• Health Communication
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.73-84
• /
• 2017

Purpose: As the internet use of teenagers become more common, the need for research on the relationship between the internet and youth depression has emerged. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between internet use and adolescent depression. Methods: The subjects of this study were youth attending elementary($6^{th}$ grade), middle($2^{nd}$ grade), and high schools($2^{nd}$ grade) belonging to the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education. Depression was assessed using the BDI depression scale. Internet functions were classified into 10 categories, and the degree of use by Internet functions was examined. The most frequently used Internet sites were surveyed. Univariate analysis using $X^2$ test and multivariate analysis using logistic regression analysis were conducted to find out the difference of internet and smartphone media function on depression according to elementary, middle and high school students. Results: Depression was higher of 13.2 times for students who use online transactions (goods purchase), 0.07 times for students who use 'bulletin board' activities in elementary students. Depression was higher of 1.55 times for those who use online transactions (purchasing goods), and 2.3 times for those who use adult sites for middle school students. Depression was higher of 2.1 times when using e-mail and 1.9 times when using other information retrieval for high school students. Conclusion: It is necessary to consider characteristics of internet utilizing pattern by school class in policy regulation and prevention program to reduce youth depression.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.80 no.2
• /
• pp.169-178
• /
• 2017

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of our new video-assisted asthma education program on patients' knowledge regarding asthma and asthma control. Methods: Adult asthmatics who were diagnosed by primary care physicians and followed for at least 1 year were educated via smart devices and pamphlets. The education sessions were carried out three times at 2-week intervals. Each education period lasted at most 5 minutes. The effectiveness was then evaluated using questionnaires and an asthma control test (ACT). Results: The study enrolled 144 patients (mean age, $56.7{\pm}16.7years$). Half of the patients had not been taught how to use their inhalers. After participating in the education program, the participants' understanding of asthma improved significantly across all six items of a questionnaire assessing their general knowledge of asthma. The proportion of patients who made errors while manipulating their inhalers was reduced to less than 10%. The ACT score increased from $16.6{\pm}4.6$ to $20.0{\pm}3.9$ (p<0.001). The number of asthmatics whose ACT score was at least 20 increased from 45 (33.3%) to 93 (65.3%) (p<0.001). The magnitude of improvement in the ACT score did not differ between patients who received an education session at least three times within 1 year and those who had not. The majority of patients agreed to the need for an education program (95.8%) and showed a willingness to pay an additional cost for the education (81.9%). Conclusion: This study indicated that our newly developed education program would become an effective component of asthma management in primary care clinics.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.51-63
• /
• 2000

Ten Dongs were selected according to the systematic cluster sampling in Koryong Gun, and the survey was conducted on 571 women in the age between 30-69 years. The first survey was performed for 6 days between August 27 to September 1, 1999 with the investigation rate of 60.3%, and the second survey was performed in November with the investigation rate of 91.8%. The contents of survey included demographic characteristics, health behaviors, dyspepsia symptom score, sleeping induction time and the degree of sleep satisfaction, and degree of stress in the subjects. The dyspepsia symptom score was in the average 13.4 points out of a total 44 points and was the highest in the 50-59 year-old age group with 13.9 points. The sleep induction time was in the average of 35 minutes and was the highest in the 50-59 year-old age group with 40.9 minutes; the degree of sleep satisfaction was in the average of 7.9 points and was the lowest in the 50-59 year-old age group with 7.5 points. The stress score was in the average of 18.3 points and was highest in those subjects in their 40's and 50's with 18.7 points. When the correlation among the stress score, the degree of sleep satisfaction and dyspepsia symptom score was analyzed, the results showed that he stress score and the degree of sleep satisfaction showed a significant negative correlation and that the stress score and dyspepsia symptom score showed a significant positive correlation. Also, a significant negative correlation was found between the degree of sleep satisfaction and dyspepsia symptom score. According to each age group, a significant correlation was revealed among the stress score, dyspepsia symptom score and the degree of sleep satisfaction in those subjects over 40 years of age compared to those subjects who were younger than 40 years of age. As for educational level, the correlation among the stress score, the degree of sleep satisfaction and dyspepsia symptom score was higher in those subjects with less than middle school education compared to those subjects with more than high school education. When those factors that effects on the dyspepsia symptom score were analyzed with multiple regression, the results showed that the level of stress and chronic diseases were selected as significant variables. When those factors that affected on the degree of sleep satisfaction were analyzed, the sleep induction time and presence of chronic diseases and stress were selected as significant variables. Those women in their 50's who live in rural areas showed the highest level of stress, lowest the degree of sleep satisfaction, and highest level of dyspepsia, indicating that they need stress management. Also, since stress was showed to be a significant variable effecting on dyspepsia or the degree of sleep satisfaction, it is concluded that health promotion is possible through stress management. More studies are needed in the future on coping resources that would strengthen coping against stress, and by conducting studies on stress and related factors on community people, the measures of mental health promotion need to be developed.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.473-493
• /
• 2012

Malaria infection is sensitively influenced by regional meteorological conditions along with global climate change. Remote sensing techniques have become an important tool for extraction of climatic and environmental factors, including rainfall, temperature, surface water, soil moisture, and land use, which are directly linked to the habitat qualities of malaria mosquitoes. Improvement of sensor fidelity with higher spatial and spectral resolution, new multinational sensor development, and decreased data cost have nurtured diverse remote sensing applications in malaria research. In 1984, eradication of endemic malaria was declared in Korea, but reemergence of malaria was reported in mid-1990s. Considering constant changes in malaria cases since 2000, the epidemiological management of the disease needs careful monitoring. Geographically, northmost counties neighboring North Korea have been ranked high in the number of malaria cases. High infection rates in these areas drew special attention and led to a hypothesis that malaria dispersion in these border counties might be caused by north-origin, malaria-bearing adult mosquitoes. Habitat conditions of malaria mosquitoes are important parameters for prediction of the vector abundance. However, it should be realized that malaria infection and transmission is a complex mechanism, where non-environmental factors, including human behavior, demographic structure, landscape structure, and spatial relationships between human residence and the vector habitats, are also significant considerations in the framework of medical geography.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.38 no.3 s.113
• /
• pp.412-419
• /
• 2005

The dynamics of zooplankton community and its relationship with environments were studied at the middle stretch (Waekwan, RK; river kilometer; above 175 km from the estuary dam) of large regulated river, Nakdong River from 1998 to 2002. There were distinct inter-annual variations and seasonal changes in total zooplankton abundance in the study site (ANOVA, p<0.01), displaying similar pattern in three years from 1999 to 2001 except 1998 and 2002. The annual average rotifers abundance during the study period was 43${\pm}76 ind. $L^{-1}$ (mean${\pm}$s.d., n = 118), followed by adult copepodids (1.6${\pm}$4.8 ind. $L^{-1}$), and small cladocerans (0.4${\pm}$1.2 ind. $L^{-1}$). Among the rotifers, Brachionus spp. Polyarthra spp., Colurella spp., Keratella spp.·, and Trichocerca spp. were the most common taxa. These species occupied more than 80% of the total rotifer abundance throughout the study period. Total zooplankton abundance rapidly increased in spring and fall and remained low throughout the winter. During summer, zooplankton dynamics seemed to be largely affected by hydrological parameters. Overall, rather the external factors (hydrological factors of the river) than internal factors (food condition for zooplankton such as phytoplankton biomass) appear to be responsible for changes in zooplankton dynamics in the middle stretch of the river.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.347-361
• /
• 2012

Limited studies are available concerning the effect of heavy metal exposure on cardiovascular diseases. As environmental pollution increases, food contamination, including heavy metal contamination of fish, also increases. However, researches based on the intake of heavy metals, cardiovascular disease, and fish intakes are inconclusive. We assessed an association of heavy metal exposure with cardiovascular disease and fish intake in a nationally representative group of general Korean adults. We used data from the combined 2008-2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), and analyzed the data of 5,139 Koreans who participated in KNHANES. All participants were older than 20 years, and were diagnosed with stroke, ischemic heart disease, or hypertension. The mean blood cadmium, lead concentration, and mercury concentration of subjects were $1.07{\pm}0.01{\mu}g/L$, $2.49{\pm}0.02{\mu}g/dL$, and $5.19{\pm}0.08{\mu}g/L$, respectively. We used the survey logistic regression model to account for the complex sample design of the cardiovascular disease risk in order to estimate the odds ratios (OR). After adjusting for age, education, income, alcohol, smoking, and BMI, the increase of serum cadmium in blood was associated with the increase in the prevalence of hypertension. Further, the increase in blood cadmium concentration was associated with the increase of both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Although higher fish intakes were significantly associated with higher blood mercury concentration (p for trend < 0.0001), fish intakes did not affect either blood cadmium or lead concentration. Comparing the highest fish intake group with the lowest intake group, the OR of hypertension was 0.31 (95% CI: 0.19-0.59) in the crude model for total fish. However, these associations were no longer significant after the adjustment for potential confounding factors. In conclusion, cadmium in blood was associated with an increased risk of hypertension in the general Korean adult population. However, we found no evidence of a clear relationship between cardiovascular disease and frequency of fish consumption.