Korea is known as the country with the lowest coronary heart disease mortality in the world. The pattern of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in Korea has changed remarkably during the last two decades. The objective of this review is to address the recent epidemiologic study findings of CHD in Korea. The age-adjusted mortality from CHD increased significantly during the period 1984~2000. In 2000, the rates for Korean men and women were 15.0 and 10.7, respectively. These rates were 5 times higher than those in 1984 for both men and women. The event rates of CHD, which were estimated in a city in Korea and standardized to the world population for men and women, were 93 and 33 per 100,000, respectively. According to studies conducted in Korea, the major risk factors for CHD are smoking, hypertension and high serum total cholesterol level, similar in western populations. The population attributable risks of smoking, hypertension, and high serum cholesterol level were 41%, 21%, and 20%, respectively. Because Korean men show the highest prevalence rate of smoking in the world (65% in men aged 20 years and older) and the prevalence of hypertension is also high (30% in men aged 30 years and older), a high health priority should be granted to the prevention and control of smoking and hypertension in order to avert the epidemic of CHD.
Cholesterol ; Coronary Disease* ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Female ; Financing, Organized ; Health Priorities ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea* ; Male ; Mortality ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

No abstract available.
Cardiovascular Diseases* ; Diet* ; Korea*

To identify the changes in profession care patterns after the introduction of medical insurance in korea, professional care in hospitals and clinics of two succeeding years were compared. The hospital and clinics selected for this study were those which located in Seoul city. Hospital were classified into 3 categories: university hospital, general hospital and hospital. The diseases selected for this study were acute appendicitis and normal delivery. They were selected because their disease courses are considered to be fairly stable. The variables used for this study were length of stay, total hospital costs, costs of each components of cares. The information used for this study was obtain form the official forms requested by the medical facilities to the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation. The two periods studies were 3 months of each year form March 1st to May 3st in 1979 and 1980. The total number of normal deliverly studied was 289 in 1979, 301 in 1980 respectively and acute appendicitis was 92 and 111 respectively. In order to compare the quantity of medical care between 2 study periods the insurance price scores of 1979 were converted to prices of 1980. For statistical test of difference between 2 periods T-test and Welch's test were used. The result of the study were briefly summarized in below. 1. No significant difference was observed in the average length of stay of both disease between two study periods in all types of hospitals. 2. No significant difference was observed in the average total hospital costs of both disease in all types of hospital, but in the private clinic costs was rather decreased significantly in 1980. 3. More cost decrease were seen than cost increase in 1980 in all types of facilities. More cost changes by items were seen in acute appendicitis than in normal deliverly between two study periods. The total hospital costs can be divided into 2 portions: charges for drug and material and for physician. In normal delivery, costs for physician's charges was significantly decreased in almost all the hospitals and costs for drug and material were not changed significantly in all the hospitals in 1980. In the university hospitals, however, the costs for drug and material were increased significantly 1980. The cost decrease for physician's charge were mainly due to the decrease in the costs of laboratory test, treatment and physical therapy. The increase in the costs for the drug and material in the university hospital was mainly due to the increase in the costs for drug for oral administration and injection. 4. The proportion of components of medical care in the hospital has not been changed significantly, however, the cost for injection in normal deliverly was characteristically increased in 1980 in all hospitals studied. In general in the proportion of the costs for drug and material was tended to increase and the costs for physician was tended to decrease in 1980. The increase in the costs for drug and material were considered to be due to increase in the cost for drugs for oral administration and injection. The decrease in the costs for physician were due to decrease in the costs of laboratory test, treatment and physical therapy. Above mention changes in hospital and clinic care patterns are considered to be mostly influenced by the review criteria set by the K.L.C. for the assessment of the fee request made by clinics and hospitals.
Administration, Oral ; Appendicitis ; Fees and Charges ; Hospital Costs ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, University ; Insurance* ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Seoul

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the health behaviors (such as smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, duration of sleep, body weight, eating habit of breakfast and snack) affecting self-perceived health status, and to determine the relationships. RESEARCH METHODS: This study utilized the data from Korean National Health Survey (KNHS) in 1992. The data consisted of random sample of 2,799 individuals (1,304 male and 1,495 females) whose ages were between 20 and 59. The analytic methods for the study were chi square analysis, logistic regression. RESULTS: The results of the study were as follows : (1) There was a negative relationship between duration of smoking and health status in linear pattern; (2) The frequency of alcohol drinking had a significant relationship with health status in quadratic pattern. That is, the health status of moderate drinkers was better than that of non-drinkers and heavy drinkers; (3) There was no significant relationship between the frequency of exercise and the health status. But in further analysis, the relationship between them was positive in linear pattern. That is, the health status of daily exercisers was better than that of the others; (4) Duration of sleep significantly influenced the health status in quadratic pattern. That is, the persons who sleep for 7-8 hours per day were better than that of the others; (5) The health status of persons with normal body weight was higher than that of persons with underweight or overweight; (6) Eating breakfast or not did not influence the health status, and taking snack or not influenced the health status; (7) In mutivariate analysis, The younger the persons were and the longer the level of education was, the higher the health status was in both male and female. In female, the higher the economic status was, the higher the health status was. And the smoking and the weight status significantly and independently influenced the health status in both male and female. And in male, the moderate drinking positively influenced the health status. CONCLUSION: History of no smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, regular exercise, 7-8 hours sleeping and maintaining the normal body weight were health-promotive behaviors. And especially no smoking, moderate drinking and maintaing the normal body weight singnificantly influenced the self perceived health status.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Weight ; Breakfast ; Drinking ; Eating ; Education ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Overweight ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Snacks ; Thinness

A case of infantile acropustulosis(I.A.). ariginally reported by Kahn, was seen at the Department of Dermatology, Catholic Medical College in September 1979. An 11 month old male patient had been suffering from 1~2mm sized severe pruritic pustules on both hands and feet from 3 months of age. The lesions had the course of exacerbations and remissions from the onset and aggravated since last summer. The eruptions did not respond to topical and oral steroids and antiboitics. There was no family history of atopy, psoriasis and scabies. Histopathological findings revealed large, well circumscribed, intraepidermal pustules which were filled with neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The scraping tests for S. scabiei and dermatophytic fungi were negative. Bacterial culture from the pustular lesions was negative. Treatment was done with 4,4-diaminodiphenylsulfone(Dapsone), 2mg/kg/day in devided doses. Dramatic effect was noted within 2 days after treatment.
Dermatology ; Foot ; Fungi ; Hand ; Humans ; Incontinentia Pigmenti* ; Infant ; Male ; Neutrophils ; Psoriasis ; Scabies ; Steroids

Malignant mixed mullerian tumor (MMMT) is an unusual tumor composed of malignant epithelial and nonepithelial components in the same lesion and is subdivided into homologous and heterologous types. Epidemiologically, these tumors are associated with prior pelvic irradiation, functioning ovarian lesions, exogenous estrogen therapy and rarely endometriosis. We experienced a case of uterine MMMT which arose from adenomyosis in a 47-year-old woman who had no specific past medical history. The posterior uterine corpus showed a 3.5x3.0x2.0 cm sized, relatively well defined tumor mass within the background of the adenomyosis. The tumor was composed of well differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma and sarcomatous stroma with foci of rhabdomyosarcomatous differentiation confirmed by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic studies. Through the immunohistochemical study, both the epithelial and nonepithelial components were positive for cytokeratin and it suggested that the sarcomatous area originated from metaplasia of the adenocarcinoma component. From the overall findings, it is regarded as an uterine heterologous MMMT which arose from adenomyosis.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenomyosis* ; Endometriosis ; Estrogens ; Female ; Humans ; Keratins ; Metaplasia ; Middle Aged ; Rhabdomyosarcoma ; Uterus*

A total of 10 cases of surgically resected intestinal tuberculosis specimens was subjuected for analysis of its macroscopic characteristics. Intestinal tuberculosis was broadley classified into the ulcerative type (4 cases), ulcero-hypertrophic type (3 cases) and mixed type (3 cases) on the basis of its gross features. The ulcerative type was characterized by multiple, segmental lesions of napkin-ring stricture with variable length of uninvolved mucosa, secondary to the circumferential or annular ulceration. Various forms of relatively superficial ulcers were also scattered. Their ulcer beds were rather granular, being covered with a necrotic detritus although the ulcer margins were relatively well defined with areas of some nodularity. The ulcero-hypertrophic type affected the ileocecal region and ascending colon in a tubular form by segmental thickening of the wall. The diseased segment of mucosa appeared cobble-stone, represented by coalescence of irregular ulcers and hemorrhage. There were scattered small ulcers in the separate portions of terminal ileum. The macroscopic distinctions between the intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn's or ischemic enterocolitis were presented in detail.

Pemphigus vulgaris is serious mucocutaneous bullous disease and is rarely reported in this country. The authors had observed a patient with pemphigus vulgaris from its early stage to the autopsy, including a total of five admissions. The patient had satisfactorily responded to low doses of prednisolone (60mg/day) initially and high doses (up to 180mg/day) later, but the patient died unexpectedly during admission. Autopsy finding revealed extensive soft tissue abscesses in both gluteofemoral regions from which Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultured.