1.Asbestosis Epidemics Caused by Non-occupational Neighborhood Exposure.
Yeon Soon AHN ; Hyoung Ryoul KIM
Journal of the Korean Medical Association 2009;52(5):472-481
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral in the Earth's crust, and it is not confined to the historic and current asbestos mining areas, but rather quite commonly encountered in certain geological environments across the world. The middle-west side of the Korean Peninsula (Chungnam province) has been composed of numerous talc and asbestos ore deposits derived from serpentine and dolomite. These areas have experienced epidemics of malignant mesothelioma and pleural plaques as a result of non-occupational "neighborhood" exposure and naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) exposure. However, asbestosis epidemics from environmental exposure were rare because asbestosis needs relatively high concentration of asbestos exposure. This review summarizes asbestosis epidemics which occurred in the residents who have lived past or current asbestos mining areas and natural in-place asbestos deposits (or asbestos-like mineral deposits) in the world, including Korean asbestosis endemics that occurred in Chungnam province, which has many historic asbestos mining. Also, this manuscript will describe effective public policies for managing NOA, minimizing potential hazards, and protecting public health from asbestos exposure.
Asbestos
;
Asbestosis
;
Calcium Carbonate
;
Environmental Exposure
;
Magnesium
;
Mesothelioma
;
Mining
;
Public Health
;
Public Policy
;
Residence Characteristics
;
Talc
2.Occupational Respiratory Cancer in Korea.
Hye Eun LEE ; Hyoung Ryoul KIM
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2010;25(Suppl):S94-S98
Malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer are representative examples of occupational cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, and the incidence of malignant mesothelioma is expected to increase sharply in the near future. Although information about lung carcinogen exposure is limited, it is estimated that the number of workers exposed to carcinogens has declined. The first official case of occupational cancer was malignant mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure in the asbestos textile industry in 1992. Since then, compensation for occupational respiratory cancer has increased. The majority of compensated lung cancer was due to underlying pneumoconiosis. Other main causative agents of occupational lung cancer included asbestos, hexavalent chromium, and crystalline silica. Related jobs included welders, foundry workers, platers, plumbers, and vehicle maintenance workers. Compensated malignant mesotheliomas were associated with asbestos exposure. Epidemiologic studies conducted in Korea have indicated an elevated risk of lung cancer in pneumoconiosis patients, foundry workers, and asbestos textile workers. Occupational respiratory cancer has increased during the last 10 to 20 yr though carcinogen-exposed population has declined in the same period. More efforts to advance the systems for the investigation, prevention and management of occupational respiratory cancer are needed.
Asbestos/toxicity
;
Carcinogens/toxicity
;
Chromium/toxicity
;
Female
;
Humans
;
Lung Neoplasms/chemically induced/*epidemiology/*etiology
;
Male
;
Mesothelioma/epidemiology/*etiology
;
Occupational Diseases/chemically induced/*epidemiology/etiology
;
Occupational Exposure/*adverse effects
;
Pneumoconiosis/complications
;
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
;
Silicon Dioxide/toxicity
;
Workers' Compensation
3.Mothers' Working Hours and Children's Obesity: Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008-2010.
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2013;25(1):28-
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
4.Presenting Differences in Smoking Rates among Working Groups for Smoking Cessation Policies
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2019;34(31):e216-
No abstract available.
Smoke
;
Smoking Cessation
;
Smoking
5.Prediction of Return-to-original-work after an Industrial Accident Using Machine Learning and Comparison of Techniques.
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2018;33(19):e144-
BACKGROUND: Many studies have tried to develop predictors for return-to-work (RTW). However, since complex factors have been demonstrated to predict RTW, it is difficult to use them practically. This study investigated whether factors used in previous studies could predict whether an individual had returned to his/her original work by four years after termination of the worker's recovery period. METHODS: An initial logistic regression analysis of 1,567 participants of the fourth Panel Study of Worker's Compensation Insurance yielded odds ratios. The participants were divided into two subsets, a training dataset and a test dataset. Using the training dataset, logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, and support vector machine models were established, and important variables of each model were identified. The predictive abilities of the different models were compared. RESULTS: The analysis showed that only earned income and company-related factors significantly affected return-to-original-work (RTOW). The random forest model showed the best accuracy among the tested machine learning models; however, the difference was not prominent. CONCLUSION: It is possible to predict a worker's probability of RTOW using machine learning techniques with moderate accuracy.
