Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2017
Mean Hand Grip Strength and Cut-off Value for Sarcopenia in Korean Adults Using KNHANES VI.
The purpose of this study was to report age- and gender-specific distribution of the hand grip strength (HGS) using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) VI-3 (2015) survey and determine cut-off values for low muscle strength of HGS of Koreans. Of a total of 7,380 participants, 4,553 were subjected to measurements of HGS, including 1,997 men and 2,556 women with a mean age of 49.3 years (range, 19-80 years). The mean ages of men and women were 49.0 and 49.5 years, respectively. ⋯ It was then decreased after 39 years. The cut-off values of HGS in male and female elderly healthy populations were 28.6 and 16.4 kg, respectively. These data might be used as reference values when evaluating sarcopenia and assessing hand injuries.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2017
EditorialManuscript Submission Invitations from 'Predatory Journals': What Should Authors Do?
Press freedom and worldwide internet access have opened ample opportunity for a staggering number of poor open access journals and junk publishers to emerge. Dubious publishers are abusing and camouflaging the golden open access model. ⋯ Publishing in predatory journals is continuing to be a major threat for the development of science in developing countries. The authors of this article proposed solutions and outline a fresh perspective to help authors avoid publishing in predatory journals.
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This article highlights the issue of wasteful publishing practices that primarily affect non-mainstream science countries and rapidly growing academic disciplines. Numerous start-up open access publishers with soft or nonexistent quality checks and huge commercial interests have created a global crisis in the publishing market. Their publishing practices have been thoroughly examined, leading to the blacklisting of many journals by Jeffrey Beall. ⋯ Unethical editing agencies that promote their services in non-mainstream science countries create more problems for inexperienced authors. It is suggested to regularly monitor the quality of already indexed journals and upgrade criteria of covering new sources by the Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science), Scopus, and specialist bibliographic databases. Regional awareness campaigns to inform stakeholders of science communication about the importance of ethical writing, transparency of editing services, and permanent archiving can be also helpful for eradicating unethical publishing practices.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2017
ReviewTowards Actualizing the Value Potential of Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) Data as a Resource for Health Research: Strengths, Limitations, Applications, and Strategies for Optimal Use of HIRA Data.
Health Insurance and Review Assessment (HIRA) in South Korea, also called National Health Insurance (NHI) data, is a repository of claims data collected in the process of reimbursing healthcare providers. Under the universal coverage system, having fee-for-services covering all citizens in South Korea, HIRA contains comprehensive and rich information pertaining to healthcare services such as treatments, pharmaceuticals, procedures, and diagnoses for almost 50 million beneficiaries. This corpus of HIRA data, which constitutes a large repository of data in the healthcare sector, has enormous potential to create value in several ways: enhancing the efficiency of the healthcare delivery system without compromising quality of care; adding supporting evidence for a given intervention; and providing the information needed to prevent (or monitor) adverse events. ⋯ We introduce HIRA data as an important source for health research and provide guidelines for researchers who are currently utilizing HIRA, or interested in doing so, to answer their research questions. We present the characteristics and structure of HIRA data. We discuss strengths and limitations that should be considered in conducting research with HIRA data and suggest strategies for optimal utilization of HIRA data by reviewing published research using HIRA data.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2017
The Definition of Past Tuberculosis Affects the Magnitude of Association between Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Respiratory Dysfunction: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008-2012.
Tuberculosis (TB) is associated with an increased risk of chronic lung impairment. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and lung functions according to definition of past TB. We used the population-based, Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) (2008-2012) to analyze 13,522 subjects age 40 years or older who underwent spirometry and chest X-ray (CXR). ⋯ Spirometric restriction was associated with only a history of TB (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.80-2.08), only TB lesions on CXR (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.49-2.76), and both a history and TB lesions on CXR (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.74-4.05) after adjustment for the above variables (P for trend < 0.001). How to define past TB in population study affects the magnitude of association between past TB and respiratory dysfunction. Without considering TB lesions on CXR, the association between TB and respiratory dysfunction could be underestimated.