Comparison of Personal or Indoor PM Exposure Level to That of Outdoor: Over Four Seasons in Selected Urban, Industrial, and Rural Areas of South Korea: (K-IOP Study).

This study aimed to compare the distribution of indoor, outdoor, and personal PM (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm) hourly concentrations measured simultaneously among 81 nonsmoking elderly participants (65 years or older) living in urban, industrial, or rural areas over 4 seasons (2 weeks per season) from November 2021 to July 2022). PM measurements were conducted using low-cost sensors with quality control and quality assurance tests.

Urinary Phthalate Metabolites and Slow Walking Speed in the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II Study.

Background: Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that phthalate exposure may contribute to neurocognitive and neurobehavioral disorders and decreased muscle strength and bone mass, all of which may be associated with reduced physical performance. Walking speed is a reliable assessment tool for measuring physical performance in adults age 60 y and older.

Objective: We investigated associations between urinary phthalate metabolites and slowness of walking speed in community-dwelling adults ages 60-98 y.

JUUL preference among Korean adult tobacco users and its effect on attempts to quit tobacco: A follow-up survey four months post JUUL launch.

Introduction: This study examined the various factors in the selection of JUUL (and/or), a pod-mod type electronic cigarette (EC), and the changes in EC patterns before and after the JUUL debut on 24 May 2019, using follow-up survey data of adult tobacco users in South Korea.

Methods: This study examined transition outcomes among tobacco users and factors associated with future JUUL use. Convenience sample data were collected from adult tobacco users in South Korea, from March-April 2019 (baseline, n=2173) to September 2019 (follow-up, n=779).

Predicting Health Risks of Adult Asthmatics Susceptible to Indoor Air Quality Using Improved Logistic and Quantile Regression Models.

The increasing global patterns for asthma disease and its associated fiscal burden to healthcare systems demand a change to healthcare processes and the way asthma risks are managed. Patient-centered health care systems equipped with advanced sensing technologies can empower patients to participate actively in their health risk control, which results in improving health outcomes. Despite having data analytics gradually emerging in health care, the path to well established and successful data driven health care services exhibit some limitations.

Perceived relative harm of heated tobacco products and electronic cigarettes and its association with use in smoke-free places: A cross-sectional analysis of Korean adults.

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and heated tobacco products (HTPs) are often considered to be less harmful and safer than combustible cigarettes (CCs). As a result, numerous tobacco product users opt to use e-cigarettes or HTPs as a safer alternative, though the safety of these products is not fully warranted. The present study aimed to assess the various attitudes towards e-cigarettes and/or HTPs among Korean tobacco product users and their associations with the practical use of e-cigarettes and/or HTPs in private or smoke-free public places.

Comparison of Nicotine Dependence and Biomarker Levels among Traditional Cigarette, Heat-Not-Burn Cigarette, and Liquid E-Cigarette Users: Results from the Think Study.

This study aimed to compare Korean smokers' smoking-related biomarker levels by tobacco product type, including heat-not-burn cigarettes (HNBC), liquid e-cigarettes (EC), and traditional cigarettes (TC). Nicotine dependence levels were evaluated in Korean adult study participants including TC-, EC-, HNBC-only users and nonsmokers ( = 1586) from March 2019 to July 2019 in Seoul and Cheonan/Asan South Korea using the Fagerström Test Score. Additionally, urine samples ( = 832) were collected for the measurement of urinary nicotine, cotinine, OH-cotinine, NNAL(4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol), CYMA(N-acetyl-S-(2-cyanoehtyl)-L-cysteine), or CEMA (2-cyanoethylmercapturic acid) using LC-MS/MS.

Performance improvement of machine learning techniques predicting the association of exacerbation of peak expiratory flow ratio with short term exposure level to indoor air quality using adult asthmatics clustered data.

Large-scale data sources, remote sensing technologies, and superior computing power have tremendously benefitted to environmental health study. Recently, various machine-learning algorithms were introduced to provide mechanistic insights about the heterogeneity of clustered data pertaining to the symptoms of each asthma patient and potential environmental risk factors. However, there is limited information on the performance of these machine learning tools.

Association between Peak Expiratory Flow Rate and Exposure Level to Indoor PM2.5 in Asthmatic Children, Using Data from the Escort Intervention Study.

Various studies have indicated that particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) could cause adverse health effects on pulmonary functions in susceptible groups, especially asthmatic children.

Household insecticide use and urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid levels in an elder population: a repeated measures data.

Background: Pyrethroids are associated with adverse health consequences, even at low-dose exposures. However, there is limited evidence on pyrethroids exposure levels among vulnerable elder population and on their exposure sources.

Objective: We tried to determine pyrethroids exposure levels among Korean elders and their exposure sources.

Machine Learning-Based Activity Pattern Classification Using Personal PM Exposure Information.

The activity pattern is a significant factor in identifying hotspots of personal exposure to air pollutants, such as PM. However, the recording process of an activity pattern can be annoying to study participants, because they are often asked to bring a diary or a tracking recorder to write or validate their activity patterns when they change their activity profiles. Furthermore, the accuracy of the records of activity patterns can be lower, because people can mistakenly record them.

Impact of Grilling Meat or Fish at Home on Peak Expiratory Flow Rate in Adults With Asthma.

Grilling, a common cooking method worldwide, can produce more toxic gases than other cooking methods. However, the impact of frequently grilling meat or fish at home on airflow limitation in adult asthma has not been well elucidated. We performed a prospective cohort study of 91 adult patients with asthma enrolled from 2 university hospitals.

Indoor and outdoor PM exposure, and anxiety among schoolchildren in Korea: a panel study.

This panel study aimed to evaluate the associations between short-term exposure to indoor and outdoor PM and anxiety in schoolchildren. During 3 waves in March, July, and November 2018 with 7 days per wave, 52 children aged 10 years were recruited from two schools in a city in Korea. To assess outdoor exposure, we used PM concentration measures for every hour at the national measurement station (NMS) closest to the two participating schools.

Effects of Indoor Air Purifiers on Children with Asthma.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of air purifiers on the concentrations of indoor air pollutants and on asthma control in children.

Materials And Methods: In this randomized crossover trial, daily use of an air purifier filter was compared with a matched placebo with the filter off. Thirty elementary school students who had asthma were enrolled and randomly allocated to one of two groups.

Factors affecting interpretation of national biomonitoring data from multiple countries: BPA as a case study.

Introduction: The use of biomonitoring data as an indicator of national levels of human exposure to environmental chemicals has grown in importance and prevalence. Nationally representative urinary bisphenol A (BPA) data are now available for Canada, the United States and Korea. Here we address the following questions: Are urinary BPA data from these countries comparable? What can be discerned regarding geographic and/or temporal similarities or differences? Are there generalizable lessons to be learned regarding comparison of biomonitoring results from different countries?

Methods: We examined underlying methods and resultant urinary BPA data from national surveys of three countries: Canada (Canadian Health Measures Survey, CHMS, 2009-2015); United States (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES, 2009-2014); and Korea (Korean National Environmental Health Survey, KoNEHS, 2009-2014).

Association between the Ratio of FEV₁ to FVC and the Exposure Level to Air Pollution in Neversmoking Adult Refractory Asthmatics Using Data Clustered by Patient in the Soonchunhyang Asthma Cohort Database.

Using real-world cases, asthma-related clinical data were clustered by patient; 5% of all asthmatics were found to have refractory asthma (RA) with a relatively low lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity (FEV₁/FVC) less than 80%). Using a multilevel study design for clustered spirometry data observed between 2005 and 2014, we evaluated the association between changes in the ratio of FEV₁ to FVC and variations in acute exposure to air pollution. We analyzed 2310 episodes of RA from 214 neversmoking patients.

