PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the obesity stress, weight bias and health care on Body Mass Index (BMI) in soldiers of non-combat area and to provide data for improving the quality of their life. METHODS: This research involved 165 soldiers working in non-combat area. Data collection was conducted from November 1 to 20, 2015. Statistical analysis of the collected data were t-test and ANOVA, Scheffé method post hoc analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple liner regression using IBM SPSS 22.0. RESULTS: The mean score of obesity stress was moderate (19.05±5.28). The mean score of weight bias was 69.03 and health care was 2.41 points. There are a positive correlation between obesity stress and BMI (r=.19, p<.05). Weight bias (r=-.19, p<.01) and health care (r=-.26, p<.01) among the subjects had negative correlations with BMI. In a multiple liner regression, obesity stress (β=.18, p<.05), health care (β=-.18, p<.05) were associated with BMI. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings that obesity stress and health care influence BMI, there is a need to control stress and to properly set proper guidelines on health care for soldiers.
Bias (Epidemiology)* ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Data Collection ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Methods ; Military Personnel* ; Obesity*

The Health Interview Survey in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is a major source for planning and evaluating the national health promotion policy. The aim of the study is to find the areas for improvement of the current Health Interview Survey in light of its stated purpose and to propose possible means for the improvement. In terms of the survey content, there were several areas that needed improvement: the lack of comparability across the waves, the limit of the number of questions due to the Nutrition Survey and the Examination Survey, non-availability of seasonal statistics, and the dearth of evidence on socioeconomic position variables. To make improvements in the survey content, there is a need to clarify the purpose of the HIS in the KNANES. Second, more items need to be developed to produce the indicators of the Health Plan 2010. Third, core questions and elective questions should be defined. Fourth, multi-level socioeconomic position indicators need to be developed. In terms of the survey methods, the difficulty of managing interviewers and the inefficiency of data input and processing were found to be the areas for improvement. Possible solutions include a survey through the year and the introduction of the CAPI system. In addition, we suggest that a two-year survey period to better synchronize with the local health interview surveys which should be the major data source for the community health promotion plan.
Information Storage and Retrieval ; Health Promotion ; Health Surveys ; Nutrition Surveys ; Seasons

Congenital agenesis of the seminal vesicle is commonly associated with mullerian duct cysts and frequently combined with anomalies of the vas deferens or urinary tract. We report a case of a 29 year-old man with congenital agenesis of the seminal vesicle without any associated anomaly of the urogenital organs. He had infertility for 2 years and two semen analyses revealed azoospermia. There was no abnormal finding in physical examination of the testis, epididymis, or vas deferens. However, we could not locate the seminal vesicles in a transrectal ultrasound and computed tomography. We referred him to an infertility clinic for assisted reproductive technology.
Azoospermia ; Epididymis ; Humans ; Infertility ; Male ; Physical Examination ; Semen Analysis ; Seminal Vesicles ; Testis ; Urinary Tract ; Vas Deferens

Congenital agenesis of the seminal vesicle is commonly associated with mullerian duct cysts and frequently combined with anomalies of the vas deferens or urinary tract. We report a case of a 29 year-old man with congenital agenesis of the seminal vesicle without any associated anomaly of the urogenital organs. He had infertility for 2 years and two semen analyses revealed azoospermia. There was no abnormal finding in physical examination of the testis, epididymis, or vas deferens. However, we could not locate the seminal vesicles in a transrectal ultrasound and computed tomography. We referred him to an infertility clinic for assisted reproductive technology.
Azoospermia ; Epididymis ; Humans ; Infertility ; Male ; Physical Examination ; Semen Analysis ; Seminal Vesicles ; Testis ; Urinary Tract ; Vas Deferens

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of injuries and to identify their causes by classifying injuries according to various categories including age, sex, mechanism of injury, body parts injured, and place of injury. METHODS: This study used data from the Korea National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey (KNHDIS) from 2004 to 2016. The KNHDIS is conducted annually by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and its survey population includes all hospitalized patients discharged from medical institutions that have 100 or more beds, such as hospitals, general hospitals, and secondary community health centers. The number of injured cases is weighted and estimated using the mid-year estimated population of each year. RESULTS: The injury discharge rate steadily increased since 2004 (1,505 per 100,000 population in 2004, 2,007 per 100,000 population in 2016) and most injuries were unintentional (annual average of 94.7%). On average, during the 13-year study period, the injury rate for males was 1.5 times as high as for females. The 2 main causes of injury were consistently traffic accidents and falls. Notably, the rate of injuries resulting from falls rose by 1.7-fold from 463 to 792 per 100,000 people, and exceeded the rate of traffic accidents in 2016. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of injuries steadily increased after the survey was first conducted, whereas mortality resulting from injuries mostly remained unchanged. This suggests that effective strategies and interventions should be reinforced to reduce unintentional injuries.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of injuries and to identify their causes by classifying injuries according to various categories including age, sex, mechanism of injury, body parts injured, and place of injury. METHODS: This study used data from the Korea National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey (KNHDIS) from 2004 to 2016. The KNHDIS is conducted annually by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and its survey population includes all hospitalized patients discharged from medical institutions that have 100 or more beds, such as hospitals, general hospitals, and secondary community health centers. The number of injured cases is weighted and estimated using the mid-year estimated population of each year. RESULTS: The injury discharge rate steadily increased since 2004 (1,505 per 100,000 population in 2004, 2,007 per 100,000 population in 2016) and most injuries were unintentional (annual average of 94.7%). On average, during the 13-year study period, the injury rate for males was 1.5 times as high as for females. The 2 main causes of injury were consistently traffic accidents and falls. Notably, the rate of injuries resulting from falls rose by 1.7-fold from 463 to 792 per 100,000 people, and exceeded the rate of traffic accidents in 2016. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of injuries steadily increased after the survey was first conducted, whereas mortality resulting from injuries mostly remained unchanged. This suggests that effective strategies and interventions should be reinforced to reduce unintentional injuries.

