• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.141-155
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• 2024

Background: This study aimed to identified the relationship between the risk of obstructive sleep apnea, subjective health, and health-related quality of life among the middle-aged and elderly population in Korea. Methods: Adults aged 40 or older were extracted from the total 22,559 respondents to the 2019-2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VIII, and secondary analysis was conducted on a total of 6,659 middle-aged and elderly people with no missing values. Logistic regression analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted to examine the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea risk factors and subjective health as well as quality of life. Results: The subjective health status decline in the high-risk group compared to the non-risk group for obstructive sleep apnea was statistically significantly higher, with an odds ratio of 1.84 (p<0.001). The health-related quality of life was also statistically significantly lower by 0.02 points (β, -0.02; p<0.001). As a result of subgroup analysis on specific variables, the association between the risk of obstructive sleep apnea and subjective health and health-related quality of life was statistically significant depending on gender, sleep time, presence of depression, household income, and number of household members. Based on the obstructive sleep apnea risk group, women had a higher correlation with low subjective health and lower health-related quality of life scores than men. Sleeping time of more than 8 hours or less than 6 hours was more associated with low subjective health and lower health-related quality of life score than sleeping time of 6-8 hours. Patients with depression were more likely to have low subjective health than those without depression. The lower the household income level and the smaller the number of household members, the higher the association with low subjective health and the lower the health-related quality of life score. Conclusion: It is essential to recognize that the risk of obstructive sleep apnea not only directly affects sleep disorders but also impacts individuals' subjective health and quality of life. Consequently, social support and education should be provided to raise awareness of this issue. Particularly, programs for preventing and managing obstructive sleep apnea should target vulnerable groups such as women, individuals in single-person households, low household income, and those with depression, aiming to improve their subjective health and quality of life.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.72-85
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• 2010

Seasonal variation in species composition of estuarine fauna in the Han River estuary was determined using monthly samples collected near Ganghwa Island by a bag net from February to December 2009. Total number of species was 86: 54 species of fishes, 16 species of shrimps of crustacean, 12 species of other crustacean such as craps and so on, 3 species of cephalopods and 1 species of jellyfish. Of a total of 86 species, Palaeman carinicauda (32.6%), Acetes japonicus (15.9%), Palaemon gravieri (9.9%), Portunus trituberculatus (7.7%) and Acetes chinensis (6.9%) were predominated in abundance. These 5 crustacean accounted for 73% of total. Abundance, biomass and diversity of Han River estuarine fauna were high in spring and autumn, indicating typical pattern of temperate area. Out of dominant species, the brackish residence species such as Coilia nasus, Chelon haematocheilus, Mugil cephalus, Synechogobius hasta, Lophiogobius ocellicauda, Tridentiger barbatus, Palaeman carinicauda, Palaemon gravieri were collected almost year-round and predominated in abundance. Coastal migratory fauna species such as Coilia mystus, Thryssa hamiltonii, Thryssa adelae, Sardinella zunasi, Engraulis japonicus, Portunus trituberculatus, Acetes japonicus, Collichthys lucidus, Pampus argenteus were most plentiful from spring through autumn. Their adult coastal migratory entered the estuary in spring and large numbers of their juveniles were grew in summer and autumn until moving out to deeper waters for over-wintering, indicating they use estuary as nursing ground. Diadromous fish such as Anguila japonica adults were collected in autumn during their downstream migration. Brackish fauna and crustacean, especially shrimps were predominant, and few contaminant indicator species collected in the Han River estuary, indicating this area maintains the characteristics of natural estuary ecosystem.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.189-205
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• 1994

