Evaluation of the Public Health Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Daegu, Korea During the First Half of 2020.

Objectives: This study evaluated the response in Daegu, Korea to the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic according to a public health emergency response model.

Methods: After an examination of the official data reported by the city of Daegu and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a literature review and advisory meetings, we chose a response model. Daegu's responses were organized into 4 phases and evaluated by applying the response model.

Fall characteristics among elderly populations in urban and rural areas in Korea.

Falling is one of the leading causes of injury among elderly populations. As the population over 65 years old increases, medical costs due to falling will also increase. Urban and rural areas have different fall characteristics, and research into these differences is lacking.

Application of calcium nebulization for mass exposure to an accidental hydrofluoric acid spill.

Purpose: To determine the long-term prevalence and characteristics of acute hydrofluoric acid (HF) exposure in 2223 patients during the first 30 months after a mass-casualty exposure, and to confirm the antidotal effect of nebulized calcium on inhalation burns caused by HF.

Methods: This observational cohort study included patients after an HF spill in the Republic of Korea on September 27, 2012; registered patients were followed until April 2015. We assessed toxic effects, distance from spill, degree of acute poisoning, and the effect of nebulized calcium in HF-exposed individuals.

Complications and Socioeconomic Costs Associated With Falls in the Elderly Population.

Objective: To explore the incidence, characteristics, complications and socioeconomic impacts associated with falls in community-dwelling elderly.

Methods: From September 1, 2015 to October 12, 2015, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted involving a total of 2,012 elderly who lived in Guro-gu (Seoul), Yeongdeungpo-gu (Seoul), Yangpyeong-gu (Gyeonggi-do), Dalseong-gu (Daegu), and Jung-gu (Daegu). The subjects were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to obtain demographic characteristics and comprehensive falling histories.

A Survival Analysis of Gastric or Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated With Surgery: Comparison of Capital and a Non-capital City.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to compare prognosis of patients with gastric or colorectal cancer according to places where they received surgeries.

Methods: The cancer patients underwent surgeries in sampled hospitals located in Daegu were matched 1:1 to the patients who visited sampled hospitals in Seoul using propensity score method. After the occurrences of death were examined, Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis and the log-rank test was performed to compare the survival curves.

Exploring Nursing Intention, Stress, and Professionalism in Response to Infectious Disease Emergencies: The Experience of Local Public Hospital Nurses During the 2015 MERS Outbreak in South Korea.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine levels of stress and professionalism of nurses who provided nursing care during the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak based on their experience, to investigate the nurses' intention to respond to possible future outbreaks in relation to their experience during the outbreak, and to determine the relationship between the outbreak experience and nursing intention considering stress and professionalism.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was designed based on modifications of related questionnaires, and used to assess levels of stress, professionalism, and nursing intention according to participants' experiences during the outbreak. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the outbreak nursing experience and nursing intention considering stress and nursing professionalism.

Factors related to intentional and unintentional medication nonadherence in elderly patients with hypertension in rural community.

Purpose: We assessed medication nonadherence, categorized as intentional or unintentional, and related factors in elderly patients with hypertension, correlating the data with measurement of blood pressure as the final target of medication adherence and other possible influencing factors, such as lifestyle.

Patients And Methods: Subjects were aged ≥65 years, resided in a rural area, and were taking antihypertensive drugs. The survey was conducted in July 2014.

Expected and perceived efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine: A comparison views of patients with cancer and oncologists.

Background & Aims: This study sought to identify discrepancies between the expectations of patients with cancer and oncologists regarding the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs), and to determine how patients evaluate CAM efficacy after its use.

Methods: Data from the Cancer Patient Experience Study, a nationwide survey, were used. Seven subdivided efficacy domains were included in the survey.

Complete genome of the multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strain KBN10P02143 isolated from Korea.

Acinetobacter baumannii, a strictly aerobic, non-fermentative, Gram-negative coccobacillary rod-shaped bacterium, is an opportunistic pathogen in humans. We recently isolated a multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strain KBN10P02143 from the pus sample drawn from a surgical patient in South Korea.

Enrollment in Private Medical Insurance and Utilization of Medical Services Among Children and Adolescents: Data From the 2009-2012 Korea Health Panel Surveys.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to examine the status of children and adolescents with regard to enrollment in private medical insurance (PMI) and to investigate its influence on their utilization of medical services.

Methods: The present study assessed 2973 subjects younger than 19 years of age who participated in five consecutive Korea Health Panel surveys from 2009 to 2012.

Results: At the initial assessment, less than 20% of the study population had not enrolled in any PMI program, but this proportion decreased over time.

Synergistic interaction between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and environmental tobacco smoke on the risk of obesity in children and adolescents: The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2008.

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may be obesogens. However, the role of PAHs independent of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is unclear, and the interaction between PAHs and ETS remains unknown.

Methods: We performed cross-sectional analyses of urinary concentrations of PAH metabolites, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) in 1985 people aged 6-18 years using data from the 2003-2008 U.

Effectiveness of interventions to increase screening for gastric and colorectal cancer in Korea.

Public health centers in Korea play an important role at the community level in encouraging residents to participate in cancer screening, usually by sending reminders in the mail and by making phone calls. However, there have not been any studies on the effectiveness of these interventions by public health centers in Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this question.

Incidence of and factors for self-reported fragility fractures among middle-aged and elderly women in rural Korea: an 11-year follow-up study.

Objectives: This community-based cohort study was performed to investigate the incidence of and factors related to self-reported fragility fractures among middle-aged and elderly women living in rural Korea.

Methods: The osteoporosis cohort recruited 430 women 40 to 69 years old in 1999, and 396 of these women were followed over 11 years. In 1999, questionnaires from all participants assessed general characteristics, medical history, lifestyle, menstrual and reproductive characteristics, and bone mineral density.

Different associations between obesity and impaired fasting glucose depending on serum gamma-glutamyltransferase levels within normal range: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Despite the consistent relationship between serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), one unsolved issue is the role of serum GGT in the well-known association between obesity and T2D. This study was performed to investigate whether the association between body mass index (BMI) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) differed depending on serum GGT levels within the normal range.

Methods: Study subjects were 2,424 men and 3,652 women aged ≥ 40, participating in the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Incidence of metabolic syndrome and relative importance of five components as a predictor of metabolic syndrome: 5-year follow-up study in Korea.

The aim of this study was to describe the incidence of metabolic syndrome and to identify five components as metabolic syndrome predictors. The final study included 1,095 subjects enrolled in a rural part of Daegu Metropolitan City, Korea for a cohort study in 2003. Of these, 762 (69.

Factors related to increasing trends in cigarette smoking of adolescent males in rural areas of Korea.

Objectives: Cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescent males in rural areas of Korea has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to explore the factors related to increasing trends in cigarette smoking among adolescent males living in rural areas.

Methods: The raw data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2006 to 2009 were used.

The association between perceived social support and continued smoking in cancer survivors.

Objective: With the increased survival rate of cancer patients, positive changes in health behaviors, including smoking cessation, are becoming progressively more important. While studies in the general population have demonstrated the beneficial effects of high perceived support of smoking cessation and continuing abstinence, few studies have addressed such issues in cancer survivors. We examined the factors related to continued smoking among cancer survivors with specific attention given to the role of perceived social support.

Factors associated with ADL and IADL dependency among Korean centenarians: reaching the 100-year-old life transition.

This study aims to examine the functional status of Korean centenarians, who have crossed the relatively rare but increasingly common life transition of living for a century. As functional health is one of the essential components of healthy aging, our primary objective is to identify the correlates of two aspects of functioning, activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Using a census survey conducted by the Korean National Statistical Office (KNSO) in 2005, we documented ADL and IADL limitations and analyzed their relationship to sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, social connectedness, and presence of diseases.

AKT1 polymorphisms and survival of early stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Background And Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the impact of polymorphisms in the AKT1 gene on the survival of early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods: Three hundred and ten patients with surgically resected NSCLC were enrolled. The rs3803300, rs1130214, rs3730358, rs1130233, and rs2494732 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the AKT1 gene were investigated.

Bicycle riding: impact on lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile function in healthy men.

Purpose: Recently, reports in the mass media have implicated that bicycle riding increases the risk of erectile dysfunction and prostatic diseases. So, we evaluate the impact of bicycle riding on erectile function and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in healthy general men.

Methods: From 26 June 2010 to 20 July 2010, we investigate degree of LUTS (voiding and storage symptoms), using International Continence Society-male Questionnaire (ICS-mQ) and erectile function using International Index of Erectile Function-5 Questionnaire (IIEF-5) in 5 work places (personnel of public office, hospital, university, etc.

Comprehensive analysis of DNA repair gene polymorphisms and survival in patients with early stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

This study was conducted to analyze a comprehensive panel of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in DNA repair genes to determine the relationship between polymorphisms and the survival outcome of patients with early stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Three hundred and ten consecutive patients with surgically resected NSCLC were enrolled. Forty-eight SNP in 27 DNA repair genes were genotyped and their associations with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed.

Factors that Affect Medication Adherence in Elderly Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the factors affecting medication adherence in geriatric diabetic patients treated at private clinics and tertiary hospitals. We compared the factors affecting medication adherence between these two patient groups.

Methods: We included 108 diabetic patients older than 65 years treated at one tertiary hospital and 157 patients older than 65 years treated at two private clinics.

SimSmoke model evaluation of the effect of tobacco control policies in Korea: the unknown success story.

Objectives: We evaluated the effect of strict tobacco control policies, implemented beginning in 1995 in the Republic of Korea, on smoking prevalence and deaths.

Methods: SimSmoke is a simulation model of the effect of tobacco control policies over time on smoking initiation and cessation. It uses standard attribution methods to estimate lives saved as a result of new policies.

Polymorphisms in the CASPASE genes and survival in patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the impact of potentially functional polymorphisms in the CASPASE (CASP) genes on the survival of early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Patients And Methods: Four hundred eleven consecutive patients with surgically resected NSCLC were enrolled. Nine potentially functional polymorphisms in the CASP3, CASP7, CASP8, CASP9, and CASP10 genes were investigated.