To identify the association between residential environmental risk factors and the prevalence of childhood asthma, the authors surveyed the prevalence of asthma, the residential environmental risk factors of 1819 elementary school students, and air pollution in metropolitan (Seongbuk), and semirural (Andong) areas. Although there was no significant difference in the prevalence of self-reported asthma (SA) between the 2 geographic areas (12.8% vs 13.6%), the prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma (PDA) in Andong (15.0%) was significantly higher than that in Seongbuk (6.8%). After adjusting for confounding factors, logistic regression suggested that there were significant differences in size of the house (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.82), medical insurance (aOR = 2.59), and number of residents in the household (aOR = 1.54) between the SA and non-SA groups. There was a significant difference in the area of residence (aOR = 2.12) between the PDA and non-PDA groups. In conclusion, residential environmental risk factors and the area of residence affect the prevalence of childhood asthma.
A tailored health promotion program was developed and applied to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors among middle-aged and advanced-age bus drivers. The participants were 248 bus drivers from 2 transportation companies, in whom the authors surveyed health behaviors (physical activity, diet, smoking habit, and alcohol consumption), health status (body mass index, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein), and job stress. The tailored health promotion program consisted of exercise, diet, temperance, and smoking cessation education; the program was developed to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors and was administered for 6 months. After the program, health behaviors, such as physical activity, dietary habits, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption, and health status indicators, such as blood pressure, had significantly improved (P < .05). The authors did not find an association between job stress and health behavior and status. This suggests that a tailored health promotion program for middle-aged and advanced-age bus drivers was effective.
The authors developed a stepwise exercise-incentive-based smoking cessation program as one of the workplace health promotion program. The aim of this study is to evaluate the program offered in an electronics company in Korea. A total of 109 electronics company employees were recruited. Participants were surveyed for smoking history, nicotine dependence, and job stress. They received smoking cessation education and were provided with a stepwise fitness center ticket. Of 109 participants, 58 (53.2%) successfully ceased smoking for 3 months. Significant differences between success and fail groups were apparent in cigarettes smoked per day (P = .002) and nicotine dependence score (P = .049). However, there was no significant difference in job stress between success and fail groups. Based on multiple logistic regression analysis, there were no identifiable factors associated with smoking cessation. In conclusion, a stepwise exercise-incentive-based smoking cessation program was highly effective when applied in a workplace setting.
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