No abstract available.
Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Korea ; Language ; Liver Diseases/*diagnosis ; Needs Assessment ; *Quality of Life ; Questionnaires ; Sickness Impact Profile

No abstract available.
Base Sequence* ; Bone Marrow Transplantation* ; Bone Marrow* ; Chimerism* ; DNA* ; Genome, Human* ; Graft vs Host Disease* ; Humans ; Humans* ; Leukemia* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Recurrence* ; Tandem Repeat Sequences* ; Transplants*

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to suggest a proper method for the detection of heaptitis B surface antibody(anti-HBs) in a screening program for hepatitis B vaccination. METHODS: Sensivitity, specificity and predictive values were compared between Immunochromatographic assay (ICA) and passive hemagglutination(PHA) in 978 subjects(565 males, 413 females, 19-78 years ranging in age, mean 46.5 years old). EIA was used as a standard method for the detection of HBsAb. RESULTS: Sensitivity in the detection of anti-HBs of PHA and ICA was 88.7% and 94.9%, specificity was 94.3% and 96.6%, negative predictive value was 96.5% and 98.0%, and positive predictive value was 82.3% and 91.3%, respectively. False negative rate(11.3%) of PHA was higher than that(5.1%) of ICA. The higher the titer of anti-HBs in EIA was, the lower the false negative rate was. There was no false negative result in the cases with 101mIU/ml or more in EIA. CONCLUSION: We suggest that ICA should be the choice of screening method in the detection of anti-HBs in Hepatitis B vaccination program.
Female ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunochromatography ; Korea* ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Vaccination*

PURPOSE: In Korea, there have been many epidemiologic studies about allergic diseases of school children, but so far only a few studies of preschool children have been done. Research on preschool children will be a great help to understand the epidemiology of the allergic diseases in the pediatric population. In this perspective, we researched the prevalence and risk factors of allergic diseases in preschool children in Jung-gu, Seoul. METHODS: A modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire survey was done on 917 (male, 492; female, 425) preschool children in Jung-gu area of Seoul in June, 2009. Parents or caregivers answered the questionnaires that asked about the prevalence of allergic diseases and the risk factors. RESULTS: For asthma, the prevalence of "wheeze, ever", "diagnosis" and "treatment, last 12 months" were 18.4%, 5.8% and 2.8%, respectively. For allergic rhinitis (AR), the prevalence of "rhinitis, ever", "diagnosis" and "treatment, last 12 months" were 31.8%, 16.2% and 12.9%, respectively. For atopic dermatitis (AD), the prevalence of "itchy rash, ever", "diagnosis" and "treatment, last 12 months" were 26.1%, 34.3% and 19.0%, respectively. The risk factors of asthma were cesarean section delivery, use of antibiotics and history of bronchiolitis before the age of 2 years. The risk factor of AR was history of asthma. The risk factor of AD was parent allergy. CONCLUSION: In comparison to preceding studies of preschool children in Seoul, the prevalence of allergic diseases is similar. In comparison to the studies of school children, the prevalence of AR was lower and the prevalence of AD was higher.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Asthma ; Bronchiolitis ; Caregivers ; Cesarean Section ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Exanthema ; Female ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Parents ; Pregnancy ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: To propose the referential data to evaluate the health impacts of Vietnam veterans' children whose father were exposed to herbicides in Vietnam War. METHODS: Vietnam veterans who visited to Pusan Veteran Hospital for medical care were recruited from April to October, 1998. They were 71 and asked about their own combat history, symptoms and illness, and health status of their 182 children. The informations were collected by direct and phone interview. Exposure estimation was also performed as exposure score depending on year and unit of participation, and personal episodes related to exposure to herbicide in the war. It classified into three groups; lower(<18.0), moderate(18-53), high(> or =53) exposure group. RESULTS: The mean age and the period into the combat of the veterans were 52.8 years and 15.0 months. The mean exposure score was 18.1+/-9.9, and mainly distributed in lower (46.5%) and moderate(52.1%) exposure group. Most(90.1%) of them were diagnosed as sequelae(21 cases) and suspected sequelae(43 cases) of the herbicides by Korean veteran's hospital diagnostic criteria. The major sequelae was peripheral neuropathy 13 cases, chloracne 5 cases, and the major suspected sequelae was hypertension 20 cases, diabetes mellitus 18 cases, liver disease 12 cases, central neuropathy 11 cases, etc. About birth, 42.2% and 16.9% experienced spontaneous abortion and stillbirth, respectively. The mean exposure score was higher in stillbirth experience group(p<0.05). About half of the children(90 cases, 49.5%) hold the abnormal health status: those were skin pigmentation 38 cases, rash 23 cases, congenital anomaly 15 cases, general weakness 12 cases, purpura 8 cases, visual disturbance 8 cases, etc. These health problems had no association with father's exposure level(p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results were depend on their own answers, and expectation for compensation did not excluded, therefore, this study may have limitations: inaccuracy of informations due to recall bias and response bias. Nevertheless, through this study, we could image the fundamental aspect for health impacts of Vietnam veterans' children for preparing the national control program and policy. A large scale epidemiologic study with valid exposure assessment on the health impacts of Vietnam veterans' children is recommneded.
Abortion, Spontaneous ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Busan* ; Child* ; Chloracne ; Compensation and Redress ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Exanthema ; Fathers ; Female ; Herbicides ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Liver Diseases ; Parturition ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Pregnancy ; Purpura ; Surveys and Questionnaires* ; Skin Pigmentation ; Stillbirth ; Veterans* ; Vietnam*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Reflux esophagitis is a recurring condition for which many patients require maintenance therapy. This comparative, randomized multicenter study was designed to evaluate the effect of long-term maintenance treatment comparing proton pump inhibitor, rabeprazole and H2 receptor antagonist, ranitidine. METHODS: Eighty four patients with healed reflux esophagitis confirmed by endoscopy were randomly allocated to receive maintenance treatment with either rabeprazole 10 mg once daily or ranitidine 300 mg once daily for 32 weeks. Patients were seen every 8 weeks or at symptomatic relapse. RESULTS: Of 84 initially treated patients, 73 entered the maintenance study. The percentage of asymptomatic patients after 90-day and 210-day treatment were 97% and 81.5%, for rabeprazole and 74.3% and 62.3%, for ranitidine, respectively. After 32 weeks, the relapse rates of esophagitis were 21.3% in the rabeprazole group and 62.9% in the ranitidine group (RR: 0.405, 95% CI: 0.215-0.766). CONCLUSIONS: Maintenance treatment with rabeprazole (10 mg once daily) is superior to ranitidine (300 mg once daily) in keeping the patients with reflux esophagitis in remission over a 32 week period.
2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles ; Adult ; Anti-Ulcer Agents/*therapeutic use ; Benzimidazoles/*therapeutic use ; Esophagitis, Peptic/*drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Omeprazole/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Ranitidine/*therapeutic use

