- Relationship between the Exposure to Ozone in Seoul and the Childhood Asthma-related Hospital Admissions according to the Socioeconomic Status.
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Ji Young Son, Ho Kim, Jong Tae Lee, Sun Young Kim
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J Prev Med Public Health. 2006;39(1):81-86.
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- BACKGROUND
A number of studies have reported associations between the ambient air pollution concentrations and various health outcomes. Especially, ozone is well known for primary risk factor of asthma attacks. The results of a recent study indicate that the size of the effect on health outcomes due to air pollution varied according to several conditions, including age, gender, race and the socioeconomic status. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the associations of ozone with the childhood asthma hospitalizations as stratified by the socioeconomic status (SES) at the community level in Seoul, Korea, 2002. METHODS: SES at aggregated levels was measured on the basis of average regional health-insurance rate per citizen in the area. We applied the generalized additive model to analyze the effect of ozone on asthma after controlling for the potential confounding variables that were capable of influencing the results. RESULTS: Our analysis showed that the number of children who were hospitalized for asthma increased as the SES of the residence area decreased. The estimated relative risks of hospitalization for asthma, as stratified by the SES of the community level, were 1.12 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.25) in districts with the highest SES levels, 1.24 (95% CI=1.08-1.43) within the moderate SES levels, and 1.32 (95% CI=1.11-1.58) in the districts with the lowest SES levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis showed that exposure to air pollution did not equally affect the health status of individuals. This suggests that not only the biological-sensitivity markers, but also the SES of the subjects should be considered as potentially confounding factors.
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- Smoking Behaviors and Its Relationships with Other Health Behaviors among Medical Students.
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Soon Woo Park, Jung Han Park, Sang Won Lee, Hyun Sul Lim, Jong Tae Lee, Yune Sik Kang
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J Prev Med Public Health. 2004;37(3):238-245.
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This study was conducted to examine the smoking behaviors and the relationship between smoking and other health behaviors among medical students. METHODS: A self-administrated questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1, 775 students from four medical schools between April and May 2003. Due to the small number of female smokers, the characteristics of smoking behaviors were analyzed only for males. RESULTS: A total of 1, 367 students (920 males and 447 females) completed the questionnaires, with an overall response rate of 77.7%. The smoking rates for males and females were 31.5, and 2.2%, respectively. Among the male smokers, 70.7% smoked daily, and 39.0% smoked one pack or more per day. Male students on medical course were more likely to smoke daily, and one pack or more per day, than those on premedical course. Male daily smokers desired to quit smoking less than occasional smokers, and 65.0% of male daily smokers were not ready to quit compared with 37.8% of the occasional smokers. Among the male daily smokers, 29.6% were severely nicotine dependent. The most common reason for not to quit smoking among male smokers was 'no alternative stress coping method' (44.4%), followed by 'lack of will power' (25.4%), and 'no need to quit' (19.4%). Compared with male non-smokers, male smokers were more likely to drink alcohol more often and in larger amounts, take coffee more often, eat breakfast less regularly, and be overweight or obese. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that many male medical students were serious smokers, especially those on medical course. It is necessary to install a smoking prevention program for pre-medical students, provide effective smoking cessation methods for smokers, teach positive stress coping methods, and make the school environment suitable for coping with stress.
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- Maternal Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) and Pregnancy Outcome (low birth weight or preterm baby) in Prospective Cohort Study.
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Bo Eun Lee, Yun Chul Hong, Hye Sook Park, Jong Tae Lee, Jeong Youn Kim, Young Joo Kim, Sang Hyun Kim, Kang Jung Goo, Joo Oh Kim, Eun Hee Ha
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Korean J Prev Med. 2003;36(2):117-124.
