PURPOSE: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major public health problem related to increased risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. We investigated whether recommended levels of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) decrease the risk of MetS in a community-based prospective cohort study (Ansung and Ansan cohort).MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 3910 adults (1890 men, 2020 women) without MetS examined in 2001–2002 (baseline) were included in this study and followed up from 2013 to 2014. We measured LTPA energy expenditure using the standard metabolic equivalent value [metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-h/wk]. Individuals were categorized into five groups (physically inactive, 0.1 to <7.5, 7.5 to <15.0, 15.0 to <22.5, 22.5 to <40.0, and ≥40.0 MET-h/wk).RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 11.8 years. Among the cohort, 482 men (25.5%) and 541 women (26.8%) were diagnosed with newly developed MetS. Multivariate logistic analysis revealed a 4.4% lower MetS risk among those performing two to three times the recommended minimum of 7.5 MET-h/wk [multivariate relative risk (RR), 0.956; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.654–1.398] and a 21.9% lower risk among those performing three to four times the physical activity minimum (multivariate RR, 0.781; 95% CI, 0.574–1.063). This association was only significant in females performing three to four times the minimum (crude RR, 0.655; 95% CI, 0.432–0.994).CONCLUSION: We noted that physical activity at more than 2 times the recommended minimum prevents MetS. Healthcare professionals should encourage inactive adults to be physically active during their leisure time to take advantage of its health benefits.
Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies ; Delivery of Health Care ; Energy Metabolism ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Insurance Benefits ; Korea ; Leisure Activities ; Male ; Metabolic Equivalent ; Motor Activity ; Prospective Studies ; Public Health

OBJECTIVE: Since less invasive endovascular treatment was introduced to South Korea in 1994, a considerable proportion of endovascular treatments have been performed by neuroradiology doctors, and endovascular treatments by vascular neurosurgeons have recently increased. However, few specific statistics are known regarding how many endovascular treatments are performed by neurosurgeons. Thus, authors compared endovascular treatments collaboratively performed by vascular neurosurgeons with all cases throughout South Korea from 2013 to 2017 to elucidate the role of neurosurgeons in the field of endovascular treatment in South Korea.METHODS: The Society of Korean Endovascular Neurosurgeons (SKEN) has issued annual reports every year since 2014. These reports cover statistics on endovascular treatments collaboratively or individually performed by SKEN members from 2013 to 2017. The data was requested and collected from vascular neurosurgeons in various hospitals. The study involved 77 hospitals in its first year, and 100 in its last. National statistics on endovascular treatment from all over South Korea were obtained from the Healthcare Bigdata Hub website of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service based on the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) codes (in the case of intra-arterial (IA) thrombolysis, however, statistics were based on a combination of the EDI and I63 codes, a cerebral infarction disease code) from 2013 to 2017. These two data sets were directly compared and the ratios were obtained.RESULTS: Regionally, during the entire study period, endovascular treatments by SKEN members were most common in Gyeonggi-do, followed by Seoul and Busan. Among the endovascular treatments, conventional cerebral angiography was the most common, followed by cerebral aneurysmal coiling, endovascular treatments for ischemic stroke, and finally endovascular treatments for vascular malformation and tumor embolization. The number of endovascular treatments performed by SKEN members increased every year.CONCLUSION: The SKEN members have been responsible for the major role of endovascular treatments in South Korea for the recent 5 years. This was achieved through the perseverance of senior members who started out in the midst of hardship, the establishment of standards for the training/certification of endovascular neurosurgery, and the enthusiasm of current SKEN members who followed. To provide better treatment to patients, we will have to make further progress in SKEN.
Busan ; Cerebral Angiography ; Cerebral Infarction ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Dataset ; Delivery of Health Care ; Endovascular Procedures ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Korea ; Neurosurgeons ; Neurosurgery ; Seoul ; Stroke ; Vascular Malformations

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare student consumption of school meals by school level, to identify the influencing factors of school meal consumption, and to assess improvement needs of school food service among students. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 1,441 elementary, middle, and high school students attending 58 schools in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea participated in the survey in 2015. A questionnaire and informed consent forms for students and legal guardians were sent home and completed responses were returned to the researcher. RESULTS: Approximately 58% of the students perceived the portion sizes of school meals as appropriate and 76.1% consumed almost all or all of the meals served. More elementary and middle school students than high school students consumed almost all or all of the meals (P < 0.001). A regression analysis revealed that the students with a higher dietary behavior score (P < 0.001), higher satisfaction with food service (P < 0.001), a higher environmental protection practice score (P < 0.05), and more positive attitudes toward school meals (P < 0.01) consumed significantly more meals. The provision of foods that taste good and reflecting student opinions on menus were the most important factors for increasing school meal consumption. CONCLUSIONS: To increase consumption of school meals, food service staff should provide students with quality meals and engage students in school food service. Nutrition education that emphasizes healthy eating behaviors and cafeteria environment modification that applies strategies based on behavioral economics can encourage students to consume more school meals.
Consent Forms ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Economics, Behavioral ; Education ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Habits ; Food Services ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Legal Guardians ; Meals ; Portion Size

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Proper nutrition intake during pregnancy and lactation is very important to both mothers and babies. Pregnant women should maintain proper nutritional status to restore decreased physical strength due to pregnancy and childbirth and produce breastmilk for the growth and development of the baby. Recently, the number of Chinese people living in Korea has increased as the exchange between Korea and China becomes active. It is important to provide proper nutrition education for pregnant women of both countries considering cultural differences. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects of this study were postpartum women in Gyeonggi, South Korea and Jinhua, China. The subjects were 20–45 years old less than six months after childbirth. A survey, using self-administered questionnaires, was conducted from October 2018 to January 2019. For data analysis, 221 Korean postpartum women (KPW) and 221 Chinese postpartum women (CPW) questionnaires were used. RESULTS: KPW had significantly higher nutritional knowledge score and dietary attitude score than CPW (P < 0.001). However, overall score for dietary habits was significantly higher in CPW compared to KPW (P < 0.001). In KPW, nutritional knowledge (P < 0.01) and dietary attitude (P < 0.001) had significantly positive correlations with dietary habits. The proportions of KPW and CPW who answered that they had experience of nutrition education were 28.5% and 80.1% (P < 0.001). The score for dietary habits was lower as the hours for watching TV and using mobile phone became longer in postpartum women of both countries, with significant differences in KPW (P < 0.001) and CPW (P < 0.05). In KPW, the score for dietary habits in postpartum women with exercise experience was significantly higher than that in postpartum women without exercise experience (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: More pregnancy-related nutrition education should be provided and various and effective nutrition education programs, which not only transfer information but can be practiced in the actual life, should be developed.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cell Phones ; China ; Education ; Female ; Food Habits ; Growth and Development ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Lactation ; Mothers ; Nutritional Status ; Parturition ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Statistics as Topic

The suicide rate in Korea has been declining steadily after peaking in 2011. However, to date, time-series analyses of Korean suicide rate data have mainly addressed factors related to increases in suicide rates. This study analyzed one of the most important evidence-based public health strategies to decrease suicide, that is, preventive effects of restricting access to lethal means via a charcoal-selling procedure improvement campaign, using multivariate time series analysis. The results showed the campaign in Gyeonggi Province had a significant effect on decreasing the number of charcoal-burning suicides in this area. It is believed that the present study has important implications in terms of providing the first empirical evidence for the charcoal-selling procedure improvement campaign in Korea. Further repeated research is needed to evaluate the impact of the intervention when the more enough observational data become available.
Burns ; Charcoal ; Gyeonggi-do ; Korea ; Public Health ; Suicide

A 49-year-old man visited the emergency room of Korea University Ansan Hospital with hematochezia starting the day before the visit. Recently, he was on anti-platelet medication due to hypertension. The patient had no definite symptoms other than hematochezia. Digital rectal exam was positive and laboratory tests showed severe anemia. Sigmoidoscopy was initiated and almost no fecal material was observed in the intestinal tract, allowing insertion into the cecum. Active bleeding from the appendiceal opening was noted. On abdominal CT, contrast enhancement was observed at the tip of the appendix. Under suspicion of acute appendicitis, we consulted with a surgeon. The patient underwent appendectomy with partial cecal resection. Pathologic examination revealed a diagnosis of appendix bleeding due to acute suppurative appendicitis. The patient had no further bleeding after surgery and was discharged in a stable state. Careful observation by the endoscopist is necessary for accurate diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Appendiceal hemorrhage is very rarely reported, but it has various pathophysiologies. CT scan is useful when appendiceal hemorrhage is confirmed by endoscopic findings. Surgical treatment was needed in almost all cases reported worldwide. If bleeding from the appendix is confirmed, surgical treatment should be considered for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
Anemia ; Appendectomy ; Appendicitis* ; Appendix ; Cecum ; Colonoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage* ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Sigmoidoscopy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: The incidence of cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant lesions has recently increased worldwide. However, studies investigating the incidence and clinical manifestations of cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant lesions in Korea are rare, especially in southeastern Gyeonggi-do Province. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the recent trends in the incidence of cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant lesions in southeastern Gyeonggi-do Province. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 451 cases of cutaneous malignant tumors and 455 cases of premalignant lesions from 2006 to 2016. RESULTS: The average annual incidence rates of cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant lesions among the total number of outpatients was 0.84% and 0.85%, respectively, and both these rates increased significantly over time. Basal cell carcinoma was most commonly diagnosed cutaneous malignant tumor (50.8%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (24.6%), malignant melanoma (8.2%), and metastatic carcinoma (5.1%). The most common premalignant lesion was actinic keratosis (60.0%). The mean age of the patients with cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant lesions was 68.8 years and 70.8 years, respectively. The ratio of male to female patients was 1 : 1.19 for cutaneous malignant tumors and 1 : 2.01 for premalignant lesions. The face was the most common site for both cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant lesions (at 71.9% and 75.8%, respectively). CONCLUSION: This retrospective study provided data about the incidence and clinical patterns of cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant lesions among patients in southeastern Gyeonggi-do Province.
Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Keratosis, Actinic ; Korea ; Male ; Melanoma ; Outpatients ; Retrospective Studies ; Statistics as Topic*

