• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.21 no.2 s.24
• /
• pp.340-350
• /
• 1988

This study was carried out to clarify the effect of dietary calcium, casein, and suet on the accumulation of cadmium in mice. It was performed for 30 days, from April 11 to May 10 1988.90 mice were divided into 4 experimental groups and control group with 6 mice each dietary group, and measured survival rate, body weight, and weight ratio of organ to body. The contents of cadmium in liver, kidney, spleen, muscle and skin with hair, and feces were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer after sacrifice by anesthesia. After 30 days, the survival rate of control group was loot,, but 66.7% in group IV(basal diet+Cd+Ca) with single dose of $100{\mu}g$ cadmium and with free-intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium, and group V(basal diet+Cd+suet) with free-intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium. The rate of weight gain in the case of single dose of $100{\mu}g$ cadmium was highest in group IV as 42.3% and lowest in group V as 26.0%, whereas in the cases of free intake group W was highest as 24.0% and group II(basal diet+Cd) was lowest as 11.6%. The body weight, in the case of single dose of $100{\mu}g$ cadmium showed no increase until 5th day after acute poisoning. But in the case of free intake group, it showed very slight increase through all the breeding period. The weight ratio of organ to body were lowest in the liver of group II in both occasions. The most of cadmium adminstered. were excreted through feces within 2 days after single dose of $100{\mu}g$ cadmium. The contents of cadmium in each group were significantly higher than those of control group. In the liver, kidney, spleen and muscle, group II showed the highest level in both occasions of $100{\mu}g$ single dose and free intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium. In the skin with hair, group ll of the occasion with single dose of $100{\mu}g$ and group V with free intake showed the highest level. And the contents of cadmium in tissue were markedly higher in the occasion of free intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium. From the above results I would conclude that the addition of casein and calcium are effective in the inhibition of intesitnal absorption of cadmium esp. by calcium.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.37-45
• /
• 1984

This study was conducted to identify the problems in the medical aid program by reviewing the medical care utilization pattern of the beneficiaries. The data were abstracted from the monthly bills and vouchers for medical care of the whole benefi챠aries(17,527) in Gyeongsan Gun submitted by the physicians to county government for the period of 1 calendar year from October 1981 to September 1982. The number of medical aid beneficiary accounted for 12.7% of the total county population, a higher proportion than the national average-9.5%. Monthly primary care utilization rate per 100 beneficiaries was 9.3 persons with 14.0 visits and 42.9 medication days. for the 2nd and 3rd care, there were 1.7 admissions and 9.3 OPD visits per 100 beneficiaries per year. The beneficiaries of the first class medical aid program had a higher utilization rate of both the primary and secondary/tertiary care facilities. Females utilized more the primary care facilities than males while males utilized more the secondary/tertiary care facilities than females. A significantly lower utilization rate was observed in January than in the other months and this was seemed due to the renewal process of the medical aid certificate. Among 1,931 patients utilized the 2nd/3rd care facilities 84.4% was out-patients and the lowest ratios were in the minor specialties including ENT, ophthalmology, dermatology and urology. The average hospital days per in-patient were 21.2 days and OPD days per out patient were 4.7 days. The average hospital days for a psychiatry in-patient was 74.4 days which was the longest average hospital days among all the specialties. Average medical care cost per beneficiary in a year was W9,821:W24,240 for the 1st class and W7,464 for the 2nd class. The medical care cost for the primary care per patient was W3.901 and W840 per day compared with W49,875 per patient and W5,822 per day for the secondary/tertiary care. From the findings of this study following recommendations were made to improve the medical care program: 1) The renewal process of the medical care certificate should be expedited. 2) Minor specialty clinics should be designated as the primary medical care facility for the medical aid program to reduce the expenses by absorbing more patients referred to the secondary/tertiary care facilities directly. 3) The medical care cost for the primary care facility should be escalated to reduce the differential between the primary and secondary/tertiary care facilities.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.81-88
• /
• 1981

The present study was conducted to investigate the status of industrial injuries through a prospective study for a year from August 1980 to July 1981. The subjects were 15 textile industries which were selected by random sampling in Daegu. The results obtained are as follows: Anual over-all incidence rate of industrial injuries was 3.3 percent and the rate showed 6.7 percent in male and 2 percent in female. The rate showed decreasing tendency with larger scale of industries. By the age group, $15{\sim}19$ age group was the highest as 49.3 percent. Age specific incidence rate of industrial injuries revealed highest as 4.7 precent among the group the group of 30 years old and over. By the years of service, 57.1 percent of the total cases belonged to the the group less than 1 year and the rate revealed increasing tendency with shorter period of service. The highest frequency of industrial injuries was observed at the point of 3 hours after the beginning of the work in a day as 18.1 percent. Frequency of industrial injuries showed highest as 20.3 percent on Monday. Frequency of industrial injuries was highest as 27.7 percent in winter time and showed 14 percent and 11.8 percent in January and August, respectively. By the cause of injuries, machinery accidents showed the highest as 39.2 percent and followed by the accidents due to striking against object as 17.8 percent, fall of ground as 16.3 percent and hand tool as 7.2 percent. Frequency of injured parts of body was highest as 43.9 percent in fingers. The frequency was much higher in upper extremities (66.9%) than in lower extremities (17.6%). By the kind of injuries, laceration wound was highestas 35.7 percent and the next was superficial injury and contusion as 35.1 percent. By the duration of treatment, most of the cases was belonged to the group less than 1 month as 79.1 percent and the duration showed prolonging tendency with larger scale of industries.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.65-73
• /
• 1984

To assess the status of industrial injuries, a large scale textile company located around Taegu city was selected. And it was investigated from January 1981 to December 1982. After the department for workers safety was established, frequency rate of injury was 9.70 in 1981 and 4.15 in 1982, incidence rate per 1,000 workers was 27.11 in 1981 and 12.96 in 1982, and then, intensity rate was 0.33 in 1981 and 0.01 in 1982. The average duration of working loss was 36.64 days in 1981 and 3.34 in 1982. The incidence rate per 100 workers was 2.3 in annual average, 2.7 in men and 2.0 in women. The monthly incidence rate per 1,000 workers was highest as 3.6 in June; daily incidence rate, lowest as 1.8 on Sunday; and the highest as 14.7 from 10 to 12 o'clock in a day. The frequency by injured parts of body was highest as 42.3% on finger and 14.4% on the other part of hand, and the lower extremities as 14.4% followed. According to the kind of injuries, the laceration was the highest as 46.1%, the next was contusion as 15.4%, and the third was superficial injuries as 6.7%, According to the cause of injuries, the machinery accidents showed the highest as 47.1% and the accidents due to hand tool followed as 16.3%. By underlying cause of injuries, the environmental factors were 13.5% and the human factors 86.5%. The psychologic factors among human factors were the most common as 60.6%.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.25-29
• /
• 1984

To assess the effect of noise on the blood pressure of workers, 70 weaving and 70 refining female workers in 15 to 24 years of ages were tested for the changes of blood pressure before and after exposure to the noise. The noise levels at work place were 99 dB (A) for weavers and 80 dB(A) for refiners. The mean age of refiners was 17,7 years and that of weavers was 18.6 years, and the difference in mean ages was statistically significant (p<0.05). The means of heights, weights and working durations were not significantly different between two groups. The mean systolic blood pressure of the weavers was 112.5mmHg before exposure to the noise and it was increased to 115.7mmHg after exposure to 99 dB(A) of noise for 30 minutes, and the mean diastolic blood pressure from 71.6mmHg to 74.1mmHg. These increments of blood pressure were statististically significant (p<0.05). The mean systolic blood pressure of the refiners was decreased from 108.9mmHg to 106.7mmHg after exposure to 80 dB(A) of noise for 30 minutes, and the mean diastolic blood pressure from 67.3mmHg to 67.1mmHg. These changes of blood pressure were not statistically significant. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the weavers before exposure to the noise were significantly higher than that of refiners (p<0.05). The difference of blood pressure between refiners and weavers was significantly associated with noises (p<0.05), and not ages and their interactions. The study results support the hypothesis that exposure to excessive noise increases the blood pressure of workers.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.19 no.8
• /
• pp.1104-1111
• /
• 2009

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Sikhe made by medicinal herb on the functional level of liver. Water extract I (12.9% W/W) and II (25.8% W/W) were obtained from medicinal materials: Caragana Sinica, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Atractylodes rhizoma alba, Atractylodes rhizoma alba, Crataegus pinnatifida, Paeonia lactiflora Pasll., Hordeum vulgare Linne, Oryza sativa Linne, ginger, peer and jujube. Experimental groups were divided into the control diet group (C), high fat diet group (HF), high fat diet treated with 5% extract I group (HFE I ) and high fat diet treated with 5% extract II group (HFE II). In sensory evaluation, overall quality scores associated with color, aroma, flavor and taste were significantly higher in water extract II than in water extract 1. After investigating functional and lipid levels of livers in rats, we found that the administration of water extract I or water extract II to the high fat diet group (HF) did not affect the gain of body weight but mildly reduced GOT or GPT activity in the high diet group. Moreover, administration of these medicinal herbal extracts significantly decreased the levels of total lipid, triglyceride and total cholesterol in the high fat diet group (HF). However, administration of these medicinal herbal extracts did not affect the level of phospholipid. In conclusion, as Sikhe made by medicinal herb slightly decreased the activity of GOT or GPT and amount of lipid in liver, prevention against high fat diet is thought to be important for liver protection.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 1976

This study was conducted in order to observe some descriptive epidemiological findings and causes of life-long labour force loss in the rural population of Korea, and to consider, on the basis of these observations, some principles of the necessary control measures. The total number of subjects in the study was 27,172, all family members of 4,174 households. The study population was located in the 81 counties, out of a total of 138 counties, where the college students conducted service activities during the summer of 1974. In each village area where these service activities were conducted, one household per student interviewer was randomly selected. Student interviewers were instructed on the contents of the questionnaire prior to the survey. The main contents of the questionnaire form included address, name, sex and age of each family members, and present life-long labour force loss, if any, of each family member. In cases of current labour force loss, the age of onset and causes were recorded. Of the total households surveyed, 8.9% had family members (1-4 in number) with life-long labour force loss. Of the total persons surveyed, the crude prevalence rate for life-long labour force loss was 15.1 per 1,000; and the age-standardized prevalence rates for male and female were 16.3 per 1,000 and 13.4 per 1,000, respectively. The rates, in both sexes, were gradually increased as the ages were increased. The prevalence rates per 1,000, in order, for life-long labour force loss by the causes were 10.2 for senility, 2.4 for impairment of extremities, 1.2 for chronic diseases of internal organs, 0.5 for other conditions of muosculoskeletal system, 0.4 for blindness in both eyes, 0.2 for impairment of spine, 0.2 for psychoses, and 0.1 for epilepsy. Among them the causes of impairment of extremities were stroke, poliomyelitis, accidents, arthritis and injury due to war operation, in that order of higher relative frequency. The frequency ratios by age of onset were also observed by the causes and sex.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.409-416
• /
• 2013

Recently, the property damage has been increasing due to climate change in South Korea. While the general public has become more aware of the environmental issues, but the environmental education system has not been able to meet up with the demands of the public. The purpose of this study is to suggest preliminary data which is needed for developing a environmental textbook. A survey was conducted to meet the following requirements. Respondent's level of interest in problems or situations concerning the following eight themes: fundamental science, health and medicine, aerospace engineering, life science, electrical electronics, telecommunication, mineral and energy resources, environment. The data was collected from 139 students in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. The results showed that health and medicine issues interest students the most (49.6%), followed by environment (46.8%). We asked the respondents who were very interested in each question for their reasons, and they answered that environmental issue is related to the improvement of their life quality (53.8%) than their curiosity (38.5%). Students were very interested in the other issues because of just curiosity. Most students (90.6%) said seasonal change was not same each year. 18.0% of respondents replied that they and their friends had experienced climate change. The majority of students (94.2%) thought that they will experience natural disaster blamed on climate change during their life. In other words, climate change is already the day-to-day events of their lives. The majority of their opinions, more then three than ten students(30.9%) said the South Korean government should conduct an energy saving campaign to climate change problems followed by expanding new renewable energy (24.5%), conducting adaptation policies of climate change(22.3 %), introducing of a system as like $CO_2$ emissions trading(20.9%) and so on. There are more Stu- dents (69.1%) who know of new renewable energy than students who don't know it; however, respondents who know the meaning very well were just 18.7% showing that most students dimly know the meaning of new renewable energy.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.343-350
• /
• 2008

