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Background@#Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common endocrine diseases, and the relationship between diabetes and skin diseases is well-known and its mechanisms have been studied. @*Objective@#This study aimed to examine the association between DM and skin diseases. @*Methods@#We used the medical record database provided by the National Health Insurance Service. We constructed a cohort with 1,197,225 patients diagnosed with type 2 DM from 2011 to 2015. We analyzed 3,992,368 medical records of patients with DM who visited the hospital from January 1, 2009 to December 13, 2018 with skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases (ICD-10 code, L00-L99). After that, we compared the changes in skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases before and after the diagnosis of type 2 DM. @*Results@#The number of patients with skin diseases, after the diagnosis of type 2 DM was 1,629,756 (50.6%). The frequency of skin diseases increased after the diagnosis of type 2 DM compared to that before the diagnosis. Particularly, infectious diseases (＋29.03%,p＜0.001), vesiculobullous diseases (＋33.13%, p＜0.001) and ulcerrelated diseases (pressure sores [＋530.18%], and lower extremity ulcers [＋321.56%], p＜0.001) increased sharply whereas dermatitis and eczematous diseases (−9.96%, p＜0.001) and urticaria (−12.99%, p＜0.001) decreased. @*Conclusion@#Skin diseases increased following the diagnosis of diabetes, and there were changes in the pattern of skin diseases before and after the diagnosis of diabetes.
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Background@#The morphology of hair regrowth in alopecia areata (AA) patches could be classified into four types, namely diffuse, irregular, marginal, and targetoid patterns, according to the DIMT classification. However, factors affecting hair regrowth patterns have not been investigated. @*Objective@#We investigated whether the DIMT-classified hair regrowth patterns of AA patches are associated with treatment modality and patch size. @*Methods@#We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 152 AA patches with hair regrowth. @*Results@#The associations between the diffuse pattern and patch size >2 cm (p=0.006;odds ratio [OR]: 0.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17~0.74), between the irregular pattern and triamcinolone acetonide intralesional injection (p2 cm (p=0.028; OR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.10~5.68) were statistically significant. @*Conclusion@#Treatment modalities and patch size are the factors affecting hair regrowth patterns in AA patches.
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Purpose@#Several artificial intelligence (AI) models for the detection and prediction of cardiovascular-related diseases, including arrhythmias, diabetes, and sleep apnea, have been reported. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify AI models developed for or applicable to wearable and mobile devices for diverse cardiovascular-related diseases. @*Materials and Methods@#The searched databases included Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library. For AI models for atrial fibrillation (AF) detection, a meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy was performed to summarize sensitivity and specificity. @*Results@#A total of 102 studies were included in the qualitative review. There were AI models for the detection of arrythmia (n=62), followed by sleep apnea (n=11), peripheral vascular diseases (n=6), diabetes mellitus (n=5), hyper/hypotension (n=5), valvular heart disease (n=4), heart failure (n=3), myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest (n=2), and others (n=4). For quantitative analysis of 26 studies reporting AI models for AF detection, meta-analyzed sensitivity was 94.80% and specificity was 96.96%. Deep neural networks showed superior performance [meta-analyzed area under receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) of 0.981] compared to conventional machine learning algorithms (meta-analyzed AUROC of 0.961). However, AI models tested with proprietary dataset (meta-analyzed AUROC of 0.972) or data acquired from wearable devices (meta-analyzed AUROC of 0.977) showed inferior performance than those with public dataset (meta-analyzed AUROC of 0.986) or data from in-hospital devices (meta-analyzed AUROC of 0.983). @*Conclusion@#This review found that AI models for diverse cardiovascular-related diseases are being developed, and that they are gradually developing into a form that is suitable for wearable and mobile devices.
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Background@#The quarantine process at a country's port of entry has an important role in preventing an influx of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases from abroad and further minimizing the national healthcare burden of COVID-19. However, there has been little published on the process of COVID-19 screening among travelers entering into a country.Identifying the characteristics of COVID-19 infected travelers could help attenuate the further spread of the disease. @*Methods@#The authors analyzed epidemiological investigation forms and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) of entrants to Incheon International Airport between March 11 to April 30, 2020. We performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the odds of positive SARS-CoV-2 result. @*Results@#A total of 11,074 entrants underwent reverse-transcription PCR for SARS-CoV-2, resulting 388 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 had a strong association with the reported loss of smell or taste and association with self-reported fever, chill, cough, and vomiting. If a traveler reported contact with an individual with either respiratory symptoms or confirmed COVID-19 in the last two weeks directly prior to landing, the probability of a positive result was increased. @*Conclusion@#If overseas travelers experience loss of smell or taste in the two weeks prior to arrival, they may require an immediate examination to rule out COVID-19 at a port of entry. As to measure body temperature upon arrival at a port of entry, it is important to screen for any occurrence of fever within the two weeks prior to travel. Also, information with epidemiological relevance, such as recent contact with an individual suffering from any respiratory symptoms or with confirmed COVID-19, should be included in COVID-19 screening questionnaires for international travelers.