Formerly, adult-tiger puffer, Takifugu rubripes with ova caught in the sea, were used for seedling production. But it was difficult to secure naturally-ripened adults. For the purpose of adult tiger puffer in captivity, this study was carried out. To determine the growth 220 tiger puffers hatched in 1990 (3-year-old) and 1991 (2-year-old) were used. For spawning and egg incubation leading to fry development, eggs were stripped from tiger puffers hatched in 1988 (5-year-old) and 1990 (3-year-old) through human chorionic gonadotropin (BCG) treatments. In May, 1993, mean body length and mean body weight of 2-year-old tiger puffer were $30.72\pm1.35cm\;and\;1,048\pm228 g,$ and that of 3-year-old tiger puffers were $36.02\pm1.17cm$ and $1,402\pm66g$ respectively. The relationship between body length (L) and body weight (W) of 2-year-old the tiger puffers during the experiment period was represented as $W\;=\;1.7892L^{31524}\times10^5$ (r= 0.9436) and that of 3-year-old, $W=\;3.2840L^{36099}\times10^6$ (r= 0.9070) respectively. The GSI in female 2-year-old-fish changed from $0.23\times0.l2\;to\;0.74\pm0.08$, during the experiment period, and in male it didn't change remarkably until November, but thereafter it increased and showed a peak of $8.69\pm5.09$. The GSI of 3-year-old-fish showed a peak of $8.05\pm5.58$ in April in female and $12.65\pm4.60$ in May in male. The change of HSI in 3-year-old-fish was correlative to the change of GSI, but in 2-year-old-fish it was little correlative. In female gonad of 2-year-old tiger puffer, the mature oocytes reached $350{\mu}m$ in April, but thereafter they didn't spawn and became atrophied. But in male gonad, a great number of spermatozoa were crowded in the testicular lobuli in April. Female gonad of 3-year-old tiger puffer had the mature oocytes of 650 pm in March and the ripe oocytes, $900{\mu}m$ in April. Male testis development was similar to that of 2-year-old-fish. Egg-stripping after hormone treatments was possible past 139 hours and 142 hours from each of two 5-year-old-fish (500IU/kg, BW), and after 114 hour from a 3-year-old-fish (1,000 IU/kg, BW) under water temperature $16.3\~17.8^{\circ}C$. Eggs stripped amounted was 650 g and 400 g from two 5-year-old-fish and 610 g from the 3-year-old-fish, and fertilization rates were $98.0\%,\;97.4\%\;and\;96.5\%$ respectively. All the hatched larvae devloped into normal fry.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.146-153
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• 1997

Background : Chronic cough is commomly defined as a persistent or recurrent cough exceeding 3 week's duration. The prevalence of chroinc cough is reported to range from 14% to 23 % for nonsmoking adults. The post nasal drip syndrome has been determined to be the most common cause of chronic cough, followed by asthma, chronic bronchitis, gastroesophageal reflux and bronchiectasis. Cough can be the only manifestation of asthma. Bronchial provocation tests are useful in diagnosing cough variant asthma. We investigated the clinical or laboratory findings and the incidence of airway hyperresponsiveness and evaluated the etiology in patients with chronic cough. Method : We evaluated 46 patients with chronic cough. Methacholine challenge test were done. Results : The results were as follows : 1) Thirty - five percent(16/46) of the chronic cough patients and 44% of the post nasal drip syndrom(7/16) showed the positive responses to methacholine challenge test 2) The underlying causes of chronic cough were post nasal drip syndrome in 35%, bronchitis in 21.7%, cough-variant asthma in 17.4%, and unknown condition in 25.9%. 3) Airway hyperresponsiveness in chronic cough was not related to respiratory symptom, nasal symptom, post nasal drip, smoking, derangement of ventilatory function, atopy, or sinusitis. Conclusion : Airway hyperresponsivenss in patients with chronic cough increased in frequency when compaired with normal control, allergic rhinitis. Cough-variant asthma account for 17.4% of patients with chronic cough.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.146-160
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• 2014

