• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.337-342
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• 2009

Background : Many previous studies have shown that elevated homocysteine in the serum is a well known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and this is associated with other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but any Korean data on this is limited. Objectives : This study aimed to calculate the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia and to analyze the relation between elevated homocysteine and the lifestyle factors of Korean adults. Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional survey that included 650 men and 743 women (age range, 20 to 79 years) who were residents of Gwangju City in Gyeonggi-do. These subjects participated in the health interview and examination survey from November to December 2005. The total homocysteine, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride in the serum were measured. All the participants had their body composition measured such as height and weight, and we obtained health-related behavioral information through the self-entry questionnaire. Results : Very right-handed skewed distributions of homocysteine were shown in men and women. The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia was 22.6% in men and 13.7% in women in Gwangju city. On the multiple logistic regression analysis, hyperhomocysteinemia was associated with age (OR=1.02, 95% CI=1.01-1.04), male gender (OR=1.60, 95% CI=1.02-2.52), severe general physical activity (OR=0.32, 95% CI=0.15-0.69) and nutrient consumption (OR=0.49, 95% CI=0.31-0.76). Conclusions : There is a great prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in adults of Gwangju City, Korea and it was associated with both genetic factors and lifestyle risk factors. This study can suggest that comprehensive lifestyle modification is needed in order to diminish the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia and to prevent CVD.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.441-448
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• 2000

This study was performed to investigate the prevalence and its related factors on the Clonorchis sinensis(C.S.) of inhabitants at Goksung-gun, Chollanam-do. After the population was stratified by gender, age, resident area, 651 residents living in eight villages were sampled by cluster sampling method. We interviewed the subjects to survey the various characteristics using the questionnaire, and examined stools to confirm the infection of C.S. from November to December, 1998. The prevalence of C.S. was 19.0%. The factors related with the infection of C.S. were male(adjusted odds ratio, of female=1.71, 95% confidence interval=1.07-2.72), 45-64 year old group(aOR of under 45 year old group=2.16. 95% CI=1.21-3.85), above 65 year old group(aOR of under 45 year old group=2.34, 95% CI=1.31-4.15), basin villagers(aOR of inland villagers=2.34, 95% CI=1.31-4.15), current drinker(aOR of nondrinker=1.83, 95% CI=1.12-2.98), those who took raw fish(aOR of persons who didn't it or take cooked fish=2.09, 95% CI=1.21-3.88) and persons who know the infection status(aQR of the persons who didn't know it=0.57, 95% CI=0.37-0.89). In conclusion, these results suggest that several life styles such as ingestion of raw fish, drinking habit. So we think that it is necessary to set up the efficient management programs for the treatment and prevention of C.S. infection.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.202-215
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• 2010

Objective : This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of otolaryngology and respiratory diseases and characteristics of the outpatients who had visited Chuncheon oriental medical hospital which located in Gangwon province with the diseases. Methods : We analyzed data from 627 patients, who had visited to the Department of ophthalmology & otolaryngology & dermatology of Chuncheon oriental medical hospital from November 1st, 2007 to May 31th, 2010. The data were analyzed and demonstrated by age, gender, season, period between the onset of disease and the first examination, times of treatment, and treatment methods. Results : The results of this study are summarized as follows. 1. Among the 627 outpatients, male patients outnumbered female patients, and the most frequent age group was 0-10 year-old group(24.9%) and it is followed by 31-40 and 41-50 year-old groups. The majority of outpatients, 79.7% of them were from Chuncheon, and Hongcheon and Gapyeong residents were respectively 4.7% and 3.8% of the patients. 2. The shares of outpatients by department were 47.4% in Rhinology disease, 29.8% in respiratory disease, 14.5% in Otology disease, and 8.3% in Laryngology disease. The seasons with the most frequent prevalence by department were spring and winter for otology group, autumn and spring for rhinology group, summer and spring for laryngology group, and winter and spring for respiratory disease group. Overall, most outpatients had visited the hospital for 1-5 times or 6-10 times. Acupuncture and herbal medicine were the most frequent treatment methods that these patients received. 3. The most prevalent diseases were rhinitis, common cold, tinnitus, and sinusitis. The most frequently visited age groups for tinnitus and hearing loss were 41-50 and 51-60 year-old groups, and for rhinitis and sinusitis 0-10 and 11-20 year-old groups. Irritation in larynx was almost evenly prevalent among 31-40, 41-50 and 51-60 age groups. Regarding the period between the onset of disease and the first medical examination, outpatients with tinnitus, rhinitis, sinusitis, and irritation in larynx came to the hospital after one year since the onset and outpatients with common cold first visited the hospital within one week since the onset of disease. Conclusions : This study shows that the most frequent diseases were rhinitis, common cold, sinusitis, tinnitus, and cough. In order to do better treatment for these diseases in the future, there is a need to investigate long-term, multifaceted studies, connected studies with other hospital in Gangwon province.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.351-374
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• 2005

