• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.383-390
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• 2013

Objectives: We evaluated the effects of an allergy control program on children with atopic dermatitis (AD) in five schools located within Gyeonggi-do. Methods: Based on the results of the 12-month prevalence of AD symptoms from an International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire of all students (n=2109; 1040 boys, 1069 girls) at five randomly selected schools, 227 students with AD symptoms were screened. Finally, 188 students with greater than 1 on SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) determined by a physician were selected. The allergy control program includes education related to allergic diseases, skin prick tests, and SCORAD evaluation, as well as keeping a daily journal to check the usage of moisturizer at least once a day. To determine the effectiveness of the allergy control program, SCORAD evaluation was performed again six weeks later. Results: The most common symptom for 12-month prevalence was rhinorrhea (33.9%), followed by atopic skin lesions (14.8%) and wheezing (4.0%). The 12-month prevalences of the three allergic diseases were higher for boys than for girls, and a significant difference was found for allergic rhinitis (P<0.001). The mean SCORAD index decreased significantly from 26.1 to 17.5 after the completion of the six-week control program (P<0.01). In particular, these differences were more pronounced for the group which used the daily journal (P<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the allergy control program including usage of a daily journal as well as regular monitoring could be a promising tool for preventing and alleviating the symptoms of allergic diseases.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of allergic disease among elementary school students in rural and urban areas. Methods: In this study, 1,513 elementary students (1,163 in urban areas, 350 in rural areas) were surveyed. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage of allergic symptoms and $X^2$ test was used to identify differences in the prevalence of allergic symptoms between urban and rural area students. The SAS program was used in the data analysis. Results: There were significant differences in the prevalence of allergic disease according to whether there was a family member with a prior history of allergy symptoms. 48.7% of surveyed students (49.4% in urban, 46.3% in rural) had allergic symptoms. Allergic rhinitis was the most frequent allergic symptom in both urban and rural students. Conclusion: These results suggest that there is a need to prevent and manage allergies among elementary students. The family history should be considered an important factor when a program for allergy prevention and management is developed. Interventions are needed in both areas, especially for students with allergic rhinitis.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.11-25
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• 2016

Background & Objectives: There were increasing evidence about the relationship between allergy related disease such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis and suicide ideation. However little was known about the concrete relatedness between severity and comorbidity of allergy related disease with suicide ideation. The objective of this study was to investigate the cases of the prevalence of suicide ideation among adolescents with allergy related disease such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis, and examine the association between allergy related disease and suicidal ideation among adolescents in South Korea. Methods: Data was based on Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey(2014) which was a cross-sectional study containing 34,874 Korean middle and high school students who diagnosed with allergy related disease. We used the weights, strata and primary sampling unit information provided by the public use dataset to compute descriptive statistics and logistic regressions. Computations were done with SPSS version 20.0. Results: 19.9%, 15.6%, 13.8% of adolescents who suffered from one, two and three of allergy related diseases respectively reported having been thought of suicide ideation. Socio-demographic factors were adjusted as control variables. Students with greater severity of disease were more likely to have suicide ideation. Odds ratio for students who were absent one to three days from school because of allergies was 1.96(95% CI 1.51-2.46), and odds ratio for those who were absent more than four days from school was 3.60(95% CI 2.46-5.28). Conclusions: Given that adolescents' severity and comorbidity of allergy related disease were clearly associated with suicide ideation, suicide prevention programs for adolescents with allergy related disease should be improved by strategic approaches towards the severity and comorbidity of disease.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2024

Objectives: This study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of comorbid conditions in patients exposed to ionizing radiation and those who were involved in the Soviet-Afghan war. Methods: This study analyzed the frequency and spectrum of morbidity and comorbidity in patients over a long-term period (30-35 years) following exposure to ionizing radiation at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site or the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, and among participants of the Soviet-Afghan war. A cohort study, both prospective and retrospective, was conducted on 675 patients who underwent comprehensive examinations. Results: Numerical data were analyzed using the Statistica 6 program. The results are presented as the mean±standard deviation, median, and interquartile range (25-75th percentiles). The statistical significance of between-group differences was assessed using the Student t-test and Pearson chi-square test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We found a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension (55.0%) and cardiac ischemia (32.9%); these rates exceeded the average for this age group in the general population. Conclusions: The cumulative impact of causal occupational, environmental, and ultra-high stress factors in the combat zone in participants of the Soviet-Afghan war, along with common conventional factors, contributed to the formation of a specific comorbidity structure. This necessitates a rational approach to identifying early predictors of cardiovascular events and central nervous system disorders, as well as pathognomonic clinical symptoms in this patient cohort. It also underscores the importance of selecting suitable methods and strategies for implementing treatment and prevention measures.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.79 no.3
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• pp.111-120
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• 2016

Asthma is a prevalent and serious health problem in Korea. Recently, the Korean Asthma Guideline has been updated by The Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (KATRD) in an effort to improve the clinical management of asthma. This guideline focuses on adult patients with asthma and aims to deliver up to date scientific evidence and recommendations to general physicians for the management of asthma. For this purpose, this guideline was updated following systematic review and meta-analysis of recent studies and adapting some points of international guidelines (Global Initiative for Asthma [GINA] report 2014, National Asthma Education and Prevention Program [NAEPP] 2007, British Thoracic Society [BTS/SIGN] asthma guideline 2012, and Canadian asthma guideline 2012). Updated issues include recommendations derived using the population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) model, which produced 20 clinical questions on the management of asthma. It also covers a new definition of asthma, the importance of confirming various airflow limitations with spirometry, the epidemiology and the diagnostic flow of asthma in Korea, the importance and evidence for inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and ICS/formoterol as a single maintenance and acute therapy in the stepwise management of asthma, assessment of severity of asthma and management of exacerbation, and an action plan to cope with exacerbation. This guideline includes clinical assessments, and treatment of asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap syndrome, management of asthma in specific conditions including severe asthma, elderly asthma, cough variant asthma, exercise-induced bronchial contraction, etc. The revised Korean Asthma Guideline is expected to be a useful resource in the management of asthma.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.158-166
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• 2013

Background: Colorectal cancer shows a significant increase in South Korea due to westernization of diet, lack of dietary fiber, drinking and smoking, irregular defecation. There are surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy in treatment of colorectal cancer. There may be a medication errors in the process of chemotherapy because of its high toxicity, narrow therapeutic index and the health status of cancer patients. Consequently medication errors can cause increasing the risk of death, prolonging hospital stay and increasing the cost. Among medication errors on medication use process, prescribing errors are of particular concern due to higher risk of serious consequences. It is important for pharmacist to prevent the prescribing errors before reaching patient. Therefore we analyzed the prescriptions of colorectal cancer, classified prescribing errors, suggested guideline to reduce prescribing errors and verified the importance of pharmacist's role in prevention of medication errors activity. Methods: We collected the numbers of prescriptions of colorectal cancer(n=2,373) through anti cancer management program and EMR and analyzed the errors of prescriptions by categories from Oct 1st 2011 to Sep 30th 2012 at Chungbuk National University Hospital. We reviewed the prescriptions as follows - patients' characteristics, the result of test, previous prescriptions, characteristics of antineoplastic agents and patients' allergy, drug sensitivity, adverse events. Prescriptions are classified into inpatient and outpatient and analyzed the errors of prescriptions by categories (dosage form, dose, input, diluents, regimen, product). Results: Total prescription number of inpatient and outpatient of colorectal cancer was 1,193 and 1,180 and that of errors was 107(9%) and 22(1.9%), respectively. In case of errors of categories, the number of errors of dosage form is 69 and 8, errors of dose is 15 and 5, errors of input is 9 and 9 in inpatient and outpatient prescriptions, respectively. Errors of diluents is 8, errors of regimen is 3, errors of product is 3 in only inpatient prescriptions. In case of errors of categories by inpatient department, the number of errors of dosage form is 34 and 35, errors of dose is 7 and 8, errors of input is 6 and 3, errors of diluents is 4 and 4, errors of regimen is 2 and 1, errors of product is 2 and 1 in SG and HO, respectively. In case of outpatient department, the number of errors of dosage form is 8 in HO, errors of dose is 5 in HO, errors of input is 5 and 4 in SG and HO, respectively. Conclusions: The rate of errors of inpatient is higher than that of outpatient. Junior doctors are engaged in prescriptions of inpatient and pharmacist need to pay attention to review all prescriptions. If prescribing errors are discovered, pharmacist should contact the prescriber and correct the errors without delay. The guideline to reduce prescribing errors might be upgrading software of anti cancer management program, education for physicians as well as pharmacists and calling prescriber's attention to preventing recurrence of errors.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.65-87
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to perform basic study on environmental and respiratory diseases in Ulsan and vicinities. Also, this study evaluated the actual state of environmental disease and health education at middle and high schools in Ulsan and surroundings. Methods: For this study, we conducted a survey on the health of the general public, environmental effects, and investigated the characteristics of environmental disease, health and hygiene education, etc. The populations of this study were middle and high school students in Ulsan, Korea. This study investigated the knowledge of environmental disease and health education at schools in Ulsan and vicinities from November 2009 to December 2009. All statistical calculations were performed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, and gained the following results by implementing Frequency Analysis, Cross-tabulation Analysis and ANOVA. Results: As more and more environmental diseases are increased, the interest of the people has been increasing on this. The incidence rates of asthma and atopy were represented the top 25% of the country in Korea. The source of heavy metal, PAHs and VOCs in Ulsan includes the Petrochemical Complex at Nam-gu and Ulju-gun, the Nonferrous Metal Industrial Complex at Onsan-eup, Ulju-gun, and the Heavy Industrial Complex at Dong-gu and Buk-gu. Especially, there are a number of fossil fuel combustion facilities such as waste incineration plants and boilers at Nam-gu and the Onsan Industrial Complex. It may help greatly to investigate the characteristics of environmental pollutants such as environmental air pollutant and indoor contaminant to better manage the local student's health. Conclusions: It has been revealed that the hazardous chemicals and environmental contaminants are main substances of cause for asthma, atopy, dermatitis, and allergy disease. Therefore, through with collecting basic data such as environmental disease of inhabitants, health education, conscious and knowledgeable level in parents of students and students, We have to exert to improve knowledge and prevention with health life in school through development of health education program systematically for preventing of environmental disease.