The association between health literacy, private health insurance, and medical expenditure in South Korea.

Background: Health literacy (HL) is crucial for effective healthcare utilization, but its relationship with private health insurance (PHI) enrollment and medical expenditure in South Korea remains unexplored.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations between HL, PHI enrollment, and annual out-of-pocket (OOP) medical expenditure in South Korea's universal healthcare system.

Methods: Using data from the 2021 Korea Health Panel Study, we analyzed 5,469 participants aged 19-65.

Timely access to secondary pediatric services in Korea: a key to reducing child and adolescent mortality.

Objectives: Geographic disparities in access to secondary pediatric care remain a significant issue in countries with universal health coverage, including Korea. This study investigated the link between geographic access to secondary pediatric care and mortality rates in children and adolescents (0-19 years) in Korea.

Methods: We analyzed district-level data to assess the percentage of those aged 0-19 years residing outside of a 60-minute travel radius from the nearest secondary pediatric care provider (accessibility vulnerability index, AVI).

Impact of the Early COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits of Adult Cancer Patients With Fever or Respiratory Symptoms: A Korean Nationwide Population-Based Study, 2016-2020.

Background: We performed a nationwide analysis to evaluate the impact of the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on emergency department (ED) visits by adult cancer patients having COVID-like symptoms.

Methods: We analyzed the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) data on ED visits by adult cancer patients who presented with chief complaints of fever or respiratory symptoms (FRS) indicative of COVID-19, from 2016 to 2020. An interrupted time series analysis with a quasi-Poisson regression model was performed, adjusting for seasonality and time, to evaluate whether underlying trends for monthly ED visits and the in-hospital mortality rate (%) per month changed with the pandemic among these patients.

Impact of the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department-to-intensive care unit admissions in Korea: an interrupted time-series analysis.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in significant disruptions to critical care systems globally. However, research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care unit (ICU) admissions via the emergency department (ED) is limited. Therefore, this study evaluated the changes in the number of ED-to-ICU admissions and clinical outcomes in the periods before and during the pandemic.

Trend of Women's Health Research in Korea, 2012-2020: Topic and Text Network Analysis.

Background: With the epidemiological transition, sociodemographic changes and differential lifetime experiences of women, women's health research improves knowledge of diverse health issues and the impact of policies. To explore the initiatives of women's health research in Korea, the present study examined the trends and topics of research on women's health funded by the government.

Methods: We searched all research projects on women's health funded by the government between 2012 and 2020 in Korea using the National Science & Technology Information Service database.

[Development and Evaluation of Motivational Interviewing Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program Based on Self-Determination Theory for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease].

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a motivational interviewing pulmonary rehabilitation program based on self-determination theory to maintain pulmonary rehabilitation-related health behaviors in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The program was developed by reviewing the literature on pulmonary rehabilitation guidelines, drawing on the self-determinism theory to establish its contents, recruiting experts to test its validity, and conducting a preliminary survey.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to confirm the effect of the program.

Operation of national coordinating service for interhospital transfer from emergency departments: experience and implications from Korea.

Background: Since 2014, Korea has been operating the National Emergency Medical Situation Room (NEMSR) to provide regional emergency departments (EDs) with coordination services for the interhospital transfer of critically ill patients. The present study aimed to describe the NEMSR's experience and interhospital transfer pattern from EDs nationwide, and investigate the factors related to delayed transfers or transfers that could not be arranged by the NEMSR.

Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of the NEMSR's coordination registry from 2017 to 2019.

Role of NADPH Oxidases in Renal Aging.

Introduction: Aging of the kidney is associated with complex molecular, histological, and functional changes. Although the aging process itself does not induce renal damage, underlying disease such as diabetes mellitus can aggravate kidney injury during aging. Although oxidative stress is considered an important mediator in age-related renal fibrosis, it is unclear how oxidative stress increases during normal and diabetic aging.

Patient and hospital characteristics predict prolonged emergency department length of stay and in-hospital mortality: a nationwide analysis in Korea.

Background: Prolonged emergency department length of stay (EDLOS) in critically ill patients leads to increased mortality. This nationwide study investigated patient and hospital characteristics associated with prolonged EDLOS and in-hospital mortality in adult patients admitted from the emergency department (ED) to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the National Emergency Department Information System.

Is limited access to obstetric services associated with adverse birth outcomes? A cross-sectional study of Korean national birth data.

Objectives: The geographical disparity in the access to essential obstetric services is a public health issue in many countries. We explored the association between timely access to obstetric services and the individual risk of adverse birth outcomes.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional design.

Occupational differences in personal care product use and urinary concentration of endocrine disrupting chemicals by gender.

Background: In most societies, women and men systematically differ in consumption of cosmetics and household products, which are interlinked with gendered norms and occupational segregation. We investigated the differences in personal care product (PCP) use and exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) based on occupation and gender.

Methods: We utilized data from the first to third Korean National Environmental Health Survey analyzing 9218 participants aged 20-59 years engaged in their current occupation for ≥3 months.

The association between greenness exposure and COVID-19 incidence in South Korea: An ecological study.

Background: The rapid spread of COVID-19 has caused an emergency situation worldwide. Investigating the association between environmental characteristics and COVID-19 incidence can be of the occurrence and transmission. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between greenness exposure and COVID-19 cases at the district levels in South Korea.

Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2 in Children With COVID-19.

Background: The immunologic features of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are not clearly delineated. This study was conducted to evaluate SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses in children with COVID-19.

Methods: The levels of anti-spike (S) IgG, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, and neutralizing antibody (NAb) were measured during various time points in children <19 years of age with COVID-19 in South Korea from February 2020 to September 2020.

The Use of Personal Protective Equipment among Frontline Nurses in a Nationally Designated COVID-19 Hospital during the Pandemic.

Background: The appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) can significantly reduce the risk of infection associated with caring for patients. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, awareness, and behaviors related to the PPE usage among frontline nurses in a nationally designated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: The study was performed in two phases: (1) a questionnaire survey to assess the knowledge, awareness, and behaviors related to PPE use, and (2) in-depth personal interviews to elaborate the survey findings.

Emergency Department Utilization of Adult Cancer Patient in Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study, 2017-2019.

Purpose: The current study aimed to identify the overall characteristics of cancer-related emergency department (ED) visits by adult in Korea, including analyses of factors associated with ED stay time and outcomes nationwide.

Materials And Methods: We collected data on cancer-related ED visits from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) database between 2017 and 2019.

Results: ED visits by cancer patients comprised 5.

A Novel Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor DA-1229 Ameliorates Tubulointerstitial Fibrosis in Cyclosporine Nephrotoxicity in Mice.

Cyclosporine A (CyA) is an immunosuppressive agent that induces nephrotoxicity with long-term treatment. The roles of DPP-4 and its inhibitors in cyclosporine nephrotoxicity are not fully understood. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a novel DPP-4 inhibitor, DA-1229, on the progression of renal disease in an experimental cyclosporine nephrotoxicity model.

Increased expression of thyroid hormone receptor alpha and estrogen receptor alpha in breast cancer associated with thyroid cancer.

Introduction: Breast cancer co-occurred with thyroid cancer might be associated with thyroid hormone receptor (TR) and estrogen receptor (ER), but few have been reported. We aimed to investigate the expression and prognostic significance of ERs and TRs in such settings.

Material And Methods: Tissue microarrays were constructed from 75 patients with breast and thyroid cancer (BC + TC) who were retrospectively recruited between 1999 and 2012 and 147 with breast cancer only (BC controls).

The Fear of Cancer from the Standpoint of Oneself, the Opposite Sex and the Fear of Side Effects of Cancer Treatment.

Purpose: It is important to understand the differences between men and women when it comes to attitudes and risk perception toward disease. This study aimed to explore the fear of cancer from the standpoint of themselves and the opposite sex by cancer type.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional survey with a representative sample was conducted.

Cancer News Coverage in Korean Newspapers: An Analytic Study in Terms of Cancer Awareness.

Objectives: Cancer diagnoses have a tremendous impact on individuals and communities, drawing intense public concern. The objective of the current research was to examine news coverage and content related to cancer-related issues in Korean newspapers.

Methods: Primarily using the database system of the Korea Press Foundation, we conducted a content analysis of 2806 articles from 9 Korean daily newspapers during a recent 3-year period from 2015 to 2017.

Income Difference in Attitudes towards Cancer in General Population: Findings from a National Survey.

Background: To better understand cancer-related health behaviors, it is critical to know how general populations with different socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds perceive cancer. The current paper explored differences in general attitudes and beliefs towards cancer among Koreans.

Methods: A cross-sectional national survey was conducted for 1,000 Korean participants who were not cancer patients and did not have immediate family members with cancer via proportional quota random sampling.

Overexpression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins, XBP1s and GRP78, predicts poor prognosis in pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is associated with tumor development and progression via pro-tumorigenic and anti-tumorigenic effects. However, the clinicopathological implications of the ER stress pathway in non-small cell lung cancer remain unclear. Therefore, we sought to address these issues in this study.