• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.101-113
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• 2017

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to examine the self-rated oral health status of local residents and their quality of life in urban and county areas in an effort to provide information on how to improve their quality of life. Method : The 2015 community health survey data for South Gyeongsang Province(10 urban regions and 10 county areas) were analyzed. Result : The findings of the study were as follows: As for the characteristics of self- rated oral health, there were better self-rated oral health, less chewing difficulty, less use of dentures, higher rate of receiving dental checkups and more scaling experience in the urban communities than in the county areas. Concerning EQ-5D and happiness index by region, the two were higher in the urban regions than in the county areas. In regard to EQ-5D and happiness index by the characteristics of self-rated oral health, better self-rated oral health status and less chewing difficulty led to higher EQ-5D and higher happiness index. And the two were higher when dentures were not used, when more dental checkups were received and when there was more scaling experience. Conclusion : Therefore in order to boost the quality of life of local residents, the preparation of various educational programs is necessary to raise their awareness of health, and they should be provided with a wide range of medical benefits by dispersing medical institutions that are mostly located in urban communities or by expanding public health services in county areas.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.353-358
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• 2004

Objective : To determine the quality of life and cost consequences for deaf adults who received a cochlear implant. Methods : The data from 11 patients, post-lingual deaf adults who received cochlear implants from 1990 to 2002, underwent cost-utility analysis. The average age of the participants was 49.6 years. The main outcomes were direct cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) using the visual analog scale (VAS), health utility index (HUI), EuroQol (EQ-5D), and quality well-being (QWB), with costs and utilities being discounted 3% annually. Results : Recipients had an average of 5.6 years of implant use. Mean VAS scores increased by 0.33, from 0.27 before implantation to 0.60 at survey. HUI scores increased by 0.36, from 0.29 to 0.65, EQ-5D scores increased by 0.26, from 0.52 to 0.78, and QWB scores increased by 0.16, from 0.45 to 0.61. Discounted direct costs were $22,320, yielding $19,223/QALY using VAS, $17,387/QALY using HUI, $24,604/QALY using EQ-5D, and $40,474/QALY using QWB. Cost-utility ratios using VAS, HUI, and EQ-5D were all below $25,000 per QALY, except using QWB. Conclusion : Cochlear implants in post-lingual deaf adult have a positive effect on quality of life at reasonable direct costs and appear to produce a net saving to society.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.230-237
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• 2019

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of Korean medicine combination treatments for recurring back pain after medical procedures. Methods: This was a retrospective study performed on 311 patients admitted to Daejoen Jaseng hospital who were diagnosed with lumbar spine herniated intervertebral discs. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to whether or not they had undergone at least one medical procedure on the lumbar spine. They were assessed with Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and EuroQol-5 Dimensions Index (EQ-5D) before and after treatment. Results: Patients who experienced a medical procedure on the lumbar spine in the prehospital phase (Group A), statistically significantly improved EQ-5D and ODI scores. The NRS scores also decreased however it was not statistically significant. Patients who had not undergone a medical procedure on the lumbar spine in the prehospital phase (Group B) had statistically significantly improved ODI and NRS scores. The average EQ-5D score decreased however, there was no statistically significant difference before and after scores in Group B. There was no statistically significant difference in variation in EQ-5D, ODI, and NRS scores before and after treatment between the groups. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that even after a bilateral procedure and surgery, when pain in patients with lumbar spine herniated intervertebral disc did not decrease, (as in failed back surgery syndrome), Korean medicine combination treatment of postoperative pain was helpful and there was improvement in daily life.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.699-713
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the relationships of oral and systemic health-related characteristics with health-related quality of life (EQ-5D) in the elderly, and factors related to quality of life were compared according to age subgroups classified as either younger (young-old) or older (old-old) than 75 years of age. Methods: Data acquired by the Sixth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES) from 2013 to 2015 were used, and the research target was 3,124 people aged 65 years or older. A complex samples general linear model was used to identify health-related quality of life factors. Results: Education, economic activity, depression, stress, regular walking, self-rated oral health, pronunciation problems, and unmet dental care had significant effects on quality of life in both young-old and old-old participants. Marriage, income, number of systemic diseases, sleeping, and chewing inconveniences were significant factors for the young-old but not in the old-old participants. Instead, obesity and drinking were identified as significant factors in the old-old participants. Conclusions: We reaffirmed that factors affecting health-related quality of life in older adults differed by age group. We also confirmed the impact of oral health-related characteristics on this quality. Therefore, to improve quality of life for older adults, it would be efficient to divide groups by age and develop and implement programs that take relevant factors into consideration.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2021

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Korean medicine combination treatment on recurrent neck pain after medical procedures. Methods: This retrospective study included 158 inpatients of the Daejeon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine who were diagnosed with "Cervical disc disorder with radiculopathy (M50.1)" between December 14th, 2017 and May 29th, 2019. The patients were assigned to 1 of 2 groups based on whether they received medical procedures on the cervical spine at least once. Korean medicine combination treatment was evaluated using EuroQol-5 dimensions index (EQ-5D), numeric rating scale (NRS), and neck disability index (NDI) scores. Results: Before and after treatment, the patients who received medical procedures on the cervical spine at least once before admission (Group A) showed a statistically significant difference in the NDI and NRS scores but not in the EQ-5D scores. This was similar to the patients who had not received medical procedures on the cervical spine before admission (Group B) they showed a statistically significant difference in the NDI and NRS scores but not in the EQ-5D scores. When comparing the results of Group A and Group B before and after treatment, no statistically significant differences were observed in the EQ-5D, NDI, and NRS scores. Conclusion: Korean medicine combination treatment improves the neck functional disability of patients who suffer from recurrent neck pain despite patients having undergone medical procedures.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.31
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• pp.17.1-17.7
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• 2016

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between residential district of people, such as power plant, steel-mill and petrochemical industries, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, we randomly recruited participants for our study from industrial areas (thermoelectric power plant, steel-mill, petrochemical industry) and rural areas. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between Euro quality of life-5 dimension (EQ-5D) scores and living region, while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Results In adjusted model, quality of life decreased with increasing category of age and were lower for females than males. EQ-5D scores of people living in the vicinity of thermoelectric power plant were significant lower than those of people living the vicinity of comparison region (odds ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 2.53). Conclusions Living region of thermoelectric power plant, was strongly associated with scores on the EQ-5D. More research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms which makes the relationship with the living regions and HRQoL.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3237-3243
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyze city's built environment that have influence on residents' health in the 40 small and medium-sized cities. In the study, landuse, urban form and facility accessibility of cities and other socio-demographic variables were used as explanatory variables, and a statistical analysis was carried out by applying multi-level analysis. Analysis shows that a high level of population density lower the obesity, and a high level of landuse-mix have a positive effect on EQ-5D & hypertension. In terms of urban form and facility accessibility, residents show a high level of obesity in an environment where roads are closely connected and access to bus service is bad. Finally, as more access to open space have a positive effect on EQ-5D. Therefore, landuse-mix, access to public transportation and open space should be used for planning factors to make a health improvement plan in cities.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.437-448
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify levels of health-related quality of life (EQ-5D) and its related factors among merchants in traditional markets. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected through questionnaires and physical examination on blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol and BMI between February 12 and April 13, 2018. The participants were 175 merchants from two traditional markets in U. Metropolitan city. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. Results: Levels of health-related EQ-5D were significantly different according to demographic characteristics, smoking status, exercise, total cholesterol, BMI, subjective health status, stress, and depression. The EQ-5D related factors were variables that had significant influence on subjective health status (β=.30, p<.001), gender (β=.27, p<.001), BMI (β=-.16, p=.012), depression (β=-.17, p=.010), and working period (β=-.15, p=.021). They explained 27.2% of the total variance of health-related quality of life (F=13.91, p<.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that disease prevention and health management is essential for merchants who work in traditional markets to promote their health-related quality of life. For better merchants outcome, the intervention program should consider factors that are subjective health status, gender, BMI, depression, and working period in order to improve levels of EQ-5D.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.547-557
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• 2017

The health-related quality of life data are commonly skewed and bounded with spike at the perfect health status, and the variance tended to be heteroscedastic. In this study, we have developed a prediction model for EQ-5D using linear regression model, beta regression model, and extended beta regression model with mean and precision submodel, and also compared the predictive accuracy. The extended beta regression model allows to model skewness and differences in dispersion related to covariates. Although the extended beta regression model has higher prediction accuracy than the linear regression model, the overlapped confidence intervals suggested that the extended beta regression model was superior to the linear regression model. However, the expended beta regression model could explain the heteroscedasticity and predict within the bounded range. Therefore, the expended beta regression model are appropriate for fitting the health-related quality of life data such as EQ-5D.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.108-126
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• 2008

Summary measures of population health or SMPH is an index which can describe morbidity as well as mortality. Summary measures of population health can be divided into health-adjusted life years which is a life expectancy measure and disability-adjusted life years which represents the gap between the ideal health status and the current health status. This study aims at estimating health-adjusted life expectancy(HALE) which is a measure of health-adjusted life years, by calculating life expectancy adjusted by health status using EQ-5D. The mortality data was obtained from the life table of 2005 which was published by the National Statistical Office and the health status by sex and age was obtained from the EQ-5D scores using the third National Health and Nutrition and Examination Survey in 2005. With these mortality and morbidity data, health-adjusted life expectancy was calculated using Sullivan's method. The study results showed that the health-adjusted life expectancy of males and females was 67.49 and 69.61, respectively, while the life expectancy of males and females was 75.14 and 81.89. In other words, Korean males and females lose 7.65 and 12.28, respectively, from the decrease of quality of life due to diseases and/or injuries. These results can further be interpreted that males lose 10.2% of their life expectancy and females 15.0%. This study suggests that it may be possible to monitor population's health-adjusted life expectancy by continuing to include health-related quality of life measures such as EQ-5D in national health surveys like the National Health and Nutrition and Examination Survey.