Asthma and allergic diseases are one of the most common disorders in children. Due to its increased prevalence, as well as the increased morbidity and mortality from these diseases, asthma and allergic diseases have come to be recognized as a major worldwide public health issue. In addition, socioeconomic burden of asthma and allergic diseases has increased in Korea also. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) investigated the worldwide prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases using simple standardized methods because of the comparison of asthma and allergic diseases between the countries. In Korea, several epidemiologic studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence of asthma in children. Although these studies showed increased prevalence of asthma among Korean children (from 3.4% in 1964 to 10.1% in 1989), these findings were based on data from small numbers of subjects. The first Nationwide Study of Asthma and Allergies in Korean Children, which utilized the Korean version of ISAAC written and video questionnaire, was conducted in 1995 and the second Nationwide Study of Asthma and Allergies in Korean Children was conducted in 2000, directed by the Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Diseases. We report here the prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases in Korean children and adolescents, and show the changes that occurred over this 5 year period. We also describe the risk factors for development of these diseases in Korean children. We developed Korean versions of the ISAAC written (WQ) and video (AVQ) questionnaires for allergic diseases. In 1995, the enrolled population consisted of 25,117 children selected from 34 elementary school and 14,946 children selected from 34 middle school across the nation, the response rate was 94.8%. In 2000, 27,831 children selected from 34 elementary school and 15,214 children selected from 34 middle school, and the response rate was 96.4%. From these studies, we can confirm that increase of the prevalences of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in Korea, except the prevalence of food allergy. Especially, the video questionnaire showed increases in the lifetime and 12 month prevalence rates of wheeze at rest, exercise-induced wheeze, nocturnal wheeze, nocturnal cough, and severe wheeze over this period of time in middle school children. In addition, the increase of prevalences of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis was noted significantly. Risk factor analysis showed that body mass index (BMI), passive smoking and living with a dog or cat were associated with higher risk of wheeze. Also the occurrence of fever during infancy and the frequent use of antibiotics were associated with the risk of wheeze. In conclusion, during the 5 year period from 1995 to 2000, the prevalences of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis has increased in Korean children. BMI, passive smoking, living with a dog or cat, the fever episodes in infancy, and the frequent use of antibiotics in infancy are important risk factors to development of asthma and atopic dermatitis. In the near future, the birth cohort study will be needed to investigate the causes of this increase and the natural course of allergic diseases, then we develop the methods to control asthma and allergic diseases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.18
• /
• pp.8653-8658
• /
• 2016

Background: Heparanase is believed to be involved in gastric carcinogenesis. However, the clinicopathologic features of gastric cancer with high heparanase expression remain unclear. Aim : The purpose of this study was to comprehensively and quantitatively summarize available evidence for the use of heparanase mRNA and protein expression to evaluate the clinicopathological associations in gastric cancer in Asian patients by meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Relevant articles listed in MEDLINE, CNKI and the Cochrane Library databases up to MARCH 2015 were searched by use of several keywords in electronic databases. A meta-analysis was performed to clarify the impact of heparanase mRNA and protein on clinicopathological parameters in gastric cancer. Combined ORs with 95%CIs were calculated by Revman 5.0, and publication bias testing was performed by stata12.0. Results: A total of 27 studies which included 3,891 gastric cancer patients were combined in the final analysis. When stratifying the studies by the pathological variables of heparanase mRNA expression, the depth of invasion (633 patients) (OR=4.96; 95% CI=2.38-1.37; P<0.0001), lymph node metastasis (639 patients) (OR=6.22; 95%CI=2.70-14.34, P<0.0001), and lymph node metastasis (383 patients) (OR=6.85; 95% CI=2.04-23.04; P=0.002) were all significant. When stratifying the studies by the pathological variables of heparanase protein expression, this was the case for depth of invasion (1250 patients) (OR=2.76; 95% CI=1.52-5.03; P=0.0009), lymph node metastasis (1178 patients) (OR=4.79 ; 95% CI=3.37-6.80, P<0.00001), tumor size (727 patients) (OR=2.06 ; 95% CI=1.31-3.23; P=0.002) (OR=2.61; 95% CI=2.09-3.27; P=0.000), and TNM stage (1233 patients) (OR=6.85; 95% CI=2.04-23.04; P=0.002). Egger's tests suggested publication bias for depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymph node metastasis and tumor size of heparanase mRNA and protein expression. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that higher heparanase expression in gastric cancer is associated with clinicopathologic features of depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage at mRNA and protein levels, and of tumor size only at the protein level. Egger's tests suggested publication bias for these clinicopathologic features of heparanase mRNA and protein expression, and which may be caused by shortage of relevant studies. As a result, although abundant reports showed heparanase may be associated with clinicopathologic features in gastric cancer, this meta-analysis indicates that more strict studies were needed to evaluate its clinicopathologic significance.