OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between secular trend of road traffic injuries (RTI) and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in China.

METHODSStatistical description was used in the data about cases, injuries, deaths, mileage mortality and 10 million population mortality from 1970 to 2009. Cluster analysis was used to classify the 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China. Ecological study was used to explore the relationship between RTI and GDP per capita.

RESULTSThere were three stages of RTI in China. It grew rapidly in 1970 - 2002 (from 1.16 to 8.52 per 10 million population), kept steady in 2003 - 2004 (from 8.08 to 8.24 per 10 million population), and decreased obviously in 2005 - 2009 (from 7.55 to 5.08 per 10 million population). The ecological study showed that the population mortality of RTI rose along with the GDP per capita's growth. When the GDP per capita reached to 14 053 yuan (equivalent to 1716 US dollar, in 2005), the mortality began to decrease obviously, the average annual decreasing rate was 10.16%(8.14% - 10.52%)in the following five years. According to the GDP per capita during the period of 1999 - 2009, the 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China were divided into three categories of region. The curves of population mortality of RTI and GDP per capita in different category possessed the same ecological trend. That was the population mortality early rose and then fell along with the GDP per capita's growth. All of they started to decrease obviously in 2005. The GDP per capita among three categories of region was different (45 281 yuan, 22 243 yuan and 10 475 yuan respectively) in the same period.

CONCLUSIONIn the early stage of economic development, the mortality of RTI increased along with the economic development. When the economic development reached a certain level, the mortality decreased along with the GDP per capita's growth.

The demand for medicinal products derived from plasmas are increasing on a global scale. In particular, the demand for intravenous immunoglobulin has continuously been increasing. The increase in the capacity of commercial plasma fractionators is prominent compared with that of non-profit plasma fractionators; thus, the percentage of plasmapheresis has increased with respect to that of plasma from whole blood. The inequality between the consumption of plasma-derived medicinal products and supply of raw plasma among developed countries and developing countries is due to the direct, proportional relationship between the consumption of plasma-derived medicinal products and the size of gross domestic products. Each country decides on its own system to achieve a stable supply of plasma-derived medicinal products. Although domestic production is an ideal option, many countries establish contracts with plasma fractionators. Owing to a great ripple effect, safety measures are increasingly applied, so detailed review should be conducted with consideration given to the cost-effectiveness and the situation unique to each country.
Blood Coagulation Factors ; Developed Countries ; Developing Countries ; Gross Domestic Product ; Immunoglobulins ; Plasma* ; Plasmapheresis ; Socioeconomic Factors

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess research productivity on preterm birth (PTB) in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries and its correlation with socioeconomic characteristics and burden of disease. Methods: A systematic review of preterm birth publications by SEA authors indexed in Scopus, PubMed, ClinicalTrials. gov, and Cochrane was done. Case reports, cohorts, control trials, reviews and cost analysis studies done by SEA researches involving pathophysiology, diagnosis, management, and complications of preterm birth was included in the study while published letters to editors were excluded. The correlation of bibliometric indices, namely Scopus citations, and PlumX metrics indices (citations, usage, captures, mentions, and social media), with socioeconomic status and burden of preterm birth in SEA countries were analyzed by computing for the correlation coefficient (r) and p-value at an alpha of 0.05. Results: Thailand had the highest number of publications and the highest count across all bibliometric indices among all countries in SEA. The percent gross domestic product (GDP) per capita allotted for research and development (R & D) had direct correlation with publications and captures while crude birth rates had indirect correlation with publications, citations, and captures. Neonatal mortality had indirect correlation with publications and captures. Conclusion Support for research and development is essential to increase research productivity in SEA, which in turn may help in finding solutions to decrease the rate of preterm birth in the region.
Bibliometric Analysis ; Bibliometrics ; Preterm Birth ; Premature Birth ; Gross Domestic Product ; Asia, Southeastern

