• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.30 no.4 s.59
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• pp.764-778
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• 1997

To find the medical insurance utilization of workers when suffering from low back pain, an analysis was made toward the data of medical insurance benefits matched with the general characteristics of 10,183 workers, who were registered continuously from 1993 to 1995 at a medical insurance cooperation for industrial workers. The results were as follows; 1. The period prevalence of the medical insurance utilization for low back pain for 3 years from 1993 to 1995 was calculated as 17.1% for male workers and 19.4% for female workers. Most common cause of utilization was other dorsopathies including the herniation of lumbar discs. 2. The utilization rate increased significantly as the present age and the age joining the company got older(p<0.001). As the duration of employment got longer, the utilization rate of the male showed the tendency to increase and that of the female increased significantly(p<0.05). Among male workers employed at cement and concrete manufacturing companies showed higher utilization rate and among female laborers showed significantly higher utilization rate than clerical workers(p<0.01). 3. Annual utilization rate for low back pain didn't show any difference, but the portion of other dorsopathies among cause of utilization showed the tendency to increase from 1993 to 1995. 4. The mean number of claims for outpatient medical care for low back pain differed significantly by age, working duration, type of industries, income level(p<0.05), and the mean of total visiting days for care of low back pain differed significantly by working duration. In conclusion, considering the fact that the medical insurance utilization for low back pain increased annually and other dorsopathies including the herniation of dorsopathies were increasing, an effective preventive or management program for low back pain toward worker employed at industries were required.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.71-76
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• 2014

Purpose: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with impairments in frontal inhibitory function and the catecholaminergic system. ADHD is diagnosed in 3-5% of children. Children with ADHD seem develop various forms of urinary problems such as nocturnal enuresis, dysfunctional voiding, and diurnal incontinence. However, no data exist to confirm the presence of these problems in Korean children with ADHD. We investigated the clinical findings of voiding dysfunction in children with ADHD. Methods: Between October 2009 and March 2011, a total of 63 children (33 with ADHD, 30 with an upper respiratory infection, as a control group) were enrolled. ADHD was diagnosed using the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM)-IV criteria. A comprehensive survey of voiding and defecation was administered. Results: The patient group included 28 boys and 5 girls; the control group comprised 20 boys and 10 girls. The mean age was $9.09{\pm}2.8$ years in the ADHD group and $8.58{\pm}3.1$ years in the control group. Children with ADHD had a statistically significantly higher incidence of urgency (P =0.017), urge incontinence (P =0.033), and constipation (P =0.045). There was no significant difference in the incidence of straining, intermittency, holding maneuvers, or nocturnal enuresis. Conclusion: Children with ADHD in Korea have significantly higher rates of urgency, urge incontinence, and constipation than those without ADHD.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.137-146
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• 2003

Objectives : Impaired hearing is a prevalent occupational hazard, not only in industry, but also in the armed forces. In military life, noise has unusual characteristics, and constitutes a serious hazard to hearing. The aim of this study was to analyze the hearing threshold data in order to compare the hearing loss among shipyard workers, representing different workers, and a military service background. Methods : A cross-sectional audiological survey, combined with a questionnaire study, was conducted on a stratified random sample of 440 shipyard workers, with long-term exposure to noise. The employees were divided into four groups, according to their working and military service backgrounds, in relation to their exposure to noise. Results : As expected, the working and military noise exposure group (Group I) had significantly poorer hearing than the other groups. The high frequencies (2-8 kHz) showed the greatest difference in terms of poorer fearing in both ears. The prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) was highest in Group I. A logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the dependence of the NIHL in relation to age, smoking, drinking, working duration, ear protection, past history of ear diseases, and working and military sonics backgrounds, on the noise exposure The important factors found to be related to the NIHL, in relation to noise exposure were: age, work duration, and working and military service backgrounds. The adjusted odds ratio estimates for NIML in the right ear were 4.5 times greater (95% CI 1.7-11.6) for the military noise exposed group, and 7.9 times greater (95% CI 2.0-31.3) for the working noise exposed group than in the controls. The hearing thresholds at the pure-tone average and 4 kHz were significantly increased with age and work duration with both the working and military service backgrounds. Conclusions : From these results, specific preventive programs were planned, which should be assessed by epidemiological surveillance of the military noise exposed population.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.63-79
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• 2009

While previous epidemiological studies on temporomandibular disorders (TMD) have been based on a given health center or population sample, no study has been performed on general population of Korea, especially concerning about treatment pattern such as clinician’s specialty involved in TMD treatment, types and amount of prescription medication and cost. This study aimed to investigate magnitude of health visits and treatment patterns for Korean patients with TMD through the computerized database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRAS). Inclusion criteria were all patients registered on the HIRAS database over 3 years' period from 2003 to 2005 and the medical records of patients with TMD as a main diagnosis were extracted. Information collected was as follows; distribution related to gender, age and region and type of hospital the patients visited, treatment duration, clinicians' specialty involved in treatment, cost, types of prescription medication and surgical treatment. The results of this study indicated that 0.15% of the population yearly sought TMD treatment, presenting with increase of incidence over the three years. Most of TMD patients were women (99.8%) and the biggest age group was second and third decades and decreased with age. Seoul and Kyeonggi province presented with higher incidence of TMD compared to the other regions of Korea, which seems to be related with magnitude of population. 56% of TMD patients visited primary care sector and the numbers of treatment visits was the highest in dental clinic (38.4%), followed by orthopedics (28%) and ENT (13.6%) clinics in order. Duration of prescription medication was the longest for anti-inflammatory analgesics, followed by antipsychotic drugs and muscle relaxants. Inpatient care related to TMD was primarily performed in dental hospital compared to medical hospital. Medical database of HIRAS provided comprehensive and vast information on epidemiologic characteristics and treatment patterns for patients seeking TMD treatment, which can be more reliable data to expect medical demand for TMD in condition that accurate diagnosis and standardized treatment is delivered in clinical settings.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.331-338
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• 2000

Background : While the incidence of lung cancer is gradually leveling off in developed countries, it is continuing to rise in Korea. With the rapid increase in the prevalence of smoking among women and the young, the incidence of lung cancer is also expected to increase within the next three and four decades. The aims of the present study are to analyze the smoking habits in patients with lung cancer and to evaluate of the relative risk of lung cancer according to patients' smoking habits. Method : This investigation was a hospital-based, case control study, which included data of 93 case subjects with lung cancer and 1132 controls with disease unrelated to smoking, obtained through a smoking history questionnaire by a direct personal interview. Result : Compared with non-smokers, those who smoked for more than 50 years had an odds ratio for lung cancer of 8.8(1.8-20.7). The odds ratios was 8.5(3.5-20.7) for those who smoke more than a total of 40 cigarettes per day and 5.5(2.3-13.3) for men who started habitual smoking under the age of 20. The risk increased for men with more than of cigarette smoking(OR : 5.5, 95% CIa : 2.6-11.9). Odds ratios associated with cigarette smoking were 2.5(1.1-5.8) and 5.1(2.6-10.4) for ex-smokers and current smokers, respectively and 2.2(0.0-4.6) for non-filter smokers of more than 16 years. Conclusion : There was a clear dose-response relationship between the risk of lung cancer and smoking. It can be concluded that dose is an important risk factor for lung cancer, as well as smoking habits.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.173-182
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• 2002

Background : Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have usually been considered to be contaminants of colonizers when isolated from respiratory specimens in Korea, where there is a high prevalence of tuberculosis and a low rate of HIV infections. Therefore, there has been few studies on the clinical significance of NTM species in immunocompetent patients were investigated. Methods : Thirty-five NTM isolates, for which species identification was requested by the treating physicians during 1999 at the Asan Medical Center, were retrospectively analyzed. They were identified to the species level by mycolic acid analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography. The medical records of the patients with the NTM isolates were reviewed to identify those patients who met the American Thoracic Society (ATS)'s criteria for mycobacterial pulmonary infection. Their antimicrobial susceptibility data were compared with the clinical outcomes. Results : The NTM were identified as M. intracellulare (6 isolates), M. avium (5), M. abscessus (5), M. gordonae (5), M. terrae complex (4), M. szulgai (2), M. kansasii (2), M. fortuitum (2), M. peregrinum (1), M. mucogenicum (1), M. celatum (1), and M. chelonae (1). All 35 patients showed clinical symptoms and signs of chronic lung disease, but none had a HIV infections; 16 (45.7%) patients were found to be compatible with a NTM pulmonary infection according to the ATS criteria, 5 and 4 cases were affected with M. intracellulare and M. abscessus, respectively; 8 patients had a history of pulmonary tuberculosis. 13 patients received antimycobacterial therapy for an average of 21 months and 9 patients were treated with second-line drugs. Only 4 patients had improved radiologically. Conclusion : A NTM should be considered a potential pathogen of pulmonary infections in immunocompetent patients with chronic pulmonary diseases. Most NTM infections were left untreated for a prolonged period and showed a poor outcome as a result, M. intracellulare and M. abscessus were the two most frequent causes of NTM pulmonary infections in this study. Species identification and antimycobacterial susceptibility tests based on the species are needed for the optimum management of a NTM pulmonary infection in patients.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.426-436
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• 2001

Objective : This study was performed to determine the smoking status and its associated factors in military life among young Korean men to provide data for smoking prevention in military areas as a part of the health promotion program for soldiers. Methods : 1,033 infantrymen serving in 17 military units, which are located in suburbs of K city, were enrolled in this study. A questionnaire on the soldiers smoking status and other various characteristics was obtained from October 2nd to 12th, 2000. Logistic regression analysis was performed on the various variables in order to determine the factors related to smoking. Results : 1) 830(80.3%) out of 1033 subjects had smoked cigarettes and 759 persons(73.4%) were regular smokers. 2) Among the 734 soldiers who started smoking before their military service, 714 soldiers(97.2%) continued to smoke after, while 45 soldiers(15.0%) among the 299 non-smokers started smoking after joining the army. 3) Through the logistic regression analysis. the education level. specialty in the army. smoking amongst the friends they met before military service, smoking amongst soldiers in the army. dating girl friends, drinking, satisfaction with their army lives and the presence of convenient smoking places at the barracks were significant factors related to the prevalence of smoking in soldiers. Conclusion : The factors related with incidence of smoking in the army are the complicated interactions among the individuals personal background, general characteristics of the soldier and the special environment in the barracks. Therefore, to improve national soldiers' health, an active non-smoking campaign and education should be pushed to discourage smoking in the barracks.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.165-178
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• 2018

Objectives: To determine the current status of the treatment of breast cancer patients by Korean Medicine doctors (KMDs) and to examine the need for clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the supportive care of these patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study used a self-administered questionnaire. Participants were asked about their experience in treating breast cancer patients; the number of breast cancer patients they currently treat; the main complaints expressed by, diagnoses of, and treatments used for such patients; and their opinions about Korean Medicine (KM) as the basis for providing supportive care for breast cancer. Results: The data for this study were collected from 322 respondents. 84 of whom reported having ever treated patients with breast cancer. Most breast cancer patients who visited the KM clinic were classified as stage I or II, and their major complaints were fatigue, general weakness and musculoskeletal pain. The major diagnostic strategies were syndrome differentiation and pulse diagnosis. The major treatments administered were herbal medicine, acupuncture, and moxibustion. KMDs cited a need for medical information, such as CPGs, as their most important concern with regard to the treatment of breast cancer patients. Conclusions: This survey determined the prevalence of the use of KM for Korean breast cancer patients. Our results underscore the need for clinical practice guidelines for using of KM as the basis of supportive care for breast cancer and for informing clinicians and patients about this approach.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.65-78
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• 1998

This study was conducted to find out the factors which have an effect on the rural aged's natural history by disability in Activities of Daily Living(ADL) and ADL decline with 475 old people which were chosen except the dead 90 and unconfirmable 56 old people by performing follow-up survey for 4 years since 1993 on the basis of presurveyed data about 621 home old people over 60 years residing in 13 villages at Kangdong-myon, Kyongju-city, Kyongsangbuk-do Province, Korea. Such activities of daily living as bathing, dressing, going to toilet, transfer, feeding and continence were examined. 1. In the follow-up survey for 4 years, the ADL distribution of the dead was remarkably lower than the subject group. 2. It was also shown in the 4-year follow-up survey that 82.1% of high ADL group maintained high ADL while 77.8% of low ADL group died within 4 years. 3. The occurrence percentage of disabilities of each group by ADL item for 4 years appeared high in such an order as bathing, continence, dressing, going to toilet, transfer and feeding. 6.7%(8.1% for female and 4.6% for male) of the old people who were the high ADL group at the time of the first survey had disabilities that occurred after 4 years. 4. In the change of ADL according to general characteristics used to analyse the factors which have an effect on ADL decline, there was a significant difference in age and job, that is, the jobless old people had the higher degree of ADL decline. In the change of ADL according to behavioral pattern, for the male old people there was a significant difference in support of living expenses and subjective health condition. In this case, the degree of ADL decline was higher if they depended on their sons & daughters or spouses and felt that they were not healthy.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.32-44
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• 1987

The purpose of this survey was to find out the knowledge and the disease management of the Tuberculosis patients by themselves among the first grade middle and high school students in Seoul city during the period of June 15-July 19, 1986. Questionaires were used to collect the data and were analysed from answers of 188 students at the 113 schools. The results were as follows: 1. The ages of the students were distributed as follows: in middle school, 13 years old was $70.0\%$. 14 years old, $20.0\%$, and 15 years old, $6.7\%$. In high school, 16 years old was $66.5\%$, 17 years old, $18.4\%$, and 15 years old, $10.1\%$. 2. In X-ray mass examination by school, the rate of execution was $50.4\%$ in middle school and $96.7\%$ in high school, and in X-ray mass examination by student, it was $50.1\%$ in middle school and $97.3\%$ in high school. 3. The prevalence of Tuberculosis among the middle school students was $00.3\%$and high school students, $0.15\%$. 4. Of the total, $77.1\%$ of the respondents did not realized Tuberculosis bdore X-ray mass examination 5. The perfect cure rate of the respondents was $52.7\%$. 6. General characteristics of the respondents: a. The educational background was varied as follows: of the total $47.9\%$ of the fathers had the level of high school education and $37.2\%$ of the mothers had the level of middle school education. The educational background of the parents had no statistical significant to the medical cure rate of Tuberculosis. (P>0.05). b. The average monthly income of the family was as follows : above five hundred thousand won was $21.8\%$, three or four hundred thousand won was $22.9\%$, and below two hundred thousand won was $10.6\%$. The most frequent family size was 5-6 persons. $(59.6)\%$. 7. The actual situation of Tuberculosis control and the variables related to the treatment: a. $69.1\%$ of the respondents wanted mental support from their surroundings. $48.7\%$ of the respondents answered that their parents or the other family helped treatment as mental supporter, b. As a medical service, $53.2\%$ of the respondents were treated at Health Center, $38.8\%$ were treated at a hospital. A medical service was statistically significant to the medical cure (P<0.01). c. Family members of $61.7\%$ of the respondents had checked chest X-ray. A X-ray examination of family was statistically significant to the medical cure (P<0.005). d. $73.9\%$ of the respondents had taken the Anti-Tuberculosis-drugs regularly. Regular taking of Anti-Tuberculosis drugs was statistically significant to the medical cure (P<0.005). e. $89.4\%$ of the respondents had received a regular examination during the treatment. A regular examination was statistically significant to the medical cure (P<0.05). f. The period of perfect cure was that $50.0\%$ of the respondents took from half a year to one year, $25.2\%$ took below half a year and $16.2\%$ took from one year to one year and a half. g. The rate of the respondents who abhored to let anyone know their disease was $93.1\%$. 8. Knowledge related with Tuberculosis: a .$63.3\%$ of the respondents answered that Tuberculosis is a communiable disease. b. $89.9\%$ of the respondents answered that there is a preventive method of Tuberculosis. Among them, $28.4\%$ answered that it is B.C.G. vacination. c. $96.8\%$ of the respondents belived they can be cured perfectly. d. $42.4\%$ of the perfect curer answered that they had have permanent immunity of Tuberculosis. According to the results of above study, it is desired to be practiced X-ray mass examination to the total middle school students. Nurse teachers and the responsible persons who participated to the helping of disease management to the Tuberculosis patients must make an offer knowledge of Tuberculosis to the Tuberculosis patients. And also, it will be very helpful to the cure of Tuberculosis patients if they do their best and to have a mental supporter.