• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1863-1870
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is when the cases will be found, used as a basic data for clinical severity prediction, and research on suicide prevention. By classifying the group of survival and death about the patients who visit the Emergency Medical Center by attempt suicide by drug addiction, identifying the condition when visiting and results of the treatment after visiting. From June 2009 to May 2011, last two years data that among the drug abusers who visited the Emergency Medical Center in C-University Hospital in Gwang-Ju, only suicidal patients, except with unintentional accidents were collected. The findings, among the drug addiction patients who high age, lower level of education and living alone were the mortality rate was higher. And if who drunk the agricultural chemicals, the convalescence was not good. If the causes of suicide were economic problems and depression, the mortality rate was higher. And when visit hospital, if the consciousness was stupor and semi-coma/coma, the convalescence was not good. As grasp the risk for suicide patients of drug addiction, help on the Prediction of clinical severity, also stamp the appropriate drug education with psychological support is more important on them.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.92-107
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients who visited the emergency department due to intoxication and analyzed the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on their visits. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using data from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) on patients who visited the emergency department due to intoxication between January 2014 and December 2020. In total, 277,791 patients were included in the study, and their demographic and clinical data were analyzed. A model was created from 2014 to 2019 and applied to 2020 (i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic) to conduct a time series analysis distinguishing between unexpected accidents and suicide/self-harm among patients who visited the emergency department. Results: The most common reason for visiting the emergency department was unintentional accidents (48.5%), followed by self-harm/suicide attempts (43.8%). Unexpected accident patients and self-harm/suicide patients showed statistically significant differences in terms of sex, age group, hospitalization rate, and mortality rate. The time series analysis showed a decrease in patients with unexpected accidents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but no change in patients with suicide/self-harm. Conclusion: Depending on the intentionality of the intoxication, significant differences were found in the age group, the substance of intoxication, and the mortality rate. Therefore, future analyses of patients with intoxication should be stratified according to intentionality. In addition, the time series analysis of intentional self-harm/suicide did not show a decrease in 2010 in the number of patients, whereas a decrease was found for unintentional accidents.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.325-334
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• 2015

Elderly suicide rates tend to be high in Korea. Suicide by the elderly is no longer a personal problem; consequently, further research on risk and regional factors is necessary. Disease mapping in epidemiology estimates spatial patterns for disease risk over a geographical region. In this study, we use a simultaneous conditional autoregressive model for spatial correlations between neighboring areas to estimate standard mortality ratios and mapping. The method is illustrated with cause of death data from 2006 and 2010 to analyze regional patterns of elderly suicide in Korea. By considering spatial correlations, the Bayesian spatial models, mean educational attainment and percentage of the elderly who live alone was the significant regional characteristic for elderly suicide. Gibbs sampling and grid method are used for computation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiologic characteristics of patients who visited emergency departments (EDs) after intentional poisoning in Korea. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the data of of 23 hospitals during a five-year period, between 2011 and 2015. We included patients who inflicted injury to themselves - attempt of suicide - by means of poisoning. Results: A total of 18,121 patients visited an ED after intentional poisoning. Among them, 58.3% were females; however, there were more males among those aged 60 years or older. The mortality rate for males was 8.6%, which was 3.1 times higher than that for females with 2.8%. The most common poison was pesticides (35.4%) in males and sedative-hypnotics (44.0%) in females. The most common causative agent of death was pesticide in both sexes (75.2% and 65.3%, respectively). Since the production of paraquat was discontinued in 2011, the number of deaths from pesticide poisoning has decreased. The mortality rate declined in both males and females, from 12.6% and 4.5% in 2011 to 7.1% and 2.1% in 2015, respectively. Conclusion: In this study, we analyzed the epidemiologic characteristics of intentional poisoning, especially the frequency of suicide attempts by gender and age group, the cause of suicide, and the causative agent. This can be used as basic data for establishing policies to reduce and prevent suicide attempts by poisoning.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to compare community health status by region and to investigate related factors using community health and social indicators. Methods: Data were collected from statistics of local districts that were provided by KNSO and KCDC. ANOVA and correlation were analyzed using PASW 18.0. Results: The standardized cancer mortality rate was higher in metropolitan areas than in other areas. On the contrary, the mortality of respiratory disease, traffic accident, and suicide were higher in rural areas. Small cities and county districts showed higher prevalence in obesity prevalence than metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas presented higher prevalence in alcohol drinking during the previous month, perceived stress, and seat belt use. The age-adjusted standardized mortality rate was correlated with higher prevalence of smoking, obesity, percentage of the elderly, number of beds, number of social welfare facilities, number of registered cars, lower percentage of financial independence, number of doctors, and percentage of water supply service & sewage. Conclusion: Since significant differences in mortality rate and prevalence of health risk behaviors exist between regional areas and the mortality rate was correlated with other social indicators and health indicators, health policies and social policies considering these differences should be develop and implemented to the communities.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2008

