• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5695-5699
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• 2012

We investigated the relationships between demographics, lifestyle characteristics, and serum total prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentration and examined the population-based distribution of total PSA by age among 2,246 Korean men with a median age of 45 years. We obtained data about demographic and lifestyle characteristics based on self-reporting using a quetionnaire. We also performed physical examinations, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical measurements. The PSA concentration increased with age and there was a significant difference in total PSA concentration between the age groups of 21-60 years and >60 years. Age >60 years, height ${\geq}1.8$ m, a low frequency of alcohol consumption, and taking nutritional supplements showed a significantly increased odds ratio for increased PSA when 3.0 ng/mL was chosen as the PSA cut-off level. Smoking status, BMI, percent body fat, diabetes mellitus, fatty liver, herbal medicine use, vitamin use, and diet were not significantly associated with total PSA regardless of the cut-off level. When interpreting a single PSA test, height, alcohol consumption, and nutritional supplement use should be considered, in addition to age.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5407-5409
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• 2014

Background: In National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) reports, various rates are routinely provided for 50 cancer sites of males and 54 cancer sites of females. Very often, depending on our interest, we wish to see these rates for group of cancers like head and neck cancers, oral cancers, and reproductive cancers. In such a situation, the desired rates are calculated independently from the actual data and reported. The question is can we derive the rates for groups of cancers from the published reports when the data is provided only for the individual sites? Objective: In the present paper, an attempt is made to explore the mathematical properties of various rates to derive them directly for the group of cancer sites from the published data when the rates are provided only for the individual sites. Source of data: The cancer incidence data collected by two urban Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs), under the network of NCRP for the period of 2006-08 was considered for the study purposes. The Registries included were: Bangalore and Bhopal. Results: In the present communication, we have shown that the crude rate (CR), age specific rates and age-adjuste rates (AAR) all possess additive properties. This means, given the above rates for individual sites, the above rates can be calculated for groups of sites by simply adding them. In terms of formula it can be stated that CR(Site1+Site2+++ SiteN) = CR(Site1)+CR(Site2) +++ CR(SiteN). This formula holds good for age specific rates as well as for AAR. This property facilitates the calculation of various rates for defined groups of cancers by simply adding the above rates for individual sites from which they are made up.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.83-104
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• 1997

This paper studies parameter estimation for a first-order hyperbolic integro-differential equation modelling one-sex population dynamics. A second-order finite difference scheme is used to estimate parameters such as the age-specific death-rate and the age-specific fertility from fully discrete observations on the population. The function space parameter estimation convergence of this scheme is proved. Also, numerical simulations are performed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3469-3476
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• 2016

Background: The cancer research literature suggests that women, especially premenopausal women, have lower cancer mortality rates than men. However, it is unclear if that is true for populations at all age levels in all countries and what factors affect such sex differences. This paper attempts to fill that gap. Materials and Methods: Sex- and country-specific cancer mortality data were statistically analyzed with particular attention to geographic, social, and economic factors that may affect the sex differences. Results: The sex differences were age and country specific, rather than universal. Premenopausal women actually tend to have a disadvantage compared to men or postmenopausal women. Male cancer mortality appears to be the affecting factor in explaining variations in sex differences. Latitude of residence and literacy rate are the affecting factors in cancer mortality and sex differences. African and Latin American countries tend to have a female disadvantage, while East Asian and Eastern European countries are more likely to have a female advantage. Conclusions: The findings challenge the cancer mortality literature and indicate that the sex differences and their possible causes are more complicated than the current literature suggests. They also highlight the urgency of adapting age- and country- specific health systems and policies to better meet the needs of younger women.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.267-272
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• 2013

Purpose: Demirjian's dental maturity scores and curves have been widely used for human age determination. Several authors have reported considerable differences between the true and estimated age based on the Demirjian curves, which have been accounted for by ethnicity. The purpose of the current study was to assess the role of ethnicity-specific dental maturation curves in age estimation of Saudi children. Materials and Methods: A sample of 452 healthy Saudi children aged 4 to 14 years were aged based on the original French-Canadian Demirjian curves and several modified Demirjian curves specified for certain ethnic groups: Saudi, Kuwaiti, Polish, Dutch, Pakistani, and Belgian. One-way ANOVA and a post hoc Scheff$\acute{e}$'s test were used to assess the differences between chronological age and dental age estimated by the different curves (P<0.05). Results: The curves designed for Dutch, Polish, Saudi, and Belgian (5th percentile) populations had a significantly lower error in estimating age than the original French-Canadian and Belgian (50th percentile) curves. The optimal curve for males was the Saudi one, with a mean absolute difference between estimated age and chronological age of 8.6 months. For females, the optimal curve was the Polish one, with a mean absolute difference of 7.4 months. It was revealed that accurate age determination was not related to certain ethnicity-specific curves. Conclusion: We conclude that ethnicity might play a role in age determination, but not a principal one.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2847-2852
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• 2016

Background: Although the breast cancer incidence rate in Japan is lower than in western countries, the age-specific rates have markedly increased in recent years, along with the problems of declining birth rate and an aging population. Materials and Methods: We examined past trends of age-specific breast cancer incidence using data from the Osaka Cancer Registry from 1976 to 2010, and estimated future trends until 2025 based on the changes observed and population dynamics using a log linear regression model. Results: The age-specific breast cancer incidence rate has increased consistently from the 1970s, and the rates have caught up with those of Japanese-Americans in the US. Assuming the increasing tendency of age-specific breast cancer incidence to be constant, the average annual incidence of breast cancer will increase 1.7-fold from 2006-2010 to 2021-2025. Furthermore, the number of patients aged 80 years should increase 3.4-fold. Conclusions: The medical demand for breast cancer care in Japan may increase explosively in the future, particularly among the elderly. We need to prepare for such a future increase in demand for care, although careful monitoring is needed to confirm these results.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.347-373
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• 2021

