• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.587-595
• /
• 2005

Objectives : The object of this study was to evaluate repeatability of portable spirometry and to determine an appropriate equation for predicted value. Materials and Methods : The subjects were 76 men and 45 women recruited from among Kyunghee University oriental medical students. Portable spirometry was performed via the procedure recommended in ATS guidelines. Repeatability of spirometry was checked against ATS repeatability standards and NHLEP QC grade. Percentage of predicted value of non-smokers was calculated through a Caucasian population-based regression equation(by Morris et al.) and Korean population based regression equation(by Kim et al.). These were compared. Result : 91.7% of subjects matched repeatability standards of ATS and 95% of subjects got interpretable NHLEP QC grades of A, B, and C. Mean percentage of predicted value by Morris et al. were as follows: Mean of FVC% was 90.86, FEV1% was 96.66, FEV1/FVC% was 107.48. Mean percentage of predicted value by Kim et al. were as follows. Mean FVC% was 92.38, FEV1% was 89.77, FEV1/FVC% was 96.95. Conclusions : Results of this study show that more than 90% of subjects meet repeatability criteria. This supports a role for the portable spirometer as a primary oriental medical office tool. Further, results are a verify that they Korean population-based predicted value equation is a more appropriate standard than the Caucasian population-based one, but a still more accurate standard is needed for the Korean adult population.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.656-665
• /
• 2016

Objectives: This study examined the characteristics and related factors by comparing the lifestyles and health behaviors between Korean Seventh-day Adventists and the general population of Korea. Methods: A survey was conducted of 878 people more than 20-years-old Korean Seventh-day Adventists who live in the metropolitan area and 3,000 people more than 20-years-old who live in the metropolitan area in 4th (2nd year) National Health and Nutrition Survey. A comparison of health behaviors related to health screenings, smoking, drinking, physical activity, subjective stress, weight management, and oral health was analyzed using a chi-square test. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the contributing factor to the health behavior. Results: Health screening rates among Korean Seventh-day Adventists were higher than the general population (p<0.001), but Korean Seventh-day Adventists showed lower rates of health screening in the 20-30 ages. Lifetime smoking experience rates and current smoking rates were significantly lower in the Korean Seventh-day Adventists than in the general population (p<0.001). The success rate of smoking cessation among ex-smokers of Korean Seventh-day Adventists were very high. In terms of the drinking rate, Korean Seventh-day Adventists were significantly lower than the general population (p<0.001). The drinking rate of men was higher than women (p<0.001). Moderate physical activity of men were higher than women in Korean Seventh-day Adventists (p<0.001). Conclusion: The lifestyles and health behaviors of Korean Seventh-day Adventists, such as tobacco smoking and alcoholic drinking, were eminently healthier than the general population. Nevertheless, further well-organized studies will be needed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.6807-6812
• /
• 2013

Background: Lung cancer is a major cause of Korean female mortality and is clearly associated with smoking. The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV-2,3), which included both self-reports of smoking and urinary cotinine data, revealed a significant discrepancy between the prevalence of self-reported and biochemically-verified female smokers. The factors associated with accurate self-reporting of current smoking status remain poorly understood, however. Materials and Methods: We assessed the prevalence of smoking in KNHANES using both self-report and urinary cotinine data. Subsequently, using univariate and multivariate tests, we assessed whether age, intensity of smoking, marital status, relationship with cohabitants, education, occupation, residential area, or annual household income were associated with inaccurate self-reporting in Korean females. We also investigated whether the prevalence of inaccurate self-reports changed over the survey period, 2008-2009. Results: The prevalence of self-reported smoking was 47.8% in males and 6.6% in females. By contrast, the prevalence of smoking as assessed by urinary cotinine levels was 52.2% in males and 14.5% in females. Of the 746 females with urinary cotinine levels >50ng/ml, 407 (56.0%) provided inaccurate self-reports. In a multivariate model, age group(40-49: OR 3.54, 95%CI 1.42-8.86, p=0.007; ref :20-29), cotinine intensity(OR 0.999, 95%CI 0.998-0.999, p<0.001), marital status (married but without spouse: OR 0.37, 95%CI 0.15-0.94, p=0.037; ref :never married), relationship with cohabitants (living with a spouse and unmarried child: OR 2.63, 95%CI 1.44-4.80, p=0.002; living with 2 generations except unmarried child: OR 2.53, 95%CI 1.09-5.87, p=0.030; living with ${\geq}3$ generations: OR 3.25, 95%CI 1.48-7.10, p=0.003; ref :spouse only) and education(college or higher: OR 2.73, 95%CI 1.04-7.18, p=0.042; ref :elementary or less) were independently associated with inaccurate self-reports. Conclusions: The trend of smoking prevalence of Korean females is likely to decrease. However, an elevated prevalence of inaccurate self-reports by females remains. Factors related to the intensity of smoking and family status appear to influence whether a Korean female provides an accurate self-report when asked about smoking behavior.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.467-474
• /
• 2007