Previous studies on the vast increase in suicide mortality in Southeast Asia have indicated that suicide rates increase in parallel with a rise in unemployment or during periods of economic recession. This paper examines the effects of economic recession on suicidal rates amongst agriculture, fisheries, and forestry workers in Korea. Monthly time-series gross domestic product (GDP) data were linked with suicidal rates gathered from the cause of death records between1993-2008. Data were analyzed using generalized additive models to analyze trends, while a polynomial lag model was used to assess the unconstrained time lag effects of changes in GDP on suicidal rate. We found that there were significant inverse correlations between changes in GDP and suicide for a time lag of one to four months after the occurrence of economic event. Furthermore, it was evident that the overall relative risks of suicide were high enough to bring about social concern.
Agriculture ; Asia, Southeastern ; Cause of Death ; Economic Recession ; Fisheries ; Forestry ; Gross Domestic Product ; Guanosine Diphosphate ; Korea ; Suicide ; Unemployment

Previous studies on the vast increase in suicide mortality in Southeast Asia have indicated that suicide rates increase in parallel with a rise in unemployment or during periods of economic recession. This paper examines the effects of economic recession on suicidal rates amongst agriculture, fisheries, and forestry workers in Korea. Monthly time-series gross domestic product (GDP) data were linked with suicidal rates gathered from the cause of death records between1993-2008. Data were analyzed using generalized additive models to analyze trends, while a polynomial lag model was used to assess the unconstrained time lag effects of changes in GDP on suicidal rate. We found that there were significant inverse correlations between changes in GDP and suicide for a time lag of one to four months after the occurrence of economic event. Furthermore, it was evident that the overall relative risks of suicide were high enough to bring about social concern.
Agriculture ; Asia, Southeastern ; Cause of Death ; Economic Recession ; Fisheries ; Forestry ; Gross Domestic Product ; Guanosine Diphosphate ; Korea ; Suicide ; Unemployment

PURPOSE: Asthma-related morbidity and mortality are increasing, and the financial burden imposed by this condition will substantially increase. Nevertheless, little information is available regarding the nature and magnitude of the burden due to asthma at the national level. This study was conducted to characterize the financial burden imposed by asthma in the Republic of Korea at the national level. METHODS: The overall prevalence of asthma and the costs of related medical services were determined using data from the National Health Insurance Corporation, which is responsible for the National Health Insurance scheme. Indirect costs, including expenditures on complementary and alternative medicines, and the economic impact of an impaired quality of life (intangible costs) were estimated by surveying 660 asthmatics, and these estimates were transformed to the national level using the prevalence of asthma. RESULTS: The prevalence of asthma and total costs related to the disease in 2004 were 4.19% and $2.04 billion, respectively. Direct costs and indirect costs contributed equally to total costs (46.9% and 53.1%, respectively). However, when intangible costs were included, total costs rose to $4.11 billion, which was equivalent to 0.44% of the national gross domestic product in 2004. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide evidence that asthma is a major health cost factor in the Republic of Korea and that intangible costs associated with asthma are significant cost drivers.
Asthma ; Gross Domestic Product ; Health Care Costs ; Health Expenditures ; National Health Programs ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Republic of Korea

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine the quantity and quality of research output of selected Asian countries in the field of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in the last 10 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Top 15 Asian countries were selected according to their gross domestic product. The Science Citation Index Expanded database was used to search for the literature published between 2004 and 2013 using "Total Knee Arthroplasty". The numbers of articles, journals and citations and the contribution of each country were analyzed. The articles were classified according to the type of study and the relative proportion of each type was analyzed. RESULTS: Asian surgeons have increasingly contributed to orthopedic literature on TKA for the past 10 years, but the dominant contribution came from only a few countries. The total number of articles published by Asian countries increased by 261%, with Japan producing most of the studies and China showing the maximum growth rate. The majority of studies were published in low impact factor journals. Korea published the highest proportion of articles in high impact factor journals. Clinical papers were most frequent. CONCLUSIONS: Our identification of research productivity pertaining to TKA among Asian countries gives a unique insight into the level of academic research in the field of TKA in these countries. There is a need to improve the quality of research to enhance the publishing power in high impact journals as well as the need for more basic research and epidemiological studies considering the unique differences among Asian patients undergoing TKA.
Arthroplasty ; Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bibliometrics ; China ; Efficiency ; Gross Domestic Product ; Humans ; Japan ; Knee ; Korea ; Orthopedics

BACKGROUND: The relationship between economics and health has been of great interest throughout the years. The accumulated data is not sufficient enough to carry out long-term studies from the viewpoint of morbidity, although Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) was carried out yearly since 1998 in Korea. Thus, we investigated the effect of the 2008 global economic crisis on health indicators of Korea. METHODS: Health indicators were selected by paired t-test based on 2007 and 2009 KNHANES data. Age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking, drinking, exercise, education, income, working status, and stress were used as confounding factors, which were analyzed with logistic and probit analyses. Validation was done by comparing gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates and probit analyses results of 2007-2012 KNHANES data. RESULTS: Among several health indicators, the prevalence of hypertension and stress perception was higher after the economic crisis. Factors related with higher hypertension prevalence include older age, male gender, higher BMI, no current tobacco use, recent drinking, lower education levels, and stress perception. Factors related with more stress perception were younger age, female gender, current smoking, lower education levels, and lower income. GDP growth rates, a macroeconomic indicator, are inversely associated with hypertension prevalence with a one-year lag, and also inversely associated with stress perception without time lag. CONCLUSION: The economic crisis increased the prevalence of hypertension and stress perception. In the case of GDP growth rate change, hypertension was an inversely lagging indicator and stress perception was an inversely-related coincident indicator.
Body Mass Index ; Drinking ; Economic Recession ; Education ; Female ; Gross Domestic Product ; Guanosine Diphosphate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco Use

PURPOSE: This ecological study examined demographic and institutional differences in informal caregiving. We conducted a cross-national study about the characteristics of informal caregivers in 12 European countries and Korea. METHODS: Data were collected from individuals aged 50 years and older participating in the 2004/2005 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the 2006 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We examined the associations between informal caregiving and macrolevel characteristics (gross domestic product, total fertility rates, labor force participation rates, level of women's empowerment, long-term care resources). RESULTS: Korea and some southern European countries, notably Spain and Italy, had high percentages of women, homemakers, coresidents, and spouses in informal caregiving roles. In contrast, Northern European countries such as Denmark and Sweden had high proportions of employed informal caregivers. Lower female labor force participation was associated with higher proportions of women caregivers. A higher proportion of women caregivers in the population were also associated with a lower national gross domestic product per capita. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that several contextual and institutional variables are associated with the proportion of women participating in caregiving.
Aged ; Birth Rate ; Caregivers ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Denmark ; Employment ; Europe ; Female ; Gross Domestic Product ; Humans ; Italy ; Korea ; Long-Term Care ; Longitudinal Studies ; Power (Psychology) ; Retirement ; Spain ; Spouses ; Sweden

Stroke is a disease that causes a substantial economic burden. With the rapidly aging population in Korea, the prevalence of chronic diseases, including stroke, is expected to rise, along with associated health care expenditures. Therefore, we estimated the economic burden of stroke in Korea in 2010 using nationally representative data. We used a prevalence-based approach to estimate the cost of stroke by claims data from the Korean National Health Insurance. Data from the Korea Health Panel, the Korea National Statistical Office's records of causes of death, and Labor Statistics were used to calculate direct non-medical costs and indirect costs. Direct costs included direct medical costs and direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs were opportunity costs lost due to premature death and productivity loss. Total costs were estimated by adding age- and gender-specific costs. The total economic burden of stroke was $3.53 billion: $1.87 billion for hemorrhagic stroke and $1.66 billion for ischemic stroke. The direct costs were $1.74 billion and the indirect costs were $1.79 billion. By gender, males were burdened at $2.19 billion, while females bore $1.34 billion of the total burden. Stroke imposes a huge economic burden, as indicated by the fact that the costs of stroke increased by 4.4% from 2005 to 2010, and the estimated cost was 0.35% of gross domestic product. Therefore, effective prevention programs and treatments are needed to reduce the economic burden of stroke in Korea.
Aging ; Cause of Death ; Chronic Disease ; Cost of Illness ; Delivery of Health Care ; Efficiency ; Female ; Gross Domestic Product ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mortality, Premature ; National Health Programs ; Prevalence ; Stroke