• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.201-204
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• 2016

This study aimed to quantify associations of the human development inequality (HDI) index with incidence, mortality, and mortality to incidence ratios for eight common cancers among different countries. In this ecological study, data about incidence and mortality rates of cancers was obtained from the Global Cancer Project for 169 countries. HDI indices for the same countries was obtained from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) database. The concentration index was defined as the covariance between cumulative percentage of cancer indicators (incidence, mortality and mortality to incidence ratio) and the cumulative percentage of economic indicators (country economic rank). Results indicated that incidences of cancers of liver, cervix and esophagus were mainly concentrated in countries with a low HDI index while cancers of lung, breast, colorectum, prostate and stomach were concentrated mainly in countries with a high HDI index. The same pattern was observed for mortality from cancer except for prostate cancer that was more concentrated in countries with a low HDI index. Higher MIRs for all cancers were more concentrated in countries with a low HDI index. It was concluded that patterns of cancer occurrence correlate with care disparities at the country level.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.253-264
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• 2010

This study investigates the relationship between daily mortality and heat stress in Seoul, using perceived temperatures (PT) derived from a heat budget model. During the summer season, observed PT intensity showed the biggest magnitude of summer heat stress from the middle 10 days of July to the first 10 days of August. The elderly (65 and above) were found to be the most vulnerable to heat stress. The threshold PT, with a significant increase in excess mortality, was $38^{\circ}C$. No time lagged effect was observed with summer heat stress, while a high correlation was observed between anomalies in PT and relative deviation of mortality. A comparison of the heat index and the discomfort index with excess mortality revealed that the discomfort index underestimated excess mortality, whereas the heat index could not appropriately explain the increase in excess mortality correlated with the increase in excess heat. In contrast, PT was found to be the weather element that best represents excess mortality due to heat stress, and is thus expected to serve as a more reliable forecast index of human biometeorology.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.253-256
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• 2016

Geographic disparity for colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality according to the human development index (HDI) might be expected. This study aimed at quantifying the effect measure of association HDI and its components on the CRC incidence and mortality. In this ecological study, CRC incidence and mortality was obtained from GLOBOCAN, the global cancer project for 172 countries. Data were extracted about HDI 2013 for 169 countries from the World Bank report. Linear regression was constructed to measure effects of HDI and its components on CRC incidence and mortality. A positive trend between increasing HDI of countries and age-standardized rates per 100,000 of CRC incidence and mortality was observed. Among HDI components education was the strongest effect measure of association on CRC incidence and mortality, regression coefficients (95% confidence intervals) being 2.8 (2.4, 3.2) and 0.9 (0.8, 1), respectively. HDI and its components were positively related with CRC incidence and mortality and can be considered as targets for prevention and treatment intervention or tracking geographic disparities.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2009

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize the community health indicators affecting standardized mortality rate of cerebrovascular diseases(CVD) and to identify the relationship between CVD mortality and community health indicators in Gangwon-do. Methods: The community health indicators included material deprivation index, medical resource, rates of road pavement and local tax. CVD mortality and the material deprivation index were calculated in the registered death data and the 2000 census which were obtained from the Korean National Statistics Office. The community health indicators were measured using 2001 statistical year book of Ganwon-do. Data were analyzed by using Excel 2003, SAS 9.1. CVD mortality and material deprivation index were visualized by Arcview 9.1. Results: CVD mortality varied by region and sex in Gangwon-do. The highest CVD mortality in male and female were noted at Goseong-gun, the lowest CVD mortality in male was at Yangyang-gun as it of female at Pyeongchang-gun. In Taebaek city where material deprivation index was also the highest; in Pyeongchang-gun was the lowest. Also the higher material deprivation index in some regions was the higher CVD mortality was. CVD mortality was not related with community health indicators. Conclusions: The results showed the regional difference of mortality of CVD among counties and cities in Gangwon-do. It is recommended that other community health indicators besides material deprivation index, road pavement rate, medical resources and local tax affecting CVD mortality need to be considered to improve the preventive strategies.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was to evaluate the validity of the Pediatric Index of Mortality Ⅱ(PIM Ⅱ). Method: The first values on PIM Ⅱ variables following ICU admission were collected from the patient's charts of 548 admissions retrospectively in three ICUs(medical, surgical, and neurosurgical) at P University Hospital and a cardiac ICU at D University Hospital in Busan from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2003. Data was analyzed with the SPSSWIN 10.0 program for the descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient, standardized mortality ratio(SMR), validity index(sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value), and AUC of ROC curve. Result: The mortality rate was 10.9% (60 cases) and the predicted death rate was 9.5%. The correlation coefficient(r) between observed and expected death rates was .929(p<.01) and SMR was 1.15. Se, Sp, pPv, nPv, and the correct classification rate were .80, .96, .70, .98, and 94.0% respectively. In addition, areas under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) was 0.954 (95% CI=0.919～0.989). According to demographic characteristics, mortality was underestimated in the medical group and overestimated in the surgical group. In addition, the AUCs of ROC curve were generally high in all subgroups. Conclusion: The PIM Ⅱ showed a good, so it can be utilized for the subject hospital. better.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.283-290
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• 2005

Objectives : The aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between the summertime (June to August) heat index, which quantifies the bioclimatic apparent temperature in sultry weather, and the daily disease-related mortality in Seoul for the period from 1991 to 2000. Methods : The daily maximum (or minimum) summertime heat indices, which show synergetic apparent temperatures, were calculated from the six hourly temperatures and real time humidity data for Seoul from 1991 to 2000. The disease-related daily mortality was extracted with respect to types of disease, age and sex, etc. and compared with the time series of the daily heat indices. Results : The summertime mortality in 1994 exceeded the normal by 626 persons. Specifically, blood circulation-related and cancer-related mortalities increased in 1994 by 29.7% (224 persons) and 15.4% (107 persons), respectively, compared with those in 1993. Elderly persons, those above 65 years, were shown to be highly susceptible to strong heat waves, whereas the other age and sex-based groups showed no significant difference in mortality. In particular, a heat wave episode on the 22nd of July 2004 ($>45^{\circ}C$ daily heat index) resulted in double the normal number of mortalities after a lag time of 3 days. Specifically, blood circulation-related mortalities, such as cerebral infraction, were predominant causes. Overall, a critical mortality threshold was reached when the heat index exceeded approximately $37^{\circ}C$, which corresponds to human body temperature. A linear regression model based on the heat indices above $37^{\circ}C$, with a 3 day lag time, accounted for 63% of the abnormally increased mortality (${\geq}+2$ standard deviations). Conclusions : This study revealed that elderly persons, those over 65 years old, are more vulnerable to mortality due to abnormal heat waves in Seoul, Korea. When the daily maximum heat index exceeds approximately $37^{\circ}C$, blood circulation-related mortality significantly increases. A linear regression model, with respect to lag-time, showed that the heat index based on a human model is a more dependable indicator for the prediction of hot weather-related mortality than the ambient air temperature.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.41-59
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• 2016

There have been continuous improvements in human life expectancy. Life expectancy is as a key factor in an aging population and can wreak severe damage on the financial integrity of pension providers. Hence, the projection of the accurate future mortality is a critical point to prevent possible losses to pension providers. However, improvements in future mortality would be overestimated by a typical mortality projection method using the Lee-Carter model since it underestimates the mortality index ${\kappa}_t$. This paper suggests a mortality projection based on the projection of the skewness of the mortality versus the typical mortality projection of the Lee-Carter model based on the projection of the mortality index, ${\kappa}_t$. The paper shows how to indirectly estimate future t trend with the skewness of the mortality and compares the results under each estimation method of the mortality index, ${\kappa}_t$. The analysis of the results shows that mortality projection based on the skewness presents less improved mortality at an elderly ages than the original projection.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.249-259
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• 2011

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze long-term trends in the contribution of each cause of death to socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality among Korean adults. Methods: Data were collected from death certificates between 1990 and 2004 and from censuses in 1990, 1995, and 2000. Age-standardized death rates by gender were produced according to education as the socioeconomic position indicator, and the slope index of inequality was calculated to evaluate the contribution of each cause of death to socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality. Results: Among adults aged 25-44, accidental injuries with transport accidents, suicide, liver disease and cerebrovascular disease made relatively large contributions to socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality, while, among adults aged 45-64, liver disease, cerebrovascular disease, transport accidents, liver cancer, and lung cancer did so. Ischemic heart disease, a very important contributor to socioeconomic mortality inequality in North America and Western Europe, showed a very low contribution (less than 3%) in both genders of Koreans. Conclusions: Considering the contributions of different causes of death to absolute mortality inequalities, establishing effective strategies to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in mortality is warranted.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.26
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• pp.9.1-9.9
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• 2011

Objectives: In order to evaluate which temperature index is the best predictor for the health impact assessment of heat stress in Korea, several indexes were compared. Methods: We adopted temperature, perceived temperature (PT), and apparent temperature (AT), as a heat stress index, and changes in the risk of death for Seoul and Daegu were estimated with $^1{\circ}C$ increases in those temperature indexes using generalized additive model (GAM) adjusted for the non-temperature related factors: time trends, seasonality, and air pollution. The estimated excess mortality and Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) due to the increased temperature indexes for the $75^{th}$ percentile in the summers from 2001 to 2008 were compared and analyzed to define the best predictor. Results: For Seoul, all-cause mortality presented the highest percent increase (2.99% [95% CI, 2.43 to 3.54%]) in maximum temperature while AIC showed the lowest value when the all-cause daily death counts were fitted with the maximum PT for the $75^{th}$ percentile of summer. For Daegu, all-cause mortality presented the greatest percent increase (3.52% [95% CI, 2.23 to 4.80%]) in minimum temperature and AIC showed the lowest value in maximum temperature. No lag effect was found in the association between temperature and mortality for Seoul, whereas for Daegu one-day lag effect was noted. Conclusions: There was no one temperature measure that was superior to the others in summer. To adopt an appropriate temperature index, regional meteorological characteristics and the disease status of population should be considered.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3793-3796
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• 2016

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the leading causes of death, especially in developed countries. The human development index (HDI) and its dimensions seem correlated with incidence and mortality rates of PC. This study aimed to assess the association of the specific components of HDI (life expectancy at birth, education, gross national income per 1000 capita, health, and living standards) with burden indicators of PC worldwide. Materials and Methods: Information of the incidence and mortality rates of PC was obtained from the GLOBOCAN cancer project in year 2012 and data about the HDI 2013 were obtained from the World Bank database. The correlation between incidence, mortality rates, and the HDI parameters were assessed using STATA software. Results: A significant inequality of PC incidence rates was observed according to concentration indexes=0.25 with 95% CI (0.22, 0.34) and a negative mortality concentration index of -0.04 with 95% CI (-0.09, 0.01) was observed. Conclusions: A positive significant correlation was detected between the incidence rates of PC and the HDI and its dimensions including life expectancy at birth, education, income, urbanization level and obesity. However, there was a negative significant correlation between the standardized mortality rates and the life expectancy, income and HDI.