This study examines dynamics of poverty in Korea, focusing on poverty duration and its determinants. Data come from Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS), 1998-2003. KLIPS is a longitudinal survey of 5,000 families and their members which are representative of urban residents in Korea. Respondents of KLIPS annually report detailed information on their income, economic activities, and other socio-economic characteristics. This study use poverty exit probabilities to generate distributions of spell lengths, following Bane and Ellwood(1986)'s methodology. This study finds a high level of poverty exit rates in Korea. About three quarters of those beginning a poverty spell exit from poverty within two years. Only 14.3 percent of all the poverty spells consist of long spells which persists five years or more. Yet, a different picture emerges when spells of the poor persons at a given time are analysed. Persistent poor occupy a considerable share of all the poor. Almost 50 percent of those who would be in poverty at a given time are in the midst of poverty spells lasting five years or more. When repeat spells of poverty are also included in the analyses, the proportion of long-term poor increases further. 63 percent of persons poor at a given time are long-termers. The majority of long-term poor are members of families headed by the aged. They show both a low level of poverty exit rates and a high level of reentry rates, and thus are most likely to experience long-term poverty. In the first place, they occupy a substantial share of all the poor. The second who are likely to be poor longer is members of families headed by non-aged women. Researchers have recentlty paid much attention to the working poor who have increased since the economic crisis in 1997. Yet, it is very likely that families headed by non-aged male who largely consist of the working poor temporarily experience poverty. Findings for this study suggest that further studies and policy proposals addressing persistent poverty are necessary.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.239-252
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• 1997

A questionnaire survey including stool examination for the parasite ova, skin test, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of the liver fluke to find the factors related with the prevalence of the parasite infestation was done toward 118 residents living in three villages of Song-jung, Yi-jung, and Chim-gok of Okok-myun, Goksung County, South Cholla Province. The results are as follows : 1. The prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis ova by the stool examination was 46.6%. The sensitivity and specificity of skin test to egg-positive cases were 63.5% and 68.9%. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA to egg-positive clonorchiasis were 100% and 34.9%. 2. The prevalence of Clonchiasis was higher in male than in female. 45~64 year old group was the highest among age groups, and the longer the duration of living in the present residence was, the higher the prevalence was shown statistically significantly (p<0.01). 3. The present drinker had higher prevalence of Clonorchiasis significantly than the past drinker or non-drinker, and the more the frequency of drinking the higher the prevalence was shown significantly (p<0.05). 4. Those who took raw fish had significantly higher than persons who didn't take it or take cooked fish(p<0.05) and prevalence showed the tendency to be increased as the frequency to take raw fishes increased significantly(p<0.05). 5. Those who had taken a raw sweet fish(Plecoglossus altivelis) or snake-headed fish(Ophicephalus argus) showed significantly higher prevalence of infection with liver fluke than persons who didn't take the raw fish. 6. While 56.4% of persons infected with Clonorchiasis answered that they were healthy, only 13.0% of the subjects were careful for their health, and 41.8% experienced tests to diagnose liver flukes before they were examined by this survey. 7. While 56.4% of infected persons thought the prevalence was high in their community, 54.0% were afraid to be infected, 47.1% thought the infection might destroy their health, 25.5% took treatment drugs, and 18.2% took raw fish continuously after treatment. The above results confirmed that Goksung area was highly prevalent in Clonorchiasis, so it was necessary to push effective preventive program against liver fluke infection together with the program to diagnose and treat existing infected persons.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2007

