• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제42권6호
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• pp.360-370
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• 2009

Genetic factors clearly play a role in carcinogenesis, but migrant studies provide unequivocal evidence that environmental factors are critical in defining cancer risk. Therefore, one may expect that the lower availability of substrate for biochemical reactions leads to more genetic changes in enzyme function; for example, most studies have indicated the variant MTHFR genotype 677TT is related to biomarkers, such as homocysteine concentrations or global DNA methylation particularly in a low folate diet. The modification of a phenotype related to a genotype, particularly by dietary habits, could support the notion that some of inconsistencies in findings from molecular epidemiologic studies could be due to differences in the populations studied and unaccounted underlying characteristics mediating the relationship between genetic polymorphisms and the actual phenotypes. Given the evidence that diet can modify cancer risk, gene-diet interactions in cancer etiology would be anticipated. However, much of the evidence in this area comes from observational epidemiology, which limits the causal inference. Thus, the investigation of these interactions is essential to gain a full understanding of the impact of genetic variation on health outcomes. This report reviews current approaches to gene-diet interactions in epidemiological studies. Characteristics of gene and dietary factors are divided into four categories: one carbon metabolism-related gene polymorphisms and dietary factors including folate, vitamin B group and methionines; oxidative stress-related gene polymorphisms and antioxidant nutrients including vegetable and fruit intake; carcinogen-metabolizing gene polymorphisms and meat intake including heterocyclic amins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; and other gene-diet interactive effect on cancer.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제33권6호
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• pp.465-475
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• 2014

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of workload on musculoskeletal degeneration. Background: It is important that workers maintain a health body for a long time as a measure of aging workers. In order do so, it is necessary to find out if workload can effect on musculoskeletal degeneration. Method: Epidemiological studies on workload or occupation and disc degeneration, osteoarthritis of knee were identified through database and bibliography searches. Results: Epidemiological studies showed that workload certainly effect on musculoskeletal degeneration. But we couldn't know which of individual factors and occupational factors further contribute to the musculoskeletal degeneration. And we could find that studies on workload and genetic factors were very few. In addition, there was also very few studies that it was possible interaction between individual factors as obesity and occupational factors as heavy manual lifting. Conclusion: Our reviews suggest that it need to conduct study between workload and genetic factors for musculoskeletal degeneration. This further study can identify attributable risk of workload for musculoskeletal degeneration, and contribute to the measure of aging workers. Application: This paper can help to establish research plan for the measure of aging workers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권10호
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• pp.4265-4269
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• 2014

Purpose: This study aimed at summarizing epidemiological evidence of the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and subsequent risk of cancer. Materials and Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Cancer Lit and CINAHL for epidemiological studies published by February 1, 2014 examining the risk of cancer in patients with history of GDM using highly inclusive algorithms. Information about first author, year of publication, country of study, study design, cancer sites, sample sizes, attained age of subjects and methods used for determining GDM status were extracted by two researchers and Stata version 11.0 was used to perform the meta-analysis and estimate the pooled effects. Results: A total of 9 articles documented 5 cohort and 4 case-control studies containing 10,630 cancer cases and 14,608 women with a history of GDM were included in this review. Taken together, the pooled odds ratio (OR) between GDM and breast cancer risk was 1.01 (0.87-1.17); yet the same pooled ORs of case-control and cohort studies were 0.87 (0.71-1.06) and 1.25 (1.00-1.56) respectively. There are indications that GDM is strongly associated with higher risk of pancreatic cancer (HR=8.68) and hematologic malignancies (HR=4.53), but no relationships were detected between GDM and other types of cancer. Conclusions: Although GDM increases the risk of certain types of cancer, these results should be interpreted with caution becuase of some methodological flaws. The issue merits added investigation and coordinated efforts between researchers, antenatal clinics and cancer treatment and registration agencies to help attain better understanding.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2007

