• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.18-34
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• 2021

Pedestrian deaths in Korea due to traffic accidents are 40 percent of the fatalities in traffic accidents, which is about twice the average of OECD member countries. To reduce severe pedestrian accidents, it is necessary to apply the accident reduction measures to high-risk drivers (novice, elderly, and commercial vehicle drivers) who are more likely to cause traffic accidents than general drivers. Therefore, this study analyzed the effect of safe driving education on high-risk drivers' behavior. Here, the safe driving education is chosen as the measure to reduce traffic accidents. As part of the study, sudden pedestrian crossing situations were implemented in the driving simulator, and the vehicle trajectory data were collected to compare the driving behavior before and after the education. Most surrogate safety measures showed no improvement in the driving behavior of novice and elderly drivers, and the effect of safe driving education was found to be significant only in the group of commercial vehicle drivers. The results implied that additional measures such as pedestrian safety infrastructure and driver assistance systems, apart from the safe driving education, may be needed for novice and elderly drivers to reduce pedestrian accidents caused by them. With the findings mentioned above, this study is expected to provide a foundation to establish a plan to reduce pedestrian accidents caused by high-risk drivers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.4769-4774
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• 2016

Objective: To analyze the survival of elderly patients with breast cancer according to the type of treatment used. Methods: A cohort study of women aged 80 or over with breast cancer registered with the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (Instituto Nacional do $C{\hat{a}}ncer$ - INCA) between 2008 and 2009 was conducted. Prognosis was analyzed according to the cancer treatment performed: surgery, radiotherapy, or hormone therapy. Analysis of the overall 5-year survival rate was performed using the Kaplan - Meier method, and comparisons of curves were undertaken using the log-rank test. For multiple regression analysis, Cox regression was used, adjusting for age and clinical stage, considering values of p < 0.05 as significant. Data were all analyzed using the statistical package SPSS version 20. Results: 70 women with a mean age of $84.0{\pm}3.7years$ at diagnosis participated in the study. The median follow-up time was 37.1 months (range 0.5-75.5), and 31 deaths (44.3%) occurred during this time. The median survival time was 51.2 months (95% CI, 44.9-57.4), higher in those who underwent surgery (p = 0.012) and those who had hormone therapy (p=0.001). Treatment with surgery reduced the risk of death by 61.7% (HR 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.6; p = 0.001) when adjusted for clinical stage and age at diagnosis. However, there was no significant benefit from radiotherapy (HR 1.2; 95% CI, 0.5-2.5; p = 0.694). Conclusion: Treatment with surgery and hormone therapy increased the survival of our Brazilian patients with breast cancer aged 80 or over.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.84-90
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• 2009

Purpose: The effect of concurrent chemoradiotherapy was analyzed in elderly patients when used in the treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer. Materials and Methods: The retrospective analysis included 28 elderly patients aged 65 or older, with histopathologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy from January 2001 to July 2007. The squamous cell carcinoma disease stages included 8 patients (28.8%) in stage IIa, 10 patients (35.7%) in stage IIb, and 10 patients (35.7%) in stage III. Fractionated radiotherapy was performed with a 6 MV or 10 MV X-ray for 45~63 Gy (median: 59.4 Gy). Chemotherapy was applied concurrently with the initiation of radiotherapy. A 75 mg/$m^2$ dose of Cisplatin was intravenously administered on day 1. Further, 5-FU 1,000 mg/$m^2$ was continuously administered intravenously from days 1 to 4. This regimen was performed twice at 3-week intervals during radiotherapy. Two cycles of consolidation chemotherapy was performed after radiotherapy. Results: The follow-up period was 3~72 months (median: 19 months). The treatment responses after concurrent chemoradiotherapy included a complete response in 11 patients (39.3%), a partial response in 14 patients (50.0%), and no response in 3 patients (10.7%). The overall response rate was 89.3% (25 patients). The overall 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 55.9%, 34.6% and 24.2%, respectively. The median survival time was 15 months. Two-year survival rates of patients with a complete response, partial response, and no response were 46.2%, 33.0%, and 0%, respectively. The stage and tumor response after concurrent chemoradiotherapy were statistically significant prognostic factors related with survival. No treatment-related deaths occurred in this study. Conclusion: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy is a relatively effective treatment without serious complications in elderly patients with locally-advanced esophageal cancer.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.61-69
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• 2019

