A cross-cultural comparison study of alcohol use disorder between Kangwha and Yanbian was conducted using the Korean version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). The subjects of the two areas studied were all native Koreans but lived in different sociocultural environments. A significant difference in lifetime prevalence rate of alcohol abuse (Kangwha 16.48%, Yanbian 6.95%; p less than 0.05) and similarity of alcohol dependence (Kangwha 10.23%, Yanbian 11.50%; p less than 0.05) were found. Among a total of 21 items of alcoholic symptoms, 14 items showed significant differences in frequencies between the two areas. The authors have suggested that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are two different diagnostic categories in origin, alcohol abuse is more related to socio-cultural environment and alcohol dependence to biogenetic background. The authors have discussed the possible reasons for a higher prevalence rate of alcohol abuse in Kangwha compared to Yanbian.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Alcoholism/epidemiology/*ethnology/etiology ; Child ; China/epidemiology ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Female ; Human ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Prevalence

Parasitic disease is still important subject in the field of infectious diseases in Korea considering it's number and morbidity. Recently there was conspicuous reduction of parasitic disease in terms of soil-transmitted nematodiasis, but parasitism affecting organs other than intestinal tract is still a considerable problem. This survey covers the parasitic diseases cross-sectioned at a pathology laboratory of a referral hospital, trying to elucidate the significance of its relative frequency and also to describe some histopathological changes made by different parasites. Entire pathological materials of parasitic diseases, that were referred, examined and confirmed at the Department of Pathology, Seoul National University Hospital from 1968 to 1987, were used for the study. There was a total of 594 cases of tissue parasitic diseases. This number accounted for 0.33 per cent of total accessions of surgical pathology. There occurred average 30 cases of tissue parasitic disease each year at this Hospital. Protozoal diseases were constituted of 15 cases of amebiasis, 7 cases of leishmaniasis (imported) and 5 cases of Pneumocystis carinii infections. Among helminthic infections cysticercosis was the most common (425 cases), and was followed by paragonimiasis (35 cases), sparganosis (31 cases), clonorchiasis (32 cases) and ascariasis (16 cases). In addition there were 4 cases of anisakiasis, 2 cases of fascioliasis, 2 cases of echinococcosis (imported) and a case of strongyloidiasis and a case of metagonimiasis respectively. It is emphasized that imported parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis and hydatid disease become steadily found nowadays. Schistosomiasis is another possible imported disease, but not found in this series. And certain cestodiasis particularly cysticercosis and sparganosis should be the subjects of epidemiologic re-evaluation in view of steady occurrence of their morbidity.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Helminthiasis/epidemiology ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology/ethnology ; Male ; Parasitic Diseases/*epidemiology/parasitology/pathology ; Protozoan Infections/epidemiology ; Saudi Arabia ; Travel

A retrospective histological study of 540 malignant lymphomas diagnosed at the Department of Pathology of the Seoul National University from 1976 through 1986 is presented. Malignant lymphoma is the 10th most common malignant tumor in Korea, comprising 3.07% of all malignancy during period of study. Among malignant lymphomas non-Hodgkin's lymphoma accounted for 82% and accordingly the Hodgkin's disease was for 18%. The most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was diffuse histiocytic lymphoma of Rappaport. Follicular lymphoma was very rare, comprising only 2.3%. T-cell lymphoma accounted for 9.6% of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, the most frequent type being lymphoblastic lymphoma. Immunoblastic sarcoma and mycosis fungoides were occasionally seen but there was no case of pleomorphic adult T-cell lymphoma. Among Hodgkin's diseases, mixed cellularity type was the most common type, and nodular sclerosis type was relatively rare.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hodgkin Disease/*ethnology/pathology ; Humans ; Infant ; Korea ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/epidemiology/*ethnology/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged

Forty-one Korean immigrants in Washington, D.C. (of the United States) metropolitan area over age 60 were interviewed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (Korean version) with additional questions about culture-specific somatic symptoms identified in previous research with Korean populations. The lifetime and current prevalence were 29.27 percent and 14.63 percent, respectively, for major depression; 9.76 percent and 2.44 percent for generalized anxiety disorder; and 9.76 percent and 7.32 percent for somatization disorder. The lifetime and current rates of co-occurrence of major depression and somatization disorder were 25 percent and 33.33 percent. Subjects who met criteria for depression were more likely to experience culture-specific Korean somatic symptoms than subjects who did not meet those criteria.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Depression/*epidemiology ; District of Columbia/epidemiology ; *Emigration and Immigration ; Female ; Human ; Korea/ethnology ; Male ; Middle Age ; Prevalence ; Psychophysiologic Disorders/*epidemiology

We investigated which of the three FRAX fracture risk assessment tool models is most applicable to Korean women. For 306 postmenopausal women (mean age, 77 yr) with a hip fracture, fracture probabilities were calculated using FRAX models from Japan, Turkey and China. Data on bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck were available for 103 patients. Significant differences existed among the models, independent of the inclusion of BMD in the calculation of fracture probabilities. The probabilities of both major osteoporotic fractures and hip fractures were significantly higher in the Japanese model than in the Turkish or Chinese models. In all of the models, the probabilities of a major osteoporotic fracture, but not of a hip fracture, decreased significantly if calculated without BMD values. By applying the Japanese model, the ten-year probabilities for major osteoporotic and hip fractures increased significantly with age. Our results suggest that the Japanese FRAX model might be the most appropriate for Korean women.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Density/physiology ; Female ; Fractures, Bone/*epidemiology/ethnology/prevention & control ; Hip Fractures/epidemiology/ethnology/prevention & control ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; *Models, Statistical ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/complications ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Assessment

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance, and ENPP1 plays an important role in insulin resistance. We investigated the association of the ENPP1 K121Q polymorphism with both diabetes and obesity (body mass index [BMI]) in Korean male workers. The study design was case-control. Subjects were 1,945 male workers (type 2 diabetes, 195; non-diabetes, 1,750) of nuclear power plants who received examinations from March to October in 2004. We collected venous blood samples under fasting (> or =8 hr) conditions, calculated BMI by height and weight, and assessed relevant biochemical factors. The results of this study demonstrated that the ENPP1 121Q genotype (KQ+QQ types) was not associated with type 2 diabetes (odds ratios [OR], 0.854; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.571-1.278) or obesity (OR, 0.933; 95% CI, 0.731-1.190). In addition, the frequency of the Q allele was not related to type 2 diabetes (OR, 0.911; 95% CI, 0.630-1.319) or obesity (OR, 0.962; 95% CI, 0.767-1.205). We concluded that the ENPP1 121Q allele is not a critical determinant for either diabetes or obesity in Korean males. The discordance between the results of this study and those derived from studies of Dominican, South Asian, Caucasian, Finnish, and French populations might be due to differences in genetic backgrounds between these populations.
Adult ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*ethnology/*genetics ; Employment ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease/ethnology ; Genotype ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/*ethnology/*genetics ; Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases/*genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Prevalence ; Pyrophosphatases/*genetics

No abstract available.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group/ethnology ; Choroid Diseases/*diagnosis/drug therapy/ethnology ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Multimodal Imaging ; Ophthalmoscopy ; Prednisolone/therapeutic use ; Pseudolymphoma/*diagnosis/drug therapy/ethnology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: The present study was intended to compare difference in research variables between delinquent adolescents and student adolescents, and to analyze discriminative factors of delinquent behaviors among Korean adolescents. METHODS: The research design of this study was a questionnaire survey. Questionnaires were administered to 2,167 adolescents (1,196 students and 971 delinquents), sampled from 8 middle and high school and 6 juvenile corrective institutions, using the proportional stratified random sampling method. Statistical methods employed were Chi-square, t-test, and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The discriminative factors of delinquent behaviors were smoking, alcohol use, other drug use, being sexually abused, viewing time of media violence and pornography. Among these discriminative factors, the factor most strongly associated with delinquency was smoking (odds ratio: 32.32). That is, smoking adolescent has a 32-fold higher possibility of becoming a delinquent adolescent than a non-smoking adolescent. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, that smoking was the strongest discriminative factor of delinquent behavior, suggest that educational strategies to prevent adolescent smoking may reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency. Antismoking educational efforts are therefore urgently needed in South Korea.
Adolescent ; Adolescent Behavior/*ethnology ; Adolescent Psychology ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Child Abuse, Sexual/ethnology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Discriminant Analysis ; Erotica/psychology ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Family/ethnology ; Female ; Health Education ; Humans ; Juvenile Delinquency/*ethnology/prevention & control/statistics & numerical data ; Korea/epidemiology ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mass Media ; Questionnaires ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Smoking/adverse effects/ethnology ; Students/psychology/statistics & numerical data ; Substance-Related Disorders/complications/ethnology ; Violence/ethnology

