Abstract Postpartum depression is common; however, little is known about its relationship to social support and postpartum depression. This study examined the association between them among South Korean women within one year of childbirth. This study was based on the 2016 Korean Study of Women’s Health-Related Issues (K-Stori), a cross-sectional survey employing nationally-representative random sampling. Participants were 1,654 postpartum women within a year of giving birth. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were conducted to analyze the associations between social support (and other covariates) and postpartum depression. Among participants, 266 (16.1%) had postpartum depression. Depending on the level of social support, 6.0%, 53.9%, and 40.1% of them had low, moderate, and high social support, respectively. Women with moderate or low social support were more likely to have postpartum depression (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.26–2.53; OR = 2.76, 95% CI = 1.56–4.89). This trend was observed in participants with multiparity, pregnancy loss, obese body image, and employed women. Social support was associated with a decreased likelihood of postpartum depression, indicating the importance of social support, especially for women experiencing multiparity, pregnancy loss, negative body image, as well as for employed women.
Abstract Background Breast density and microcalcifications are strongly associated with the risk of breast cancer. However, few studies have evaluated the combined association between these two factors and breast cancer risk. We investigated the association between breast density, microcalcifications, and risk of breast cancer. Methods This cohort study included 3,910,815 women aged 40–74 years who were screened for breast cancer between 2009 and 2010 and followed up until 2020. The National Health Insurance Service database includes national health-screening results from the national breast cancer screening program, which is an organized screening program provided every 2 years for all women aged 40 years or older. Breast density was assessed based on the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) 4 th edition, mostly through visual assessment by radiologists. The presence or absence of microcalcifications was obtained from the mammographic results. Cox proportional hazard regression for breast cancer risk was used to estimate hazard ratios (aHRs) adjusted for breast cancer risk factors. Results A total of 58,315 women developed breast cancer during a median follow-up of 10.8 years. Women with breast cancer had a higher proportion of microcalcifications than women without breast cancer (0.9% vs. 0.3%). After adjusting for breast density, women with microcalcification had a 3.07-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.82–3.35) increased risk of breast cancer compared to women without microcalcification. The combined association between microcalcification and breast density dramatically increased the risk of breast cancer, corresponding to a higher level of breast density. Among postmenopausal women, the highest risk group was women with BI-RADS 4 and microcalcification. These women had more than a sevenfold higher risk than women with BI-RADS 1 and non-microcalcification (aHR, 7.26; 95% CI 5.01–10.53). Conclusion Microcalcification is an independent risk factor for breast cancer, and its risk is elevated when combined with breast density.
Measures to address gender-specific health issues are essential due to fundamental, biological differences between the sexes. Studies have increasingly stressed the importance of customizing approaches directed at women's health issues according to stages in the female life cycle. In Korea, however, gender-specific studies on issues affecting Korean women in relation to stages in their life cycle are lacking. Accordingly, the Korean Study of Women's Health-Related Issues (K-Stori) was designed to investigate life cycle-specific health issues among women, covering health status, awareness, and risk perceptions. K-Stori was conducted as a nationwide cross-sectional survey targeting Korean women aged 14–79 years. Per each stage in the female life cycle (adolescence, childbearing age, pregnancy & postpartum, menopause, and older adult stage), 3000 women (total 15,000) were recruited by stratified multistage random sampling for geographic area based on the 2010 Resident Registration Population in Korea. Specialized questionnaires per each stage (total of five) were developed in consultation with multidisciplinary experts and by reflecting upon current interests into health among the general population of women in Korea. This survey was conducted from April 1 to June 31, 2016, at which time investigators from a professional research agency went door-to-door to recruit residents and conducted in-person interviews. The study's findings may help with elucidating health issues and unmet needs specific to each stage in the life cycle of Korean women that have yet to be identified in present surveys.
