• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.300-308
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• 2009

Background: The quality of care for patients with community acquired pneumonia needs to be improved; the factors affecting this care need to be analyzed. The objectives of this study were used to measure the performance of care processes of for patients with pneumonia and to determine those patient and hospital characteristics are associated with quality care. Methods: The analysis was performed using data from 21 hospitals that had over 500 beds for 1,001 patients, who were sampled randomly. All patients were born before 31 December 1989, and discharged between the two months' August 2006 and October 2006. Performance process indicators were measured by respective hospital, and multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate associations between patients and hospital characteristics using 4 process indicators. Results: Performance rates in timely assessment of oxygenation assessments and blood cultures, correct administration of antibiotic medications, and blood culture performed prior to initial antibiotics were 69.4%, 79.1%, 82.5% and 60.5%, respectively. Age had a positive affect on oxygenation assessment within 24 hours. Bed number, number of nurses per bed, annual number of emergency department visits, average percentage of beds filled, location and arrival time, and site were factors associated with process indicators. Conclusion: It is necessary to make up for the weak points in the process of care for patients with community acquired pneumonia, by enforcing quality assurance. To reduce performance rate variation among hospitals, improvement in care protocols is required for hospitals that have poor quality of care levels.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.280-287
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• 2009

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), became an attractive therapeutic option for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Several studies suggested that there might be some different efficacy or response predictors between gefitinib and erlotinib. We compared the efficacy and toxicity of gefitinib and erlotinib in Korean patients with advanced NSCLC and evaluated specific predictors of response for both gefitinib and erlotinib. Methods: We collected the clinical information on patients with advanced NSCLC, who were treated with gefitinib or erlotinib at the Ewha Womans University Hospital, between July 2003 and February 2009. Median survival times were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Eighty-six patients (52 gefitinib vs. 34 erlotinib) were enrolled. Patient median age was 64 years; 53 (62%) subjects were male. Out of the 86 patients treated, 83 received response evaluation. Of the 83 patients, 35 achieved a response and 12 experienced stable disease while 36 experienced progressive disease, resulting in a response rate of 42% and a disease control rate of 57%. After a median follow-up of 502 days, the median progression-free and overall survival time was 129 and 259 days, respectively. Comparing patients by treatment (gefitinib vs erlotinib), there were no significant differences in the overall response rate (44% vs. 39%, p=0.678), median survival time (301 days vs. 202 days, p=0.151), or time to progression (136 days vs. 92 days, p=0.672). Both EGFR-TKIs showed similar toxicity. In a multivariate analysis using Cox regression model, adenocarcinoma was an independent predictor of survival (p=0.006; hazard ratio [HR], 0.487; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.292-0.811). Analyses of subgroups did not show any difference in response predictors between gefitinib and erlotinib. Conclusion: Comparing gefitinib to erlotinib, there were no differences in the response rate, overall survival, progression-free survival, or toxicity. No specific predictor of response to each EGFR-TKI was identified.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2009

Background: $^{18}F$-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is widely used for the diagnosis and staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study is to determine whether the bone marrow hypermetabolism seen on FDG-PET predicts a response to chemotherapy in patients with NSCLC. Methods: We evaluated the patients with advanced NSCLC and who were treated with combination chemotherapy. For determination of the standardized uptake value (SUV) of the bone marrow (BM SUV) on FDG-PET, regions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn over the lumbar vertebrae (L1, 2, 3). ROIs were also drawn on a homogenous transaxial slice of the liver to obtain the bone marrow/ liver SUV ratio (BM/L SUV ratio). The response to chemotherapy was evaluated according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST) criteria after three cycles of chemotherapy. Results: Fifty-nine NSCLC patients were included in the study. Multivariate analysis was performed using a logistic regression model. The BM SUV and the BM/L SUV ratio on FDG-PET were not associated with a response to chemotherapy in NSCLC patients (p=0.142 and 0.978, respectively). Conclusion: The bone marrow hypermetabolism seen on FDG-PET can not predict a response to chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.90-100
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• 2008

=Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the smoking rate and the related factors to early smoking of high school students.Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 920 students in 3 high schools in Daegu Metropolitan Results: Of total respondents, 1.8% had experience of smoking. Of those, 20.2% citied curiosity, 9.0% cited upon recommendation of friends, and 6.2% cited stress management as the main reason for their smoking. Separately, 53.1% responded habitually and 26.5% responded stress management as the main reason for continuing smoking. Of total former smokers, 68.4% said 'worry about their health' as the main reason for quitting smoking. Of those who failed to quit smoking, 58.7% cited 'weakness of will' as the main reason for their failure. Of total respondents, 10.8% were smoking currently. 'Smoking of family member'(p<0.01) and 'intent to smoke'(p<0.05) were significantly associated to early smoking of the subjects.In multivariate logistic regression analysis, 'higher levels of stress' and 'smoking of family member' were significant related factors to early smoking.Conclusions: Amid growing number of early smokers, it is imminent to identify the actual state of discourage smoking. In addition, education programs need to be developed to assist early smokers in quitting smoking and prevent smoking among youth.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.3
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• pp.78-98
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• 1997

Health education, as the most fundamental concept for national health promotion, alms for developing the self-care ability of the general public. High school days are regarded as the period when most important physical, mental and social developments occur, and most health-related behaviors are formed. School health education is one of the major learning resources influencing health potential in the home and community as well as for the individual student. High school health education in Korea has a fundamental systemic flaw in that health-related subjects are divided and taught under various subjects areas at school. In order to achieve the goal of school health education, it is essential to make a systematic assessment of the learner's concerns connected with his health and life, and the factors affecting them. So far, most of the research projects that had been carried out for improving high school health education were limited in their concerns to a particular aspect of health. Even though some had been done in view of comprehensive school health education, they failed to Include a health assessment of the learner. Therefore, in this study the high school students' concerns related to health and life were investigated in the first place on the basis of the PRECEDE model, developed by Green and others for the purpose of a comprehensive diagnostic research on high school health education. This study was done in two steps : one was the basic study for developing research instrument and the other was the main one. The former was conducted at five high schools in Seoul and Cheongju for 2 months-beginning in March, 1996. The students were asked to respond to questions related to their health and lives in unstructured open-ended question forms. On the basis of analysis of the basic study, the diagnostic instruments for the quality of life, health problems, health behavior and educational factors were constructed to be used for the collection of data for main study. An expert panel and the pilot study were used to improve content validity and reliability of the instruments. The reliability of the instruments was measured at between .7697 and .9611 by the Cronbach $\alpha$. The data for this study were collected from the sample consisted of the junior and senior classes of twenty general and vocational high schools in Seoul and Cheongju for two months period beginning in July, 1996. In analyzing the data, both t-test and $X^2$-test were done by using SAS-$PC^+$ Program to compare data between the sexes of the high school students and the types of high school. A canonical correlation analysis was carried out to determine the relationships among the diagnostic variables, and a multivariate multiple regression analysis was conducted by using LISREL 8.03 to ascertain the influences of variables on the high school students' health and quality of life. The results were as follows : 1) The findings of the hypothesis tests (1) The canonical correlation between the educational diagnosis variables and behavioral, epidemiological, social diagnosis variables was .7221, which was significant at the level of p<.001. (2) The canonical correlation between the educational diagnosis variables and the behavior variables was .6851, which also was significant (p<.001). (3) The canonical correlation between the behavioral diagnosis variables and the epidemiological variables was 4295, which was significant (p<.001). (4) The canonical correlation between the epidemiological diagnosis variables and the social variables was .6005, which was also significant (p<.001). Therefore, the relationship between each diagnosis variable suggested by the PRECEDE model had been experimentally proven to be valid, supporting the conceptual framework of the study as appropriate for assessing the multi-dimensional factors affecting high school students' health and quality of life. Health behavior self-efficacy, the level of parents' interest and knowledge of health, and the level of the perception of school health education, all of which are the educational diagnostic variables, are the most influential variables in students' health and quality of life. In particular, health behavior self-efficacy, a causative factor, was one of the main influential variables in their health and quality of life. Other diagnostic variables suggested in the steps of the PRECEDE model were found to have reciprocal relations rather than a unidirectional causative relationship. The significance of this research is that it has diagnosed the needs of high school health education by the learner-centered assessment of variety of factors related to the health and the life of the students. This research findings suggest an integrated system of school health education to be contrived to enhance the effectiveness of the education by strengthening the influential factors such as self-efficacy to improve the health and quality of the lives of high school students.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and the psychosocial factors associated to the referral to psychiatric care in the suicide attempters visiting emergency center. Methods: We conducted a systematic chart review of 377 suicidal attempters visiting emergency center of the Korea University Ansan Hospital between January 2008 and December 2011. We gathered a data contain 20 items including psychosocial characteristics and factors related to suicide and factors related to psychiatric treatment. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to data to estimate the unique effects of sex, drunken status, companion, suicidal methods, place of suicide and current use of psychiatric medication on the referral to psychiatric care. Results: The female gender(OR=1.63, 95% CI=0.99-2.69), suicidal attempts at home(OR=3.40, 95% I= 1.21-9.56) and drunken state at visit(OR=2.34, 95% CI=1.10-5.01) are the factors that predict the risk of the non-referral of the patients to psychiatric intervention. Place of suicidal attempt was the most important factor do play a role in determining whether referral to psychiatric care will take place or not. Current use of psychiatric medication showed a trend toward significance(p=0.08, OR=1.67, 95% CI=0.95-2.95). Conclusions: These results suggest that when deciding whether to adapt or to refuse the referral to psychiatric care, the factors such as suicidal intent, lethality of suicide methods, familiar factors and alcohol may contribute onto the referral to psychiatric care. Additional research is required to investigate an association of these factors with referral to psychiatric care.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.199-207
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• 2000

Objectives : This study was peformed to identify the risk factors related to the development of hypertension in a rural area. Method : Total of 3,573 subjects in Chung-Song County were interviewed and examined in 1996. The study cohort comprised 2,580 hypertension-free subjects aged above 20. One-year follow up was completed for 1,781 subjects(69.0%) in 1997. General characteristics(age, gender, education level, economic status, marital status), the family history of hypertension, diet, alcohol, smoking, coffee, stress, past history of oral contraceptive and menopausal status in female, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, baseline blood pressure, and serum total cholesterol were considered as risk factors. Results : Multivariate analysis using logistic regression model indicated that age(RH=1.50, 95% CI; 1.15-1.96), the family history of hypertension(RR=2.11, 95% CI; 1.04-4.26), waist-hip ratio(WHR) (RR=2.09, 95%, CI; 1.15-3.79), and baseline systolic blood pressure(130-139/<120mmHg)(RR=3.34, 95% CI; 1.47-7.60) were significant risk factors associated with the development of hypertension above the borderline level in male. In female, age(RR=1.06, 95% CI; 1.03-1.09), change in menopausal status$(no{\rightarrow}yes/no{\rightarrow}no)$ (RR=3.32, 95% CI; 1.01-10.87), baseline systolic blood pressure(120-129/<120mmHg: RR=2.00, 95% CI; 1.02-3.90)(130-139/<120mmHg: RR=2.64, 95% CI; 1.34-5.20) and baseline diastolic blood pressure(85-89/<80mmHg)(RR=4.09, 95% CI; 1.86-8.96) were identified as risk factors. Conclusions : Age and high normal blood pressure were significant risk factors for the development of hypertension above the borderline level. In addition, the family history of hypertension and WHR in men, and the change of menopausal status in women might be significant risk factors in Korea.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.11 s.268
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• pp.828-837
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• 2006

Background: Tissue hypoxia is characteristic of many human malignant neoplasm, and hypoxia inducible factor-1(HIF-1) plays a pivotal role in essential adaptive response to hypoxia, and activates a signal pathway for the expression of the hypoxia-regulated genes, resulting in increasing $O_2$ delivery or facilitating metabolic adaptation to hypoxia. Increased level of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ has been reported in many human malignancies, but in non-small cell lung carcinoma the influence of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ on tumor biology, including neovascularization, is not still defined. In present study the relationship of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression on angiogenetic factors, relationship between the tumor proliferation and HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression, interaction of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression and p53, and relationship between HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression and clinico-pathological prognostic parameters were investigated. Material and Method: Archival tissue blocks recruited in this study were retrieved from fifty-nine patients with primary non-small cell lung carcinoma, who underwent pneumonectomy or lobectomy from 1997 to 1999. HIF-$1{\alpha}$, VEGF(vascular endothelial growth factor), and p53 protein expression and Ki-67 labeling index in tumor tissues were evaluated, using a standard avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex(ABC) immunohistochemistry. Relationship between the HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression and VEGF, p53 overexpression and correlation between the HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expresseion and Ki-67 index were analyzed. Clinico-pathologic prognostic parameters were also analyzed. Result: HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression in cancer cells was found in 24 of 59 cases of non-small cell lung carcinoma(40.7%). High HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression was significantly associated with several pathological parameters, such as pathological TMN stage(p=0.004), pT stage(p=0.020), pN stage (p=0.029), and lymphovascular invasion(p=0.019). High HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression was also significantly associated with VEGF immunoreactivity(p<0.001), and aberrant p53 expression(p=0.040). but was marginally associated with Ki-67 labeling index(p=0.092). The overall 5-year survival rate was 42.3%. The survival curve of patients with a high HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression was worse than that of patients with low-expression(p=0.002). High HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression was independent unfavorable factors with a marginal significance in multivariate analysis performed by Cox regression. Conclusion: It is suggested that high HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression may be associated with intratumoral neovascularization possibly through HIF-VEGF pathway, and high HIF-$1{\alpha}$ expression could be associated with lymph node metastasis and post operative poor prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.145-155
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• 2019

Purpose: Amendment to the Act on Decisions on Life-sustaining Treatment was recently enacted to designate long-term care hospitals as providers of hospice and palliative care. Despite its benefit of providing improved accessibility to end-of-life care, the amendment has raised concerns about its effect on quality of service. This study aimed to use information obtained from an expert group interview and previous studies to compare how cancer patients, family caregivers, physicians, and the general Korean population perceive the potential benefits and risks of this amendment. Methods: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study from July to October 2016. The included participants answered a structured questionnaire regarding the extent to which they agree or disagree with the questionnaire items indicating the potential benefits and risks of the amendment. Chi-square tests and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Compared with the general population, physicians agreed more that long-term care hospitals are currently not adequately equipped to provide quality hospice and palliative care. Family caregivers found improved access to long-term care hospitals more favorable but were more likely to agree that these hospitals might prioritize profits, thereby threatening the philosophy of hospice care, and that families might cease to fulfill filial responsibilities. Compared with the general population, cancer patients were more concerned about the potentially decreased service quality in this setting. Conclusion: Although potential service beneficiaries and providers expected improved accessibility of hospice and palliative care services, they were also concerned whether the system can provide adequate quality of end-of-life care.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.156-164
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors related to bone mineral contents (BMC) at os calcis of adolescents. The subjects were 604 students (327 boys and 277 girls) between 7th and 9th grade in Seoul, Korea. The mean age was 14.2 ${\pm}$ 0.9 years. General characteristics were collected by a questionnaire, bone mineral contents (BMC) were measured in os calcis by Duel Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (PIXI, General Electronics, USA) and height and weight were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis method (Inbody 4.0, Biospace Co. Ltd, Seoul, Korea). Mean BMC of os calsis were 2.241 g. Height (p <.0001), weight (p <.0001I), BMC (p <.0001I) ofboys were higher than those of girls. Percent body fat of girls, however, was higher than that of boys (p <.0001). Anthropometric measurement, pocket money, sibling, experience of fracture, pubertal stage, intake of supplements, physical or outdoors activity, and eating habit had significant influence on BMC of boys. Anthropometric measurement, physical or outdoors activity, and eating habit had significant influence on BMC of girls. Multivariate regression with adjustment for sex and age showed that BMC was associated positively with height, BMI, frequency of regular activity, and intake of spinach or radish leaves (all p <0.05), and negatively with percent body fat (p <.0000 and Korean traditional diet pattern (p = 0.01). On the basis of these results, it is recommended to develop nutrition education and physical activity program for adolescents to improve BMC and prevent osteoporosis.