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no abstract available
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Background@#There have been no health-related studies of pre-employed firefighters without firefighter-specific job-related factors (FSJRF). This study aimed to evaluate the sleep quality of pre-employed firefighters and to examine the relationship between sleep quality and psychosocial factors. @*Methods@#We conducted a self-report questionnaire survey for 602 pre-employed firefighters at 3 Fire Service Academies after brief lecture about sleep. Sleep quality and psychosocial variables such as depression, anxiety, stress and social support were evaluated. The independent 2 sample t-test, χ2 test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of the variables on the sleep quality of pre-employed firefighters. @*Results@#Among a total of 602 people, 347 (57.6%) had good sleep quality and 255 (42.4%) had poor sleep quality. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of them was 3.29 ± 1.41) and 7.87 ± 2.20), respectively. 24 (4.0%) were evaluated to have insomnia by Insomnia Severity Index.Logistic regression analyses showed that the depression (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 5.940, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.124–11.292), anxiety (aOR: 4.233, 95% CI: 2.138–8.381), stress (aOR: 2.880, 95% CI: 1.915–4.330) and social support (aOR: 0.959, 95% CI: 0.939–0.980) have a significant effect on sleep quality after adjusted by sex, age, smoking status, drinking status, caffeine intake, past shift working and circadian rhythm type. @*Conclusions@#Depression, anxiety, stress and social support were associated with sleep quality among pre-employed firefighters. Repeated follow-up studies of pre-employed firefighters are needed to further assess their change of sleep quality and identify the FSJRF that may affect the sleep quality of firefighters.
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Background@#There have been no health-related studies of pre-employed firefighters without firefighter-specific job-related factors (FSJRF). This study aimed to evaluate the sleep quality of pre-employed firefighters and to examine the relationship between sleep quality and psychosocial factors. @*Methods@#We conducted a self-report questionnaire survey for 602 pre-employed firefighters at 3 Fire Service Academies after brief lecture about sleep. Sleep quality and psychosocial variables such as depression, anxiety, stress and social support were evaluated. The independent 2 sample t-test, χ2 test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of the variables on the sleep quality of pre-employed firefighters. @*Results@#Among a total of 602 people, 347 (57.6%) had good sleep quality and 255 (42.4%) had poor sleep quality. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of them was 3.29 ± 1.41) and 7.87 ± 2.20), respectively. 24 (4.0%) were evaluated to have insomnia by Insomnia Severity Index.Logistic regression analyses showed that the depression (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 5.940, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.124–11.292), anxiety (aOR: 4.233, 95% CI: 2.138–8.381), stress (aOR: 2.880, 95% CI: 1.915–4.330) and social support (aOR: 0.959, 95% CI: 0.939–0.980) have a significant effect on sleep quality after adjusted by sex, age, smoking status, drinking status, caffeine intake, past shift working and circadian rhythm type. @*Conclusions@#Depression, anxiety, stress and social support were associated with sleep quality among pre-employed firefighters. Repeated follow-up studies of pre-employed firefighters are needed to further assess their change of sleep quality and identify the FSJRF that may affect the sleep quality of firefighters.
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Objectives@#This study was conducted to determine the incidence and risk factors of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in farmers compared to the general population and to establish 5-year prediction models. @*Methods@#The farmer cohort and the control cohort were generated using the customized database of the National Health Insurance Service of Korea database and the National Sample Cohort, respectively. The participants were followed from the day of the index general health examination until the events of MI, stroke, or death (up to 5 years). @*Results@#In total, 734 744 participants from the farmer cohort and 238 311 from the control cohort aged between 40 and 70 were included. The age-adjusted incidence of MI was 0.766 and 0.585 per 1000 person-years in the farmer and control cohorts, respectively. That of stroke was 0.559 and 0.321 per 1000 person-years in both cohorts, respectively. In farmers, the risk factors for MI included male sex, age, personal history of hypertension, diabetes, current smoking, creatinine, metabolic syndrome components (blood pressure, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). Those for stroke included male sex, age, personal history of hypertension, diabetes, current smoking, high γ-glutamyl transferase, and metabolic syndrome components (blood pressure, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). The prediction model showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.735 and 0.760 for MI and stroke, respectively, in the farmer cohort. @*Conclusions@#Farmers had a higher age-adjusted incidence of MI and stroke. They also showed distinct patterns in cardiovascular risk factors compared to the general population.
