A 5-Year Analysis of Aviation Medical Examinations in South Korea.

INTRODUCTION: Little has been studied to promote aviation health in South Korea. The aim of this study was to analyze the results of aviation medical examinations conducted in South Korea over the past 5 yr and, in doing so, provide evidence for establishing a health promotion, disease prevention plan.METHODS: Subjects of the study consisted of applicants who underwent aviation medical examinations from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020.RESULTS: Over the past 5 yr, the total number of aviation medical examinations in South Korea has shown an annual increase of more than 10%. In the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of aviation medical examinations, both renewal and initial, for all types of licenses, except renewal aviation medical examinations for the ATCL, decreased. Disqualification rates were generally higher in initial examinations than in renewal examinations. The examination results for license renewal showed the ATPL disqualification rate to be the highest at 3.5 per 1000 pilots per year in their 50s, with cardiology cases being the most common reason for disqualification, followed by ophthalmology cases and psychiatry cases. Diagnostic categories for those disqualified after initial aviation medical examinations were similar, though ophthalmological causes were most common, followed by cases of psychiatry and neurology.CONCLUSION: Main causes of disqualification in airmen and air traffic controllers were identified as the presence of cardiovascular, ophthalmic, and psychiatric diseases. The results of this study provide evidence for improving health promotion activity plans to manage risk factors of such diseases for aviation workers.Kim JS, Han BS, Kwon YH, Lim J. A 5-yr analysis of aviation medical examinations in South Korea. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2022; 93(6):499-506.

A Comparative Study of the Epidemiological Aspects of Legionnaires' Disease: Outbreaks in Korea and Japan, 2010 - 2014.

BACKGROUND: In the present study, we compared the epidemiological aspects of Legionnaire' disease (LD) outbreaks in Korea and Japan by analyzing the current state from 2010 to 2014. METHODS: The following factors were analyzed: nationwide cumulative incidence rate (CIR) per 100,000 populations and case-fatality rate in percentage, epidemiological aspects (i.e., case related to gender), male to female morbidity ratio (MFMR), age, seasonality and habitat distribution of LD cases. RESULTS: In total, there were 134 cases of LD with the CIR of 0.05 per 100,000 populations in Korea from 2010 to 2014. During the same period in Japan, there were 4,840 cases of LD with a CIR of 0.76 per 100,000 populations. The CIR in Japan was significantly higher than that in Korea. However, the case-fatality rates were at similar levels (3.0% vs. 5.9%). Moreover, LD affects both sexes differently, accounting for 2.05 and 4.41 of MFMR in Korea and Japan, respectively. In both countries, the incidence mainly occurred among people aged 40 years or older, and peaked in summer (37.3% vs. 33.7% of total cases). Significant differences were observed in the incidence of LD cases between the capital city and county areas in both two countries. These differences in LD risk factors reflect the different influences of reservoir/host with natural or artificial aquatic environments. CONCLUSION: This study provides a quantitative analysis of the epidemiological aspects and risk factors of LD outbreaks in Korea and Japan. We hope this study would be helpful for providing insight on effective future strategies to reduce LD outbreaks.