Epidemiology and Health

Outbreak of shigellosis in a provincial area.: Soon Chun Kim, Kae Hwan Kim, Hyung Chul Park, Doo Young Jeon; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):184-190.

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Outbreaks occured in 1 city and 3 countries of a province (Do) from Sep to Nov. 1992. The isolated serotype were identified as Shigella sonnei (Group D). To verify source of infection and mode of transmission, epidemiological investigation was conducted in C elementary school and H region (No. of patients≥10). The survey results suggested that the source of infection was contaminated food and the disease was caused by single exposure. Incidence rates were 4.8% and 58.0% respectively. Secondary attack rate was low. Neither the death nor the complicated. No significant difference was observed in sex and age between symptomatic and asymptomatic group in H region.; Summary

Effect of anti-smoking education on male high school students.: Tack Min Kim, Sun Ha Jee, Heechoul Ohr; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):175-183.

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In order to examine the effect of an anti - smoking education method on smoking, a untreated control group design with pretest and posttest study were conducted with self - completing questionnaire in 1990 and 1991. A total of 247 male students from one high school in Wonju made the experimental group and another 236 students made the comparison group in this study. Anti - smoking education, with a forty - minute demonstration about danger of smoking and a twenty - minute - long video tape education, was given to the experiment group. The results were as follows : 1. The smoking prevalence of the experiment group and the comparision group were 11.5% and 14.5% respectively at baseline. Smoking prevalence of the experiment group increased to 16.0% and that of comparison group increased to 16.4% respectively after one year interval of antismoking education to the experiment group. 2. The baseline smoking knowlege score of experiment group was 29.7 and that of comparison group was 31.9. Those scores collected after one year interval ware 31.9 and 33.2 respectively. 3. The odds ratios for smoking estimated from a unconditional logistic regression analysis were 4.8 (p<0.01) for students with a smoking friends as the best friend, 1.02 (p<0.05) for one score increase in knowledge of smoking health hazard and 0.8 (p<0.05) for anti - smoking education. This study implicates it is unlikely that a common anti - smoking programme would be effective for male high school students. To devlelop effective measures for preventing high school boys’ smoking it is highly recommended to carry out further researches in details of anti - smoking education.; Summary

A study on the medical care expenditure of the uterine cervix carcinoma by clinical stage and treatment modality.: Hyo Ki Min, Doo Chae Jung, Soo Yong Choi, Je Ho Lee, Jae Kyu Lim; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):160-174.

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The study was conducted covering 724 patients with cervical carcinoma admitted to Korea Cancer Center Hospital from July 1989 to June, 1991 in order to estimate average days and the mdical care expenditures for in-patients on the basis of specifications for medical expenses. The results of the present study were obtained as follows : 1. The clinical stage was significantly low in younger age group and in higher education group. 2. The average length of stay was 41.4 days as a whole. On the type of treatment, the largest average days were 49.9 day for radiotherapy, followed by surgery with 21.8 days and chemotherapy with 20.2 days. On clinical stage, the shortest days were 15.9 days for stage O, followed by stage I with 36.5 days, stage II with 50.4 days, stage IV 53.6 days and stage III with 59.4 days, showing statistically significance with clinical stage. 3. The average medical care expenditure of the total patients was 1,918.2 thousand won and their average daily expenditure was 54.7 thousand won. On the type of treatment, the highest expensive expenditure was 1,507.0 thousand won (daily 70.9 thousand won), followed by radiotherapy with 1,453.5 thousand won (daily 30.3 thousand won) and chemotherapy 1,385.1 thousand won (daily 71.2 thousand won), showing similar expenditure. On clinical stage, the lowest expenditure was stage O with 1,060.0 thousand won(daily 68.2 thousand won), followed by stage II with 1,960.3 thousand won (daily 43.8 thousand won), stage I with 2,190.0 thousand won (daily 67.3 thousand won) and stage III with 2,008.9 thousand won (daily 34.4 thousand won) and stage IV with 2,228.1 thousand won (daily 42.3 thousand won), showing statistically significance with clinical stage. 4. The proportion of average medical care expenditure according to the method of treatment was 29.9% (575.2 thousand won) injection fee, 18.9% (363.3 thousand won) in accommodation fee and 16.3% (313.2 thousand won) in no-benefit fee. 5. Among 1,918.2 thousand won for the average medical care expenditure for parients with cervical carcinoma, the percentage of medical insurance amount for an insurer and medical expenditure paid by patients was 66.9% and 33.1% repestively. On clinical stage, the highest percentage of the medical expenditure paid by patients was 36.6% for patients with stage III, followed by 36.1% for those with stage IV, 34.3% for those with stage II, 31.8% for those with stage I and 27.7% for those with stage O, showing statistically significance with clincial stage.; Summary

Smoking and female lung cancer by morphological types, a case-control study.: Heechoul Ohr, Il Soon Kim, Sun Ha Jee, Tae Yong Sohn; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):151-159.