We have reviewed all cases and epidemiological studies that have reported the association between worker's exposure to metalworking fluids(MWF) and non-malignant respiratory diseases. The followings are main conclusions we critically reviewed. Exposure to MWF was believed to be significantly related to the risk of cough and phlegm. Relative risk caused by straight MWF was found to be higher in exposure to straight MWF than water-soluble MWF. We also found that exposure to water-soluble MWF significantly caused hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and occupational asthma. The main culprits that cause the development of HP and asthma are believed to be microbes contaminated in MWF, ethanolamine and biocides. HP and asthma could be developed at even exposure to lower than $0.5mg/m^3$, exposure level recommended by NIOSH. Most epidemiological studies have reported that relationship between chronic bronchitis and exposure to MWF was significant. Although there were several studies that suggested the significant association between exposure to MWF and the development of rhinitis and sinusitis, we could not conclude the causal relationship because of lack of evidences.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제80권4호
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• pp.351-357
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• 2017

In 2011, a cluster of peripartum patients were admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in Seoul with signs and symptoms of severe respiratory distress of unknown etiology. Subsequent epidemiological and animal studies suggested that humidifier disinfectant (HD) might represent the source of this pathology. Epidemiological studies, animal studies, and dose-response analysis demonstrated a strong association between HD use and lung injuries. The diagnostic criteria for HD-associated lung injury (HDALI) was defined on the basis of the clinical, pathological, and radiological attributes of the patients. The clinical spectrum of HDALI appears to range from asymptomatic to full-blown acute respiratory failure, and some patients have required actual lung transplantation for survival. The overall mortality of the exposed population was not significant, although peripartum patients and children who were admitted to the intensive care unit did show high mortality rates. Persistent clinical findings such as diffuse ill-defined centrilobular nodules and restrictive lung dysfunction were observed in some of the survivors. The findings of this review emphasize the importance of assessment of the level of toxicity of chemical inhalants utilized in a home setting, as well as the need to identify and monitor afflicted individuals after inhalational injury.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권6호
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• pp.2429-2435
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• 2012

Methyl isocyanate may have a role in cancer etiology, although the link is unclear. There is evidence in the literature that it can induce cancer in animals but the carcinogenic potency is weak. Pheochromocytoma of adrenal medulla and acinar cell tumors of pancreas have been observed in methyl isocyanate exposed animals. Conversely, emerging data from population-based epidemiological studies are contradictory since there is no evidence of such cancers in methyl isocyanate exposed humans. Recently, we reported a high prevalence of breast and lung cancers in such a population in Bhopal. In vitro findings appearing in the latest scientific literature suggest that genomic instability is caused by methyl isocyanate analogs in lung, colon, kidney, ovary epithelial cells, and that hepatocytes may undergo oncogenic transformation, have obvious implications. The conflicting information prompted us to present this update over the last three decades on methyl isocyanate-induced cancers after an extensive literature search using PubMed. While the pertinent literature remains limited, with a scarcity of strong laboratory analyses and field-epidemiological investigations, our succinct review of animal and human epidemiological data including in vitro evidences, should hopefully provide more insight to researchers, toxicologists, and public health professionals concerned with validation of the carcinogenicity of methyl isocyanate in humans.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제30권
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• pp.5.1-5.8
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• 2015

Objectives We aimed to assess the radiation exposure for epidemiologic investigation in residents exposed to radiation from roads that were accidentally found to be contaminated with radioactive cesium-137 ($^{137}Cs$) in Seoul. Methods Using information regarding the frequency and duration of passing via the $^{137}Cs$ contaminated roads or residing/working near the roads from the questionnaires that were obtained from 8875 residents and the measured radiation doses reported by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, we calculated the total cumulative dose of radiation exposure for each person. Results Sixty-three percent of the residents who responded to the questionnaire were considered as ever-exposed and 1% of them had a total cumulative dose of more than 10 mSv. The mean (minimum, maximum) duration of radiation exposure was 4.75 years (0.08, 11.98) and the geometric mean (minimum, maximum) of the total cumulative dose was 0.049 mSv (<0.001, 35.35) in the exposed. Conclusions An individual exposure assessment was performed for an epidemiological study to estimate the health risk among residents living in the vicinity of $^{137}Cs$ contaminated roads. The average exposure dose in the exposed people was less than 5% of the current guideline.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.24.1-24.16
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• 2021

