Infectious disease risks among refugees from North Korea

Nishiura, Hiroshi; Lee, Hyojung; Yuan, Baoyin; Endo, Akira; Akhmetzhanov, Andrei R.; Chowell, Gerardo

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2017.10.021

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The average length of their residency in South Korea was 7.16 (range 2–13) years. Regardless of how long they lived in South Korea, the majority of participants were not educated on women's health and, like all refugees, had to (Nishiura et al, ). Because members of this group were reluctant to disclose their identities, it has been difficult to provide them with information and education on women`s health, since (Kim, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During their stay in these countries, female NKDs are exposed to sexual harassment and human rights abuses, such as forced marriage, trafficking, prostitution, and unwanted sex due to intimidation or threats against their survival and safety. As a result, NKDs have a high risk of chlamydia, syphilis, HIV infection, and cervical cancer, as well as tuberculosis and viral infections (Nishiura et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A mobile video intervention for women’s health of North Korean defectors

Lee

Shin

2018

Public Health Nursing

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Background:The prevalence of North Korean female defectors is increasing in South Korea. Women who leave North Korea are exposed to sexual harassments, abuse, and other threats to their survival, which can have a devastating effect on their health. Aims:In this study, a mobile video intervention program about selected aspects of women`s health was developed specifically for North Korean female defectors; its impact on behavioral change was evaluated. Methods:A one group pre/posttest design was used with 61 female defectors who participated in the mobile video intervention. The program consisted of eight sessions focusing on the prevention and management of vaginitis and cervical cancer. Results:The study results showed that knowledge and behavioral confidence on vaginitis and cervical cancer increased significantly among the participants following the intervention. Conclusions:This mobile video intervention program was effective in improving specific health knowledge and behavioral confidence of the participants. The program can be used to improve women`s health in this population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A mobile video intervention for women’s health of North Korean defectors

Lee

Shin

2018

Public Health Nursing

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“…For all years from 1990–2017, North Korea had the lowest number of DD DALYs per 100,000. However, data from North Korea may be inaccurate or incomplete as information about disease in North Korea, including infectious diseases, is not widely available nor has it been broadly analyzed [ 53 ]. The WHO ranks available raw data from North Korea at the lowest level of credibility [ 53 , 54 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global estimated Disability-Adjusted Life-Years (DALYs) of diarrheal diseases: A systematic analysis of data from 28 years of the global burden of disease study

et al. 2021

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Background Diarrheal disease (DD)-associated mortality has declined since 1990; however, the incidence of DD has experienced a less-pronounced decrease. Thus, it is important to track progress in managing DD by following loss of healthy years. A disability-adjusted life-year (DALY), which combines data on years-of-life lost (YLL) and years-lived with-disability (YLD), is a metric that can track such a burden. Methods and findings Using all 28 years of data in the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, we compared DD DALYs among different demographic subsets including sex, age, country, and World Bank (WB) income level. We also evaluated DD DALYs as a function of the socio-demographic index (SDI), a measure of a region’s socio-demographic development. On a global level, DD DALYs have decreased by approximately 85.43% from 1990 to 2017. Incidence and prevalence have decreased by 1.53% and 4.45%, respectively. A dramatic decrease in DD DALYs were observed for WB low-income countries, but not for WB high-income constituents. The temporal decrease in DD DALY rates in WB low-income countries was likely driven by a decrease in YLL. Alternatively, temporal increases in both YLL and YLD may have contributed to the apparent lack of progress in WB high-income countries. Regardless of WB income classification, children under the age of five and the elderly were the most vulnerable to DD. In nearly every year from 1990 to 2017, DD DALYs for females were higher than those for males in WB high-income regions, but lower than those for males in WB low-income constituents. The reason for these differences is not known. We also observed that the rate of DD DALYs was highly correlated to SDI regardless of WB income classification. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the only temporal study of DD DALYs that encompasses all 28 years of data available from the GBD. Overall, our analyses show that temporal reductions in DD DALYs are not equivalent across regions, sexes and age groups. Therefore, careful attention to local and demography-specific risk factors will be necessary to tailor solutions in region- and demography-specific manners.

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“…The KCDC (2013) selected measles, TB, and waterborne microbial diseases as the prioritized infectious diseases to be regulated when there is a massive inflow of North Korean refugees, and pointed out that especially for TB, a prompt diagnosis and treatment protocol needs to be developed [ 39 ]. In preparation for this, the capacity to diagnose and treat diseases that have a high risk of spreading, such as TB and malaria, needs to be continually maintained [ 40 ] and countermeasures for public health crises need to be prepared if disasters do happen. Simultaneously, efforts must be made to strengthen North Korea’s disease control system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of Infectious Disease Research Trends in Medical Journals From North Korea

Park¹,

Choi²,

Lim³

et al. 2018

J Prev Med Public Health

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ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the current status of infectious disease research in North Korea by analyzing recent trends in medical journals from North Korea in comparison with research from South Korea.MethodsThree medical journals (Preventive Medicine, Basic Medicine, and Chosun Medicine) were analyzed from 2012 to 2016. Articles on tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and parasitic diseases were selected and classified by their subtopics and study areas. Two medical journals published in the South Korea were selected for a comparative analysis of research trends.ResultsOf the 2792 articles that were reviewed, 93 were extracted from North Korea journals. TB research in North Korea was largely focused on multi-drug resistant TB and extrapulmonary TB, whereas research in South Korea more frequently investigated non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Research on parasitic diseases in North Korea was focused on protozoan and intestinal nematodes, while the corresponding South Korea research investigated various species of parasites. Additionally, the studies conducted in North Korea were more likely to investigate the application of traditional medicine to diagnosis and treatment than those conducted in South Korea.ConclusionsThis study presents an analysis of research trends in preventive medicine in North Korea focusing on infectious diseases, in which clear differences were observed between South and North Korea. Trends in research topics suggest a high prevalence of certain parasitic diseases in North Korea that are no longer widespread in South Korea. The large proportion of studies examining traditional medicine implies a lack of affordable medicine in North Korea.

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Infectious disease risks among refugees from North Korea

Cited by 8 publications

References 7 publications

A mobile video intervention for women’s health of North Korean defectors

A mobile video intervention for women’s health of North Korean defectors

Global estimated Disability-Adjusted Life-Years (DALYs) of diarrheal diseases: A systematic analysis of data from 28 years of the global burden of disease study

An Analysis of Infectious Disease Research Trends in Medical Journals From North Korea

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