An outbreak of hepatitis A occurred at a residential facility for the disabled in July 10, 2011. This investigation was carried out to develop a response plan, and to find the infection source of the disease.
A field epidemiologist investigated the symptoms, vaccination histories, living environments, and probable infection sources with 51 residents and 31 teachers and staff members. In July 25, 81 subjects were tested for the hepatitis A virus antibody, and specimens of the initial 3 cases and the last case were genetically tested.
Three cases occurred July 10 to 14, twelve cases August 3 to 9, and the last case on August 29. Among the teachers and staff, no one was IgM positive (on July 25). The base sequences of the initial 3 and of the last case were identical. The vehicle of the outbreak was believed to be a single person. The initial 3 patients were exposed at the same time and they might have disseminated the infection among the patients who developed symptoms in early August, and the last patient might have, in turn, been infected by the early August cases.
The initial source of infection is not clear, but volunteers could freely come into contact with residents, and an infected volunteer might have been the common infection source of the initial patients. Volunteers' washing their hands only after their activity might be the cause of this outbreak. Although there may be other possible causes, it would be reasonable to ask volunteers to wash their hands both before and after their activities.
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The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of risk-adjusted mortality models for colorectal cancer surgery.
We investigated patients (n=652) who had undergone colorectal cancer surgery (colectomy, colectomy of the rectum and sigmoid colon, total colectomy, total proctectomy) at five teaching hospitals during 2008. Mortality was defined as 30-day or in-hospital surgical mortality. Risk-adjusted mortality models were constructed using claims data (basic model) with the addition of TNM staging (TNM model), physiological data (physiological model), surgical data (surgical model), or all clinical data (composite model). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to develop the risk-adjustment models. To compare the performance of the models, both
The physiological model (
The addition of clinical data to claims data efficiently enhances the performance of the risk-adjusted postoperative mortality models in colorectal cancer surgery. We recommended that the performance of models should be evaluated through both discrimination and calibration.
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Unprotected leisure time exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or artificial tanning beds is the most important environmental risk factor for melanoma, a malignant skin cancer with increasing incidences over the past decades. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of skin health information provided by several sources and different publishing issues on knowledge, risk perception, and sun protective behavior of sunbathers.
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among Austrian residents (n=563) spending leisure time outdoors in August 2010.
Print media, television, and family were perceived as the most relevant sources of information on skin health, whereas the source physician was only ranked as fourth important source. Compared to other sources, information provided by doctors positively influenced participants' knowledge on skin risk and sun protective behavior resulting in higher scores in the knowledge test (
Regarding gender differences, internet was more often used by males as health information source, whereas females were more familiar with printed information material in general.
The results of this survey put emphasis on the demand for information provided by medical professionals in order to attain effective, long-lasting promotion of photoprotective habits.
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Little is yet known about the determinants of bone mineral density (BMD) in young adults. Thus, in this study, we aimed to determine the factors that have an impact on BMD in young men.
Questionnaires were sent out to 111 male medical students. Information on age, socio-economic status, medical history, lifestyle, physical activity during adolescence, school club participation, current physical activity, and dietary intake were collected by the survey. Height, weight, percent body fat and muscle mass were estimated by bioelectrical impedance, and BMD was obtained using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound. Using the Poisson regression model, prevalence ratios (PRs) were used to estimate the degree of association between risk factors and osteopenia.
The height and current physical activity showed a correlation to the Osteoporosis Index. Among the categorized variables, past physical activity during adolescence (
Past physical activity during adolescence is as important as physical activity in the present for BMD in young men.
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The inherent nature of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) design requires special analysis by incorporating sample weights, stratification, and clustering not used in ordinary statistical procedures.
This study investigated the proportion of research papers that have used an appropriate statistical methodology out of the research papers analyzing the KNHANES cited in the PubMed online system from 2007 to 2012. We also compared differences in mean and regression estimates between the ordinary statistical data analyses without sampling weight and design-based data analyses using the KNHANES 2008 to 2010.
Of the 247 research articles cited in PubMed, only 19.8% of all articles used survey design analysis, compared with 80.2% of articles that used ordinary statistical analysis, treating KNHANES data as if it were collected using a simple random sampling method. Means and standard errors differed between the ordinary statistical data analyses and design-based analyses, and the standard errors in the design-based analyses tended to be larger than those in the ordinary statistical data analyses.
Ignoring complex survey design can result in biased estimates and overstated significance levels. Sample weights, stratification, and clustering of the design must be incorporated into analyses to ensure the development of appropriate estimates and standard errors of these estimates.
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The mass media play a crucial role in risk communication regarding climate change. The aim of this study was to investigate the trend in journalistic reports on climate change in the daily newspapers of Korea.
We selected 9 daily newspapers in Korea, which according to the ABC Association, represented 77% of newspaper circulation, out of a total of 44 Korean daily newspapers. The collected articles were from 2009 to 2011. All of the articles were sorted into the following 8 categories: greenhouse gas, climate change conventions, sea level rise, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change synthesis reports, expected damage and effect, use of fossil fuels, global warming, and mitigation or adaptation. A chi-squared test was done on the articles, which were counted and classified into cause, effect, and measurement of climate change according to the newspaper's majority or minority ownership structure.
From the 9 selected newspapers, the number of articles on climate change by month was greatest in December 2009. Generally, the articles vague about climate change (lack of precise data, negative or skeptical tone, and improper use of terminology) were much more common than the articles presenting accurate knowledge. A statistical difference was found based on ownership structure: the majority-owned newspapers addressed the cause of climate change, while the minority-owned newspapers referred more to climate change measurement.
Our investigation revealed that generally Korean daily newspapers did not deliver accurate information about climate change. The coverage of the newspapers showed significant differences according to the ownership structure.
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