Smoking Topography among Korean Smokers: Intensive Smoking Behavior with Larger Puff Volume and Shorter Interpuff Interval.

The difference of smoker's topography has been found to be a function many factors, including sex, personality, nicotine yield, cigarette type (i.e., flavored versus non-flavored) and ethnicity.

Spatiotemporal Association of Real-Time Concentrations of Black Carbon (BC) with Fine Particulate Matters (PM) in Urban Hotspots of South Korea.

We evaluated the spatiotemporal distributions of black carbon (BC) and particulate matters with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2.5 m (PM) concentrations at urban diesel engine emission (DEE) hotspots of South Korea. Concentrations of BC and PM were measured at the entrance gate of two diesel bus terminals and a train station, in 2014.

Evaluation of Potential Average Daily Doses (ADDs) of PM for Homemakers Conducting Pan-Frying Inside Ordinary Homes under Four Ventilation Conditions.

Several studies reported that commercial barbecue restaurants likely contribute to the indoor emission of particulate matters with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM) while pan-frying meat. However, there is inadequate knowledge of exposure level to indoor PM in homes and the contribution of a typical indoor pan-frying event.

Overview of Cotinine Cutoff Values for Smoking Status Classification.

While cotinine is commonly used as a biomarker to validate self-reported smoking status, the selection of an optimal cotinine cutoff value for distinguishing true smokers from true nonsmokers shows a lack of standardization among studies. This review describes how the cutoff values have been derived, and explains the issues involved in the generalization of a cutoff value. In this study, we conducted an English-language literature search in PubMed using the keywords "cotinine" and "cutoff" or "self-reported" and "smoking status" and "validation" for the years 1985-2014.

The interactive association of smoking and drinking levels with presence of periodontitis in South Korean adults.

Background: Periodontitis is a chronic and long-lasting low-grade inflammatory disease. Numerous studies have shown that the severity of periodontitis rose when there was an increase in the amount of smoking or alcohol consumption. However, as periodontitis known as a chronic disease, it is important to consider not only the amount but "duration" with frequency i.

Global and National Burden of Diseases and Injuries Among Children and Adolescents Between 1990 and 2013: Findings From the Global Burden of Disease 2013 Study.

Importance: The literature focuses on mortality among children younger than 5 years. Comparable information on nonfatal health outcomes among these children and the fatal and nonfatal burden of diseases and injuries among older children and adolescents is scarce.

Objective: To determine levels and trends in the fatal and nonfatal burden of diseases and injuries among younger children (aged <5 years), older children (aged 5-9 years), and adolescents (aged 10-19 years) between 1990 and 2013 in 188 countries from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 study.

Short-Term Impact of a Comprehensive Smoke-Free Law Following a Partial Smoke-Free Law on PM₂.₅ Concentration Levels at Hospitality Venues on the Peripheries of College Campuses.

Tobacco-free policies on college campuses are spreading in Korea. However, the impact of the smoking ban legislation at venues on the boundary of a college campus is still limited. This study aimed to assess short-term changes in PM2.

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

Background: The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor study 2013 (GBD 2013) is the first of a series of annual updates of the GBD. Risk factor quantification, particularly of modifiable risk factors, can help to identify emerging threats to population health and opportunities for prevention. The GBD 2013 provides a timely opportunity to update the comparative risk assessment with new data for exposure, relative risks, and evidence on the appropriate counterfactual risk distribution.

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 306 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 188 countries, 1990-2013: quantifying the epidemiological transition.

Background: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013) aims to bring together all available epidemiological data using a coherent measurement framework, standardised estimation methods, and transparent data sources to enable comparisons of health loss over time and across causes, age-sex groups, and countries. The GBD can be used to generate summary measures such as disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and healthy life expectancy (HALE) that make possible comparative assessments of broad epidemiological patterns across countries and time. These summary measures can also be used to quantify the component of variation in epidemiology that is related to sociodemographic development.