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of myopia and its influencing factors in an epidemiologic study of conscripts living in Gyeongsangnam-do, Ulsan and Busan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 19-year-old conscripts in Gyeongsangnam-do, Ulsan and Busan. Health checkup data of the conscripts were collected and analyzed along with subjective visual acuity, noncycloplegic autorefraction test, biometric data, and social factors such as education level and residence area. Myopia and high myopia were defined as having a refractive error of more than -0.5D, -6.0D, respectively. To analyze the social and biometric effects, we classified social factors into three groups and biometric factors into five groups. The estimated myopic prevalence was calculated adding excluded conscripts who scored under 0.5 on the subjective visual acuity test and missed autorefraction data. Data analysis was performed with descriptive analysis and the chi square test for trends using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14.0K. RESULTS: From 66,917 eligible conscripts, 50,243 were analyzed. The prevalence of myopia and high myopia in 19-year-old men in Gyeongsangnam-do, Ulsan and Busan were 45.60% (95% CI: 45.17~46.03) and 11.50% (95% CI: 11.23~11.77). The estimated myopic prevalence using 66,917 eligible conscripts was 54.31% (95% CI: 53.88~54.74). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of myopia and high myopia and the estimated prevalence of myopia in 19-year-old men in Gyeongsangnam-do, Ulsan and Busan were 45.60%, 11.50% and 54.31%, respectively.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Myopia ; Prevalence ; Refractive Errors ; Social Sciences ; Statistics as Topic ; Visual Acuity ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlated factors of high myopia in 19 year-old men in Southeast Korea. METHODS: This retrospective study was based on the medical checkup data of conscription during 2005. The study subjects were 19 years old men in Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do. The health checkup data of the conscripts consisted of noncycloplegic autorefraction test, the biometric data and social factors. To analyze the social and biometric effects, we classified the biometric factors into 4 or 5 groups and the social factors into 3 groups. High myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent of under -6.0 diopter. Data analysis was performed using the chi square test for trends and multiple logistic regression analysis. The SAS(version 9.1) program was used for all the analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of high myopia was 12.39% (6256 / 50 508). The factors correlated with high myopia were the residence area (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.77 to 2.4 for small city; OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.72 to 2.34 for metropolis; the reference group was rural area), academic achievement (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.34 to 1.53 for students of 4-and 6-year-course university; the reference group was high school graduates & under) and blood pressure (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.10 to 2.16 for hypertension; OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.17 for prehypertension; OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.20 for hypotension; the reference group was normal blood pressure). CONCLUSIONS: More than one tenth of the young men were high myopia as one of the risk factor for visual loss. Further studies on high myopia and its complications are needed to improve eye health in Southeast Korea.
Body Mass Index ; Cluster Analysis ; Comorbidity ; Humans ; Hypertension/*epidemiology ; Hypotension/*epidemiology ; Male ; Military Personnel/statistics & numerical data ; Myopia/classification/*epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; *Residence Characteristics ; Retrospective Studies ; Rural Population ; Severity of Illness Index ; Urban Population ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common human pathogen causing community-acquired pneumonia. There is little information on the recent antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of S. pneumoniae in Busan and Gyeongnam of Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae at 4 university hospitals in Busan and Gyeongnam. METHODS: We collected and analyzed the antimicrobial susceptibility results of 850 S. pneumoniae strains isolated from regional 4 university hospitals during the last 2 years from July 2013 through June 2015. RESULTS: Among 850 S. pneumoniae strains, 635 strains were isolated from respiratory specimens, followed by blood (N=121), CSF (N=13), and others (N=81). Antimicrobial susceptibility rates to penicillin, cefotaxime and ceftriaxone were 79.4%, 76.6% and 83.6%, respectively. The resistant rates to erythromycin and clindamycin were 80.9% and 68.2%, respectively. The resistant rates to levofloxacin were 9.2%. There were some differences in resistant rates by age groups, years, and specimen types. CONCLUSION: We found the changes of antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae during the last 2 years. It is necessary to monitor the antimicrobial susceptibility of S. pneumoniae regularly for empirical therapy and for early detection of the changes of resistance.
Busan* ; Cefotaxime ; Ceftriaxone ; Clindamycin ; Drug Resistance ; Erythromycin ; Hospitals, University* ; Humans ; Korea ; Levofloxacin ; Penicillins ; Pneumonia ; Streptococcus pneumoniae* ; Streptococcus*

Irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) is one of the common health problem that has been considered as stress-induced. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between life style and the level of stress and IBS by structured questionnaire which included questions on life style, the self-esteemed gastrointestinal symptoms, and Psychosocial Well-being Index(PWI). Subjects were 1,498 male white collars who get the regular health check and participated in survey at Inje University Health Promotion Center from January to December, 1996. The overall prevalence of IBS was 37.5%(561 cases), and the level of stress by PWI score was higher in IBS group(41.8+/-14.2) than symptom-free group(34.6+/-12.6). As the result of comparison between the two groups, heavier smoking (adjusted OR=2.48, 95% CI 1.81-3.41), longer daily working time (adjusted OR=5.19, 95% CI 3.59-7.56), stimulatory food materials-mainly hot or salty (adjusted OR=1.87, 95% CI 1.44-2.45), higher body mass index (adjusted OR=1.80, 95% CI 1.27-2.57), and higher level of stress (adjusted OR=2.81, 95% CI 1.80-4.43) were estimated as risk factors of IBS. On the contrary, 6-8 hours sleeping per day (adjusted OR=0.38 95% CI 0.21-0.70), 3-4 times exercise per week (adjusted OR=0.57 95% CI 0.39-0.83), and tenure more than 20 years (adjusted OR=0.25 95% CI 0.16-0.35) were considered as protective factors to IBS. In summary, the assessment of the stress level might be placed in the first priority to control IBS, at least by some degree, which suggested that IBS could be controlled by avoiding such risk factors and by encouraging such protective factors.
Body Mass Index ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome* ; Life Style* ; Male* ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking