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Background The risk of tick-borne diseases is decreased by increasing awareness and knowledge through prevention education. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of long-lasting permethrin impregnated (LLPI) socks for tick bites. Methods A randomized open label study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of LLPI socks for prevention of tick bites among 367 adults living in a rural area. Participants completed questionnaires at the start of follow-up (July 2014) and at the end of follow-up (December 2014), and tick bites were reported. Results A total of 332 subjects completed the follow-up survey. The tick bite rate of the two groups was not significantly different (3.6% vs. 3.1%). But the tick bite rate of lower extremities of subjects wearing LLPI socks was significantly lower compared to that of subjects wearing general socks. Conclusion The tick bite rate was not different between the two groups, but the tick bite rate of lower extremities of LLPI was significantly lower than general groups. Further study is needed to investigate the effect of LLPI clothes with larger populations., Graphical Abstract

= Abstract = Objective: This study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with diabetes in Korea and to compare them with the HRQoL of individuals without diabetes history. Methods: The study subjects were 17,655 adults aged over 19 who participated in the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012). The EuroQoL-5Dimension was used to evaluate HRQoL. Chi-square test, t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis were performed to test the difference of HRQoL in diabetic subjects and controls. Results: The mobility dimension was the highest reported problem: 36.4% for diabetic subjects. The proportion of any reported problem was significantly high among diabetic subjects compared with two controls in terms of mobility (reference group: diabetic subjects, chronic controls: adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=0.77, 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=0.66-0.91, healthy controls: aOR=0.61, 95% CI=0.50-0.75), self-care (reference group: diabetic subjects, chronic controls: aOR=0.68, 95% CI=0.55-0.83, healthy controls: OR=0.69, 95% CI=0.51-0.94). and usual activities (reference group: diabetic subjects, chronic controls: aOR=0.85, 95% CI=0.72-0.99, healthy controls: OR=0.79, 95% CI=0.62-0.98). Also, EQ-5D index were significantly low in subjects with diabetes compared to two controls. Conclusions: Subjects with diabetes had a significantly lower HRQoL compared with two controls. To improve the quality of life of diabetics, it is necessary to study various variables related to the quality of life, and develop and manage various health programs or welfare policies reflecting socio-demographic characteristics and health related features that affect the quality of life.

We investigated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among individuals who have a history of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis in Korea. Using the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we selected 805 individuals with a history of TB diagnosis and 16,049 controls without a history of TB. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25(OH)D level less than 20 ng/mL. Vitamin D deficiency was revealed in 71.7% of the individuals with a history of TB diagnosis and in 72.1% of the controls. Vitamin D deficiency was more likely in women than in men, in people who engaged in other jobs or were unemployed than in people who engaged in skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery jobs, and in people who walked 3–5 days per week than in people who walked 6–7 days per week. Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent in the TB group. Regular examination and strategies to increase vitamin D levels in individuals with a history of TB are needed, as vitamin D is associated with TB conditions and bone disease.

Background: The prevalence of depression has been steadily increasing. This study aim to identify associations between smoking, drinking and depression in Korean adults. Methods: The study subjects were 17,871 adults aged 19 or over who participated in the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012). We performed multiple logistic regression to identify whether smoking and drinking were independently significant variables to depression after adjusting for the confounding variables. Results: The proportion of having any depressive episodes was a total of 13.4% with 9.1% of male and 16.6% of female, respectively. Among all of smoking behaviors, higher cigarette consumption was only associated with depression in men. However, for women ever-smoking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.38-1.92), ex-smoking (aOR=1.38, 95% CI=1.10-1.54), current smoking (aOR=1.89, 95% CI=1.53-2.94) and younger initiation of smoking (aOR=2.34, 95% CI=1.73-3.16) had significantly higher odds for depression. Moreover, and higher cigarette consumption (20 or more per day) showed significantly higher odds ratios for depression both in men (aOR=1.21, 95% CI=1.01-1.54) and women (aOR=2.41, 95% CI=1.32-4.41). For alcoholic drinking behaviors, frequent binge drinking (1 per week: aOR=1.46, 95% CI=1.16-1.85, most everyday: aOR=1.79, 95% CI=1.14-2.80) was an independent risk factor for depressive symptoms in female. Conclusions: Smoking and drinking behaviors were independently associated with depression especially in female. Smoking and drinking management may benefit depression control as well as health promotion. Korean J Health Promot 2016;16(2):111-118