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Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been widely implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We assessed the effect of NPIs on hospitalisations for pneumonia, influenza, COPD and asthma. This retrospective, ecological study compared the weekly incidence of hospitalisation for four respiratory conditions before (January 2016–January 2020) and during (February–July 2020) the implementation of NPI against COVID-19. Hospitalisations for all four respiratory conditions decreased substantially during the intervention period. The cumulative incidence of admissions for COPD and asthma was 58% and 48% of the mean incidence during the 4 preceding years, respectively.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic inflammatory disorder characterized by chronic and relapsing manifestations. Several environmental factors are known as triggers for exacerbation of IBD. However, an association between exacerbation of IBD and ambient temperature is uncertain. This study aimed to estimate the risk of acute exacerbation of IBD due to ambient temperature. We performed a bidirectional case-crossover study using a nationwide claim data from South Korea. The external validation was conducted with a large prospective cohort in the United Kingdom. We confirmed significant associations between acute exacerbation of IBD and the short-term ambient temperature changes toward severe temperatures, in the cold weather (-19.4°C–4.3°C) (odd ratio [OR] = 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13–1.14) and in the hot weather (21.3°C–33.5°C) (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.15–1.17). However, the association was not significant in the moderate weather (4.3°C–21.3°C). The external validation suggested consistent results with additional elevation of acute exacerbation risk in the colder weather (-13.4°C to 2.6°C) (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.62–2.22) and in the hotter weather (15.7°C–28.4°C) (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.32–1.51). We observed and validated that the short-term ambient temperature changes were associated with acute exacerbation of IBD in the cold and hot weathers. Our findings provide evidence that temperature changes are associated with the acute exacerbation of IBD.

Background Despite concerns regarding increasingly frequent and intense heat waves due to global warming, there is still a lack of information on the effects of extremely high temperatures on the adult abundance of mosquito species that are known to transmit vector-borne diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of extremely high temperatures on the abundance of mosquitoes by analyzing time series data for temperature and mosquito abundance in Incheon Metropolitan City (IMC), Republic of Korea, for the period from 2015 to 2020. Methods A generalized linear model with Poisson distribution and overdispersion was used to model the nonlinear association between temperature and mosquito count for the whole study area and for its constituent urban and rural regions. The association parameters were pooled using multivariate meta-regression. The temperature–mosquito abundance curve was estimated from the pooled estimates, and the ambient temperature at which mosquito populations reached maximum abundance (TMA) was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation method. To quantify the effect of extremely high temperatures on mosquito abundance, we estimated the mosquito abundance ratio (AR) at the 99th temperature percentile (AR 99th ) against the TMA. Results Culex pipiens was the most common mosquito species (51.7%) in the urban region of the IMC, while mosquitoes of the genus Aedes ( Ochlerotatus ) were the most common in the rural region (47.8%). Mosquito abundance reached a maximum at 23.5 °C for Cx. pipiens and 26.4 °C for Aedes vexans . Exposure to extremely high temperatures reduced the abundance of Cx. pipiens mosquitoes {AR 99th 0.34 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21–0.54]} to a greater extent than that of Anopheles spp. [AR 99th 0.64 (95% CI 0.40–1.03)]. When stratified by region, Ae. vexans and Ochlerotatus koreicus mosquitoes showed higher TMA and a smaller reduction in abundance at extreme heat in urban Incheon than in Ganghwa, suggesting that urban mosquitoes can thrive at extremely high temperatures as they adapt to urban thermal environments. Conclusions We confirmed that the temperature-related abundance of the adult mosquitoes was species and location specific. Tailoring measures for mosquito prevention and control according to mosquito species and anticipated extreme temperature conditions would help to improve the effectiveness of mosquito-borne disease control programs. Graphical abstract