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This study was performed to examine the relationship between maternal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and pregnancy outcomes (low birth weight or preterm baby) in a prospective cohort study. METHODS: We made a pregnant women's cohort, and followed the pregnancy outcomes, between May 1st 2001 and August 31st 2002. We surveyed 2, 250 women who visited our hospital during their 35th gestational week, with a self-administered questionnaire. The final total of mother-infant pairs analyzed in this study was 1, 712. We used a multiple logistic regression analysis to analyze the effect of maternal ETS on the incidence of preterm or low birth weight, and a linear regression analysis for the birth weight and gestational age. RESULTS: Higher exposure to ETS (> or =1 hours/day) during pregnancy was more negatively associated with the gestational age and birth weight, than no exposure to ETS (no or less than 1hour). Maternal exposure to ETS was associated with preterm baby (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9, 3.3) and low birth weight (AOR 2.3; 95% CI 0.9, 5.5). In addition, we found that maternal ETS may reduce the birth weight by 70g after adjusting for potential confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that maternal exposure to ETS during pregnancy may increase the frequency of low birth weights and preterm births.
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- Associations between Air Pollution and Asthma-related Hospital Admissions in Children in Seoul, Korea: A Case-crossover Study.
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Jong Tae Lee
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Korean J Prev Med. 2003;36(1):47-53.
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I used a case-crossover design to investigate the association between air pollution, and hospital admissions for asthmatic children under the age of 15 years in Seoul, Korea METHODS: I estimated the changes in the levels of hospitalization risk from theinterquartile (IQR) increase in each pollutant concentrations, using conditional logistic regression analyses, with controls for weather information. RESULTS: Using bidirectional control sampling, the results from a conditional logistic regression model, with controls for weather conditions, showed the estimated relative risk of hospitalization for asthma among children to be 1.04 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.08) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10m (IQR=40.4ug/m3) ; 1.05 (95% CI, 1.00-1.09) for nitrogen dioxide (IQR=14.6ppb) ; 1.02 (95% CI, 0.97-1.06) for sulfur dioxide (IQR=4.4ppb) ; 1.03 (95% CI, 0.99-1.08) for ozone (IQR=21.7ppb) ; and 1.03 (95% CI, 0.99-1.08) for carbon monoxide (IQR=1.0ppm). CONCLUSIONS: This empirical analysis indicates the bidirectional control sampling methods, by design, would successfully control the confounding factors due to the long-term time trends of air pollution. These findings also support the hypothesis that air pollution, at levels below the current ambient air quality standards of Korea, is harmful to sensitive subjects, such as asthmatic children.
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- Short-term Effect of Air Pollution on Respiratory Disease in Seoul : A Case-Crossover Study.
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Young Ju Lee, Jong Tae Lee, Young Su Ju, Dong Chun Shin, Hyoung June Im, Soo Hun Cho
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Korean J Prev Med. 2001;34(3):253-261.
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To evaluate the hypothesis that air pollution could increase emergency room visits for respiratory diseases, and if so, to quantify the strength of association between those. METHODS: We compiled daily records of hospital emergency room visits for respiratory diseases in Seoul, from November 1. 1995 to October 31. 1996, by using medical utilization data of unscheduled visits. In addition, air quality and weather data for the same period was collected. And a case-crossover design was applied by adopting conditional logistic regression analysis to determine the relationship between air pollutants and emergency room visits for respiratory diseases. In particular, the control periods were chosen by a bidirectional paired matching technique 7, 14, and 21days before and after the case periods. RESULTS: Only ozone was associated with the increased number of emergency room visits for respiratory diseases. The relative risk according to a 30ppb increase of ozone concentration (24hr mean, lagged 1day) was 1.91 (95% confidence interval = 1.78-2.05). CONCLUSION: There was a statistically significant association between the ambient ozone and daily emergency room visits for respiratory diseases.
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- Epidemiologic Methods and Study Designs for Investigating Adverse Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution.
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Jong Tae Lee, Ho Kim
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Korean J Prev Med. 2001;34(2):119-126.
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- Air pollution epidemiologic studies are intrinsically difficult because the expected effect size at general environmental levels is small, exposure and misclassification of exposure are common, and exposure is not selective to a specific pollutant. In this review paper, epidemiologic study designs and analytic methods are described, and two nationwide projects on air pollution epidemiology are introduced. This paper also demonstrates that possible confounding issues in time-series analysis can be resolved and the impact on the use of data from ambient monitoring stations may not be critical. In this paper we provide a basic understanding of the types of air pollution epidemiologic study designs that be subdivided by the mode of air pollution effects on human health (acute or chronic). With the improvements in the area of air pollution epidemiologic studies, we should emphasize that elaborate models and statistical techniques cannot compensate for inadequate study design or poor data collection.