Background: Scarce data have been reported on the efficacy of concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in patients undergoing bioprosthetic valve replacement. Methods: From 2001 and 2014, 146 consecutive patients ($69.3{\pm}9.4years$, 84 females) who underwent bioprosthetic heart valve replacement concomitant with AF ablation were assessed. We evaluated long-term rhythm and valve-related outcomes. Results: During 49.1 months of follow-up (interquartile range, 22.5-96.8 months), 7 in-hospital and 49 (6.7% per person-year) post-discharge deaths occurred. The thromboembolic event-free survival rate at 5 years was $79.2%{\pm}3.5%$. The freedom from AF recurrence rate at 5 years was $59.8%{\pm}4.9%$. Multivariate analysis showed that old age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.11; p=0.002), previous cardiac operation (HR, 3.01; 95% CI, 1.22-7.43; p=0.02), and a large left atrial (LA) dimension (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00-1.05; p=0.045) were significantly associated with AF recurrence. Conclusion: The overall long-term clinical outcomes in these predominantly elderly patients undergoing AF ablation concomitantly with bioprosthetic valve replacement were satisfactory; however, AF recurrence was frequent. Older age, a history of prior cardiac surgery, and large LA size were associated with an increased risk of AF recurrence.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.309-315
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• 2012

Objectives: Changes in air temperature and its relation to ambulance transports due to heat stroke in all 47 prefectures, in Japan were evaluated. Methods: Data on air temperature were obtained from the Japanese Meteorological Agency. Data on ambulance transports due to heat stroke was directly obtained from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Japan. We also used the number of deaths due to heat stroke from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, and population data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Chronological changes in parameters of air temperature were analyzed. In addition, the relation between air temperature and ambulance transports due to heat stroke in August 2010 was also evaluated by using an ecological study. Results: Positive and significant changes in the parameters of air temperature that is, the mean air temperature, mean of the highest air temperature, and mean of the lowest air temperature were noted in all 47 prefectures. In addition, changes in air temperature were accelerated when adjusted for observation years. Ambulance transports due to heat stroke was significantly correlated with air temperature in the ecological study. The highest air temperature was significantly linked to ambulance transports due to heat stroke, especially in elderly subjects. Conclusions: Global warming was demonstrated in all 47 prefectures in Japan. In addition, the higher air temperature was closely associated with higher ambulance transports due to heat stroke in Japan.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2015

Objectives: Recently, low systolic blood pressure (SBP) was found to be associated with an increased risk of death from vascular diseases in a rural elderly population in Korea. However, evidence on the association between low SBP and vascular diseases is scarce. The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the association between low SBP and mortality from all causes and vascular diseases in older middle-aged Korean men. Methods: From 2004 to 2010, 94 085 Korean Vietnam War veterans were followed-up for deaths. The adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) were calculated using the Cox proportional hazard model. A stratified analysis was conducted by age at enrollment. SBP was self-reported by a postal survey in 2004. Results: Among the participants aged 60 and older, the lowest SBP (<90 mmHg) category had an elevated aHR for mortality from all causes (aHR, 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 3.1) and vascular diseases (International Classification of Disease, 10th revision, I00-I99; aHR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.2 to 8.4) compared to those with an SBP of 100 to 119 mmHg. Those with an SBP below 80 mmHg (aHR, 4.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 18.8) and those with an SBP of 80 to 89 mmHg (aHR, 3.1; 95% CI, 0.9 to 10.2) also had an increased risk of vascular mortality, compared to those with an SBP of 90 to 119 mmHg. This association was sustained when excluding the first two years of follow-up or preexisting vascular diseases. In men younger than 60 years, the association of low SBP was weaker than that in those aged 60 years or older. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that low SBP (<90 mmHg) may increase vascular mortality in Korean men aged 60 years or older.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.169-176
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• 2020