Objectives : Gastric cancer is the most common incident cancer in Korea. Although Helicobacter pylori infection is the most important risk factor for the development of gastric cancer, cigarette smoking has also been suggested to play an important role in the development of gastric cancer. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between cigarette smoking and gastric cancer risk in a Korean population. Methods : The study population consisted of 13,785 subjects who had been enrolled in the Korean Multi-Center Career Cohort between 1993 and 2002. As of December 2002, 139 incident gastric cancer cases were ascertained through the Korea Central Cancer Registry and the National Death Certificate Database. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for gastric cancer were estimated using Cox#s proportional hazard model adjusted for age, education, alcohol drinking status and history of gastritis or ulcer. Results : Significant dose-response relationships were observed between the duration of smoking and the risk of gastric cancer among the male subjects in comparison to non-smokers: men who smoked for 20-39 years had a 2.09-fold (95% CI 1.00-4.38) increase, and those who smoked for more than 40 years had a 3.13-fold (95% CI 1.59-6.17) increase in the risk of gastric cancer ($P_{trend}<0.01$). Conclusions : This study suggests that a longer duration of cigarette smoking may increase the risk of gastric cancer development in a dose-response manner in Korean men. The association between smoking and gastric cancer risk in women should be verified in future studies with a larger number of cases.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.621-630
• /
• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the smoking status and related factors among adolescents in Korea. Methods: We used data from the 5-7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The distribution of smokers and smoking status according to general characteristics was analyzed using complex chi-square tests. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between smoking experience and general characteristics by calculating the 95% confidence intervals. Results: There were 618 subjects who had experience smoking one or two puffs, the starting age of one or two puffs on smoking was 14.37 years old, the number of smoking days per month was 12.42 days, and the amount of smoking per day in a month was 7.59. Gender, residential area, income level, drinking experience, subjective health status, perceived stress level, continuous depression for more than 2 weeks, suicidal thoughts within a year, and age were significantly related to smoking experience. Conclusions: It is necessary to understand the smoking behavior of adolescents. It is important to lower the smoking rate among adolescents through the development and operation of systematic smoking prevention and smoking cessation policies at the national level, as well as the efforts of youth themselves to quit smoking.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.20 no.8
• /
• pp.47-55
• /
• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the factors associated with electronic cigarette use by Korean adults. To accomplish this, data collected from 228,477 individuals during a community health survey conducted by the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 were analyzed by descriptive analysis, the Chi-squared test, and logistic regression analysis. The lifetime prevalence of electronic cigarette smoking was 11.1% for men and 0.8% for women. The current prevalence for electronic cigarettes smoking was 24.2% for men and 26.1% for women among lifetime users of electronic cigarettes. The lifetime experience rate of electronic cigarette smoking was significantly associated with age, educational attainment, occupation, income status and current smoking status, respectively. The current universal smoking e-cigarette is significantly related to the current smoking status, which shows a significantly higher number of current smokers than groups that have smoked in the past. The preference for electronic cigarette smoking was high. E-cigarettes were perceived by those who aimed to quit smoking as having a smoking cessation effect compared to regular cigarettes while also providing the pleasure of smoking and addressing the addiction. Therefore, e-cigarettes were highly favored because they were reflected as a solution to the dilemma of smoking. In 2014, electronic cigarette imports tripled from the previous year, and interest in electronic cigarettes is increasing worldwide. Accordingly, measures related to the prevention and discontinuation of e-cigarettes should be considered. Strengthening anti-smoking education and active promotion of anti-smoking risks is needed to improve smokers' wrong perception of smoking-related health. The WHO also reports that there is a lack of grounds to ensure or acknowledge that e-cigarettes are effective. Accordingly, it is important to identify environmental factors influencing the use of electronic cigarettes and explore the relationship between electronic cigarette recognition and use.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to propose an indirect exposure assessment method using a questionnaire survey at a time when direct exposure assessment would be impossible after a chemical accident. Methods: About two weeks after an accident, a questionnaire survey was performed with 1,264 persons from the local community. Variables related to exposure were extracted from the survey contents, weighted and then graded for comparison with subjective symptoms in order to evaluate the extent of exposure. Survey items suitable for reflecting the previous exposure level during the accident were extracted, weighted and divided into quartile ranges. Subjective symptoms showed an increasing tendency with higher exposure level when compared with final exposure level (p<0.01). Results: For the relationship between the final exposure grade and subjective symptoms, as the exposure grade was increasing the rates complaining of symptom also showed an increasing tendency. However, when adjusted for demographic characteristics, there was a tendency for the eye irritation symptom to appear higher in women, and respiratory organ irritation appeared higher in smokers. Conclusions: When the problem of recall bias is considered, this study may not have completely unraveled exposure and the characteristics of the participants can affect subjective symptoms. Nevertheless, the exposure rating method of using a questionnaire showed a significant relationship with symptom level. It can be deemed that assessment of past exposure may be successfully evaluated by questionnaire in cases such as chemical accidents.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.57 no.4
• /
• pp.418-434
• /
• 2024

