ABSTRACT
Researchers have been interested in probing how the environmental factors associated with allergic diseases affect the use of medical services. Considering this demand, we have constructed a database, named the Allergic Disease Database, based on the National Health Insurance Database (NHID). The NHID contains information on demographic and medical service utilization for approximately 99% of the Korean population. This study targeted 3 major allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and asthma. For the target diseases, our database provides daily medical service information, including the number of daily visits from 2013 and 2017, categorized by patients’ characteristics such as address, sex, age, and duration of residence. We provide additional information, including yearly population, a number of patients, and averaged geocoding coordinates by eup, myeon, and dong district code (the smallest-scale administrative units in Korea). This information enables researchers to analyze how daily changes in the environmental factors of allergic diseases (e.g., particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and ozone) in certain regions would influence patients’ behavioral patterns of medical service utilization. Moreover, researchers can analyze long-term trends in allergic diseases and the health effects caused by environmental factors such as daily climate and pollution data. The advantages of this database are easy access to data, additional levels of geographic detail, time-efficient data-refining and processing, and a de-identification process that minimizes the exposure of identifiable personal information. All datasets included in the Allergic Disease Database can be downloaded by accessing the National Health Insurance Service data sharing webpage (https:/hiss.nhis.or.kr).
ABSTRACT
Researchers have been interested in probing how the environmental factors associated with allergic diseases affect the use of medical services. Considering this demand, we have constructed a database, named the Allergic Disease Database, based on the National Health Insurance Database (NHID). The NHID contains information on demographic and medical service utilization for approximately 99% of the Korean population. This study targeted 3 major allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and asthma. For the target diseases, our database provides daily medical service information, including the number of daily visits from 2013 and 2017, categorized by patients’ characteristics such as address, sex, age, and duration of residence. We provide additional information, including yearly population, a number of patients, and averaged geocoding coordinates by eup, myeon, and dong district code (the smallest-scale administrative units in Korea). This information enables researchers to analyze how daily changes in the environmental factors of allergic diseases (e.g., particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and ozone) in certain regions would influence patients’ behavioral patterns of medical service utilization. Moreover, researchers can analyze long-term trends in allergic diseases and the health effects caused by environmental factors such as daily climate and pollution data. The advantages of this database are easy access to data, additional levels of geographic detail, time-efficient data-refining and processing, and a de-identification process that minimizes the exposure of identifiable personal information. All datasets included in the Allergic Disease Database can be downloaded by accessing the National Health Insurance Service data sharing webpage (https:/hiss.nhis.or.kr).
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#In this study, we investigated whether the antigenic changes of the virus-like particles (VLPs) are affected by the temperature during storage. @*Materials and Methods@#After exposing the recombinant influenza VLPs to various temperatures for a period, antigenic changes were examined through in vitro hemagglutination receptor binding assay and in vivo mouse experiments. @*Results@#Influenza VLPs were exposed at three different temperatures of low, middle, and high on a thermo-hygrostat. High temperature exposed influenza VLPs were showed significantly reduced HA activity and immunogenicity after mouse single immunization over time compared low and middle. When the VLPs exposed to the high temperature were inoculated once in the mice, it was found that the immunogenicity was significantly reduced compared to the VLPs exposed to the low temperature. However, these differences were almost neglected when mice were inoculated twice even with VLPs exposed to high temperatures. @*Conclusion@#This study suggests that similar protective effects can be expected by controlling the number of vaccination and storage conditions, although the antigenic change in the VLP vaccines occurred when exposed to high temperature.
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#In this study, we investigated whether the antigenic changes of the virus-like particles (VLPs) are affected by the temperature during storage. @*Materials and Methods@#After exposing the recombinant influenza VLPs to various temperatures for a period, antigenic changes were examined through in vitro hemagglutination receptor binding assay and in vivo mouse experiments. @*Results@#Influenza VLPs were exposed at three different temperatures of low, middle, and high on a thermo-hygrostat. High temperature exposed influenza VLPs were showed significantly reduced HA activity and immunogenicity after mouse single immunization over time compared low and middle. When the VLPs exposed to the high temperature were inoculated once in the mice, it was found that the immunogenicity was significantly reduced compared to the VLPs exposed to the low temperature. However, these differences were almost neglected when mice were inoculated twice even with VLPs exposed to high temperatures. @*Conclusion@#This study suggests that similar protective effects can be expected by controlling the number of vaccination and storage conditions, although the antigenic change in the VLP vaccines occurred when exposed to high temperature.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It is recommend that health-related quality of life (HRQL) should be measured as well as conventional clinical indices in order to obtain a complete picture of a patient's health status. In patients with bronchial asthma, frequent symptoms and management related burdens may result in reduced HRQL. In Korea, asthma-specific quality of life (QOL) questionnaire has been developed and broadly applied in clinical practice. But little is known about the impact of asthma on generic HRQL. In this study, we evaluated the generic HRQL in adult asthmatic patients by using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). METHODS: Two-hundred three subjects with age over 40 years were enrolled in this study; 77 hospital out-patients with asthma, 63 with stable ischemic heart disease (IHD), 26 hospitalized patients with unstable IHD such as unstable angina or acute myocardial infarct (MI), and 37 healthy controls. All subjects were asked to answer the NHP by self-administration method. The NHP was composed of two parts. Part I consisted of 38 items in six domains and part II 7 items. Six domains of part I were physical mobility (8 items), pain (8 items), social isolation (5 items), emotional reaction (9 items), energy level (3 items) and sleep (5 items). RESULTS: Although patients with unstable IHD had most significant problems in all area of the NHP part I and II, bronchial asthmatics had similar or more restriction to patients with stable IHD. Patients with asthma also had significantly more problems of generic HRQL than healthy controls. Patients with more severe asthma suffered from more pain and loss of energy than mild asthmatics. In similar severity of asthma, patients with lower economic state had more restriction, especially in pain and emotional reaction. Patients with asthma experienced difficulties with daily activities in the NHP part II in order of holidays, work, home relationships, homework, hobbies, social life, sex life, and had more problems with their home work and home relationships than patients with stable IHD. CONCLUSION: Patients with bronchial asthma had similar or more restriction to patients with stable IHD in generic HRQL. To improve outcome measurement of asthma treatment, generic HRQL should be measured as well as asthma-specific QOL and clinical indices.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Angina, Unstable , Asthma , Hobbies , Holidays , Korea , Myocardial Infarction , Myocardial Ischemia , Outpatients , Quality of Life , Social Isolation , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a major cause of death in premature neonates, and it is caused by the failure of morphological and biochemical lung maturation (synthesis and secretion of lung surfactant). It is known that cortisol, thyroxine, prolactin, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and estrogen accelerate the lung maturation. Cortisol and thyroxine are currently used in the antenatal treatment for the prevention of RDS in premature neonates. In order to evaluate the effect of EGF on the levels of cortsol, thyroxine, and prolactin, this study was undertaken. Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) with and without EGF was directly injected into the 25 days gestational fetus in uterus. Blood was collected for the measurement of cortisol, thyroxine, and prolactin one day or two days after the injection. Body weights and lung weights were also measured. The results were as follows: 1. There was no significant difference in body weights and lung weights between PBS-treated group(control group) and EGF-treated poup(experimental group), 24 hours and 48 hours after the injection. 2. 24 hours after the injection, the levels of cortisol were significantly inaeased in the EGF-treated group compared with those in the PBS-treated group. However 48 hours after the injection, there was no significant difference in the levels of cortisol between the two groups. The levels of thyroxine and prolactin in the EGF-treated group did not significantly differ from those in the PBS-treated group 24 hours and 48 hours after the injection. In conclusion, in vivo, the synthesis of cortisol may be affected by EGF treatment, which suggests that the action of EGF for lung maturation may be partially mediated by the increased endogenous levels of cortisol.