Background: Both medicolegal disputes and the incidence of cutaneous drug eruptions are increasing in Korea. We were unable to find research that surveyed the legal disputes involving drug eruption cases. Objective: This study investigates medical litigation associated with drug eruption cases in Korea. Methods: Judicial precedents on drug eruption cases were searched using the Supreme Court of South Korea’s Written Judgement Management System. General characteristics, results, suspected agents, and recognized negligence were analyzed. Results: From the search results, 50 cases were selected. Of these, 34 cases had severe cutaneous adverse reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (n=25, 50.0%), and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms syndrome (n=9, 18.0%). Antimicrobial agents (n=17, 34.0%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (n=6, 12.0%), and anticonvulsants (n=6, 12.0%) were the most common drugs implicated. Death was reported in 15 patients (30.0%). In this sample, 22 cases (47.0%) were awarded to the plaintiff, and violation of the duty to inform patients of risks was the most common legal issue cited. Conclusion Clinicians should be aware of and advise patients of the potential for severe adverse reactions that can lead to negative outcomes and medicolegal disputes.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to improve the Korean influenza management system and to determine the status of influenza vaccination in some community health centers through a survey of the officers in charge of influenza vaccination. METHODS: The authors conducted a questionnaire survey by e-mail for the officers in charge of influenza vaccination of 8 community health centers in Daegu-si, 5 community health centers in Ulsan-si and 25 community health centers in Gyeongsangbuk-do. The authors developed a questionnaire including selection methods of the influenza vaccination objects, results of influenza vaccination in 2002, problems of influenza vaccination, the population within the respondents`jurisdiction and so on. RESULTS: The proportion of influenza vaccination at community health centers among all residents in the 2002-2003 influenza season was 3.8% in Daegu-si, 14.8% in Ulsan-si, 15.1% in urban Gyeongsangbuk-do and 24.9% in rural Gyeongsangbuk-do. The proportion of influenza vaccination at community health centers among priority cases for vaccination was 12.9% in Daegu-si, 43.1% in Ulsan-si, 39.3% in urban Gyeongsangbuk and 41.6% in rural Gyeongsangbuk-do. The officers in charge of influenza vaccination stated that the problems of influenza vaccination were deficiencies in preparatory examination such as manpower shortage. Twenty-five persons stated as a problem that influenza vaccinations conducted in the hospitals were hardly reported, and fifteen of these clarified that this was due to hospital indifference. CONCLUSIONS: The authors examined all community health centers of Daegu-si, Ulsan-si, and Gyeongsangbuk-do, and investigated the vaccination states and problems that health officers were dealing with. Therefore, this study is meaningful with its basic data for the management of domestic influenza vaccination.
Community Health Centers* ; Electronic Mail ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Influenza, Human* ; Seasons ; Vaccination* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Background: In some patients, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is accompanied by loss of smell and taste, and this has been reportedly associated with exposure to air pollutants. This study investigated the relationship between the occurrence of chemosensory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients and air pollutant concentrations in Korea. Methods: Information on the clinical symptom of chemosensory dysfunction, the date of diagnosis, residential area, age, and sex of 60,194 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from January 20 to December 31, 2020 was collected. In addition, the daily average concentration of air pollutants for a week in the patients’ residential area was collected from the Ministry of Environment based on the date of diagnosis of COVID-19. A binomial logistic regression model, using age and gender, standardized smoking rate, number of outpatient visits, 24-hour mean temperature and relative humidity at the regional level as covariates, was used to determine the effect of air pollution on chemosensory dysfunction. Results: Symptoms of chemosensory dysfunction were most frequent among patients in their 20s and 30s, and occurred more frequently in large cities. The logistic analysis showed that the concentration of particulate matter 10 (PM 10 ) and 2.5 (PM 2.5 ) up to 2 days before the diagnosis of COVID-19 and the concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O 3) at least 7 days before the diagnosis of COVID-19 affected the development of chemosensory dysfunction. In the logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, standardized smoking rate, number of outpatient visits, and daily average temperature and relative humidity, it was found that an increase in the interquartile range of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and CO on the day of diagnosis increased the incidence of chemosensory dysfunction 1.10, 1.10, 1.17, 1.31, and 1.19-fold, respectively. In contrast, the O 3 concentration had a negative association with chemosensory dysfunction. Conclusion High concentrations of air pollutants such as PM 10 , PM 2.5 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and CO on the day of diagnosis increased the risk of developing chemosensory dysfunction from COVID-19 infection. This result underscores the need to actively prevent exposure to air pollution and prevent COVID-19 infection. In addition, policies that regulate activities and products that create high amounts of harmful environmental wastes may help in promoting better health for all during COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: On February 26, 2021, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination was started for high-priority groups based on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with 2 available COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech) in Korea. This report provides a summary of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination as of April 30, 2021. Methods: Adverse events following immunization are notifiable by medical doctors to the Korea Immunization Management System (KIMS) under the national surveillance system. We analyzed all adverse events reports following COVID-19 vaccination to the KIMS from February 26 to April 30, 2021. Results: In total, 16,196 adverse events following 3,586,814 administered doses of COVID-19 vaccines were reported in approximately 2 months (February 26 to April 30, 2021). Of these, 15,658 (96.7%) were non-serious adverse events, and 538 (3.3%) were serious adverse events, including 73 (0.5%) deaths. The majority of adverse events (n=13,063, 80.7%) were observed in women, and the most frequently reported adverse events were myalgia (52.2%), fever (44.9%), and headache (34.9%). Of the 73 deaths following the COVID-19 vaccination, none were related to the vaccines. Conclusion By April 30, 3.6 million doses of the COVID 19 vaccine had been given in Korea, and the overwhelming majority of reports were for non-serious events. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency continues to monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccination.