• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1083-1089
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• 2015

Background: Compliance with California's smoke-free restaurant and bar policies may be more a function of social contingencies and less a function of legal contingencies. The aims of this study were: 1) to report indications of compliance with smoke-free legislation in Korean bars and restaurants in California; 2) to examine the demographic, smoking status, and acculturation factors of who smoked indoors; and 3) to report social cues in opposition to smoking among a sample of Koreans in California. Materials and Methods: Data were collected by telephone surveys administered by bilingual interviewers between 2007-2009, and included California adults of Korean descent who visited a Korean bar or restaurant in a typical month (N=2,173, 55% female). Results: 1% of restaurant-going participants smoked inside while 7% observed someone else smoke inside a Korean restaurant. Some 23% of bar-going participants smoked inside and 65% observed someone else smoke inside a Korean bar. Presence of ashtrays was related to indoor smoking in bars and restaurants. Among participants who observed smoking, a higher percentage observed someone ask a smoker to stop (17.6%) or gesture to a smoker (27.0%) inside Korean restaurants (N=169) than inside Korean bars (n=141, 17.0% observed verbal cue and 22.7% observed gesture). Participants who smoked inside were significantly younger and more acculturated than participants who did not. Less acculturated participants were significantly more to likely to be told to stop smoking. Conclusions: Ten years after implementation of ordinances, smoking appears to be common in Korean bars in California.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4173-4176
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• 2015

The aim of this cross-sectional analytic study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for Opisthorchis viverrini (OV) infection in an urban area of Northeastern Thailand. The participants were 254 household representatives aged 15 years or older living in the most urbanised part of Chiang Yuen municipality in Mahasarakham Province. All participants provided stool samples which were examined using the modified Kato-Katz procedure, and a structured interview questionnaire was used to collection demographic information, knowledge about OV infection, and the consumption of unsafely prepared freshwater fish. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The overall prevalence of OV infection was 15.0%, and in the multivariate analysis male gender was found to be significantly and positively associated with OV infection ($OR_{adj}=9.75$, 95%CI: 34.03-23.58) while education to secondary school level or above was a significant protective factor ($OR_{adj}=0.30$, 95%CI: 0.12-0.74). The eating of unsafely prepared fish and knowledge about OV were not significantly related to infection status. The findings were discussed in terms of issues for future research, especially the need to consider the possibility of higher rates of OV infection in urban areas than might be expected and to investigate the sources of infected fish products which may well be different from those in rural villages.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.2963-2966
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• 2013

Infection with Opisthorchis viverrini (OV) due to eating certain traditional freshwater fish dishes is the principal risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma in Northeast Thailand where the infection is endemic and the incidence of this form of primary liver cancer has been the highest in the world. This paper is the second report of a prospective research project to monitor the impacts of a national liver fluke control programme in a rural community of Northeast Thailand. A sample of 684 villagers aged 20-65 years completed an interview questionnaire and were tested for infection using the Kato thick smear technique. The questionnaire was designed for the exploration of associations between OV infection, previous treatment with praziquantel, and knowledge and beliefs about the drug. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression. The overall prevalence of OV infection was 37.2% and was highest in the 20-35 year age group, in those with a university degree and in those employed in the government sector. As many as 91.8% reported eating fish dishes known to place them at risk of infection. In the multiple regression analysis, previous use of praziquantel and lack of knowledge about whether or not the drug has a protective effect against re-infection were the only factors related to OV infection ($OR_{adj}$= 2.31, 95%CI =1.40-3.79 and $OR_{adj}$= 1.95, 95%CI= 1.24-3.05). The findings were discussed in terms of the possibly unwise dependency on praziquantel as a primary element in a control programme.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5503-5506
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• 2013