Accidents, Occupational*
;
Dataset
;
Decision Trees
;
Forests
;
Insurance
;
Logistic Models
;
Machine Learning*
;
Odds Ratio
;
Return to Work
;
Support Vector Machine
;
Workers' Compensation
6.Epidemiologic Characteristics of Malignant Mesothelioma in Korea.
Hyoung Ryoul KIM ; Yeon Soon AHN ; Soon Hee JUNG
Journal of the Korean Medical Association 2009;52(5):449-455
Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive tumor occurring in mesothelial cells of the pleura and peritoneum. This cancer is attributable to asbestos in 80~90% of the patients. Asbestos has been widely used in Korea since the 1970s, therefore, a large number of Korean workers, especially who engaged in the industries of asbestos textiles, shipbuilding, or construction, have been exposed to asbestos occupationally. Korea has several kinds of statistics showing mesothelioma mortality and morbidity, which include cancer registry data, mortality data, and surveillance data. According to the annual report of the Korea Central Cancer Registry (KCCR), fatal malignant mesothelioma occurred in around 40~50 cases a year during the recent 10 years (1993~2002). According to the surveillance data, about 34 cases have been reported annually since 2001. It has also been revealed that about 60% of malignant mesothelioma patients have experiences to be exposed to asbestos in the past. The number of mesothelioma patients in Korea is smaller than that of some developed countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. However, mesothelioma has increased greatly in recent years in Korea, and it is expected to increase continuously considering asbestos consumption, as it happened in other countries which used large amounts of asbestos. Therefore, active policies to prevent asbestos-related malignant mesothelioma and to compensate patients suffering from it have to be made in Korea.
Asbestos
;
Developed Countries
;
Germany
;
Great Britain
;
Humans
;
Japan
;
Korea
;
Mesothelioma
;
Occupations
;
Peritoneum
;
Pleura
;
Stress, Psychological
;
Textiles
7.The Administrative Process for Recognition and Compensation for Occupational Diseases in Korea.
Soon Chan KWON ; Hyoung Ryoul KIM ; Young Jun KWON
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2014;29(Suppl):S3-S11
In the Workers' Compensation Insurance (WCI) system in Korea, occupational diseases (ODs) are approved through deliberation meetings of the Committee on Occupational Disease Judgment (CODJ) after disease investigations when workers or medical institutions requested the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (COMWEL) for medical care benefits. Insufficient data presented by employers or workers or lack of objective evidence may increase the possibility of disapproval. The expertise of accident investigation staff members should be reinforced and employers' and related institutions' obligations to cooperate and submit data should be specified under the law. The deliberation meetings of the CODJ are held separately for musculoskeletal, cerebro-cardiovascular, and medical diseases, and the judgments of ODs are made by the chairperson of COMWEL and six committee members by majority vote by issue. To reinforce the expertise of the members of the CODJ, periodic education and a system to accredit the committee members after appropriate education should be introduced. To fairly and quickly compensate for diseases that occur in workers, the criteria for the recognition of occupational diseases should be continuously amended and the systems for disease investigations and judgments should be continuously improved.
Accidents, Occupational/*economics
;
Humans
;
Insurance, Accident/economics
;
Insurance, Health/economics
;
Occupational Diseases/*economics
;
Organization and Administration
;
Republic of Korea
;
Workers' Compensation/*economics
8.Workers' Compensation for Occupational Respiratory Diseases.
So Young PARK ; Hyoung Ryoul KIM ; Jaechul SONG
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2014;29(Suppl):S47-S51
The respiratory system is one of the most important body systems particularly from the viewpoint of occupational medicine because it is the major route of occupational exposure. In 2013, there were significant changes in the specific criteria for the recognition of occupational diseases, which were established by the Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (IACIA). In this article, the authors deal with the former criteria, implications of the revision, and changes in the specific criteria in Korea by focusing on the 2013 amendment to the IACIA. Before the 2013 amendment to the IACIA, occupational respiratory disease was not a category because the previous criteria were based on specific hazardous agents and their health effects. Workers as well as clinicians were not familiar with the agent-based criteria. To improve these criteria, a system-based structure was added. Through these changes, in the current criteria, 33 types of agents and 11 types of respiratory diseases are listed under diseases of the respiratory system. In the current criteria, there are no concrete guidelines for evaluating work-relatedness, such as estimating the exposure level, latent period, and detailed examination methods. The results of further studies can support the formulation of detailed criteria.
Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic/economics/pathology
;
Asbestosis/economics/pathology
;
Asthma/economics/pathology
;
Humans
;
Lung Diseases/*economics
;
Occupational Diseases/*economics
;
Occupational Exposure
;
Pneumoconiosis/economics/pathology
;
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/economics/pathology
;
Republic of Korea
;
Workers' Compensation/*economics
9.Overview of Asbestos Issues in Korea.
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2009;24(3):363-367
Asbestos is a carcinogen that causes diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer in humans. There was a sharp increase in the use of asbestos in Korea in the 1970s as Korea's economy developed rapidly, and asbestos was only recently banned from use. Despite the ban of its use, previously applied asbestos still causes many problems. A series of asbestos-related events that recently occurred in Korea have caused the general public to become concerned about asbestos. Therefore, it is necessary to take proper action to deal with asbestos-related events, such as mass outbreaks of mesothelioma among residents who lived near asbestos textile factories or asbestos mines. Although there have been no rapid increases in asbestos-related illnesses in Korea to date, such illnesses are expected to increase greatly due to the amount of asbestos used and long latency period. Decreasing the asbestos exposure level to levels as low as possible is the most important step in preventing asbestos-related illnesses in the next few decades. However, there is a lack of specialized facilities for the analysis of asbestos and experts to diagnose and treat asbestos-related illnesses in Korea; therefore, national-level concern and support are required.
Asbestos/*toxicity
;
Asbestosis/*epidemiology/etiology/mortality
;
Environmental Exposure/prevention & control
;
Humans
;
Korea
;
Lung Neoplasms/*chemically induced
;
Mesothelioma/*chemically induced/epidemiology
10.A Case of Epilepsy and Assessments of Fitness for Work.
Kyoung Han KIM ; Min CHOI ; Se Eun KIM ; Tae Won JANG ; Hyoung Ryoul KIM ; Jung Wan KOO
Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012;24(3):287-293
BACKGROUND: Epilepsy affects an individual's ability to work as well as their daily activities. Patients with epilepsy have difficulties in finding and maintaining jobs, and they may not have opportunities to perform adequately. Therefore, evaluation of work-fitness is important for patients with epilepsy. In this report, the authors reviewed a case of epilepsy and discussed aspects of the case for evaluation of work-fitness. CASE REPORT: A 43-year-old man with epilepsy visited the hospital for evaluation of work-fitness. His job consisted of forklift driving and crane operation using a remote control. As a seizure attack could threaten worker's safety, we recommended a job change. The employer refused to approve a job change due to the company's circumstances, so we recommended several conditions, including continuous medication, use of protective equipment, restriction of night-shift work, restriction of strenuous exercise, and profound sleep. An epilepsy event occurred during the follow-up period, prompting his company to evaluate his work. There were frequent movements of forklift operations and workers in the workplace, so we recommended restriction of forklift driving and a job change if possible. As a result, the employer changed his job and we recommended "capable of performing work without any conditions". CONCLUSION: For evaluation of work-fitness in patients with epilepsy, adequate job analysis, assessment of patient's medical conditions, and interviews of coworker and employers should be conducted. It is also important to let the employer make the best decision in terms of the patient's health and coworker's safety.
Adult
;
Epilepsy
;
Follow-Up Studies
;
Humans
;
Linear Energy Transfer
;
Seizures
;
Work Capacity Evaluation