• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.49-58
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• 2017

Background: This study determined current status of laboratory biosafety in Nigerian veterinary research facilities. Methods: A questionnaire was developed to obtain information from researchers across Nigeria from July 2014 to July 2015. Information regarding demographics, knowledge of laboratory biosafety, availability and proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), any priority pathogens researched, attitude on and use of standard laboratory practices, and biosafety awareness was obtained using a numeric scoring system. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: A total of 74 participants from 19 facilities completed the questionnaire. General knowledge scores ranged from 3 to 28 (out of 28 possible points), with 94.6% of respondents receiving low scores (scores < mean + 1 standard deviation). Very few (17.6%) reported availability or use PPE. Many participants (63.5%) reported no access to biosafety level (BSL)-1-3 facilities. None reported availability of a BSL-4 facility. Knowledge scores pertaining to biosafety management practices ranged from 0 to 14 (out of 14 possible points) with 47.3% of respondents receiving good scores (scores > mean + 1 standard deviation). Only 16.2% of respondents (from four facilities) reported having biosafety officers. Rabies virus was the most researched pathogen (31.1% of respondents). The majority (71.6%) were unaware of laws guiding biosafety. Researchers [odds ratio (OR) = 18.0; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.63, 198.5; p = 0.023], especially in BSL-2 (OR = 258.5; 95% CI: 12.71, 5256; p < 0.001) facility of research institute (OR = 25.0; 95% CI: 5.18, 120.6; p < 0.001), are more likely to have adequate access to and properly utilize biosafety devices and PPE. Conclusions: Current knowledge of laboratory biosafety is limited except among a few researchers.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제83권4호
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• pp.268-275
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• 2020

Background: It is not evident that the attributable risk of smoking on mortality in Korea has decreased. We investigated the impact of smoking on all-cause mortality and estimated the attributable risk of smoking in Korean adults. Methods: Those aged ≥20 years with smoking history in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) 2007-2015 were enrolled. We categorized the participants into three groups as follows: never smoker, <20 pack-years (PY) smokers, and ≥20 PY smokers. We applied inverse probability weighting using propensity scores to control various confounders between the groups. All-cause mortality risks were compared between the groups using the Kaplan-Meier log-rank test. The effects of smoking-attributable risks (ARs) on mortality were also calculated. Results: A total of 50,458 participants were included. Among them, 19,334 (38.3%) were smokers and 31,124 (61.7%) were never smokers. Those with a smoking history of 20 PY or more (≥20 PY smokers), those with a smoking history of less than 20 PY (<20 PY smokers), and never smokers were 18.1%, 20.2%, and 61.7%, respectively, of the study population. Smokers had a higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to never smokers (log-rank test p<0.01). The ARs of smoking were 21.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7%-37.9%) and 9.0% (95% CI, 6.1%-12.0%) in males and females, respectively. ARs decreased from 24.2% to 19.5% in males and from 9.5% to 4.1% in females between 2007-2010 and 2011-2015. Conclusion: Our study using KNHANES IV-VI data demonstrated that smoking increased the risk of all-cause mortality in a dose-response manner and the ARs of smoking on mortality were 21.8% in males and 9.0% in females during 2007-2015. This suggests that the ARs of smoking on mortality have decreased since around 2010.

• 지역사회간호학회지
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.13-22
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare health promotion behavior and influencing factors between aged women of rural areas and urban areas, to investigate factors affecting their behavior, and to provide the primary data for developing heath enhancing program that is appropriate for the population. Method: A survey was conducted on 221 aged women 100 from urban areas and 121 from rural area. The data were collected through a questionnaire and interview. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and multiple stepwise regression were found by using SPSS PC Win. Package. Result: There were significant difference of factors relating health promotion behavior in Pender model between the aged women in urban areas and rural areas, urban women showed higher scores in factors such as previous heath relating behavior, perceived confidence, self-efficacy, social support, satisfaction with marriage, situational influence, and behavioral plan involvement, while rural women showed higher scores in the factors of fixed idea regarding gender role, perceived disabled feeling, and activity related emotions. At the subscale of HPLP, interpersonal relation, nutrition, health responsibility, stress management, spiritual growth of rural group was lower than urban group. With the multiple stepwise regression analysis, commitment to a plan of action, social support, activity related affect, self efficacy were proved to be significant to urban group, while commitment to a plan of action. activity related affect, social support, sex-role stereotype were proved to be significant to rural group statistically. Conclusion: There were differences of health promotion behavior and influencing factors between aged women in urban areas and rural areas and women in rural areas were found to have more weakness than women in urban areas. With the results, it is concluded that health promotion programs for aged woman should be designed differently between urban and rural area regarding the factors affecting health promotion behaviors.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제84권4호
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• pp.299-316
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• 2021