Background: Most meta-analyses of risk factors for severe or critical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 only included studies conducted in China and this causes difficulties in generalization. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically evaluate the risk factors in patients with COVID-19 from various countries. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for studies published on the mortality risk in patients with COVID-19 from January 1 to May 7, 2020. Pooled estimates were calculated as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) using the random-effects model. Results: We analyzed data from seven studies involving 26,542 patients in total in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Among the patients, 2,337 deaths were recorded (8.8%). Elderly patients and males showed significantly higher mortality rates than young patients and females; the OR values were 3.6 (95% CI 2.5-5.1) and 1.2 (95% CI 1.0-1.3), respectively. Among comorbidities, hypertension (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.6), diabetes (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.2-3.9), cardiovascular disease (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.5-6.3), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.7-11.5), and chronic kidney disease (OR 4.2, 95% CI 2.0-8.6) were significantly associated with increased mortalities. Conclusion: This meta-analysis, involving a huge global sample, employed a systematic method for synthesizing quantitative results of studies on the risk factors for mortality in patients with COVID-19. It is helpful for clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis and improve the allocation of health resources to patients who need them most.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2012

An assumption for fractional ages should be made to obtain the net premium of the whole life insurance payable at the moment of death based on the life table. Most existing studies adopt the assumption of the uniform distribution(UDD) for the fractional ages. However, as seasonal changes may frequently lead to the deaths of elderly people, it is questionable whether the assumption of the uniform distribution is the most appropriate one for the entire age intervals. In this article, based on a real mortality data set, the appropriateness of UDD assumption for the entire age intervals is examined. And then we propose a more suitable model for fractional ages. We analyze the effect of UDD assumption through the net premium and the corresponding risk when the true distribution for the fractional ages is not uniform.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.207-221
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• 2016

In Korea, older pedestrian accounted for 57% of all pedestrian deaths although a ratio of older pedestrian accidents to total pedestrian accidents was only 25.9%. Though ageing population problem becomes more challenging for road safety, little is know about the behaviour of older pedestrian's behaviour. This study aimed to identify road crossing behaviour of older pedestrian at three-lane unsignalized crosswalks using video image analysis and to compare the behaviour of older pedestrian to younger one by indicators including approaching speed, the number of walking steps and other factors. The results showed that there was a difference of approaching time at kerb, waiting time at kerb, the number of glances at kerb, and the number of glances at crossing between two groups under the situation of car approaching to crosswalks. It also showed that older pedestrian usually spent 1.16 times more than younger pedestrian to walk across the crosswalk with only 84.4% of walking speed of younger pedestrian. The number of steps of older pedestrian for road crossing was 1.12 times higher with 90% shorter steps than younger pedestrian. It was concluded that older pedestrian usually decided to walk across in case of 1.67 times longer headway than younger pedestrian's decision. These results could be applied in road and facility design for better safety of older pedestrians.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.176-184
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• 2019

Purpose: It is unclear whether adding concurrent chemotherapy (CT) to definitive radiotherapy (RT) following induction CT is a tolerable and cost effective treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients aged 70 years or older with comorbidities. This study evaluated the actual clinical outcomes between concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and RT alone following induction CT or not in patients (≥70 years) in a single institution's clinical practice. Materials and Methods: A total of 82 patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC between 2004 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Their treatment tolerance and clinical outcomes such as overall survival (OS), locoregional recurrence (LRR), treatment toxicities and distant metastasis (DM) were evaluated. Early mortality rates were also evaluated as 4-month mortality after RT. Results: Fifty-four patients received CCRT and 28 patients received RT alone. Induction CT before RT was performed for 68.5% and 50.0% in CCRT and RT alone groups. Treatment tolerance was significantly worse in CCRT (p = 0.046). The median survival was 21.1 and 18.1 months for CCRT and RT alone, which was not statistically significant. LRR and DM were also not different. Most early deaths after CCRT were attributed to non-cancer-related mortality. Acute esophagitis of grade ≥2 occurred more following CCRT (p = 0.017). In multivariate analysis, a Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) of ≥5 and a weight loss of ≥5% after RT were associated with poor OS. The factors adversely affecting 4-month survival were a CCI of ≥5 and CCRT. Conclusion: There were no significant differences in OS, LRR, and DM between CCRT and RT alone treatment in elderly patients. However, there was a poorer tolerance and higher incidence of acute esophagitis in the CCRT group. Specifically, when the patients had a CCI of ≥5, RT alone seems to be reasonable with a low probability of early death.