Background: Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium bovis, a well-known cause of zoonotic tuberculosis in cattle and deer, and has been investigated in many physiological and molecular studies. However, detailed genome-level studies of M. bovis have not been performed in Korea. Objectives: To survey whole genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants in Korean M. bovis field isolates and to define M. bovis groups in Korea by comparing SNP typing with spoligotyping and variable number tandem repeat typing. Methods: A total of 46 M. bovis field isolates, isolated from laryngopharyngeal lymph nodes and lungs of Korean cattle, wild boar, and Korean water deer, were used to identify SNPs by performing whole-genome sequencing. SNP sites were confirmed via polymerase chain reaction using 87 primer pairs. Results: We identified 34 SNP sites with different frequencies across M. bovis isolates, and performed SNP typing and epidemiological analysis, which divided the 46 field isolates into 16 subtypes. Conclusions: Through SNP analysis, detailed differences in samples with identical spoligotypes could be detected. SNP analysis is, therefore, a useful epidemiological tracing tool that could enable better management of bovine TB, thus preventing further outbreaks and reducing the impact of this disease.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.223-237
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• 2001

Objective : There have not been studies on the oriental medicine research trends and qualitative analysis of Korean oriental medicine articles in Korea, particularly in the oriental medicine area. This study's purpose is to appreciate Korean oriental medicine's research trends and assess the quality of the Korean oriental medical journals' level. This study will help upgrade Korean oriental medical journals. Method : We found 93 stroke-related articles in the Journal of Korean Oriental Medicine, published between 1980(Volume 1) and 2001(Volume 45). We surveyed the institutes involved in each study, and the number of people in each study. We seperated by epidemiological study design, the studies into categories. Campbell and Stanley's study design into 6 categories, statistical methods into 13 categories. Next, we assessed the 41 articles by a checklist, which had 10 categories. The quality score was analyzed by survey variables over the period, which were divided by the date of publication: the 1980s, the first half of the 1990s, second half of the 1990s and 2000s. Results : 46.3% od the studies didn't use statistical methods. 56.1%, were case series studies by classification of epidemiological study design, and 53.6% were one-shot case studies designed by Campbell and Stanley's study design. The quality score was 58.33 point 60 is average. In quality level by Browman GP etc.'s, 83.0% of the studies were included in V levels. But, the quality scores were significant by presence of reviewer system, statistical method's usage, and over the period. Conclusion : The Journal of Korean Oriental Medicine needs to improve the quality its articles. To improve the quality of oriental medicine related articles, the following are necessary: working together, joint work of inter-educational system, strengthening of reviewer system, use of statistical methods, and consulting to the expert of research at the stage of study design.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제42권6호
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• pp.746-752
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• 2015

Background This study analyzed 100 consecutive patients with primary cutaneous melanoma over the course of 13 years to determine whether epidemiological differences correspond to different stages of the disease. We also investigated whether epidemiological characteristics affected the survival rate. Our results were compared with those of selected descriptive studies of melanoma in other East Asian populations, in order to determine whether cutaneous melanoma patterns are similar in East Asian populations. Methods The patients' medical records were reviewed retrospectively, and we analyzed the relationship of epidemiological characteristics to staging and survival rate. Additionally, papers from Hong Kong and Japan describing these phenomena in East Asian populations were subjected to a statistical comparison. Results The ratio of males to females was 1:1.8, and the foot was the most frequent tumor site (49%). Acral lentiginous melanoma occurred most frequently (55%). Nodular melanoma was associated with a higher stage. Stage III-IV tumors with Clark levels of IV-V were significantly associated with a low survival rate. A statistical analysis of comparable papers reported in Hong Kong and Japan showed similar results with regard to age, tumor location, and histopathological subtypes. Conclusions This study provides the first full epidemiological description of 100 consecutive cases of primary cutaneous melanoma in Korea, with results similar to those observed in other East Asian populations. Corresponding to previous findings, nodular melanoma tended to occur at a higher stage than other types, and tumors with high Clark levels and high stages showed a lower survival rate.