Background: The lack of effective medications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a trend of drug repurposing such as the case of azithromycin which shows immunomodulatory and anti-viral effect. Several clinical trials have shown conflicting results. It is currently unclear whether the available evidence is in favor or against the use of azithromycin in COVID-19 patients. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of azithromycin in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Four independent reviewers selected relevant studies from PubMed, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, and ProQuest published prior to March 2021. The protocol used in this study has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020224967). Results: We included 17 studies and found that the mortality rate (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-1.19), need of respiratory support (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.98-1.73), hospitalization rate (standardized mean difference, 0.12; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.27), and intensive care unit transfer (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.79-1.86) of azithromycin-treated group did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from those of the control group. Azithromycin treatment did not significantly increase the risk of getting secondary infection (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.83-1.82), hypoglycemia (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.38-1.40), gastrointestinal problems (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.73-1.45) or electrocardiogram abnormalities (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.94-1.42). The overall quality of evidence ranged from low to very low. Conclusion: Azithromycin did not result in a superior clinical improvement in COVID-19 patients, although it was well-tolerated and safe to use.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.311-316
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• 2021

Background: The present study investigated the association between two domains of physical activity (occupational physical activity [OPA] and leisure-time physical activity [LTPA]) and sleep duration. Methods: We investigated 3,421 paid workers from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2014-2015. Sleep duration was categorized into three categories (short for less than 5 h, optimal for 5-9 h, and long for more than 9 h). OPA and LTPA were defined in terms of answers to relevant questions. Odds ratios were calculated for sleep duration according to each physical activity domain using multinomial logistic regression models. Results: There were 464 subjects (13.6%) who showed short sleep duration, and 169 subjects (4.9%) who showed long sleep duration. Prevalence of OPA and LTPA was higher in male workers than in female workers (for OPA: 3.67% and 1.76%, respectively, p = 0.0108; for LTPA: 16.14% and 6.07%, respectively, p < 0.0001). The odds ratio of OPA for long sleep duration in female workers was 3.35 (95% confidence interval, 1.37-8.21). Otherwise, LTPA was not associated with sleep duration in female paid workers, nor both physical activity domains in male paid workers. Conclusion: Female paid workers with work-related physical activity were at risk of oversleeping. These findings also suggested that physical activity has distinct associations with sleep duration according to the physical activity domains and sex.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제64권2호
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• pp.86-92
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• 2021

Background: Anemia is an important health problem affecting approximately 25% of the global population. Although its prevalence is decreasing worldwide, few studies have examined the prevalence of anemia in Korean adolescents. Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anemia in Korean adolescents over the past 21 years using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of anemia in adolescents aged 10-18 years for the period 1998-2018 according to sex, age, residential area, and household income. The effects of menarche age and menstruation were examined in female adolescents for the period 2001-2018. Results: Among the total 11,782 participants, the weighted prevalence of anemia was 4.0%. The prevalence of anemia in male participants significantly decreased (from 3.0% to 0.5%, P<0.001), whereas that in female participants did not change significantly over time (from 7.9% to 8.5%, P=0.054). The average age at menarche was 12.4±0.0 years; the prevalence of anemia in females increased from age 13 years onward. Multivariate analysis revealed that anemia was more common in female than male participants (odds ratio [OR], 9.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.19-13.57; P<0.001). In female adolescents, the prevalence of anemia increased with age (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.15-1.38, P<0.001) and was 3.6 times higher after than before menarche (OR, 3.65; 95% CI, 2.21-6.05, P<0.001). Conclusion: Over the 21-year study period, the prevalence of anemia decreased among male adolescents but did not change in female adolescents. In female adolescents, age and menarche were identified as significant risk factors that require continued attention.

• 가정의학회지
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• 제39권6호
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• pp.340-346
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• 2018

Background: Several studies have revealed the frequency of family mealtimes to be inversely associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents. However, there have been few studies in older populations. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between family mealtime frequency and depressive symptoms in elderly Koreans. Methods: This study analyzed 4,959 elderly men and women (aged 65 years or older) who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Self-administered questionnaires were used to assess depressive status, family mealtime frequency, and covariates. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association using the eating alone group as a reference. Results: After adjusting for all covariates, participants who had family meals 3 times a day had fewer depressive symptoms than the eating alone group; adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) were 0.72 (0.58-0.89) for point depressiveness/anxiety and 0.73 (0.56-0.94) for depressiveness lasting for at least 2 weeks. In suicidal ideation, the OR (95% CI) of eating with family twice a day was significant after full adjusting for covariates at 0.67 (0.50-0.88). Conclusion: Family mealtimes were closely associated with depressive symptoms in elderly Koreans, which suggests that maintaining intrafamilial bonding is important for mental health in an older population.

• Annals of Geriatric Medicine and Research
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.184-188
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• 2018

Background: The risk factors of nocturia in older adults remain unclear. We aimed to investigate factors associated with nocturia using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. Methods: Among 40,790 participants, 4,698 participants aged ${\geq}65$ years were included from the NHANES dataset between 2005 and 2012. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the odds ratio (OR) for nocturia. A subgroup analysis was conducted based on sex and underlying diseases. Results: In the multivariate logistic regression model, obesity (OR, 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-1.68), hypertension (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.07-1.52), and diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11-1.45) were significantly associated with nocturia. These factors were associated with nocturia regardless of sex. In a subgroup of participants with hypertension, obesity (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.25-1.67) and DM (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.09-1.45) were associated with nocturia. In the additional analysis on patients with DM, nocturia was associated with obesity (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.06-1.67) and duration of DM (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.03). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that hypertension, DM, and obesity were significantly associated with the prevalence of nocturia in older adult patients regardless of sex. In particular, obesity was associated with nocturia in every subgroup analysis.

• 한국융합학회논문지
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• 제9권12호
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• pp.295-299
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• 2018

본 연구의 목적은 30세이상 성인을 대상으로 간접흡연노출과 치주질환과의 관련성을 파악하고자 하였다. 연구자료는 2014년, 2015년 국민건강영양조사 자료를 이용하였으며, 5,146명을 최종분석대상자로 선정하였다. 치주질환은 지역사회 치주지수로 파악하였다. 이분형 로지스틱회귀분석을 이용하였으며, 95% 신뢰구간을 산출하였다. 본 연구결과 성별, 연령, 교육수준, 그리고 수입을 보정한 경우에서 요코티닌 수준이 50ng/mL미만에 비해 550ng/mL이상인 경우에서 치주질환 위험이 2.08배(95% CI=1.73-2.50) 높게 나타났다. 요코티닌 수준과 치주질환 위험 증가에 대한 용량-반응관계가 나타났다. 본 연구결과 간접흡연자에서 요코티닌 수준이 증가할수록 치주질환 위험이 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 향후 간접흡연에 대한 노출을 감소시키기 위해 흡연자의 자발적인 금연참여를 권장하여야 할 것이다.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.141-147
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• 2019

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical association between cadmium exposure and hearing impairment among the Korean population. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used the data obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used for our study. Finally, 3,228 participants were included in our study, which were then divided into quartiles based on their blood cadmium levels: first quartile (1Q), second quartile (2Q), third quartile (3Q), and fourth quartile (4Q) groups. The hearing thresholds were measured using an automatic audiometer at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz. Hearing loss (HL) was defined as >25 dB average hearing threshold (AHT). Results: All the groups had 807 participants each. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of cadmium level for HL were 0.634 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.621-0.646). The participants in the 4Q group had higher Low/Mid-Freq, High-Freq, and AHT values than those in the other groups in the multivariate analysis after adjusting for confounding factors. The logistic regression showed that the OR for HL per $1{\mu}g/L$ increase in cadmium was 1.25 (95% CI, 1.09-1.44; p=0.002) on the multivariate analysis. Moreover, the multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the participants in the 4Q group exhibited a 1.59-, 1.38-, and 1.41-fold higher odds for HL than those in the 1Q, 2Q, and 3Q groups, respectively. Conclusion: High cadmium level quartile was associated with increased hearing thresholds and HL among the Korean adult population.