This study investigated changes in the household expenditure for food outside home using the time-series family expenditure data during 1982-2002. Major findings were as following: first, expenditure for food outside home had been increasing, while over all level of the food expenditure had been decreasing; second, two thirds of the total amount of expenditure for food outside home were for regular meals; the proportion of food outside home which were paid to alcohols and other beverages have been decreasing since 1999; lastly, over the half of the total expenditure for food outside home had been spent on Korean food. Based on the results implications for consumer trends for food and food industry were provided.
Alcohols ; Beverages ; Family Characteristics* ; Food Industry ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Korea* ; Meals

This study investigated changes in the household expenditure for food outside home using the time-series family expenditure data during 1982-2002. Major findings were as following: first, expenditure for food outside home had been increasing, while over all level of the food expenditure had been decreasing; second, two thirds of the total amount of expenditure for food outside home were for regular meals; the proportion of food outside home which were paid to alcohols and other beverages have been decreasing since 1999; lastly, over the half of the total expenditure for food outside home had been spent on Korean food. Based on the results implications for consumer trends for food and food industry were provided.
Alcohols ; Beverages ; Family Characteristics* ; Food Industry ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Korea* ; Meals

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the rural elderly suicide literacy level upon suicide stigma and coping advice with suicidal crises (recommending professional help for a suicidal person). In particular, this study investigates the role of cultural norms (perceived social expectations for the experience of negative emotions) on suicide stigma and coping ability. Methods: A survey was conducted addressing elderly people (N=119) living in rural areas. Regression analysis using SPSS PROCESS macro was used to examine the relationships among the key variables. Results: Participants with higher suicide literacy showed lower suicide stigma, and this perception had a significant effect on enhancing their coping advice with suicidal crises. Also, perceived social expectations significantly influenced the relationship between suicide stigma and coping advice. With lower levels of social expectations, the mediating effect of suicide stigma on the relationship between suicide literacy and recommending professional help did not exist whereas the indirect effect was significant when it pertained to high levels of social expectations. Conclusion This result signifies that suicide stigma serves as a barrier deterring Koreans from reaching out for professional help regarding their mental health. Moreover, these findings underscore the importance of cultural psychological factors such as perceived social expectations in terms of developing suicide prevention strategies.

Heated, humidified, high-flow nasal cannula (HHFNC) is frequently used as a noninvasive respiratory support for preterm infants with respiratory distress. But there are limited studies that compares HHFNC with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) only as the initial treatment of respiratory distress in preterm infants immediately after birth. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness and safety of HHFNC compared to nCPAP for the initial treatment of preterm infants with respiratory distress. Preterm infants at between 30 and 35 weeks of gestational age were randomized to HHFNC or nCPAP when they showed respiratory distress in less than 24 hours of age postnatally. Preterm infants who needed invasive respiratory supports were excluded. Primary outcome was the incidence of treatment failure (defined as need for the intubation or mechanical ventilation). Eighty-five infants were analyzed. Sixteen of 42 infants randomized to HHFNC showed treatment failure compared to 9 of 43 infants using nCPAP (Risk difference 17.17 [−1.90–36.23]; P = 0.099). In terms of the reason for treatment failure, the frequency of hypoxia was significantly higher in the HHFNC group than in the nCPAP group (P = 0.020). There was no difference between the 2 groups in terms of respiratory and clinical outcomes and complications. Although HHFNC is safe compared to nCPAP, it is not certain that HHFNC is effective compared to nCPAP non-inferiorly as an initial respiratory support in preterm infants with respiratory distress.

This study was done to examine ER nurses' burn-out, as an understanding in the relationship of nursing performance and professional identity. The subjects of the study were nurses working in the emergency room of the general hospital with over 300 beds, located in D metropolitan city and C city. The self-report questionnaires were administered and 120 were collected. For the data analysis, SPSS WIN 12.0 was used. ER nurses' burn-out was 2.99, the mean of nursing performance was 3.69, and professional identity was 3.51. The extent of ER nurses' burn-out showed significantly negative correlation with the extent of nursing performance(r=-.257), along with professional identity(r=-.192). While ER nurses' nursing performance showed significantly positive correlation with professional identity(r=.696). In conclusion, the higher professional identity, the fewer ER nurses experienced burn-out, and the higher extent of nursing performance was obtained. It is necessary to create activities and programs to reduce and prevent burn-out.
Emergencies ; Hospitals, General ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the multiple mini-interview (MMI) predicts academic achievement for subjects in a medical school curriculum. METHODS: Of 49 students who were admitted in 2008, 46 students finished the entire medical education curriculum within 4 years. We calculated the Pearson correlation coefficients between the total MMI score of the 46 graduates and their academic achievements in all subjects of the curriculum. RESULTS: The correlation coefficients between total MMI score and academic achievement in Medical Interview and History Taking, Problem-Based Learning, Doctoring I, and Clinical Practice of Surgery ranged from 0.4 to 0.7, indicating that they were moderately related. The values between total MMI score and achievement in Research Overview, Technical and Procedural Skills, Clinical Performance Examinations 1 and 3, Clinical Practice of Laboratory Medicine and Psychiatry, Neurology, and Orthopedics ranged from 0.2 to 0.4, which meant that they were weakly related. CONCLUSION: MMI score can predict medical student' academic achievement in subjects in the medical humanities and clinical practice.
Clinical Competence ; Curriculum ; Education, Medical ; Humanities ; Humans ; Neurology ; Orthopedics ; Problem-Based Learning ; Schools, Medical*

Recent progress in medical informatics enables us to use medical information regardless of time or place, to make a diagnostic and therapeutic plan, according to increasing need about health of general population. There are many homepages on the web, which provides medical common senses, hospital information, and medical counselling on the web. Virtual Hospital, which offers comprehensive media information, has medical counselling program with various programs such as self-diagnosis, emergency information, drug information, Q and A, and so on. The aim of this study is to examine the content and purpose of medical counselling on the web. The subjects consisted of 150 counselings which were called 'Medical Counselling' in the Virtual Hospital for December 1996 through March 1997. Many questioners wanted to know treatment principles. to make a diagnosis, and to know specific medical knowledge, The most common questions are as follows; general and unspecified, digestive, skin, musculoskeletal problems. These findings suggests that medical counselling may be used to supplement the lack of direct medical interviews with doctors.
Counseling* ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Internet* ; Medical Informatics ; Skin

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the food intake behavior of cancer survivors based on main sources of energy intake from different food groups in comparison with healthy individuals.METHODS: Baseline survey data from the Health Examinee cohort, which recruited participants from 2014 to 2013 were applied. A total of 5,269 cancer survivors and 5,219 healthy subjects without comorbidities who were matched by age, sex, and enrollment center were included in the analysis. The proportion of energy intake for 17 food groups was devided into lower median and median or upper. OR and 95% CIs were determined to measure the difference of energy intake proportion in cancer survivors, five major types of cancer survivors versus healthy individuals.RESULTS: Generally, the proportion of calories intake from sugars and sweets, meat and poultry, oils and fats, and beverage was lower in cancer survivors than in healthy individuals (OR = 0.83 [95% CI = 0.79–0.88], 0.75 [95% CI = 0.71–0.80], 0.84 [95% CI = 0.80–0.89], and 0.93 [95% CI = 0.88–0.99], respectively) with more prominently shown in breast, colon, and thyroid cancer individuals. In contrast, cancer survivors tended to intake calories from potatoes and starches, legume, seeds and nuts, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, and seasonings more than healthy individuals (OR = 1.09 [95% CI = 1.03–1.16], 1.13 [95% CI = 1.06–1.19], 1.15 [95% CI = 1.09–1.22], 1.07 [95% CI = 1.01–1.13], 1.07 [95% CI = 1.02–1.14], 1.15 [95% CI = 1.08–1.21], and 1.17 [95% CI = 1.10–1.23], respectively) which were more prominent in gastric and breast cancer survivors.CONCLUSIONS: The dietary behavior measured by main sources of energy intake in cancer survivors was different from healthy individuals in terms of several food groups. Although there are nutrition guidelines for cancer survivors, because of the differences between Western population and Asian people in terms of food culture, the guidelines for balanced nutritious behavior should be established among Asian cancer survivors.
Agaricales ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Beverages ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Carbohydrates ; Cohort Studies ; Colon ; Comorbidity ; Eating ; Energy Intake ; Fabaceae ; Fats ; Fruit ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Meat ; Nutrition Policy ; Nutritional Status ; Nuts ; Oils ; Poultry ; Seasons ; Solanum tuberosum ; Starch ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Survivors ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Vegetables

PURPOSE: Plasma level of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), an emerging, sensitive, and specific biomarker of hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), rapidly decreases in infants receiving cyclooxygenase inhibitors for ductal closure. We investigated the usefulness of serial BNP measurement as a guide for individual identification of early constrictive responses to ibuprofen in preterm infants with symptomatic PDA (sPDA). METHODS: Before March 2010, the standard course of pharmacological treatment was initiated with indomethacin (or ibuprofen) and routinely followed by 2 additional doses at intervals of 24 hours. After April 2010, individualized pharmacological treatment was used, starting with the first dose of ibuprofen and withholding additional ibuprofen doses if the BNP concentration was <600 pg/mL and clinical symptoms of PDA improved. RESULTS: The BNP-guided group received significantly fewer doses of ibuprofen than the standard group did during the first course of treatment and the entire study period. The need for further doses of cyclooxygenase inhibitors and for surgical ligation was not significantly different between the 2 groups. No significant differences were seen in clinical outcomes and/or complications related to sPDA and/or pharmacological treatment. CONCLUSION: Individualized BNP-guided pharmacological treatment may be used clinically to avoid unnecessary doses of cyclooxygenase inhibitors without increasing the ductal closure failure and the short-term morbidity related to sPDA.
Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent* ; Humans ; Ibuprofen* ; Indomethacin ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature* ; Ligation ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain* ; Plasma

Purpose: Obesity has been determined to be associated with fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene and thyroid cancer risk. However, the effect of combined interactions between obesity and the FTO gene on thyroid cancer needs further investigation. This study aimed to examine whether interactions between body mass index (BMI) and the FTO gene are associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 705 thyroid cancer cases and 705 sex- and age-matched normal controls were selected from the Cancer Screenee Cohort in National Cancer Center, Korea. A conditional logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the measure of associations and the combined effect of BMI and FTO gene on thyroid cancer. Results: BMI was associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer in subclasses of overweight (23-24.9 kg/m2; adjusted OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.12 to 2.00) and obese (≥ 25 kg/m2) (adjusted OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.23 to 2.14). There were positive associations between the FTO genetic variants rs8047395 and rs8044769 and an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Additionally, the combination of BMI subclasses and FTO gene variants was significantly associated with thyroid cancer risk in the codominant (rs17817288), dominant (rs9937053, rs12149832, rs1861867, and rs7195539), and recessive (rs17817288 and rs8044769) models. Conclusion Findings from this study identified the effects of BMI on thyroid cancer risk among individuals carrying rs17817288, rs9937053, rs12149832, rs1861867, rs7195539, and rs8044769, whereas the effects of BMI may be modified according to individual characteristics of other FTO variants.