BACKGROUND: Passive smoking is an important worldwide public health issue. In many Korean studies, parental smoking has been reported to be associated with reduced pulmonary function in children. But few studies have evaluated the effects of passive smoking on pulmonary function in adults. Therefore, we looked into this association in the study. METHODS: Participants in the study included non-smoking, healthy men (n=46) and women (n=326) from rural Korea enrolled from June to December 2006. Exposure to passive smoking was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire, and standardized pulmonary function tests were performed. RESULTS: There were significant reductions in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1, % of predicted) and forced mean expiratory flow rate 25-75% (%) among the men exposed to passive smoke compared with those not exposed (55.7 vs 75.8, P=0.010; 33.9 vs 58.6, P=0.029, respectively). There were significant reductions in FEV1 among men exposed at both workplace and home compared with men exposed only at either workplace or home (42.8 vs 49.3, 64.6; P=0.034). No significant difference in pulmonary function was found between women exposed to passive smoke compared those not exposed. There were, however, reductions in FEV1 and FEV1/forced vital capacity among the women exposed at workplace. Regression analysis showed that passive smoking negatively affected lung function, which were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, particularly at the workplace, adversely affects pulmonary function in adults.
Adult ; Child ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Male ; Parents ; Public Health ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution ; Vital Capacity ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Humans*

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness and body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome risk factors, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in male high school students in Korea. Furthermore, the effects of the cardiorespiratory fitness levels on these four factors were examined. METHODS: The level of cardiorespiratory fitness, BMI, percent body fat, waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), HOMA-IR, and hsCRP of 227 male high school students were measured. Analyses of multiple correlation and simple regression were applied. RESULTS: The results showed that the level of cardiorespiratory fitness correlated negatively with BMI, percent body fat, WC, TG, and HDL-C, in addition to HOMA-IR and hsCRP, and strongly influenced BMI, percent body fat, WC, TG, HDL-C, HOMA-IR, and hsCRP. Comparative analysis of our subjects showed that higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels had positive effects on BMI, metabolic syndrome risk factors, HOMA-IR, and hsCRP. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that there are close correlations between cardiorespiratory fitness and BMI, metabolic syndrome risk factors, HOMA-IR, and hsCRP. It also showed that, compared to lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, higher levels had beneficial effects on BMI, metabolic syndrome risk factors, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Adipose Tissue ; Adolescent ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Glucose ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Insulin ; Korea ; Male ; Physical Fitness ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans

Persistent light reaction, actinic reticuloid, photosensitive eczema are three chronic photodermatoses with a feature of clinical, histological, and photobiologieal characteristics in common. These conditions were given the name of chronic persistent photosensitivity. Chronic persistent photosensitivity with the feature of photosensitive eczema developed in a 68-year-old male patient who had experienced persisited dermatitis. On phototesting the patient showed extremely severe photosensitivity to the short wave UVB. A skin biopsy showed microscopic finding of eczematous dermatitis.
Actins ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Dermatitis ; Eczema ; Humans ; Male ; Radio Waves ; Skin

In tiis study, an expenmental model of glaucoma filtering surgery in rabblts was used to evaluate the effect of single intraoperative application of Mitomycin Full-thickness filtering surgery, posterior lip sclerectomy, was performed after application of 0.5mg/ml Mitomycin-soaked Week-Cel(TM) sponge for 5 minutes in one eye of 15 pigmented rabbits and was irrigated copiously with balanced salt solution(BSS(TM)). The same procedure was done in the contralateral eye as a control, using BSS(TM). In Mitomycin-treated group, the filtering blebs were more prominent with sparse vascular tissues and were maintained through postoperative 8 weeks or more. Histologically, there loas was amount of inflammatory reactions in Mitomycin-treated group. The fibroblastic activity and proliferations of the collagen were also suppessed markedly in Mitomycin-treated group. These results suggest that a single intraoperative application of Mitomycin can be used adjunctively to improve the success rate of glaucoma filtering surgery.
Blister ; Collagen ; Fibroblasts ; Filtering Surgery* ; Glaucoma ; Lip ; Loa ; Mitomycin* ; Porifera ; Rabbits

Actinic reticuloid as a manifestation of chronic actinic dermatitis (CAD) is a rare dermatosis whose clinical and histologic features resemble other types of pseudolymphomas including mycosis fungoides and Jessner's lymphocytic infiltration, and it is regarded as an eventual stage of various photodermatoses like photosensitive eczema or persistent light reaction or chronic photoallergic contact dermatitis and so on. Phototests in the patients with actinic reticuloid usually reveal hypersensitivity to UVB, UVA, and sometimes to visible light. We present a case of actinic reticuloid in a 65-year-old male, whose skin lesions developed as erythematous lichenified infiltrating plaques on the face at first, and then spread themselves onto the upper trunk later. Histologically those skin lesions showed the aggregation of atypical lymphocytes and photobiologically the results of phototests revealed photosensitivity to UVB and UVA.
Actins* ; Aged ; Dermatitis, Photoallergic ; Eczema ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Light ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Mycosis Fungoides ; Photosensitivity Disorders ; Pseudolymphoma ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

Background: Fluvastatin is the first entirely synthetic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A(HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor. Clinical data indicate that this agent exhibits the proven efficacy of its class and also has some theoretical advantages in safety for long-term use because of its unique pharmacololgic property consistent with hepatoselectivity(i.e., low systemic exposure). This study is to evaluate efficacy and safety of fluvastatin in hypercholesterolemic patients in Korea. Methods: An open clinical trial with fluvastatin was conducted in 31 subjects who continued to have high blood cholesterol levels of 6.21 mmol/L(240 mg/dl) or greater after 1 month of lipid-lowering diet plus single blind placebo period. Fluvastatin was administered for 8 weeks with the initial dose of 20 mg per day and if serum cholesterol levels did not fall below 5.20 mmol/L(200 mg/dl) after 4 weeks the dose was increased to 40 mg per day for the second 4 weeks. On each visit every 4 weeks they underwent interview and laboratory tests about side effects and tolerability. Results: The mean % changes in plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol from baseline were
Cholesterol ; Creatine Kinase ; Diet ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Korea ; Oxidoreductases ; Plasma ; Sleep Stages ; Triglycerides

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of phase I cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) on physical capacity in patients with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Eighty seven patients who underwent CABG in our hospital were enrolled on the study. Among them, excluding 17 during the study, the results of 70 patients were included in the final data. Subjects were classified into two groups according to the participation in the phase I CRP; participation group (n=35) and non-participation group (n=35). The CR was executed for the participation group until patients' discharge. The variables including resting heart rate (RHR), oxygen saturation, walking distance in 6 minutes, and forced expiration amount were measured at initial phase, discharge and follow-up at 1 month after discharge. From the data, descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) were calculated, and differences in each variable before, during, after the treatment and between groups were tested using repeated measure analysis of variance using SPSS ver. 18.0 statistics program for Window. For the effects and results with a statistical significance, post-hoc test was made using t-test. There was statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the RHR and the walking distance in 6 minutes. While there was no significant difference in the oxygen saturation and the maximum expiration amount. As conclusion, the Phase I CRP after CABG showed a effect on the significant improvement of physical capacity by decreasing the RHR and increasing the walking distance in 6 minutes, exerting a positive influence on the recovery after the CABG operation.
Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Vessels ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Transplants ; Walking

No abstract available.
Tooth*