BACKGROUND: Primary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is defined as Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates that are resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin in never-been-treated tuberculosis patients, and this malady is caused by the transmission of a resistant strain from one patient, who is infected with a resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain, to another patient. The prevalence of primary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis could be a good indicator of the performance of tuberculosis control programs in recent years. We conducted a case-control study to identify the risk factors for primary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. METHODS: From January 1, 2001 to, June 30, 2003, by conducting prospective laboratory-based surveillance, we identified 29 hospitalized patients with P-MDRTB and these patients constituted a case group in this study. The controls were represented by all the patients with culture-confirmed drug susceptible tuberculosis who were admitted to National Masan Hospital during the same study period. The odds ratios for the patients with primary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, as compared with those of the patients with drug susceptible tuberculosis, were calculated for each categorical variable with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression showed that the presence of diabetes mellitus (odds ratio 2.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-6.86) was independently associated with having primary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that diabetes mellitus might be one of the risk factors for primary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
Case-Control Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Drug Resistance ; Humans ; Isoniazid ; Logistic Models ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Rifampin ; Risk Factors* ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate gender differences in the relationship between fat-free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) by applying body composition chart on Korean elementary students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 965 healthy Korean children of 8 to 12 years of age (501 boys, 464 girls) were obtained. FFMI and FMI were plotted on the body composition chart, and the differences in the relationships between FFMI and FMI were separately evaluated by gender or grade. RESULTS: Weight was heavier and BMI was higher in 3rd and 4th grade boys compare to girls. The value of FFM was higher in boys, but FM was not different. In subgroup analysis by grade, significant gender by FFMI interaction (p=0.015) was found, indicating that the slope of the lines for FMI vs. FFMI was different between boys and girls (Figure was not shown). In subgroup analysis by gender, grade by FFMI interaction was significant in boys, indicating that FMI vs. FFMI relationship differed according to grade only in boys. CONCLUSION: Boys are leaner than girls, despite having similar BMI. Gender difference in the direction of the change of the FFMI and FMI relationship is evident in children.
Age Factors ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Composition/*physiology ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Obesity/physiopathology ; Sex Factors

PURPOSE: When it comes to cancer care, the psychological well-being of family caregivers has gotten its deserved attention. However, the specific roles that the family caregivers take have not been examined as much. The current study aimed to investigate the distribution of family caregivers' roles, particularly in a family-oriented culture, Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 439 participants was recruited from 11 national and regional cancer centers in Korea. The participants who were 60 years old or above went through treatments for their gastric, colorectal, or lung cancer. The individual survey included questions regarding the family type, living arrangement, and the sources of support when it comes to their physical, emotional, financial, and decision-making needs. RESULTS: The responses from the participants showed that cancer caregiving is shared by multiple family caregivers; the major source of support for elderly cancer patients on diverse domains was their spouse; patients' reliance on their daughter(s) increased for emotional support; and patients' reliance on their son(s) stood out for financial support and decision-making support. Also, the older the patients were, the heavier their reliance was on the adult children, including sons, daughters, and daughters-in-law. CONCLUSION: Future support programs for elderly cancer patients are suggested to involve multiple family caregivers to encourage effective and efficient intervention. Also, the limitations of the current study and the suggestions for future research are discussed.
Adult Children ; Aged ; Caregivers ; Financial Support ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung Neoplasms ; Nuclear Family ; Republic of Korea ; Residence Characteristics ; Spouses

How the news media cover cancer may have profound significance for cancer prevention and control; however, little is known about the actual content of cancer news coverage in Korea. This research thus aimed to examine news portrayal of specific cancer types with respect to threat and efficacy, and to investigate whether news portrayal corresponds to actual cancer statistics. A content analysis of 1,138 cancer news stories was conducted, using a representative sample from 23 news outlets (television, newspapers, and other news media) in Korea over a 5-year period from 2008 to 2012. Cancer incidence and mortality rates were obtained from the Korean Statistical Information Service. Results suggest that threat was most prominent in news stories on pancreatic cancer (with 87% of the articles containing threat information with specific details), followed by liver (80%) and lung cancers (70%), and least in stomach cancer (41%). Efficacy information with details was conveyed most often in articles on colorectal (54%), skin (54%), and liver (50%) cancers, and least in thyroid cancer (17%). In terms of discrepancies between news portrayal and actual statistics, the threat of pancreatic and liver cancers was overreported, whereas the threat of stomach and prostate cancers was underreported. Efficacy information regarding cervical and colorectal cancers was overrepresented in the news relative to cancer statistics; efficacy of lung and thyroid cancers was underreported. Findings provide important implications for medical professionals to understand news information about particular cancers as a basis for public (mis)perception, and to communicate effectively about cancer risk with the public and patients.
Communication ; Humans ; Incidence ; Internet/statistics & numerical data ; Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Male ; Mass Media/*statistics & numerical data ; Neoplasms/*epidemiology/mortality/prevention & control ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Prostatic Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms/epidemiology

How the news media cover cancer may have profound significance for cancer prevention and control; however, little is known about the actual content of cancer news coverage in Korea. This research thus aimed to examine news portrayal of specific cancer types with respect to threat and efficacy, and to investigate whether news portrayal corresponds to actual cancer statistics. A content analysis of 1,138 cancer news stories was conducted, using a representative sample from 23 news outlets (television, newspapers, and other news media) in Korea over a 5-year period from 2008 to 2012. Cancer incidence and mortality rates were obtained from the Korean Statistical Information Service. Results suggest that threat was most prominent in news stories on pancreatic cancer (with 87% of the articles containing threat information with specific details), followed by liver (80%) and lung cancers (70%), and least in stomach cancer (41%). Efficacy information with details was conveyed most often in articles on colorectal (54%), skin (54%), and liver (50%) cancers, and least in thyroid cancer (17%). In terms of discrepancies between news portrayal and actual statistics, the threat of pancreatic and liver cancers was overreported, whereas the threat of stomach and prostate cancers was underreported. Efficacy information regarding cervical and colorectal cancers was overrepresented in the news relative to cancer statistics; efficacy of lung and thyroid cancers was underreported. Findings provide important implications for medical professionals to understand news information about particular cancers as a basis for public (mis)perception, and to communicate effectively about cancer risk with the public and patients.
Communication ; Humans ; Incidence ; Internet/statistics & numerical data ; Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Male ; Mass Media/*statistics & numerical data ; Neoplasms/*epidemiology/mortality/prevention & control ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Prostatic Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms/epidemiology

Background: The effective evaluation of health information available online is an important skill. However, consumers' self-perceptions of their eHealth literacy levels do not reflect their actual capabilities. The goal of this experimental study of online search behavior is to identify differences between self-perceived eHealth literacy and actual ability to use the accuracy of cancer information available online. Methods: Thirty-one adults participated in the study conducted on July 15 and 16, 2017. We first measured perceived eHealth literacy and then asked participants 5 questions concerning cancer. Bandicam (v3.3.0) and BrowsingHistoryView were used to record search behavior and uniform resource locators, respectively. A Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test were performed. Results: The results showed that participants most frequently searched for cancer information on blogs and café websites. Regarding search behavior, those who perceived higher knowledge in available resources tended to solve the given problem with significantly smaller number of webpages to answer a weight management question. Participants who perceived higher knowledge in helpfulness of information tended to use significantly smaller number of webpages to answer questions on red ginseng's preventive effects on caner and weight management. However, there was no proof that the high eHealth literacy group had significantly higher rates of correct answers than the low eHealth literacy group. Further, regarding cancer screening, the rates of correct answers were low for groups who considered their ability higher to find helpful resources and perceived higher knowledge in helpfulness of information. Conclusion There is a gap between perceived eHealth literacy and the actual ability to use online cancer-related information. To fundamentally improve eHealth literacy, it is important to evaluate the actual abilities concerning each eHealth literacy component and to provide customized education.

Purpose: It is important to understand the differences between men and women when it comes to attitudes and risk perception toward disease. This study aimed to explore the fear of cancer from the standpoint of themselves and the opposite sex by cancer type. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey with a representative sample was conducted. Results: The least and the most feared cancers in men were thyroid cancer and lung cancer, respectively. When men assumed the perspective of women, the least and the most feared cancer were thyroid cancer and stomach cancer, respectively. The least and the most feared cancers in women were thyroid cancer and stomach cancer, respectively. When women assumed the perspective of men, the least and the most feared cancer were prostate cancer and lung cancer, respectively. When both men and women assume the perspective of the opposite sex, the fear of sex-specific cancer was relatively low compared to the actual responses of both men and women. The top six of the most feared side effects of cancer treatment were pain, psychological problems, general weakness, digestive dysfunction, fatigue, and appearance change. These were the same between men and women. Conclusion Health care providers and caregivers in the family should provide care with more attention to the differences in thoughts about cancer between men and women. Health care providers should provide care with more attention to the differences in these problems between men and women.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate associations between hospital volume, costs, and length of stay (LOS), and clinical and demographic outcome factors for five types of cancer resection. The main dependent variables were cost and LOS; the primary independent variable was volume. METHODS: Data were obtained from claims submitted to the Korean National Health Insurance scheme. We identified patients who underwent the following surgical procedures: pneumonectomy, colectomy, mastectomy, cystectomy, and esophagectomy. Hospital volumes were divided into quartiles. RESULTS: Independent predictors of high costs and long LOS included old age, low health insurance contribution, non-metropolitan residents, emergency admission, Charlson score > 2, public hospital ownership, and teaching hospitals. After adjusting for relevant factors, there was an inverse relationship between volume and costs/LOS. The highest volume hospitals had the lowest procedure costs and LOS. However, this was not observed for cystectomy. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest an association between patient and clinical factors and greater costs and LOS per surgical oncologic procedure, with the exception of cystectomy. Yet, there were no clear associations between hospitals’ cost of care and risk-adjusted mortality.
Colectomy ; Cystectomy ; Emergencies ; Esophagectomy ; Hospital Costs ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, Public ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Korea* ; Length of Stay ; Mastectomy ; Mortality ; National Health Programs ; Ownership ; Pneumonectomy

PURPOSE: The aims of the present study were to assess the prevalence of perceived risk for cancer; to explore associations between sociodemographics and family history of cancer and perceived cancer risk; to identify perceived cause of cancer risk; and to examine the associations between sociodemographics and family history of cancer and perceived cause of cancer risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,009 participants aged 30-69 years, selected from a population-based database in October 2009 through multiple-stratified random sampling. Information was collected about the participants' perceived cancer risk and perceived cause of cancer risk. RESULTS: Overall, 59.5% of the respondents thought they had the chance of developing cancer. Female sex, younger age, lower income, and family history of cancer were positively associated with perceived cancer risk. The most important perceived cause of cancer risk was stress. There was a difference between sociodemographics and family history of cancer and perceived cause of cancer risk. CONCLUSION: Factors affecting perceptions of cancer risk and cause of cancer risk need to be addressed in risk communications. The results provide important directions for the development of educational strategies to promote awareness and self-appraisal of cancer risk and risk factors.
Adult* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Data Collection ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: Little attention has been paid to levels of trust in online sources of health information. The objective of this study was to investigate levels of trust in various sources of health information (interpersonal channels, traditional media, and Internet media), and to examine the predictors of trust in health information available on the Internet. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to 1,300 people (20 years of age or older), evaluating levels of trust in various sources of health information. RESULTS: The highest level of trust was expressed regarding interpersonal channels, with hospital physicians regarded as the most trusted source of information age and income showed an association with trust in online information sources. Elderly people were not likely to trust Internet news sources, and high incomes were found to be strongly associated with trust in online sources of information overall. CONCLUSIONS: Public health organizations must consider the predictors for trust in various sources of information in order to employ appropriate media when targeting vulnerable individuals or developing messaging strategies for health professionals.
Aged ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Internet ; Public Health