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This study was aimed at assessing the safety of a mixed extract of fenugreek seeds and Lespedeza cuneata (YHM), which effectively relieves male menopausal symptoms. To this end, male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the following groups and repeatedly administered YHM orally for 90 days: control, low-dose (500 mg/kg/day), intermediate-dose (1,000 mg/kg/day), and high-dose (2,000 mg/kg/day) groups. The animals were monitored for general symptoms; their body weights and electrolyte levels were measured; and urinalysis, blood chemistry and biochemistry tests, and histopathological tests were performed to assess the toxicity of YHM. The no-observed-adverse-effect level of YHM was 2,000 mg/kg/day for all male and female rats. While in the YHM-administered and control groups, most parameters were within the normal range; some rats in the high-dose group showed changes not induced by the test substance but which may be specific to an individual animal or may occur naturally. Thus, on the basis of our findings, we consider that YHM may be a safe, non-toxic substance for alleviating male menopausal symptoms.

This study evaluated the efficacy of Momordica charantia (MC; bitter melon) extracts against andropause symptoms. We fermented MC with Lactobacillus plantarum and verified the ability of the fermented MC extracts (FMEs) to control testosterone deficiency by using aging male rats as an animal model of andropause. FME administration considerably increased total and free testosterone levels, muscle mass, forced swimming time, and total and motile sperm counts in aging male rats. In contrast, sex hormone-binding globulin, retroperitoneal fat, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in the treated groups compared to the non-treated control aging male rats. Furthermore, we observed that FME enhanced the expression of testosterone biosynthesis-related genes but reduced the expression of testosterone degradation-related genes in a mouse Leydig cell line. These results suggest that FME has effective pharmacological activities that increase and restore free testosterone levels and that FME may be employed as a promising natural product for alleviating testosterone deficiency syndrome.

We performed this cross-sectional study with 72 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and their family caregivers to analyze relationship of physical and psychological health status between COPD patients and caregivers. Most caregivers were female (100%). Caregiver depression and burden were significantly associated with caregiving hours. In path analysis, the higher the patient's social support, the higher the patient's self-efficacy. The higher the patient's self-efficacy, the lower the care burden of the caregiver. Based on our results, there was a significant correlation of physical and psychological factors between patients and family caregivers.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of medication adherence on cardio-cerebrovascular (CCV) mortality in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients. The authors retrospectively reviewed data from 20,836 patients who newly diagnosed hypertension from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005. Medication adherence was calculated from the compliance ratio (CR) during the first year after the diagnosis of hypertension. CCV mortality for 10 years was assessed according to the presence or absence of complications of hypertension. The risk of CCV death was significantly reduced in the CR ≥ 70% group than in the CR < 70% group (hazard ratio, 0.70; p = .004) for 10 years. In the patients without complications, the risk of CCV death was significantly lower in the CR ≥ 70% group than in the CR < 70% group (hazard ratio, 0.56; p = .014). However, in patients with complications, there was no significant difference in risk of CCV death between the CR ≥ 70% group and the CR < 70% group (hazard ratio, 0.79; p = .100). Only the CR ≥ 90% group had a significantly lower risk of CCV death (hazard ratio, 0.56; p < .001) for those with complications. Medication adherence is significantly associated with CCV mortality during 10 years in newly diagnosed hypertensives patients. Patients with complications of hypertension have to continue a high adherence rate (CR ≥ 90) for better long-term clinical outcomes.

This study evaluated the efficacy of Momordica charantia (MC; bitter melon) extracts against andropause symptoms. We fermented MC with Lactobacillus plantarum and verified the ability of the fermented MC extracts (FMEs) to control testosterone deficiency by using aging male rats as an animal model of andropause. FME administration considerably increased total and free testosterone levels, muscle mass, forced swimming time, and total and motile sperm counts in aging male rats. In contrast, sex hormone-binding globulin, retroperitoneal fat, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in the treated groups compared to the non-treated control aging male rats. Furthermore, we observed that FME enhanced the expression of testosterone biosynthesis-related genes but reduced the expression of testosterone degradation-related genes in a mouse Leydig cell line. These results suggest that FME has effective pharmacological activities that increase and restore free testosterone levels and that FME may be employed as a promising natural product for alleviating testosterone deficiency syndrome. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-020-00872-x.

With the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, the number of infected patients was rapidly increasing in Daegu, Korea. With a maximum of 741 new patients per day in the city as of February 29, 2020, hospital-bed shortage was a great challenge to the local healthcare system. We developed and applied a remote brief severity scoring system, administered by telephone for assigning priority for hospitalization and arranging for facility isolation (“therapeutic living centers”) for the patients starting on February 29, 2020. Fifteen centers were operated for the 3,033 admissions to the COVID-19 therapeutic living centers. Only 81 cases (2.67%) were transferred to hospitals after facility isolation. We think that this brief severity scoring system for COVID-19 worked safely to solve the hospital-bed shortage. Telephone scoring of the severity of disease and therapeutic living centers could be very useful in overcoming the shortage of hospital-beds that occurs during outbreaks of infectious diseases., Graphical Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of a mixed extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum seed and Lespedeza cuneata (TFGL) for the treatment of testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS). Materials and methods Patients were instructed to take a placebo or 200 mg TFGL capsule twice per day for 8 weeks. The primary efficacy variable was the change from baseline in the Aging Males' Symptoms scale (AMS), as well as levels of serum total and free testosterone. Secondary efficacy measurements included changes from baseline in the number of 'yes' answers on the Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male (ADAM) questionnaire, levels of serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride, all domain scores of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10), as well as changes in body composition. Results The TFGL group exhibited a significant improvement in the AMS scores at 8 weeks, total testosterone at 8 weeks, and free testosterone at 4 and 8 weeks. At 4 weeks, 25% of the TFGL group changed to negative in terms of ADAM scores and 34.1% of the TFGL group had negative scores at the end of the study. The TFGL group exhibited a significant improvement in total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglyceride, IIEF scores, and PSS-10 scores at 8 weeks. Conclusions The mixed extract of TFGL resulted in significant improvements in symptoms of TDS, as measured by the AMS, ADAM, PSS-10 and testosterone levels.

Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is very rare in childhood. Nevertheless, its incidence has increased recently. This study aimed to identify risk factors for developing thrombosis in childhood cancers and other childhood diseases through the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. Methods Data were extracted from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. Children and young adults from 1 month to 29 years of age were eligible, and 21,747 cases of VTE between January 2008 and December 2016 were identified. Results The VTE incidence was high in children younger than 1 year of age. After 1 year of age, its incidence decreased rapidly and gradually increased. The VTE incidence for children between 0 and 1 year of age was 10.23-fold higher than that for those between 1 and 5 years of age. Annual VTE incidence increased by year. The age-standardized annual incidence rates were 9.98 per 100,000 population in 2008 and 22.53 per 100,000 population in 2016. The age-standardized annual incidence rate increased 2.25-fold during the 8 years. The lower extremity was the most common site of venous thrombosis. Conclusion The incidence of VTE in a population younger than 30 years was 13.11 per 100,000 persons in Korea. We found a bimodal age distribution of the VTE incidence with peaks at infancy and again after 16 years. The incidence of portal vein thrombosis was high in infants, and infection and malignancy were the most common comorbidities in patients with VTE., Graphical Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinal changes of the utilization of operational and surgical medical care inside and outside a metropolitan area over 10 years, analyzing the residential areas of patients and the locations of medical facilities for major cardiovascular surgery. Methods: Data analysis was conducted by classifying the addresses of patients and the locations of medical care facilities of metropolitan cities and provinces, using data from the National Health Insurance Corporation from January 2003 to December 2013. Results: There is serious concentration of major heart surgery to medical facilities in Seoul; this problem has not improved over time. There were differences in percentages of surgical procedures performed in the metropolitan areas according to major diseases. In the case of Busan and Daegu provinces, at least 50% of the patients underwent surgery in medical facilities in the city, but there are other regions where the percentage is less than 50%. In the case of provinces, the percentage of surgical procedures performed in medical facilities in Seoul or nearby metropolitan cities is very high. Conclusion: Policies to strengthen the regional capabilities of heart surgery and to secure human resources are required to mitigate the concentration of patients in the capital area. Many regional multi-centers must be designated to minimize unnecessary competition among regional university hospitals and activate a win-win partnership model for medical services.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Despite the increasing availability of effective conventional medical treatments, plant-derived and herbomineral remedies continue to be a popular alternative for men se...

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of a mixed extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum seed and Lespedeza cuneata (TFGL) for the treatment of testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS). Materials and Methods Patients were instructed to take a placebo or 200 mg TFGL capsule twice per day for 8 weeks. The primary efficacy variable was the change from baseline in the Aging Males' Symptoms scale (AMS), as well as levels of serum total and free testosterone. Secondary efficacy measurements included changes from baseline in the number of ‘yes’ answers on the Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male (ADAM) questionnaire, levels of serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride, all domain scores of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10), as well as changes in body composition. Results The TFGL group exhibited a significant improvement in the AMS scores at 8 weeks, total testosterone at 8 weeks, and free testosterone at 4 and 8 weeks. At 4 weeks, 25% of the TFGL group changed to negative in terms of ADAM scores and 34.1% of the TFGL group had negative scores at the end of the study. The TFGL group exhibited a significant improvement in total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglyceride, IIEF scores, and PSS-10 scores at 8 weeks. Conclusions The mixed extract of TFGL resulted in significant improvements in symptoms of TDS, as measured by the AMS, ADAM, PSS-10 and testosterone levels.

Due to physical impairments of stroke patients oral health tends to deteriorate, which may have an impact on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the OHRQoL and analyze its related factors among stroke patients cared for at home in Korea.OHRQoL of 549 stroke patients aged over 50 who received care at home was assessed by Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) in a City, Korea, from May to June 2009. Trained researchers and five nurses conducted interviews with patients or caregivers in their homes using structured questionnaires. Demographic, general health, stroke, and oral health related variables were surveyed. Statistically, t-test, an analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between OHRQoL and various covariates.Mean of total OHIP-14 score was 35.7 ± 10.0. Age, activity of daily living (ADL) (p0.001), subjective general and oral health status (p0.001), degree of disability (p0.001), frequency of tooth brushing (p0.001), use of dental floss (p0.01), missing teeth, and use of denture (p0.001) showed significant association with the OHIP-14 scores. In multiple regression analyses, ADL, frequency of tooth brushing per day, subjective general status, and oral health status were identified as significant factors with the OHIP-14 scores in stroke patients who received care at home.Among strong patients who received care at home, participants who had more severe physical disability, poorer oral hygiene and more missing teeth showed poorer OHRQoL.

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the related factors to dental care utilization, oral health behaviors, and oral health status in immigrant workers in Korea. Methods: The subjects were 504 foreign immigrant male workers over 20 years old who visited Daegu labor consultation center for oral health survey and oral examination. The questionnaire included 5 questions of socioeconomic characteristics, 8 questions of oral health practice behavior, 6 questions of dental clinic visit, 8 questions of social relations and Korean language proficiency. The question for health behavior was measure by body mass index(BMI). Social relations and Korean language proficiency instrument was modified by Seol from “Family welfare survey in Korean international marriage” and scored by Liker 5 scale. Results: The oral health examination of the immigrant workers was as follows: decayed teeth - 76.6%, filling teeth - 27.4%, missing teeth - 69.8%, dental caries experience above five or more - 60.2%, periodontal pocket tissues . 58.9%. Simplified Oral Hygiene Index was very poor and accounted for 49.0%. Dental care utilization experience was closely associated with social relation indexes including attendance in family events, household stuff help, financial help and counseling for hard work(p

