Hwan Cheol Kim

This study investigated whether the association between household air pollution (HAP) and nutritional status (stunting, underweight, or wasting) among children differ by caste/ethnicity. Child anthropometry data for 9,914 children aged 0-59 months were analyzed linearly as Z scores and as dichotomous categories. Exposure to HAP was significantly as...

Background In Korea, several household humidifier disinfectants (HDs) were clinically confirmed to cause HD-associated lung injury (HDLI). Polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) phosphate is the main ingredient of the HDs found to be associated with lung disease. However, the association of HDs with other interstitial lung disease including idiopathic...

This study was undertaken to investigate the associations between chronic exposure to particulate matter of medium aerodynamic diameter ≤10 or ≤2.5 µm (PM10 or PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels and lung function and to examine a possible change in these relationships by demographic and lifestyle factors. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...

Depression is a leading cause of reduced work ability and absence due to sickness. The objective of this study was to investigate how depressive symptoms are prospectively associated with subsequent absence, whether caused by illness or accidents, among manufacturing workers. This prospective study was conducted on 2,349 male and female employees t...

Background Birth defects are a leading cause of neonatal and infant mortality, and several studies have indicated an increase in the prevalence of birth defects; more recent investigations have suggested that the trends of some defects are increasing in rapidly industrialized areas. This study estimates the prevalence rate and types of birth defect...

Childhood undernutrition remains a highly influential risk factor in terms of the global burden of disease. Increasing evidence links infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices to undernutrition. However, the results are inconsistent, and more country-specific studies are needed. To determine the associations between IYCF practices and nutriti...

This study evaluated the relationship of living near to main roads to allergic diseases, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), allergic sensitization, and lung function in Korean children. A total of 5,443 children aged 6-14 years from 33 elementary schools in 10 cities during 2005-2006 were included in a baseline survey of the Children's Health and En...

Objectives Air pollution contributes to mortality and morbidity. We estimated the impact of outdoor air pollution on public health in Seoul metropolitan area, Korea. Attributable cases of morbidity and mortality were estimated. Methods Epidemiology-based exposure-response functions for a 10 μg/m3 increase in particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) wer...

Background This paper describes the background, aim, and design of a prospective birth-cohort study in Korea called the COhort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases (COCOA). COCOA objectives are to investigate the individual and interactive effects of genetics, perinatal environment, maternal lifestyle, and psychosocial stress of mot...

[This corrects the article on p. e2013008 in vol. 28, PMID: 23882448.].

Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Korea for the last 30 years. Cancer patients' 5-year survival rate between 2005 and 2009 was 62.0%, representing a highly advanced standard of care, as much as developed countries in the EU and the US. The Korean government formulated its first 10-year plan for cancer control in 1996 and has been carryi...

The prevalence of asthma has increased in recent decades globally. The objective of the present study is to elucidate whether hospitalization for bronchiolitis in infancy and low socioeconomic status interact for bronchial hyperreactivity during teenage years. We studied 522 children age 13-14 years attending schools in rural and urban areas to inv...