Prevalence, Trend, and Risk Factors for Early Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Analysis of the Nationwide Population-Based Survey from 2010 to 2019 in South Korea.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, trends, and risk factors of early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by using a nationally representative sample. The datasets of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2019 were used, where 80,860 individuals were identified; of these, 9,045 participants aged 40-49 years who underwent spirometry with no missing data were analyzed. Early COPD was defined as forced expiratory volume in 1 s /forced vital capacity ratio < the lower limit of normal (2.5th percentile) in individuals aged <50 years without a history of asthma, inhaler therapy, or persistent respiratory symptoms. The prevalence and trend of early COPD were estimated according to features such as smoking status and pack-years. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to analyze the significant annual change in the trend according to sex, smoking status, and pack-years. A complex sample multivariable-adjusted regression model was used to identify factors affecting early COPD. The estimated population size during 2010-2019 was 82,326,178. Early COPD was present in 4.5% of patients (6.5% of men and 2.3% of women). It was present in 7.7% of current smokers, followed by former and never smokers. Among smokers with ≥ 10 pack-years, early COPD was present in 8.2%, whereas it was present in 2.6% of smokers with < 10 pack-years. Joinpoint regression analyses found a recent decrease in the trend of prevalence in males who were former and current smokers. The multivariable-adjusted logistic regression model showed that being male, lower educational level, smoking status, and pack-years were factors that affected the presence of early COPD. Continued surveillance of this pre-disease condition is required, and further research are warrant.

Relationship between occupational injuries and the provision of safety and health information: data from the 4th Korean working conditions survey.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the provision of safety and health information (PSHI) and occupational injuries. METHODS: This study was based on data from the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) (2014). The sample consisted of data from 24,527 wage workers and was divided into high-risk and low-risk groups, depending on the probability of occupational injury. The high-risk group included subjects who could cause harm to themselves or others due to errors during work. We applied chi-squared tests and logistic regression analyses to examine the relationship between PSHI and occupational injuries. RESULTS: In the high-risk group, workers with no PSHI showed an adjusted odds ratio of 1.81 for occupational injury (95% CI 1.33-2.47). In contrast, there was no statistically significant relationship between PSHI and the incidence of occupational injury in the low-risk group. CONCLUSIONS: To prevent occupational injuries, multi-faceted approaches that take different levels of injury risk into account are needed. Among workers with a high risk of occupational injury, more a stringent safety education program is required.

Nationwide firefighter survey: the prevalence of lower back pain and its related psychological factors among Korean firefighters.

The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of lower back pain (LBP) and clarify the effect of work-related psychological factors on LBP. Nationwide survey data collected from male Korean firefighters (FIFS) were used. To identify the risk factors (work-related psychological factors such as job stress and depression) affecting LBP, the χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of LBP was 19.3% and was highest in the emergency medical service (31.8%) part of FF job types. Within job stress, an uncomfortable physical environment, high mental job demand and organizational injustice were associated with LBP. However, inadequate social support inversely associated with LBP. Depression and high-risk alcohol drinking were related to LBP. LBP was closely related to job stress, depression and alcohol intake. Proper interventions of psychological factors should therefore be addressed to control LBP in FIFS.