• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.53-58
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• 2024

Background: As social distancing persists and interest in work-life balance grows, more companies are adopting flexible work policies. While there have been studies on sleep disorders associated with different types of work, such as shift work, research exploring the relationship between flexible work schedules and sleep disorders is still limited, particularly among Korean workers. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey, focusing on 31,243 paid workers out of a total of 50,538 participants. We defined flexible workers as those who set their own working hours. Sleep disorders were divided into three categories: 'difficulty falling asleep,' 'frequent waking during sleep,' and 'waking up feeling exhausted and fatigued.' Using scores derived from three specific symptoms, the Minimal Insomnia Symptoms Scale (MISS) was calculated to assess the prevalence of insomnia. We used chi-square tests to analyze demographic and job-related differences. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify any relationship between flexible work schedules and sleep disorders. Results: Significant differences were found between flexible and non-flexible workers regarding age, income level, education level, and job type. Flexible workers reported sleep-related symptoms significantly more often. The odds ratio for insomnia was 1.40 (95% CI 1.21-1.61). For males, the odds ratio was 1.68 (1.36-2.08). Conclusion: This study establishes a correlation between flexible work schedules and sleep disorders among Korean salaried workers. Potential causes could include changes in circadian rhythm, increased work demands, and extended working hours. To precisely determine causality and associated diseases, further research is required.

• 응용통계연구
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.303-313
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• 2018

본 논문에서는 약품비 지출에 대한 예측을 수행하기 위하여 시계열 모형을 도입한다. 2012년 약가 일괄인하를 반영하기 위하여 구간별 모형을 토대로, 자기회귀오차모형과 전이함수모형을 고려하였다. 자기회귀오차모형에서는 예측의 편리성을 위하여 결정적 추세만을 고려하였으며, 전이함수모형에서는 주요한 외생변수와의 교차상관성을 이용하여 약품비 지출의 인과 메커니즘을 설명하였다. 각 모형에서 약가 일괄인하 이후 수준 변화가 유의하게 나타났으며, 전이함수모형에서는 의약품 사용자 수 및 노인환자 비중 시계열 변수가 유의하게 나타났다. 자기회귀오차모형은 약가 일괄인하로 의한 약품비 수준이동에 좌우되어 비교적 낮은 예측값이 도출되었으며, 전이함수모형은 약품비 지출에 영향을 미치는 외부 설명변수의 증가 추세가 적절히 반영되어 더 높은 예측값을 보였다. 설명변수를 포함하지 않을 경우, 약품비 수준이동만을 고려한 ARIMA 모형은 약품비 지출 추세를 가장 높이 예측하였다.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.225-229
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• 2021

Background: The socioeconomic burden of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is significant, and kitchen work is a high-risk occupation for MSDs due to the intensive manual workload and repetitive movements that are involved. However, there are very few studies on MSDs and rest breaks as a workplace intervention among kitchen workers. This study examined the relationship between insufficient rest breaks and increased MSD risk among Korean kitchen workers. Methods: Sociodemographic and occupational factors of 1,909 kitchen workers were collected from the 3rd-4th Korean Working Conditions Survey data. Five items on rest breaks at work were categorized into two groups, "sufficient" and "insufficient." The number of MSDs and work-related MSDs (WMSDs), an outcome variable, was obtained from the sum of MSDs/WMSDs in three anatomical sites (back, neck, and upper limb, lower limb). The association between rest breaks and MSDs was estimated using zeroinflated negative binomial analyses, with adjustments for age, education level, and weekly working hours, and the analyses were stratified by sex. Results: After adjustment, significant associations were found between insufficient rest breaks and an increased risk of MSDs (odds ratio [OR] 1.68 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-2.54) and WMSDs (OR 1.40 95% CI 1.01-1.96) among female kitchen workers. Insufficient rest breaks were significantly associated with MSDs in female kitchen workers in all three anatomical sites. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the need for rest breaks as a workplace intervention for preventing MSDs in kitchen workers. Further studies to reveal the causality of this relationship are required.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.123-129
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• 2006

Objectives : The incidence of colorectal cancer increased greatly among the elderly in Korea, but the relationship between smoking and colon cancer remains controversial. Few studies have targeted Asian elderly people. We analyzed the smoking status, the amount smoked, and the smoking duration as risk factors of colorectal cancer to determine their association and causality. Methods: The cohort members (n=14, 103) consisted of 4,694 males and 9,409 females, and they were derived from the Korea Elderly Phamacepidemilogic Cohort (KEPEC), which was a population-based dynamic cohort. They were aged 65 years or more and they lived in Busan Metropolitan City between from 1993-1998; they were beneficiaries of the Korean Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC). The baseline information was surveyed by a self-administered mailed questionnaire; after 8.7 person-years of mean follow up period, 100 cases of colorectal cancer occurred. The adjusted relative ratio (aRR) of smoking status, the smoking amount and the smoking duration were calculated from the Cox's proportional hazard model with the never-smokers as a reference group and the Cox model controlled for age, gender, precancerous lesions of CRC, medication history of NSAIDs & antibiotics, the alcohol drinking status and BMI. Results : Compared with the never smokers, the aRRs were 2.03 (95% CI=1.02-4.03) and 1.36 (95% CI=0.80-2.32) for the ex-smokers and current smokers, respectively. Statistical significant trends were not observed for the dose-relationship among the elderly, either for the mean daily amount smoked (p for trend=0.28) or for the total amount (p for trend=0.15). Still, the aRRs were 1.51 (95% CI=0.97-2.34) for the elderly who smoked less than 40 years and 2.35 (95% CI=1.16-4.74) for the elderly who had 40 years or more of smoking (p for trend=0.06). Smokers who started smoking before the age 20 had an increased aRR of 2.15 (95% CI=1.17-3.93) compared to the never smokers. Conclusions : After controlling for age, gender, precancerous lesion of CRC, medication history of NSAIDs & antibiotics, the alcohol drinking status and BMI, smoking increases the risk of colorectal cancer among elderly people. The age when starting smoking is also important.