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Globally, smoking is one of the biggest challenges in public health and is a known cause of several important diseases. Influenza is preventable via annual vaccination, which is the most effective and cost-beneficial method of prevention. However, subjects who smoke have some unhealthy behaviours such as alcohol, low physical activity, and low vaccination rate. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between smoking status and factors potentially related to the influenza vaccination coverage rate in the South Korean adult population.
The study included 13,565 participants aged >19 years, from 2010 to 2012 from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Univariate analyses were conducted to examine the association between influenza coverage rate and related factors. Multivariate analysis was obtained after adjusting for variables that were statistically significant.
The overall vaccination rate was 27.3% (n=3,703). Older individuals (P<0.0001), women (P<0.0001), non-smokers (P<0.0001), light alcohol drinkers (P<0.0001), the unemployed (P<0.0001), and subjects with diabetes mellitus (P<0.0001), hypercholesterolemia (P<0.0001), and metabolic syndrome (P<0.0001) had higher influenza vaccination coverage than the others. In multivariate analyses, current smokers and heavy smokers showed lower vaccination rates (odds ratio, 0.734; 95% confidence interval, 0.63–0.854).
In the current study, smokers and individuals with inadequate health-promoting behaviors had lower vaccination rates than the others did.
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Influenza-associated myositis (IAM) is a rare and poorly recognized complication of influenza infection in children, and is characterized by acute onset of severe pain in the lower extremities and a refusal to ambulate walk. We sought to understand the association between IAM and influenza B infection and to investigate its clinical and laboratory characteristics in affected children.
Influenza B-associated myositis (IBAM) cases diagnosed in the pediatrics department of Wonkwang University Hospital from January 2010 and March 2016 were analyzed retrospectively.
Medical records of affected children were examined, and clinical characteristics and laboratory findings were recorded. Of the 536 children diagnosed with influenza B infection, 47 children complained of bilateral calf pain with or without gait disturbance. All children exhibited elevated serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level. The median serum creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, reportedly elevated in myositis, were 2,597 IU/L and 678 IU/L, respectively. While the immunofluorescence test results were negative for some patients, the polymerase chain reaction test results indicated influenza B infection in all 47 children. At the time of hospital discharge, the patients' symptoms had resolved, and their CK levels had improved.
IBAM was generally benign and short, and although the blood AST, CK, and LDH levels were markedly high, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels were normal. Further, the duration of IBAM symptoms correlated with the duration of fever. The IBAM-associated clinical and laboratory findings are highly characteristic and may allow its rapid diagnosis during the influenza season.
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This study aimed to investigate the association between living arrangements and influenza vaccination among elderly South Korean subjects.
We used data from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants older than 65 years were included and categorized into 4 groups according to the type of living arrangement as follows: (1) living alone group; (2) living with a spouse group; (3) living with offspring (without spouse) group; and (4) living with other family members group. A total of 1,435 participants were included in this cross-sectional analysis.
A lower vaccination rate was observed in the living with offspring (without spouse) group, whereas the living with a spouse group had higher rates of both seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccination. After adjusting for age, sex, region, education level, income level, and number of comorbidities, the living with offspring (without spouse) group had a higher H1N1 vaccination non-receipt rate than the living alone group (odds ratio, 2.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-3.82).
Influenza vaccination rates differed according to the type of living arrangement. Particularly, those living with offspring (without spouse) had the lowest H1N1 influenza vaccination rate compared to those with other living arrangements, and this difference was significant. Interventions to improve influenza vaccination coverage should target not only elderly persons who live alone, but also those living with offspring.
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