Purpose: Ths study aims to examine characteristics of patients using emergency room after execution of five-day workweek system by government and provide basic materials for operation of efficient emergency room. Methods: Data were collected tbrough medical records of patients visiting emergency room from July of 2004 to October of 2006 and they were analyzed with SPSSlPC 10.0. Conclusion : 1. The number of patients visiting emergency room was average 16.7 persons a day in 2004, 17.5 in 2005 and 18.6 in 2006 and it was found that it was increasing every year since the execution of five-day workweek system 2. Gender distribution of subjects using emergency room was higher in male than in female every year. 3. Means of transport to emergency room were mostly private car and others(public transport or on foot), but use of ambulance was increasing. 4. Residential areas of subjects were mostly 'Myeon area' in 2004~2005, but it was changed to residents at 'Eup area' in 2006. 5. Distribution of patients by medical departments was highest in internal medicine and surgery in 2004~2006 and rate of visiting pediatrics was increasing every year. 6. Time to stay at emergency room was most at 'below 30 min'. in 2004~2006, but cases of stay for 'more than 2 hours' were increasing every year. 7. On presence or absence of trauma in patients visiting emergency room, rate of visit to emergency room with 'no trauma' was higher and this result was increasing every year. 8. As a result of classifying severity of patients visiting emergency room, use rate of emergency room by 'non-emergency' patients was over 90% in 2004~2006 and such a phenomenon was deepened in 2006 compared to that in 2004. 9. Measures after emergency care of patients were most in case of 'discharge' in 2004~2006, but cases of admission to hospital after emergency care were increased every year. 10. According to use of emergency room by a day of the week, use on Sunday was most frequent in 2004~2006, but use on Friday the day before holiday was increasing. 11. According to distribution by age, use by those between '40~49' was most in 2004~2005, but use by those 'below 10' was most in 2006. 12. According to time to visit emergency room, using emergency room at "15:31~23:30 was most in 2004~2006, cases of visiting emergency room at day working hour were decreased every year and those at evening and night working hours were increased. Conclusion: In sum, it was found that characteristics of patients visiting emergency room and their actual status were changed after the execution of five-day workweek system and efforts to rearrange emergency medical system are required.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.861-866
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• 2012

This study assessed the effectiveness of three intervention strategies to improve the participation rate of gastric cancer screening among people who had never undergone such screening, and those who had been screened for the disease, but not recently. It was conducted in the Ilsandong-gu District of Goyang City, Korea. The population for the current study was restricted to male residents, aged 40-65 years, who received an invitation letter to undergo gastric cancer screening from the National Health Insurance (NHI) Corporation at the beginning of 2010. The subjects were divided into two categories according to their screening history: never-screened, and ever-screened. A total of 2,065 men were eligible: 803 never-screened and 1,262 ever-screened. In each screening category they were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: 1) tailored telephone counseling; 2) tailored postcard reminder after tailored telephone counseling;and 3) tailored telephone counseling after tailored postcard reminder. At 3 months post-intervention, never-screened men with any intervention were more likely to undergo gastric cancer screening (OR=2.75, 95% CI: 1.22-6.18) compared to those in the reference group (no intervention). However, there was no statistically significant intervention effect in ever-screened men (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 0.65-2.27). Examination of the intervention effects by intervention group among never-screened men showed that those in the postcard reminder after telephone counseling group to be statistically significantly more likely to undergo gastric cancer screening (OR=4.49, 95% CI: 1.79-11.29) than the reference group (no intervention). Our results highlight that use of tailored postcard reminders after tailored telephone counseling is an effective method to increase participation in gastric cancer screening among men who had never been screened.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.811-816
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• 2013

Background: Pervious studies suggested occupational workers exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP) might contribute to increased risk of cancer. However, few studies have focused on associations between PCP and cancer risk at the community level. Objective: The present study was to explore the cancer risk for the community population living long-term in a PCP contaminated area. Methods: All the cancer cases diagnosed in 2009-2011 in Tongling City were collected. The cancer patients' residencies were geo-referenced in each district. The historical PCP usage for each district of Tongling was calculated as the PCP pollution index, which was further used to divide into PCP exposure categories. Standardized rate ratios (SRRs) of cancer incidence were applied to detect the cancer risk as exposure grade elevated. Correlation analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between PCP pollution and cancer incidence. Results: A total of 5,288 cancer cases (3,451 male and 1,837 female) were identified. PCP usage was correlated with the incidence of leukemia (r=0.88, P=0.002) for males, and with cancer of the esophagus for males (r=0.83, P=0.008) and females (r=0.71, P=0.020). Compared with the low exposure category, significant SRRs for total cancer sites was obtained for high PCP exposure category (SRR=1.61, 95%CI=1.59-1.62). Most SRR values of the cancer sites were significantly increased as exposure grade elevated and exposure time extended. Conclusion: The present study found that community residents living in the PCP contaminated area had increased risk of cancers. Leukemias, lymphomas and nasopharyngeal and esophageal cancers are most possibly associated with PCP exposure.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2002

Objective : Few studies have examined the relationship between the risk of cancer and exposure to pesticides in Korea or in other East Asian that have until recently used chlorophenoxy herbicides. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the exposure to pesticides and cancer incidence. Methods : We conducted a prospective cohort study with a follow-up period of 13 years (1985-1998). The subjects included 2,687 male and 3,589 female Kangwha Island residents, Koreans aged fifty-five or more as of March 1985, who received a personal health interview and completed a health examination survey. A Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative risks(RR). Results : At baseline, the mean age of the study participants in 1985 was 66.4 for males and 67.1 for females. During the 13 years follow-up, a total of 300 incidents of cancer in males and 140 in females developed. In males, the total cancer incidence in the highest group was RR, 1.4 (95%. CI=1.0-1.9), p for trend=0.041, for digestive organ cancer Incidence in the highest group, RR, 1.5 (95% CI=1.0-2.3), p for trend=0.057, for stomach cancer, incidence in the highest group, RR, 1.6 (95% CI=0.9-2.8), p for trend=0.094, for gallbladder cancer incidence in the highest group, RR, 9.1 (95% CI=1.1-77.0), p for trend=0.014 were elevated according to the higher frequency of pesticide use per year. In particular, the risk of gallbladder cancer was very high. Although not significant, the risk of liver cancer was higher than in the non-exposed group (in the highest group, RR, 2.0(95% CI=0.7-5.9)). In females, although not significant, breast cancer incidence in the highest exposure group was higher than in the non-exposed group (in the highest group, RR, 4.7 (95% CI=0.5-27.9)). Conclusions : This study demonstrates that Korean farmers who use pesticides, particularly males, have a significantly higher total cancer incidence, particularly from digestive organ cancers such as, stomach, gallbladder, and liver cancer. In particular, the risk of gallbladder cancer was very high.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.113-131
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• 1996

The purpose of this study is to identify the existence, personal characteristics and behavior of market-participants, and function of urban weekly markets in Taegu City through observation, interview and questionnaire survey. There are four weekly periodic markets such as Seongso(Monday), Chilgok(Wednesday), Siji(Thursday), and Chilgok(Friday) which have recently developed near the new apartment areas on the outskirts of Taegu. The major findings of this study can be summarized as follows: These markets originated from the agricultural cooperative's Friday markets, but were substantially established by mobile traders or merchants for the sake of their livelihood. Therefore, the existence of these markets is not explained by Stine's central place perspective but partially explained by Hay's economic locational and Bromley's socio-cultural perspective. Most traders are male, aged 30 to 40 years and have an educational level higher than high school. Most of them are living in Taegu and itinerantly visit more than two markets among the four markets by small truck. And most of them sell agricultural products and other food materials, except some who sell manufactured goods. Most consumers are housewives, aged 20 to 30 years and have an educational level higher than high school. Most of them are living within 1,000m and go there on foot. Most of them visit the markets around 3 to 5 p.m. on every market day. And they mostly buy vegetables, fruits, and fishes. Weekly markets provide employment opportunities for those who want to be merchants, and also contribute to the increase of farmers' income, because some traders(18.8%) are farmers who periodically visit markets to sell agricultural products. On the other hand, they function as a general food materials markets to neighboring residents. From these facts, both traders and consumers want weekly markets sustained. Therefore, these markets need to be protected by institutional assistance in spite of being informal markets.