BACKGROUND/AIMS: To estimate the prevalence and evaluate the associated psychological factors of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in males in their twenties who are currently enrolled in military service. METHODS: A total of 1,073 men in the Korean army were asked to complete questionnaires based on the Rome III criteria and Symptom Checklist-90-revised (SCL-90R). The prevalence of FGIDs was estimated, and the associated psychological factors were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 967 men participated. The total prevalence of FGIDs was 18.5% (age-adjusted prevalence, 18.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 15.3% to 20.8%). The total SCL-90R scores were higher in men with FGIDs than men without FGIDs (24 [interquartile range, 13 to 44] vs 13 [5 to 28], p<0.001) and higher in men with overlapping syndromes than in those with single FGIDs (31 [18 to 57] vs 14 [5.75 to 29], p<0.001). Somatization (odds ratio [OR], 1.141; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.20; p<0.001), obsessive-compulsive behaviors (OR, 1.084; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.14; p=0.002) and depression (OR, 0.943; 95% CI, 0.90 to 0.99; p=0.020) were identified as independent predictive factors for FGIDs. CONCLUSIONS: FGIDs are common among men in their twenties who are fulfilling their military duty. Somatization and obsessive-compulsive features from the tense atmosphere are associated with the development or progression of FGIDs. Patients who exhibit overlapping syndromes require greater attention given their more severe psychopathology.
Depression/complications ; Gastrointestinal Diseases/*epidemiology/psychology ; Humans ; Male ; Military Personnel/psychology/*statistics & numerical data ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/complications ; Prevalence ; Psychopathology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Somatoform Disorders/complications ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

Early life stress (ELS) may induce long-lasting psychological complications in adulthood. The protective role of resilience against the development of psychopathology is also important. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among ELS, resilience, depression, anxiety, and aggression in young adults. Four hundred sixty-one army inductees gave written informed consent and participated in this study. We assessed psychopathology using the Korea Military Personality Test, ELS using the Childhood Abuse Experience Scale, and resilience with the resilience scale. Analyses of variance, correlation analyses, and hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted for statistical analyses. The regression model explained 35.8%, 41.0%, and 23.3% of the total variance in the depression, anxiety, and aggression indices, respectively. We can find that even though ELS experience is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and aggression, resilience may have significant attenuating effect against the ELS effect on severity of these psychopathologies. Emotion regulation showed the most beneficial effect among resilience factors on reducing severity of psychopathologies. To improve mental health for young adults, ELS assessment and resilience enhancement program should be considered.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; Aggression/*psychology ; Anxiety/epidemiology/psychology ; Comorbidity ; Humans ; Male ; Military Personnel/*psychology/*statistics & numerical data ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; *Resilience, Psychological ; Risk Factors ; Stress, Psychological/*epidemiology/*psychology ; Young Adult

This paper purports to identify and analyze the medical information of the frontline soldiers in the Northwest borderland provinces of Han Dynasty, especially Juyan and Dunhuang region, through an heuristic reading of the Juyan Bamboo Slips and the Dunhuang Bamboo Slips of the Han Dynasty. My findings are as follows. The most frequent disease found in the bamboo slips was the external injury. The injury of the frontline soldiers mainly occurred from the quarrels among armed soldiers using weapons. The bamboo slips also demonstrate that the quarrels usually arose due to the fierce tension caused by the frontier line service such as heavy guard activity and labour duty. Undernourishment and chronic stress the soldiers suffered might be another reasons. The second most common disease harassing the soldiers was exogenous febrile disease. In most cases reviewed in this paper, the exogenous febrile disease was usually concurrent with complex symptoms such as chills, fever, headache, etc. The bamboo slips show that the exogenous febrile disease was related to the harsh climate of the Northwest provinces, featuring extremely dry weather and the large magnitude of diurnal temperature fluctuations. In addition, the annual temperature range in the Northwest province was huge, fluctuating between very cold and dry winter and very hot and dry summer. The third most common disease this study identified was the disorder of the digestive system and respiratory system. However, these two types of disease were virtually indistinguishable in the bamboo slips, because the ancient Chinese chroniclers did not distinguish them, usually dubbing both diseases simply 'abdominal pain.' It should be mentioned that a few slips mention contagious disease such as dysentery and dermatolosis, and sudden death, as well. Overall, the bamboo slips demonstrate extremely poor status of the soldiers' heath condition and poor medical environment surrounding the soldiers stationing in the Northwest borderland military camps. The records also show that acupuncture, applying a plaster, drugs were the most common medical treatment. Drugs among them was the most frequently used. Whereas Acupuncture, applying a plaster were very rarely used. Medication has been used in three ways: powdered medicine, medicinal decoction and pill. Medicinal decoction was the most commonly used way.
China/epidemiology ; Climate ; Communicable Disease Control/history ; Communicable Diseases/epidemiology/etiology/history ; Digestive System Diseases/epidemiology/etiology/history/prevention & control ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Military Medicine/*history/statistics & numerical data ; Military Personnel/*history ; Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology/etiology/history/prevention & control

