The Socio-economic Effect of Community-Driven Development in Conflict-affected Regions: Evidence from Cambodia

Community-driven development (CDD) has become increasingly common approach used by mul-tilateral development banks, governments, and NGOs to address the needs of the poor local communities in developing countries. CDD is characterized by the approach of giving control of decision and resources to the local community. CDD approaches are particularly prominent in conflict-affected communities which enables local community to regain sense of social cohesion and to restore livelihood. While much of literature focused on documenting the challenges and benefits of CDD approach in conflict affected context, what is yet to be established is whether CDD in conflict affected context can generate change in social and economic outcomes. Thus, this paper explores whether or not community-driven development (CDD) project af-fects a villages social capital and economic outcomes in post-conflict Cambodia. We compare the impact of CDD by looking at data from two rounds of surveys (baseline and endline). The results indicate that the project significantly strengthens the capacity of self-reliance, especially in vulnerable groups such as low-income, less educated and ethnic and religious minority house-holds. However, CDD was shown to have very limited impact on improving economic condition. Although the project slightly increases the household monthly income, the CDD project does not generate remarkable changes in community-level economic conditions. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 explains the historical background of Cambodia and the unique features of this CDD project. Section 3 describes the intervention and data collec-tion. Section 4 outlines the estimation models used in the analysis. In Section 5, we present the results of the program and explain their implications

Phylogenetic analysis and characterization of Korean orf virus from dairy goats: case report

An outbreak of orf virus infection in dairy goats in Korea was investigated. Suspected samples of the skin and lip of affected goats were sent to the laboratory for more exact diagnosis. Orf virus was detected by electron microscopy and viral DNA was identified by PCR. To reveal the genetic characteristics of the Korean strain (ORF/09/Korea), the sequences of the major envelope protein (B2L) and orf virus interferon resistance (VIR) genes were determined and then compared with published reference sequences. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the ORF/09/Korea strain was closest to the isolates (Taiping) from Taiwan. This is believed to be the first report on the molecular characterization of orf virus in Korea

High variability in bodyweight is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a nationwide cohort study

Background Bodyweight variability is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to examine the relationship between bodyweight variability and the risk of AF in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and whether this relationship was affected by baseline body mass index (BMI), weight change, or advanced diabetic stage. Methods A nationwide population-based cohort of 670,797 patients with type 2 DM from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database without a history of AF and with ≥ 3 measurements of bodyweight over a 5-year period were followed up for AF development. Intra-individual bodyweight variability was calculated using variability independent of mean, and high bodyweight variability was defined as the quintile with the highest variability with the lower four quintiles as reference. Results During a median of 7.0 years of follow-up, 22,019 patients (3.3%) newly developed AF. After multivariate adjustment, those in the highest quintile of bodyweight variability showed a higher risk of incident AF (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.12–1.20) compared to those in the lower 4 quintiles with reference bodyweight variability, irrespective of baseline BMI group and direction of overall weight change. This association was greater in magnitude in subjects with lower BMI, those on insulin, and those with a DM duration of greater than 5 years. In sensitivity analyses, high bodyweight variability was consistently associated with AF development using other indices of variability and adjusting for glycemic variability. Conclusions High variability in bodyweight was associated with AF development, independently of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and baseline BMI. This association was stronger in underweight patients and with advanced diabetic stage. Weight fluctuation may interfere with the beneficial effects of weight loss and should be avoided when possible in weight control regimens for DM patients

Serosurveillance for Japanese encephalitis virus in wild birds captured in Korea

Climate change induced by recent global warming may have a significant impact on vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. For example, the distribution of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) has expanded into new regions. We surveyed the levels of hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibodies against JEV (Family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus) in wild birds captured in Korea. Blood samples were collected from 1,316 wild birds including the following migratory birds: Oceanodroma castro (n = 4), Anas formosa (n = 7), Anas penelope (n = 20), Fulica atra (n = 30), Anas acuta (n = 89), Anas crecca (n = 154), Anas platyrhynchos (n = 214), Aix galericulata (n = 310), and Anas poecilorhyncha (n = 488). All were captured in 16 locations in several Korea provinces between April 2007 and December 2009. Out of the 1,316 serum samples tested, 1,141 (86.7%) were positive for JEV. Wild birds captured in 2009 had a higher seroprevalence of ant-JEV antibodies than those captured in 2007. Wild birds with an HI antibody titer of 1 : 1,280 or higher accounted for 21.2% (280/1,316) of the animals tested. These findings indicated that wild birds from the region examined in our study have been exposed to JEV and may pose a high risk for introducing a new JEV genotype into Korea

Socioeconomic Costs of Overweight and Obesity in Korean Adults

This study was conducted to estimate the socioeconomic costs of overweight and obesity in a sample of Korean adults aged 20 yr and older in 2005. The socioeconomic costs of overweight and obesity include direct costs (inpatient care, outpatient care and medication) and indirect costs (loss of productivity due to premature deaths and inpatient care, time costs, traffic costs and nursing fees). Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, stroke, colon cancer and osteoarthritis were selected as obesity-related diseases. The population attributable fraction (PAF) of obesity was calculated from national representative data of Korea such as the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) cohort data and the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data. Direct costs of overweight and obesity were estimated at approximately U$1,081 million equivalent (men: U$497 million, women: U$584 million) and indirect costs were estimated at approximately U$706 million (men: U$527 million, women: U$178 million). The estimated total socioeconomic costs of overweight and obesity were approximately U$1,787 million (men: U$1,081 million, women: U$706 million). These total costs represented about 0.22% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 3.7% of the national health care expenditures in 2005. We found the socioeconomic costs of overweight and obesity in Korean adults aged 20 yr and older are substantial. In order to control the socioeconomic burden attributable to overweight and obesity, effective national strategies for prevention and management of obesity should be established and implemented

Status and trends in epidemiologic characteristics of diabetic end-stage renal disease: an analysis of the 2021 Korean Renal Data System

This article provides an update of the trends and characteristics of diabetic kidney disease stage 5D (CKD 5D) patients according to the Korean Renal Data System (KORDS), a nationwide registry database operated by the Korean Society of Nephrology. The KORDS Committee analyzed epidemiologic characteristics of diabetic CKD 5D patients using data from 2001 to 2021 in KORDS. In 2021, the dialysis adequacy of hemodialysis (HD) was lower in diabetic CKD 5D patients than non-diabetic CKD 5D patients, while that of peritoneal dialysis (PD) was similar. Diabetic CKD 5D patients had a higher proportion of cardiac and vascular diseases and were more frequently admitted to hospitals than non-diabetic CKD 5D patients, and the leading cause of death was cardiac disease. From 2001 to 2020, diabetic CKD 5D patients had a higher mortality rate than non-diabetic CKD 5D patients, but in 2021 this trend was reversed. Diabetic PD patients had the highest mortality rate over 20 years. The mortality rate of diabetic HD patients was higher than that of non-diabetic HD patients until 2019 but became lower starting in 2020. There was a decreasing trend in mortality rate in diabetic CKD 5D patients, but cardiac and vascular diseases were still prevalent with frequent admissions to hospitals. More specialized care is needed to improve the clinical outcomes of diabetic CKD 5D patients