PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the cross-sectional association of company size and self-rated health using representative data on Korean workers. METHODS: We used the data from 2,884 wage workers collected by Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (17th). The association between company size and self-rated health was analyzed using logistic regression with covariates including demographic characteristics, work environment, job satisfaction, and health-related behaviors. RESULTS: Odds ratio (OR) for better health status among workers in large-sized company was 1.351 (CI. 1.054~1.731), compared to workers in small-sized company. We performed three separate models stratified by firm size (small, medium, and large companies). Occupation variables showed different effect on health depending on firm sizes. OR for better health of white-color job (referred to blue-color job) was 1.693 in medium-sized company model but it was 0.615 in large company model. OR for better health of the workers working shift work showed 0.606 in large company model but it was not significant in small and medium company models. CONCLUSION: We found that small-sized company workers have significantly poor self-rated health compared to large-sized firm workers. This study revealed that there exist differences among health related factors depending on firm sizes.
Health Promotion ; Job Satisfaction ; Logistic Models ; Occupational Health Nursing ; Occupations ; Odds Ratio ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits

Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, is a prevalent condition characterized by the gradual deterioration of hearing with age. The resulting impairments in auditory function lead to reduced speech perception in noisy environments and often have a negative impact on cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial functions in the elderly population.Current Concepts: The proposed etiological mechanisms linking presbycusis to cognitive decline or dementia include the common-cause hypothesis, cognitive load hypothesis, cascade hypothesis, and overdiagnosis or harbinger hypothesis. Moreover, the challenges posed by the rapidly aging population in several countries, including Korea, highlight the increasing social impact of hearing loss and dementia. Consequently, interventions for hearing rehabilitation, such as the use of hearing aids and implantable hearing devices, have paramount importance in mitigating the adverse effects of hearing loss on cognitive impairment and dementia.Discussion and Conclusion: The implementation of prevention and rehabilitation programs for hearing loss in the elderly is crucial for alleviating the socioeconomic burden associated with the welfare of the aging population. However, many economically vulnerable elderly individuals reportedly do not use hearing aids, even though they experience considerable inconvenience resulting from hearing loss, primarily due to inadequate financial support. Therefore, implementing a comprehensive national policy to support hearing aid usage among elderly individuals with moderate hearing loss holds significant potential for reducing their risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.

BACKGROUND: Remifentanil appears to have a pharmacologic profile similar to other potent mu agonists, but with exceptionally short lasting pharmacokinetics. It is likely to make it a very useful opioid for clinical practice. The bispectral index (BIS) has been used as an indicator of sedative state and has been considered to be related to anesthetic agents and noxious stimulus. The purpose of this study is to compare sedative and cardiovascular effects of remifentanil and fentanyl during target controlled infusion (TCI) of propofol by monitoring BIS and hemodynamics. METHODS: Fifty-two patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy were randomly assigned to remifentanil group and fentanyl group with 26 cases in each group. Anesthesia was induced with propofol (4microgram/ml) and either remifentanil (0.5microgram/kg) or fentanyl (1.5microgram/kg) and was maintained with inhalation of 50% nitrous oxide and 50% oxygen mixture and a continuous infusion of either remifentanil (0.2microgram/kg/min) or fentanyl (0.03microgram/kg/min). Depth of anesthesia, hemodynamic changes and adverse reactions were observed. RESULTS: The number of patients exhibited light depth of anesthesia during tracheal intubation and maintenance in the remifentanil group was significantly lesser than that in the fentanyl group (P<0.05). During intubation, skin incision, maintenance of anesthesia and extubation, remifentanil group shows lesser fluctuation of hemodynamic value than those in the fentanyl group (P<0.05). BIS was significantly decreased both groups during infusion of propofol, but no difference was found between the two groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the aspect of adverse reactions. CONCLUSIONS: Remifentanil with propofol TCI based anesthetic can prevent the fluctuation of heart rate and mean arterial pressure during the operation especially, during intubation.
Anesthesia ; Anesthetics ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Fentanyl* ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Inhalation ; Intubation ; Nitrous Oxide ; Oxygen ; Pharmacokinetics ; Propofol* ; Skin

