Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (한국환경보건학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Health (한국환경보건학회)
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A Study on the Regional Distribution of Enrollment Cases Who Reported Humidifier Disinfectant-Related Health Effects

가습기살균제 노출로 인한 건강피해 신고자의 지역별 편차에 대한 고찰

  • Ju, Min Jae (Department of Health Sciences and Technology, GAIHST, Gachon University) ;
  • Yoon, Jeonggyo (Department of Preventive Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine) ;
  • Jo, Eun-Kyung (Korean Society of Environmental Health) ;
  • Lee, Seula (Department of Preventive Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine) ;
  • Oh, Jaehyun (Department of Urban Planning and Engineering, Yonsei University) ;
  • Park, Jinhyeon (Department of Occupational Health, Daegu Catholic University) ;
  • Yang, Wonho (Department of Occupational Health, Daegu Catholic University) ;
  • Choi, Yoon-Hyeong (Department of Health Sciences and Technology, GAIHST, Gachon University)
  • 주민재 (가천대학교 가천융합의과학원 의생명과학) ;
  • 윤정교 (가천대학교 의과대학 예방의학교실) ;
  • 조은경 (한국환경보건학회) ;
  • 이슬아 (가천대학교 의과대학 예방의학교실) ;
  • 오재현 (연세대학교 공과대학 도시공학과) ;
  • 박진현 (대구가톨릭대학교 산업보건학과) ;
  • 양원호 (대구가톨릭대학교 산업보건학과) ;
  • 최윤형 (가천대학교 가천융합의과학원 의생명과학)
  • Received : 2021.06.04
  • Accepted : 2021.08.06
  • Published : 2021.08.31
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Abstract

Background: Humidifier disinfectant is a biocidal product used in the water tanks of humidifiers to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Although there are a huge number of cases of reported humidifier disinfectant-related health effects across the entire Korean population, their numbers are distributed differently depending on the region. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the regional distribution of enrollment cases who reported humidifier disinfectant-related health effects. Methods: This study used data on 6,240 subjects who experienced humidifier disinfectant-related health effects and who enrolled their cases which is conducted by the Korea Ministry of Environment. We examined the regional distribution of the enrolled cases based on sixteen administrative divisions and assessed the: 1) crude number; 2) proportional rate; and 3) age-standardized proportional rate of enrollment by region. Results: When we examined the crude number of enrollments by region, the highest number were in Gyeonggi-do Province (n=1,896), followed in order by Seoul (n=1,405), Incheon (n=436) Busan, Daegu, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, Daejeon, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Jeollabuk-do Province, Gwangju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, Gangwon-do Province, Jeollanam-do Province, Ulsan, and Jeju-do. When we examined proportional rate of the regional enrollment (cases per 100,000 population), Daejeon (n=16.2) was the region with the highest rate, followed in order by Gyeonggi-do Province (n=16.1), Incheon-do Province (n=15.9), Seoul, Daegu, Gwangju, Jeollabuk-do Province, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Busan, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, Gangwon-do Province, Gyeongsanbuk-do Province, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, Ulsan, Jeju-do, and Jeollanam-do Province, which is inconsistent with the order in terms of crude numbers. However, when we examined the age-standardized proportional rate of regional enrollment (cases per 100,000 population), their ranked distribution is consistent with the crude rate. Conclusions: This study observed that the regional distribution of the enrolled cases who reported humidifier disinfectant-related health effects is inconsistent with the regional distribution of the proportional rate of enrollment cases, which may be caused in part by the volume of the inherent population of each region.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

본 논문은 한국환경산업기술원에서 진행된 가습기살균제 환경노출조사 자료를 이용하여 수행하였습니다.

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