• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.321-328
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• 2004

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of genetic polymorphism of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) on the xylene metabolism. Methods : Among 247 workers, 116 were occupationally exposed to xylene and 131 were not. Workers exposed to xylene had different work such as spray, touch-up, mix & assist, and pre-treat. Questionnaire variables were age, sex, use of personal protective equipment, smoking, previous night's drinking and work duration. The urinary methylhippuric acid was measured in the urine collected in the afternoon and corrected by urinary creatinine concentration. The genotypes of CYP2E1 and ALDH2 were investigated by using PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) methods with DNA extracted from venous blood. Results : 1. The urinary concentrations of o-, m-, and p-methylhippuric acid and total methylhippuric acid in the exposed group were significantly higher than those in the non-exposed group (p<0.001). 2. In multiple regression analysis, the urinary methylhippuric acid concentration was significantly influenced by exposure grade (Job-exposure matrixes), smoking, drug use and kind of protective equipment (p<0.1). 3. Genetic polymorphism of CYP2E1 and ALDH2 did not affect urinary methylhippuric acid level in the exposed group (p>0.05). Conclusions : Exposure grade, smoking, drug use and kind of protective equipment affected urinary methylhippuric acid level, whereas genetic polymorphism of CYP2E1 and ALDH2 did not. However, further investigation for the effect of genetic polymorphism on the metabolism of xylene with a larger sample size is needed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between C-reactive protein(CRP) and carotid intima-media thickness(carotid IMT) in a population of middle-aged Koreans. Methods : A total of 1,054 men and 1,595 women(aged 40-70 years) from Kanghwa County, Korea, were chosen for the present study between 2006 and 2007. We measured high-sensitivity CRP and other major cardiovascular risk factors including anthropometrics, blood pressure, blood chemistry, and carotid ultrasonography. Health related questionnaires were also completed by each study participant. Carotid IMT value was determined by the maximal IMT at each common carotid artery. The relationship between CRP level and carotid IMT was assessed using multiple linear and logistic regression models after adjustment for age, body mass index, menopause(women), systolic blood pressure, total/HDL cholesterol ratio, triglyceride level, fasting glucose, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Results : Mean carotid IMT values from the lowest to highest quartile of CRP were 0.828, 0.873, 0.898, and 0.926 mm for women(p for trend<0.001), and 0.929, 0.938, 0.949, and 0.979 mm for men(p for trend=0.032), respectively. After adjustment for major cardiovascular risk factors, the relationship between CRP and carotid IMT was significant in women(p for trend=0.017), but not in men(p for trend=0.798). Similarly, adjusted odds ratio of increased IMT, defined as the sex-specific top quartile, for the highest versus lowest CRP quartiles was 1.55(95% CI=1.06-2.26) in women, but only 1.05(95% CI=0.69-1.62) in men. Conclusions : CRP and carotid IMT levels appear to be directly related in women, but not in men.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.284-295
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to describe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related knowledge, health beliefs, anxiety levels, and preventive behaviors among nursing students and to identify factors that influence their preventive behaviors. Methods: A descriptive survey was conducted, targeting a total of 192 nursing students from March 4, 2021 to March 25, 2021. A structured questionnaire was used to identify nursing students' knowledge, health beliefs, anxiety, and preventive health behavior regarding COVID-19. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. Results: The nursing students' knowledge level was 15.08±1.70 out of 5, and their health belief level was 3.72±0.32 out of 5. These scores were considered high. Their anxiety score was 3.29±3.84 and considered very low. COVID-19 preventive behaviors had a positive correlation with benefits (r=.29, p<.001) and cues to action (r=.28, p<.001). Factors influencing COVID-19 preventive behaviors by multiple regression were identified as health beliefs and living arrangements (F=8.95, p<.001, Adjusted R²=14.3%). Conclusion: The findings suggest that health beliefs and living arrangements could be important factors affecting preventive health behavior in nursing college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights the need for appropriate education and widespread awareness campaigns aimed at potential health care professionals about the prevention of new emerging diseases.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.226-233
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the subjective level of health-related quality of life of Korean healthcare workers using various quality-of-life instruments. Methods: This study included 992 participants, who were doctors and nurses. A survey was conducted between November 28 and December 4, 2019. Data from 954 participants divided into 3 groups (physicians, residents, and nurses) were analyzed. Four measurement tools (29 questions) were used in the survey to evaluate subjective health status and well-being. Results: In the Mayo Well-being Index, burnout during work (88.5%) and emotional difficulties caused by work (84.0%) were frequently cited by the respondents. Regarding questions on burnout and emotional difficulties, residents and nurses had the highest scores (91.0 and 89.6%, respectively). Emotional problems, such as anxiety, depression, and irritability, accounted for a high percentage (73.1%) of the total, while 82.2% of respondents reported that their work schedules interfered with their leisure and family time. There was no significant difference among the groups in subjective health status. However, 10.1% of the residents experienced very low quality of life, which was a higher proportion than that of physicians (2.7%) and nurses (5.2%). Conclusions: The level of well-being that Korean medical workers experienced in relation to work was lower than the results of the United States healthcare workers surveyed using the same tool. This study was unique in that it conducted a subjective quality-of-life survey on Korean healthcare workers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1173-1176
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• 2008

Individuals who regularly consume excessive quantities of alcohol are at a greater risk of developing various cancers such as esophageal, pharyngeal and lung cancers compared to normal populations if they are deficient in ALDH2 enzyme activity. We evaluated oxidative DNA damage in the liver, brain, and lung tissues of Aldh2 +/+ and Aldh2 -/- mice after they had been subjected to acute ethanol exposure. The 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) level in each tissue was evaluated as a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage. The 8-OHdG level in the liver, brain, and lung tissues was significantly increased following ethanol treatment. In addition, the level of 8-OHdG in the liver and lung tissues was affected by ALDH2 enzyme activity. This result suggests that ALDH2-deficient individuals may be more susceptible than wild-type ALDH2 individuals to ethanol-mediated diseases, including cancer.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.31 no.3 s.62
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• pp.449-459
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• 1998

This study was started to find out if plasma malondialdehyde(MDA), $\alpha-tocopherol$ and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity could be markers of biological activity resulting from exposed to lead in workers. Blood samples were randomly obtained from lead-exposed workers(n=29), $CO_2$, welders(n=60) and office workers(n=60). We used whole blood to analyse blood lead with atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Superoxide dismutase activity in erythrocyte was measured with spetrophotometer. MDA and $\alpha-tocopherol$ in plasma were measured with high performance liquid chromatography. Lead-exposed workers was significantly high in blood lead concentration$(29.37{\mu}g/d\ell)$ compared with welders$(6.42{\mu}g/d\ell)$ and office workers$(5.01{\mu}g/d\ell)$. The level of plasma MDA was significantly higher in the lead-exposed workers($1.87{\mu}mol/g$ cholesterol) than the welders($1.41{\mu}mol/g$ cholesterol) and office workers($1.41{\mu}mol/g$ cholesterol). Erythrocyte SOD activity in lead-exposed workers(56.80 U/g Hb) was significantly increased than those of welders(37.63 U/g Hb) and office workers(20.47 U/g Hb). The plasma $\alpha-tocopherol$ level of lead-exposed workers($4.93{\mu}g/g$ cholesterol) was statistically different from welders($4.25{\mu}g/g$ cholesterol) and office workers$4.28{\mu}g/g$ cholesterol). Neither age nor smoking was related to SOD or MDA level. Blood lead was significantly correlated with erythrocyte SOD activity(r=0.405), plasma MDA(r=0.296) and $\alpha-tocopherol$ (r=0.207). Plasma MDA was also significantly correlated with SOD (r=0.217). In multiple regression analysis, the change of MDA and SOD activity level related to the blood lead concentration. These results suggested that the increase of plasma MDA and erythrocyte SOD activity in lead-exposed workers had a close relationship with the oxidative stress induced by lead.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.109-129
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• 2007

This study aims at grasping the relativity between laborers' yangseng level and stress so as to present the groundwork for preventive oriental medicine approach in industrial health. The researcher prepared the questionnaire on general character, health-related yangseng level and chose 632 people to execute Autonomic balance test through heartbeat change. The collected material was analyzed by SPSS and tested by T-test, ANOVA. The general yangseng level average is 3.27, morality yangseng 3.91, sleep yangseng 3.39, mind yangseng 3.32, sex life yangseng 3.29, exercise yangseng 3.14, activities and rest yangseng 3.07, diet yangseng 2.95, seasonal yangseng 2.84. The highest is morality yangseng and seasonal yangseng is the lowest. In the aspect of yangseng level : Having a spouse, Non-smoking, Non-drinking, Regular exercising, Sufficient sleeping have higher yanseng levels. In Autonomic balance test, age from 35 to 40 has the highest autonomic activity and job period from 5 years to 10 years has the highest stress resistance. Non-smokers have high autonomic activity and stress resistance. Further, have low autonomic balance, stress index and fatigue strength. In the case of regular exercising person, he/she has high autonomic activity and stress resistance with low stress index. Regarding sleeping time, autonomic balance is the highest when he/she sleeps less than 6 hours. Stress resistance is the highest when he/she sleeps 7 hours and stress index is the highest when he/she sleeps 6 hours. After comparing the relativity between yangseng level autonomic balance test, only exercise yangseng has plus factor on autonomic activity and stress resistance and minus factor on stress ind ex and fatigue strength. Yangseng level has been affected by individual character and daily habits. Also stress is more influenced by daily habits than by individual character. We can find the relativity of exercise yangseng between yangseng and stress which suggests that we need to take measures to win over stress in individual health in the near future.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.4 s.48
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• pp.677-691
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• 1994

To evaluate the validity of serum pepsinogen levels as a screening tool for gastric cancer and adenoma, immunoradiometric assays of serum pepsinogen I level (PG I), II level (PG II) and esphagogastroduodenal endoscopies were done in 757 health examinees. Serum PG I level was higher in subjects with active duodenal ulcer (n=45, $75.2{\pm}34.3{\mu}g/l(mean{\pm}standard\;deviation)$, p<0.01) and gastroduodenal ulcers (n=8, $75.6{\pm}19.8{\mu}g/l$, p<0.05), and was lower in those with gastric adenoma(n=4, $37.7{\pm}37.2{\mu}g/l$, p<0.2) than those with normal, mild gastritis findings or ulcer scars (n=378, $56.6{\pm}24.9{\mu}g/l$. Serum PG II level was higher in subjects with active duodenal ulcer($17.2{\pm}13.8{\mu}g/l$, p<0.2), active gastro-duodenal ulcers ($18.3{\pm}7.4{\mu}g/l$, p<0.2) and gastric carcinoma (n=3, $23.8{\pm}10.9{\mu}g/l$, p<0.05) than those with normal, mild gastritis findings or ulcer scars $(14.5{\pm}7.9{\mu}g/l)$. Serum PG I/PG II ratio was higher in subjects with active duodenal ulcer($5.1{\pm}1.6$, p<0.05) and was lower in those with chronic gastritis(n=107, $4.1{\pm}1.7$, p<0.05), gastric polyp(n=19, $3.9{\pm}1.4$, p<0.2), gastric adenoma(n=4, $2.1{\pm}1.9$, p<0.01) and gastric carcinoma(n=3, $2.7{\pm}1.2$, p<0.1) than those with normal, mild gastritis findings or ulcer scars ($4.5{\pm}1.7$). Serum PG II level increased with age until 6th decade, whereas serum PG I/PG II ratio decreased with age in 378 subjects with normal, mild gastritis findings or ulcer scars. The screening criteria of serum PG I<$70{\mu}g/l$ and PG I/PG II ratio<3.0 for detecting gastric cancer and adenoma gave a positive rate of 15.7%, sensitivity of 57.1% and specificity of 84.7%.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.455-464
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• 2020

Objectives: The distribution of hospitals in Korea is unbalanced in terms of accessibility. Many local public health centers (PHCs) exempt out-of-pocket payments (OOPs) based on local government laws to increase coverage. However, this varies across administrative regions, as many make this exemption for the elderly, while others do not. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the OOP exemption at local PHCs among elderly individuals. Methods: This study used online data on Korean national law to gather information on individual local governments' regulations regarding OOP exemptions. Individual-level data were gathered from the 2018 Community Health Survey and regional-level data from public online sources. Results: The study analyzed 132 regions and 44 918 elderly people. A statistical analysis of rate differences and 2-level multiple logistic regression were carried out. The rate difference according to whether elderly individuals resided in areas with the OOP exemption was 1.97%p (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07 to 2.88) for PHC utilization, 1.37%p (95% CI, 0.67 to 2.08) for hypertension treatment, and 2.19%p (95% CI, 0.63 to 3.74) for diabetes treatment. The regression analysis showed that OOP exemption had an effect on hypertension treatment, with a fixed-effect odds ratio of 1.25 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.48). Conclusions: The OOP exemption at PHCs can affect medical utilization in Korea, especially for hypertension treatment. The OOP exemption should be expanded to improve healthcare utilization in Korea.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.144-153
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• 2003

1) Background: The hospitals of modem society, like any other business entities, have to constantly strive to secure their survival from aggressive changes and competition outside. In this unstable environment, effective leadership is one of the most effective strategies for securing organization's growth as well as stability. This study investigated types of leadership (transformational or transactional) that is dominant in medical record departments and compared it's effects on organizational commitment and job satisfaction of their organizational members by types. 2) Method: A questionnaire was developed and mailed to all medical record administrators working at general hospitals throughout the country except department directors (N=450). Of these, 150 useable questionnaires were returned and analyzed by t-test, multiple regression analysis using SPSS. 3) Results: The organizational commitment and job satisfaction were a little bit higher than moderate level, and that of leadership perceived by medical record administrators was also in moderate level throughout types. Significant characteristics (positively) related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction by univariate analysis were marital status (married), position (middle management) and both type of leadership. However transformational leadership was the only significant factor in leadership styles after considering all the factors related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction together by multivariate analysis. 4) Conclusion: The average organizational commitment and job satisfaction of medical record administrators was just in moderate level. Efforts should be made to increase them by improving leadership capacity of medical record directors, primarily by using transformational leadership approach.