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- Transient Effects on the Risk of Occupational Injuries as an Acute Events: a Case-crossover Study.
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Seon A Jeong, Jong Tae Lee, Jong Uk Won, Jaehoon Roh
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Korean J Prev Med. 2001;34(1):35-40.
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To elucidate the transient effects on the risk of occupational injuries as acute events and establish an alternative proposal. METHODS: The study population comprised a total of 302 workers randomly selected from applications for occupational injury compensation reported to the Inchon local labor office from January 1, 1999 to December 31. A case-crossover design, where each case serves its own control, was applied to this study. Through a telephone interview, workers provided useful data concerning five job related stressful events such as company transfer, work load change, overtime work, exchange duty, and work-part transfer. They were asked whether there were stressful events within a week of the occurrence of injury and the degree of stress. Exposure status from one year prior was used as control information. In the end, the data provided by 158 of selected persons was used for the analysis based on the quality of the data provided by the participants. A conditional logistic regression was used to discover the transient effects on the risk of occupational injuries as acute events. RESULTS: The effect of a company transfer and work load change on occupational injury was statistically significant on the risk of occupational injuries as an acute event(RR=5.5, 95% CI=2.501-12.428; RR=3.1, 95% CI=1.963-5.017, respectively). Other stressful events were found to elevate the risk factor for the occurrence of occupational injury, but were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that transient stressful events elevated the risk factor for the occurrence of occupational injury.
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- A Meta-analysis on the Association between Chronic Noise Exposure and Blood Pressure.
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Chun Bae Kim, Sang Baek Koh, Jai Young Kim, Bong Suk Cha, Hong Ryul Choi, Jong Tae Lee, Chung Mo Nam, Sang Yun Lee, Seung jun Wang, Keeho Park, Dae Youl Kim
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Korean J Prev Med. 2000;33(3):343-348.
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This study was conducted to integrate the results of studies assessing the association between chronic noise exposure and blood pressure. METHODS: Using a MEDLINE search with noise exposure, blood pressure and hypertension as key words, we retrieved articles from the literature that were published from 1980 to December 1999. The criteria for quality evaluation were as follows: 1) the study subjects must have been workers employed at a high noise level area 2) The paper should use average and cumulative noise exposure as method for exposure evaluation. 3) Blood pressure in each article should be reported in a continuous scale Among the 77 retrieved articles, six studies were selected for quantitative meta-analysis. Before the integration of the regression coefficients for the association between blood pressure and noise level, homogeneity tests were conducted. RESULTS: All studies were a cross-sectional design and the study subjects were industrial workers. Five papers used a time-weighted average for noise exposure and only one paper calculated the cumulative noise exposure level. The measurement of blood pressure in the majority of studies were accomplished in a resting state, and used an average of two or more readings. The homogeneity of studies was rejected in a fixed effect model, so we used the results in a random effect model. The results of the quantitative meta-analysis, the weighted regression coefficient of noise associated with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were 0.05 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.03, 0.13) and 0.06 (95% CI: -0.01, 0.13), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that chronic exposure to industrial noise does not cause elevated blood pressure.
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- Comparison of Methods for the Detection of Anti-HBs for Hepatitis B Vaccination Program in Korea.
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Hae Sook Sohn, Jeong Nyeo Lee, Sang Hwa Urm, Jong Tae Lee, Jin Ho Chun
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Korean J Prev Med. 2000;33(2):226-230.
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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.
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- A Study on the Health Status of Korean Vietnam Veterans' Children: A Result of Questionnaire Survey on Vietnam Veterans of Pusan Area Who Diagnosed as Cases by Korean Veteran's Hospital Diagnostic Criteria.
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Jin Ho Chun, Hak Joon Kim, Hae Sook Sohn, Sang Hwa Urm, Soo Kyung Park, Byung Chul Yu, Jong Tae Lee
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Korean J Prev Med. 2000;33(1):17-24.
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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.
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- A Meta-analysis of Ambient Air Pollution in Relation to Daily Mortality in Seoul, 1991~1995.
