• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.80 no.2
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• pp.113-135
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• 2017

Asthma is traditionally regarded as a chronic airway disease, and recent literature proves its heterogeneity, based on distinctive clusters or phenotypes of asthma. In defining such asthma clusters, the nature of comorbidity among patients with asthma is poorly understood, by assuming no causal relationship between asthma and other comorbid conditions, including both communicable and noncommunicable diseases. However, emerging evidence suggests that the status of asthma significantly affects the increased susceptibility of the patient to both communicable and noncommunicable diseases. Specifically, the impact of asthma on susceptibility to noncommunicable diseases such as chronic systemic inflammatory diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis), may provide an important insight into asthma as a disease with systemic inflammatory features, a conceptual understanding between asthma and asthma-related comorbidity, and the potential implications on the therapeutic and preventive interventions for patients with asthma. This review discusses the currently under-recognized clinical and immunological phenotypes of asthma; specifically, a higher risk of developing a systemic inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis and their implications, on the conceptual understanding and management of asthma. Our discussion is divided into three parts: literature summary on the relationship between asthma and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis; potential mechanisms underlying the association; and implications on asthma management and research.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.173-182
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• 2013

Obesity during childhood is a dominant risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and is itself considered a disease that needs to be treated. Recently, the growth in childhood obesity in Korea has become stagnant; however, two in every ten children are still overweight. In addition, 60% or more of overweight children have at least one metabolic syndrome risk factor. Thus, childhood obesity should be controlled through lifestyle modification. This paper reviews studies of the modifiable risk factors of obesity in Korean children. According to the life-course approach, preschool-aged children (<5 years) are influenced by their parents rather than individual habits because they are under mostly parental care. Elementary school-aged children (6 to 11 years) are affected by overlapping individual and parental effects. This may mean that the establishment of individual behavior patterns begins during this period. The conditions of poor eating habits such as skipping meals, eating out, and high fat intake, along with low physical activity, facilitate increased obesity among adolescents (12 to 18 years). Notably, adolescent girls show high rates of both underweight and obesity, which may lead to the development of NCDs in their offspring. Therefore, the problem of NCDs is no longer limited to adults, but is also prevalent among children. In addition, early intervention offers cost-effective opportunities for preventing NCDs. Thus, children need primary consideration, adequate monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment to reduce the burden of NCDs later in adulthood.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.259-268
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• 2022

Purpose: In Cambodia, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for 64% of all deaths. A lack of risk perception of NCDs leads to poor measures of their prevention and management. This study aimed to investigate Cambodians' risk perceptions of NCDs based on the health belief model. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used, and using convenience sampling, participants included 200 Cambodians aged 40 years or older. A face-to-face administered structured questionnaire was used to assess demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and risk perceptions of NCDs. Results: Of the constructs of NCD risk perception, perceived severity (88.2%) and benefits (86.3%) were high, but relative to these, perceived cues to action (64.1%), barriers (63.5%), and self-efficacy (58.1%) were low. Conclusion: It is important to improve perceived self-efficacy in government health promotion, outreach, and improvement programs and to reduce perceived barriers through medical tests either by facility-based delivery or via outreach health services in Cambodia.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.155-164
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• 2013

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the most important causes of premature mortality and disability-adjusted life years in Korea. NCDs are also the main contributor to socioeconomic inequalities in mortality and life expectancy. Reduction of NCDs and NCD inequalities would result in significant improvement in healthy life expectancy and health equity in Korea. Major NCD risk factors such as dietary risks (including salt intake), alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and high blood pressure were found to be the leading modifiable risk factors of disability-adjusted life years in Korea, based on the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study. Several Korean studies have shown that these risk factors play an important role in creating socioeconomic inequalities in NCD mortality and total mortality. Current international discussions on NCD policies in the United Nations and the World Health Organization would provide better opportunities for developing aggressive population-wide policy measures in Korea. Considering the paucity of population-wide policies to control major NCD risk factors in Korea, rigorous population approaches such as taxation and regulation of unhealthy commodities as well as public education and mass campaigns should be further developed in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5883-5888
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancers in female populations. The exact cause is not known, but is most likely to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Log-logistic model (LLM) is applied as a statistical method for predicting survival and it influencing factors. In recent decades, artificial neural network (ANN) models have been increasingly applied to predict survival data. The present research was conducted to compare log-logistic regression and artificial neural network models in prediction of breast cancer (BC) survival. Materials and Methods: A historical cohort study was established with 104 patients suffering from BC from 1997 to 2005. To compare the ANN and LLM in our setting, we used the estimated areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and integrated AUC (iAUC). The data were analyzed using R statistical software. Results: The AUC for the first, second and third years after diagnosis are 0.918, 0.780 and 0.800 in ANN, and 0.834, 0.733 and 0.616 in LLM, respectively. The mean AUC for ANN was statistically higher than that of the LLM (0.845 vs. 0.744). Hence, this study showed a significant difference between the performance in terms of prediction by ANN and LLM. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the ability of prediction with ANN was higher than with the LLM model. Thus, the use of ANN method for prediction of survival in field of breast cancer is suggested.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.390-397
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• 2023

Introduction: Biological risks are a major global problem in the workplace. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the biological risks at work. This study presents data on both communicable infectious biological agents and noncommunicable factors leading to death and disability for the year 2021. Methods: We followed the methodology established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in their past global estimates on occupational accidents and work-related diseases. We used relevant ILO estimates for hazardous substances and related population attributable fractions derived from literature, which were then applied to World Health Organization mortality data. The communicable diseases included in the estimates were tuberculosis, pneumococcal diseases, malaria, diarrheal diseases, other infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases, influenza associated respiratory diseases and COVID-19. Noncommunicable diseases and injuries considered were Chronic Obstructive Diseases (COPD) due to organic dusts, asthma, allergic reactions and risks related to animal contact. We estimated death attributable to biological risk at work and disability in terms of disability adjusted life years (DALYs). Results: We estimated that in 2022, 550,819 deaths were caused by biological risk factors, with 476,000 deaths attributed to communicable infectious diseases and 74,000 deaths caused by noncommunicable factors. Among these, there were 223,650 deaths attributed to COVID-19 at work. We calculated the rate of 584 DALYs per 100,000 workers, representing an 11% increase from the previous estimate of the global burden of work-related disabilities measured by DALYs. Conclusion: This is a first update since previous 2007 ILO estimates, which has now increased by 74% and covers most biological risks factors. However, it is important to note that there may be other diseases and deaths are missing from the data, which need to be included when new information becomes available. It is also worth mentioning that while deaths caused by major communicable diseases including COVID-19 are relatively rare within the working population, absences from work due to these diseases are likely to be very common within the active workforce.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.165-172
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• 2013

A noncommunicable disease (NCD) is a medical condition or disease that is by definition non-infectious and non-transmissible among people. Currently, NCDs are the leading causes of death and disease burden worldwide. The four main types of NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, result in more than 30 million deaths annually. To reduce the burden of NCDs on global health, current public health actions stress the importance of preventing, detecting, and correcting modifiable risk factors; controlling major modifiable risk factors has been shown to effectively reduce NCD mortality. The World Health Organization's World Health Report 2002 identified tobacco use, alcohol consumption, overweight, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol as the most important risk factors for NCDs. Accordingly, the present report set out to review the prevalence and trends of these modifiable risk factors in the Korean population. Over the past few decades, we observed significant risk factor modifications of improved blood pressure control and decreased smoking rate. However, hypertension and cigarette smoking remained the most contributable factors of NCDs in the Korean population. Moreover, other major modifiable risk factors show no improvement or even worsened. The current status and trends in major modifiable risk factors reinforce the importance of prevention, detection, and treatment of risk factors in reducing the burden of NCDs on individuals and society.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.435-436
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• 2022

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10367-10374
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• 2015

Background: Cancer and non-communicable diseases are a major issue not only for the developed but also developing countries. Public health and primary care nursing offer great potential for primary and secondary prevention of these diseases through community and family-based approaches. Within Thailand there are related established educational curricula but less is known about how graduate practitioners enact ideas in practice and how these can influence policy at local levels. Aim: The aim of this inquiry was to develop family nursing practice in primary care settings in the Isaan region or Northeastern Thailand and to distill what worked well into a nursing model to guide practice. Materials and Methods: An appreciative inquiry approach involving analysis of written reports, focus group discussions and individual interviews was used to synthesize what worked well for fourteen family nurses involved in primary care delivery and to build the related model. Results: Three main strategies were seen to offer a basis for optimal care delivery, namely: enacting a participatory action approach mobilizing families' social capital; using family nursing process; and implementing action strategies within communities. These were distilled into a new conceptual model. Conclusions: The model has some features in common with related community partnership models and the World Health Organization Europe Family Health Nurse model, but highlights practical strategies for family nursing enactment. The model offers a basis not only for planning and implementing family care to help prevent cancer and other diseases but also for education of nurses and health care providers working in communities. This articulation of what works in this culture also offers possible transference to different contexts internationally, with related potential to inform health and social care policies, and international development of care models.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.268-282
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• 2021

Purpose: This study sought to investigate health behavior (HB) and its affecting factors based on Anderson's behavioral model in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). Also, it attempted to identify the mediation of the health locus of control (HLC) between HB and the affecting factors. Methods: Secondary data from 694 people without noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) from a survey conducted by the Ewha Womans and the Laos University were used. The measurements included predisposing, enabling, and needs factors, HLC, HB (current non-smoking, low-risk drinking, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, medical checkup). The mediating effect was analyzed using Baron and Kenny's method and the Sobel test. Results: Predisposing (gender, educational level, ethnic), enabling (social support, item ownership in household) and the needs factors (body mass index) were affecting HB. Internal HLC had a positive influence on HB. The stronger the others and chance HLC, the lower the HB. Chance HLC mediated the relationship between the educational level and HB. Conclusion: There is a need to recognize the importance of chance HLC as a mediator between the educational level and HB. Through this result, high-quality nursing education for the prevention of NCDs should be developed considering the impact of chance HLC.