• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.27-38
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• 2024

Objectives The purpose of this study was to compare sleep quality and chronotype by Sasang constitution and examine the relationship with nutritional status. Methods This study used 672 follow-up data from the Korean Medicine Daejeon Citizen Cohort study (KDCC). Demographic, Sasang constitution, sleep quality, chronotype, and nutritional status evaluation were conducted based on questionnaires. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to confirm the relationship between sleep quality and chronotype according to Sasang constitution and nutritional status. Results The relationship between sleep quality and chronotype by Sasang constitution and nutritional status is that Taeeum nutritional index is related to sleep quality (adj. B = -0.46, 95% CI = -0.79 ~ -0.12) and chronotype (adj. B = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.24 ~ 0.52), and Soeum and Soyang showed an association between nutritional indices only in chronotype (adj. B = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.23 ~ 0.63 in SE, adj. B = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.38 to 0.73 in SY). Conclusions This study confirmed the relationship between sleep quality and chronotype and healthy eating habits. For a balanced nutritional status, overall sleep management is necessary. Based on the results of this study, we intend to use it as basic data on the impact of the relationship between nutritional status and chronotype by Sasang constitution on health.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.17.1-17.10
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• 2022

Background: This study aimed to investigate the decline in quality of life (QOL) by examining changes in the employment status of workers who had completed medical treatment after an industrial accident. Methods: This study utilized the Panel Study of Worker's Compensation Insurance cohort (published in October 2020) containing a sample survey of 3,294 occupationally injured workers who completed medical care in 2017. We divided this population into four groups according to changes in working status. A multivariate logistic regression model was utilized for evaluating QOL decline by adjusting for the basic characteristics and working environment at the time of accident. Subgroup analysis evaluated whether QOL decline differed according to disability grade and industry group. Results: The QOL decline in the "maintained employment," "employed to unemployed," "remained unemployed," and "unemployed to employed" groups were 15.3%, 28.1%, 20.2%, and 11.9%, respectively. The "maintained employment" group provided a reference. As a result of adjusting for the socioeconomic status and working environment, the odds ratios (ORs) of QOL decline for the "employed to unemployed" group and the "remained unemployed" group were 2.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51-3.01) and 1.47 (95% CI, 1.13-1.90), respectively. The "unemployed to employed" group had a non-significant OR of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.54-1.07). Conclusions: This study revealed that continuous unemployment or unstable employment negatively affected industrially injured workers' QOL. Policy researchers and relevant ministries should further develop and improve "return to work" programs that could maintain decent employment avenues within the workers' compensation system.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.140-153
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• 2024

Background and Objectives: Although a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) patch may provide advantages for detecting arrhythmias in outpatient settings owing to user convenience, its comparative effectiveness for real-time telemonitoring in inpatient settings remains unclear. We aimed to compare a novel telemonitoring system using a single-lead ECG patch with a conventional telemonitoring system in an inpatient setting. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective cohort study. Patients admitted to the cardiology unit for arrhythmia treatment who required a wireless ECG telemonitoring system were enrolled. A single-lead ECG patch and conventional telemetry were applied simultaneously in hospitalized patients for over 24 hours for real-time telemonitoring. The basic ECG parameters, arrhythmia episodes, and signal loss or noise were compared between the 2 systems. Results: Eighty participants (mean age 62±10 years, 76.3% male) were enrolled. The three most common indications for ECG telemonitoring were atrial fibrillation (66.3%), sick sinus syndrome (12.5%), and atrioventricular block (10.0%). The intra-class correlation coefficients for detecting the number of total beats, atrial and ventricular premature complexes, maximal, average, and minimal heart rates, and pauses were all over 0.9 with p values for reliability <0.001. Compared to a conventional system, a novel system demonstrated significantly lower signal noise (median 0.3% [0.1-1.6%] vs. 2.4% [1.4-3.7%], p<0.001) and fewer episodes of signal loss (median 22 [2-53] vs. 64 [22-112] episodes, p=0.002). Conclusions: The novel telemonitoring system using a single-lead ECG patch offers performance comparable to that of a conventional system while significantly reducing signal loss and noise.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.111-122
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• 2023