PURPOSE: This study investigated prediction of North Korean refugees' adaptation to the South Korean society and verified the goodness of fit between a hypothetical model and actual data in order to suggest the best model. METHODS: This survey was conducted with 445 North Korean refugees living in a metropolitan area. Data were collected from September 1st to November 20th, 2012, and analyzed using SPSS Windows 18.0 and AMOS 17.0. RESULTS: Traumatic experiences of North Korean refugees increased self-efficacy and psychological trauma. Acculturation stress decreased self-efficacy and increased passive coping. Self-efficacy affected active and passive coping, decreased psychological trauma, and increased resilience. Resilience is successful adaptation and refers to North Korean refugees' abilities to adapt effectively to stress. In particular, self-efficacy as the main parameter affecting resilience was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that resilience can be improved through self-efficacy. It was the most significant factor decreasing psychological trauma and increasing resilience. Therefore, we need to develop programs for self-efficacy. The results also provide basic data for policy making for North Korean refugees.
Acculturation ; Adaptation, Psychological/*physiology ; Adult ; Aged ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea/ethnology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Models, Theoretical ; Personal Satisfaction ; Psychological Trauma/*ethnology ; Refugees/*psychology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Resilience, Psychological ; Self Efficacy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: Masked hypertension is associated with metabolic risks and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency of and risk factors of masked hypertension in Korean workers. METHODS: The study was conducted among 121 employees at a hotel in Gyeongju, Korea, from December 2008 to February 2009. We measured blood pressure (BP) both in the clinic and using 24-hour ambulatory BP monitors for all subjects. Hypertension was defined independently by both methods, and subjects were classified into four groups: true normotension, masked hypertension, white coat hypertension, and sustained hypertension. RESULTS: The frequency of masked hypertension in our study group was 25.6%. Compared with true normotension, the factors related to masked hypertension were male gender (odds ratio [OR], 10.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.41 to 81.09), aging one year (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.99), clinic BP 120-129/80-84 mmHg (OR, 8.42; 95% CI, 1.51 to 46.82), clinic BP 130-139 / 85-89 mmHg (OR, 12.14; 95% CI, 1.80 to 81.85), smoking (OR, 5.51; 95% CI, 1.15 to 26.54), and increase of total cholesterol 1 mg / dL (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.08). In males only, these factors were clinic BP 120-129 / 80-84 mmHg (OR, 15.07; 95% CI, 1.55 to 146.19), clinic BP 130-139 / 85-89 mmHg (OR, 17.16; 95% CI, 1.56 to 189.45), smoking (OR, 11.61; 95% CI, 1.52 to 88.62), and increase of total cholesterol 1 mg/dL (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.09). CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of masked hypertension was high in our study sample. Detection and management of masked hypertension, a known strong predictor of cardiovascular risk, could improve prognosis for at-risk populations.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Blood Pressure ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Hypertension/*ethnology ; Lipids/blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases/ethnology ; Occupational Health/statistics & numerical data ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Smoking/adverse effects/ethnology ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Stress, Psychological/complications/ethnology ; Workplace/psychology/statistics & numerical data