• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.349-355
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• 2009

Biomarkers are characteristic biological properties that can be detected and measured in a variety of biological matrices in the human body, including the blood and tissue, to give an indication of whether there is a threat of disease, if a disease already exists, or how such a disease may develop in an individual case. Along the continuum from exposure to clinical disease and progression, exposure, internal dose, biologically effective dose, early biological effect, altered structure and/or function, clinical disease, and disease progression can potentially be observed and quantified using biomarkers. While the traditional discovery of biomarkers has been a slow process, the advent of molecular and genomic medicine has resulted in explosive growth in the discovery of new biomarkers. In this review, issues in evaluating biomarkers will be discussed and the biomarkers of environmental exposure, early biologic effect, and susceptibility identified and validated in epidemiological studies will be summarized. The spectrum of genomic approaches currently used to identify and apply biomarkers and strategies to validate genomic biomarkers will also be discussed.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.370-379
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the mediating effect of depression on the relationship between gambling severity and cognitive distortion in Koreans with a gambling disorder. Methods: Secondary data from a comprehensive assessment of problematic gambling between 2015 and 2017 on Korea Center on Gambling Problems were used. The subjects in this study were 254 Koreans with that gambling disorder. Data were collected with self-report structured questionnaires which included individual characteristics, the Korean version of Problem Gambling Severity Index, the Center for the Epidemiologic Studies Depression, and the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA with the $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and a mediation analysis of the Baron and Kenny method with the SPSS 22.0 program. Results: Significant correlations emerged among the three variables, gambling severity, depression, and cognitive distortion. Depression exerted a partial mediating effect (${\beta}=.20$, p<.001) on the relationship between gambling severity and cognitive distortion (Sobel test: z=2.33, p=.012). Conclusion: Based on this study's findings, nursing intervention programs focused on managing gambling severity and decreasing depression are highly recommended to alleviate cognitive distortion in people with a gambling disorder.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.278-288
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• 2019

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to summary controversy over health risks among semiconductor workers, to review major cancer risk results conducted in semiconductor operation and to evaluate occupational health activities in Korea for controlling hazardous agents generated in semiconductor operations Methods: Major occupational health issues that has been social controversies among semiconductor workers since 2007 were reviewed through an extensive literature, report and article review. Results: Since a female semiconductor worker aged 22 died from leukemia in 2007, job-association of a number of former semiconductor workers with various types of cancer and rare diseases have been denied by the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KWCWS), but some of them were later awarded compensation as an occupational disease by the administrative court. Two epidemiologic cancer risk studies conducted in Korea found increased risks in leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among semiconductor workers. Various legal occupational health activities taken in semiconductor industry were found to fail to assess a complex characteristics of semiconductor operations, such as drastic changes in chemical use, processes, and technology, multiple exposure. National compensation regulation also showed the limitation to evaluate job-association of semiconductor workers who had worked in semiconductor operation. Conclusions: National legal measures should be taken to improve several occupational health activities and duties for protecting workers. In addition, the KWCWS program should be revised so that all workers who meet minimal job or environment associations can be compensated.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.221-227
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of illness perception on depression and quality of life in patients with hemodialysis. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using structural equation modeling. Depression, quality of life and cognitive and emotional illness perceptions were measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-10 (CESD-10), Short Form-36 version 2 (SF-36v2), and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) in 272 hemodialysis patients. Results: Prevalence of depression was 76.1%, and higher in female patients on hemodialysis. Cognitive illness perception had effect on depression and quality of life, while emotional illness perception had effect only on depression. Quality of life was explained 69.6% through depression (${\beta}=-.74$, t= -8.17) and cognitive illness perceptions (${\beta}=.21$, t= 3.06), while depression was explained 40.5% through cognitive (${\beta}=-.34$, t= -5.99) and emotional (${\beta}=.59$, t= 9.37) illness perceptions. Conclusion: In the inevitable choice of dialysis, illness perception could decrease depression and improve quality of life in hemodialysis patients.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.384-388
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• 2019

The horse stable hand workers are one of the most important occupations in horse-racing industry. However, suicide problem of the horse stable hand workers in Korea has raised the necessity of new study on how these workers experience mental health problems such as occupational stress and depression in organizational situation. Therefore, this study investigated the occupational stress and depression level of the horse stable hand workers and identified the structural relationship in the horse-racing industry through a detailed interview. A total of 207 horse stable hand workers participated in this study, and occupational stress and depression level were surveyed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) and Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). The results of this study showed that the occupational stress level of horse stable hand workers was higher than the median of Korean population. The significant difference in occupational stress among the detail job grade was also identified. In addition, 34% of the horse stable hand workers showed high risk of depression, and job demand, organizational system, and inappropriate compensation as the subfactors of occupational stress were showed to mainly affect depression. Although there are some limitations according to the field survey, this study also has significant meaning in that it identifies the relationship between the occupational characteristics of the horse stable hand workers and the mental health. It will be necessary to study the diverse organizational situation and individual mental health for new occupations.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.155-161
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• 2019

This study was to identify the effects of home visit intervention program for Holistic Healthcare of multi-culture Couples. It used a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design quasi-experimental research. The subjects of this study consist of 20 couples for experimental and control groups. Multi-cultural couples comprised of foreign women married to Korean men in farm and fishery areas. The research tools were used stress index by SA-3000P (Medicare co. Ltd. KOREA), Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref). The experimental group of the wives had lower stress index than the control group, the experimental group of the husband showed lower stress index than the control group, (t=-3.14, p=.002). The wife (t=-3.75, p=.001) and husband (t=-4.20, p=.001) of the experimental group showed lower depression scores than the control group. Both the wife (t=3.86, p=.001) and husband (t=5.28, p=.001) showed higher scores for quality of life compared to the control group. It was found that this holistic healthcare home visit program is an effective program to make improvements on stress, depression and quality of life for multi-cultural couples. Therefore, as the intervention program developed in this study is home visits for the holistic health of multi-cultural couples, and it is judged that it can be implemented at the local social health centers or healthcare centers.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.564-568
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• 2020

Although studies on Hepatitis A virus (HAV) were crucial in the establishment of the HAV infection prevention programs, no systematic investigation into HAV has been conducted since 1999. We retrospectively analyzed the data between January 2010 to December 2018 from all the patients who underwent HAV antibody tests at the Dankook University Hospital Health Care Center. Data were collected from 56,204 individuals. Overall, 34,834 (62.0%) individuals from this cohort were positive for HAV antibodies and the annual rate of anti-HAV antibody positivity was highest in 2010 (68.5%) and lowest in 2013 (54.8%). The average decline in the antibody positivity rate was 0.62% per year, showing a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). In the over 40s age group, anti-HAV antibody positivity rates decreased from 89% in 2010 to 64% in 2018 (p < 0.001), with an annual decrease of 3.1%. In the over 30s age group, it decreased from 48.2% in 2010 to 34.7% in 2018 (p < 0.001), with an annual decrease of 1.82%. This study shows that the antibody positivity rate is decreasing across age groups but given that HAV infection poses more significant risks in older patients it is important to expand the evaluations of the current and future antibody positivity rates for HAV in various age groups.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.70.1-70.7
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• 2020

Background: Oral neoplasia has been reported to account for 6-7% of all canine cancer and 3% of all feline cancers. To the authors' knowledge the last epidemiologic analysis of general oral cancer in dogs and cats was published in 1976. Objectives: The goal of this study was to report contemporary demographic information regarding oral tumors in dogs and cats. Methods: Information was collected from cats or dogs diagnosed with oral neoplasia from the Veterinary Medical Data Base. Medical records representing cases that presented to one of 26 veterinary teaching hospitals from January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2017 were included. Results: A total of 1,810 dogs and 443 cats were identified. A total of 962 cases (53.6%) of canine oral tumors were classified as malignant and 455 cases as benign (25.4%). The majority of feline oral tumors were classified as malignant (257 cases, 58.1%) and only a few benign (11 cases, 2.5%). The incidence of oral tumors was calculated to be 4.9 per 1,000 dogs (0.5%) and 4.9 per 1,000 cats (0.5%). Conclusions: This incidence of oral tumors is considerably higher than previously reported in both dogs and cats. These results provide valuable information for generation of hypotheses for future investigations of breed-based and pathology-based oral neoplastic studies.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.131-137
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• 2022

Public interest has been increasing the focus on the management of exposure to pollutants and the related health effects. This study reviewed exposure assessment methodologies and addressed future directions. Exposure can be assessed by direct (exposure monitoring) or indirect approaches (exposure modelling). Exposure modelling is a cost-effective tool to assess exposure among individuals, but direct personal monitoring provides more accurate exposure data. There are several population exposure models: stochastic human exposure and dose simulation (SHEDS), air pollutants exposure (APEX), and air pollution exposure distributions within adult urban population in Europe (EXPOLIS). A South Korean population exposure model is needed since the resolution of ambient concentrations and time-activity patterns are country specific. Population exposure models could be useful to find the association between exposure to pollutants and adverse health effects in epidemiologic studies. With the advancement of sensor technology and the internet of things (IoT), exposure assessment could be applied in a real-time surveillance system. In the future, environmental health services will be useful to protect and promote human health from exposure to pollutants.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2022

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of vibration exercise on balance control ability, gait ability, and depression in the elderly. Methods: A total of 24 elderly subjects were recruited and randomized into an experimental (n = 12) or a control (n = 12) group. The experimental group performed both a vibration and a stabilization exercise, and the control group performed a stabilization exercise alone. Balance ability was measured using the functional reach test (FRT), gait ability was measured using the timed up and go test (TUGT), and depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results: The experimental and control groups showed significant differences for all pre- and post-experiment FRT, TUGT, and CES-D measurements (p <0.05). In a comparison between the two groups, the experimental group in which vibration exercise was applied showed more significant difference in FRT, TUGT, and CES-D than the control group (p <0.05). Conclusion: This study showed vibration exercise to be effective in balance control ability, gait ability, and depression in the elderly.