No abstract available.
Humans ; Twins*

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Female ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases is on the increase and that of obesity is on the continuous increase all over the world. There are recent studies on the association between asthma and obesity, which are still controversial. This study aimed at identifying the effect of obesity on atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in children. METHODS: This study was conducted with 443 subjects ranging from six to 15 years of age, and consisted of 283 boys and 160 girls. They went through pulmonary function tests and methacholine challenge tests with their eosinophil counts within blood, total serum IgE levels, serum eosinophil cationic protein(ECP) levels, heights, and weights measured. After determining body mass index(BMI), BMI percentiles were determined by using a BMI percentile curve based on gender and age. After the classification on the basis of the 85th, 90th, and 95th BMI percentiles, a comparison was made in frequencies of atopy, total serum IgE, eosiniphil counts within blood, and serum ECPs as well as in frequencies of bronchial hyperresponsiveness for the total group, the boys, and the girls, respectively. RESULTS: Among the groups classified by BMI percentiles, there was no significant differences in total serum IgE, eosinophil counts within blood, and serum ECPs. There also was no significant differences in bronchial hyperresponsiveness or pulmonary functions among them. Effect of atopy and pulmonary function test variables on BMI did not show any statistical significance in boys, girls or the total group. CONCLUSION: There was domestically no association between obesity and atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness among children.
Asthma ; Body Mass Index ; Child* ; Classification ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Methacholine Chloride ; Obesity* ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVE: To supplement a previous study on the management of medical records with a view to preparing a system capable of ensuring basic patient rights regarding the protection of confidential medical information. The study objectives are to provide detailed guidelines to regulate the access and protection of medical information by analyzing patients' understanding and views regarding the dissemination of medical records. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was administered to 781 patients who visited five University hospitals located in Seoul, Busan, Gyeonggi, Chungnam and Jeonnam from July to September, 2008 and asked for copies of medical records to be issued. Data were analyzed by using the statistical program SPSS 13.0. RESULTS: More than 70% of respondents wanted to access their medical records after confirming the required documents. The highest distribution in the range of persons able to receive copies of medical records without the individual patient's consent or required documents was 'only personally' in each variable. Copies of medical records were issued mostly within 1 hour, while the appropriate time of issuing the copies was within one day. Half of respondents approved of a subscription system that did not require a doctor consultation. The results regarding changes in the ways to request/issue copies of medical records to improve the convenience for applicants differed significantly according to age. CONCLUSION: Considering the sensitivity of personal health information, medical records should only be issued with the patient's consent and by confirming the identity of the designated person with required documents. Furthermore, people should be aware of the importance of protecting personal health information, and medical institutes should inform the requirements for bringing the relevant documents. Medical institutes play an important role in protecting personal records, which necessitates generalized guidelines.
Academies and Institutes ; Coat Protein Complex I ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Patient Rights

The purpose of this study is to analyze the contents of the questionnaires used in dietary surveys and to evaluate each item in relation to the item construction strategy. Articles of which the contents were related to food, nutrition, diet, dietary behavior, and related areas. Published from 1997 to 1999 were searched fir and a total of 121 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The questions in the questionnaires were classified into related areas and sub-areas. Among the keywords in the title of the articles, the term 'nutritional status'(or 'dietary intake status') was most frequently used. The terms such as dietary status, obesity, health, food habit, and dietary behavior were also frequency used. Major topics of the items in the questionnaires varied according to the life cycle of the subjects of the study. The topics most frequently asked in each lift cycle were as follows : overeating, snack, and food preference for preschool- and school-aged children ; anthropometry, weight control, and snack for middle and highschool students : meal skipping, smoking, and drinking for college students : disease, smoking, drinking, and exercise for adults : and smoking, drinking, disease and perceived health for the elderly. Inappropriate questions with complicated language, typographic and grammatic errors, unnecessary words, and negative questions were found. Therefore, care should be taken to construct each question so as to avoid possible misinterpretation. Also, a standardized questionnaire be developed for survey researchers.
Adult ; Aged ; Anthropometry ; Child ; Diet ; Drinking ; Food Habits ; Food Preferences ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Life Cycle Stages ; Meals ; Obesity ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Snacks ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Although sun-caps are widely used to shun hazardous solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in Korea, little is known about their protective efficacy. OBJECTIVE: We tried to measure and compare sun-cap protection from UV radiation. METHODS: Seventeen commercially available sun-caps (products 1~17) were evaluated against UV-protection by spectrophotometerically measuring absorption and transmission spectra, percent protection of solar UVB and UVA photometerically, and solar UV-spectra spectroradiometerically. RESULTS: The absorption and transmission spectra of 17 different sun-caps were different, and they were not related to either price or their stated UV-guarantee. Percent protection showed some correlation, particularly with that of UVB. Protection against solar UV-spectra was similar to that of the absorption ond transmission spectra. CONCLUSION: Protection of sun-caps were highly varied, and this was not related to their price or stated UV- guarantee. Among three evaluation methods, absorption and transmission spectra seemed to be more objective. Further studies would be necessary to provide proper information and guidelines to dermatologists and consumers on the UV- protection of sun-caps.
Absorption ; Korea

Since the economic crisis in 1997, the number of low income families has increased and the turmoil is likely to affect nutritional and health status of the children in low-income families. The purpose of this study was to investigate dietary behaviors and physical development of low income family children in the Seoul area. The subjects were 44 boys and 56 girls, between the ages of 7 and 12 years, from the beneficiary families of the governmental assistant program and enrolled in after school-care centers. A self-reported questionnaire, including general characteristics and dietary behaviors, was applied to the children and their parents. Skipping meal rate was higher in breakfast than in lunch or dinner, and was less frequent in parents and children families compared to that of the other types of families (p<0.05). Most students are shown that they usually keep the dietary guideline for Korean children. There were significant differences in keeping the dietary guidelines between the parents and children family group and other groups in several items. The results imply that the nutrition education program should be more focused on the families which are not composed of parents and children.
Breakfast ; Child* ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Lunch ; Meals ; Nutrition Policy ; Parents ; Seoul*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CT in the differential diagnosis of tuberculous and malignant pleural effusion whether or not lung lesions are present, and to investigate the CT findings used for this differential diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involved 30 patients with tuberculous pleural effusion (mean age, 44.6 years; M:F=19:11) and 20 with malignant pleural effusion (mean age, 57.2 years; M:F=10:10). All 50 patients underwent enhanced CT chest scans, and the respective conditions were pathologically confirmed. Two radiologists unaware of the pathologic results and distribution of patients reviewed these scans retrospectively and independently. They recorded the presence or absence of helpful lung lesions, CT findings of pleural effusions, their diagnoses, and the degree of confidence of their diagnoses. RESULTS: Among the total of 100 answeres, helpful long lesions were found in 57 cases. Fifty-three of 57 diagnoses (93%) were correct and 26 cases (46%) were diagnosed with a high degree of confidence. Thirty-two of 43 cases (74%) without helpful lung lesions were correct and 11(26%) were diagnosed with a high degree of confidence. All diagnoses made with a high degree of confidence were correct, even in cases without helpful lung lesions. Frequent CT findings in tuberculous pleural effusion included diffuse pleural thickening, enhancement of pleura, deposition of extrapleural fat, and pleural calcification; in malignant pleural effusion, nodular pleural thickening, pleural thickening over 1cm and associated lymphadenopathy were frequent. Mediastinal and circumferential pleural, as well as fissural involvement, were seen in both effusions; there were no statistical differences. CONCLUSION: In most cases, CT provided correct differential diagnosis between tuberculous and malignant pleural effusion. It can help determine the nature of associated lung and pleural lesions, and specific findings of the latter, and can accurately differentiate tuberculous and malignant pleural effusion.
Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Humans ; Lung ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Pleura ; Pleural Effusion* ; Pleural Effusion, Malignant* ; Retrospective Studies ; Thorax

Perfusion scintigraphy has proved to be an essential part for the diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism. The wedge shaped perfusion defect extending to lung base is a highly probable finding of pulmonary embolism. Occasionally, great perfusion defects could be presented as a false positive finding under the circumstance of nonthromboembolic origin, such as neoplastic compression or invasion of pulmonary artery. We report an unusual case of massive perfusion defect resulting from pulmonary arterial compression by bronchogenic carcinoma. A 71-year-old man visited our hospital because of productive cough and was diagnosed as bronchogenic carcinoma. The perfusion scintigraphy showed unilateral total defect of lung, not accompanied by any clinical evidence of thromboembolism. A contrast enhanced computed tomogram showed heterogeneous mass shadow in left hilum, abutting to the descending aorta and compressing left main pulmonary artery. These findings suggested a nonembolic mechanism of perfusion defects which were produced by the neoplastic compression of pulmonary artery.
Aged ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic* ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Lung* ; Perfusion Imaging ; Perfusion* ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Thromboembolism

No abstract available.
Animals ; Embryonic Structures* ; Mice* ; Quality Control*