• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.86-93
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• 2017

Purpose In this study, radiation workers who work in nuclear medicine department were analyzed to find the cause of differences of radiation exposure from General Characteristic, Knowledge, Recognition and Conduct, especially females working on nuclear medicine radiation, in order to pave the way for positive defense against radiation exposure. Materials and Methods The subjects were 106 radiation workers who were divided into two groups of sixty-four males and forty-two females answered questions about their General Characteristic, Knowledge, Recognition, Conduct, and radiation exposure dose which was measured by TLD (Thermo Luminescence Dosimeter). Results The results of the analysis revealed that as the higher score of knowledge and conduct was shown, the radiation exposure decreased in female groups, and as the higher score of conduct was shown, the radiation exposure decreased in male groups. In the correlation analysis of female groups, the non-experienced in pregnancy showed decreasing amount of radiation exposure as the score of knowledge and conduct was higher and the experienced in pregnancy showed decreasing amount of radiation exposure as the score of recognition and conduct was higher. In the regression analysis on related factors of radiation exposure dose of nuclear medicine radiation workers, the gender caused the meaningful result and the amount of radiation exposure of female groups compared to male groups. In the regression analysis on related factors of radiation exposure dose of female groups, the factor of conduct showed a meaningful result and the amount of radiation exposure of the experienced in pregnancy was lower compared to the non-experienced. Conclusion The conclusion of this study revealed that radiation exposure of female groups was lower than that of male groups. Therefore, male groups need to more actively defend themselves against radiation exposure. Among the female groups, the experienced in pregnancy who have an active defense tendency showed a lower radiation exposure. Thus, those who have never been pregnant need to have a more active defensive conduct for the future possibility of pregnancy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.223-231
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• 2013

Objective: This study aimed to identify the status and risk factors of rituximab infusion-related adverse events (ADE) in rituximab-na$\ddot{i}$ve patients with cancer diseases. Method: A retrospective analysis using electronic medical records review was conducted. Inclusions were patients with a diagnosis of cancer disease with the initiation of rituximab-included treatment who were na$\ddot{i}$ve to rituximab during January 2011 to March 2013 at National Cancer Center (NCC) in Korea. Result: Total 110 patients, 582 cases of rituximab administrations, were reported in the study. About 57.2% of patients were 51-70 years old and evenly distributed between two genders and 72.7% were BMI less than $25kg/m^2$. All of study patients were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Fifty patients (45.4%) and 54 cases (9.3%) were experienced rituximab infusion-related AEs even with conservative administration protocol at NCC. The most frequently occurring AEs were shivering followed by rash and itching. In single variant analysis, we found that the early stage of NHL, low exposure to rituximab administrations, high white blood cell counts, high lymphocyte counts, high absolute neutrophil count and low lactate dehydrogenase were associated with infusion-related AEs (p<0.05). The early stage of disease, high lymphocyte counts, low exposure to rituximab administrations were also related significantly with AEs in multiple variants analysis (p<0.05). Conclusion: Rituximab infusion-related AEs for patients who were na$\ddot{i}$ve to rituximab were still a concern with conservative administration protocol. The adverse drug reactions were significantly associated with early stage of NHL, higher lymphocyte counts and low exposure to rituximab administrations. The factors need to be considered with close monitoring to prevent rituximab infusion-related AE.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2023

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to occupational hazards and the metabolic syndrome. A secondary objective was to analyze the additive and multiplicative effects of exposure to risk factors. Methods: This retrospective cohort was based on 31,615 health examinees at the Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital in Republic of Korea from 2012-2021. Demographic and behavior-related risk factors were treated as confounding factors, whereas three physical factors, 19 organic solvents and aerosols, and 13 metals and dust were considered occupational risk factors. Time-dependent Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios. Results: The risk of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in night shift workers (hazard ratio = 1.45: 95% confidence interval = 1.36-1.54) and workers who were exposed to noise (1.15:1.07-1.24). Exposure to some other risk factors was also significantly associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. They were dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, trichloroethylene, xylene, styrene, toluene, dichloromethane, copper, antimony, lead, copper, iron, welding fume, and manganese. Among the 28 significant pairs, 19 exhibited both positive additive and multiplicative effects. Conclusions: Exposure to single or combined occupational risk factors may increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Working conditions should be monitored and improved to reduce exposure to occupational hazards and prevent the development of the metabolic syndrome.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.488-491
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• 2023

This study aims to ascertain occupations potentially at greatest risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 based on pre-lockdown working conditions in France. We combined two French population-based surveys documenting workplace exposures to infectious agents, face-to-face contact with the public, and working with colleagues just before the pandemic. Then, for each 87-level standard French occupational grouping, we estimated the number and percentage of the French working population reporting these occupational exposure factors, by gender, using survey weights. As much as 40% (11 million) of all workers reported at least two exposure factors. Most of the workers concerned were in the healthcare sector. However, army/police officers, firefighters, hairdressers, teachers, cultural/sports professionals, and some manual workers were also exposed. Women were overrepresented in certain occupations with potentially higher risks of exposure such as home caregivers, childminders, and hairdressers. Our gender-stratified matrix can be used to assign prelockdown work-related exposures to cohorts implemented during the pandemic.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the assertive behavior of asking smokers not to smoke and investigate the factors related to assertive behavior in patients with vascular diseases. Methods: Participants were 203 adult Korean patients with vascular diseases such as cerebral infarction and myocardial infarction. Data were collected using questionnaires that included the characteristics of secondhand smoke (SHS), secondhand smoke-related variables (Health belief model factors, health promotion model factors) and level of assertive behavior. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression using SPSS/WIN 18.0 were performed. Results: Participants who never ask smokers not to smoke was 39.9%, whereas participants who always ask was 7.4%. There was a weak positive relationship between assertive behavior and susceptibility to disease (r=.18), severity of disease (r=.19), benefit of assertive behavior to SHS exposure (r=.10), barrier of assertive behavior to SHS exposure (r=.24), and self-rated health (r=.21) respectively. There was a moderate positive relationship between assertive behavior and self-efficacy of assertive behavior to SHS exposure (r=.49). Health belief model factors explained 15.7% variance and health promotion model factors explained 27.0% of assertive behavior. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that self-efficacy of assertive behavior to SHS exposure is a very important factor. Therefore the development of a program to foster self-efficacy of assertive behavior regarding SHS exposure in patients with vascular diseases is needed.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.123-129
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• 2017

This study intends examine the relevance of factors with negative influences on anti-social sexual awareness formation in adolescents as per the concern of the parents of families with adolescents, as internet pornography exposure in adolescents lead to excessive indulgence in pornographic photographs, cartoons, videos, or fictions, or in video chatting with exposure of one's own body parts. For this, the factors of internet pornography exposure in the study subjects of adolescents were constructed into a multilateral model, and the structural equation model was analyzed. As the result of the study, the following conclusion were drawn. First, the most powerful factor influencing the anti-social sexual awareness in adolescents was, contrary to the concern of many, not the exposure to pornography through internet media, but personal characteristics such as sensation-seeking tendency and socio-environmental characteristic of differential association. Second, it is worth noting that the most major factor influencing intentional internet pornography exposure by adolescents is another form of pornography exposure. Third, whether intentional or unintentional, the internet-related variable influencing the internet pornography exposure was found to be the amount of internet usage. Fourth, the unintended internet pornography exposure was found to have no direct influence on the sexual awareness of adolescents, but it did have an indirect influence on sexual awareness mediated by intentional internet pornography exposure and existing-media pornography exposure. Based on these study results, the conclusion was drawn regarding the influence of internet pornography on sexual awareness in adolescents.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.139-146
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• 2013

Objectives: Cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescent males in rural areas of Korea has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to explore the factors related to increasing trends in cigarette smoking among adolescent males living in rural areas. Methods: The raw data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2006 to 2009 were used. Data were analyzed by using the method of complex survey data analysis considering complex sampling design. Multiple logistic regression models were used to explore the factors affecting cigarette smoking. We evaluated the linear time trends in the prevalence of factors that were related to current smoking status and the linear time trends in cigarette smoking in groups stratified by the exposure to each factor using logistic regression models. Finally, we examined the contributions of the factors to the time trends in cigarette smoking by adjusting for each of those factors in the baseline regression models and changes in the adjusted odds ratio by survey year. Results: A statistically significant increasing trend in smoking was observed after adjusting for the factors affecting cigarette smoking. Significant factors related to cigarette use were perceived stress, experience with depression, current alcohol drinking, exposure to secondhand smoke, and academic performance. The factor related to increasing trends in cigarette smoking was academic performance. Conclusions: Stress about academic performance is an important factor affecting the increase in cigarette smoking among adolescent males in a rural area of Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.383-393
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• 2019

Objectives: The proportion of those working beyond 53 hours a week in 2018 has reached 16.8% of the total number of workers in the Republic of Korea (Statistics Korea, 2018). Although there are many studies that have dealt with the correlation of long working hours and increasing risk of work-related health problems, studies dealing with the factors impacting work-related health problems of workers according to their working hours are few. This study aims to ascertain factors impacting work-related health problems of workers based on their working hours through thorough research on their work environment. Methods: Necessary factors for this study were extracted from 'the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey to analyze details on normal characteristics and work environments used for the study analysis, work hours, and health problems related to work. Results: The results are as follows: First, men showed a greater probability of exposure to work-related health problems than did women, especially in the 50s age group, which showed the highest potential for health problems from work among age groups. Second, service providers and sales professionals showed a higher probability of work-related health problems. Third, for the work environment, health problems at work related to vibration, noise, chemical and poison exposure, exhaustion, pain, standing position, and repeated motion showed a higher probability if the work hours are long. Conclusions: This study suggests that the minimization of overtime labor would prevent work-related health problems and diseases, improve the well-being of workers, and decrease the negative impact on workers in the subject area.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.297-301
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• 2003

To investigate biomarker-based exposure to phthalates and related factors with demographics, 100 subjects who had participated in comprehensive health check-up were selected. We collected demographics through questionnaires and analyzed urine samples for 5 phthalates. Statistical likelihoods and regression methods were applied for data analysis using censored data. The highest levels of urine phthalates were 216$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml in di-isodecyl phthalate, 29.0$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml in di-butyl phthalate, 5.78$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml in di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. The median values of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were 0.2340 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml for male smokers, 0.0399 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml for male non-smokers and 0.0085 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml for female non-smokers, respectively. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate and di-isodecyl phthalate were higher in males than in females. In addition, mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate was decreased with age. Our findings suggest that there might be significant demographic variations in exposure and/or metabolism of phthalates, and that health-risk assessment for phthalate exposure in humans should consider different potential risk groups.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.247-254
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• 2007

This study was performed with the questionnaire survey on mercury knowledge and mercury exposure avoidance behavior, which was conducted among 1076 dental personnel in September, 2004. As for the factors effecting the mercury knowledge, it seems that they are closely related with the personnel's educational backgrounds, and their understandings of causing environmental hazardousness in the dental offices. And also, the factors effecting the behavior of mercury exposure avoidance are strongly connected with the knowledge points on mercury, the knowledge of air states in the dental clinic offices, the use of pincettes and gloves in squeezing, and rubber dam and gloves in mulling, the experience of environmental education on mercury, etc. In the survey, the higher points in mercury knowledge is closely related with the higher points in the behavior of mercury exposure avoidance. Nevertheless, the very fact that the lower points in the behavior among personnel takes on the aspect of the relatively higher points in knowledge on mercury may be understood that the generally acquired knowledge on mercury cannot be the critical factor of the behavior of mercury exposure avoidance.