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Jong Tae Lee, Douglas W Dockery, Chun Bae Kim, Sun Ha Jee, Yong Chung
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Korean J Prev Med. 1999;32(2):177-182.
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To reexamine the association between air pollution and daily mortality in Seoul, Korea using a method of meta-analysis with the data filed for 1991 through 1995. METHODS: A separate Poisson regression analysis on each district within the metropolitan area of Seoul was conducted to regress daily death counts on levels of each ambient air pollutant, such as total suspended particulates (TSP), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3), controlling for variability in the weather condition. We calculated a weighted mean as a meta-analysis summary of the estimates and its standard error. RESULTS: We found that the p value from each pollutant model to test the homogeneity assumption was small (p<0.01) because of the large disparity among district-specific estimates. Therefore, all results reported here were estimated from the random effect model. Using the weighted mean that we calculated, the mortality at a 100 microgram/m3 increment in a 3-day moving average of TSP levels was 1.034 (95% CI 1.009-1.059). The mortality was estimated to increase 6% (95% CI 3-10%) and 3% (95% CI 0-6%) with each 50 ppb increase for 3-day moving average of SO2 and 1-hr maximum O3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Like most of air pollution epidemiologic studies, this meta-analysis cannot avoid fleeing from measurement misclassification since no personal measurement was taken. However, we can expect that a measurement bias be reduced in a district-specific estimate since a monitoring station is better representative of air quality of the matched district. The similar results to those from the previous studies indicated existence of health effect of air pollution at current levels in many industrialized countries, including Korea.
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- Risk Assessment on Carcinogenic Pesticides of Vegetables in Korea.
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Jae Hong Yoon, Jong Tae Lee, Yong Chung, Dongchun Shin
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Korean J Prev Med. 1999;32(2):155-161.
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The study was conducted to estimate the carcinogenic risks from the ingestion of some carcinogenic pesticides (CPs) in vegetables sampled at a local agricultural product market in Seoul. METHODS: After applying a hazard identification step, we selected four pesticides, such as DDT, dieldrin, folpet, and heptachlor epoxide, for this risk assessment. Concentrations of each pesticide were measured from randomly sampled vegetables. In order to estimate the human exposure levels, we combined the concentration of pesticides in the vegetables with consumption rate of those vegetables. Three scenarios were hypothesized for human exposure assessment. Scenario I was the most conservative which supposed the undetected CPs would be the detection limit values. Scenario II was assumed that the undetected CPs would be a half of the detection limit values, and finally scenario III merely considered only values greater than the detection limit values. We finally presented the estimated carcinogenic risks on the basis of the traditional risk assessment procedure suggested by U.S. EPA. RESULTS: Pesticides including DDT, dieldrin, folpet and heptachlor epoxide were detected in 9 samples (6%) in the range of 0.0006~0.09ppm. The daily intake levels of carcinogenic pesticides were estimated in the range of 0.0009~0.0079 microgram/day. As we expected, excess cancer risks based on scenario I was also the highest (1.1x10-8~ 5.5x10-5). CONCLUSIONS: We found that the estimated risks from the pesticides we investigated were not serious. We, however, propose that a continuos monitoring is needed to make sure for the protection of public health.
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- Effect of Therapeutic Exercises on Shoulder Dysfunction in VDT-related female Office Workers.
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Soon Seok Choi, Kui Won Jeong, Sang Hwa Urm, Soo Jin Jeong, Jong Tae Lee, Jin Ho Chun, Chae Un Lee, Ki Taek Pae
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Korean J Prev Med. 1998;31(2):228-239.
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- Visual display terminal(VDT) is popular in majority of office in modern countries. Musculoskeletal pain due to repetitive work with VDT is a serious industrial accident at present. In recent studies, shoulder pain in VDT users is the most common problem in Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of exercises on shoulder dysfunction in VDT-related female office workers. Of the l19 patients with shoulder dysfunction, 32 patients entered into the study. 16 patients(Group I) were not prescribed exercises, other 16 patients (Group II) performed throughout the specific shoulder exercises such as pendular exercises(forward, backward and circumduction) and sidelying external rotation exercises with weights. After 3 months of exercises, the two groups were compared in term of the pain rating scale, disability questionnaire score and range of motion score. The results were summarized as follows ; l. The pain rating scale in Group I before and after 3 months were not differenced significantly(p value=0.784) and in Group II, the scale before and after exercises were differenced significantly(p value=0.0005). 2. The disability, questionnaire scores in Group I before and after 3 months were not differenced significantly(p value=0.437) and in Group II, the scores before and after exercises were differenced significantly(p value=0.0002). 3. The ROM scores of the affected shoulder in Group I before and after 3 months were not differenced significantly(p value=0.876) and in Group II, the scores before and after exercises were differenced significantly(p value=0.0017). In conclusion, that the specific shoulder exercises on shoulder dysfunction in VDT-related female office workers are encouraged.
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- Air particulate matters and daily mortality in Ulsan, Korea.
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Jong Tae Lee, Seong Im Lee, Dongchun Shin, Yong Chung
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Korean J Prev Med. 1998;31(1):82-90.
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- A large number of studies have indicated associations between particulate air pollution and daily mortality. Daily measurements of total suspended particulates (TSP) by high volume air sampler were matched to daily death counts supplied by the National Statistics Office, Korea. All deaths, except deaths from accidents, occurred at Ulsan from 1 January 1991 to 31 December 1994 were considered in the poisson regression analysis. The multiple regression models were used to investigate a main effects of air particulate pollution controlling for SO2 levels, air temperature, relative humidity, seasonal variation, and calendar year. The results indicated that the effects of TSP, SO2, temperature, and relative humidity were not significantly associated with all cause mortality. It could, however, be emphasized that the size of the parameter estimate of TSP was very similar to that of previous studies. An increase in particulates of 100microgram/m4 was associated with a 3% increase in mortality. This relationship was observed at TSP levels well below the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 150microgram/m4 in Korea as well.
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Summary
- Urinary Metabolites and Neurobehavioral Test on Styrene Exposure Workers.
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Chang Hee Lee, Deog Hwan Moon, Hun Lee, Jun Han Park, Dae Hwan Kim, Jong Tae Lee, Jin Ho Chun, Hwi Dong Kim, Chae Un Lee
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Korean J Prev Med. 1996;29(4):863-876.
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- In order to prepare the fundamental data for the health promotion by assessing the exposure level of styrene, the author determined the concentration of mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid in urine of 42 workers who were exposed to styrene by high performance liquid chromatography and surveyed 16 symptoms, by questionnaire and also tested neurobehavioral test(digit symbol, benton visual retention) in 2 FRP plants of Kyung Nam area from July to September, 1995. Control was sampled by age sex matching method. The concentration of styrene in air was determined by gas chromatography. The results were as follows; 1. Geometric mean concentration of styrene in air was 17.4ppm, geometric mean concentration of mandelic acid(MA) in urine were 404.3mg/g creatinine for exposure group, 46.4mg/g creatinine for control group, geometric mean concentration of phenylglyoxylic acid(PGA) in urine were 57.5mg/g creatinine for exposure group, 9.5mg/g creatinine for control group. Mean concentration of MA and PGA showed statistically significant difference between exposure group and control group(p<0.01). 2. Number of symptom were 2.9 for exposure group, 3.3 for control group, number of digit symbol were 24.1 for exposure group, 32.5 for control group, number of Benton visual retention test were 6.1 for exposure group, 6.0 for control group, respectively. As result of adjusting the education year, number of Benton visual retention test showed statistically significant difference between exposure group and control group(p<0.05). 3. Excellent correlation were observed between environmental styrene exposure and urinary MA(r=0.80), PGA(r=0.73), and MA+PGA(r=0.81).
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- An Epidemiologic Study on Death Caused by Cancer in Pusan.
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Hwi Dong Kim, Hye Won Koo, Moon Suk Kwak, Jong Ryul Kim, Byung Chul Son, Deog Hwan Moon, Jong Tae Lee, Kyu Il Lee, Sang Hwa Ohm, Kui Oak Jung, Jin Ho Chun, Chae Un Lee
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Korean J Prev Med. 1996;29(4):765-784.
