OBJECTIVES: Cancer is the second most frequent cause of death in Korea. Cancer screening tests can save lives through early detection. Enhancing the cancer screening rate is an important strategy for reducing cancer mortality. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the screening rate and related factors in a rural area. The study investigated relationships between sociodemographic characteristics, several preventive behaviors, and the experience of several cancer screening behaviors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population was recruited voluntarily from the three rural areas(Myen) in Chungju city. The participants completed structured questionnaire from July 21, 1998 to July 26, 1998. RESULTS: The proportions of the study population who had previously received stomach, liver, breast, or cervix cancer screening tests were 24.5%, 18.5%, 27.0%, 59.2% respectively. The 1-year screening rates of stomach, liver, breast, and cervix cancer were 7.4%, 6.8%, 8.6%, 15.6% respectively. In multivariate logistic analysis, some sociodemographic variables, preventive behaviors, or psychological variables were significantly associated with several cancer screening tests. Those who had previously received a stomach cancer screening test were significantly associated with the presence of chronic disease, physician? recommendation, use of alcohol family history of cancer, or previous liver cancer screening test. Those who had previously received a liver cancer screening test were associated with education level, physician? recommendation and previous stomach cancer screening test. Those who had received a cervix cancer screening test were significantly associated with education level, presence of a transportation vehicle, physician? recommendation use of alcohol and previous breast cancer screening test. And those who had received a previous breast cancer screening test were significantly associated with age, marital status, and earlier cervix cancer screening test. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study a strategy to promote cancer screening and health objectives at the district level can be made.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Cause of Death ; Chronic Disease ; Chungcheongbuk-do ; Early Detection of Cancer* ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Marital Status ; Mass Screening ; Mortality ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Transportation ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

This investigation was performed to evaluate Doppler mitral valve flow velocity profiles in hypertensive heart disease for the detection of the left ventricular diastolic dysfunction which preceded the systolic dysfunction. Doppler derived parameters included; the duration of the early diastolic flow velocity peak(DF duration), the downward slope of the early diastolic flow velocity peak (EF slope) and the ratio between the height of the early and the late diastolic flow velocity peak (E-E'/A-A'). Doppler flow velocity profiles were measured in 19 normotensive subjects and 28 hypertensive patients. We found decreased EF slope in hypertensive patients (3.6+/-1.4./sec) in comparison with normotensive subjects (5.2+/-2.4m/sec) (p<0.01). In hypertensive patients, E-E'/A-A' value was significantly lower (0.8+/-0.2) than that of normotensive subjects (1.6+/-0.4)(p<0.001). DF duration was similar in both groups. In conclusion, we found that Doppler mitral valve flow velocity profiles, EF slope and E-E'/A-A', were decreased in hypertensive patients, which may be due to the left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
Echocardiography* ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Mitral Valve*

No abstract available.
Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma*

OBJECTIVE: This paper examines the possible toxicity to immune system in farmers chronically exposed to pesticides. METHODS: We compared 43 male farmers exposed to pesticides with 29 male residents who had neither past nor current pesticides exposure. The selected variables for studying immunotoxicity were WBC, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD56, IgG, IgA, IgM, and IL-2. As part of the baseline questionnaires for the immunotoxicity, subjects were asked about kinds of farming, pesticides exposure and medical history. RESULTS: None of the variables for studying immunotoxicity showed statistically significant difference between the two groups. Although the results were not statistically significant, CD4 and the CD4/CD8 ratio decreased and CD8 increased. These effects showed a dose response change with exposure level. In the exposed group, the values of CD3, CD4, CD4/CD8 and CD19 decreased and those of the CD8 and CD56 increased compared to the non-exposed group. Also there was higher prevalence of self-reported disease in the exposed group compared to the non-exposed group. CONCLUSIONS: Although statistically significant differences in indices of immunotoxicity in farmers exposed to pesticides were not shown, the results suggest that pesticides may decrease immune function. More advanced test methods for immunotoxicity need to be developed and tested in larger population to detect immunotoxic effects of pesticides.
Humans ; Immune System ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Interleukin-2 ; Male ; Pesticides* ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires

According to law the employer who has over 50 workers in his enterprise should employ an occupational physician as industrial health manager. The main role of the occupational physician is emphasized to the prevention of occupational diseases rather than the treatment and he should be the team leader of industrial health personnel. But this ideal system in terms of stipulations has lots of problems in operation. Therefore this study was designed to prove the attitude of reception, real condition and work content of the occupational physician in enterprise. The survey was done in 500 stratified random sampled enterprises over the country from July through September in 1987 by mailing questionnaire. As a result of the response from 145 enterprises, more than 85% of enterprise displaced occupational physicians. Among the occupational physicians 43% of them has no allowance for their working as industrial health managers and are payed less than 100,000 won monthly. And 66% of them visited only once a month or none enterprise, where they were nominated as a occupational physician managers. The major work content of occupational physician was doing outpatient clinic or regular physical examination rather than prevention of occupational disease. And it shows a deep discrepancy with the object of law or the expect of enterprise in which industrial hygiene and health education are more stressed for prevention of occupational diseases. The most of industrial workers showed no interest in work of occupational physician. As a conclusion, the current system of industrial health manager has maintained on paper formally and is apt to fall into making outward show. It is urgent for government and enterprise to find a solution which can be practically used the system of occupational physician. The work content of occupational physician is required high advanced knowledge and experience, and it should be operated dual system by special field and nonspecial field.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Health Education ; Jurisprudence ; Korea* ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Health ; Physical Examination ; Postal Service ; Questionnaires

The purpose of this study is to present the importance of work-related cerebrovascular and heart disease from the viewpoint of expenses. Using the insurance benefit paid for the 4,300 cases, this study estimated the burden of insurance benefits spent on work-related cerebrovascular and heart disease. The number of cases with work-related cerebrovascular and heart disease per 100,000 insured workers were 3.36 in 1995; they were increased to 13.16 in 2000. By the days of occurrence, the estimated number of cases were 1,336 in 2001 (95% CI: 1,211-1,460 cases) and 1,769 in 2005 (CI: 1,610-1,931 cases). The estimated average insurance benefits paid per person with work-related cerebrovascular and heart disease was 75-19 million won for medical care benefit and 56 million won for other benefits except medical care. By considering the increase in insurance payment and average pay, the predicted insurance benefits for work-related cerebrovascular and heart disease was 107.9 billion won for the 2001 cohort and 192.4 billion won for the 2005 cohort. From an economic perspective, the results will be used as important evidence for the prevention and management of work-related cerebrovascular and heart disease.
*Accidents ; *Accidents, Occupational ; Brain Diseases/epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Compensation and Redress ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Heart Diseases/epidemiology ; Human ; *Insurance Benefits ; Insurance Coverage ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Models, Statistical ; *Occupational Health ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Time Factors ; *Workers' Compensation

OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to evaluate correlation between the levels of hippuric acid in blood plasma (HAP) and those of toluene concentration in the workplace air. METHODS: Study subjects were composed of two groups; 21 workers who were occupationally exposed to toluene and 25 rural-area residents who were not exposed to any known occupational toluene source, as an exposed group and a reference group, respectively. Mean age and work duration of the exposed was 42 years and five years, respectively. Mean age of the reference was 42 years. To determine toluene concentrations in the workplace air, air sampling has been conducted for more than six hours using a personal sampler, and analyzed by a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Concentrations of hippuric acid in biological samples were determined by a high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector. RESULTS: Geometric mean(geometric standard deviation) of HAP and hippuric acid in urine(HAU) for the exposed was 1.39(2.21) mg/L and 2.77(1.46) g/L, respectively, which were significantly different from those of the reference [HAP, 0.45(2.94); HAU, 0.37(0.45)]. Toluene concentration in the workplace air was 86.92(range: 45.18~151.23) ppm. The level of HAP or HAU was significantly correlated (r=0.70 and r=0.63, respectively) with that of toluene in the workplace air. The estimated regression equation was logHAP(mg/L)=-3.60+1.93 log(toluene, ppm) or logHAU(g/L)=-0.85+0.67 log(toluene, ppm). The magnitude of correlation was further enhanced when analyzing relationship between toluene concentrations lower than 100 ppm and its corresponding HAP levels. CONCLUSION: Overall, plasma hippuric acid levels were well correlated with toluene concentrations in the workplace air, and a statistically significant correlation was observed for the samples with toluene concentration lower than 100 ppm.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Humans ; Occupations ; Plasma* ; Toluene*

