• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.141-151
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• 2009

Cognitive degree of musculoskeletal symptoms and existence (or non-existence) of experience was conducted following dental hygienists' health habits, heath state and working environment targeting dental hygienists who were working for the dental clinics in Masan-si, Changwon-si and Jinhae-si in Gyeongsangnam-do for one year or more. The research findings were as follows. 1. Cognitive degree of musculoskeletal symptom following general characteristics was the highest among the subjects who were 40 years old or above. 2. As for the education level, cognitive degree of musculoskeletal symptoms was high while prevalence was low, which were statistically significant when the education level was higher. 3. Cognitive degree of musculoskeletal symptom was high when the subjects exercised, and cognitive degree of musculoskeletal symptom and prevalence were significantly high when they are engaged in leisure activities or hobbies. 4. Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was statistically high if they are afflicted with disease, if they feel burdened by their job, if they suffer from considerable physical fatigue, if they feel chronic fatigue or if they feel that their health state is poor. 5. Cognitive degree of musculoskeletal symptom and prevalence were higher, which was statistically significant, when the number of years worked was higher. 6. Cognitive degree of musculoskeletal symptom was higher, but prevalence was lower when the time that they were seated was longer. This research demonstrated that the musculoskeletal disorders related to their job that afflicts the dental hygienists is not caused by one element, but it is possible to see that the musculoskeletal disorders results from the interaction of the diverse elements that are interrelated such as the subjects' characteristics and health habits and heath state, working environment and so forth including inappropriate work related movements. To this, dental hygienists need to improve their health habits so that they can form proper health habits that will ensure health in every day life on their own with the improvement of their every day life habit and positive self-evaluation to act on the health promotion behaviors, education and publicity, and measures to prevent and to manage musculoskeletal disorders in overall need to bepursued after in an active manner.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.164-164
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• 2005

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.26 no.2 s.42
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• pp.251-267
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• 1993

The relationship between lead related subject symptoms and lead exposure indices was studied in 435 male lead workers in thirteen lead using industries. 212 male office workers who were not exposed to lead occupationally were also studied as a control group. Fourteen lead related symptoms were selected. They were further subdivied into 4 sub-symptom groups such as 1) gastrointestinal, 2) neuromuscular and joint 3) constitutional, and 4) psychological symptoms. Symptom questionnaires were provided to the workers and filled up by themselves and reconfirmed by interviewer(doctor). The test used fer the evaluation of lead exposure were blood lead(PbB), zinc protoporphyrin in whole blood(ZPP), hemoglobin(Hb), hematocrit (Hct), delta-aminolevulinic acid in urine(DALA). The results obtained were as follows; 1. The higher prevalence rate in the sub-group of neuromuscular and joint symptoms was observed in occupationally lead exposed subjects than non-exposed subjects. Among the sub-groups, the most frequent symptom was 'numbness of finger, hands or feet', and the prevalence of the symptom of 'arthralgia', 'weakness of fingers, hands or feet' and 'myalgia' were higher in order. 2. While the symptom which showed the biggest difference of prevalence rate among the 14 symptoms between exposed and non-exposed subjects was 'numbness of fingers, hands or feet', the symptom which showed the highest prevalence rate was 'feeling tired generally' in exposed and non-exposed subjects, but no statistical difference of symptom prevalence were observed. 3. In total study population, PbB and ZPP had dose-response relationship with 4 symtoms of neuromuscular and joint symptoms ('numbness of finger, hands or feet', 'arthralgia', 'weakness of fingers, hands or feet' and 'myalgia') and one symptom of gastrointestinal group('intermittent pains in lower abdomen'). 4. In lead exposed workers, only neuromuscular and joint symptoms group showed dose-response relationship with PbB and ZPP, 5. In lead exposed workers, the prevalance rate of overall symptoms of lead workers with age below 39 years was higher than that of lead workers with age above 40. While neuromuscular and joint symptoms group had a dose-response relationship with PbB in former group, it had a dose-response relationship with ZPP in latter group. 6. Age adjusted odds ratios of symptoms of non-exposed with exposed and odds ratios of low exposed with high exposed workers showed the dose-response relationship of lead exposure with neuromuscular and joint symptoms group('numbness of fingers, hands or feet', 'arthralgia', 'weakness of fingers, hands or feet' and 'myalgia') and gastrointestinal symptoms group('intermittent pains in lower abdoman').

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.2 s.46
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• pp.313-325
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• 1994

A cross-sectional study was conducted in an effort to investigate the effect of air pollution on respiratory symptoms. Two groups of female aged more than 20 living in the unpolluted rural area of Taebul (n=159) and urban area of Taegu (n=140) were selected. The ATS-DLD-78 questionnaire was translated into Korean and administered with minor modification. The proportion of smoker was less than 1% in both area. Exposure to smoking and higher educational level were more frequent in Taegu. Age-adjusted prevalence rates of 'chronic cough', 'chronic sputum', 'wheezing', and 'dyspnea' were higher in Taegu than in Taebul. In particular, the prevalence rate of 'chronic sputum' in Taegu was found to be higher, which was statistically significant. Exposure to smoking and education level were not concerned with all respiratory symptom prevalence rates. In conclusion, this study Indicates that an urban factor is related to the rates of respiratory symptoms in Korea.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the association of vocational interest and personality with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Methods: Four hundred and fourteen college students in Gyeonggi-do completed Vocational Preference Inventory L form and a questionnaire and collected data were analyzed by R program. Results: The percentage of subjects who responded that they had at least one contributing factor for TMD was significantly different among 27 two-letter Holland codes (p<0.05). The two-letter Holland codes of which the first-letter was social (S) (S artistic [A], S investigative [I], S realistic [R], S conventional [C], S enterprising [E]) or C (CE, CS, CA, CI) had tendency of having the relatively higher prevalence of symptoms and contributing factors for TMD. Among 6 one-letter Holland codes, the prevalence of a symptom of frequent fatigue in the jaw and a habit of gum chewing showed the significant difference (p<0.05). E code seemed to have lower prevalence of a symptom of frequent fatigue in the jaw than other codes. S code appeared to use chewing gum more frequently than other codes. High scorers on emotional instability showed the significantly higher prevalence of TMD symptoms (p<0.05) and contributing factors for TMD (p<0.001) than low scorers. Furthermore, high scorers on emotional instability had significantly higher mean scales of the number of positive answers of TMD symptoms (p<0.01) and of contributing factors for TMD (p<0.001) than low scorers. Conclusions: Symptoms and contributing factors for TMD were related to emotional instability. Vocational Preference Inventory L form might be utilized in assessing emotional factors of persons with TMD symptoms.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.534-541
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• 2015

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence rate of multiple chemical sensitivity/idiopathic environmental intolerance(MCS/IEI) among workers in the Gumi industrial complex around the region of accidental release of hydrogen fluoride in 2012. Materials: We evaluated MCS/IEI using the Korean version of the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory(QEESI). A total of 535 workers at six manufacturing companies in the Gumi industrial complex were investigated using self-administered questionnaires from February to March 2015. After exclusion of incompletely answered questionnaires, 271 were analyzed. Results: The prevalence rate and proved positive rate of MCS/IEI were 5.9%(16 out of 271) and 3.7%(10 out of 271), respectively. The scores of chemical intolerance, other intolerance, symptom severity and life impact were significantly higher(p<0.05) in females than those of males. In terms of masking index scores, males showed significantly higher(p=0.003) than female. The self-reported MCS/IEI prevalence rate, 7.7%, of workers exposed to hydrogen fluoride in 2012 was higher than no-exposure group(5.6%), but not statistically significant(p=0.815). Conclusions: Although the prevalence rate of MCS/IEI symptoms of workers exposed to hydrogen fluoride gas in 2012 was not significantly higher than no-exposure group, it is necessary to conduct follow-up study on the exposure group of hydrogen fluoride.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-70
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• 2008

Purpose: Women with gynecologic cancer often experience various physical and psychological symptoms relating to the cancer and its treatment. The purpose of this study was to identify symptom clusters. Method: A survey was conducted on 184 women with diagnoses of cervical, ovarian or endometrial cancer. Fifty symptoms were assessed for prevalence, severity and interference, and symptom clusters were identified. Cluster analysis was done using SPSS version 12.0. Results: Fatigue was identified as the most prevalent symptom (81.52%), lack of vaginal lubrication (2.26) as the most severe symptom, and lack of vaginal lubrication as the most interfering one (2.15). Identified six clusters were: Anorexia-pain cluster (loss of appetite, taste change, weight loss, appearance change, alopecia, weakness, pain), Fatigue cluster (lack of concentration, lack of memory, fatigue, dry mouth), Urinary-bowel distress cluster (urinary difficulty, constipation), Abdominal discomfort cluster (lower abdominal pain, abdominal pain, bloating), Emotional distress (sadness, anxiety-worry, nervousness, restlessness), and Menopausal cluster (sweating, hot flush, fever). Conclusion: The result of this study provides fundamental data to health care professionals in developing interventions for effective symptom management for women with gynecologic cancer by understanding identified 6 symptom clusters.

• Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.536-543
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• 2018

Culture forms an integral aspect of environmental factors which influences disease presentation and clinical outcomes in functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). In this review, the role of culture in FGIDs in the East is briefly explored with regards to symptom presentation and diagnostic issues, lifestyle and cultural habits, epidemiology, and healthcare seeking behavior. In both functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, symptom presentation and disease sub-typing in Asians are known to differ from their Western counterparts, possibly relating to cultural dietary practices and from cultural perception of symptoms. Dietary patterns, together with defecating practices are explored as factors contributing to a lower prevalence of constipation in the East. An urban-rural difference in the prevalence of FGIDs in Asia is attributed to a change in dietary patterns in rapidly developing urban communities, together with an increased level of psychological morbidity. Lastly, cultural attitudes towards traditional/local remedies, variation in healthcare systems, anxiety regarding organic disease, and religious practices have been shown to influence healthcare seeking behavior among FGID patients in the East.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.93-107
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• 2000

The excessive exposure to powered hand tools can cause damage to nerves, impair blood circulation, and musculoskeletal damage. The symptoms associated with hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) include numbness, tingling, pain and subsequent reduced dexterity of the hands. This study was performed to report the prevalence of the HAVS and evaluate its related factors among the workers using powered hand tools. Total 282 workers in 11 plants of Kyungki and Inchon areas were examined. A standard symptom questionnaire was developed and administered to collect information on personal characteristics, work history, operating conditions, tool characteristics, and subjective symptoms of HAVS. Mean values (standard deviations) of the age, the duration of powered hand tools used, and the daily hours using powered hand tools were 38.3(8.9) years, 79.3(62.2) months and 6.0(2.6) hours, respectively. 132 workers(46.8%) showed vibration-induced white finger symptoms according to the Taylor-Pelmear classification, and 30 workers(10.6%) were interfered with the work. The results of a multiple logistic regression analysis controlling for age and daily working hours showed that smoking, work duration, weight of tools, and continuous work over 2 hours were significantly associated with the symptom of HAVS.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.159-164
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• 2006

Our study investigated the prevalence of allergic conjunctivitis and skin prick test reactivity and type of allergen from 1352 individuals living in Gwangyang city. The prevalence of allergic conjunctivitis symptom were 40,2% of study subjects and diagnosised subjects with allergic conjunctivitis of them were 15.8%. In skin prick test, 20.2% of total subjects had at least one positive skin prick reaction and positive skin prick reaction with allergic conjunctivitis of subjects was 21.3%(n=103). Their major allergens were indoor allergen like dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae.