• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to provide fundamental data for the plans to reduce occupational stress by analyzing occupational stress of medical technologist. The experimental group comprised of 193 medical technologists working in Gyeonggi province. Occupational stress was 49.74 out of 100. In detail, job insecurity showed a high value of 64.42, followed by organizational system, lack of reward, physical environment, job demand, insufficient job control, interpersonal conflict, and occupational climate with respective values of 52.46, 52.30, 51.18, 49.57, 48.43, 39.78 and 39.77. It is recommended that those in high-stress job group increase physical activity and reduce job insecurity to improve health. The development of programs to reduce occupational stress are necessary, and this study can provide objective information using biological indicators.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.89-95
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• 2015

All living organisms have a biological clock that orchestrates every biological process and function, and this internal clock operates following a circadian rhythm. This biological clock is known to influence various clinical indicators such as blood pressure and body temperature. Also, the fluctuation of signs and symptoms of diseases including pain disorders are affected by circadian rhythm. It has been reported that the pain intensity of various somatic and neuropathic pain disorders show unique pain patterns that depend on the passage of time. The generation of pain patterns could be explained by extrinsic (e.g., physical activity, tactile stimulation, ambient temperature) and also intrinsic factors (neural and neuroendocrine modulation) that are related to the circadian rhythm. It is important to recognize and identify the individual pain pattern in pain therapy to approve treatment outcome. Moreover, chronotherapeutics which considers pain patterns and pharmacokinetics in context of the circadian rhythm could produce greater analgesia in response to medication. However, only a limited number of studies handle the issue of pain patterns according to circadian rhythm and chronotherapeutics in the orofacial region. The present review intends to reflect on the most recent and relevant data concerning the bidirectional relation between pain disorders of the orofacial region and circadian patterns.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.69-86
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• 2008

In order to validate the objective efficacy of CBPT on anti-asthma and to develop effective therapeutics for asthma treatments, immunological modulatory mechanism was studied using animal model using OVA-Alum. The results are listed below. When treated with CBPT, survival rate of hFCs at 250 ug/ml was above 90%. AST and ALT, indicators of liver function measurements were in the normal range. Compared to the control group, CBPT treated group showed significant reduction in liver weights at both 400 and 200 mg/kg, and significant decrease of total liver cells at 400 mg/kg. Significant increase in CD4+ and CD8+ cells in DLN was observed in the CBPT treated group. Slight increase in CD3+, CD4+/CD25+ cells were also observed. On the other hand, CBPT significantly reduced the CD3+/CD69+ cell numbers at both concentrations. Slight decrease of CD19+ cells was also observed. CBPT significantly reduced the CD3e+/CD69+, CCR3+ and CD11b+/Gr-1+ cells in lung tissues at both doses. However, significant decrease of CD3e+ and B220+/IgE+ cells was only observed at 400 mg/kg dosed group. The results above strongly suggest the anti-asthmatic effect of CBPT through immunological modulation. By using various concentrations of CBPT, broader clinical applications of CBPT on anti-asthmatic treatment can be developed. The EBM database should provide valuable information in the development of drugs for asthma treatments.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.132-138
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• 2023

Cohorts are established and operated at medical schools as part of efforts to improve the quality of education. Chosun University College of Medicine clarified the purpose of establishing three cohorts in light of its core values and developed criteria and indicators for each purpose. An organization focusing on cohort construction and operation was established as the Cohort Committee under the Quality Improvement Committee, and guidelines were proposed. In addition, a database and system were developed to handle primary data efficiently, and tools for measuring psychological variables were created. The data collected by establishing a cohort, regions, and admission types of graduates were first analyzed for the following projects: (1) an analysis of the educational process and quality improvement to educate medical professionals who contribute to the community after graduation, and (2) an analysis of the educational process and quality improvement to secure excellence in the medical field (e.g., knowledge and clinical reasoning), using information on the academic achievements of students and graduates as primary data. Chosun University College of Medicine is conducting cohorts and longitudinal studies gradually, starting with a simple, practically feasible system to solve the difficulties faced in cohort establishment and operation. Medical educators hope that future data collection and analysis will improve the quality of medical school education and have practical implications.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.476-486
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• 2019

Objective : The functional information of $^{11}C$-methionine positron emission tomography (MET-PET) images can be applied for Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKR) and its image quality may affect defining the tumor. This study conducted the phantom-based evaluation for geometric accuracy and functional characteristic of diagnostic MET-PET image co-registered with stereotactic image in Leksell $GammaPlan^{(R)}$ (LGP) and also investigated clinical application of these images in metastatic brain tumors. Methods : Two types of cylindrical acrylic phantoms fabricated in-house were used for this study : the phantom with an array-shaped axial rod insert and the phantom with different sized tube indicators. The phantoms were mounted on the stereotactic frame and scanned using computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and PET system. Three-dimensional coordinate values on co-registered MET-PET images were compared with those on stereotactic CT image in LGP. MET uptake values of different sized indicators inside phantom were evaluated. We also evaluated the CT and MRI co-registered stereotactic MET-PET images with MR-enhancing volume and PET-metabolic tumor volume (MTV) in 14 metastatic brain tumors. Results : Imaging distortion of MET-PET was maintained stable at less than approximately 3% on mean value. There was no statistical difference in the geometric accuracy according to co-registered reference stereotactic images. In functional characteristic study for MET-PET image, the indicator on the lateral side of the phantom exhibited higher uptake than that on the medial side. This effect decreased as the size of the object increased. In 14 metastatic tumors, the median matching percentage between MR-enhancing volume and PET-MTV was 36.8% on PET/MR fusion images and 39.9% on PET/CT fusion images. Conclusion : The geometric accuracy of the diagnostic MET-PET co-registered with stereotactic MR in LGP is acceptable on phantom-based study. However, the MET-PET images could the limitations in providing exact stereotactic information in clinical study.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.243-251
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• 2023

Objectives: Although a few studies have investigated the relationship between kidney and oral function (number of remaining teeth), their results remain inconclusive. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between kidney function and oral health in community-dwelling healthy elderlies and examine the factors associated with kidney function. Materials and Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Shimane prefecture cohort recruited by the Center for Community-Based Health Research and Education in 2019. We collected clinical data on dental status, background factors and kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], mL/min/1.73 m² and creatinine levels, mg/dL). Results: The study enrolled 481 participants, whose mean age was 66.7±7.4 years, and 223 (46.4%) participants were men. Multivariate analysis revealed significant correlations between eGFR (B=0.17, P=0.04), creatinine (B=-0.54, P<0.01), and the number of remaining teeth. The number of remaining teeth was associated with creatinine and eGFR, which are indicators of kidney function. Conclusion: This study suggests that preserving the teeth may prevent decline in kidney function. Dental professionals should provide instructions and professional care to reduce the risk of systemic diseases such as kidney dysfunction.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2016

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between the Cold-pattern and the quantitative index through the results of an anthropometric method and Bio Impedance Analysis (BIA) of the Haenyeo living in Jeju island. Furthermore, we will examine the effect of Cold-pattern on the quality of life. Methods : BIA indices were acquired directly from Inbody770 and questionnaires were collected by Gallup Korea professional surveyor through face to face interviews. Binary regression analysis and linear regression analysis were used to examine the association between collected data. Results : Total of 175 of people were participated in this study. First, we examined the difference of the indicators in the Cold-pattern group and the non-Cold pattern group by the average comparison of the anthropometry and BIA indices. Most of the non-Cold pattern group showed high quality of life, BIA and anthropometry. In the relationship between Cold-pattern and anthropometry and BIA indices, BMI and PA indices were found to affect the Cold-pattern on a group basis. As the BMI increased by $1kg/m^2$, probability of not being non-Cold pattern was 1.13 times. and as the PA increased by $1^{\circ}$, probability of not being non-Cold pattern was 2.4 times. In the case of EQ5D value, the quality of life of ${\beta}$ was increased by 0.08 in non-Cold pattern (p <.05), EQ5D VAS of ${\beta}$ was also increased by 10.05 (p <.05). Conclusions : This study showed that BMI and PA could be used as a clinical index to evaluate the Cold-pattern as a clinical indicator, and there is a difference in quality of life according to Cold-pattern.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.69-87
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• 2024

Objectives : This study is to investigate the current National Health Insurance Database cohort studies related to complications of Parkinson's Disease (PD) and suggest the design of Korean medical epidemiological studies of PD. Methods : Nationwide longitudinal studies of PD patients in South Korea were collected through Pubmed and the Korea Citation Index (KCI). We selected cohort studies that used the National Health Insurance Database in Korea and targeted Parkinson's disease patients. Studies published before February 2024 were categorized according to study designs. We examined variables and covariates, enroll dates and matching methods. Results : Of a total of 536 studies, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies used the National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database and among them, 5 used sample data and one senior database. Studies can be classified into two types. 11 cohort studies were comparing PD patients and non-PD patients. Another type was 4 PD patients cohort studies. Most studies used two diagnostic codes (G20 and V124) for inclusion criteria. Enroll periods were from 2002 to 2017, and follow-up periods were from 7 to 14 years. 16 studies considered age and sex as covariates. 15 studies used the propensity score matching method to increase the level of causality. There was only one study related to the Korean medical treatment. Conclusion : In future cohort studies on Korean medical treatment, more attempts should be made to reveal the effect of the treatments on PD patients by defining inclusion criteria for patient groups, covariates, exposure variables, and assessment indicators more operatively.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.199-212
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• 2021

Background: Various oral health management programs in Korea affect the oral health improvement in the elderly Several studies have been conducted to date; however, those studies have not shown uniform results due to the differences in research methods or designs. Hence, this study aimed to review the overall research trends of the reported oral health care programs for the elderly in Korea, verify their effects, and clarify them based on the systematic literature review. Methods: The literature search selected intervention studies that applied the oral health care program for the elderly in Korea from 2001 to 2020. Following the COre, Standard, and Ideal (COSI) models presented by the US National Library of Medicine, we selected databases including Korean studies Information Service System (KISS), ScienceOn, Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), DBpia, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Of the 1,335 studies searched using keywords, titles, and abstracts, 21 were finally selected based on primary and secondary exclusion criteria. Results: The most frequent intervention period was 4 weeks, and the number of interventions varied between 2 and 90 times. As for the type of intervention, 14 studies that conducted both theory and practice were the most frequent. Significant differences in the clinical indicators, such as calculus, halitosis, salivation rate, swallowing function, and dry mouth, were found in most oral health care programs. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the intervention program needs further verification using multiple indicators in future studies. In addition, a study extending the intervention period and the number of samples is considered necessary for verifying continuous effectiveness of the intervention program.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2002

Objective:This study was to explore the relation of genetic polymorphisms of ALDH2 and CYP2E1 to clinical characteristics of alcoholic patients and alcohol induced liver damage. Methods:The genotype and allele frequencies of 128 male hospitalized patients who met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence were compared with 128 healthy male control subjects. The genetic informations of ALDH2 and CYP2E1 were identified with the technique of polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. The clinical characteristics of the alcoholic patients were assessed and analyzed in relation to the family history of alcoholism. For the relation of CYP2E1 genetic polymorphism to the liver damage, the blood levels of various liver function indicators such as ALT, AST, and protein were checked out. Results:1) The alcoholic patients with the family history of alcoholism had the earlier onset of age (p=0.001), the longer duration of illness(p=0.045), and higher NCA scores(p=0.018) than those without the family history of alcoholism. 2) Most alcoholic patients were homozygous for $ALDH2^*1$, compared to control subjects.(p=0.000) 3) There was no difference of CYP2E1 distribution between alcoholic patients and control subjects. However, alcoholic patients having mutant c2 allele showed higher alcoholism severity scores(p=0.004) and more hospitalizations(p=0.014) than those having c1 allele. 4) There was no relationship between CYP2E1 genotype and the functional abnormalities of the liver. Conclusion:This study suggests that $ALDH2^*1$ is highly related with alcohol dependence. Also mutant c2 allele of CYP2E1 is correlated with the severity of alcoholism and the number of hospitalization. But genetic polymorphim of CYP2E1 seems to have no relation to liver damages.