This cross-sectional analytic study aimed to investigate any relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and an abnormal Pap smear. The subjects were 7,720 women aged 30-69 years who lived in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, and had been recruited as participants in the Khon Kaen Cohort Study during 1990-2001. All had received Pap smear screening for cervical cancer. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between body mass index and an abnormal Pap smear. The mean BMI was $24.53kg/m^2$ (SD=3.98), and 2.14% had abnormal Pap smears. Compared with the reference group of women with a BMI ${\leq}22.9kg/m^2$, those with a body mass index of $23.0-24.9kg/m^2$ had a reduced risk of an abnormal smear (ORadj=0.92, 95%CI: 0.57-1.47), but women with a BMI $25.0-29.9kg/m^2$ were found to have an approximately 1.24 times higher risk ($OR_{adj}=1.24$, 95%CI: 0.86-1.80), and those with a BMI ${\geq}30.0kg/m^2$ had an approximately 1.63 times higher risk ($OR_{adj}=1.63$, 95%CI: 0.98-2.69). The results indicated that the risk of Pap smear abnormalities is increased in women who have a higher than normal body mass index, but this finding was not statistically significant. Nevertheless, public health personnel should encourage women to maintain their BMI in the normal range to reduce the possible future risk of cervical cancer.

• Healthcare Informatics Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.253-262
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• 2018

Objectives: We reviewed digital epidemiological studies to characterize how researchers are using digital data by topic domain, study purpose, data source, and analytic method. Methods: We reviewed research articles published within the last decade that used digital data to answer epidemiological research questions. Data were abstracted from these articles using a data collection tool that we developed. Finally, we summarized the characteristics of the digital epidemiological studies. Results: We identified six main topic domains: infectious diseases (58.7%), non-communicable diseases (29.4%), mental health and substance use (8.3%), general population behavior (4.6%), environmental, dietary, and lifestyle (4.6%), and vital status (0.9%). We identified four categories for the study purpose: description (22.9%), exploration (34.9%), explanation (27.5%), and prediction and control (14.7%). We identified eight categories for the data sources: web search query (52.3%), social media posts (31.2%), web portal posts (11.9%), webpage access logs (7.3%), images (7.3%), mobile phone network data (1.8%), global positioning system data (1.8%), and others (2.8%). Of these, 50.5% used correlation analyses, 41.3% regression analyses, 25.6% machine learning, and 19.3% descriptive analyses. Conclusions: Digital data collected for non-epidemiological purposes are being used to study health phenomena in a variety of topic domains. Digital epidemiology requires access to large datasets and advanced analytics. Ensuring open access is clearly at odds with the desire to have as little personal data as possible in these large datasets to protect privacy. Establishment of data cooperatives with restricted access may be a solution to this dilemma.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.239-247
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• 2008

Purpose: The study was designed to examine the relationship of perceived entrapment to anger and depression in adolescent women. Method: Seven hundred sixty-five adolescent women were recruited from two high schools located in Seoul, Korea for a descriptive study. The instruments used were The Entrapment Scale for perceived entrapment, Spielberger's state trait anger expression inventory-Korean version for state anger and trait anger, and The Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale(CES-D) for depression. Results: The score of perceived entrapment significantly correlated with state anger, trait anger and depression. The significant predictors of depression in adolescent women were perceived entrapment, state anger and trait anger explaining 47.6% of the variance in depression. Conclusion: This study showed that perceived entrapment is an important predictor for depression. Therefore, in order to reduce depression in adolescent women, it is necessary to design an intervention program that helps with coping and reduces perceived entrapment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.304-308
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• 2006

Statistical analyses used in clinical articles published on the Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society were identified and appropriateness of statistical aspects in reporting results was assessed. Forty seven clinical articles were selected in this study, which were published from February, 2005 to February, 2006 on the journal. The frequency of statistical analysis was as follows : descriptive statistics only 24 [51.1%]. one type of statistical method 10 [21.3%], two or more methods 13 [27.6%]. An assessment of statistical aspects was performed in 24 clinical articles reporting inferential statistics. Ten articles [41.7%] did not adequately describe or reference all statistical methods used. There were six articles [25.0%] not reporting the confidence level used as the critical criteria of the statistical significance. In thirteen articles [54.2%] it seems more appropriate to implement multivariate analyses in addition to univariate analyses. We recommend that the journal readers should concentrate on improving their knowledge of basic statistics and statistical review for manuscripts submitted should be sought from professionals in the fields of biostatistics and epidemiology.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3769-3776
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. High breast cancer mortality has been attributed to lack of public awareness of the disease. Little is known about the level of knowledge of breast cancer in Central African Republic. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of health professionals on breast cancer. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 158 health professionals (27 medical; 131 paramedical) in 17 hospitals in Bangui using a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis, Person's ${\chi}^2$ test and ANOVA were applied to examine associations between variables with p < 0.05 being considered significant. Results: Data analyzed using SPSS version 20 indicates that average knowledge about breast cancer perception of the entire population was 47.6%, diagnosis method 45.5%, treatment 34.3% and risk factors 23.8%. Most respondents (65.8%) agreed that breast cancer is important in Central African Republic and that family history is a risk factor (44.3%). Clinical assessments and mammography were considered most suitable diagnostic methods, and surgery as the best treatment. The knowledge level was significantly higher among medical than paramedical staff with regard to risk factors, diagnosis and treatment. However the trainee group had very high significant differences of knowledge compared with all other groups. Conclusions: There is a very urgent need to update the various training programs for these professionals, with recommendations of retraining. Health authorities must create suitable structures for the overall management of cancer observed as a serious public health problem.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2333-2336
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• 2013

Background: The aim of this paper was to present the incidence rates of leukemia and multiple myeloma (MM) in Golestan province located in northeastern Iran during 2004-2009. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data on newly diagnosed (incident) leukemia and MM cases were obtained from collected from Golestan population-based cancer registry. Data was entered into CanReg-4 software. Age standardized incidence rates (ASR) (per 100000 person-years) for leukemia and MM were calculated. Data on Golestan population was obtained from the data of Iranian national census in 2006. Results: Totally, 11036 new cancer cases were registered in GPRC from 2004-2009. Leukemia and MM accounted for 693 and 124 of cases, respectively. The mean age in patients with leukemia and MM was 43.8 and 62.4 years, respectively. The ASRs for leukemia among men and women were 10.4 and 7.8, respectively (p<0.001). The ASRs for MM were 2.1 and 2 in men and women, respectively (p=0.93). The rate of leukemia was significantly higher in rural areas (p=0.02) whereas the incidence of MM was higher in urban areas (p<0.001). Conclusions: Our results showed a high incidence rate of leukemia in Golestan province of Iran. The incidence of leukemia was significantly higher in males and residents of rural areas. High exposure to pesticides and other agricultural related products may be a possible explanation for epidemiological pattern of leukemia in this area. Determining and controlling important risk factors, especially environmental factors, of leukemia may lead to decrease in its burden in Golestan province of Iran.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.31
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• pp.3.1-3.11
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• 2016

Objectives This study was conducted to describe the regional malaria incidence in relation to the geographic and climatic conditions and describe the effect of altitude on the expansion of malaria over the last decade in Papua New Guinea. Methods Malaria incidence was estimated in five provinces from 1996 to 2008 using national health surveillance data. Time trend of malaria incidence was compared with rainfall and minimum/maximum temperature. In the Eastern Highland Province, time trend of malaria incidence over the study period was stratified by altitude. Spatio-temporal pattern of malaria was analyzed. Results Nationwide, malaria incidence was stationary. Regionally, the incidence increased markedly in the highland region (292.0/100000/yr, p =0.021), and remained stationary in the other regions. Seasonality of the malaria incidence was related with rainfall. Decreasing incidence of malaria was associated with decreasing rainfall in the southern coastal region, whereas it was not evident in the northern coastal region. In the Eastern Highland Province, malaria incidence increased in areas below 1700 m, with the rate of increase being steeper at higher altitudes. Conclusions Increasing trend of malaria incidence was prominent in the highland region of Papua New Guinea, while long-term trend was dependent upon baseline level of rainfall in coastal regions.