Aim The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) increases even in adolescents. The evidence that MetS is associated with the periodontal diseases in adolescents has been understudied. Therefore, our aim was to assess the association between MetS parameters and gingivitis in adolescents. Material and methods A total of 941 participants (590 boys, 351 girls), aged 12-18 years was selected from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional and nationally representative survey, which had had information on waist circumference, blood pressure, serum triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and the fasting blood sugar and community periodontal Index (CPI). Results The number of positive parameters of MetS showed significant positive correlation with gingivitis; adjusted and crude ORs with one positive parameters of MetS were 1.92 (95% CI: 1.21-3.04) and 1.88(95% CI: 1.28-2.76), respectively. And adjusted OR with three or more positive parameters of MetS was 3.29 (95% CI: 1.24-8.71). Among five parameters of MetS, Low HDL-cholesterol showed significant association with gingivitis (crude OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.20-3.73; adjusted OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.24-3.12). Conclusions Having more positive parameters of MetS and low HDL-cholesterol parameter had an independent relationship with the prevalence of gingivitis, which may be determinants for the future periodontal diseases even in adolescents.

Objectives : The purpose of the study is to develop and to evaluate the oral health education program using computer assisted instruction(CAI) for the elementary school students. This study was carried out from November, 2012 to February, 2013. Methods : The subjects were 188 elementary school students of the first, second, and third grades in Buk-gu, Busan. The education was provided as computer assisted instruction and conventional classroom education. Three trained dental hygienists recorded three times of knowledge of oral health, oral health attitude, oral health behaviors and the plaque control index(O`Leary index). Results : CAI group showed high score of oral health knowledge of 6.74 points, 8.62 points and 8.38 points(p

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to the dental fear based on the general characteristics, major and personality type of the 400 girl students in university in Ulsan. Methods : Subjects were 400 girl students in university in Ulsan from November 2012 to March 2013. Data were collected by questionnaire and dental checkup and analyzed using SPSS 20.0 version. Results : Neuroticism was closely related to dental clinic visit. Those who did not visit dental clinics tended to have low score of neuroticism. Conclusions : To reduce dental fear in girl students, it is necessary to make them visit dental clinics frequently and promote the preventive dental care effectively.

Objectives : The quality of service is considered as the difference betwee n services that customers perceive and expect by using SERVQUAL model and the basic data for the efficiency of management of dental hospital and clinics, the differentiation strategies of dental medical institutions and the improvements on quality of service are provided.Methods : Subjects were 469 patients who visited six dental hospitals a nd clinics in Daegu-Gyeongbuk regions. Questionnaire consisted of five items such as type, reliability, responsiveness, certainty and empathy properties. Data were analyzed using SPSS 12.0 program in this study. Corresponding Author Kim Chang SukDepartment of Dental HygieneUlsan College101, Bongsu-Ro, Dong-gu, Ulsan, 682-715 South Korea.Tel : +82-52-230-0793 +82-10-4004-3862 Fax :+82-52-230-0790E-mail : cskim@uc.ac.krResults : Women had high satisfaction scores of medical services in cer tainty and empathy properties. 40s and higher had the highest score in the type property. 30s had high score in the certainty property. For expected service satisfaction, 30s had the highest score in dental practitioners and administrative staffs. For reuse of current m edical institution and intent for recommendation, certainty property and factor of dentist and de ntal practitioners had high scores. Additionally, reliability and responsiveness properties were st atistically significant.Conclusions : Medical institutions should make every effort to get the dent ists or dental practitioners have the medical knowledge at a high level, a kin dness for patients and trust from patients.Key Words : dental services, dental utilization, patient’s satisfaction색인 : 치과 서비스, 치과 이용도, 환자 만족도

