North Korean refugee health in South Korea (NORNS) study: study design and methods

BMC Public Health

Courtland Robinson²  Sin Gon Kim¹  Dong Seop Choi¹  Hee Young Kim¹  Yun Jeong Lee³  Joo Hyung Kim¹  Myong Jin Cho¹  Yun Jeong Kim¹  Won Jin Lee⁴  Yo Han Lee⁴ 

[1] Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, South Korea;Department of International Health, Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA;Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, South Korea;Department of Preventive Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

关键词: Health;    Refugee;    North Korea;   

Others  :  1163803
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-12-172

 received in 2012-02-06, accepted in 2012-03-08,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Understanding the health status of North Korean refugees (NKRs), and changes in health during the resettlement process, is important from both the humanitarian standpoint and the scientific perspective. The NOrth Korean Refugee health iN South Korea (NORNS) study aims to document the health status and health determinants of North Korean refugees, to observe various health outcomes as they occur while adapting to the westernized lifestyle of South Korea, and to explain the mechanisms of how health of migrants and refugees changes in the context of new environmental risks and opportunities.

Methods

The NORNS study was composed of an initial survey and a follow-up survey 3.5 years apart. Participants were recruited voluntarily among those aged 30 or more living in Seoul. The survey consists of a health questionnaire and medical examination. The health questionnaire comprises the following six domains: 1) demographic and migration information 2) disease history, 3) mental health, 4) health-related lifestyle, 5) female reproductive health, and 6) sociocultural adaptation. The medical examination comprises anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and atherosclerosis, and various biochemical measurements. Prevalence of several diseases able to be diagnosed from the medical examination, the changes between the two surveys, and the association between the outcome and other measurements, such as length of stay and extent of adaptation in South Korea will be investigated. Furthermore, the outcome will be compared to a South Korean counterpart cohort to evaluate the relative health status of NKRs.

Discussion

The NORNS study targeting adult NKRs in South Korea is a valuable study because various scales and medical measurements are employed for the first time. The results obtained from this study are expected to be utilized for developing a health policy for NKRs and North Korean people after unification. Additionally, since NKRs are an immigrant group who are the same race and have the same genetic characteristics as South Koreans, this study has the characteristics of a unique type of migrant health study.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Lee et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Haggard S, Noland M: Famine in North Korea: Margets, Aids, and Reform. New York: Columbia University Press; 2007.
• [2]Ministry of Unification, Republic of Korea: Current status of North Korean refugees' resettlement. http://www.unikorea.go.kr webcite. (Accessed 31/01/2012)
• [3]Yoon IJ, Kim S: Health and medical care of North Korean defectors in South Korea. Health Soc Sci 2005, 17:149-182.
• [4]Jeon BH, Kim MD, Hong SC, Kim NR, Lee CI, Kwak YS, Park JH, Chung J, Chong H, Jwa EK, et al.: Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among North Korean defectors living in South Korea for more than one year. Psychiatry Investig 2009, 6:122-130.
• [5]Lee C, Min S, Jeon W, Kigawa M, Sugawara M: Mental health and quality of life of North Korean defectors living in Japan. Asian J Psychiatr 2009, 2:95-99.
• [6]Jeon WT, Yu SE, Cho YA, Eom JS: Traumatic experiences and mental health of North Korean refugees in South Korea. Psychiatry Investig 2008, 5:213-220.
• [7]Hong CH, Yoo JJ, Cho YA, Eom J, Ku HJ, Seo SW: A 3-year follow-up study of posttraumatic stress disorder among North Korean defectors. J Korean Neuropsychiat Assoc 2006, 45:49-56.
• [8]Medecins Sans Frontieres South Korea Departments: The 2005 Annual Report-Mental Health for North Korean Refugee in South Korea. 2005.
• [9]Choi SK, Park SM, Joung H: Still life with less: North Korean young adult defectors in South Korea show continued poor nutrition and physique. Nutr Res Pract 2010, 4:136-141.
• [10]Pak S: The growth status of North Korean refugee children and adolescents from 6 to 19 years of age. Econ Hum Biol 2010, 8:385-395.
• [11]Pak S: The biological standard of living in the two Koreas. Econ Hum Biol 2004, 2:511-521.
• [12]Kim DS, Cho Y, Moon OR: The effect of unusual social experience on the global health of North Korean asylum seekers. Public Health 2007, 121:287-295.
• [13]He J, Klag MJ, Whelton PK, Chen JY, Mo JP, Qian MC, Mo PS, He GQ: Migration, blood pressure pattern, and hypertension: the Yi Migrant Study. Am J Epidemiol 1991, 134:1085-1101.
• [14]Lyngdoh T, Kinra S, Shlomo YB, Reddy S, Prabhakaran D, Smith GD, Ebrahim S: Sib-recruitment for studying migration and its impact on obesity and diabetes. Emerg Themes Epidemiol 2006, 3:2. BioMed Central Full Text
• [15]Sobngwi E, Mbanya JC, Unwin NC, Porcher R, Kengne AP, Fezeu L, Minkoulou EM, Tournoux C, Gautier JF, Aspray TJ, Alberti K: Exposure over the life course to an urban environment and its relation with obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in rural and urban Cameroon. Int J Epidemiol 2004, 33:769-776.
• [16]Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [http://knhanes.cdc.go.kr/] webcite (Accessed 30/06/2010)
• [17]Radloff L: The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl Psychol Meas 1977, 1:385-401.
• [18]Lee MS: Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale in the Korean version. J Korean Assoc Health Med Sociol 2002, 12:43-62. Korean
• [19]Lee CH, Lee JY: Reliability and validity of Psychosocial Wellbeing Index. J Prev Med Public Health 1996, 29:255-264. Korean
• [20]Searle W, Ward C: The prediction of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions. Int J Intercult Rel 1990, 14:449-464.
• [21]Malavolti M, Mussi C, Poli M, Fantuzzi AL, Salvioli G, Battistini N, Bedogni G: Cross-calibration of eight-polar bioelectrical impedance analysis versus dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for the assessment of total and appendicular body composition in healthy subjects aged 21-82 years. Ann Hum Biol 2003, 30:380-391.
• [22]Kobalava ZD, Kotovskaya YV, Babaeva LA, Moiseev VS: Validation of TM-2655 oscillometric device for blood pressure measurement. Blood Press Monit 2006, 11:87-90.
• [23]van Popele NM, Grobbee DE, Bots ML, Asmar R, Topouchian J, Reneman RS, Hoeks AP, van der Kuip DA, Hofman A, Witteman JC: Association between arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis: the Rotterdam Study. Stroke 2001, 32:454-460.
• [24]Laurent S, Boutouyrie P, Asmar R, Gautier I, Laloux B, Guize L, Ducimetiere P, Benetos A: Aortic stiffness is an independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive patients. Hypertension 2001, 37:1236-1241.
• [25]Yamashina A, Tomiyama H, Takeda K, Tsuda H, Arai T, Hirose K, Koji Y, Hori S, Yamamoto Y: Validity, reproducibility, and clinical significance of noninvasive brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity measurement. Hypertens Res 2002, 25:359-364.
• [26]Hales CN, Barker DJ, Clark PM, Cox LJ, Fall C, Osmond C, Winter PD: Fetal and infant growth and impaired glucose tolerance at age 64. BMJ 1991, 303:1019-1022.