Purpose: There has been no nationwide surveillance survey of poisoning cases in Korea. This study examined the clinical characteristics of poisoning admissions in order to obtain preliminary data for future planning. Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the data on poisoning admissions of 150 hospitals based on the hospital discharge injury surveillance data of Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Korea from January to December in 2004. The demographic data, poisons used, causes of poisoning, reasons for attempted suicide and mortality rate was investigated according to the age group. The factors associated with mortality were also evaluated. Results: A total 836 patients admitted for poisoning were analyzed. Their mean age was $46.5{\pm}19.5$ years (male 415, female 421). The most frequent age group was the 4th and 5th decades. The most common poisons involved were pesticides (45%) and medications (23%). The majority (64%) involved intentional poisoning except for those in the 1st decade. The most common reason for the attempted suicide was family problems. However, individual disease was the most common reason in those over 60 years. The overall mortality rate was 8.7% (73/836). Pesticides and being elderly (over 65 years old) were strongly correlated with fatality. Conclusion: The incidence of intentional poisoning increases from the 2nd decade making it a preventable injury. "Overall, the incidence of intentional poisoning increases from the 2nd decade". Therefore, there is a need to frame a prevention policy corresponding to each factor related to fatality, such as an elderly population and pesticides.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2005

Purpose: Nowadays the Korean society is in the center of time of the social change. Because of dissociation of traditional family, IMF (International Monetary Fund) crisis and economic recession, the mortality rate of suicidal attempts are increasing annually. The majority of suicidal attempts were by poisoning considering the characteristics of korean society. Therefore we studied to find out the characteristics of suicidal poisoning before and after social economic stress, and to suggest the direction for the proper management. Methods: We reviewed medical records of 547 patients of suicide by poisoning who visited the emergency medical centers of St. Mary's hospitals from 1997 to 2004. For the annual trends analysis, we analyzed the demographic and toxicologic data of these patients compared with before and after IMF crisis (1998) and the economic recession ($2003\~2004$). Results: At the time of IMF and the economic recession, the number of suicidal poisoning increased, especially in fifth decade. The refusal rate of toxicological emergency treatment increased. Also the mortality rate and the admission rate to ICU (Intensive Care Unit) increased during the same period. In the result of the comparison analysis, clinical severity and mortality of social problem group were higher. However they couldn't be treated appropriately because of financial problem and the family indifference. Conclusion: At the economic recession period, the severity of suicidal poisoned patients was high. But the refusal rate of toxicologic treatment also increased, so the patients had lost the chance for proper toxicologic treatment. Therefore they would be supported by medical institution and public health.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.304-315
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• 2012