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the health status of Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) soldiers changed after one year of military service. METHODS: We selected 483 ROKAF soldiers from the 11 749 recruits who participated in the 2011 physical examination. The selected soldiers underwent another physical examination in 2012 for advancement to senior airman. Data from 2011 and 2012 were merged. To collect data on lifestyle, a questionnaire was sent to all included subjects via the military intranet e-mail service. RESULTS: The percentage of recruits with an abnormal alanine transaminase level (normal range <40 IU/L) decreased from recruitment (13.7%) to the following year (2.7%). Moreover, the percentage of obese soldiers (body mass index > or =25 kg/m2) decreased from recruitment (20.5%) to the following year (10.4%). There was a significant change in mean duration of exercise carried out each day before (0.8+/-1.3 hours) and after (1.0+/-0.7 hours) joining the ROKAF service. CONCLUSIONS: These ROKAF soldiers were generally in good health before and after joining the armed service. After one year of military service, the health status of most soldiers improved, especially with respect to body mass index and alanine transaminase level.
Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Mass Index ; Exercise ; *Health Status ; Humans ; Internet ; Life Style ; Military Personnel/*statistics & numerical data ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea

OBJECTIVETo compare the blood antioxidant levels and dietary antioxidant intakes between pilots and non-flight staff of the Army Force in The Islamic Republic of Iran.

METHODSThirty-seven helicopter pilots and 40 non-flight staff were included in this study. Their general characteristics were recorded and their weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. Their daily intake of energy and nutrients including antioxidants was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Serum levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in red blood cells were also measured.

RESULTSThe median erythrocytes SOD, serum MDA level and the mean serum level of TAC and erythrocytes GPx were significantly higher in pilots than in non-flight staff. The median vitamin C intake was significantly lower in pilots than in non-flight staff. The serum MDA levels were similar in non-flight staff and pilots when their vitamin C intake was ⋜168 mg and significantly lower in non-flight staff than in pilots when their vitamin C intake was >168 mg.

CONCLUSIONThe serum MDA level is lower in non-flight staff than in pilots when their vitamin C intake level is high, indicating that pilots need more vitamin C than non-flight staff.

Adult ; Aerospace Medicine ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Ascorbic Acid ; administration & dosage ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diet ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Military Personnel ; statistics & numerical data

OBJECTIVETo analyze functional dyspepsia prevalence and associated factors of naval forces.

METHODBy stratified random cluster sampling method, conducted a questionnaire survey and diagnosis of functional dyspepsia to 11 520 military sea forces, and analyzed risk in clinical factors. Large sample size of 3084 cases in the diagnosis of functional dyspepsia, analyzed correlation of the selected 100 patients by single sample random sampling method.

RESULTNaval forces, functional dyspepsia prevalence was 29.27% (3084/10537), and logistic regression analysis showed that job factors of military service, military rank, the nature of the work, the training intensity, training environmental P = 0.028, 0.023, 0.000, 0.000, 0.014, OR = 10.308, 6.288, 22.504, 26.720, 9.825; life factors of daily water intake, eating fruits and frequency of sleep time, spicy eating habits, drinking history factors P = 0.000, 0.012, 0.025, 0.017, 0.027, OR = 28.467, 20.335, 11.358, 10.249, 9.578; psychological factors, depression, anxiety factor P = 0.024, 0.019, OR = 16.878, 18.025;generally age, gender, ethnicity, BMI index, gastrointestinal history, history of drug, educational background, geographic factors P = 0.042, 0.033, 0.417, 0.000, 0.000, 0.012, 0.392, 0.440, OR = 3.406, 7.511, 2.643, 42.073, 88.457, 21.680, 1.752, 5.561.When value of P < 0.05, clinical risk factors were screened. Clinical symptom scores and work, life factor score and SAS, SDS score of randomly selected patient samples was positively correlated, r = 0.816, 0.763, 0.795, 0.923, P = 0.000, indicating statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONNaval forces functional dyspepsia prevalence was higher than the general population, which risk factors included work, life, psychological, physical fitness factors, closely related with military service and military personnel, military rank, the nature of the work, the training intensity and environment, eating habits, daily sleep time, drinking history, depression, anxiety level, age, gender, BMI index, history of gastrointestinal disease, use of drugs, high priority should be given to the risk factors listed above, the development of rational targeted programs to strengthen the cause of prevention measures.

Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Dyspepsia ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Military Personnel ; statistics & numerical data ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and the distribution of constitutional pattern in elderly retired personnel of the People's Liberation Army.

METHODSAdopting the method of cross-sectional field investigation, from June to December in 2008, the investigation questionnaires were completed by the aged over 60 and collected from 69 military retired residences in the 4 cities of Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Qingdao. Other data, including demographic characteristics, physiological characteristics, life style and former medical history, were collected and analyzed. The statistical analysis for the database was drawn up by the software Epidata 3.0.

RESULTSA total of 4,502 people were included in this study, and 35.3% of them were diagnosed with MS. There was no obvious difference in mobility among ages (60 to 69, 70 to 79 and over 80, P>0.05). Referring to the MS patients in the 70s age group, both the phlegm-dampness and dampness-heat constitutional types were evidently higher than those in the 60s age group (P=0.019, P=0.008); while MS patients in 80s and older showed a significantly lower incidence of dampness-heat constitution than those in the 60s (P=0.00); and ql-deficiency constitution was obviously higher in the 80s age group than those in the other two groups (P=0.00). The top 3 constitutions in MS people were, respectively, phlegm-dampness, dampness-heat and qi-deficiency constitution; while in non-MS people, the top 3 constitutions were gentleness, qi-deficiency and phlegm-dampness. When the patient's body mass index (BMI) was more than 25 kg/m(2), the rate of phlegm-dampness and dampness-heat constitution significantly increased, while the rate of qi-deficiency constitution declined; the discrepancy was significant (P=0.00).

CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence rate of MS in military senior people was 35.3%, which did not vary among the three age groups. Phlegm-dampness, dampness-heat and qi-deficiency constitution were the three dominant constitutional types seen in the MS patients. The distribution of constitution formation was different in MS people and non-MS people. For different dimensions of BMI, the proportion of each kind of constitutions was varied.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Body Constitution ; Body Mass Index ; China ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metabolic Syndrome ; epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Military Personnel ; statistics & numerical data ; Prevalence ; Retirement ; statistics & numerical data

PURPOSE: The South Korean (SK) government monopolizes the tobacco industry and is accused of pushing smoking on captive military personnel. However, estimating the association between military service and smoking is difficult, since military service is required for all SK men and the few civilian waivers are usually based on smoking determinants, e.g., social status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a quasi-experimental design we validly estimate the association between military service and smoking. Military service was assigned by immigration patterns to the United States, instead of an experimenter, by comparing Korean Americans who happened to immigrate before or after the age(s) of mandated service. Smoking promotion in the military was also described among SK veterans, to identify the probable mechanisms for veterans' smoking tendencies. RESULTS: Veterans were 15% [95% confidence interval (CI), 4 to 27] more likely to ever-puff and 10% (95% CI, 0 to 23) more likely to ever-smoke cigarettes, compared to a similar group of civilians. Among veterans, 92% (95% CI, 89 to 95) recalled cigarettes were free, 30% (95% CI, 25 to 35) recalled smokers were given more work breaks and 38% (95% CI, 32 to 43) felt explicit "social pressure" to smoke. Free cigarettes was the strongest mechanism for veterans' smoking tendencies, e.g., veterans recalling free cigarette distribution were 16% (95% CI, 1 to 37) more likely to ever-smoke than veterans not recalling. CONCLUSION: These patterns suggest military service is strongly associated with smoking, and differences between veterans and civilians smoking may carry over long after military service. Given military service remains entirely in government purview, actively changing military smoking policies may prove most efficacious. This highlights the importance of recent bans on military cigarette distribution, but policies eliminating other smoking encouragements described by veterans are necessary and could effectively reduce the smoking prevalence by as much as 10% in SK.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Military Personnel/*statistics & numerical data ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Smoking/*epidemiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to describe the trends in body mass index (BMI) during 6 years (2002 - 2008) and to identify associations between these trends and the amount of physical activity of South Korean career soldiers. METHOD: This study targeted the 40 993 (38 857 men and 2136 women) of the 58 657 career soldiers who had undergone four (2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008) biennial medical examinations conducted by the National Health Insurance Corporation; 17 664 soldiers with missing data on height, weight, and physical activity were excluded. A linear mixed-regression model was used to categorize changes in BMI due to age versus those due to amount of physical activity. RESULTS: Career soldiers experienced significant increases in BMI compared with baseline data gathered in 2002. The increases in each age group were as follows: men aged 20- 29: 1.16, men aged 30 - 39: 0.61, men aged 40 - 49: 0.05, women aged 20- 29: 0.35, women aged 30- 39: 0.30, women aged 40-49: 0.26, and women aged 50- 59: 0.21. However, men aged 50 or older showed significant decreases (as high as 0.5) in BMI compared with baseline data obtained in 2002. They also experienced significant decreases in BMI compared with those who reported no physical activity. The differences between baseline and final BMIs were: 0.02 for men exercising 1- 2 times per week, -0.07 for men exercising 3-4 times per week, -0.19 for men exercising 5-6 times per week, -0.21 for men exercising seven times per week, -0.05 for women exercising 1- 2 times per week, -0.19 for women exercising 3- 4 times per week, -0.30 for women exercising 5-6 times per week, and -0.30 for women exercising seven times per week. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity in South Korean career soldiers increased markedly between 2002 and 2008, and our data showed that the amount of physical activity was inversely related to increases in BMI. Policies to prevent obesity are needed to reduce this trend.
Adult ; *Body Mass Index ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Military Personnel/*statistics & numerical data ; *Motor Activity ; Obesity/diagnosis ; Regression Analysis ; Republic of Korea

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