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- This study surveyed and measured the level and structure of cancer deaths and their trends over time for offering the fundamental data of the cancer prevention and control in Pusan city in the future. Authors conducted the study of descriptive epidemiology using materials derived from the computerized data of total 3,722 certified cancer deaths in Pusan city from January 1 to December 31, 1993 registered on the National Statistical Office, the Republic of Korea. The obtained results were as follows: 1. According to the total registered cases of deaths(16,331 cases) in Pusan city during 1993, cancer(3,722 cases) and cerebrovascular disease(2,718 cases) were the first and second cause of deaths as 23.1% and 16.9%, respectively. These pattern showed the change between cancer(14.7%) and cerebrovascular disease(18.5%) in order of frequency in comparison to 1982. Also, the total number of cancer deaths was increased in comparison to 1982. The rate of death certification by physicians was 87.1% of all registered deaths, which was increased to 6.8% in comparison to 1982(80.3%). 2. Crude death rate and cancer specific death rate was 4.06 per 1,000 populations and 93.8 per 100,000 populations(male:117.8, female:70.0), respectively. The former was similar to that of 1982, but the latter was increased to 1.6 times as that of 1982. 3. Age-adjusted cancer specific death rate by standardization with whole country population was 111.9(male:141.5, female:106.7) per 100,000 populations, higher than not age-adjusted cancer specific death rate(93.8), and the sex difference was statistically significant with male predominance(p<0.05). 4. Cancer specific death rate by age was generally increased with age and most of cancer deaths(male:91.8%, female:88.5%) occurred since 40 years old. 5. The major cancer(cancer specific death rate per 100,000 populations) in male was liver(30.6) followed by stomach(25.6), lung(21.9), and GB and EHBD(5.7), in female stomach(15.7), liver(9.9), lung(7.3), and uterus(6.9). The relative frequency of the leading three cancer among total cancer deaths marked 66.3% in male and 47.1% in female, and decreased in comparison to 1982(male:72.2%, female:54.5%). 6. The total ratio of male to female cancer specific death rate showed 1.68 to 1 with male predominance. And the ratio was above 2.0 in larynx, oral cavity & pharynx, esophagus, liver, lung, bladder cancer and the ratio was 1.0~1.9 in stomach, pancreas, gall bladder and EHBD, brain, rectum and anus cancer, leukemia, but the ratio was reversed in thyroid and colon cancer. In conclusion, cancer was the first cause of deaths. The proportion of lung cancer was increased, that of stomach & uterine cancer was decreased relatively, and liver cancer was constantly higher proportion. In the future, it is necessary to conduct the further investigations on the cancer risk factors considering areal specificity.
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Summary
- Olfactory Dysfunction in Chromium Exposed Workers.
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Yeong Jin Yu, Sang Hwa Ohm, Jong Tae Lee, Byung Chul Yu, Kui Oak Jung, Kyu Il Cho, Ki Tack Pai
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Korean J Prev Med. 1995;28(3):678-689.
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- Chromium is one of the representative toxic substance by occupational exposure which damage the mucosa of respiratory tract including nasal septal perforation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of chromium exposure on olfactory function and to obtain the fundamental information about chromium exposure. The authors performed olfactory function test, laboratory tests and questionnaire interview on the subject of three groups, that is, two exposed groups and one nonexposed group from May 1 to June 30, 1994. Exposed group 1 was 15 male workers without nasal septal perforation, exposed group 2 was 15 male workers with nasal septal perforation among 103 workers in 22 chromium plating factories, and nonexposed group was 15 male medical students. The gathered informations were histories of chromium exposure, habits of smoking and alcohol drinking, the concentrations of chromium in serum and urine, and asparate aminotransferase(AST), alanine aminotransferase(ALT), gamma-gluutamyl transferase,etc. Olfactory function was checked by T and T olfectometer using phenyl ethyl alcohol(material A), methyl cyclopentenolone(material B), iso-valeric acid(material C), gamma-undecalactone(material D), skatole(material E) and the results were expressed by detection threshold(DT) and recognition threshold(RT). There was a significant difference between exposed groups and nonexposed group in A, B, C, D, E substances by DT and in A, B, C, D substances by RT(p<0.01) The degree of olfactory dysfunction was highest in the exposed group 2 and lowest in the nonexposed group in all five substance by Dt and it was same in A B, D substance RT and the difference of RT and DT. As summary, olfactory dysfunction by chromium exposure was recognized and the degree of olfactory dysfunction was higher in the exposed group with nasal septal perforation. Therefore, it would be helpful to apply olfactory function test for the early detection of olfactory dysfunction, and this test would be considered as the basic tool within workers' compensation system.
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Summary
- Assessment of Validity of RT-PCR and EIA for The Detection of Hepatitis C Virus Infection.
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Byung Chul Son, Jin Ho Chun, Yeong Hong Park, Hai Rim Shin, Kyu Il Cho, Jong Han Kim, Kui Oak Jung, Jong Tae Lee, Chae Un Lee, Nak Whan Paik
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Korean J Prev Med. 1995;28(2):526-541.
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- This study was conducted to estimate the validity of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) compared to enzyme immunoassay(EIA) for the detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. ElA for antibody to HCV(anti-HCV) and RT-PCR for HCV was executed on the subjects from Pusan and kyungnam area with questionnaire survey to collect some relating factors of HCV infection As the result from 617 cases, the prevalence of flcv infection was 1.5% by ElA and 3.7% by RT-PCR(p<0.05), and the age standardized rate was 1.7% and 3.4% by ElA and RT-PCR, respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg) was 6.8% by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELlSA) and the age standardized rate was 7.7%. It was the higher in male group comparing to female group(p<0.01). Both of the prevalence of HCV and HBsAg were higher in elevated asparate aminotransferase(AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) group than in normal AST and ALT group(p<0.01). There was no specific risk factor of HCV infection. Though the degree of agreement of EIA and RT-PCR by gamma statistics was 97.2%, it showed a significant difference between the two methods(p<0.01). For the detection of HCV infection, positive predictive value of ElA was 66.7 % and negative predictive value of EIA was 97.2%. This study suggests that negative result to anti-HCV by ElA didn't mean the free state of HCV infection, therefore it would be helpful that further monitoring for HCV infection by RT-PCR in the case of elevated AST and ALT and/or clinically suspected.
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Summary
- A Study on Air Pollution and Thermal Factors in Underground Shopping Center of Pusan Area.
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Sung Yong Choi, Deog Hwan Moon, Jong Tae Lee, In Hyuk Song, Cha Eun Lee, Sung Min Lee
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Korean J Prev Med. 1994;27(3):505-516.
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- For the purpose of preparing the fundamental data on air pollution in underground shopping center and also contributing to the health improvement of resident, the authors measured the level of SO2, NO2, TSP, CO, CO2 and also some related factors as air temperature, air movement, relative humidity and mean radiation temperature at inside and outside of underground shopping center in Pusan from January to February and from July to August 1994. The results were as follows: 1. The mean concentration of CO within the underground shopping center was 3.1+/-1.3ppm in winter and 2.1+/-0.9 ppm in summer. There was a negative correlation (p<0.01) between inner CO concentration and temperature in summer and no correlation between inner CO concentration and outer CO concentration in underground shopping center 2. The mean concentration of C02 within the underground shopping center was 876+/-353 ppm in winter and 757+/-125 ppm in summer. There was a negative correlation (P<0.01) between inner CO2 concentration and air movement in summer and positive correlation (p<0.05) between inner CO2 oncentration and outer CO2 concentration in underground shopping center. 3. The mean concentration SO2 within a underground shopping center was 0.036+/-0.019ppm in winter and 0.040+/-0.013ppm in summer. There was a positive correlation(p<0.01) between inner SO2 concentration and positive correlation between inner SO2 concentration and outer SO2 concentration in summer and winter in Underground shopping center. 4. The mean concentration of NO2 within a underground shopping center was 0.052+/-0.038ppm in winter and 0.042+/-0.016ppm in summer. There was a no correlation between inner NO2 concentration and thermal factors in summer and winter and low correlation between inner NO2 concentration in underground shopping center. 5. The mean concentration of TSP within a underground shopping center was 430+/-214 microgram/m3 in winter, 366+/-73 microgram/m3 in summer, and very in excess of the atmospheric environmental quality standards of Korea(150 microgram/m3). There was low correlation between inner TSP concentration and temperature in summer and high correlation between inner TSP concentration and outer TSP concentration in underground shopping center.
