• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.70-87
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this research is to review the efficacy and safety of taping therapy for facial palsy. Methods : Two foreign databases(Pubmed, CNKI) and one domestic database(OASIS) were used to search, and papers retrieved from the starting point of literature provision in each database until June 19, 2023 were included in the study. All studies in which other treatments were performed as a treatment intervention along with taping therapy were included, but cases where taping therapy was a comparative intervention were excluded. Results : 18 studies were selected. 14 studies were two-arm randomized controlled trials(RCT), and 4 studies were case reports. There was improvement in facial palsy in all 4 case reports, and in all 14 RCTs, the treatment effect in the observation group was significantly higher than in the control group. Conclusions : Taping therapy can be an effective and safe treatment method for facial palsy. However, the risk of bias in the selected studies was high, and there were many cases in which multiple interventions other than taping therapy were applied simultaneously. Therefore, well-designed studies with high quality are needed in the future.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.355-362
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• 2023

This study aimed to determine whether smoking affects the metabolic syndrome and its components through long-term follow-up. Of the 10,030 cohort subjects in the community-based Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) from 2001 to 2018, 2,848 people with metabolic syndrome and 4,854 people with insufficient data for analysis were excluded for this study. The study population comprised 2,328 individuals (1,123 men, 1,205 women) who were eligible for inclusion. The mean age of the participants was 49.2±7.5 years, and 21.9% were current smoker. In log rank test, current smoker had a significantly higher cumulative incidence of metabolic syndrome compared with non smoker (P<0.001). In the Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for key variables, metabolic syndrome (hazard ratio [HR] 1.57, P<0.001), high fasting glucose (HR 1.40, P<0.01), hypertriglyceridemia (HR 1.60, P<0.001), low HDL-cholesterol (HR, 1.30, P<0.01), and abdominal obesity (HR 1.32, P<0.01) in current smoker compared with non smoker were statistically significant, respectively, but not hypertension (HR 1.00, P>0.05). After adjustment for confounders, the time (P-time<0.001) and group (P-group<0.001) effects on metabolic syndrome score change were statistically significant. Furthermore, the interaction analysis of time and smoking group on the change in metabolic syndrome score was statistically significant (P-interaction<0.001). In long-term follow-up, smoking worsens metabolic syndrome.

• Journal of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.274-283
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• 2024

Objective: The incidence of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in young people is relatively low; however, it leads to devastating lifelong neurologic deficits. We focused on spontaneous ICH occurring in young adults between 30 and 50 years of age. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 139 patients, aged 30-50 years, diagnosed with spontaneous ICH between 2011 and 2021. Cases of ICH attributable to discernible causative lesions were excluded. Demographic data, laboratory results, image findings, and clinical outcome were analyzed. Results: After exclusions, 73 patients were included in this study. Common characteristics among the study patients included male sex (83.6%), high body mass index (>25 kg/m², 45.8%), smoking history (47.2%), heavy alcohol consumption (30.6%), previously diagnosed hypertension (41.1%), high serum triglyceride level (>150 mg/dL, 33.3%), and microbleeds or white matter changes observed on magnetic resonance images (51.3%). In the multivariate analysis, previously diagnosed hypertension was the sole significant risk factor for cerebral small vessel (OR 7.769, P=0.031). Age, brain stem location, Glasgow Coma Scale score at admission, and hematoma volume were associated with poor outcomes. Conclusions: Hypertension, obesity, smoking, and cerebral small vessel disease were important factors associated with non-lesional spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in young patients. Radiologic changes corresponding to cerebral small vessel disease appeared in young patients (in their 30s) and they were associated with hypertension.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.141-154
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• 2024

