• Journal of Research and Publication Ethics
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2024

Purpose: Since 2006, social, ethical, and institutional options have been attempted in Korea to establish research ethics; however, the effectiveness of these attempts has not been thoroughly examined. Studies have been conducted abroad to determine the timeliness of social, ethical and institutional alternatives, such as the adoption of laws governing research ethics, the improvement of research ethics education, the bolstering of systems, the introduction of incentive programs, and the creation of social environments that support research ethics. Research design, data, and methodology: Specific facets of research misconduct or research ethics must be investigated and verified. Aspects of moral growth at the person level must be investigated via research ethics and research ethics education. Results: There is an increasing need for the general public to define and uphold research ethics as the impact of research findings on society grows. Researchers can boost their confidence in their ethical judgments and actions by being aware of research ethics. This may lead to confidence in their capacity to make morally sound decisions. Conclusion: By doing this study, the researcher confirmed that ethically correct behavior can lead to and realize self-growth. Researchers may be more interested in and dedicated to their work when they feel that their research might help them mature and develop ethically.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.105-112
• /
• 2012

Objectives: Cigarette smoking is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Bilirubin is a potent antioxidant and its concentration decreases in smokers. However, studies about the association between cigarette smoking and bilirubin are scarce and most are limited to total bilirubin. Additionally, bilirubin is highly related to hemoglobin. Therefore, this study evaluates the association between bilirubin subtypes and cigarette smoking in healthy Korean men independently of hemoglobin. Methods: This study included 48 040 Korean men aged 30 to 87 years who visited the Korea Medical Institute for routine health examinations from January to December, 2007. The association of smoking with total, direct, and indirect bilirubin was assessed by logistic regression analysis taking into consideration differences in subjects and smoking characteristics. Results: Current smokers had lower bilirubin concentrations than never-smokers and ex-smokers. Smoking amount and duration were inversely significantly associated with total, direct, and indirect bilirubin. In a multivariable adjusted model, compared to never-smokers, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of current smokers with the highest number of pack-years were 1.7 (1.6 to 1.9) for total, 1.5 (1.4 to 1.6) for direct, and 1.7 (1.6 to 1.9) for indirect bilirubin. After further adjustment for hemoglobin, this association became stronger (OR [95% CI], 2.1 [1.9 to 2.2] for total; 1.9 [1.8 to 2.0] for direct; 2.0 [1.9 to 2.2] for indirect bilirubin). Conclusions: In this study, bilirubin subtypes are inversely associated with smoking status, smoking amount, and smoking duration in healthy Korean men independently of hemoglobin. Further studies are needed to investigate this association in healthy Korean women.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.1205-1210
• /
• 2014

Background: Previous studies on the association of oral contraceptives (OC) use and lung cancer generated inconsistent findings. The aim of this study was to confirm any definite correlation between OC use and lung cancer risk. Methods: Publications were reviewed and obtained through PubMed and EMBASE databases literature search up to November, 2013. Reference lists from retrieved articles were also reviewed. The language of publication was restricted to English. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the association by calculating pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 14 studies consisting of 9 case-control studies and 5 cohort studies were finally included in this meta-analysis. There was no significant association observed between OC use and lung cancer risk in the overall analysis (OR=0.91; 95% CI=0.81-1.03). There was a significant protective effect in Europe (OR=0.74; 95% CI=0.60-0.91) and a borderline significant protective effect with an adenocarcinoma histology (OR=0.90; 95% CI=0.80-1.01) in subgroup analyses. No association was observed for methodological quality of study, study design, smoking status and case number of study. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that OC use is not likely to be associated with the risk of lung cancer at all. While a significant protective effect of OC use on lung cancer was observed in Europe, interpretation should be cautious because of the potential biases of low-quality studies. At the same time, more attention should be paid to the possible association of OC use with adenocarcinoma of lung. Our findings require further research, with well-conducted and large-scale epidemiological studies to confirm effects of OC use on lung cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.20
• /
• pp.8735-8740
• /
• 2014

