BACKGROUND: Job holders are groups that have suffered from chronic stressful condition. Nowadays, occupational stress are increasing due to Korean economic crisis. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the stress scores of several kinds of jobs, the relationship between the amount of stress and mental health status, factors associated with stress. METHODS: Among workers who had visited a medical college hospital, Taejeon, Korea, for regular health evaluation from April 1 to June 30 1998, we selected 50 clerks, 50 industrial workers, 50 professionals, 50 service or salesmen and 50 public servants in the survey. A total of 159 workers were evaluated as subjects excluding those who had answered in adequately to the questionnaire. Stress scores were measured by Korean-translated BEPSI(Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument) and Bae Jong Myun's 30-items SRRQ(Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire). Mental health status were checked by Korean-translated SCL-90-R(Symptom checklist-90-Revision). RESULTS: The average BEPSI score of workers was 2.07+/-0.72. The mean score of female workers was 2.27+/-.70 and it was obviously higher than male worker's score of 1.85+/-.66. 20-29 year age group and over 40 year age group's amount of stress were obviously higher than 30-39 year age group. The low education level group had higher stress score than those with high education level but the amount of stress showed no significant difference in the monthly income, job tenure, number of family members to support, hobby and religion. According to occupation, clerks, industrial workers, service or salesmen's stress scores were higher than those of professional or public servants. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation has showed that there is a correlation between the amount of job holder's stress and mental health including somatimtian, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychotism Therefore, we conclude that the best way to stay in good menta
Anxiety ; Daejeon ; Depression ; Education ; Female ; Hobbies ; Hostility ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mental Health* ; Occupations ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Wells' syndrome or eosinophilic cellulitis is an uncommon cutaneous disorder characterized by recurrent erythematous and edematous plaques that often resemble acute cellulitis. The characteristic microscopic findings are diffuse dermal eosinophilia with marked edema, and flame figures consisting of amorphous or granular eosinophilic material around collagen bundles of the dermis. Etiology and pathogenesis are unknown, but the disease has been found to be associated with infections, arthropod bites, drug administration, surgery and hematologic disorders. We report the case of a 55-year-old man with pancreatic carcinoma who was presented with an asymptomatic erythematous to brownish subcutaneous nodule on the left buttock of several days' duration. A biopsy specimen taken from the erythematous to brownish nodule showed many flame figures and diffuse infiltration of eosinophils in the dermis and subcutaneous fat tissue. The rapid resolution of the skin lesion with chemotherapy of the pancreatic carcinoma supports a relationship between the two conditions.
Arthropods ; Biopsy ; Buttocks ; Cellulitis ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Drug Therapy ; Edema ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat

Dental porcelain should have adequate strength and similar esthetics as natural teeth. Recently esthetics has become a high priority in clinical dentistry. Thus the evaluation of color stability of dental porcelain has become an important part in dental research. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference in color stability of 3 types of porcelain (Vintage, VMK 95, CERAMCO II). The porcelain were divided into groups by 2 types of treatment (Glazing or non-glazing and thermocycling or non-thermocycling). The porcelain wee dyed with methylene blue and distilled water, and then the color stability was evaluated with a spectrophotometer. The results were as follow ; 1. The color change of porcelain increased in the order of VMK 95, Vintage, CERAMCO II. But there was no significant difference. 2. The color change decreased in the glazing group compared to the non-glazing group(p<0.05). 3. The color change increased after thermocycling But there was no significant difference. 4. The color change according to dye method was significantly larger with methylene blue copared to distilled water(P<0.05).
Crowns* ; Dental Porcelain* ; Dental Research ; Dentistry ; Esthetics ; Methylene Blue ; Tooth ; Water

