Abstract Introduction The SK hynix Employee Cohort (SHE cohort) was launched in 2017 to identify the causes of occupational diseases in the semiconductor industry and to conduct various research activities to promote the health of its members. The SHE cohort is a dynamic cohort with 25,505 participants as of December 2022. Methods In order to prevent occupational diseases in the semiconductor industry and improve the health of employees, SK hynix organized the Committee for Advanced and Sustainable Occupational Health in 2017 and analyzes the prevalence of chronic diseases annually. As a control group for comparison, data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2017 to 2021 were standardized by age and gender to obtain the prevalence rate ratio (PRR), which was analyzed using the empirical quantile method for five-year trends. Results The average PRR for hypertension over the five-year period was 0.49, with an annual percent change(APC) value of -2.44. The mean PRR and APC for diabetes prevalence was 0.78 and 2.30 respectively and the mean PRR and APC for dislipidemia prevalence was 0.66 and 5.53 respectively. The mean PRR for obesity was 0.97 with an APC of -0.49, and the mean PRR for metabolic syndrome was 0.72 with an APC of -1.17. Discussion and conclusion There were no statistically significant trends. For all chronic diseases, a low PRR can be interpreted as a health worker effect. Obesity had a relatively high PRR, which should be considered when prioritizing the allocation of healthcare resources in the workplace.
We have designed a ten-year prospective cohort study in semiconductor workers of South Korea. We aimed to determine the relationship between occupational exposure and not only cancers but also diseases related to reproductive toxicity such as spontaneous abortion and others. Further, we’re planning to establish a monitoring and surveillance system for the known and the unknown hazards like unexpected by-products. We were approved from Korea National Institute for Bioethics Policy (KoNIBP) for cohort establishment in July 2017. We held cohort information session of over two hundred times for entire employees. In these sessions, the employees were encouraged to participate to the cohort study with full explanation related to the establishment of cohort system including the necessity, value, and vision of the system. The consent form was included specific sub-categories depending on the characteristics and source of personal and sensitive information to be used. A total of 22 490 employees were agreed to participate to SHE (SKHynix Employees) cohort (the participation rate: 93 percent) and we built up the foundation of the cohort with these higher rates. Various data included in the consent form, such as personnel information, health examination information, and job exposure matrix (JEM) and others were collected and refined to identify health status of our employees. The cohort was built on the basis of the need of our own healthcare system, and the establishment and the analyses of cohort DB are expected to deduct of the high risk group through tracking and monitoring for risk factors and major diseases. It is also expected proactive prevention through blocking potential risks.
ABSTRACT Background: The present study investigated changes in the trajectories of depressive symptoms in the elderly and attempted to identify risk factors that influence these changes according to gender. Methods: All data were obtained from a subsample of subjects who participated in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing between 2006 and 2012; 3,667 individuals (1,566 men and 2,101 women) aged 60 years and older were included in the present study. A group-based trajectory model was employed to determine the appropriate number of groups and to observe changes in depressive symptoms according to research year. Following the trajectory analysis, a multinomial regression analysis was performed to examine depressive symptom-related risk factors that influenced membership in the different trajectory groups. Results: Significant gender differences were found in the trajectories of depressive symptoms among four groups (normal, mild depressed, worsening, and depressed) in men and five groups (normal, mild depressed, worsening, improving, and depressed) in women. Among the trajectory groups, physical health status such as chronic diseases, self-rated health (SRH), and somatic pain showed statistically significant differences in both genders. In addition, employment in men and social participation in women were associated with the trajectories. Conclusions: The present study suggested that maintaining one's physical health status played an important role in preventing depressive symptoms and that employment in men and social participation in women were preventative against the development of depressive symptoms.
Arthritis, one of the most common chronic diseases among older people, greatly impairs quality of life through a variety of physical and psychological challenges. This study used network analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between the indicators of quality of life in older adults with arthritis depending on duration of disease.
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