OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to find the association between mothers' working hours and obesity of their children according to children's age and gender. METHODS: This study used data from the second and third year of KNHANES IV and the first year in KNHANES V (2008-2010). We calculate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) by using survey logistic regression to assess association of mother's working hours with overweight or obesity of her children. The model was adjusted with household income, mothers' education and obesity and mothers' job characteristics. RESULTS: 13-18 aged boys whose mothers worked under 40 hours per week were higher risk for obesity and overweight (including obesity) than 13-18 aged boys whose mothers worked 40-48 hours. 6-12 aged girls whose mothers worked 49-60 hours per week were more overweight (including obesity) than girls whose mothers worked 40-48 hours per week. 13-18 aged girls whose mothers worked over 60 hours were more overweight (including obesity) than the reference. CONCLUSION: This study showed that girls' obesity was associated with mothers' long working hours. Long working hours can influence health of workers' family.
Child ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mothers ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Obesity* ; Odds Ratio ; Overweight

Compressive asphyxia is generally defined as a type of asphyxia caused by chest or abdominal compression by a heavy object. It has also been reported that it could be caused by external compression caused by ligatures around the chest or abdomen. However, asphyxia caused by ligature around the thorax has not been reported in suicide cases. We present an unusual case of suicide in which the cause of death was attributed to asphyxia caused by a ligature around the thorax. The deceased was a 41-year-old woman who was found dead and suspended by a rope around the thorax from a rooftop railing on the twelfth floor of a building. On postmortem examination, a ‘C’ shaped ligature mark was identified around the thorax, with a pressure mark in the subcutis and focal intramuscular hemorrhages, which were consistent with the ligature mark. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to external compression of the chest in a suspended position.

Objective: To expand the scope of the work performed by emergency medical service (EMS) providers, a 3-day education training course was implemented at the national level to organize and operate a special EMS unit consisting of level-1 EMS providers and nurses. We conducted an evaluation of the curriculum for EMS providers that completed the education course. Methods: From June 2019 to July 2020, a survey was conducted to evaluate the curriculum of 270 EMS providers that completed the training course in Gangwon province. We analyzed differences between educational needs, satisfaction with educational contents, and job performance confidence with respect to age, sex, certification, and career. Results: We analyzed the contents of 143 questionnaires received from the EMS providers. Satisfaction with the “instructor” was highest at 4.52 points, and satisfaction with the “education” provided was lowest at 3.89 points. Those aged over 40 had the highest satisfaction scores for “education”, and a significant inverse relationship was found between age and satisfaction (P=0.020). In the overall curriculum, educational need was highest among those with a career duration of ≥ 3 years and those in their 30s. Regarding educational contents, the need for advanced cardiovascular resuscitation was greatest and the need for emergency delivery was lowest, but this difference was not significant. Conclusion When designing a curriculum for EMS providers in the future, segregation into similar groups is required to reflect their educational needs.

Myelofibrosis results from stimulation of bone marrow stromal fibroblasts by fibrogenic cytokines elaborated by neoplastic or reactive cells in the marrow. Chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis should be differentiated from secondary myelofibrosis resulting from bone marrow involvement of malignant lymphoma because these diseases have different therapeutic strategies. Myelofibrosis in systemic lupus erythematosus is an uncommon but well-recognized complication, and identifying an autoimmune myelofibrosis is important in diagnosing this benign cause of myelofibrosis. We report two cases of myelofibrosis presenting the clinical and radiologic findings that mimicked malignant lymphoma -a case of autoimmune myelofibrosis associated with systemic lupus erythematosus showing extensive lymphadenopathy and a case of chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis with focal intrasplenic extramedullary hematopoiesis- and discuss the importance of the clinical information and radiologic findings for the pathologic diagnosis of myelofibrosis.
Abdomen* ; Bone Marrow ; Cytokines ; Diagnosis ; Fibroblasts ; Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary* ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Lymphatic Diseases* ; Lymphoma* ; Primary Myelofibrosis*

OBJECTIVE: The mismatch in the demand and supply of emergency medical resources has been a constant issue in Korean emergency departments (EDs). This study analyzed the characteristics and actual utilization of medical bed resources in these EDs. METHODS: The emergency department utilization (EDU) rate was calculated using the Emergency Medical Resource Information System (EMRIS) on the available beds in EDs from April 2014 to January 2015. The EDU rate was analyzed according to the season, day of the week, time of day, and ED type. Furthermore, the ratio between the maximum and minimum EDU rates was also compared between the regions. RESULTS: A total of 14,889,750 data points were included. The EDU rate was relatively high during winter and on Sundays, and was highest between 20:00 and 22:00. The ratio between the maximum and minimum EDU rates according to the time of day was highest in Gyeongbuk (5.4) and lowest in Daegu (1.4). Moreover, the EDU rate according to the ED type was highest in the regional emergency medical center (66.7%). CONCLUSION: Significant differences were observed in the EDU rates according to the season, day of the week, time of the day, region, and ED type. Therefore, EMRIS should allocate resources based on the data on both the hospital and regional characteristics.
Daegu ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Information Systems ; Seasons

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to explore the association between shift work and the bone mineral density in a representative sample of Korean workers. METHODS: He data from the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2009) was used. The participants were Korean workers aged 16 to 60 years. Logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the association between shift work and the bone mineral density after controlling for covariates using the SAS version 9.3 package program. RESULTS: The blood vitamin D level in shift workers was significantly lower than that of day workers in both males and females. In male shift workers, shift work was significantly associated with a decreased bone mineral density in the femoral neck (odds ratio(OR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval(CI)=1.05~1.92) and lumbar spine (OR 1.53, 95% CI=1.09~2.15) compared to day workers. After controlling for covariates, this association was still significant. In the case of female shift workers, shift work was significantly related to a decreased bone mineral density in the total femur (OR 2.84, 95% CI=1.69~4.79) and lumbar spine (OR 1.58, 95% CI=1.12~2.24). After controlling for covariates, this risk was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The blood vitamin D level of shift workers was significantly lower than that of day workers. In male shift workers, shift work can decrease the bone mineral density in the femoral neck and lumbar spine. Prospective studies with information on the shift work intensity and duration and exposuredata to explain mechanisms will be needed.
Aged ; Bone Density ; Female ; Femur ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Phenothiazines ; Spine ; Vitamin D ; Work Schedule Tolerance

No abstract available.
Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome*

Nausea and emesis are a major side effect and obstacle for chemotherapy in cancer patients. Employ of antiemetic drugs help to suppress chemotherapy-induced emesis in some patients but not all patients. Ginger, an herbal medicine, has been traditionally used to treat various kinds of diseases including gastrointestinal symptoms. Ginger is effective in alleviating nausea and emesis, particularly, for cytotoxic chemotherapy drug-induced emesis. Ginger-mediated antiemetic effect has been attributed to its pungent constituents-mediated inhibition of serotonin (5-HT) receptor activity but its cellular mechanism of action is still unclear. Emetogenic chemotherapy drugs increase 5-HT concentration and activate visceral vagal afferent nerve activity. Thus, 5-HT mediated vagal afferent activation is essential to provoke emesis during chemotherapy. In this experiment, water extract of ginger and its three major pungent constituent's effect on 5-HT-evoked responses were tested on acutely dispersed visceral afferent neurons with patch-clamp methods. The ginger extract has similar effects to antiemetic drug ondansetron by blocking 5-HT-evoked responses. Pungent constituents of the ginger, [6]-shogaol, [6]-gingerol, and zingerone inhibited 5-HT responses in a dose dependent manner. The order of inhibitory potency for these compounds were [6]-shogaol>[6]-gingerol>zingerone. Unlike well-known competitive 5-HT3 receptor antagonist ondansetron, all tested ginger constituents acted as non-competitive antagonist. Our results imply that ginger and its pungent constituents exert antiemetic effects by blocking 5-HT-induced emetic signal transmission in vagal afferent neurons.
Antiemetics ; Drug Therapy ; Ginger* ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Nausea ; Neurons* ; Neurons, Afferent ; Ondansetron ; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3 ; Serotonin* ; Visceral Afferents* ; Vomiting ; Water

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and the provision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in South Korea. We used data from the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment service. In total, 44,361 patients with CO poisoning were identified across 10 years (2010–2019). The prevalence of CO poisoning was found to be 8.64/10,000 people, with a gradual annual increment. The highest prevalence was 11.01/10,000 individuals, among those aged 30–39 years. In 2010, HBOT was claimed from 15 hospitals, and increased to 30 hospitals in 2019. A total of 4,473 patients received HBOT in 10 years and 2,684 (60%) were treated for more than 2 hours. This study suggested that the prevalence of both CO poisoning and HBOT in Korea gradually increased over the past 10 years, and disparities in prevalence were observed by region.

BACKGROUND: As an endemic area of viral hepatitis B, many studies on hepatitis B and C have been reported in Korea, but no on all five viral types, A, B, C, D, and E. We surveyed ten serologic markers for the five different viral hepatitis and reviewed the seropositivity of each viral hepatitis and concurrent infection. METHODS: Ten serologic markers of five viral hepatitis (anti-HAV IgM, anti-HAV IgG, HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc, HBeAg, anti-HBe, anti-HCV, anti-HDV, and anti-HEV IgM) were tested for 260,488 samples requested for viral marker studies at three hospitals of Korea University Medical Centers from January through December, 2003. Anti-HAV IgM, anti-HAV IgG, anti-HDV, and anti-HEV IgM were tested by RIA and HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc, HBeAg, anti-HBe, and anti-HCV were analysed by ELISA or RIA method. RESULTS: Anti-HAV IgM and IgG seropositivity was 1.2% and 88.0%, respectively. Anti-HAV IgM seropositivity was high in a patient group 20 to 29 years of age. The overall seropositivity of HBsAg was 10.4% and for anti-HBs 60.4%. The seropositivity was 1.3% for anti-HCV, 1.1% for anti-HDV, and 22.2% for anti-HEV IgM. The concurrent positivity of HBsAg and anti-HBs was 4.0%. HBsAg was positive in 7 (0.1%) of anti-HCV positive patients; anti-HEV IgM was positive in 2 (25%) of anti-HAV IgM positive patients. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatitis A infection was rare in children but increased in patient group 20 to 29 years of age. The concurrent infection rate of hepatitis A with hepatitis E was high, suggesting that hepatitis E should be considered in hepatitis A patients. In view of the finding that the concurrent infection of hepatis B and C was detected, though at a relatively low rate, patients with viral hepatitis need to be assessed for the possibility of concurrent infection with other types of hepatitis.
Academic Medical Centers* ; Biomarkers ; Child ; Coinfection ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hepatitis A ; Hepatitis A Antibodies ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis E ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Korea