Publications by authors named "Minwoo Hong"

We aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the relationship between air pollutants and hospital admissions for respiratory and non-respiratory diseases in six metropolitan cities in South Korea. This study compared the associations between particulate matter (PM and PM) and hospital admission for respiratory and non-respiratory diseases before (2016-2019) and during (2020) the implementation of COVID-19 NPIs by using distributed lag non-linear models. In the Pre-COVID-19 period, the association between PM and admission risk for asthma and COPD showed an inverted U-shaped pattern.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted clinical microbiological testing trends and the management of infectious diseases worldwide.
  • It highlights a notable decline in testing for general bacterial and fungal cultures while certain tests, like those for chronic viral infections, remained stable during the pandemic.
  • The findings suggest that tracking these testing trends could enhance future strategies for infectious disease surveillance and management in similar crisis situations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Depressive symptoms are common in stroke survivors, and they are associated with poor outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the depressive symptoms in stroke survivors and the risk factors for depressive symptoms in stroke survivors. We included 33,991 participants who were 19 years or older and had completed a questionnaire about the history of stroke from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) IV-VII (from 2007 to 2018).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cachexia causes high mortality, low quality of life, and rapid weight loss in cancer patients. Sarcopenia, a condition characterized by the loss of muscle, is generally present in cachexia and is associated with inflammation. M2 macrophages, also known as an anti-inflammatory or alternatively activated macrophages, have been shown to play a role in muscle repair.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cancer chemotherapy induces sarcopenia, which is a rapid loss of muscle mass that directly restricts daily activities and leads to poor quality of life and increased mortality. Although hormone-related therapies have been used to improve appetite and nutritional status, current treatments are considered palliative. Thus, the protection of skeletal muscle loss without adverse effects is essential to allow the maintenance of chemotherapy in cancer patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF