No abstract available.
Geriatrics* ; Primary Health Care*

No abstract available.
Humans

No abstract available.
Career Choice* ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Primary hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the second cause of cancer death in our country. Hepatitis B virus(HBV) and hepatitis C virus(HCV) are important risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. The mechanism of HCC development and the epidemiology in HCV infected individuals are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the epidemiolgical and clinical features of HCC in relation to viral infection. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 160 HCC patients retrspectively who had been admitted to one University Hospital located in Seoul between January 1991 and December 1995. Among these patients, 113 patients were positive for HBsAg(B group), 24 for anti-HCV(C group). We compared epidemiological and clinical data between B group and C guoup. RESULTS: Anti-HCV positivity was significantly higher in HBsAg negative patients than in HBsAg positive patients(53.3:1.7%, p<0.01). The mean age of patients in B group was significantly lower than that in C group(52:62yr, p<0.01). In C group, the proportion of Child-Pugh class B and C was significantly larger than that of B group(35.4: 75.0%, p<0.01). In C group, the proportion of transfusion history was significantly larger than that in B group(4.4: 16.7%, p<0.05), and the proportion of drug abuse hestory was significantly larger than that in B group (31.0:62.5%, p<0.01). In C group, the albumin, cholesterol, Gamma-glutamyl transferase leves were significantly lower than those in B group. In B group, the proportion of metastasis was significantly larger than that in C group(31.9:4.2%, p<0.01). Alpha fetoprotein levels greater than 400ng/ml are much more prevalent in group B significantly(67:39.1%, p<0.05). No significant differences in cumulative survival rate(1yr, 2yr) and median survival time were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: We ascertain that the HBV and HCV are inportant factors in HCC. In epidemiology and clinical features of HCC, there were some difference between the HBsAg and anti HCV positive group. Therefore, on primary health care settings, it is necessary to test for hepatitis C as well as hepatitis B in order to prevent and manage HCC and chronic liver desease.
alpha-Fetoproteins ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Cholesterol ; Epidemiology* ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens* ; Hepatitis C ; Humans ; Liver ; Medical Records ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Primary Health Care ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Substance-Related Disorders ; Transferases

No abstract available.
Low Back Pain*

No abstract available.
Humans

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the consequences of care of a program of preventive in-home comprehensive geriatric assessment(CGA) and determine: 1) if there are major findings in all domains of CGA(medical, functional, mental health and social/environmental), 2) if there is a continued clinical yield when CGA is repeated annually, and 3) factors which affect patient adherence with recommendations from CGA. METHODS: Descriptive prospective study of subjects allocated to the intervention group of a randomized trial of preventive in-home CGA was applied to 202 persons aged 75 years or older and living at home who received the intervention of annual and quarterly home visits by gerontologic nurse practitioners(GNPs) for three years at participants' homes in an urban setting. Detailed data were collected prospectively on clinical problems detected by CGA, specific recommendations made of these problems, and subject adherence with these recommendations. RESULTS: Participants were 80.8 years, 70% of them were female, 95% white, and 64% living alone.4 mean of 17.5 active problems per subject were identified in all domains of CGA, although the most common problems were medical.4 constant number of therapeutic and preventive recommendations was made each year(8.5 per subject annually). Subject adherence varied by type of recommendation(ANOVA, p=.0001); adherence was better for referrals to a physician than for referrals to a non-physician professional or community service or for recommendations involving self-care activities. CONCLUSION: In these community-dwelling older people, there was a continued yield of problems identified and recommendations made when preventive in-home CGA was repeated annually for three years, supporting the practice of repeat CGA in community elders. Subject adherence with recommendations from CGA varied by type of recommendation, but further work is needed to determine additional factors which affect this adherence and to determine the association, if any, between the yield of CGA(i.e., problems identified and recommendations given) and important clinical consequences.
Aged* ; Female ; Geriatric Assessment* ; House Calls ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Patient Compliance ; Prospective Studies ; Referral and Consultation ; Self Care ; Social Welfare

BACKGROUND: With the rapid increase in elderly population arousing from development of medical technology and in standards of living, mental disorders as well as organic disorders according to aging constitute a serious social problem. This study aimed to find a factor related closely to cognitive impairment by analyzing the risk factors influencing cognitive impairment, which is one of the typical geriatric neuropsychiatric conditions. METHODS: This study was conducted using a questionnaire survey and history taking and physical examination was done in 200 elderly patients over sixty-five, who had visited either of the four universities hospitals in the Kyongin district from July 1997 to June 2002. A variety of factors being widely known to be related to cognitive impairment by was investigated using the existing comprehensive geriatric assessment. By using MMSE-K (Korea version of Mini- Mental State Examination), the relation between cognitive impairment and each variable was analyzed by using chi-square test and logistic regression analysis with SPSS 10.0k/PC statistical program. RESULTS: The number of males and females was 73 (36.5%) and 127 (63.5%), respectively, among the total number of 200 examinees. Males and females having symptoms of cognitive impairment was 25 (34.2%) and 49 (38.6%) among the total number of 74 (37%), respectively. Total mean point of MMSE-K was 24 5.4, 24 5.3 in males and 23.9 5.5 in females. According to the results of multi-variable quantities analysis, it was shown that the cognitive impairment had positive relation to age (P= 0.004), but negative relation to regular exercising (P= 0.016), instrumental activities of daily living (P=0.039) and social support (P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The factors having a close relation to cognitive impairment of elderly people were social support, age, regular exercising and instrumental activities of daily living.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged* ; Aging ; Female ; Geriatric Assessment ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mental Disorders ; Physical Examination ; Risk Factors ; Social Problems ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Humans ; Referral and Consultation*

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease diagnosed by ultrasonography and the metabolic syndrome defined by NCEP-ATP III criteria. METHODS: Sixty-nine adult male subjects with negligible alcohol consumption underwent an anthropometric and laboratory investigation. The ultrasound scan of the liver was performed to determine the presence and the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. RESULTS: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was diagnosed in 36 cases by ultrasound scan. According to the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver, triglyceride, HDL- cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotrasnferase, fasting insulin level, HOMA-IR, and obesity related variables (body mass index, percent body fat, waist circumference) showed a significant difference. The independent variables which account for the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was waist circumference, and alanine aminotransferase which is a predictor of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 41% vs 6.1% in nonalcoholic fatty liver group vs control group, respectively, and the odds ratio was 11.1 (95% CI 2.29~53.6). The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver was increased with increasing the number of features of metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was closely related to the metabolic syndrome and the severity classification of nonalcoholic fatty liver by ultrasound scan could be useful to predict of the severity of insulin resistance, and the risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Alanine Transaminase ; Alcohol Drinking ; Aspartic Acid ; Cholesterol ; Classification ; Fasting ; Fatty Liver* ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Liver ; Male ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Triglycerides ; Ultrasonography ; Waist Circumference