This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women. We searched for qualified studies in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. The clinical characteristics of pregnant women with COVID-19 and their infants were reported as means and proportions with 95% confidence interval. Eleven studies involving with 9032 pregnant women with COVID-19 and 338 infants were included in the meta-analysis. Pregnant women with COVID-19 have relatively mild symptoms. However, abnormal proportions of laboratory parameters were similar or even increased, compared to general population. Around 30% of pregnant women with COVID-19 experienced preterm delivery, whereas the mean birth weight was 2855.9 g. Fetal death and detection of SARS-CoV-2 were observed in about 2%, whereas neonatal death was found to be 0.4%. In conclusion, the current review will serve as an ideal basis for future considerations in the treatment and management of COVID-19 in pregnant women.

Long work hours and precarious employment status were associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring and addressing the vulnerable groups of employees to reduce the mental health burden of economically active individuals.

Three of ten teenagers in Korea are addicted to mobile phones. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between mobile phone addiction and the incidence of poor sleep quality and short sleep duration in adolescents. We used longitudinal data from the Korean Children & Youth Panel Survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute in Korea (2011–2013). A total of 1,125 students at baseline were included in this study after excluding those who already had poor sleep quality or short sleep duration in the previous year. A generalized estimating equation was used to analyze the data. High mobile phone addiction (mobile phone addiction score > 20) increased the risk of poor sleep quality but not short sleep duration. We suggest that consistent monitoring and effective intervention programs are required to prevent mobile phone addiction and improve adolescents' sleep quality.

ObjectivesCatastrophic health expenditure (CHE) means that the medical spending of a household exceeds a certain level of capacity to pay. Previous studies of CHE have focused on benefits supported by the public sector or high medical cost incurred by treating diseases in South Korea. This study examines variance of CHE in these households according to changes in employment status. We also determine whether a relationship exists according to income level.DesignA longitudinal study.SettingWe used the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) conducted by the Korea Institute.ParticipantsThe data came from 5335 households during 2009–2012.Outcome measureCHE, defined as health expenditures that were 40% greater than the ability of the household to pay.ResultsHouseholds with people who experienced changes in job status from employed to unemployed (OR 2.79, 95% CI 2.06 to 3.78) or were unemployed with no status change (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.28 to 1.92) were more likely to incur CHE than those containing people who were consistently employed. In addition, low-income families with members who had either lost a job (OR 3.52, 95% CI 2.44 to 5.10) or were already unemployed (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.16) were more likely to incur CHE than those with family members with a consistent job.ConclusionsGiven the insecure employment status of people with low income, they are more likely to face barriers in obtaining needed health services. Meeting their healthcare needs is an important consideration.

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This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women. We searched for qualified studies in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. The clinical characteristics of pregnant women with COVID-19 and their infants were reported as means and proportions with 95% confidence interval (CI). Nine studies involving with 93 pregnant women with COVID-19 and 103 infants were included in the meta-analysis. Pregnant women with COVID-19 have relatively mild symptoms. However, abnormal proportions of laboratory parameters were similar or even increased, compared to general population. Around 30% of pregnant women with COVID-19 experienced preterm delivery, whereas the mean birth weight was 3214.7g. Fetal death, severe neonatal asphyxia, and detection of SARS-CoV-2 were observed in about 2%, whereas no neonatal death was found. In conclusion, the current review will serve as an ideal basis for future considerations in the treatment and management of COVID-19 in pregnant women.

BackgroundNight and shift work status has been associated with health related quality of life (HRQoL) in economically active women. This study aimed to investigate the association between night or shift work status and HRQoL of economically active women and to further analyze how marital status interplays in the objected relationship.MethodsData were from the Korea Health Panel, 2011 to 2013. A total of 2238 working women were included for analysis. Work status was categorized into day work, night work, and rotating shift work and its association with HRQoL, measured using the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) index, was investigated using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) model.ResultsCompared to the day work reference group, the night work group (β: −0.9757, P = 0.0202) and the rotating shift work group (β: −0.7947, P = 0.0363) showed decreases in EQ-5D scores. This trend was maintained regardless of marital status, although decreases in health related quality of life were particularly pronounced among night shift workers with a spouse.ConclusionNight and rotating shift work status was associated with HRQoL of economically active women as individuals working night and rotating shifts showed decreases in EQ-5D scores compared to individuals working day shifts. The findings of this study signify the importance of monitoring the HRQoL status of women working night and rotating shifts as these individuals may be comparatively vulnerable to reduced HRQoL.

BackgroundMany studies have assessed the volume-outcome relationship in cancer patients, but most focused on better outcomes in higher volume groups rather than identifying a specific threshold that could assist in clinical decision-making for achieving the best outcomes. The current study suggests an optimal volume for achieving good outcome, as an extension of previous studies on the volume-outcome relationship in stomach cancer patients.MethodsWe used National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) Sampling Cohort data during 2004–2013, comprising healthcare claims for 2550 patients with newly diagnosed stomach cancer. We conducted survival analyses adopting the Cox proportional hazard model to investigate the association of three threshold values for surgical volume of stomach cancer patients for cancer-specific mortality using the Youden index.ResultsOverall, 17.10% of patients died due to cancer during the study period. The risk of mortality among patients who received surgical treatment gradually decreased with increasing surgical volume at the hospital, while the risk of mortality increased again in “high” surgical volume hospitals, resulting in a j-shaped curve (mid-low = hazard ratio (HR) 0.773, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.608–0.983; mid-high = HR 0.541, 95% CI 0.372–0.788; high = HR 0.659, 95% CI 0.473–0.917; ref = low). These associations were especially significant in regions with unsubstantial surgical volumes and less severe cases.ConclusionThe optimal surgical volume threshold was about 727.3 surgical cases for stomach cancer per hospital over the 1-year study period in South Korea. However, such positive effects decreased after exceeding a certain volume of surgeries.