Objective : To identify the effect of lifestyle risk factors on the daily activities and cognition of the older adults in the community using the National Health Insurance Corporation 2015 geriatric cohort database. Methods : Lifestyle risk factors were defined as body mass index (BMI), smoking, drinking, vigorous exercise, moderate exercise, and walking, and basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL) and cognitive function variables were included in the analysis. ADL and cognitive function according to sex and age were analyzed using a t-test and one-way ANOVA. The correlation between lifestyle risk factors, ADL, and cognitive function was analyzed using Pearson's correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis was performed to analyze their influence. Results : The factors affecting basic ADL (BADL) were sex and walking exercises, with an explanatory power of 1.7%. Instrumental ADL (IADL) included age, drinking, and walking exercises, with an explanatory power of 2.6%. Cognitive function included sex, age, BMI, vigorous exercise, and walking, with an explanatory power of 5.3%. Conclusion : Lifestyle risk factors partially affected BADLs/IADLs and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. This suggests the need to systematically manage lifestyle risk factors to improve and maintain the healthy lives of older adults facing biological aging.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.68 no.2
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• pp.107-130
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• 2016

This study is aimed at the exploratory research on the influence of the obligation of extension of the retirement age on the baby boom generation. The basic question of this study is about which of the baby boom generation can get how much benefit according as the extension of the retirement age becomes compulsory. The extension of the retirement age is the system that can be applied to regular full-time workers. Accordingly, this study is intending to analyze the characteristics of the workers having a high likelihood for benefits from extension of the retirement age by tracing the economic activity state and labor history of the baby boomers. For this purpose, this study looked into the change of the economic activity state by age cohort of the male baby boomers based on the data for the Korea Labor Panel's 4th(2001) & 17th(2014)year. Using Survival analysis, this study also analyzed who will continue to remain as a regular full-time wage earner. As the result of the analysis, it was found that the more the cohort ages of baby boomers increased, the smaller the probability of remaining as a regular full-time wage earner, and the group who can get benefits from extension of the retirement age was predicted to account for only 11.4% level among the baby boomers. In addition, the result showed that there was a high likelihood of getting more benefits from extension of the retirement age when the baby boomers worked for the government-invested institution, corporate bodies, and government organizations rather than working for private enterprises. Thus, it can be safely said that there might appear a generational conflict due to extension of the retirement age in that such jobs coincide with the ones favored by the rising generation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.691-699
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• 2004

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by exaggerated loss of bone mass, with as much as 50 to 85% of the variation in bone mineral density (BMD) commonly accepted as being genetically determined. Although intensive studies have attempted to elucidate the genetic effects of polymorphisms on BMD and/or osteoporosis in several genes, the genes involved are still largely unknown. The possible associations of genetic variants in five-candidate genes (IL10, CCR3, MCP1, MCP2 and GC) with spinal BMD were investigated in Korean postmenopausal women (n = 370). Fourteen SNPs in five candidate genes were genotyped, and the haplotypes of each gene constructed. The associations of adjusted spinal BMD by age, year since menopause (YSM) and body mass index (BMI), with genetic polymorphisms, were analyzed using multiple regression models. Genetic association analysis of Korean postmenopausal women revealed that IL10 -592A > C and/or IL10 ht2 were associated with decreased bone mass, whereas no significant associations were observed with all polymorphisms in other genes. The levels of spinal BMD in individuals bearing the IL10 -592CC genotype were lower ($0.78{\pm}0.16$) than those in others ($0.85{\pm}0.17$) (P = 0.02), and the BMD of IL10 ht2 bearing individuals were also lower ($0.82{\pm}0.15$) than those in others ($0.85{\pm}0.17$) (P = 0.04). Our results suggest that variants of IL10 might play a role in the decreased BMD, although additional study might need to be followed-up in a more powerful cohort.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.35-47
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• 2009

Objectives: The purpose of this research was to investigate incidence and related factors of the MS in a university hospital Methods: This survey was conducted from January in 1997 to March in 2008. This study is a cohort study. The baseline subjects were 529 men and 609 women without metabolic syndrome(MS) who visited the health promotion center of Chungnam National University Hospital for general health check-up. The MS was diagnosed according to the definition by the NCEP ATP III. The abdominal obesity guidelines for waist circumference applied the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity Guideline Results: The survey exhibited that baseline risk factors that mainly affect odds ratio(OR) of the MS at follow-up were sex, ages, heavy drinking, uric acid and transpeptidase(GGT) in women. Incidence of the MS was 10.6% in total cases, 18.1% in men and 4.0% in women. The risk of the MS was significantly lower in women than men(OR=0.4, 95% confidence interval(CI: 0.2-0.9), significantly higher 50-59 Ages than < 40 ages(OR=3.4, 95% CI: 1.9-6.4), significantly high in women with heavy drinkers(OR=14.3, 95% CI: 1.2-177.5), significantly high in whole, men and women with high uric acid group(whole, OR=2.6, 95% CI: 1.6-4.2. men, OR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.3-3.5. women, OR=14.2, 95% CI: 3.0-68.3) and significantly high in women with high GGT(OR=1.8, 95% CI: 2.4-12.6). Conclusion: Risk factors of incident MS were baseline sex, ages, heavy drinking in women, uric acid and GGT in women. These can be utilized as an important index to determine risk factors of incident MS and will be basic data in part of management, education, countermeasure and selection test of the MS.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.202-212
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• 2021

