To identify the factors influencing the charges per case of acute appendicitis and normal spontaneous vaginal delivery (NSVD), the personal data-base files and hospital-characteristics-reporting data files of Korea Medical Insurance Corporation were analyzed. One hundred and twenty-nine institutions were selected. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The differences of charges per case with respect to hospital ownership, location, and equipment levels were statistically significant. 2. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that bed capacity was the most significant variable in both diseases. 3. Ownership was significant variable in acute appendicitis. In NSVD, ownership and hospital equipment level were statistically significant. In conclusion, bed capacity was statistically the most significant variable in the analysis of charges per case. And we thought that the results of this study would influence the policy of the hospital bed supply.
Appendicitis* ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Equipment and Supplies, Hospital ; Humans ; Insurance ; Korea ; Ownership

In order to investigate the occurrence characteristics of cancer in terms of industry in Kwangju-Chonnam area, medical utilization records of industrial medical insurance corporations during the period of 1987 to 1988 were reviewed for the identification of neoplastic disease. The cases obtained from the medical records were followed up for the verification and to get additional information. Standardized incidence data were compared by occupational characteristics. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the difference of incidence or distribution of cancer as a whole or of some selected cancer. Total cases of cancer identified were 242 during the study period. Annual incidence rate was calculated as 123.1 per 100,000 person. The frequent types of cancer were cancers of stomach, liver, lung, colon and rectum, bladder and lymphoma in descending order. Employees of mine and other sand handling industries showed significantly higher risks for cancer of stomach and cancer as a whole. Employees of the transportation industry showed the higher risk for cancer of liver. Workers in small-sized industry (< or = 100) had a higher risk for cancer than who in large-sized industry (>100). These findings suggested the effect of occupational environmental exposure to cancer development.
Colon ; Environmental Exposure ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insurance* ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Logistic Models ; Lung ; Lymphoma ; Medical Records ; Occupations ; Rectum ; Silicon Dioxide ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Transportation ; Urinary Bladder

The exposures to carbamate pesticides (BPMC specifically) of agricultural workers were estimated by collecting pesticide in air by personal sampler and by analyzing with gas chromatography. Data revealed that the highest BPMC concentration in the aspirated air was 7.7 mg/m3. Concentrations were generally higher in the group whose spray conditions were controlled than the group uncontrolled. Actual concentrations were relatively lower than the values predicted theoretically. These findings suggest that personal sampler be useful in the estimation of pesticide exposure.
Farmers ; Chromatography, Gas* ; Humans ; Pesticides ; Pilot Projects* ; Rural Health

The paraoxonase (E. C. 3.1.1.2.) is a major enzyme to detoxicate the organophosphorus and carbamate which are the most widely used as the agricultural spraying insecticides. To investigate the distributions of plasma paraoxonase activity and the fators affecting the enzyme activity, the plasmas of 945 Korean rural population were analyzed with the modified Krisch's direct sphectro;hotometry method. Three indices of the enzyme activity-basal activity, stimulated activity (by NaCl), % stimulation -were obtained from the analysis. Three indicies suggested unimodal distributions, so we couldn't identify the low activity group; risk group to organophosphorus & carbamate insecticides poisoning. There is no significant relation between 3 activity and the stimulated activity have significant relationship and high coefficient of determination with the activities of their parents (r2=0.30, 0.24; p<0.05), but the % stimulation does not (r2=0.02; p<0.05). These results suggest that the activity of paraoxonase is determined mainly by the genetic factor.
Aryldialkylphosphatase* ; Humans ; Insecticides ; Parents ; Plasma ; Poisoning ; Rural Population

The purpose of this study is to observe the pattern of change in medical care utilization over time in early years of insurance coverage. The source of data is the benefit records file of a voluntary medical insurance society for covering the four-year period, from 1982 to 1985. The measure of medical care utilization used in this study is the age-sex standardized percentage of the enrollee who have visited a physician over total analytical population during a three-month period. For six cohorts by the year of enrollment (1979-1984), the relationship between the utilization and duration of insurance coverage was examined controlling for the calender year and season. In the analysis, logistic multiple regression and residual analysis were employed. It was observed that medical care utilization rapidly increased during the early stage of insurance coverage, and after then increased at a slower rate over time to become almost stable in about twenty months.
Cohort Studies ; Insurance Coverage* ; Insurance* ; Seasons