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify the alcohol drinking pattern of parents and to analyze drinking related factors in problem drinking among adolescent's parents. METHOD: This study was conducted through a structured questioning from November 5th to 22th in 2002. Those are 2,522 parents of the students of the 1st and 2nd grade who were selected randomly among 26 middle and high schools located in Socho-gu, Seoul. Data was analyzed using SAS program that included descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULT: 1. For frequency of drinking, 33.1% of the subjects responded to drink two-four times a month, 26.0% drink more than two times a week. 2. For the amount of drinking, 29.6% drink one or two glasses while 9.4% drink over ten glasses at a time. 3. The mean AUDIT score was 8.27+/-7.02(score of range: 0-40). 4. Based on AUDIT score, drinkers with less than eight point from AUDIT(normal group) were 55.1%, from more than eight point to less than twelve point from AUDIT(problematic drinker) were 16.3%, and more than twelve point from AUDIT(alcohol abuse and dependency) were 28.6%. 5. Based on more than twelve point from AUDIT, female(mother), high school and, have religion, housekeeper were the significantly higher score than counter parts. CONCLUSION: Alcohol drinking pattern and level of drinking of their parents links to their children's drinking and results in family, social, and national loss. Active prevention is needed. Specially, pertinent education about drinking and public education for mothers who are housekeepers should be carried out with concentrated intervention programs for the problematic drinker so alcohol abuse and dependency can be reduced.
Alcohol Drinking* ; Alcoholism ; Drinking* ; Education ; Eyeglasses ; Glass ; Humans ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Mothers ; Parents* ; Seoul ; Child Health

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations on deaths of the COVID-19 cases in some elderly long-term care facilities (LTCF) in Gwangju Metropolitan City. Methods: The study subjects were 659 COVID-19 cases in residents of 7 elderly LTCF, Gwangju, from 21 Dec. 2021 to 28 Jan. 2022. The used variables were confirmed dates for COVID-19, demographic characteristics, co-morbidities, presentation of symptoms, death and vaccination related characteristics including type of vaccine, doses and dates. Vaccination status were classified as not vaccinated, partially and fully vaccinated. The associations of vaccination status and deaths of COVID-19 cases were tested by chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The rates of not vaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated were 19.4%, 10.2% and 70.4%, respectively. The mortality rate of the cases was 6.4%.The death rate by vaccination status was 16.4% in not vaccinated, 15.4% in partially vaccinated and 2.6% in fully vaccinated, showing a statistically significant difference. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals, CIs) of death compared to fully vaccinated were 7.64 (3.87-16.34) in non-vaccinated, and 6.97 (3.44-14.14) in partially vaccinated. Conclusions COVID-19 vaccination seems to work effectively in preventing deaths of COVID-19 cases of elderly LTCF residents. This finding support that fully vaccinations in high risk group such as elderly LTCF residents is very important for one of strategies of COVID-19 management.

Among the diverse factors causing obesity, the life styles and the food habits are very important. This study has carried out to evaluate the association between the habit of living and the Body Composition in 132 male and 313 female of 20-75 years old people in Incheon. The research tools are questionnaires of 6 items of life styles(Smoking, Drinking, Frequency of exercises, Normal Activity Degree, Favorite food, Degree of salt ingestion) and a height and Body Composition. The statistical results are as follows : 38% of male and 23% of female were over the normal range(Korean Society of Obesity 2004). Although the tendency of average BMI are increasing, there was no significant difference in comparison of the average BMI according to the age in male. But, the percentage of Body Fat, the Visceral Fat Area and the WHR, there was statistical significance according to age in male. The middle aged group(between 40~50 years) and older group(over 60 years) were over the normal range. In female, there were significant difference in comparison of the average BMI, the percentage of Body Fat, the WHR, the Visceral Fat Area and the Fitness Score. Especially, in the old female group, the BMI and the WHR score were over the normal range. The BMI: There was positive correlation with the Percent Body Fat(r=0.796, r=0.839, p=0.000), the Body Fat Mass(r= 0.891, r=0.932, p=0.000) and the WHR(r=0.783, r=0.902, p=0.000). Frequency of Exercises, Normal activity Degree, Favorite food, Degree of salt ingestion : There was significant difference in comparison of sex(P<0.05). The results of this study hope to provide an opportunity to further examine the relationship of the Healthy Behavior to Body Composition and obesity.
Adipose Tissue ; Body Composition* ; Information Storage and Retrieval* ; Drinking ; Eating ; Exercise ; Female ; Food Habits ; Hope ; Humans ; Incheon* ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Life Style* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Reference Values

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Since the introduction of hospital pharmacy residency programs in 1983, hospital pharmacists in South Korea have been expected to expand their roles. However, their services and the outcomes have not been fully understood. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of Korean hospital pharmacist-provided interventions with regard to intervention type, intervention consequences, and target patient groups. METHODS: A literature search of the following databases was performed: Embase, PubMed, Medline, KoreaMed, RISS, KMbase, KISS, NDSL, and KISTI. The search words were “hospital pharmacist”, “clinical pharmacist”, and “Korea”. Articles reporting clinical or economic outcome measures that resulted from hospital pharmacist interventions were considered. Numeric measures for the acceptance rate of pharmacist recommendations were subjected to meta-analysis. RESULTS: Of the 1,683 articles searched, 44 met the inclusion selection criteria. Most articles were published after 2000 (81.8%) and focused on clinical outcomes. Economic outcomes had been published since 2011. The interventions were classified as patient education, multidisciplinary team work, medication assessment, and guideline development. The outcome measures were physicians’ prescription changes, clinical outcomes, patient adherence, economic outcomes, and quality of life. The acceptance rate was 80.5% (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Studies on pharmacist interventions have increased and showed increased patient health benefits and reduced medical costs at Korean hospital sites. Because pharmacists' professional competency would be recognized if the economic outcomes of their work were confirmed and justified, studies on their clinical performance should also include their economic impact.
Humans ; Insurance Benefits ; Korea ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Patient Compliance ; Patient Education as Topic ; Patient Selection ; Pharmacists ; Pharmacy Residencies ; Prescriptions ; Quality of Life

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: To develop a Critical Thinking Skill Test for Nursing Students. METHODS: The construct concepts were drawn from a literature review and in-depth interviews with hospital nurses and surveys were conducted among students (n=607) from nursing colleges. The data were collected from September 13 to November 23, 2012 and analyzed using the SAS program, 9.2 version. The KR 20 coefficient for reliability, difficulty index, discrimination index, item-total correlation and known group technique for validity were performed. RESULTS: Four domains and 27 skills were identified and 35 multiple choice items were developed. Thirty multiple choice items which had scores higher than .80 on the content validity index were selected for the pre test. From the analysis of the pre test data, a modified 30 items were selected for the main test. In the main test, the KR 20 coefficient was .70 and Corrected Item-Total Correlations range was .11-.38. There was a statistically significant difference between two academic systems (p=.001). CONCLUSION: The developed instrument is the first critical thinking skill test reflecting nursing perspectives in hospital settings and is expected to be utilized as a tool which contributes to improvement of the critical thinking ability of nursing students.
Education, Nursing/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; *Program Development ; Questionnaires ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; *Thinking ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is a distressing skin condition in which acquired destruction of melanocytes causes depigmented patches of various shapes & sizes by as yet unclear mechanisms. Its classification is as varied and unresolved as the theories on its pathogenesis, the most plausible of which are autoimmune, neurohumoral and self-destruction theories. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to devise a classification scheme which would correlate well with the disease course and prognosis. METHOD: We classified vitiligo into 3 types(symmetric: type 1, segmental; type 2, localized; type 3) based on different proposed pathogenetic mechanisms and analyzed the differences between these types in the clinical manifestations of 502 Korean cases. RESULTS: 1. There were 203 males(40.4% ) and 299 females(59.6%). 2. The most frequent clinical type was the symmetric type(49.8%), followed by the localized type(34.1%) and the segmental type(16.1%). 3, The male-to-female ratio was highest in type 2, but not significantly so. 4. Poliosis and halo nevus were associated in 22.3% and 3.8%, respectiuely. 5. The mean age at the first visit was 32.7 years(male, 29.2 years, female; 27.5 years), and there was a significant difference between the clinical types(type 1; 41.0 years, type 2; 20.5 years, type 3; 26.2 years). 6. The mean age of onset was 25.6 years(male; 23.0 years, female; 27.5 years), and there was a significant difference between the clinical types(type 1; 31.3 years, type 2; 15.7 years, type 3; 22.1 years). 7. A family history of vitiligo was observed in 11.2% of patients, whose sisters were most frequently affected, and there was no significant difference between the clinical types. 8. Associated diseases were seen in 12.1% of the patients, the frequency of which was significantly higher in type 1 vitiligo. 9. Abnormal laboratory findings were found in 14.7% and were significantly more common in type 1 vitiligo. CONCLUSIONS: The 3 types differ significantly in the mean age at the first visit, the mean age of onset, disease association and abnormal laboratory findings. Type 1 develops by autoimmune mechanisms, as shown by the continuous progression and the close association with other diseases and abnormal laboratory findings, Types 2 and 3 have a different disease course, becoming stationary after initial progression, Thus, the 3 clinical types classified by the authors are thought to be useful in predicting the course and prognosis of vitiligo and in determining the appropriate therapy. For a more optimal classification, further study on the pathogenesis of vitiligo seems to be in order.
Age of Onset ; Classification* ; Female ; Humans ; Melanocytes ; Nevus, Halo ; Prognosis ; Siblings ; Skin ; Vitiligo*