BACKGROUND: The SD Bioline Strep A Ultra (SD, Yongin, Korea) is a recently developed rapid antigen detection test (RADT) for diagnosing bacterial pharyngitis caused by Group A Streptococcus, We evaluated the performance of SD Bioline Strep A Ultra, using the number of colony forming units and color intensity. METHODS: Three throat swabs each were taken from 343 children with pharyngitis who visited pediatric clinics. We evaluated the performance of SD Bioline Strep A Ultra and compared its positive rate with the number of colony forming units, using the Fisher exact test. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value (95% confidence interval) were 97.4% (94.0–99.1%), 90.8% (85.0–94.9%), 93.0% (88.5–96.1%), and 96.5% (92.0–98.9%), respectively. Positive rate significantly differed by number of colony forming units (P=0.021). ROC plot for color intensity showed 0.938 of AUC (area under curve). CONCLUSIONS: SD Bioline Strep A Ultra showed excellent performance, and its positive rate differed by the number of colony counts. This RADT could be used as a sensitive and semi-quantitative method detecting bacterial pharyngitis.
Area Under Curve ; Child ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Methods ; Pharyngitis ; Pharynx ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stem Cells* ; Streptococcus

PURPOSE: This descriptive study aimed to explore the effects of bullying, health promotion lifestyles, and physical symptoms on the occupational stress of new nurses in general hospitals. METHODS: The participants of this study were 157 new nurses in fivegeneral hospitals with 100 to 399 beds in Gyeonggi-do. Data were collected from January to February, 2018, using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS software version 20. RESULTS: A total of 60.5% of the participants experienced bullying, and 38.2% experienced bullying more than 10 times a month. The perceived severity of bullying was severe (32.4%) and the nurses'first bullying experience began within the first six months (47.7%). Their occupational stress was scored 3.1. The regression model for occupational stressors was significant (F=23.86, p < .001), and the total explanatory power was 46.8%. The variables affecting occupational stress were bullying awareness (β=−.30, p < .001), preceptor satisfaction (β=−.30, p < .001), and health promotion lifestyles (β=−.26, p=.001). CONCLUSION: It is important to reduce the incidence of bullying in order to help new nurses with high occupational stress. Stress management programs are needed to improve relationships between new nurses and preceptors and to encourage their health promotion lifestyles.
Bullying ; Gyeonggi-do ; Health Promotion ; Hospitals, General ; Incidence ; Life Style

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess hand hygiene (HH) compliance among visitors at a long-term care hospital in South Korea. METHODS: The study was conducted at a 502-bed long-term care hospital located in Gyeonggi-do Province. From July 1 to August 15, 2017, including more than 6 weekends and one holiday, a trained observer covertly assessed visitors' HH at all five units (360 beds in total) of the study hospital building until the completion of 1,000 HH opportunities (i.e., 200 opportunities per unit). The modified World Health Organization (WHO) HH observation form was used. Instead of professional categories and the “before clean/aseptic procedure” moment, the estimated age range for each visitor were recorded in four categories: children (<14 years old), adolescents (14~18), adults (19~64), and the elderly (≥65). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0. RESULTS: A total of 1,000 HH opportunities were observed from 766 visitors (an average of 1.31 per visitor) and the overall HH compliance rate was 20.3%. Overall, 53.7% of the HH cases were performed with soap and water. Among the 4 HH moments, the “after body fluid exposure risk” moment showed the highest compliance rate (83.5%); 93.9% used soap and water. The most commonly exposed potential body fluid among visitors was saliva (48.1%). CONCLUSION: For hospital visitors in long-term care hospitals, HH education programs including HH moments need to be developed and implemented. Further studies are necessary to evaluate visitors' HH compliance in various hospital settings and find the related variables influencing visitors' HH.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Body Fluids ; Child ; Compliance ; Education ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hand Hygiene ; Hand ; Holidays ; Humans ; Korea ; Long-Term Care ; Observational Study ; Saliva ; Soaps ; Visitors to Patients ; Water ; World Health Organization