In order to exmaine the mutagenicity of cadmium dichloride the author studied the induction of sister chromatid exchanges in chinese hamster ovary K1 cells which treated with cadmium dichloride at various concentrations. The results obtained were as follows: 1. In cells treated with 10(-4) M cadmium dichloride, a small number of cells were visable but no mitosis was bound. 2. The frequencies of sister chromatid exchanges in cells treated with 10(-5) M and 10(-6) M cadmium dichloride as 10.7 +/- 1.9 and 8.3 +/- 2.1, respectively, were significantly increased for control (6.0 +/- 2.3). (p<0.05). 3. There were dose-dependent relationship between the concentration of cadmium dichloride and frequency of sister chromatid exchanges in cells treated with cadmium dichloride at concentration ranging from 10(-5) to 10(-7) M.
Animals ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Cadmium Chloride ; Cadmium* ; Cricetinae ; Cricetulus* ; Female ; Humans ; Mitosis ; Ovary* ; Sister Chromatid Exchange

The author investigated the values of total serum cholesterol and its correlation with the physical factors to have potential as a line in the chain of basic investigation to establish maternal health program. The study group was composed of 167 healthy non-pregnant and 209 pregnant women in the age of 20-39 residing in Pusan area. The obtained results were as follows: 1. No significant differences were found in height and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both groups except for the elevation of Broca's index by gaining the weight in pregnant women. 2. There were significant differences in the total serum cholesterol level of the healthy and pregnant women as 165.9 and 212.6 mg/dl, respectively, not showing the differences in the age. Total serum cholesterol values in both group followed approximately normal distrubution curve. 3. The significant correlation to the values of total serum cholesterol were found between weight and Broca's index in healthy women and between weight, Broca's index and duration of pregnancy in pregnant women. 4. The values of total serum cholesterol in pregnant women showed increasing tendency with the duration of pregnancy as 168.1 in 12 weeks and below, 209.6 mg/dl in 13-26 weeks and 235.4 mg/dl in 27 weeks and above group. Total serum cholesterol values by duration of pregnancy followed normal distribution curve.
Blood Pressure ; Busan ; Cholesterol* ; Female ; Humans ; Maternal Health ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women*

The onprovement of civil registration reguires continuous study rather than periodic efforts. More and better statistics, however, are urgently required to formulate development programs and planning, Data obtainable from the civil registration are usually marred by errors of omission which are difficult to correct. This study aimed at finding out the problems occurring when a set of crude birth registration data in a rural area is used. Data Sources of this study are : 1) For birth registration : government birth registration records obtained from myun office and other government offices. 2) for the actual number of births : birth and child records from the Kang Wha Community Health Project. The study area is Sunwon Myun and Naega Myun in Kang Wha Gun, Gyunggido. The reference period for the accumulated data is one full year : Jan. 1st 1975 - Dec. 31st 1975. Major findings are as follows : If the number of registered birth is compared with the actual number of births which occurred in the target area, the former os far greater than the latter. The general assumption usually is , that the actual number of exceeds the registered number of birth in Korea. The observation from this specific study in this specific target area, shows the opposite trend. The number of births which actually occurred during the year of 1975 in the study area namely 256. The difference comes mainly from the fact that many cases of births from other areas were registered in the target area. In other words birth is not registered where it occurred but where the permanent residence address is. Among 550 births registered in the target area 66% did not occur in the target area. Only one third of all registered births were registered within the legal period for birth registration which is 2 weeks. 34% of the registered births actually occurred in 1974, but were registered in 1975. In 55% of the cases a difference was observed between the actual data of birth and the registered data of birth. From the 256 births which occurred in the target area, only 153 births (59%) were registered at the myun office and the remaining 130 births (41%) were not resistered there in the year of study. 6% of the 550 cases listed as registered have no separate registration sheets. Nevertheless, they definitely have been registered in the birth list at the myun office. 3% of the 550 cases are not recorded in this list but have a separate registration sheet at the myun offices. In conclusion, birth registration data have many errors and problems. Their usefulness as a source for vital and other statistics should be reconsidered. A series of sound methological studies will be necessary to establish their actual usefulness. A continuous and permanent compulsory system of birth recording is needed.
Birth Certificates ; Child ; Humans ; Korea* ; Parturition* ; Information Storage and Retrieval

A study on the sickness distribution and mode of treatment in rural area was conducted during the period from July '75 to Aug. '75 using 1,225 households, 7,918 population (4,017 male, 3,901 female) and 343 cases that found during the period of survey who had been lived in nammyon, Hwasoongun, Chonnam. The summarized results were as follows : 1. Average family number per household was 6.5 and prevalence rate was 43.3 (21.2 for male, 22.1 for female). 2. General sickness distribution by classification of disease according to W.H.O. was highest in disease of the nervous system and sense organs (21.3%), and important others were disease of the digestive system (16.9%) and disease of the respiratory system (14.8%). In male, distribution was in order of downward disease of digestive system, disease of nervous system and sense organs, disease of skin, cellular tissue, bones and organs of movement , and disease of respiratory system. In female, distribution was in order of downward disease of nervous system and sense organs, disease of respiratory system, disease of digestive system, and disease of skin, cellular tissue, bones and organs of movement. 3. Types of treatment in both sexes were showed that home and folkmedicine (41.1%), pharmacy (24.5%), admission to hospital or clinic (16.9%), out-patient clinic (10.8%) ad herbmedicine (6.7%) in downward order. Hospital and clinic utility rate was 27.8% (31.5 for male, 24.0 for female) and it was highest in 0-4 age groups and lowest in 40-49 year age groups. 4. Hospital and clinic utility rate was highest in neoplasms, and the other hands, disease of the nervous system and sense organs and disease of the digestive system were the highest groups in the all types of treatment other than hospital and clinic. 5. On the results of treatment not, exactly replied answer was the highest (41.7%) and only 16.0% said complete recovery, In completely recovered cases, hospital and clinic using group was predominant (58.2%) and in aggravated cases home and folkmedicine using group was highest.
Classification ; Digestive System ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Male ; Nervous System ; Outpatients ; Pharmacy ; Prevalence ; Respiratory System ; Sense Organs ; Skin

Noise pollution, both in the environment and in the workplace, has been recognized as a major health hazard - one that can impair not only a person's hearing but also his physical and mental well-being. As industrialization progresses, the prevalence rate of occupational diseases is increasing, especially hearing loss, which has the highest prevalence rate among the occupational diseases. The major cause of noise is the construction of various large industries without any regulation of noise sources. Therefore, we must establish an enactment to control mechanical noise sources as soon as possible. For the purpose of controlling the noise source, we must have exact data about such things as the sound level, the frequency of the peak sound and the revolutions per minute (r.p.m.) of the machine (a measure of the power of its motor). This study was undertaken in order to define the noise characteristics, the power of the machine's motor, the change of the sound level and the peak sound as the r.p.m. increases, and the permissible exposure time, The sample size of this study was 74 machines at 11 plaints in 6 industries. The results are as follows : 1. The breakdown of the types of mechanical noise noted was : 63.6% continuous normal sound, 26.9% intermittent sound, 4.7% continuous repeating sound and 4.6% impulsive sound. 2. With respect to the type of industry, the overall sound level was the highest in the mechanical industry, with 103+/-2.8 dB(A), and lowest in the textile industry, with 89.2+/-1.43 dB(A). 3. With respect to the type of machine, the highest sound level was 124 dB(A) caused by Gauzing(II), in the mechanical industry, and the lowest was 76 dB(A) caused by Attachment (Jup Check) (I) in the timber industry. 4. The shortest permssible exposur time to gauzing(II) in the mechanical industry was less than 15 minutes. 5. Among 74 machines, 68.2% of the peak sound was situated in the high frequency range (52.7% at 2 KHz and 1.4% at 8 KHz). 41.8% of the peak sound was in the middle frequency range (4.1% at 250Hz, 14.8% at 500Hz and 22.9% at 1KHz). 6. If one machine had two motors or more, the peak sound was shifted to the low frequency range. 7. As the r.p.m. increased, the overall and peak sound levels increased without any change of the frequency of the peak sound. 8. whenever the machines had the same king and the same r.p.m., the overall and peak sounds were changed by the physicochemical characteristics of the raw materials and the management.
Hearing ; Hearing Loss ; Noise* ; Occupational Diseases ; Prevalence ; Sample Size ; Textile Industry ; Industrial Development