Background: As preexisting comorbidities are risk factors for Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), improved tools are needed for screening or diagnosing COVID-19 in clinical practice. Difficulties of including vulnerable patient data may create data imbalance and hinder the provision of well-performing prediction tools, such as artificial intelligence (AI) models. Thus, we systematically reviewed studies on AI prognosis prediction in patients infected with COVID-19 and existing comorbidities, including cancer, to investigate model performance and predictors dependent on patient data. PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were searched. This study included research meeting the criteria of using AI to predict outcomes in COVID-19 patients, whether they had cancer or not. Preprints, abstracts, reviews, and animal studies were excluded from the analysis. Majority of non-cancer studies (54.55 percent) showed an area under the curve (AUC) of >0.90 for AI models, whereas 30.77 percent of cancer studies showed the same result. For predicting mortality (3.85 percent), severity (8.33 percent), and hospitalization (14.29 percent), only cancer studies showed AUC values between 0.50 and 0.69. The distribution of comorbidity data varied more in non-cancer studies than in cancer studies but age was indicated as the primary predictor in all studies. Non-cancer studies with more balanced datasets of comorbidities showed higher AUC values than cancer studies. Based on the current findings, dataset balancing is essential for improving AI performance in predicting COVID-19 in patients with comorbidities, especially considering age.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.81-89
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to provide evidence-based recommendations for customized interventions by identifying the incidence of low grip strength (LGS) in an elderly population in Korea. METHODS: Adults over 65 years of age were selected as subjects using the data from 2016-2018 of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey provided by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 24,269 subjects who participated in the survey, 19,313, 533, and 2664 participants who were under the age of 65, did not take the grip strength test, and did not take the health survey, respectively, were excluded. Finally, 1,759 subjects were selected. RESULTS: The incidence rate of LGS was 30.27%: 22.82% in men and 38.48% in women. The related factors of LGS had a high risk of occurrence of old age, low education level, low BMI, alcohol status, aerobic and muscle strength exercise, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). CONCLUSION: This study provided basic data for introducing health promotion policies to improve the grip strength of the elderly in consideration of related factors affecting LGS.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.192-196
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• 2024

Objectives: Borderline intelligence has been excluded from formal diagnostic systems and not included in disability diagnoses, leaving gaps in treatment, education, and social welfare despite various functional impairments. Therefore, we aimed to shed light on ways to enhance the intelligence and functioning of individuals with borderline intelligence by reviewing research on its progression, education, and treatment. Methods: Ten studies that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the final literature review and analyzed according to detailed topics (participant characteristics, design, and results). Results: Borderline intelligence is associated with various comorbid conditions, such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and addictive disorders, which negatively impact its course and prognosis. Individuals with borderline intelligence often face challenges in academics, employment, interpersonal relationships, and health owing to lifelong cognitive impairments. The treatment of borderline intelligence necessitates addressing environmental factors, such as neglect and abuse, as well as treating comorbid mental disorders, which are crucial for prognosis. Tailoring treatment programs for cognitive profile characteristics have been proposed, and studies have reported the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy, working memory training, and intensive rehabilitation training. Therefore, early intervention during childhood brain development is necessary. Risk factors, such as lack of parental education, and their impact on treatment outcomes have also been reported. Conclusion: Extensive research is needed on education, treatment, and prognosis related to borderline intelligence. Active intervention for children with borderline intelligence is essential to improve their functioning and quality of life.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.227-234
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• 2007

Recent epidemiologic studies show that gestational exposure to air pollution adversely affects pregnancy outcomes including low birth weight in preform birth. In this study, we evaluated the effect of air pollutants on LBW (low birth weight) on firstborn fetus throughout the gestational period using the birth cohort between 1999 and 2003 in Seoul. Using birth cohort data from the National Statistics Office of Korea we identified 288,346 firstborn births (excluded missing data on lack of information for birth weight and discordance between residential and certificated address from a total of 316,451) during 1999 to 2003 with complete covariate (gender, parity, date of birth, gestational age, parental age and educational level, maternal occupation etc.) and maternal residential history data. Our subjects were defined as more than 37 weeks and less than 44 weeks of completed gestation and we identified 5,457 persons (1.89%) by low birth weight (<2.5 kg) in this study. Using logistic regression, we estimated the risk of mean (entire pregnancy and trimester period) air pollution concentrations for CO, $O_3,\;PM_{10},\;NO_2\;and\;SO_2$. In terms of trimester-specific exposure, we found that some air pollutants exposure in each trimester would increase the risk for LBW. Results also showed that the effect size of air pollutants exposure during the first and third trimester is higher than during the second trimester. In all trimester, the estimated risk of LBW was 1.831 (95% CI=1.573-2.132) with unit increase for CO, 1.139 (95% CI=1.107-1.172) for 50, and 1.009 (95% CI=1.001-1.017) for $O_3$. Our results suggest that exposure during the gestation period to relatively low levels of some air pollutants may be associated with a reduction in birth weight on first-born fetus. These findings implicate the effective risk management strategies should be applied to minimize the public health impacts for pregnant women.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.83-109
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• 1998