In this study, we measured the activity of the erythrocyte pyrimidine 5'-nucleotidase (P5N) and urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) from 154 workers exposed to lead and 43 workers not exposed. We analyzed the correlation of the P5N activity and NAG activity with other biological exposure indices of lead such as blood lead (PbB) and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP). The measurement was performed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), spectrophotometer and atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results are as follows: 1. The mean value of P5N activity for workers exposed to lead was 9.50+/-.13 micromol uridine/hr/g Hb and 11.60+/-.2 micromol uridine/hr/g Hb for workers not exported. The P5N activity showed a normal distribution, but the other indices of lead showed logarithmic normal distributions. 2. The P5N activity and ZPP were decreased as PbB wag increased. But the NAG activity had no correlation with changes of PbB. 3. The correlation coefficients of the P5N activity with other biological exposure indices of lead such as PbB, ZPP, NAG activity were -0.72, -0.55, and 0.05, respectively. We speculated that the P5N activity can be used as a reliable biological exposure index of lead but NAG activity can be used as a biological management index of lead.
5'-Nucleotidase* ; Absorption ; Acetylglucosaminidase* ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Erythrocytes* ; Zinc

BACKGROUND: Osteomyelitis is an intraosseous inflammatory disease characterized by progressive inflammatory osteoclasia and ossification. The use of quantitative analysis to assist interpretation of osteomyelitis is increasingly being considered. The objective of this study was to perform early diagnosis of osteomyelitis on digital panoramic radiographs using basic functions provided by picture archiving and communication system (PACS), a program used to show radiographic images. METHODS: This study targeted a total of 95 patients whose symptoms were confirmed as osteomyelitis under clinical, radiologic, pathological diagnosis over 11 years from 2008 to 2017. Five categorized patients were osteoradionecrosis, bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of jaw (BRONJ, suppurative and sclerosing type), and bacterial osteomyelitis (suppurative and sclerosing type), and the control group was 117 randomly sampled. The photographic density in a certain area of the digital panoramic radiograph was determined and compared using the “measure area rectangle,” one of the basic PACS functions in INFINITT PACS® (INFINITT Healthcare, Seoul, South Korea). A conditional inference tree, one type of decision making tree, was generated with the program R for statistical analysis with SPSS®. RESULTS: In the conditional inference tree generated from the obtained data, cases where the difference in average value exceeded 54.49 and the difference in minimum value was less than 54.49 and greater than 12.81 and the difference in minimum value exceeded 39 were considered suspicious of osteomyelitis. From these results, the disease could be correctly classified with a probability of 88.1%. There was no difference in photographic density value of BRONJ and bacterial osteomyelitis; therefore, it was not possible to classify BRONJ and bacterial osteomyelitis by quantitative analysis of panoramic radiographs based on existing research. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that it is feasible to measure photographic density using a basic function in PACS and apply the data to assist in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40902-019-0188-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Decision Making ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Jaw ; Osteomyelitis ; Osteonecrosis ; Osteoradionecrosis ; Seoul ; Trees

In order to identify students who needs more intensive guide, we analysed the association between the results of Korean medical licensing examination(KMLE) and two different types of scholastic achievement; 4th grade score and graduation examination score. The scholastic achievement between passed and failed the KMLE at Konkuk University College of Medicine from 1995 to 1998 was investigated. First, we grouped the students into four groups according to the year they graduated. Second, we regrouped the group into two subgroups according to whether passed or failed in the KMLE. In the 4th grade score, the passed KMLE is higher than the failed from 0.49 to 0.71 and which is statistically significant. In the graduation examination score, the passed KMLE is higher than the failed from 4.9 to 9.9 and which is also statistically significant. We analyzed the degree of agreements between the results of the KMLE and the two different types of scholastic achievement. In 4th grade score, the highest degree of agreement shows 2.2 and its kappa index is 0.49. In graduation examination score, the highest degree of agreement shows 71 and its kappa index is 0.64. In conclusion, students who have lower than 2.2 in 4th grade score or lower than 71 in graduation examination score are tend to be failed the KMLE. So they need more intensive guide for the KMLE.
Humans ; Licensure*