Neurobehavioral tests are among the most efficient methods of identifying the adverse health effects of neurotoxicants. The reliability of neurobehavioral tests may be affected by racial or cultural backgrounds, but the widely used computerized neurobehavioral tests have been developed and standardized for Western children. It is thus necessary to assess the reliability of the existing computerized neurobehavioral tests for Korean children. For this reason, 254 healthy 7- to 8-year-old Korean children completed a neurobehavioral test–retest, with the test and retest held two months apart. Six neurobehavioral test items adapted from Korean Computerized Neurobehavioral Tests (KCNT) and modified to match the children's ability levels: Simple Reaction Time, Choice Reaction Time, Color Word Vigilance, Addition, Symbol Digit, and Finger Tapping Speed. The test reliability was assessed using the Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient ( r ) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The ICCs ranged from 0.46 to 0.84 and were very similar to the Pearson coefficients. High reliability was detected in Symbol Digit ( r = 0.84, ICC = 0.83), followed by the Finger Tapping Speed of the dominant hand ( r = 0.67, ICC = 0.67) and of the non-dominant hand ( r = 0.65, ICC = 0.65). The study findings suggest that the reliability of most computerized neurobehavioral tests is appropriate for epidemiological researches on Korean children, and that Symbol Digit and Finger Tapping Speed are more satisfactory bases for the periodic examination of neurobehavioral performance. These findings can also be useful in the future assembly of a neurobehavioral test battery, by providing more stable neurobehavioral test items for Korean children.

A septic tank is a purification treatment system where night soil and other waste matter is converted into harmless material by the activities of bacteria. Effluent from the septic tank flows into the sewer pipe, and then this effluent affects the quality of water environment and makes foul smell. In this study, through the proper maintenance of septic tank it was tried to minimize the impact of sewer pipe on water quality and fouling smell. BOD removal rate from the septic tank`s effluent which exceeded legal cleaning period was investigated for the proper maintenance. BOD Removal rate of the twelve septic tank`s effluent is -62.5% to 43.9%. According to the result of BOD removal rate, septic tank cleaning should be done at least once a year. And the pathogenic coliform bacillus in the twelve septic tank`s effluent is average 768,000 (MPN/). The chlorine disinfection is needed to remove the pathogenic coliform bacillus in septic tank effluent.

Limited data are available about the incidence of hypertension over the 5-yr in non-hypertensive subjects. The study subjects were 1,806 subjects enrolled in a rural area of Daegu, Korea for a cohort study from August to November 2003. Of them, 1,287 (71.3%) individuals had another examination 5 yr later. To estimate the incidence of hypertension, 730 non-hypertensive individuals (265 males; mean age = 56.6 ± 11.1 yr-old) at baseline examination were analyzed in this study. Hypertension was defined as either a new diagnosis of hypertension or self-reports of newly initiated antihypertensive treatment; prehypertension was if the systolic blood pressure was 120-139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure was 80-89 mmHg. During the 5-yr follow-up, 195 (26.7%) non-hypertensive individuals developed incident hypertension. The age-adjusted 5-yr incidence rates of hypertension were 22.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 19.9-29.0) in overall subjects, 22.2% (95% CI = 17.2-27.2) in men, and 24.3% (95% CI = 20.4-28.2) in women. The incidence rates of hypertension significantly increased with age. In the multivariate analysis, prehypertension (Odds ratio [OR] 2.25; P < 0.001) and older age (OR 2.26; P = 0.010) were independent predictors for incident hypertension. In this rapidly aging society, population-based preventive approach to decrease blood pressure, particularly in subjects with prehypertension, is needed to reduce hypertension.

목적: 뇌졸중으로 인한 장애인이 증가하고 있으나 이들을 대상으로 질보정수명을 구한 연구가 없었다. 이 연구의 목적은 일개 시에서 뇌졸중 장애인을 대상으로 EQ-5D로 그들의 건강 관련 삶의 질 수준을 평가하고, 우리나라 전체 뇌졸중 장애인의 QALYs 감소분을 추정하기 위하여 수행하였다. 방법: 2008년 3월을 기준으로 경주시 장애인 등록현황에서 50세 이상인 장애인 중 뇌졸중이 원인으로 파악된 982명을 대상으로 설문조사자들이 방문하여 대면면접조사를 통해 일반적 특성, 임상적 특성, EQ-5D 등의 자료를 수집하였다. 제4기 국민건강영양조사 에서 일반인구집단과 동반질환이 없는 군을 건강비교군으로 선정하여 성별, 연령별 표준화를 통해 비교함으로써 효용 가중치 차이를 구하였다. 이 효용 가중치 차이를 우리나라 전체 뇌졸중 장애인에 적용하여 전체 QALYs 감소분을 추정하였다. 결과: 대상자 982명 중 조사응답자는 566명으로 응답률은 57.6%였다. 여성, 70대 이상군에서 EQ-5D 지표값이 남성이나 60대 이하군에 비해 더 낮았고, 상대 비교군과의 차이도 크게 나타났다. 건강비교군과 일반인구집단 비교군과의 비교에 따른 전체 QALYs 감소분은 각각 연간 67,011.6 QALYs와 54,167.1 QALYs로 추정되었다. 결론: EQ-5D로 우리나라 전체 뇌졸중장애인의 QALYs 감소분을 추정하였고, 이 연구를 바탕으로 뇌졸중 장애인을 대상으로 한 공중보건정책의 집행이나 평가를 수행하여 보다 근거에 기반한 장애인 정책을 수행할 수 있을 것으로 생각한다.

Results: Before the program there was no significant difference between the control and the intervention groups in general characteristics, prevalence rates of diseases, oral sanitary condition. Dental plague score was decreased significantly(p

Objectives: This study was to identify the changes of body fat, blood pressure, blood glucose and serum lipid of middle and old aged women after participation in exercise program which includes aerobic(dance sports) and anaerobic(dumbbell gymnastics) exercises. Methods: One hundred women aged from 55 to 72 were surveyed before and after an exercise program. The exercise program was provided to the subjects performed during 6 months from July, 2007 to December, 2007 at a public health subcenter in Gumi City. Questionnaire survey for general characteristics, anthropometric measurement and blood test were taken before starting the program and anthropometric measurement and blood test after completing the program. Results: Body Weight, body fat and blood pressure showed significant change after the exercise program(p0.05). Waite circumference decreased, however did not show statistically significant difference. Conclusions: It was effective to participate in dance sports and dumbbell gymnastics exercise regularly. All of the positive changes through the study showed that there should be the program for middle and old aged women to exercise actively and also the middle and old aged women need have a active exercise habits as regular as possible. Additional studies confirming the results of this study are needed to compare the effects of the dance sports and dumbbell gymnastics exercise on the other age groups.

Of total respondents, 11.8% had experience of smoking. Of those, 20.2% citied ‘curiosity’, 9.0% cited ‘upon recommendation of friends’, and 6.2% cited ‘stress management’ as the main reason for their smoking. Separately, 53.1% responded ‘ habitually’ and 26.5% responded ‘stress management’ as the main reason for continuing smoking. Of total former smokers, 68.4% said 'worry about their health' as the main reason for quitting smoking. Of those who failed to quit smoking, 58.7% cited 'weakness of will' as the main reason for their failure. Of total respondents, 10.8% were smoking currently. 'Smoking of family member'(p

Background : Although Korean American women have one of the lowest rates of mammography screening, only few interventions have been developed for them. We developed a theory-based Korean-language print intervention to increase annual mammography screening with the goal to disseminate it through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Methods : Korean American staff and patients at a community clinic advised on the content and layout of the brochure. We pilot tested the intervention from July to September 2005 at a community clinic in Koreatown, Los Angeles County that provides free mammograms through the NBCCEDP. The proportion of Korean American women who received a repeat mammogram during the intervention period was compared to the pre-intervention period using a NBCCEDP database. Results : We found a non-significant 6 percentage point increase in repeat screening from 32% to 38%. A debriefing survey with a subsample of 59 women revealed that only 32% recalled receipt of the brochure and a subsequent investigation revealed that only about 60% had identical address information in the NBCCEDP records and in their charts. Conclusions : Although dissemination of print information through NBCCEDP is very feasible, the reach and effectiveness of the intervention was limited due to incorrect or outdated address information.

