Objectives: Presenteeism is known to be a much more economically damaging social cost than disease rest while going to work despite physical pain. Since COVID-19, social discussions on the sickness benefit have been taking place as a countermeasure against presenteeism, and in particular, farmers and fishermen do not have an institutional mechanism for livelihood support when a disease other than work occurs. This study attempted to examine the relationship between agricultural, fishing, and forestry workers and presenteeism using the 6th Korean Work Conditions Survey. Methods: From October 2020 to January 2021, data from the 6th working conditions survey conducted on 17 cities and provinces in Korea were used, and a total of 34,981 people were studied. Control variables were gender, age, self-health assessment, education level, night work, shift work, monthly income, occupation, working hours per week, and employment status. Results: As a result of the analysis, farmers and fishermen showed the characteristics of the self-employed and the elderly, and as a result of the regression analysis, when farmers and fishermen analyzed the relationship with presenteeism tendency compared to other industry workers, farmers and fishermen increased by 23% compared to other industry groups. Conclusion This study is significant in that it has representation by utilizing the 6th working conditions survey and objectively suggests the need for a sickness benefit for farmers and fishermen who may be overlooked in the sickness benefit.

Objectives: Presenteeism is known to be a much more economically damaging social cost than disease rest while going to work despite physical pain. Since COVID-19, social discussions on the sickness benefit have been taking place as a countermeasure against presenteeism, and in particular, farmers and fishermen do not have an institutional mechanism for livelihood support when a disease other than work occurs. This study attempted to examine the relationship between agricultural, fishing, and forestry workers and presenteeism using the 6th Korean Work Conditions Survey. Methods: From October 2020 to January 2021, data from the 6th working conditions survey conducted on 17 cities and provinces in Korea were used, and a total of 34,981 people were studied. Control variables were gender, age, self-health assessment, education level, night work, shift work, monthly income, occupation, working hours per week, and employment status. Results: As a result of the analysis, farmers and fishermen showed the characteristics of the self-employed and the elderly, and as a result of the regression analysis, when farmers and fishermen analyzed the relationship with presenteeism tendency compared to other industry workers, farmers and fishermen increased by 23% compared to other industry groups. Conclusion This study is significant in that it has representation by utilizing the 6th working conditions survey and objectively suggests the need for a sickness benefit for farmers and fishermen who may be overlooked in the sickness benefit.

Objectives: Presenteeism is known to be a much more economically damaging social cost than disease rest while going to work despite physical pain. Since COVID-19, social discussions on the sickness benefit have been taking place as a countermeasure against presenteeism, and in particular, farmers and fishermen do not have an institutional mechanism for livelihood support when a disease other than work occurs. This study attempted to examine the relationship between agricultural, fishing, and forestry workers and presenteeism using the 6th Korean Work Conditions Survey. Methods: From October 2020 to January 2021, data from the 6th working conditions survey conducted on 17 cities and provinces in Korea were used, and a total of 34,981 people were studied. Control variables were gender, age, self-health assessment, education level, night work, shift work, monthly income, occupation, working hours per week, and employment status. Results: As a result of the analysis, farmers and fishermen showed the characteristics of the self-employed and the elderly, and as a result of the regression analysis, when farmers and fishermen analyzed the relationship with presenteeism tendency compared to other industry workers, farmers and fishermen increased by 23% compared to other industry groups. Conclusion This study is significant in that it has representation by utilizing the 6th working conditions survey and objectively suggests the need for a sickness benefit for farmers and fishermen who may be overlooked in the sickness benefit.