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The relationship between smoking and female lung cancer was examined according to the morphological subtypes. Two data sets were analyzed. One is the data comprising 235 pathologically confirmed female primary lung cancer patients and 940 community control frequency matched at a ratio of 1 : 4 within ten-year-sized birth cohorts from Kangwha county female residents. The other is the data with 125 female lung cancer patients and 125 controls who are either patients’ sisters or friends where telephone surveys were used as the data collecting methods. The telephone interview survey limited the number of the latter data which need information of the patients' sisters or friends who made the controls. The morphology of the lung cancers were categorized in three types i. e. adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma. Odds ratios were estimated by unconditional logistic regression analysis controlling age at first diagnosis as a confounder.
Results
are as follows： 1. The odds ratios of smoking were estimated to be 1.6(p>0.05) for adencoarcinama, 3.2 (p<0.01) for squamous cell carcinomas, and 7.1 (p<0.01) for small cell carcinomas in the logistic model with 235 cases and 940 controls The odds ration estimated in the model with 125 cases and 125 controls showed almost the same values as the former. 2. Females with less than 20 pack-year were estimated to have 1.8 times (p<0.05)higher risk of lung cancer than non-smokers and those with 20 or more pack-year were estimated to have 5.0 times (p<0.01) higher risk. The estimate for small cell carcinoma was 13.5(p<0.01) for females with 20 or more pack-year. 3. The odds ratio estimates of lung cancer were 1.8 (p<0.05) for those who began to smoke after their forties and 2.7(p<0.05) for those who began to smoke before forty-year old. This tendency was observed in every subtype of lung cancer. This report reconfirms that there are different associations between smoking and morphological types of lung cancers, the absolute values of odds ratio being smaller than those of other countries, however. This finding implicates that further researches are needed to confirm the size of contribution of smoking to Korean female lung cancers. And the second step shall be the reason of low association between smoking and lung cancer, conditioned to this finding is true.; Summary

Preventive effect of ginseng intake against various human cancers: a case-control study on 1,987 pairs.: Taik Koo Yun, Soo Yong Choi; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):138-150.

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Cases consisted of incident patients diagnosed by cytological or histological procedures to have cancers from Feb. 1987 to Dec. 1990 at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital (n=1,987). Controls were selected from the patients admitted to the hospital with diseases other than cancers and matched with the cases one by one on a bases of sex, age (2yrs), and date of admission (within 3 mo.) Ginseng was classified into fresh ginseng, white ginseng, and red ginseng. As a results, the preventive effect against cancer was found in all products except fresh slice, juice and white ginseng tea. There was a gradual decrease in OR according to the duration of ginseng intake from one year after ginseng intake. Ginseng decreased ORs of many types of cancers, except urinary bladder cancer, female thyroid cancer, female breast cancer and uterine cervix cancer. The increased risk of cancers related to smoking decreased with ginseng intake, implying the preventive effect of ginseng against cancer associated environmental factors.; Summary

A stochastic analysis on the force of infection by hepatitis B virus in Korea.: Keun Young Yoo, Moo Song Lee, Youngjo Lee, Bo Youl Choi, Heon Kim, Yong Sik Kim; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):128-137.

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Hepatitis B virus infection is still one of the major health problems in Korea, because of its high prevalence and its deleterious sequellae to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, little is known about incidence (force of infection) of the viral infection. Investigation on the natural history of the virus, such as age-dependency of occurrence, is thus necessary to establish the efficient measures of prevention and management. This study was done to estimate the incidence of hepatitis B virus infection, as well as to assess the prevalent age group of the infection through a stochastic analysis using mathematical models. Data on positivity of hep¬atitis B virus markers (HBsAg, anti-HBs，anti-HBc) were obtained from two different population； a typical rural population in Kyunggi province (n=741) and a health insurance beneficiaries in the Seoul City (n=726). As results, force of infection by the virus was decreasing until the age group around 20, and afterwards remained stationary. The annual incidence of the infection was 15 per 100 persons at birth, 5 per 100 persons at the age, of 10, and about 3 per 100 persons after the age of 20. Proportion of antigen positivity among persons infected by the virus was also decreasing with age increasing. These results suggest that new infection of hepatitis B virus mostly occurs early in life in Korea, resulting in subsequent high prevalence of the infection.; Summary

A study on statistics used to test the tracking phenomenon of bloodpressure in childhood.: Chung Mo Nam, Soon Young Lee, Il Suh, Chong Yon Park; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):117-127.

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This study was conducted to investigate the behavior of statistics, correlation analysis and 2X2 contingency table analysis, which were used to test the tracking phenomenon of blood pressure in childhood. Data were randomly generated by Blomqvist's model. The results of this study were as follows； 1. The correlation coefficients and probabilities of remaining in the upper quartile increased by the degree of tracking index θ, and decreased by the degree of within individual variation σe2. 2. The estimates of test statistics at θ=0.1, and σe2=82 were lower than those at θ= 0.0, and σe2=62 The results indicate that within individual variation must be considered to study the tracking phenomenon of blood pressure.; Summary

An epidemiologic study on the leptospiral infection in the period of an anticipated epidemic: for soldires stationed in a rural area.: Bo Youl Choi, Dae Eun Chung, Soo Jin Lee, Hung Bae Park, Jeoung Bae Park, Kyung Hee Lee, Jeong Soon Kim; Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(2):91-101.

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Abstract: Abstract
No abstract available.; Summary

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