Objective: This study was performed to explore the effectiveness of community organization as a strategy for health promotion. Methods: We used data from community health interviews from 6 administrative sections (eup, myeon, or dong) with high mortality from August to October, conducted once in both 2010 and 2013 as part of the Health Plus Happiness Plus Projects based on the concept of community empowerment in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. For 2010, the study subjects comprised a systematic sampling of 220 adults from each of the six sections for a total of 1320 subjects, and for 2013, 200 from each section for a total of 1200 subjects. We compared main health behavior indicators and empowerment score between these two years. Results: Smoking prevalence in men was 47.4% in 2013, and 47.7% in 2010, respectively. Prevalence of walking 5 days or more per week was 35.6% in 2013, significantly lower than 46.2% in 2010. Also, during that period, both biennial health examination rate and biennial gastric cancer screening rate among those 40 years of age and over significantly increased from 57.7% to 63.6% and from 49.3% to 55.0%, respectively. Mean empowerment score at the community level significantly increased from 12.6 to 14.0. Conclusions: This study suggests that the three-year implementation of community organization might have helped to increase the participation rate of biennial health examinations including cancer screenings in the community. However, this was not the case for smoking cessation and walking. Further studies are needed for evidence-based health promotion.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.232-239
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• 2001

Background : Asthmatic patients frequently suffer cold-weather-associated respiratory symptoms. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and diagnostic value of isocapnic hyperventilation of cold air(IHCA) using a multistep method, was investigated in patients suspected to have asthma. Method : One hundred and 29 adult patients who had an IHCA performed between july 1999 and December 2000, had an methacholine bronchoprovocation test because of a clinical suspicion of asthma. Results : According to strict criteria, 50 were defined as asthmatics and 79 as symptomatic nonasthmatics. There were no differences in age, sex and smoking state between the asthmatic and symptomatic nonasthmatic groups. There was a significant decrease in the percentage reduction in the forced expiratory volume in 1 second($FEV_1$) after the IHCA between the asthmatics($-10.0{\pm}6.8%$) and the symptomatic nonasthmatics($-2.3{\pm}2.5%)$. The factors associated with a reactivity to IHCA were $FEV_1$/FVC, $FEF_{25-75}$%/FVC and $FEV_1$(% of predicted). The accuracy was highest using a 7% fall in $FEV_1$ ; the sensitivity was 76% and the specificity 96%. Conclusion : IHCA is a specific, although not a sensitive, test for diagnosing asthma in adult patients. Furthermore, the diagnostic cut-off value of the different methods of IHCA need to be determined.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate a relationship between the blood concentrations of toxic metals and the blood pressure in people living near the copper smelter. Methods: The study included 570 adults living within 4km of the smelter. We compared systolic and diastolic blood pressure between tertiary groups for blood cadmium, mercury and lead levels, respectively. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors affecting systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Results: In male subjects, there is a significant difference in the mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure between tertiary groups of blood cadmium and mercury levels, but in women, there was no significant difference in the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures in all tertiary groups of heavy metals. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that age, BMI, and cadmium concentration in men were risk factors for blood pressure. In women, age and BMI, drinking and smoking, and blood mercury were significantly influenced to blood pressure. Conclusions: Residents living near the Janghang smelter showed high concentrations of blood lead and cadmium, suggesting that they were exposed to high concentrations of heavy metals released from the smelter in the past. Such exposure may have caused some blood pressure increase. Especially, the concentration of cadmium in the case of men and the concentration of mercury in blood in the case of women were found to be significantly related to the increase of blood pressure. The local population should be advised to make efforts to reduce exposure to environmental contaminants, in order to minimize cardiovascular disease, and to pay close attention to any health problems possibly related to toxic metal exposure.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.170-178
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• 2004