Background: Previous studies for non-communicable disease cotrol, including cancer, have mostly relied on health literacy in adults. However, limited studies are available for adolescents. This study aimed to assess the status and determinants of health literacy in in-school adolescents in Guangdong, China. Materials and Methods: A total of 3,821 students aged 13-25 years were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. After the questionnaire of health literacy was answered, the total scores for health knowledge (18 questions), skills (5 questions) and behaviors (14 questions) were determined. The total scores for health literacy and each subscale were recoded into adequate and inadequate subgroups, and logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with each outcome variable. Results: The prevalence of adequate health literacy was 14.4%, and the prevalences for adequate knowledge, skills and behavior were 22.4%, 64.7% and 6.6%, respectively. Students coming from prestigious schools and having parents with higher education had higher odds of having adequate knowledge, skills and behaviors. Female students had higher odds of having adequate knowledge and behaviors. Students in grade 7-8 had higher odds of having adequate knowledge and skills. The health knowledge was positive associated with health skills (odds ratio [OR] =2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-2.5) and behaviors (OR=3.0, 95%CI 2.3-4.0), and health skills were positive associated with health behaviors (OR=2.6, 95%CI 1.8-3.8). Conclusions: Further efforts should be made to increase adolescents' health knowledge and behaviors, especially for low grade and male students in non-prestigious schools.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.216-224
• /
• 2015

Objectives: Decreased fertility and impaired health owing to early menopause are significant health issues. Smoking is a modifiable health-related behavior that influences menopausal age. We investigated the effects of smoking-associated characteristics on menopausal age in Korean women. Methods: This study used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2012. Menopausal age in relation to smoking was analyzed as a Kaplan-Meier survival curve for 11 510 women (aged 30 to 65 years). The risk of entering menopause and experiencing early menopause (before age 48) related to smoking were assessed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The menopausal age among smokers was 0.75 years lower than that among non-smokers (p<0.001). The results of the Cox proportional hazards model showed pre-correction and post-correction risk ratios for entering menopause related to smoking of 1.26 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09 to 1.46) and 1.27 (95% CI, 1.10 to 1.47), respectively, and pre-correction and post-correction risk ratios for experiencing early menopause related to smoking of 1.36 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.80) and 1.40 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.85), respectively. Conclusions: Smokers reached menopause earlier than non-smokers, and their risk for experiencing early menopause was higher.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2020

Background: Childbirth represents a significant transition for women, with physical and psychological sequelae. Reentry to the workplace during the postpartum period is understudied, with implications for maternal well-being and job-related outcomes. This study's aim was to examine selected pregnancy, childbirth, and return-to-work correlates of overall self-rated health within the first month of work reentry after maternity leave. Methods: Between December 2016 and January 2017, we surveyed women employed at a large, public Midwestern university who had given birth in the past five years (N = 249) to examine self-rated overall health in the first month of work reentry. Using ordinal logistic regression, we examined whether physical or psychological health problems during pregnancy, childbirth complications, length of maternity leave, and depression and anxiety at work reentry were related to overall health. Results: Women who experienced depression (odds ratio [OR] = 0.096 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 0.019 to 0.483, p = 0.004]) and anxiety (OR = 0.164, [95% CI = 0.042 to 0.635, p = 0.009]) nearly every day reported worse health at work reentry than those with no symptoms. Controlling for demographics and mental health, women who experienced medical problems during pregnancy (OR = 0.540 [95% CI = 0.311 to .935, p = 0.028]) were more likely to report poor health, while taking a longer maternity leave (OR = 14.552 [95% CI = 4.934 to 42.918, p < 0.001]) was associated with reporting better health at work reentry. Conclusion: Women who experience medical complications during pregnancy, return to the workplace too soon after birth, and experience mental health symptoms are vulnerable physically as they return to work.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.185-190
• /
• 2004

Acute aquatic toxicity of effluents discharged from five dyeing plants in Gyeong-gi province were evaluated to assess whether the current Korean water quality standards(KWQS) could protect aquatic life. Chemical analyses of all parameters regulated under KWQS, except for E-coli, were also carried out to determine regulation compliance of the samples. All the effluent samples were satisfied with KWQS except for the color in only one sample. In acute Daphnia magna toxicity tests, significant mortality was observed in one of five samples and EC50 was 12.1%(95% confidence interval 9.1-16.2), which was in compliance with KWQS. The result of the Microtox assay indicated that acute microbial toxicity existed in effluents from three out of five plants, two of which were in compliance with KWQS. The agreement between regulation compliance of chemical concentrations of effluent and observed toxicity from various biological toxicity tests was very poor to fair (kappa = 0.194~0.250). The data presented suggest that exposure to dyeing wastewater which were in compliance with Korean water quality standards may not be safe to aquatic biota, and multiple tropical levels should be considered in aquatic toxicity monitoring of dyeing industry.

• Management & Information Systems Review
• /
• v.7
• /
• pp.141-168
• /
• 2001

The causes that the transparency of Korean accounting information was rated low, a short supply of faithful and transparent accounting information from the limitation of external audit environment must be pointed out. Purpose of the external audit is a expression of the auditors about that financial statements an enterprise made public were appropriately drew up in accordance with the corporate accounting principles from important point of view. Analysis of the audit opinion and so fourth according to 6,541 individual audit reports and introduced to the bill securities forward committee as a subject of external audit according to the raw of corporation external audit show that considerable change to the contents of audit report. This show as it is that uncertainty of future that is now being faced by our enterprise, because corporation which present audit reports since 1997 because of enterprise dishonor and contents of existence probability as a continued enterprise following to general economic crisis after 1998 occupy important position in special matters of audit report. Also, increase in special matters is due to application of the corporate accounting principles revised on December 11, 1998. In 1999, audit opinion under limitation(limitation, incongruity and rejecting opinion) increased greatly according to existence doubt as a continued enterprise, and this is the consequence of strengthening audit to the continues enterprise because of limited enterprise dishonor according to the stagnancy of business activities after 1997. Now financial supervisory service put in effect electromagnetic public announcement system about a project report of listed corporation (including an audit report) keeping pace with a documentary public announcement system as first phase since 1999 and expand to the unlisted corporation from 2000. As electromagnetic public announcement of public announcement documents including audit documents of external audit subject get a duty, approach of external user to the accounting information will be easier. Fixation of this system will make deep and wide analysis to the audit opinion, and this will draw up a plan to reconsider confidence of accounting information.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.3-12
• /
• 2020

Neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury (SCI) has a significant negative impact on the patients' quality of life. The objective of this systematic review is to examine the safety and efficacy of pregabalin (PGB) and gabapentin (GBP) in the treatment of neuropathic pain due to SCI. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, and the Web of Science were searched up to December 2018. The reference lists of key and review studies were reviewed for additional citations. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration's tools for assessing the risk of bias. A meta-analysis was performed for primary and secondary outcomes. Eight studies were eligible for inclusion. Meta-analysis of PGB vs. placebo showed that PGB was effective for neuropathic pain (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.78, -0.01), anxiety (MD = -0.68; 95% CI: -0.77, -0.59), depression (mean difference [MD] = -0.99; 95% CI: -1.08, -0.89), and sleep interference (MD = -1.08; 95% CI: -1.13, -1.02). Also, GBP was more effective than a placebo for reducing pain. No significant difference was observed between the efficacy of the two drugs (MD = -0.37; 95% CI: -1.67, 0.93). There was no significant difference between the two drugs for discontinuation due to adverse events (risk ratio = 3.00; 95% CI: 0.81, 11.15). PGB and GBP were effective vs. placebos in decreasing neuropathic pain after SCI. Also, there was no significant difference between the two drugs for decreasing pain and adverse events.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.81-86
• /
• 2006

Background: A number of studies have reported associations between the ambient air pollution concentrations and various health outcomes. Especially, ozone is well known for primary risk factor of asthma attacks. The results of a recent study indicate that the size of the effect on health outcomes due to air pollution varied according to several conditions, including age, gender, race and the socioeconomic status. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the associations of ozone with the childhood asthma hospitalizations as stratified by the socioeconomic status (SES) at the community level in Seoul, Korea, 2002. Methods: SES at aggregated levels was measured on the basis of average regional health-insurance rate per citizen in the area. We applied the generalized additive model to analyze the effect of ozone on asthma after controlling for the potential confounding variables that were capable of influencing the results. Results: Our analysis showed that the number of children who were hospitalized for asthma increased as the SES of the residence area decreased. The estimated relative risks of hospitalization for asthma, as stratified by the SES of the community level, were 1.12 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.25) in districts with the highest SES levels, 1.24 (95% CI=1.08-1.43) within the moderate SES levels, and 1.32 (95% CI=1.11-1.58) in the districts with the lowest SES levels. Conclusions: Our analysis showed that exposure to air pollution did not equally affect the health status of individuals. This suggests that not only the biological-sensitivity markers, but also the SES of the subjects should be considered as potentially confounding factors.