multimorbidity.