Purpose: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been known to be vital in the pathogenesis of duodenal ulcer disease in children as well as in adults. But the relationship between H. pylori infection and the histopathologic findings of the duodenum has not been explained obviously in children yet. So the aim of this study is to determine whether duodenitis and/or gastric metaplasia in the duodenum increases the risk of duodenal ulcer disease in children infected by H. pylori. Methods: From October 2001 to April 2004 gastric and duodenal biopsies were performed in 177 children who visited Department of Pediatrics, Gil Hospital, Gachon Medical School. Biopsy sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and also with Giemsa for identification of H. pylori. The grades of duodenitis and gastric metaplasia were classified from 0 to 3 and from 0 to 4, respectively. Results: The incidence of H. pylori infection was 54% in total patients. Amongst 163 children with duodenitis there was a lack of correlation between H. pylori infection and the grade of duodenitis. Amongst 11 patients with duodenal ucler, only 4 children were infected by H. pylori. And amongst 5 patients with gastric metaplasia, H. pylori and duodenal ulcer were detected in 2 and 3 children, respectively. The occurrence of duodenal ulcer and gastric metaplasia were increased significantly in proportion to the grade of duodenitis (p<0.0001 and p=0.0365, respectively). Conclusion: As opposed to the results of previously reported articles, there were lacks of correlation between H. pylori infection and duodenitis, duodenal ulcer, and gastric metaplasia. So further study hould be done to clarify the effect of H. pylori on the duodenal histopathology in children infected by H. pylori.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.319-328
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the validity of the Gene-Health application in terms of estimating energy and macronutrients. Methods: The subjects were 98 health adults participating in a weight-control intervention study. They recorded their diets in the Gene-Health application, took photographs before and after every meal on the same day, and uploaded them to the Gene-Health application. The amounts of foods and drinks consumed were estimated based on the photographs by trained experts, and the nutrient intakes were calculated using the CAN-Pro 5.0 program, which was named 'Photo Estimation'. The energy and macronutrients estimated from the Gene-Health application were compared with those from a Photo Estimation. The mean differences in energy and macronutrient intakes between the two methods were compared using paired t-test. Results: The mean energy intakes of Gene-Health and Photo Estimation were 1,937.0 kcal and 1,928.3 kcal, respectively. There were no significant differences in intakes of energy, carbohydrate, fat, and energy from fat (%) between two methods. The protein intake and energy from protein (%) of the Gene-Health were higher than those from the Photo Estimation. The energy from carbohydrate (%) for the Photo Estimation was higher than that of the Gene-Health. The Pearson correlation coefficients, weighted Kappa coefficients, and adjacent agreements for energy and macronutrient intakes between the two methods ranged from 0.382 to 0.607, 0.588 to 0.649, and 79.6% to 86.7%, respectively. Conclusion: The Gene-Health application shows acceptable validity as a dietary intake assessment tool for energy and macronutrients. Further studies with female subjects and various age groups will be needed.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.285-296
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• 2020

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of exposure to humidifier disinfectants (HDs) and their association with the presence of a person who experienced the adverse health effects in general households in Korea. Methods: During the month of December 2016, a nationwide online survey was conducted on adults over 20 years of age who had experience of using HDs. It provided information on exposure characteristics and the experience of health effects. The final survey respondents consisted of 1,555 people who provided information on themselves and their household members during the use of HD. Exposure characteristics at the household level included average days of HD use per week, average hours of HD use per day, the duration within which one bottle of HD was emptied, average input frequency of HD, amount of HD (cc) per one time used, and active ingredients of HD products (PHMG, CMIT/MIT, PGH, or others). The risk of the presence of a person who experienced adverse health effects in the household was evaluated by estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for monthly income and region using a multiple logistic regression model. Subgroup analyses were conducted for households with a child (≤7 years) and households with a newborn infant during HD use. Results: The level of exposure to HD tended to be higher for households with a child or newborn infant for several variables including average days of HD use per week (P<0.0001) and average hours of HD use per day (P<0.0001). The proportion of households in which there was at least one person who experienced adverse health effects such as rhinitis, asthma, pneumonia, atopy/skin disease, etc. was 20.6% for all households, 25.3% for households with children, and 29.9% for households with newborn infants. The presence of a person who experienced adverse health effects in the household was significantly associated with average hours of HD use per day (P_trend<0.001), duration within which one bottle of HD was emptied (P_trend<0.001), average input frequency of HD (P_trend<0.001), amount of HD per one use (P_trend=0.01), and use of HDs containing PHMG (OR=2.23, 95% CI=1.45-3.43). Similar results were observed in subgroup analyses. Conclusion: Our results suggest that level of exposure to HD tended to be higher for households with a child or newborn infant and that exposure to HD is significantly associated with the presence of a person who experienced adverse health effects in the household.