Background Exposure to air pollution was reported to affect glucose metabolism, increasing the risk of diabetes mellitus. We conducted an epidemiological study on glucose metabolism and air pollution by exploring the levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) with changes in ambient air quality, depending on the characteristics of the susceptible population. Methods We carried out a cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative sample of 10,014 adults (4267 in male and 5747 in female) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2012 and 2013 along with data from the Korean Air Quality Forecasting System. The analysis was performed using a generalized linear model stratified by sex, age, and presence of diabetes. We assessed the changes in FBG and HbA1c associated with exposures to particulate matter (PM 10 ), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) after controlling for confounders. Results There were 1110 participants with diabetes (557 in male and 553 in female). Overall, the FBG level increased by 7.83 mg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.80–12.87) per interquartile range (IQR) increment of NO 2 , 5.32 mg/dL (95% CI: 1.22–9.41) per IQR increment of PM 10 at a moving average of 0–6 days, and 4.69 mg/dL (95% CI: 0.48–8.91) per IQR increment of PM 2.5 at a moving average of 0–5 days. HbA1c increased by 0.57% (95% CI: 0.04–1.09) per IQR increment of PM 10 at a moving average of 0–60 days and 0.34% (95% CI: 0.04–0.63) per IQR increment of PM 2.5 at a moving average of 0–75 days. The change in FBG and HbA1c increased more in the diabetic group, especially in males aged 65 years or more. There was a strong association between elevation in diabetes-related parameters and exposure to air pollution. Conclusions Our study provides scientific evidence supporting that short- and mid-term exposure to air pollution is associated with changes in biological markers related to diabetes. This finding suggests that the impact of air pollution should be reflected in chronic disease management when establishing local health care policies.

This study proposes the air–surface temperature ratio (ASTR) method as an in situ measurement method to rapidly and accurately measure wall U-values in existing houses. Herein, the wall U-values were measured in situ applying the heat flow meter (HFM) method of ISO 9869-1 and the ASTR method. The results obtained using the HFM and ASTR methods were compared, and the relative error rate and accuracy of the measurements were analyzed. The aging rates of the wall U-values were compared and analyzed by comparing them with the wall U-values before and after the installation of retrofit insulation. Subsequently, the ASTR method was used to analyze the U-value measurement error rates according to the number of measurement days (one day to seven days). In addition, this method calculated the appropriate measurement period required to satisfy the measurement conditions. As a result, the mean relative measurement errors rates of the HFM and ASTR methods were ±3.21%. The short-term (one day) and long-term (seven days or longer) measurement results indicated the average error rates as approximately ±2.63%. These results were included in the tolerance range. Therefore, it was determined that the ASTR method can rapidly and accurately measure wall U-values.

Dengue, affecting over 3.9 billion people, is a significant health threat globally. Despite a tenfold increase in reported cases from 2000 to 2020, underreporting remains an issue. Our study utilized traveler data from the five Western Pacific countries and territories as sentinel sites, to examine dengue surveillance in Southeast and South Asia. We reported dengue cases among returning travelers (2010–2018) and computed dengue incidence per 100,000 travelers for each destination country. We compared officially reported dengue incidence per 100,000 inhabitants of the destination country with estimated incidence per 100,000 travelers, using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Key findings revealed eight Southeast and South Asia countries as popular destinations for our sentinel sites, with Australia exhibiting the highest incidence (40.7 per 100,000 travelers). Dengue incidence variations were evident, with Malaysia showing a sharp increase over time. Correlation analysis showed strong links in Malaysia (r = 0.66–0.92) and weaker connections in India (r = −0.54–0.76) between dengue incidence among inhabitants and travelers. Systematically collected dengue surveillance data from returning travelers can serve as a proxy for dengue incidence in the destination country and can be used to assess the robustness of the country's dengue surveillance.

Painful pelvic and spinal bone metastases are a considerable challenge for doctors and patients. Conventional therapies include morphine-equivalent medication (MeM) and local radiotherapy (RT), but these interventions are not always successful. More recently, hyperthermia (HT) has been applied to complement RT and MeM, and this complex approach has shown promising synergistic results. The objective of our study was to present the results of RT combined with a special kind of HT (modulated electrohyperthermia, mEHT), in which some of the thermal effect is contributed by equivalent nonthermal components, drastically reducing the necessary power and energy. This retrospective study included 61 patients divided into three groups with pelvic and spinal bone metastases to compare the effects of RT and mEHT alone and in combination (RT + mEHT). A detailed evaluation of pain intensity, measured by the brief pain inventory score, MeM use, and breakthrough pain episodes, revealed no significant differences between RT and mEHT alone; thus, these individual methods were considered equivalent. However, RT + mEHT yielded significantly better results in terms of the above parameters. Clinically, mEHT has a lower risk of adverse thermal effects, and due to its efficacy, mEHT can be used to treat RT-resistant lesions.

With decades of containment efforts, the prevalence of C. sinensis infection in Korea has shown a declining trend. However, well-tailored intervention assessments remain challenging, particularly when considering the potential impacts of cohort variations in raw freshwater fish consumption behavior, a major transmission route to humans, on this observed decline. We applied an age-period-cohort modeling approach to nationally representative C. sinensis infection prevalence data from 1981-2012 in Korea to assess age, period, and cohort effects on its secular trend and to project the age-stratified prevalence up to 2023. Our analysis suggests that both cohort and period effects have substantially contributed to the declining prevalence of C. sinensis infection in Korea. Age-stratified projections up to 2023 suggest a decline in prevalence across all age groups, while those aged over 40 are anticipated to maintain prevalences above the elimination threshold of 1%. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating cohort effects into intervention assessments aimed at controlling C. sinensis infection. The effectiveness of interventions remains evident in Korea despite adjusting for the cohort effect. This approach, applicable to other endemic countries, would provide valuable insights for intervention assessments and inform future public health planning to eliminate C. sinensis infection.

It is considered that laparoscopic surgery is associated with a much lower rate of postoperative formation of adhesions than open surgery. This meta-analysis assessed the incidence of adhesion-related readmissions and surgery for adhesive small bowel obstruction (SBO) in patients who underwent laparoscopic or open colorectal surgery. Multiple comprehensive databases were searched systematically to identify relevant studies and meta-analysis was done. Meta-analysis showed that laparoscopic surgery was associated with a lower rate of adhesive SBO, both for randomized clinical trials (relative risk [RR] .26, 95% confidence interval [CI] .10 to .67, I2=41%) and nonrandomized studies (RR .49, 95% CI .32 to .76, I2=91%). Laparoscopic surgery was also associated with a lower rate of subsequent surgery for adhesive SBO, both for randomized clinical trials (RR .25, 95% CI .06 to .96, I2=0%) and nonrandomized studies (RR .56, 95% CI .33 to .94, I2=77%). Laparoscopic colorectal surgery significantly reduced the rates of adhesive SBO and subsequent surgery for adhesive SBO, compared with open surgery. •It remains unclear whether laparoscopy has benefit for reducing incidence of adhesive SBO.•This review identifies reduced incidence of adhesive SBO in laparoscopic colorectal surgery.•Despite these findings, RCTs are needed to confirm the benefit of laparoscopy.

This paper reports on a feasibility study conducted to improve the in situ measurement accuracy of the air-surface temperature ratio (ASTR) method. The measured relative error rate was analyzed using the ISO 6946 [7.69 W/(m2·K)] and Korea Energy Saving Design Standard [9.09 W/(m2·K)] indoor total surface heat transfer coefficients. The relative error rate was analyzed according to fluctuations in outdoor temperature data. The relative error rate obtained using the ISO 6946 standard was analyzed about 6.3% and that obtained using the Korea Energy Saving Design Standard was about 9.5%. The relative error rate measured for outdoor temperature fluctuations of less than 1 K was about 4.62% and that for temperatures greater than 1 K was about 14.31%. The study results confirmed the cause of the error in the measurement of the ASTR. It was also found that the accuracy of the latter can be improved when the ISO 6946 indoor total surface heat transfer coefficient is applied and when outdoor temperature fluctuations less than 1 K are sampled and analyzed.