Malnutrition is a common problem in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and compromised food intake is an important cause. Malnutrition is one of the important factors influencing mortality in these patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition education at improving nutritional status of 23 Korean HD patients (mean : 48.6 +/- 10.4 years, men : 8, women : 15). Anthropometric indices, nutrient intakes, and biochemical blood indices were measured before and after a 6-month nutrition education intervention. Anthropometric indices such as percent ideal body weight [PIBW (%)], body fat, body mass index (BMI), mid-arm circumference (MAC), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), and calculated arm muscle area (CAMA) of subjects were within the normal range and not changed by nutrition education. Subjective global assessment (SGA) was significantly increased (p<0.05) after nutrition education. Intake of total energy, carbohydrate, lipid, Ca, and vitamin B1 was increased significantly (p<0.05) but intake of phosphorus, potassium, and sodium was decreased (p<0.05). The serum concentrations of albumin, total protein, and Ca were significantly increased (p<0.05), but levels of P and K were decreased (p<0.05) after the intervention. These findings suggest that nutrition education for HD patients can be effective for positively changing nutrient intakes, leading to improvements in blood indices and nutritional status.
Adipose Tissue ; Arm ; Body Mass Index ; Eating ; Education* ; Female ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight ; Male ; Malnutrition ; Mortality ; Nutritional Status* ; Phosphorus ; Potassium ; Reference Values ; Renal Dialysis* ; Sodium ; Thiamine

Purpose: We report a case of recurrent vitreous hemorrhage in a patient with presumed latent tuberculosis-related intermediate uveitis, and we review the literature.Case summary: A 58-year-old male visited our clinic complaining of ocular pain, conjunctival hyperemia, decreased vision, and uncontrolled intraocular pressure (IOP) in the left eye. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.4 and the IOP of the left eye was 34 mmHg. Slit lamp examination revealed conjunctival hyperemia, corneal edema, and inflammatory cells in the anterior chamber and anterior vitreous; fundus examination revealed mild vitreous opacity attributable to vitritis. The high IOP and the intraocular inflammation were treated with antiglaucoma agents and corticosteroids under the impression of chronic anterior uveitis and uveitic glaucoma. Of the tests performed to identify the cause of the uveitis-related vitreous hemorrhage, the interferon-gamma release assay was positive. A presumptive diagnosis of latent tuberculosis-related uveitis was made after pulmonary tuberculosis was excluded by our respiratory internal medicine department. Isoniazid was administered for 9 months. The vitreous hemorrhage recurred 1 month after antituberculosis therapy commenced but, at 2 months, all of the hemorrhage was absorbed and the BCVA improved to 1.0 without further recurrence. Conclusions Intraocular tuberculosis can present with various clinical manifestations. If tuberculosis-related uveitis is presumed, tests for latent and manifest tuberculosis should be scheduled to allow of early diagnosis and immediate antituberculosis therapy.

Purpose: We report a case of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome with multiple orbital myositis identified via orbital magnetic resonance imaging in a patient with Crohn's disease who developed right eye pain and binocular horizontal diplopia.Case summary: A 46-year-old woman visited our clinic with a 2-month history of right eye pain and migraine, as well as a 3-day history of acute horizontal diplopia. She had previously been diagnosed with Crohn's disease and was taking immunosuppressive drugs. In the eye movement test, esotropia and an abduction limitation of -3.0 in the right eye were observed on the Krimsky test. There were no specific findings in anterior segment and fundus examinations. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple extraocular muscle enhancement in the right eye and multiple extraocular muscle hypertrophy in the left eye. The patient was diagnosed with binocular multiple orbital myositis and right Tolosa-Hunt syndrome; she was treated with high-dose steroids for 3 days followed by lower dose oral medications. During the first week of treatment, the right eye pain disappeared and the right eye abduction limitation showed slight improvement. After 3 months of treatment, the right eye abduction limitation and esotropia completely disappeared. Conclusions Orbital myositis and Tolosa-Hunt syndrome are idiopathic, nonspecific chronic granulomatous diseases with painful ophthalmoplegia. We describe a rare case in which the two diseases appear together.

Purpose: This study examined health determinants at a community level and put forward to a typology of five different forms of community health vulnerabilities. We also investigated the differences in the prevalence of chronic diseases, self-rated health, and quality of life (EQ-5D) among the five types. Methods: Latent class analysis was applied to material, social capital, and health behavior vulnerability variables across 255 regions of South Korea. The data came from 2017 & 2019 Community Health Survey. Results: We found five types of community health vulnerabilities: Type 1 group had the highest material vulnerabilities compared to Type 5. The typology was found to be significant in all the regression analysis on the prevalence of chronic diseases (hypertension and diabetes), self-rated health status, and quality of life. In the regions with high material vulnerabilities, the material vulnerability appeared the most effective to the health status of individual’s. In the other regions with less material vulnerabilities, the social capital and health behavior resources were found to be effective. Conclusion A comprehensive measure of vulnerability can be helpful to understand community health. Policy makers need to consider the level of material vulnerability when planning for a health promotion project.

Purpose: We investigated the ophthalmic manifestations observed in patients diagnosed with ocular myasthenia gravis. Methods: In total, 58 patients diagnosed with ocular myasthenia gravis visited the ophthalmology and neurology departments between January 2011 and August 2022. Patients were followed for > 6 months; their ophthalmic manifestations were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The study included 29 males and 29 females with a mean age of 55.52 ± 15.60 years. Among the patients, 31 tested positive for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies, resulting in a positive rate of 53.45%. Abnormalities in repeated nerve stimulation tests were observed in 33.33% of the patients. The antibody-positive group exhibited a higher frequency of progression to generalized myasthenia gravis (p = 0.011) and a higher incidence of chest abnormalities (p < 0.001) compared to the antibody-negative group. Horizontal and vertical diplopia were commonly observed in a complex group of patients with diplopia and blepharoptosis (p < 0.001); there was a difference in the pattern of strabismus between the diplopia single group with esotropia and the complex group with exotropia (p = 0.029). In addition, the combination group demonstrated a higher antibody titer (p = 0.034), a higher frequency of abnormalities in repeated nerve stimulation tests (p = 0.022), and a higher incidence of chest abnormalities (p = 0.022). Conclusions The anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive group had a higher incidence of progression to generalized myasthenia gravis; moreover, the complex group of patients with diplopia and ptosis exhibited elevated levels of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies and frequently accompanied both horizontal and vertical strabismus.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate breastfeeding effectiveness scale to measure effectiveness of breastfeeding for mothers in the early postpartum period. METHODS: A conceptual framework was constructed from properties of effective breastfeeding (Yang and Seo, 2011), and item construction was derived from literature review and analysis of the data along with interviews with breastfeeding mothers. Content validity was tested by experts. Each item was scored on a five-point Likert scale. The preliminary questionnaire was administered to 248 breastfeeding mothers. Data were analyzed using item analysis, factor analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and Cronbach's α. RESULTS: From the factor analysis, 20 items in seven factors were derived. The factors were identified as mother's satisfaction, suckling, assurance of milk quantity, infant's satisfaction, latching on, infant's feeding desire, and breastfeeding positioning. The seven factors explained 65.1% of total variance, Cronbach's α of the total items was .83 and the factors ranged from .44 to .75. CONCLUSION: Results of this study suggest that breastfeeding effectiveness scale is a reliable and valid instrument to measure breastfeeding effectiveness of mothers in the early postpartum period.
Breast Feeding* ; Humans ; Milk ; Mothers ; Postpartum Period ; Weights and Measures

It was investigated if regulation of the trabecular extracellular matrix tumover rate and remodeling plays an important role in decreasing outflow resistance by determining the effect of intracamerally given interleukin-1alpha a known stimulator of the expression of trabecular matrix metallopro-teinases, on outflow facility of albino rat eyes. Forty normal albino rats (Sprague dawley) weighing 250 to 300gm were studied. Rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal pentobarbital sodium(30mg/kg) injection. The rats were grouped into 4 groups and given 5, 10, 25, 50 units of interleukin-1alpha injected intracamerally in one eye of each rat. Bovine serum albumin in phosphate buffered saline, which was used to dissolve the interleukin-1alpha, was injected in the other eye as a control. Outflow facility was measured by two level constant pressure perfusion at 1, 3, and 7 days after injection. The eyes treated with 50 units of interleukin-1alpha showed a statistically significant increase of outflow facility by 37% compared to the contralateral control eyes at 3 days after injection, but retumed to normal level in 7 days. The eyes treated with 5, 10, 25, 50 units of interleukin-1alpha increased the outflow facility, supporting the hypothesis that regulation of trabecular meshwork extracellular matrix plays a role in trabecular outflow resistance.
Animals ; Extracellular Matrix ; Interleukin-1alpha* ; Interleukins ; Pentobarbital ; Perfusion ; Rats* ; Serum Albumin, Bovine ; Trabecular Meshwork