Today, suicide by self-poisoning of prescribed or non-prescribed drugs on purpose has been increasing and is a major cause of mortality. It is very important to treat promptly and properly for saving the lives from those suicides. There is neither an organization such as poison control center nor measurement in S. Korea, though. The object of this study was to evaluate information of frequently used substances for suicide attempt in S. Korea. Our results also can provide healthcare provider including pharmacists and doctors, etc and contribute to increasing health and welfare for Korean. From June $1^{st}$ 2006 to April $30^{th}$ 2012, we retrospectively studied patients visiting emergency room due to suicide attempt. We collected information of underlying disease, history of past medical condition and suicide attempt, ingredient and getting route of ingesting substances, emergency treatment, and outcome by reviewing electronic medical record. We also evaluated actual treatment of self-poisoning and made guide information about antidote medication for S. Korean healthcare provider. Among total 242 cases of suicidal attempts, cases ingesting substances including prescription, non-prescription drugs and agricultural chemicals were 86.4%. The most frequently used drugs for suicide attempt were sedatives-hypnotics (53.6%), followed by analgesics (16.7%) and antidepressants (12.4%). Analgesics including acetaminophen and aspirin were most in teenagers but sedatives-hypnotics including benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine (zolpidem) and antihistamine were most in other ages including elderly people. Most frequently used antidote was activated charcoal (62.7%) and specific antidotes for some substances (acetaminophen, aspirin, agricultural chemicals) were also treated properly, accompanying with medication for supportive care. In conclusion, the most used substances for suicide attempt were sedatives-hypnotics and treatments for self-poisoning in emergency room were appropriate based on existing references. Therefore, information of frequently used substances and antidote reflecting these results will be useful for South Korean healthcare provider.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.38-44
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• 2005

Objective : To compare the mortality rate of Korean medical doctors to that of the general Korean population for the period 1992-2002. Methods : The membership records of the Korean Medical Association were linked to the 1992-2002 death certificate data of Korea s National Statistical Office using 13-digit unique personal identification numbers. The study population consisted of 61,164 medical doctors with a follow-up period of 473,932 person-years. Standardized mortality ratios(SMRs) were calculated to compare cause-specific mortality rates of medical doctors to those of the general population. Results : We confirmed 1,150 deaths at ages from 30 to 75 years from 1 January 1992 to 31 December 2002. The SMR for all-cause of death was 0.47(95% CI : $0.44{\sim}0.50$). The SMRs for smoking-related diseases such as cerebrovascular accidents and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were smaller than the SMR of all-cause of death. However, the SMRs for colorectal and pancreatic cancers were not significantly lower than those of the general population. Transport accidents and suicides accounted for 72% (94 of 131) of external causes of death. The SMR for suicide was 0.51 (95% CI : $0.38{\sim}0.68$). Conclusions : The mortality rate of South Korean medical doctors was less than 50% that of the general population of South Korea. Cause-specific analysis showed that mortality rates in leading causes of death were lower among medical doctors although differences in mortality rates between medical doctors and the general population varied with the causes of death. These health benefits found among medical doctors may be attributable to the lower level of health damaging behaviors (e.g., lower smoking rates) and better working conditions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.8728-8737
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• 2015

The purpose of this study compared the clinical features of suicidal attempters who visit in the past and present of an emergency medical center, used as a basic data for clinical severity and suicide prevention research of future patients. The author conducted a retrospective analysis of the changed characteristics of suicidal attempters who visit an emergency medical center of Wonkwang University Hospital between from January $1^{st}$, 1998 to December $31^{th}$, 1998 and from August $1^{st}$, 2013 to July $31^{th}$, 2015. Factors related to increased occurrence was changed from male(1.1:1) in 1998 to female(1.3:1) in 2013-2015, from age of $2^{nd}$, $3^{rd}$, and above $6^{th}$ decade in 1998 to $3^{rd}-5^{th}$ decade in 2013-2015. Poisoning was the most common method of suicidal attempt(90.8%;1998, 72.7%;2013-2015), Mortality rate was changed from 16.9%(male 23.1%, female 10.0%) in 1998 to 13.8%(male 18.1%, female 10.5%) in 2013-2015. Among the suicidal attempters(total=516), 37 patients has recurred. But consultant of neuropsychiatric department was 48.3%, All suicidal attempters in future were necessarily neuropsychiatric consultant and continuously follow-up because all patients had recurrent suicide attempt, psychologic disorder, suicide rates are higher than in the general population.