Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Nov 2014
Gender differences in the association between depressive symptoms and carotid atherosclerosis among middle-aged and older Koreans: the Namwon study.
We investigated the association of depressive symptoms with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques in the general Korean population. A total of 7,554 Korean males and females aged 45-74 yr who were free from cardiovascular diseases were included in the analyses. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). ⋯ Compared with controls, the fully adjusted risk of females with depressive symptoms for abnormal C-IMT (≥1.0 mm) was significant (odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-2.30). No significant association between depressive symptoms and carotid plaques was observed in either gender. This study shows a significant association between depressive symptoms and C-IMT in middle-aged and older females.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Nov 2014
Feasibility and safety of laparoscopic surgery for obese Korean women with endometrial cancer: long-term results at a single institution.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the surgical feasibility of and survival outcome after laparoscopy in obese Korean women with endometrial cancer which has recently been increasing. We reviewed the medical records of the patients treated at our medical institution between 1999 and 2012. The patients were divided into three groups, non-obese (Body Mass Index [BMI]<25.0), overweight (BMI 25-27.99), and obese (BMI≥28.0). ⋯ There were no differences in the three groups in terms of the proportion of patients who underwent lymphadenectomy, their cancer stage, histologic type, type of adjuvant treatment administered, intra-, post-operative, and long-term complications, operative time, number of removed lymph nodes, blood loss, and duration of hospitalization (P=0.067, 0.435, 0.757, 0.739, 0.458, 0.173, 0.076, 0.124, 0.770, 0.739, and 0.831, respectively). The Disease-Free Survival (DFS) times were 139.1 vs. 121.6 vs. 135.5 months (P=0.313), and the Overall Survival (OS) times were 145.2 vs. 124.8 vs. 139.5 months (P=0.436) for each group, respectively. Obese women with endometrial cancer can, therefore, be as safely managed using laparoscopy as women with normal BMIs.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Nov 2014
Epidemiologic characteristics of compensated occupational lung cancers among Korean workers.
An understanding of the characteristics of occupational lung cancer is important to establish policies that prevent carcinogen exposure and to compensate workers exposed to lung carcinogens. This study analyzed the characteristics of occupational lung cancers in workers who were compensated under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Law between 1994 and 2011. A total of 179 occupational lung cancers were compensated. ⋯ The most common occupation was maintenance and repair, followed by foundry work, welding, painting, and spinning or weaving. Although asbestos was predominant carcinogen, the proportion of these cases was relatively low compared to other developed countries. Proper surveillance system is needed to monitor occupational lung cancer and improve prevention measures.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Nov 2014
Kind and estimated stocking amount of antidotes for initial treatment for acute poisoning at emergency medical centers in Korea.
Antidotes for toxicological emergencies can be life-saving. However, there is no nationwide estimation of the antidotes stocking amount in Korea. This study tried to estimate the quantities of stocking antidotes at emergency department (ED). ⋯ In an epidemiological study of 11 nationwide EDs from January 2009 to December 2010, only 92 (1.9%) patients had been administered emergency antidotes except activated charcoal among 4,870 cases of acute adult poisoning patients. Comparing with NEDIS data, about 1,400,000 patients visited the 124 EDs nationwide due to acute poisoning and about 103,348 adult doses of the 18 emergency antidotes may be required considering poisoning severity score. Of these, 13,224 (1.9%) adult doses of emergency antidotes (575 of atropine, 144 of calcium gluconate or other calcium salts, 2,587 of flumazenil, 3,450 of N-acetylcysteine, 5,893 of pralidoxime, 287 of hydroxocobalamin, 144 of sodium nitrite, and 144 of sodium thiosulfate) would be needed for maintaining the present level of initial treatment with emergency antidotes at EDs in Korea.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Nov 2014
New reference data on bone mineral density and the prevalence of osteoporosis in Korean adults aged 50 years or older: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2010.
This cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the reference values for bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and the prevalence of osteoporosis in the Korean population by applying domestic reference data. In total, 25,043 Korean adults ≥20 yr of age (11,792 men and 13,251 women) participated in the study. ⋯ According to the findings of this study, use of the reference values provided by the DXA manufacturer has resulted in the underdiagnosis of osteoporosis in Korean men and the overdiagnosis of osteoporosis in Korean women. Our data will serve as valuable reference standards for the diagnosis and management for osteoporosis in the Korean population.