The Effect of Passive Smoking on Asthma Symptoms, Atopy, and Airway Hyperresponsiveness in Schoolchildren

Passive smoking is a major cause of respiratory morbidity, and is associated with increased bronchial responsiveness in children. To evaluate the effect of smoking by a parent on asthma symptoms, atopy, and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 503 schoolchildren that involved questionnaires, spirometry, allergy testing, and a bronchial challenge test. If the PC20 methacholine was less than 16 mg/mL, the subject was considered to have AHR. The prevalence of a parent who smoked was 68.7%. The prevalence of AHR was 45.0%. The sensitization rate to common inhalant allergens was 32.6%. Nasal symptoms such as rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal itching, and nasal obstruction were present in 42.7%. Asthma symptoms such as cough and wheezing were present in 55.4%. The asthma symptoms were significantly more prevalent in children who had a parent who smoked than in those whose parents did not. The nasal symptoms, atopy, and AHR did not differ according to whether a parent smoked. In a multiple logistic regression model, the asthma symptoms and atopy were independently associated with AHR, when adjusted for confounding variables. Passive smoking contributed to asthma symptoms in schoolchildren and was not an independent risk factor of airway hyperresponsiveness in an epidemiological survey.

Effect of the lower third molar on the treatment of Class III malocclusion / 대한치과교정학회지

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the lower third molar on treatment time and distal en masse movement of the lower dentition in Class III malocclusions. Thirty subjects (9 males and 27 females) were selected, all of whom were diagnosed as Class III malocclusion and treated by fixed appliances without premolar and/or molar extraction. They were divided into three groups. Group 1 consisted of 12 subjects, whose lower third molars were not extracted during the whole orthodontic treatment. Group 2 consisted of 8 subjects, whose lower third molars were extracted after MEAW application and before removal of the orthodontic appliances. Group 3 consisted of 16 subjects, whose lower third molars were extracted before MEAW application. For each subject, overall treatment time and duration of MEAW application were determined. In addition, pre-treatment and post- treatment lateral cephalometric radiographs were analyzed. All data were processed statistically with ANOVA, and the conclusions were as follows: There was no significant difference among the groups in overall treatment time. However, duration of MEAW application was longer in Group 2 than in Group 1 or Group 3. The overjet that was established after orthodontic treatment was largest in Group 3, in which the lower third molars were extracted before MEAW application. After orthodontic treatment, IMPA decreased in Group 3, but increased in Group 1 and Group 2. There was no significant difference among the three groups in the translation of lower second molars. However, the tipping movement of lower second molars was significantly different, highest in Group 2 and lowest in Group 1. Therefore, it is thought to be better for the orthodontic treatment of Class III malocclusions to extract the lower third molars before MEAW application. In Group 2, the mandibular plane angle was decreased as a result of forward rotation of the mandible. This skeletal change was thought to bring about the difficulty of treatment.

Evaluation of various cephalometric measurements to predict the prognosis of early Class III malocclusion treatment / 대한치과교정학회지

The aims of this study were to investigate the differences in the early craniofacial morphology of Class III malocclusions with good, fair and poor occlusal stability and to elucidate a key determinant for distinguishing the cases. Lateral cephalograms of 30 subjects with Class III malocclusion in the mixed dentition were analyzed at the start of treatment (mean age of 8.58+/-1.47). All subjects were re-evaluated after a mean period of 7.50+/-1.94 years comprising active treatment and retention. At this time, the samples were divided into three groups: good (10 subjects), fair (10 subjects) and poor (10 subjects) occlusal stability groups. According to the results of ANOVA, there were significant morphological differences in the early stage among the good, fair and poor occlusal stability groups, especially in variables that represented the vertical skeletal relationships. As well, there were already more dental compensations in the poor occlusal stability group. Stepwise discriminant analysis on the measurements at the time of first observation identified only one predictive variable: AB to mandibular plane angle (AB-MP). With this discriminant function, 83.3% of the original grouped cases were correctly classified and the canonical correlation coefficient was 0.857. In conclusion, AB-MP can be a possible predictor for the eventual prognosis of early Class III treatment. If it is below 60, the prognosis of early Class III treatment is expected to be poor, while if it is above 65, a good prognosis is expected.

High Body Mass Index is Associated with Wheezing Among Older Adults Living in High-Altitude Area in Korea

Although the association between obesity and asthma has been well documented, the nature of this association has yet to be clarified. The aim of this study was to examine the association of body mass index (BMI), lipid profiles, and atopy, wheezing, and lung function in older adults living in a rural area in Korea. BMI (kg/m2), lipid profiles, skin prick test, spirometry, and questionnaire including airway symptoms were obtained in a cross-sectional survey in 707 (259 males and 448 females) older adults (aged 50 to 93; mean, 65.7 yr) living in a high-altitude rural area in Korea. The prevalence of self-reported wheezing was 17.1% (121/707). The prevalence of atopy was 13.8%. The mean of BMI was 23.3+/-0.13 (14.6-32.8). The BMI was higher in females than in males (23.8+/-0.16 vs 22.4+/-0.17; p or = 25 than in group with BMI<25 [57/201 (28.3%) vs 64/505 (12.6%), p<0.01]. The BMI was higher in group with wheezing than in group without wheezing (24.3+/-0.34 vs 23.1+/-0.13, p<0.01). No association between BMI and atopy was found. These findings suggest that BMI associated with wheezing in older adults.