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BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) has a negative impact on self-image and decrease in quality of life. However, relatively few men have sought treatment for AGA. Improvement in treatment willingness is important for maintaining long-term management in patients with AGA. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify the prevalence of patients' perception of hair loss and evaluate various factors that affect the treatment willingness in patients with AGA. METHODS: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey of 503 patients with AGA (329 men, 174 women). We collected the various demographic data, family history of AGA, history of past treatment, self-perception of hair loss and treatment willingness using structured questionnaires. Then, we provided the knowledge about AGA to the half of subjects and compared the treatment willingness between educated group and nond-educated group. RESULTS: Two-hundred and forty-seven out of 503 patients (49.1%) did not have illness perception and 262 out of 503 patients (52.1%) did not have treatment willingness in future. The patients with perception of hair loss, accurate information on hair loss and severe hair loss showed 1.745-fold, 1.700-fold, and 2.078-fold higher tendency of receiving treatment in future. CONCLUSION: Our findings imply that patients with perception and greater understanding of AGA tend to pursue treatment for AGA. Thus, these elements should be taken into account when treating patients. In addition, emphasis on education is needed to increase public awareness of the AGA.
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Humans , Male , Alopecia , Cross-Sectional Studies , Education , Hair , Prevalence , Quality of Life , Self ConceptABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Variations in barrier- or immune response-related genes are closely related to the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). This study was designed to identify genetic variations and clinical features to predict ‘recalcitrant AD.’ METHODS: AD patients were classified as treatable and recalcitrant. Treatable AD patients showed satisfactory clinical improvement with basic and topical treatments. Recalcitrant AD patients used systemic immune-suppressants for over 4 weeks as they had not shown clinical improvement with basic and topical treatments. The frequency of gene variations in barrier- (FLG 3321delA, FLG K4022X, KLK7, SPINK 1156, SPINK 1188, SPINK 2475) and immune response- (DEFB1, KDR, IL-5RA, IL-9, and IL-12RB1a, b) related genes were compared between each AD group and the controls. RESULTS: Of all, 249 treatable AD and 32 recalcitrant AD were identified. Heterozygous mutations (Hetero) in KLK7 was more frequent in recalcitrant AD patients than treatable AD, without statistical significance. Hetero in DEFB1 was more frequent in treatable AD patients. However, no other significant genetic differences between treatable and recalcitrant AD was observed. Instead, higher initial Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI) score, serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) level, allergen specific IgE for house dust mites, and family history of atopic diseases were associated with recalcitrant AD with statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: According to our study, no genetic variation to predict recalcitrant AD was identified, suggesting that clinical manifestation, rather than genetic variations of AD patients is more likely to be an important factor in predicting the prognosis of AD. Further large-scale studies on the correlation between genetic variation and recalcitrant AD are needed.
Subject(s)
Humans , Dermatitis, Atopic , Eczema , Genetic Variation , Immunoglobulin E , Immunoglobulins , Interleukin-9 , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Prognosis , PyroglyphidaeABSTRACT
Vulvar vestibular papillomatosis (VVP) is a benign condition that can be viewed as the female equivalent of male pearly penile papules. Clinically, VVP is quite often misdiagnosed as condyloma acuminatum. As opposed to condyloma, VVP lesions arise from a distinct mucosal base, match the color of the surrounding mucosa, show symmetrical distribution, and are limited to the inner aspect of the labia minora. Although VVP is quite well known in the gynecological field, this disease entity is not commonly recognized in dermatology settings. Furthermore, a literature search for VVP revealed only nine reports in dermatological journals including one report from Korea. Therefore, through our report we wish to create awareness among dermatologists regarding the occurrence of this frequent but often ignored entity. Recognizing and understanding that papillomatosis of the vulvar vestibule is a normal variant will help dermatologists to avoid incorrect diagnosis and repeated unnecessary treatment.
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Female , Humans , Male , Dermatology , Diagnosis , Korea , Mucous Membrane , PapillomaABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A variety of agents have been used to treat female pattern hair loss (FPHL), including topical minoxidil, topical 17α-estradiol, oral anti-androgen agents, and mineral supplements. Compared with these single agent regimens, combination therapies could be a better therapeutic option in expectation of superior treatment outcome. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the efficacy of a combination therapy consisting of topical 0.025% 17α-estradiol and 3% minoxidil in Korean patients with FPHL. METHODS: Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated in 34 women who applied topical 0.025% 17α-estradiol and 3% minoxidil once daily for more than 6 months. Phototrichogram analysis was performed before and after therapy. The efficacy was evaluated with respect to total hair count, hair caliber (as assessed by phototrichogram analysis), and photographic assessment. RESULTS: Total hair count and hair caliber both increased from baseline to 6 months in patients treated with the combination therapy of topical 0.025% 17α-estradiol and 3% minoxidil (p<0.001). Photographic assessment also revealed significant disease improvement, thus supporting the therapeutic efficacy. CONCLUSION: A combination therapy consisting of topical 0.025% 17α-estradiol and 3% minoxidil can be tried as an effective treatment for FPHL.