BACKGROUND/AIMS: In recent years, the incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) has been increasing. A better understanding of the etiology is directly linked to more favorable outcomes. Unfortunately, there have been reports suggesting the variation of etiologies of AP across countries. The objective of this study was to determine the etiology of AP in a general hospital of Seoul-Gyeonggi province in Korea during the past decade. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of consecutive patients with AP who were admitted to St. Paul's Hospital (Seoul, Korea) with an affiliation to the Catholic University of Korea between January 2003 and January 2013. RESULTS: A total of 1,110 patients were enrolled, totaling 1,833 attacks, and the most frequent cause of AP was alcohol consumption. The recurrence rate of AP was 24.5% (272/1,110), and habitual recurrence rate (more than three times) was 12.6% (140/1,110). The rate of severe AP was 4.9% (90/1,833 attacks). The mortality rate of AP was 2.6% (29/1,110 patients). The frequency of an idiopathic cause of AP was 13.3%. The recurrence rate and mortality rate of idiopathic AP were 16.2% and 5.4%, respectively. In 41.7% (10/24) of cases of idiopathic AP, microlithiasis was suspected. CONCLUSIONS: Between 2003 and 2013 in Korea, alcohol was the most frequent cause of AP in the general hospital of Seoul-Gyeonggi province of Korea. It appears that alcohol abstinence program may be necessary. Further nationwide studies would be needed to evaluate the etiologies of AP.
Alcohol Abstinence ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcohols ; Gallstones ; Hospitals, General* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Pancreatitis* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the injury patterns of unrestrained front-seat passengers in traffic crashes. METHODS: Using 2000~2003 data from the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency and medical-chart review, we estimated the relationship between crash patterns and individual variables, such as age, sex, Injury Severity Score, prehospital care, outcome, injury types, passenger seats, velocity, and alcohol consumption. We also investigated whether the Injury Severity Score correlated with crash patterns, passenger seats, velocity, prehospital care, and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: The mean Injury Severity Scores in frontal and rollover crashes were 15.0(+/-0.7) and 22.6(+/-3.3), respectively and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The mortality rate was higher in rollover crashes than in frontal crashes (p<0.05). The most common type of injury in unrestrained passengers during frontal and rollover crashes was head and face injury. In addition, chest and lumbar spine injuries were more common in rollover crashes than in frontal crashes, and this difference had statistical significance (p<0.05). The Injury Severity Score correlated with the crash patterns (rho=0.25, p<0.01), overspeeding (rho=0.44, p<0.01), prehospital care (rho=0.25, p<0.01), and alcohol consumption (rho=0.18, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: We estimate that rollover crashes are associated with an increased risk of injury to and death for frontseat passengers compared to frontal collisions. Knowledge of injury mechanisms should help emergency physicians to promptly evaluate all areas at risk, as well as the potential for fatality.
Alcohol Drinking ; Emergencies ; Head ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Jeollabuk-do ; Mortality ; Police ; Seat Belts* ; Spine ; Thorax

Alcohol consumption has increased over the past 40 years in Korea concomitantly with the country's rapid socioeconomic development. As a result, alcohol-related deaths and mortality continue to increase in Korea. This review will summarize the recent epidemiology of alcoholic liver disease in Korea.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholics* ; Epidemiology* ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Korea* ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic* ; Mortality

BACKGROUND: Most recent studies have suggested that beer is associated with high risk of mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to investigate how beverage types affected high risk drinking for chronic harm. METHODS: We analyzed data from 1997 Korea's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey collected through telephone interview based on the multi-stage stratified random sampling (N=1,045). According to the WHOs guidelines, we categorized alcohol consumption per day into three risk levels for chronic harm and employed logistic regression analyses by adjusting for confounding factors including the number of beverages consumed, smoking, BMI, stress, and subjective health. RESULTS: Those who preferred soju were almost three to four times as likely to involve medium or high risk as those who preferred beer. In addition, compared to the beer-preferring drinkers, those who preferred spirits had more than five times of possibility in high risk drinking. However, both of those who preferred makkolli or wine and of those who preferred beer were exposed to high risk drinking to a similar degree. CONCLUSION: In Korea, preferred types of alcoholic beverage turned out to be very important factor of high risk drinking behavior. Therefore, we need to encourage drinkers to switch high alcohol to low alcohol content beverages.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages* ; Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Alcohols ; Beer ; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System ; Beverages ; Drinking Behavior ; Drinking* ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Wine

PURPOSE: This study analyzed the prognostic factors affecting admission in acute alcohol-intoxicated traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients visiting the emergency room. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective observational study was conducted on 821 acute alcohol-intoxicated adult trauma patients, who visited 10 university hospital emergency centers from April to November 2016. The primary outcome was hospital admission. The secondary outcome was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-eight patients diagnosed with acute alcohol-intoxicated TBI were analyzed. The increase in blood alcohol concentration was associated significantly with a mild decrease in admission (adjusted odds ratio, 0.993; 95% confidence interval, 0.989 to 0.998; p=0.01). Moderate to severe TBI patients showed a significant increase in admission compared to mild TBI patients (adjusted odds ratio, 12.449; 95% confidence interval, 3.316 to 46.743; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study showed that the admission was inversely correlated with the blood alcohol concentration and is correlated directly with the increase in the severity in TBI. Therefore, emergency physicians may be required to identify the severity of TBI rapidly and accurately in acute alcohol-intoxicated trauma patients visiting the emergency room.
Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Alcohol Content ; Brain Injuries* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Observational Study ; Odds Ratio ; Patient Admission ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of bicycle injuries in Korea. It analyzed the injury severity of bicycle accidents by making a comparison between accidents that originated from bicycle lanes and accidents that originated in other sites since the inception of the Korea Promoting Bicycle Usage Act in 2011. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on 23,038 cases from January 2011 to December 2014, utilizing the data from the emergent department-based, in-depth injury surveillance system. The main analysis of death was conducted by a multivariate logistic regression, using SPSS statistics ver. 18.0. We also classified bicycle accidents in accordance with the sites of accident bicycle lane and other sites, accident year, age, gender, injury location, activity, helmet use, and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: The entire study population of 23,038 patients were divided into two groups depending on accident site: 4045 from bicycle lane and 18,993 from other accident sites. According to the analysis, the percentage of accidents involving female was significantly higher in bicycle lane than in other accident sites (75.8% vs. 79.3% p<0.001). The highest bicycle accident occurred alone (77.3%) in bicycle lane and 57% in other accident sites. However, motor vehicle crash was significantly higher in other accident sites than in bicycle lane (32.9% vs. 10.2%). The result from a multivariate logistic regression demonstrates that bicycle lanes significantly decreases the severity of mortality on average (odd ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval 0.24-0.91). CONCLUSION: We found that bicycle lanes have a significant impact on decreasing not only general accidents caused by bicycles, but also mortality.
Alcohol Drinking ; Bicycling ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Head Protective Devices ; Humans ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Motor Vehicles ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: We performed this study to identify the clinical characteristics of delirium tremens in Korea. METHODS: We reviewed the charts of patients suffering from delirium tremens who visited the Emergency Department of Keimyung University Hospital during the period of Jan. 2001 through Jun. 2002. RESULTS: All patients were mail, and the number was 28. The age distribution was 40~49, and the most common duration of drinking (15 cases) was between 11 and 20 years. The abstinence period before development of Delirium Tremens was, in most cases, less than 4 days, and the average period of symptoms of Delirium Tremens was less than 6 days. Various abnormal laboratory finding were noted: increased bilirubin level in 50%, prolonged pro-thrombin time in 14.3%, increased amylase level in 19.9% and electrolyte imbalance in 25%. CONCLUSION: During the study period, there was no mortalities. The author believes that sufficient vitamins and fluid supplement contributed to the results.
Age Distribution ; Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium* ; Amylases ; Bilirubin ; Delirium* ; Drinking ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Korea ; Mortality ; Postal Service ; Seizures ; Vitamins

OBJECTIVES: Annually reported, publically accessible Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) data from the Japanese government is a part of the total DPC database of the Japanese medical reimbursement system for hospitalization. Although medical issues can be evaluated with these data promptly, the applicability of these data in epidemiological analyses has not been assessed. METHODS: We performed analyses using only statistical indices reported on the a government website. As a preliminary step, the prefectural consistency of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) was examined with prefectural mortality over 20 years. Then the prefectural incidence of sICH for four years was calculated, utilizing publically accessible DPC data. To determine its reliability, the consistency was examined, and correlations were analyzed with three prefectural factors expected to have an effect: the elderly rate, mortality due to sICH, and the non-DPC bed rate. In addition, a comparison model between prefectures with this method was developed by analyzing other prefecture-specific factors. RESULTS: Prefectural mortality due to sICH and prefectural sICH incidence in the DPC database were both consistent over the years. Prefectural sICH incidence had a constant positive correlation with the elderly rate, a partial correlation with mortality due to sICH, but no correlation with the non-DPC bed rate, which is one of the major biases when utilizing the DPC database. In the comparison model, the factors of low income and alcohol consumption showed increased sICH incidence. CONCLUSIONS: Although careful attention to its limitations is required, publically accessible DPC data will provide insights into epidemiological issues.
Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Cerebral Hemorrhage* ; Diagnosis* ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Japan* ; Methods ; Mortality

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that negative mental health increases risky health behavior and mortality risk. We investigated the relationship between mental health and health behavior, and the causal association between mental health and mortality risk. METHODS: We used data from the 8-year (2006–2014) Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging with a cohort of 10,247 individuals (whom we divided into a younger group aged <65 years and an older group aged ≥65 years). Mental health was assessed with the following factors: depression, social engagement, and satisfaction of life. Health behavior was assessed with smoking, alcohol use, and regular exercise. Mortality risk was calculated using survival status and survival months as of 2014. Multiple logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard analysis were performed. RESULTS: Negative mental health was associated with current smoking and sedentary life style, but not with alcohol consumption. In addition, it was associated with an increase in all-cause mortality risk. The increase in mortality risk in the highest quartile (vs. lowest) was 1.71 times (hazard ratio [HR], 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–2.62) and 2.07 times (HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.60–2.67) for the younger and older group, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results show that mental health affects health behavior and mortality risk. A key inference from this study is that improving mental health can lead to positive changes in health behavior and reduce the risk of mortality.
Aging ; Alcohol Drinking ; Cohort Studies ; Depression ; Health Behavior ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Longitudinal Studies ; Mental Health ; Mortality ; Smoke ; Smoking

OBJECTIVE: Studies have suggested that beer is associated with a high risk of mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to investigate how types of alcoholic beverage are related to high risk acute harm. METHODS: Data from the 1997 Korea's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey, collected through telephone questionings, were analyzed based on multi-stage stratified random sampling (N=1, 045). Among those who had drunk at least one type of alcoholic beverage in the last month, one episode where the drinker had consumed the highest level of ethanol was selected, and the alcohol consumption per drinking day categorized into four risk levels of short-term, 'acute' harm, according to the WHO guidelines. Employing ordered logistic regression analyses, as the explanatory variables, types of alcoholic beverage, with and without socioeconomic characteristics, were considered. RESULTS: Spirits and soju were more than ten and three times, respectively, more likely than beer, while makkolli and wine were almost as likely as beer, to involve high risk drinking, irrespective of controlling for the socioeconomic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike most Western countries, in Korea, beer, rather than spirits or soju, is generally less likely to be associated with high risk drinking for acute harm. The influence of beverage types on high risk drinking for acute harm appears to vary between countries.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholic Beverages* ; Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Alcohols ; Beer ; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System ; Beverages ; Drinking* ; Ethanol ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Telephone ; Wine