Objectives: The reproductive health of female workers has been extensively investigated in South Korea and other countries worldwide. However, few studies have discussed the reproductive health of male workers. In this study, we reviewed the recent literature that reports on the effects of occupational exposure on the reproductive health of male workers and the health of their children. Methods: In May 2020 we used the PubMed search engine to search the literature over the last 10 years and chose case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies and reviews. We selected epidemiological studies that investigated the association between pre-pregnant occupational exposure and the reproductive health of male workers and the health of their children. We excluded case reports, non-epidemiological studies (animal experiments, cellular-level experiments, and similar articles), and studies that described postnatal occupational exposure. Results: We eventually selected 23 studies. The studies that included exclusively male workers reported that those employed in the agricultural sector or those exposed to pesticides showed lower blood levels of reproductive hormones and a high risk of lympho-hematopoietic system cancer in their children. Male workers exposed to complex organic solvents and organic compounds showed a high risk of poor semen quality, increased time to pregnancy, decreased blood levels of reproductive hormones, and a high risk of lympho-hematopoietic system cancer in their children. Male workers employed in occupations that involved significant social contact, or in the leather and livestock industries, and in occupations with high levels of exposure to lead and organic solvents showed a high risk of malignancies, including lympho-hematopoietic system cancer, neuroblastoma, and central nervous system tumors in their children. Studies that investigated both male and female workers reported that children of male smelters showed a high risk of premature birth, and children of male workers exposed to metals showed a high risk of hypospadias and cryptorchidism. Children of male welders and workers employed in the glass, ceramic, and tile industries showed a high risk of premature birth. Conclusion: The findings of this study will serve as basic data for further research on male workers' reproductive health and provide a scientific basis for the development of strategies to protect the reproductive health of males employed in high-risk occupations. Moreover, the results of this study may provide guidelines to improve the understanding of and knowledge on male workers' reproductive health.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2008

Objectives : Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with increasing risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality but the risk of stroke associated with the MetS is less well established. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of MetS in stroke patients. Methods : We analyzed the data of 806 patients with acute ischemic stroke from Hanbang Stroke Registry supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea. Subjects' enrollment was done in the oriental medical hospitals of 4 universities located in the metropolitan region from April 2007 to August 2008. We analyzed all registered data and evaluated the prevalence of MetS and specific components of MetS. Results : The prevalence of MetS in stroke patients according to American Heart Association/National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) criteria was 59.6%. The prevalence according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria was 41.6%. The prevalence of female patients was higher than that of male patients (71.8% vs 51% by AHA/NHLBI criteria; 61.7% vs 27.7% by IDF criteria). The prevalence of central obesity, low HDL cholesterol and hypertension was higher in female patients. There was no significant relationship between MetS and stroke subtype. Conclusions : This work gives us the basic data on the association between MetS and risk of stroke. There should be the prospective cohort studies to evaluate MetS and the risk of stroke.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.337-347
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• 2021

This study is a qualitative study conducted to provide basic data for therapists working in long-term care hospitals to improve their countermeasure strategies for new infectious diseases and improvement of the treatment room infection management system, and to help therapists understand their infection management work. Colaizzi's phenomenological research method was applied as the research method. Telephone interviews were conducted with nine occupational therapists and physical therapists working in nursing hospitals. The contents of the interview were recorded with the consent of the study subjects, and additional confirmation was received by email. The recorded content was analyzed after transcription, and the meaning and nature of the experience coping with COVID-19 were described. The content was organized into 6 themes, 17 main meaning and 49 meaning units. In accordance with the COVID-19 situation, the infection control system has been strengthened by reinforcing infection control education in nursing hospitals, practicing infection control, and supervising infection control outside business hours. It was found that the treatment environment was changed due to the restriction of treatment activities by practicing distancing in the treatment room, adjusting rest and meal times during working hours, and strengthening infection control. In addition, the therapist's role has been expanded and the paradigm of treatment has changed, such as considering the untact intervention, and they have experienced cohort quarantine, pre-tested for COVID-19, vaccinations, and side effects from COVID-19. However, due to the infection work, the therapist's work burden is increased, and the person is experiencing fear, depression, and work stress from the spread of COVID-19. They were also aware of the need for nursing hospital care personnel support, such as guaranteeing rest after vaccination and providing infection control tools and equipment. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for human and physical support for the development of infectious disease response strategy programs in nursing hospital treatment rooms and for infection control in nursing hospitals.