Objectives: This study examines the drinking behaviors and the relationship between drinking and smoking behaviors among some Korean university students. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in May, 2006. A total of 1,163 students(715 male and 448 female) completed questionnaires, who were randomly selected in a university in Gyeongsangbuk-Do, Korea. Results: The overall drinking and smoking rates for male subjects were 88.7% and 37.2%, and those for females were 83.5% and 2.2%, respectively. Among the male drinkers 39.9% smoked, while 16.0% of the male non-drinkers were smokers. As male drinkers drink more often, heavier amount per drinking episode, even on a binge, their smoking rate was high. The subjects reported there was positive reinforcement between drinking and smoking behaviors. Conclusions: The drinking rate of students was relatively high, especially for male students drinking behavior was strongly correlated with smoking behavior. Health promotion programs should be targeted at university students considering drinking and smoking behaviors simultaneously.

The purpose of this study was to present the authors' 11-year clinical experience involving 154 cases of arterialized venous flaps for hand reconstruction.The authors classified the venous flaps based on their size and composition. According to their size, flaps smaller than 10 cm were classified as small (n = 48), flaps larger than 25 cm were classified as large (n = 42), and those in between were classified as medium (n = 64). Classified according to their composition, there were 88 cases (57.1 percent) of venous skin flaps, 28 cases (18.2 percent) of innervated venous flaps, 15 cases (9.7 percent) of tendocutaneous venous flaps, and 17 cases (11 percent) of conduit venous flaps to repair arterial defects. There were six cases (3.9 percent) of composite venous flaps.The success rate of the flap transfer was 98.1 percent. The incidence of partial flap necrosis was 5.2 percent. The mean number of included veins was 2.17 for a small flap, 2.60 for a medium-sized flap, and 4.07 for a large flap (p0.01). The mean area of flap necrosis was 45.0 percent, 31.67 percent, and 18.75 percent for small, medium, and large flaps, respectively (p = 0.807). In eight cases of innervated venous flaps, the average static two-point discrimination was 10 mm (range, 8 to 15 mm). In 12 cases of tendocutaneous venous flaps, active range of motion at the proximal interphalangeal, distal interphalangeal, and metacarpophalangeal joints was 60, 20, and 75 degrees, respectively.The authors conclude that the arterialized venous flap is a valuable and effective tool for reconstructing complex hand injuries and may have a more comprehensive set of indications.

Background Previous studies have proposed a relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and oral health. However, the relationship between BMD and tooth loss in female individuals is not yet well understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between BMD, including its related physiological factors, and tooth loss among postmenopausal women in Korea. Methods A total of 3,992 postmenopausal women aged 50 years or above were selected from the Fourth and Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, which were cross-sectional in design and conducted from 2008 to 2011. The participants’ BMD and number of teeth were assessed by radiologists and dentists. Socioeconomic characteristics and female-related physiological factors, including menarche age, duration of menopause, number of pregnancies, age at first child’s birth, and duration of oral contraceptive or female hormone use, were surveyed. Results Participants who had lower BMD had significantly fewer teeth (p

Widely-used neurobehavioral tests have been developed and standardized on Western populations, but studies on subject factors for Asian populations have been very limited. For the effective application and interpretation of neurobehavioral tests in Asian populations, an evaluation of the effects of subject factors, including cultural background, is necessary. A cross-cultural study was conducted to evaluate the effects of cultural background and the interaction between cultural background and education on neurobehavioral tests in Asian populations. The Korean version of the Swedish Performance Evaluation System (Simple Reaction Time, Symbol Digit, and Finger Tapping Speed) and a pegboard test were administered to 537 workers who were not exposed to chemicals at work from Fareast (Korea and Chinese), Central (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), and South Asia (Sri Lanka and Indonesia). The Fareast Asian group exhibited better performance in adjusted test scores than other Asian groups, achieving significance for Symbol Digit and Finger Tapping Speed in both genders. The magnitude of the effect of cultural background on Symbol Digit was comparable to the effect of about 10 years of education. Cultural background did not modify the relation between years of education and Symbol Digit in either males or females. This study may provide the first evidence that cultural background has a large impact on neurobehavioral test performance, even within Asian populations, and suggests that cultural background is a critical confounding factor that must be controlled in epidemiologic studies which include Asian populations in the sample.