• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.231-237
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality in pre-elderly and elderly individuals in Jakarta, Indonesia. Methods: We employed a case-control study design, utilizing secondary data from the Epidemiology Surveillance, Immunization Prevention, and Disease Control Sections of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Health Office, collected from December 2020 to January 2021. The study included 188 cases and an equal number of controls. Cases were COVID-19 patients confirmed to have died, as reported by hospitals and communities and subsequently verified by healthcare workers. Control subjects were patients who completed a 14-day isolation period and had been officially declared recovered by healthcare professionals. The dependent variable was the mortality of COVID-19 patients in the January 2021 period. The independent variables consisted of demographic data (age and sex), clinical symptoms (cough, runny nose, anosmia, diarrhea, headaches, abdominal pain, muscle pain, and nausea/vomiting), and comorbidities (hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes). Multivariate analysis was conducted using multiple logistic regression. Results: The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed several factors associated with COVID-19 fatalities in Jakarta: age of 60 years or older (odds ratio [OR], 4.84; 95% CI, 3.00 to 7.80), male (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 2.41 to 3.68), dyspnea (OR, 3.93; 95% CI, 2.04 to 7.55), anosmia (OR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.46), and heart disease (OR, 4.38; 95% CI, 1.04 to 18.46). Conclusions: The control and prevention of COVID-19 among elderly individuals require particular vigilance. When a COVID-19 case is detected within this demographic, prompt treatment and medication administration are crucial to mitigate the presenting symptoms.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.413-421
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• 2023

Objectives: This study explored the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on psychosocial stress in prime working-age individuals in Korea, focusing on gender inequalities. We hypothesized that the impact of COVID-19 on mental health would differ by age and gender, with younger women potentially demonstrating heightened vulnerability relative to men. Methods: The study involved data from the Korea Community Health Survey and included 319 592 adults aged 30 years to 49 years. We employed log-binomial regression analysis, controlling for variables including age, education, employment status, marital status, and the presence of children. The study period included 3 phases: the period prior to the COVID-19 outbreak (pre-COVID-19), the early pandemic, and the period following the introduction of vaccinations (post-vaccination). Results: The findings indicated that women were at a heightened risk of psychosocial stress during the early pandemic (relative risk [RR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.05) and post-vaccination period (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.10) compared to men. This pattern was prominent in urban women aged 30-34 years (pre-COVID-19: RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.10; early pandemic: RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.25; post-vaccination period, RR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.31). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted unequal impacts on psychosocial stress among prime working-age individuals in Korea, with women, particularly those in urban areas, experiencing a heightened risk. The findings highlight the importance of addressing gender-specific needs and implementing appropriate interventions to mitigate the psychosocial consequences of the pandemic.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.255-267
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare topics through keywords related to nurses in internet portals and social media Pre coronavirus disease (COVID-19) era and during the COVID-19 era. Methods: For six months before and during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Korea, "nurse" was searched on the internet. For data collection, we implemented web crawlers in programming languages such as Python and collected keywords. The keywords collected were classified into three domains of topic Modeling. Results: The keyword 'nurse' increased by 15% during COVID-19 era. Keywords that ranked high in Term Frequency - Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) values were before COVID-19, such as "nurse" and "C-section". during COVID-19, however, they were not only "nurse" but also "emergency" and "gown" related to pandemics. Conclusion: Various topics were being uploaded into the internet media. Nursing professionals should be interested in the text that is revealed in the internet media and try to continuously identify and improve problems.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the perception of men's fashion before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. TEXTOM allowed the collection of Big Data based on the term 'men's fashion'. As for the data collection periods, Jan. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2019 was set as the pre-COVID-19 era, while Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021 was set as the post-COVID-19 era. The top 50 words in terms of appearance frequency were extracted from the data. The extracted words were processed using network centrality analysis and CONCOR analysis using Ucinet 6. Research findings were as follows. 1) In the pre-COVID-19 era, the appearance frequency of 'men' was the highest, followed by 'fashion', 'men's fashion', 'brand', 'daily look', 'suit', and 'department store'. These words came up with a high TF-IDF values. Network centrality analysis discovered that 'men', 'fashion', 'men's fashion', 'brand', and 'suit' had a high level of connectivity with other words. CONCOR analysis showed four significant groups: 'fashion item and styles', 'fashion show', 'purchase', and 'collection'. 2) In the post-COVID-19 era, the appearance frequency of 'men' was the highest, followed by 'fashion', 'brand', 'men's fashion', 'discount', 'women', and 'luxury'. These words also displayed high TF-IDF values. Network centrality analysis found that 'fashion', 'men', 'brand', 'men's fashion', and 'discount' had a high level of connectivity with other words. CONCOR analysis showed four significant groups: 'fashion item and style', 'fashion show', 'purchase', and 'situation'. 3) Before the outbreak of the pandemic, men were interested in suits to wear to the office, daily look, and fashion shows in Milan and Paris. They often purchased menswear in multi-brand and open stores. However, they were more interested in sneakers, casual styles, and online fashion shows as social distancing and working from home became common. Most purchased menswear through online platforms.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.874-880
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• 2022

Objectives: This study reports a case of COVID-19 in which the patient experienced improved clinical symptoms (fever, cough, anosmia, sore throat, pantalgia, and headache) after treatment with Korean medicine. Methods: A 47-year-old male patient diagnosed with COVID-19 was treated with herbal medicine (Mahwangbalpyotang-gagam) three times a day. His clinical course was assessed using changes in body temperature, the Numerical Rating Scale of clinical symptoms, and chest X-ray comparisons between pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 conditions. Results: All the patient's clinical symptoms subsided in 11 days. After 15 days of treatment, his body temperature dropped to a normal range, and the quarantine was lifted. A chest X-ray showed there was no active lung lesion in either lung field after COVID-19. Conclusion: This study suggests that herbal medicine treatment may be an effective treatment for relieving COVID-19's clinical symptoms.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.205-220
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• 2023

In this study, impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on PM_2.5 mass and its five chemical components (NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, SO₄^2-, OC, EC) in Busan was evaluated, and compared with that of Seoul. The study period over the recent three years was sub-divided into two periods: Pre-COVID (2018~2019) and COVID (2020) periods, and the differences in observed annual and monthly variations between the two periods were explored here. The results indicated that annual mean PM_2.5 mass concentrations decreased during the COVID period by 16% in Seoul and 29% in Busan, and the satellite-observed annual average of aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the Korean Peninsula also decreased by approximately more than 10% compared with that of the Pre-COVID period. All of the five chemical components decreased but no particular changes were found in their fractions occupied during the COVID period. However, over the Lock-down period (2020-March), the sulfate fraction decreased in Seoul, mostly reflecting the recent Chinese trends of aerosol characteristics, whereas the nitrate fraction considerably decreased in Busan, which was attributable to the local emission changes and their variabilities in Busan. Other meteorological characteristics such as higher frequencies of easterly winds in the Busan area during the COVID period were also discussed in comparison with those in the Seoul area.

• Hip & pelvis
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2022

Purpose: Mortality rates following hip fracture surgery have been well-studied. This study was conducted to examine mortality rates in asymptomatic patients presenting for treatment of acute hip fractures with concurrent positive COVID-19(+) tests compared to those with negative COVID-19(-) tests. Materials and Methods: A total of 149 consecutive patients undergoing hip fracture surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic at two academic medical centers were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups for comparative analysis: one group included asymptomatic patients with COVID-19+ tests versus COVID-19- tests. The primary outcome was mortality at 30-days and 90-days. Results: COVID-19+ patients had a higher mortality rate than COVID-19- patients at 30-days (26.7% vs 6.0%, P=0.005) and 90-days (41.7% vs 17.2%, P=0.046) and trended towards an increased length of hospital stay (10.1±6.2 vs 6.8±3.8 days, P=0.06). COVID-19+ patients had more pre-existing respiratory disease (46.7% vs 11.2%, P=0.0002). Results of a Cox regression analysis showed an increased risk of mortality at 30-days and 90-days from COVID-19+ status alone without an increased risk of death in patients with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease. Conclusion: Factors including time to surgery, age, preexisting comorbidities, and postoperative ambulatory status have been proven to affect mortality and complications in hip fracture patients; however, a positive COVID-19 test result adds another variable to this process. Implementation of protocols that will promote prompt orthogeriatric assessments, expedite patient transfer, limit operating room traffic, and optimize anesthesia time can preserve the standard of care in this unique patient population.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.241-245
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• 2021

Background: It has been reported that a new type of headache may develop as a result of face mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical features of face mask-related headache during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out on healthcare workers at the Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University. The number of workers at our university was established. Sample size was calculated using the G*Power program. A questionnaire consisting of questions relating to pre-existing headache, an aggravation in headache, and de-novo headache was filled out by 3 neurologists with all participants. Results: Data was collected from a total of 375 participants, after the exclusion of 5 individuals who refused to participate. Out of all participants, 26 (6.9%) used a filtering mask, 274 (73.1%) used a surgical mask, 75 (20.0%) participants used a combination of both masks. The number of participants with preexisting headache was 114 (30.4%) had pre-existing headache. Of those with pre-existing headache, 77 (67.5%) healthcare workers had reported an aggravation in their headache after mask use. De-novo headache was observed in 116 (30.9%) of participants. De-novo headache characteristics included throbbing in 17 (14.7%) participants and pressing in 99 (85.3%) participants. In addition, symptoms such as tachypnea, sleep disturbance, and fatigue were found to be significantly higher. Conclusions: This study indicates that healthcare workers develop headaches due to use of masks during the COVID-19 outbreak.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.18
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• 2021

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still threatening human health, economy, and social life worldwide. As a counteraction for this devastating disease, a number of vaccines are being developed with unprecedented speed combined with new technologies. As COVID-19 vaccines are being developed in the absence of a licensed human coronavirus vaccine, there remain further questions regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of the vaccines, as well as immunological mechanisms in depth. This review article discusses the current status of COVID-19 vaccine development, mainly focusing on antigen design, clinical trials in later stages, and immunological considerations for further study.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2021

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated a redistribution of resources to meet hospitals' service needs. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on a regional trauma center in South Korea. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed cases of polytrauma at a single regional trauma center in South Korea between January 20 and September 30, 2020 (the COVID-19 period) and compared them to cases reported during the same time frame (January 20 to September 30) between 2016 and 2019 (the pre-COVID-19 period). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes included the number of daily admissions, hospital length of stay (LOS), and intensive care unit (ICU) LOS. Results: The mean number of daily admissions decreased by 15% during the COVID-19 period (4.0±2.0 vs. 4.7±2.2, p=0.010). There was no difference in mechanisms of injury between the two periods. For patients admitted during the COVID-19 period, the hospital LOS was significantly shorter (10 days [interquartile range (IQR) 4-19 days] vs. 16 days [IQR 8-28 days], p<0.001); however, no significant differences in ICU LOS and mortality were found. Conclusions: The observations at Regional Trauma Center, Pusan National University Hospital corroborate anecdotal reports that there has been a decline in the number of patients admitted to hospitals during the COVID-19 period. In addition, patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significantly shorter hospital LOS than those admitted before the COVID-19 pandemic. These preliminary data warrant validation in larger, multi-center studies.