Earticle

Objectives: This study aimed to provide basic data for policies related to the classification of long-term care hospitals admitting the elderly, according to receipt or otherwise of specialized rehabilitation treatment, and to analyze the status and characteristics of medical use. Methods: The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service 2018 Elderly Patient Data was used to analyze 33,821 inpatients who had applied for the daily flat-rate system for long-term care hospitals. Results: The ratio of the paralysis group, cerebrovascular disease group, and musculo-skeletal system group was higher for the rehabilitative long-term care hospital, and the ratios of medical high, medical middle, physical function low, fee-for-service, and medical low groups were also higher than those of general long-term care hospitals. The long-term hospitalization rates were low for patients admitted to rehabilitative long-term care hospitals. Conclusions: It is necessary to establish policies so that patients in need of specialized rehabilitation treatment are not admitted to general long-term care hospitals, which delays their recovery.

Objectives: This study aimed to confirm the behavior of using medical institutions among patients undergoing colonoscopy and factors that influence the performance of colonoscopy examination. Methods: The study used data from the National Health Insurance Corporation in 2017. The analysis included 1,314,600 people. Results: The patients tended to be male, 50-59 years old, and reporting an income level of 5. The colonoscopy rate was the highest in patients with benign neoplasm. Most of the inpatients used general hospitals and most outpatient cases used clinics. The factors affecting the need for colonoscopy were sex, age, income group, medical facility use, and prevalence of all diseases except intestinal infectious diseases. Conclusions: Colonoscopy is performed more frequently in men, in those aged 50-59 years, and in patients with neoplasms and anus/rectum/anal canal diseases. Further research should be conducted on the corresponding medical expenses, days of used hospital of patients undergoing colonoscopy.

Objectives: This study was purpose to identify the hotspot region of Korea by using male age-standardized suicide rate from 2017 to 2019 and analyze the relationship between hotspot areas and characteristics of the regions. Methods: Data was collected from the Korean Statistical Information Service. Study areas were 229 si·gun·gu administrative district of Korea. Estimated hotspot areas were used as dependent variables. Economical stability, medical resources and health status, social and community context, neighborhood and built environment used as independent variables. Hotspot areas were identified by ArcGIS pro 2.8. Panel analysis was performed by Stata/SE ver 15.1. Results: Hotspots areas were mostly located in Gangwon-do, Chungcheongnam-do Results of Panel analysis showed that economical stability variables were statistically significant. Conclusions: Results of this study provides that policy, which preventing or reducing suicide, need to consider the regional characteristics.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the predictive factors for the risk of metabolic syndrome in one-person households. Methods: This study assessed 335 one-person households comprising individuals aged 20-64 obtained from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the five factors related to the risk of metabolic syndrome(abdominal obesity, hypertension, low HDL cholesterol, high triglyceride, hyperglycemia) and categorized them into borderline, metabolic syndrome, normal groups. Results: The results was a common variable used to predict the risk of metabolic syndrome. Significant results were shown in relation to BMI, smoking, physical activity and carbohydrate and fat intake. For those aged 20-49, welfare recipient, BMI, physical activity, and calories intake were predictive factors. For individuals aged 50 to 64, BMI, smoking, physical activity, protein, and fat intake were the predictive factors. Conclusions: As differences between groups existed in the predictive factors of the risk of metabolic syndrome, an approaching by age is required to lower risk of metabolic syndrome.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of family function on internet gaming disorder among middle school students focusing on the mediating effect of impulsivity and moderated mediating effect of social support. Methods: The study analyzed data from 282 students in Busan, collected by self-administered questionnaires. Results: The family communication among family function had a negative influence on internet gaming disorder and impulsivity, the mediating variable, respectively. Impulsivity had a positive influence on internet gaming disorder. Impulsivity also had a mediating effect between family communication and internet gaming disorder. Peer support, among social support types, had a mediating effect on the relation between impulsivity and internet gaming disorder. Peer support had a moderated mediating effect on the relation among family communication, impulsivity, and internet gaming disorder. Conclusions: Good communication within the family could lower middle school students’internet gaming disorder and impulsivity. In addition, peer support among students could lead to the reduction of internet gaming disorder by mediating impulsivity.

Objectives: This retrospective comparative study used propensity score matching methods to determine the differences in lifestyle and quality of life between patients with pulmonary ventilatory defects and healthy subjects. Methods: The subjects were 874 patients over 40 years old and 918 healthy individuals from a total of 8,110 subjects in Korea’s 8th National Health and Nutrition Survey (2019). The critical distinction between the two groups was analyzed using cross-validation and an independent sampling t-test. Results: The patient group tended to have a lower quality of life and had higher percentages of present and past smoking history (55.6%) than the healthy group (37.4%). The patient group consumed two or more drinks per week (25.9%) than the healthy group (23.0%). In addition, patients were more likely to evaluate their own health status as poor or ill (19.6%) than were members of the healthy group (7.9%). Conclusions: This study suggests that it is necessary to develop and implement proactive programs for lifestyle refinement and health promotion.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the predictive factors of the risk of cardiovascular disease, which causes sudden cardiac death in households living alone. Methods: This study assessed 330 one-person households at the age of 20-64 obtained from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the five factors related to the risk of cardiovascular disease such as age, family medical history, hypertension, smoking, HDL cholesterol into Low, Intermediate, Normal groups. Results: The results were as follows; Significant results were shown in relation to income, BMI, caloric intake for women, and income, diabetes, drinking, physical activity for men. And for aged 20 to 39, physical activity was the predictive factors. For aged 40 to 64, income, BMI, diabetes, stress, drinking, physical activity, were the predictive factors. Conclusions: Because differences among groups existed in predictive factors of the risk of cardiovascular disease, various approaches are required to lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of certified medical institutions after the implementation of the electronic medical record (EMR) certification system. Methods: Data were collected from 918 workers in eight tertiary hospitals. Results: Awareness of the EMR certification system was highest for the occupation of health and medical information manager who directly prepares and manages the EMR certification and low in other occupations. Conclusions: The higher the perception of the EMR certification system and the certification acquisition of the medical institutions for which one works, the greater the effect on trust and communication between departments and education is considered necessary.