• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.245-254
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• 2002

Objective : To test if the intake of $H_2$ receptor antagonists ($H_2$-RAs) increases the risk of gastric cancer in the elderly. Methods : The source population for this study was drawn from the responders to a questionnaire survey administered to the Korea Elderly Pharmacoepidemiological Cohort (KEPEC), who were beneficiaries of the Korean Medical Insurance Corporation, were at least 65 years old, and residing in Busan in 1999. The information on $H_2$-RAs exposure was obtained from a drug prescription database compiled between inn. 1993 and Dec. 1994. The cases consisted of 76 gastric cancer patients, as confirmed from the KMIC claims data, the National Cancer Registry and the Busan Cancer Registry. The follow-up period was from Jan. 1993 to Dec. 1998. Cancer free controls were randomly selected by 1:4 individual matching, which took in to consideration the year of birth and gender. Information on confounders was collected by a mail questionnaire survey. The odds ratios, and their 95% confidence intervals, were calculated using a conditional logistic regression model. Results : After adjusting for a history of gastric ulcer symptoms, medication history, and body mass index, the adjusted OR (aOR) was 4.6 (95% CI=1.72-12.49). The odds ratio of long term use (more than 7 days) was 2.3 (95% CI=1.07-4.82). The odds ratio of short term use was 4.6 (95% CI=1.26-16.50). The odds ratio of parenteral use was 4.4 195% CI=1.16-17.05) and combination use between the oral and parenteral routes (aOR, 16.8; 95% CI=1.21-233.24) had the high risk of gastric cancer. The aOR of cimetidine was 1.7 (95% CI=1.04-2.95). The aOR of ranitidine was 2.0 (95% CI=1.21-3.40). The aOR of famotidine was 1.7 (95% CI=0.98-2.80). Conclusion : The intake of $H_2$-RAs might increase the risk of gastric cancer through achlorhydria in the elderly.

• 한국환경농학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.07a
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• pp.273-282
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• 2009

The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) disease group are fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting a wide range of hosts. The group includes kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, scrapie in sheep and goats and Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle. The exact nature of the infectious agent involved in the transmission of these diseases remains controversial. However, a central event in their pathogenesis is the accumulation in infected tissues of an abnormal form of a host-encoded protein, the prion protein (PrP). Whereas the normal cellular protein is fully sensitive to protease ($PrP^{sen}$), the disease-associated prion protein ($PrP^d$) is only partly degraded ($PrP^{res}$), its amino-terminal end being removed. BSE was first reported in the mid-80s in the UK. Ten years later, a new form of human prion disease, variant CJD (vCJD) developed in the wake of the BSE epidemic, and there is now strong scientific evidence that vCJD was initiated by the exposure of humans to BSE-infected tissues, thus indicating a zoonotic disease. However, the ban on the feeding of animal-derived proteins to ruminants, and the apparent lack of vertical transmission of BSE, have led to a decline in the incidence of the disease within cattle herd and therefore, an assumed decreased risk for human contacting vCJD. The origin of the original case(s) of BSE still remains an enigma even though three hypotheses have been raised. Hypotheses are i) sheep- or goat-derived scrapie-infected tissues included in meat and bone meal fed to cattle, ii) a previously undetected sporadic or genetic bovine TSE contaminating cattle feed or iii) originating from a human TSE through animal feed contaminated with human remains. A host cellular membrane protein ($PrP^C$), which is abundant in central nervous system tissue, appear to be conformationally altered in the diseased host into a prion protein ($PrP^{Sc}$). This $PrP^{Sc}$ is detergent insoluble and partially protease-resistant ($PrP^{res}$). The term $PrP^{res}$ is normally used to describe the protein detected after protease treatment, in techniques such as Western immunoblotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay using fresh/frozen tissue. Immunohistochemistry may performed with formalin-fixed tissues. Also, clinical signs of the BSE are one of the major diagnostic indicators. Recently, atypical forms (known as H- and L-type) of BSE have appeared in several European countries, Japan, Canada and the United States. An unusual case was also reported in a miniature zebu. The atypical BSE fall into two groups based on the relative molecular mass (Mm) of the unglycosylated $PrP^{res}$ band relative to that of classical BSE, one of the higher Mm (H-type) and the other lower (L-type). Both types have been detected worldwide as rare cases in older animals, at a low prevalence consistent with the possibility of sporadic forms of prion diseases in cattle. This raises the unwelcome possibility that vCJD could increase in the human population. Now, active surveillance program against BSE is going on in Korea. In regional veterinary service lab, ELISA is applied to screen the BSE in slaughter and confirmatory tests by Western immunoblotting and immunohistochemisty are carried out if there are positive or suspect in the screening test. Also, the ruminant feed ban is rigorously enforced. Removal of specified risk materials such as brain and spinal cord from cattle is mandatory process at slaughter to prevent the infected material from entering the human food chain.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.487-494
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• 2017

There is little evidence on the effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on prevalence of periodontal disease. The aims of this study were to explore the trends of prevalence of periodontal disease and types of exposure to smoke, including ETS according to the survey year, identify factors affecting periodontal disease, and compare the effect size of periodontal disease between active smokers and secondhand smokers. Data on 11,643 individuals were obtained from the fourth and fifth Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys. Information on exposure to ETS at home and work was self-reported. Severity of periodontal disease was evaluated using the community periodontal index. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to model periodontal disease using types of smoking and the survey year. Overall, the prevalence of periodontal disease was 26.0% (n=3,029) and about 9% of the study population were secondhand smokers. The prevalence of periodontal disease among smokers was significantly increased according to smoking types by year. Active smokers showed a statistically significant adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for having periodontal disease except in the year 2007, whereas secondhand smokers had significant associations only in 2010 (aOR, 1.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.05 to 2.70) compared to non-smokers. For secondhand smokers, the statistical relationship of predicting periodontal disease was weaker than that of active smokers. However, ETS should separately be considered as an important risk factor for periodontal disease. This study suggested the need for further investigation of the impact of ETS on prevalence of periodontal disease using in-depth research designs and objective measurements for assessing periodontal disease and ETS.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.10
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• pp.439-445
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• 2013

Purpose: Previous studies suggest that the concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in cord blood may show an inverse association with respiratory tract infections (RTI) during childhood. The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of 25(OH)D concentrations in cord blood on infant RTI in a Korean birth cohort. Methods: The levels of 25(OH)D in cord blood obtained from 525 Korean newborns in the prospective COhort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases were examined. The primary outcome variable of interest was the prevalence of RTI at 6-month follow-up, as diagnosed by pediatricians and pediatric allergy and pulmonology specialists. RTI included acute nasopharyngitis, rhinosinusitis, otitis media, croup, tracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. Results: The median concentration of 25(OH)D in cord blood was 32.0 nmol/L (interquartile range, 21.4 to 53.2). One hundred and eighty neonates (34.3%) showed 25(OH)D concentrations less than 25.0 nmol/L, 292 (55.6%) showed 25(OH)D concentrations of 25.0-74.9 nmol/L, and 53 (10.1%) showed concentrations of ${\geq}75.0$ nmol/L. Adjusting for the season of birth, multivitamin intake during pregnancy, and exposure to passive smoking during pregnancy, 25(OH)D concentrations showed an inverse association with the risk of acquiring acute nasopharyngitis by 6 months of age (P for trend=0.0004). Conclusion: The results show that 89.9% of healthy newborns in Korea are born with vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency (55.6% and 34.3%, respectively). Cord blood vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency in healthy neonates is associated with an increased risk of acute nasopharyngitis by 6 months of age. More time spent outdoors and more intensified vitamin D supplementation for pregnant women may be needed to prevent the onset of acute nasopharyngitis in infants.