Purpose: The nutritional status of folate in Korean adults was evaluated using the newly established folate database (DB) and data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Methods: This study analyzed the folate intake of 15,054 people (6,278 men and 8,776 women) and the relationship with serum folate concentration of 5,260 people (2,272 men and 2,988 women). Results: The average daily folate intake among Korean adults was lowest in the 19 to 29-year age group and highest in those in their 50s. Folate intake was higher in groups with higher education and household income, non-smokers, participants in aerobic physical activity, and dietary supplement users regardless of sex. Among men, office workers consumed more folate than physical workers. Vegetables and grains were the first and second most contributing food groups to folate intake. The serum folate levels were higher in women than men and lowest in the 19-29 year age group for both sexes. After adjusting for energy intake, age, income, smoking, physical activity, and dietary supplement intake, serum folate concentration increased significantly as intake increased (p < 0.001). The explanatory power (R²) of folate intake on the blood folate concentration was 0.183 and 0.141 in men and women, respectively. Conclusion: The proportion of participants consuming less than the estimated average requirement was 48.1% and 65.3% in men and women, respectively. In particular, the folate intake and serum levels of young men aged 19-29 years were the lowest. Therefore, it is necessary to improve their folate nutritional status through a balanced diet. In addition, the newly established folate DB may be useful for evaluating the folate nutritional status of Koreans.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.15
• /
• pp.6273-6278
• /
• 2015

Objective: This study assessed the association between subjective body image or objective body mass index (BMI) and the risk of daily smoking in Korean adolescents, with a purpose of identifying the most suitable models. Materials and Methods: Using the 2013 9th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey data for 72,435 students, odds ratios were calculated for daily smoking in the past month, according to the subjective body image and calculated BMI using a respective multiple logistic regression model. The combined effect of these two factors was also analyzed by pairing a BMI category with a subjective body image category, using odds ratios for the same event within each sex group. Results: Among the surveyed students, 7.2% of boys and 1.8% of girls were classified as daily smokers. Students who perceived themselves as being very obese tended to be at lower risk of daily smoking (OR=0.61 in boys with 95% CI=0.47 to 0.79; OR=0.66 in women with 95% CI=0.47 to 0.93). In addition, boys within the obese or overweight BMI category showed a lower risk of daily smoking (OR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.77-0.96). Lean BMI was significantly associated with higher odds ratios for daily smoking only in female students (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.02-1.52). When pairing these two objective and subjective factors, results suggested that subjective body image has a greater effect on daily smoking than BMI in both boys and girls. Conclusions: In both male and female students, subjective body image had a greater effect on daily smoking than body mass index. A model using the combination of BMI and subjective body image was the best fit in girls, in contrast to the model using subjective body image only best suitable in boys, for the prediction of daily smoking. These results including several factors associated with daily smoking in Korean students, provide useful data for the development and implementation of smoking intervention and cessation programs for adolescents.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.895-908
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study is to examine female baby boomers' dietary habits and their attitudes together with their needs for future perspectives of dietary life. Our aim is to use these findings as a basic data when forecasting for food-related industries or policy making. A survey is being carried out for a total of 358 female baby boomers and analyzed by SPSS 12.0. The following is a summary of this study. The average age is 52.6 years old, most of them graduated from highschool (63.1%) and had a nuclear type of family (76.1%). Only 39.0% is composed of housewives, others had either full-time or part-time jobs. Self-assessment of stress is not so high and only 8.1% are dissatisfied with their lives. 38.2% are either overweight or obese in terms of BMI, and most of them are non-smokers (97.2%) or non-drinkers (63.0%). Their mean dietary habit scores are $70.6{\pm}11.8$, and the scores show significant relations with their education levels (p<0.01), monthly income (p<0.01), life satisfaction rates (p<0.001), stress levels (p<0.001), smoking habits (p<0.05), drinking habits (p<0.05), regular exercises (p<0.001) and regular health check-ups (p<0.05). The rate of skipping breakfast, lunch and dinner are 18.2%, 1.1%, 5.2% respectively. The main reason for skipping breakfast is the 'lack of time'. With regards to the frequency of grocery shopping, almost half of the subjects (55.7%) said '1~2 times per week' and bought mainly raw food sources such as vegetables, fruits, and meats. The majority of the subjects (91.3%) report that they cooked meals at homes, and took about 1 hour of time. The subjects also point out that cooking was a bothering task, and only 46.4% would prepare meals at home, while others would rather eat out or eat convenience foods. The main reasons for not wanting meal services in the elderly welfare facility are because they didn't want to live such places (48.4%) and the meals are tasteless (31.3%). As for delivery meal services, 60.1% are aware of it, and 39.9% would consider using it in the future. Factors to be considered when using the delivery meal service are sanitation (43.7%), nutrition (28.7%), taste (18.4%), price (6.3%), and brand name (2.9%). This study is expected to be used as useful information when developing food-related strategies for baby boomers in the future.