Over the past 50 years, explorative research on the nation's mortality decline patterns has showed a decrease in age-specific mortality rates in all age groups, but there were different improvement patterns in specific mortality rates depending on ages and periods. Greater distinct improvement was observed in mortality rates among women than men, and there was a noticeable improvement in mortality rates in certain groups especially in the more recent decades, revealing a structural change in the overall trends regarding death periods. In this paper, we compare various stochastic mortality models considering cohort effects for mortality projection using Korean female mortality data and further explore the uncertainty related to projection. It also created age-specific mortality rates and life expectancy for women until 2067 based on the results of the analysis, and compared them with future age-specific mortality rates and life expectancy provided by the national statistical office (KOISIS). The best optimal model could vary depending on data usage periods. however, considering the overall fit and predictability, the PLAT model would be regarded to have appropriate predictability in terms of the mortality rates of women in South Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2014

Background: Despite children's unique characteristics that distinguish them from adults, relatively few attempts have been made to measure exposure factors for characterization of children's exposure to hazardous chemicals in child-specific products (CSP). This study was conducted to establish the child-specific exposure factors for exposure and risk assessment of hazardous substances in CSP. Methods: We investigated the exposure factors (e.g., time use of child-products, time and frequency of object-to-body contact, time and frequency of object-to-mouth contact) influencing children's exposure to CSP (e.g., toys, playmats, oil pastels, etc.) in 650 children through a parent-completed questionnaire using a web-based survey. Participants were recruited in five age groups, <1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-6, and 6-12 years of age. Results: The child-specific exposure factors were presented as the mean, median, $95^{th}$ percentile, minimum, and maximum values. Time activity for play mats was the longest among CSP and infants spent more time on them than did elder age groups (189.3-224.7 min/day for <1-2 years vs. 91.2 min/day for 6-12 years). It is apparent that time and frequency of toy block- and plastic toy-to-mouth contact significantly decreased as a function of age. When the variation of CSP use patterns was compared by gender, the only variable that was statistically different between genders was time activity in child-products exposure space. Conclusion: We believe the five child-specific exposure factors suggested in the present study will be valuable for reducing uncertainty in the estimation of chemical exposure during risk assessment of CSP and furthermore, in the appropriate regulations to protect children's health.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.12
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• pp.491-498
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• 2020

Background: Renal size is an important indicator in the diagnosis of renal diseases and urinary tract infections in children. Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it aimed to measure the renal length and calculate the renal volume of normal Thai children using 2-dimensional ultrasonography (2D-US) and study their correlations with somatic parameters. Second, it aimed to compare the age-specific renal size of normal Thai children with the published data of their Western and Chinese counterparts. Methods: A total of 321 children (150 boys, 171 girls; age, 6-15 years) with a normal renal profile were prospectively recruited. All subjects underwent 2D-US by an experienced pediatric radiologist and the renal length, width, and depth were measured. Renal volume was calculated using the ellipsoid formula as recommended. The data were compared between the left and right kidneys, the sexes, and various somatic parameters. The age-specific renal lengths were compared using a nomogram derived from a Western cohort that is currently referred by many Thailand hospitals, while the renal volumes were compared with the published data of a Chinese cohort. Results: No statistically significant difference (P<0.05) was found between sexes or the right and left kidneys. The renal sizes had strong correlations with height, weight, body surface area, and age but not with body mass index. The renal length of the Thai children was moderately correlated (r=0.59) with that of the Western cohort, while the age-specific renal volume was significantly smaller (P<0.05) than that of the Chinese children. Conclusion: Therefore, we concluded that the age-specific renal length and volume obtained by 2D-US would vary between children in different regions and may not be suitably used as an international standard for diagnosis, although further studies may be needed to confirm our findings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9731-9737
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• 2014

Large scale secular registry or surveillance systems have been accumulating vast data that allow mathematical modeling of cancer incidence and mortality rates. Most contemporary models in this regard use time series and APC (age-period-cohort) methods and focus primarily on predicting or analyzing cancer epidemiology with little attention being paid to implications for designing cancer registry, surveillance or evaluation initiatives. This research models age-specific cancer incidence rates using logistic growth equations and explores their performance under different scenarios of data completeness in the hope of deriving clues for reshaping relevant data collection. The study used China Cancer Registry Report 2012 as the data source. It employed 3-parameter logistic growth equations and modeled the age-specific incidence rates of all and the top 10 cancers presented in the registry report. The study performed 3 types of modeling, namely full age-span by fitting, multiple 5-year-segment fitting and single-segment fitting. Measurement of model performance adopted adjusted goodness of fit that combines sum of squred residuals and relative errors. Both model simulation and performance evalation utilized self-developed algorithms programed using C# languade and MS Visual Studio 2008. For models built upon full age-span data, predicted age-specific cancer incidence rates fitted very well with observed values for most (except cervical and breast) cancers with estimated goodness of fit (Rs) being over 0.96. When a given cancer is concerned, the R valuae of the logistic growth model derived using observed data from urban residents was greater than or at least equal to that of the same model built on data from rural people. For models based on multiple-5-year-segment data, the Rs remained fairly high (over 0.89) until 3-fourths of the data segments were excluded. For models using a fixed length single-segment of observed data, the older the age covered by the corresponding data segment, the higher the resulting Rs. Logistic growth models describe age-specific incidence rates perfectly for most cancers and may be used to inform data collection for purposes of monitoring and analyzing cancer epidemic. Helped by appropriate logistic growth equations, the work vomume of contemporary data collection, e.g., cancer registry and surveilance systems, may be reduced substantially.