Abstract Knowing mean age at diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) in a country is important to set up an efficient BC screening program. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a model to predict mean age at diagnosis of BC at the level of a country. To develop the model, we used the CI5plus database from IARC, which contains incidence data for 122 selected populations for a minimum of 15 consecutive years 1993–2012. The standard model was fitted with a generalized linear model with age of population as fixed effect and continent as random effect. The model was validated on registries of the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents that are not included in the CI5plus database. The intercept of the model was 44.5 (41.8–47.2) and the regression coefficient for age population was 0.35 (95% CI: 0.33–0.37, p < 0.001). The marginal R 2 and conditional R 2 were respectively 0.159 and 0.69, suggesting that 69% percent of the variance of the mean age at diagnosis of BC was explained by the variance of continent-based population ageing through their linear relationship. The model was highly exportable as the correlation between predicted from the model and observed mean age at diagnosis of BC in registries not included in the CI5plus database was 0.87. We developed a robust model based on population age and continent to predict mean age at diagnosis of BC in populations. This tool could be used to implement BC screening in countries without prevention program.
Communicating the harms and benefits of thyroid screening is necessary to help individuals decide on whether or not to undergo thyroid cancer screening. This study was conducted to assess changes in thyroid cancer screening intention in response to receiving information about overdiagnosis and to determine factors with the greatest influence thereon.Data were acquired from subjects included in the 2013 Korean National Cancer Screening Survey (KNCSS), a nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional survey. Of the 4,100 respondents in the 2013 KNCSS, women were randomly subsampled and an additional face-to-face interview was conducted. Finally, a total of 586 female subjects were included in this study. Intention to undergo thyroid cancer screening was assessed before and after receiving information on overdiagnosis.Prior awareness of overdiagnosis in thyroid cancer screening was 27.8%. The majority of subjects intended to undergo thyroid cancer screening before and after receiving information on overdiagnosis (87% and 74%, respectively). Only a small number of subjects changed their intention to undergo thyroid cancer screening from positive to negative after receiving information on overdiagnosis. Women of higher education level and Medical Aid Program recipients reported being significantly more likely to change their intention to undergo thyroid cancer screening afterreceiving information on overdiagnosis,whilewomen with stronger beliefs on the efficacy of cancer screening were less likely to change their intention.Women in Korea appeared to be less concerned about overdiagnosis when deciding whether or not to undergo thyroid cancer screening.
The Korean Atomic Bomb Survivor Cohort (K-ABC) study was designed to investigate the health impacts of atomic bomb exposure on Korean survivors and to explore whether these effects are passed down genetically to their descendants. This paper outlines the study's design, data collection methods, baseline sociodemographic characteristics, exposure status, and disease prevalence among the participants, based on survey responses and health examinations. From 2020 to 2024, a total of 2,544 individuals, comprising 1,109 atomic bomb survivors (G1), 1,193 children of G1 (G2), and 242 grandchildren of G1 (G3), consented to participate in the study. Of these, 1,828 participants (659 in G1, 927 in G2, and 242 in G3) completed the survey and underwent health examinations, representing a participation rate of 71.9%. Exposure information was gathered using a questionnaire and verified through records from the Korean Red Cross and a handbook issued by the Japanese government. Disease prevalence was determined based on participants' self-reported physician diagnoses. This study presents details about the K-ABC study and provides baseline data on the participants recruited. These data will be valuable for interpreting the results of future K-ABC studies.
Objective: The present study is to analyze Korean facial dimensions and select facial key dimension candidates for establishing a sizing system of face wearable products such as dust mask and oxygen mask. Background: An anthropometric sizing system accommodating different facial characteristics of the target population can contribute to improving usability of the face wearable product. Method: Facial key dimension candidates were selected by correlation analysis among 19 facial dimensions. Korean facial sizes measured by KATS (2004, 2010) and Lee et al. (2013) were compared to Chinese facial sizes measured by Du et al. (2008) to each facial key dimension candidate. Results: Face length, bitragion breadth, bitragion-subnasale arc, and bitragion-pronasale arc were selected as facial key dimension candidates. The face length of Korean was 6.6 mm longer compared to that for Chinese; the bitragion-subnasale arc 17.4 mm shorter. Conclusion: The present study proposed four facial key dimensions for Korean face wearable product sizing systems. Found that Korean have longer face length and lower cheekbones compared to Chinese. Application: The facial key dimension and corresponding analysis result can be applied to design for sizing system of Korean facial wearable products.
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