This study was carried out to identify the Important modifiable risk factors for reduced bone mass and to construct prediction model which can classify women with either low or high bone mass. Through the literature review, individual characteristics such as age, body weight, height, education level, family history, age of menarche, postmenopausal period, gravity, parity, menopausal status, and breast feeding period were identified and factors of life style such as past milk consumption, past physical activity, present daily activity, present calcium intake, alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, coffee consumption were identified as influencing factors of reduced bone mass in women. Four hundred and eighty women aged between 28 and 76 who had given measurement bone mineral density by dual energy x-ray absortiometry in lumbar vertebrae and femur from July to October, 1997 at 4 general hospitals in Seoul and Pusan were selected for this study. Women were excluded if they had a history of any chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, hyperthroidism, & gastrointestinal disorder and any medication such as calcium supplements, calcitonin, estrogen, thyroxine, antacids, & corticosteroids known affect bone. As a result of these exclusion criteria, four hundred and seventeen women were used for analysis. Multiple logistic regression model was developed for estimating the likelihood of the presence or absence of reduced bone mass. A SAS procedure was used to estimate risk factor coefficient. The results are as follows For lumbar spine, the variables significant were age, body weight, menopause status, daily activity, past milk consumption, and past physical activity(p<0.01), while for femoral Ward's triangle, age, body weight, level of education, past milk consumption, past physical activity(p<0.001). Past physical activity, present daily activity and past milk consumption are the most powerful modifiable predictors in vertebrae and femur among the predictors. When the model performance was evaluated by comparing the observed outcome with predicted outcome, the model correctly identified 74.1% of persons with reduced bone mass and 84.5% of persons with normal bone mass in the lumbar vertebrae and 82.9% of persons with reduced bone mass and 75.0% of persons with normal bone mass in the femoral Ward's triangle. On the basis of these results, a number of recommendations for the management of reduced bone mass may be made : First, those woman who are classified as high risk group of the reduced bone mass in the prediction model should examine the bone mineral density to further examine the usefulness of this model. Second, the optimal amount of milk consumption and a regular weight bearing exercise in childhood, adolescence, and early adult should be ensured.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.207-221
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• 2020

This study conducted a meta-analysis on the effects of innovation, risk-taking, and enterprising on entrepreneurship. From 2013 to 2020, 392 papers, which were judged as quantitative research from doctoral and master thesis, and academic journals published in Korea were selected as research subjects. 28 duplicates of thesis and thesis are excluded. A total of 52 papers were finally selected, excluding 312 papers that were insufficient to be used as research data because there were no statistical values such as correlation coefficients. For the 52 selected papers, the homogeneity of the variables was first verified. As a result of the homogeneity test, the innovativeness, risk-taking, initiative, and entrepreneurship education all showed great effects on heterogeneity, and the average effect size was analyzed by random effect model. The average effect size analyzed was 0.38 ~ 0.49, and all four variables showed moderate average effect size. As a result of analyzing the average effect size by forest plot, all showed proper results. From the results of funnel plot analysis of entrepreneurship education, published errors were confirmed asymmetric. Research data on entrepreneurship education shows that it cannot represent the whole. It is a structural equation model with entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention as a parameter. Iinnovation and risk-taking have an impact on entrepreneurship by taking entrepreneurship education as a parameter. Initiative had an effect on the entrepreneurial intention a business, regardless of entrepreneurship education. In a number of studies, university entrepreneurship education has had an impact on the entrepreneurial intention. It should be changed to entrepreneurship education that combines theory and practice. Entrepreneurship education should be transformed into continuous and field-oriented education.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.285-290
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• 2007

Objectives : Cases of human brucellosis in Korea have recently increased due to the increasing incidence of bovine brucellosis. The authors conducted this study to elucidate the status of brucellosis through seroepidemiologic study. Methods : We selected our study population from a high risk group. We conducted a questionnaire survey and obtained blood samples to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis antibodies for 10 days in February, 2005. The titers of brucellosis were measured by the combination of standard tube agglutination test (STA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. Results : Our study subjects comprised 1,075 cases: 971 livestock workers, 51 veterinarians, and 53 artificial inseminators. In the STA test, 27 cases (2.5%) had titers of greater than or equal to 1:20. Of 1,068 cases (7 cases were excluded due to previous brucellosis), 7 cases of brucellosis were diagnosed with titers of 1:160, giving a seroprevalence of brucellosis of 0.66%. The seroprevalence in the male group was 0.95%, and that of livestock workers, veterinarians, and artificial inseminators was 0.52%, 4.17%, and 0.00%, respectively. The Spearman's correlation coefficient between the positive rate of bovine brucellosis per capita and household and human brucellosis was 0.806 and 0.744, respectively. The concordance rate between the Korea National Institute of Health and the Gyeongsangbuk-do Institute of Health and Environment by the STA and ELISA tests was 94.7% and 100.0%, respectively. Conclusions : The study results indicated in higher seroprevalence rate among veterinarians than among livestock workers and artificial inseminators. Because veterinarians may be exposed to this high risk, effective working guidelines for veterinarians to guard against brucellosis must be developed. Moreover, more extensive epidemiologic research for laboratory workers and meat handlers is needed.