The Prognostic Factors In Progression Of Pneumoconiosis / 결핵

BACKGROUND: Pneumoconiosis is the parenchymal lung disease that results from the inhalation and deposition of dust, usually mineral dust of occupational or environmental origin. Most of the pneumoconiosis can be categorized to coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) in Korea. No effective treatement is currently available, and the therapy for symptomatic CWP is limited to treatment of complication. Therefore authors analyzed and reviewed clinical features and radiological findings of 95 patients with pneumoconiosis for assessing the prognostic factors in disease progression. METHOD: We reviewed medical records of 95 cases with pneumoconiosis including history, chest X-ray, pulmonary function test, electrocardiography, AFB stain and culture of sputum, and routine blood examination between June 1995 and June 1997 in Seonam University Namkwang Hospital. RESULTS: All of cases are male(mean age, 57.4 years), 91 cases out of them are miners. The mean duration of exposure to dust is 18.8 years. 2) Major clinical symptoms are dyspnea (100%), sputum (71.6%), chest pain (55.8%), cough (23.2%), and hemoptysis (6.3%). 82% of cases are over Morgan-Seaton Grade 2 in the degree of dyspnea. Small opacity on chest x-ray is 82.1% and large opacity is 17.9%. Small opacity has t/t type (37.2%), q/q type (25.6%) and r/r type (11.5%). B type is 42.2% in large opacity. For the pulmonary function test, restrictive type is 40.3%, mixed type 19.5% and obstructive type 8.3%. The more increasing chest X-ray density, the more decreasing FEV1 (p<0.01). 38% of patients show tuberculosis in chest X-ray, 15.8% positive smear of acid fast bacilli in sputum. The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis is high in patients with poor clinical condition. The cases with the active pulmonary tuberculosis have severe dyspnea. 6) Expired cases show 100% and 75% of positive pulmonary tuberculosis in chest X-ray and sputum examination, respectively. 75% of expired cases show the chronic cor pulmonale, who died of acute respiratory failure. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that tuberculosis infection has a decisive influence on the progress and prognosis of pneumoconiosis.

Subjective Symptoms and Flicker Test Values in Relation to Chronic Low Dose Organic Solvent Exposure / 예방의학회지

This study was conducted to examine the effect of chronic low dose organic solvent exposures in the industries towards then neurobehavioral functions of workers subjective symptoms on neurobehavioral function as well as a visual reaction time test (Flicker test) were administered to 94 exposed and 162 unexposed workers in a oil refinery and some other auto-repair shops. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Symptom complaints were higher and Flicker test values were lower in exposed workers than in unexposed workers. 2. Flicker values were inversely correlated with urinary Hippuric acid concentration in exposed workers (r=-0.26, p<0.05). 3. Flicker values were inversely correlated with subjective symptom score (r=-0.15, p<0.05). Low Flicker value were also related with some subjective symptoms such as "Dimmed vision", "Nightmare", "weakness on extremity" in workers as a whole. While symptoms of "Dimmed vision", "Nightmare" only observed among exposed workers.

A Study on the Debrisoquine Metabolism in a Group, of Korean Population / 예방의학회지

The genetically determined ability to metabolize debrisoquine(DBR) is related to risk of lung cancer and DBR hydroxylation exhibits wide inter-individual variation. In this study, 100 korean adults were tested for their ability to metabolize DBR. The DBR metabolic phonotype were determined by metabolic ratio (MR, DBR/4-HDBR) which is the percent dose excreted as unchanged DBR divided by the percent dose excreted as 4-hydro-xydebrisoqinne(4-HriBR) in a aliquots of an eight hour urine sample, after 10 mg DBR test dose administration. Analysis was performed on a capillary gas chromatography fitted with electron capture detector. The results were as follows; 1. Geometric mean or DBR MR was 0.32 in male, 0.27 in female, 0.30 in total and the distribution of log(MR) was seemed to follow normal distribution. 2. Metabolic ratio of DBR was higher in non-smoker and non-drinker than in smoker and drinker without any statistically significant difference. 3. None of personal factors was significantly related to DBR MR except age. 4. The DBR metabolic phonotype was extensive metabolizer(EM) 93, intermediate metabolizer (IM) 7 by traditional method and EM 98, IM 3 by Caporaso's method. The poor metabolizer (PM) phenotype was not found by either method. 5. Maximal expected PM phenotype was 0.36% by traditional method and 0.04% by Caporaso's method.

Respiratory Symptoms, Cognitions about Working Environments and Pulmonary Functions in Coal Mine Workers / 대한산업의학회지

To assess the adverse effects of dust on pulmonary function and to determine the association between subjective respiratory symptoms, cognitions about working environments and pulmonary functions, the study was conducted on 719 coal mine workers (395 workers on direct part, 324 workers on indirect part) being employed in a coal mine industry located in Hwa-Soon area. Questionnaires on respiratory symptoms and cognitions about working environments were filled out by themselves, and pulmonary function test was given by trained doctors. The results obtained were as follows ; 1. Significantly increased subjective respiratory symptoms prevalence were found in the workers on direct part comparing to workers on indirect part, and symptoms prevalence rate was higher in sputum, coughing, respiratory difficulty, palpitation and chest pain in order. 2. Significantly increased cognitions degree about working environments were found in workers on direct part comparing to workers on indirect part, and the degree was higher in dust concentration, temperature, working density and humidity in order. 3. FVC, FEV(0.5), FEF(200-1200ml) and FEF(25-75%) were lower for workers on direct part than that for workers on indirect part. 4. In workers on direct and indirect part, lung functions except FEF(200-l200ml) for the high subjective symptom group was smaller than that for the low group. There was not significane statistically, but the significane was found in FVC and FEVt in total coal workers. 5. In workers on direct part, FEVt and FEF(25-75%) for high cognition group about working environmental conditions was smaller than that for the low group but other lung functions were reversed. But in workers on indirect part, similar results was found and the significance was found in FEV(0.5) FEF(25-75%) and FEF(200-1200ml) in total coal workers. 6. Lung functions had negative correlation between sputum and FEF(200-1200ml).