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Summary
- A Survey on the Level of NO2 Inside and Outside Urban Homes by Palmes Tube.
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Yong Wan Kim, Ki Taek Pae, Sung Chun Kim, Duck Hwan Moon, Jong Tae Lee, Joon Youn Kim
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Korean J Prev Med. 1986;19(1):31-44.
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- For many years, NO2 has been regarded as one of the elements among indoor air pollutants of urban homes, leading to increased public concerns on this gas. For the purpose of preparing the fundamental data for the evaluation and control of health effect relevant to NO2 levels, authors measured the indoor (kitchen, living room, bedroom) and outdoor NO2 levels categorized by the type of house(apartment, detached dwelling) and cooking fuel(L.P.G., briquette) in the winter and summer, and surveyed the variables(kitchen ventilation, family size, parental smoking) may effect the indoor NO2 levels. The level of NO2 was measured by Palmes tube, and this survey was carried out at 110 homes in the Pusan area from October 1984 to September 1985. The obtained results were as follows: 1) The mean indoor and outdoor NO2 level in winter and summer, respectively, was 0.029+/-0.012 ppm and 0.022+/-0.012 ppm in the kitchen, 0.022+/-0.009 ppm and 0.018+/-0.010 ppm in the living room, 0.017+/-0.008 ppm and 0.016+/-0.010 ppm in the bed room, and 0.021+/-0.007 ppm and 0.016+/-0.007 ppm outdoors. 2) In the category of the type of house and cooking fuel, the highest mean indoor and outdoor NO2 level in the winter was in apartments using briquettes, and in the summer, the highest level was in apartments using L.P.G. 3) In the category of the type of house, the mean indoor and outdoor NO2 level in the winter and summer was higher in the apartment group compared to detached dwelling. 4) In the category of the type of cooking fuel, the mean indoor and outdoor NO2 level in the winter was higher in the briquette group, and in the summer, the L.P.G. group was higher. 5) In the category of the kitchen ventilation, family size, parental smoking and asthma attack history of children, there was an insignificant difference in the indoor NO2 levels.
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Summary
- A Survey on the Status of Noisy Working Environment in Manufacturing Industries.
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Joon Youn Kim, Byung Soo Kim, Chae Un Lee, Jin Ho Jun, Jong Tae Lee, Jin Ok Kim
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Korean J Prev Med. 1986;19(1):16-30.
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- In order to prepare the fundamental data for the improvement of noisy working environments and the effective hearing conservation program on workers exposed to industrial noise, the authors surveyed the working processes and evaluated the noise levels on 56 manufacturing industries in Pusan area from April to July in 1985. The results were summarized as follows: 1. The noise level was the highest in shipbuilding and repairing(95.6 dBA), and followed by steel rolling(92.9 dBA), manufacture of motor vehicles(93.1 dBA), manufacure of fishing nets(92.9 dBA), manufacture of testiles(92.5 dBA), iron and steel foundries(89.3 dBA), manufacture of metal products(89.1 dBA), preserving and processing of marine foods(87.0 dBA), manufacture of rubber products(85.3 dBA), manufacture of plywood(84.9 dBA) and manufacture of paints(84.5 dBA). 2. Among fifty surveyed working processes, the noise level of twenty-one processes(42%) exceeded the threshold limit value for 8 hours per day. 3. As the allowable exposure times by governmental threshold limit values to industrial noise level(dBA), cocking of shipbuilding and repairing and plating(CGL) of steel rolling were the shortest(30 minutes), and followed by assembling(rivet) of manufacture of motor vehicles(1 hour) weaving of manufacture of textiles and shot, machine, pipe laying of shipbuilding and repairing(2 hours). 4. By the result of octave band analysis on noisy working processes in excess of 90 dBA, the sound level was the highest at 2,000 Hz or 4,000 Hz. 5. It was recognized that the measurement of overall sound pressure level was also effective as octave band analysis in evaluating the industrial noise.
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KSPM