Background: Hand hygiene is considered the simplest and most cost-effective method of infection prevention. Regular observation and feedback on hand hygiene compliance are key strategies for its enhancement. This study evaluated the effectiveness of hand hygiene surveillance, including direct observation and feedback, by comprehensively analyzing the reported hand hygiene compliance within the Korean National Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance System from 2019 to 2022. Methods: Participating medical institutions included general hospitals and hospitals with infection control departments that consented to participate. Hand hygiene surveillance was conducted using direct observation. Collected data, including healthcare workers, clinical areas, hand hygiene moments, and hand hygiene compliance, were recorded to calculate hand hygiene compliance rates. Additionally, the volume of alcohol-based hand sanitizers used per patient per day was investigated as an indirect indicator of hand hygiene compliance. The study was conducted from July 2019 to December 2022. Results: Hand hygiene compliance increased from 87.2% in Q3 2019 to 89.9% in 2022. Nurses and medical technologists showed the highest compliance rates, whereas doctors showed the lowest compliance rates. Intensive care units excelled in compliance, whereas emergency de partments lagged. Compliance was highest after patient contact and lowest when the patient’s surroundings were touched. Larger hospitals consumed more alcohol-based hand sanitizers than smaller hospitals did. Conclusion This study confirmed an improvement in hand hygiene compliance through sustained surveillance, indicating its contribution not only to preventing infection transfer within healthcare facilities but also to fostering a culture of hand hygiene in the country.

The first case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Republic of Korea was confirmed in May 2015 after a traveller returned from the Middle East. There were 186 cases, including 38 deaths, within two months. The potential of a single MERS-confirmed patient to result in such a large MERS outbreak constitutes a serious global health concern.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Colorectal cancer is associated with different anatomical, biological, and clinical characteristics. We determined the impact of the primary tumor location in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). METHODS: Demographic data and clinical information were collected from 1,115 patients from the Republic of Korea, who presented with mCRC between January 2009 and December 2011, using web-based electronic case report forms. Associations between the primary tumor location and the patient's clinical characteristics were assessed, and factors inf luencing overall survival were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: Of the 1,115 patients recruited to the study, 244 (21.9%) had right colon cancer, 483 (43.3%) had left colon cancer, and 388 (34.8%) had rectal cancer. Liver and lung metastases occurred more frequently in patients with left colon and rectal cancer (p = 0.005 and p = 0.006, respectively), while peritoneal and ovarian metastases occurred more frequently in patients with right and left colon cancer (p < 0.001 and p = 0.031, respectively). The median overall survival of patients with tumors originating in the right colon was significantly shorter than that of patients whose tumors had originated in the left colon or rectum (13.7 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 12.0 to 15.5] vs. 18.0 months [95% CI, 16.3 to 19.7] or 19.9 months [95% CI, 18.5 to 21.3], respectively; p = 0.003). Tumor resection, the number of metastatic sites, and primary tumor location correlated with overall survival in the univariate and multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Primary tumor location influences the metastatic sites and prognosis of patients with mCRC.
Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Rectal Neoplasms ; Rectum ; Republic of Korea

BACKGROUND: In this study, four types of effervescent vitamins marketed in Korea were analyzed for their acidity and vitamin content. For this purpose, bovine teeth were immersed in vitamin, and surface microhardness and appearance were measured before and after immersion to evaluate tooth demineralization and erosion.METHODS: Bovine permanent incisors with sound surface enamel were cut to 5×5 mm size, embedded in acrylic resin, and polished using a polishing machine with Sic-paper. The prepared samples were analyzed for pH, vitamin content, and surface hardness before and after immersion using a surface microhardness meter. Demineralization of surface dental enamel was observed using a scanning electron microscope.RESULTS: The average pH of the four effervescent vitamins was less than 5.5; the pH of the positive control Oronamin C was the lowest at 2.76, while that of the negative control Samdasoo was the highest at 6.86. The vitamin content was highest in Berocca and lowest in the DM company Multivitamin. On surface microhardness analysis, surface hardness values of all enamel samples were found to be decreased significantly after 1 and 10 minutes of immersion (p<0.05). After 10 minutes of immersion, there was a significant difference in the decrease in hardness between the experimental groups (p<0.05). Scanning electron microscopy observation showed that dental enamel demineralization after 10 minutes of immersion was the most severe in Oronamin C except for Samdasoo, followed by DM company Multivitamin and VitaHEIM. Immersion in BeroNew and Berocca resulted in similar effects.CONCLUSION: There is a risk of tooth erosion due to decreased tooth surface microhardness when using the four types of effervescent vitamins and vitamin carbonated beverages with pH below 5.5. Therefore, high pH vitamin supplements are recommended to prevent tooth erosion.
Carbonated Beverages ; Dental Enamel ; Hardness ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Immersion ; Incisor ; Korea ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Tablets ; Tooth ; Tooth Demineralization ; Tooth Erosion ; Vitamins

The purpose of this study is to observe students' eating habits and to evaluate the necessity of high school breakfast service by surveying concerned persons such as high school dietitians, parents, and students to find practical solutions to decrease the breakfast-skipping rate of the high school students in Chungcheong. The data were collected from 75 dietitians, 584 students, and 420 parents. Parents and students participated the survey more positively, and the more monthly income participants' families had, the probability of participation increased by 1.5 times (OR=1.452). Parents suggested that breakfast should be offered at a lower price (1,000~2,000 won) than school lunch, and for the school breakfast cost, they preferred to bear the expense together with schools. For the type of breakfast, the dietitians preferred convenient foodservice (40.0%), the students preferred simple meals such as bread, milk, fruit and salad (3.97), and Kimbap, Joomukbap et al (3.93) rather than Korean traditional foods (3.76) such as rice, soup and side dish. The dietitians answered ‘needed’ and ‘very much needed’ to the necessity of breakfast relatively low by 30.7%. As the result of the study, the researchers suggest the execution of school breakfast program should start first for the students who cannot have breakfast at home. Moreover, more studies should be conducted to reduce the constantly increasing rate of breakfast-skipping rate of high school students.
Bread ; Breakfast ; Eating ; Fruit ; Humans ; Lunch ; Meals ; Milk ; Nutritionists ; Parents

To improve the oral health status of Korean people, it is necessary to encourage proper oral hygiene management habits, such as toothbrushing, through appropriate health promotion techniques. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the removal of plaque and tooth abrasion using ultra-soft (filament 0.11~0.12 mm) and soft toothbrushes for toothbrushing. The plaque removal was performed using a dentiform and Arti-spray, and the Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP) index was calculated as the sum total score divided by the total number of surfaces. In the abrasivity experiment, according to the number of brushings, a micro Vickers hardness tester was used, and a sample in the range of 280~380 Vickers hardness number was selected. The number of toothbrushing stroke were 1,800 (2 months), 5,400 (6 months), 10,800 (12 months), and 21,600 (24 months). The tooth abrasion was measured using a scanning electron microscope. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 and a p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. According to the results, there was no statistically significant difference in the degree of plaque removal between ultra-soft and soft toothbrushes. The difference in tooth abrasion between before and after toothbrushing was found to be greater with the soft toothbrushes than with the ultra-soft toothbrushes. Therefore, the ultra-soft toothbrush not only lowers tooth damage by reducing tooth abrasion, but also shows a similar ability to remove plaque as soft toothbrushes.
Dental Plaque ; Hardness ; Hardness Tests ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Oral Health ; Oral Hygiene ; Stroke ; Tooth Abrasion* ; Tooth* ; Toothbrushing

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Renal aging-related changes are characterized by oxidative stress. SIRT1 regulates cellular conditions by activating Nrf2. The present study investigated the processes of renal changes by antioxidant enzymes and the relationship between SIRT1 and Nrf2. METHODS: We used male 2-, 12-, and 24-month-old C57BL/6 mice. We measured renal function, histological changes, oxidative stress, and expression of SIRT1–Nrf2 signaling in the kidneys. RESULTS: 24-month-old mice exhibited increased albuminuria and serum creatinine. Creatinine clearance was decreased in 24-month-old mice compared with 12-month-old mice. There were increases in mesangial volume and tubulointerstitial fibrosis in 24-month-old mice. Moreover, oxidative stress marker, 3-Nitrotyrosine, expression and apoptosis were increased in 24-month-old mice. The 24 h urinary 8-isoprostane and 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine excretion increased with aging. The levels of expression of SIRT1 and nuclear Nrf2 were decreased in 24-month-old mice. The antioxidant enzymes HO-1 and NQO-1 were down-regulated in 24-month-old mice. Another antioxidant enzyme, SOD2, was decreased in 24-month-old mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that SIRT1 was down-regulated with aging, and this may be related to changes in the expression of target molecules including Nrf2. As a result, oxidative stress was induced. The pharmacological targeting of these signaling molecules may reduce the pathological changes associated with aging in the kidney.
Aging ; Albuminuria ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Child, Preschool ; Creatinine ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Infant ; Kidney* ; Male ; Mice ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ; Oxidative Stress ; Sirtuin 1