Differences in Pandemic-Related Factors Associated with Alcohol and Substance Use among Korean Adolescents:Nationwide Representative Study

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has raised concerns about the mental health and social well-being of youth,including its potential to increase or exacerbate substance use behaviors[1].Among adolescents,the COVID-19pandemic has resulted in limited face-to-face school contact and thus missed milestones in preventing alcohol and substance use.

Global public concern of childhood and adolescence suicide:a new perspective and new strategies for suicide prevention in the post-pandemic era

Background Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people worldwide and is responsible for about 52,000 deaths annually in children and adolescents aged 5-19 years.Familial,social,psychological,and behavioral factors play important roles in suicide risk.As traumatic events such as the COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to suicidal behaviors in young people,there is a need to understand the current status of suicide in adolescents,including its epidemiology,associated factors,the influence of the pandemic,and management initiatives.Data sources We investigated global and regional suicide mortality rates among children and adolescents aged 5-19 years using data from the Global Burden of Diseases,Injuries,and Risk Factors Study(GBD)2019.The suicide mortality rates from 1990 to 2019 were examined in 204 countries and territories across six World Health Organization(WHO)regions.Additionally,we utilized electronic databases,including PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus,and employed various combinations of terms such as“suicide”,“adolescents”,“youth”,“children”,“risk factors”,“COVID-19 pandemic”,“prevention”,and“intervention”to provide a narrative review on suicide within the pediatric population in the post-pandemic era.Results Despite the decreasing trend in the global suicide mortality rate from 1990 to 2019,it remains high.The mortality rates from suicide by firearms or any other specified means were both greater in males.Additionally,Southeast Asia had the highest suicide rate among the six WHO regions.The COVID-19 pandemic seems to contribute to suicide risk in young people;thus,there is still a strong need to revisit appropriate management for suicidal children and adolescents during the pandemic.Conclusions The current narrative review integrates up-to-date knowledge on suicide epidemiology and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,risk factors,and intervention strategies.Although numerous studies have characterized trends in suicide among young people during the pre-pandemic era,further studies are required to investigate suicide during the pandemic and new strategies for suicide prevention in the post-pandemic era.It is necessary to identify effective prevention strategies targeting young people,particularly those at high risk,and successful treatment for individuals already manifesting suicidal behaviors.Care for suicidal children and adolescents should be improved with parental,school,community,and clinical involvement.

National trends in sexual intercourse and usage of contraception among Korean adolescents

Background The exact influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual intercourse and usage of contraception remains largely uncharted territory.To bridge this gap in knowledge,we conducted a comprehensive,cross-sectional examination of long-term trends in the prevalence of sexual intercourse and usage of contraception among South Korean adolescents from 2006 to 2022.Methods In our research,we drew upon data encompassing 1,138,799 South Korean adolescents aged 12 to 18 years,derived from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey(KYRBS)over a period spanning from 2006 to 2022.We focused on the prevalence of sexual intercourse,contraception utilization,and the underlying associated factors among this demographic.The KYRBS data was collected using a complex sampling strategy to determine the national prevalence estimates and shifts in prevalence before(2006-2019)and during(2020-2022)the COVID-19 pandemic era.Results During the pre-pandemic period,a decrease in adolescent sexual intercourse was observed(6.34%in 2006,5.53%in 2012,and 5.87%in 2019).However,in the post-pandemic period(2020-2022),there was a surge in sexual intercourse(4.55%in 2020 and 6.20%in 2022).This evident alteration in sexual intercourse trajectory between pre-and post-pandemic periods was statistically significant[βdiff,0.950;95%confidence interval(CI),0.756-1.144].Regarding contraceptive use among South Korean adolescents,there was an increase in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic phase across all demographic segments(14.61%in 2006,22.30%in 2012,and 47.69%in 2022)but a notable decline when compared with the pre-and post-pandemic periods(βdiff,-0.319;95%CI,-0.454 to-0.184).Additionally,during the study period,a decrease in sexual intercourse was observed in the pre-pandemic period(β,-0.129;95%CI,-0.148 to-0.110),followed by an increase in the post-pandemic period(β,0.821;95%CI,0.627 to 1.014).This shift is highlighted by an effect size of 0.96[weighted odds ratio(wOR);95%CI,0.92 to 1.00],indicating a substantial change in adolescent sexual behaviors across study periods.Conclusions The increase in sexual intercourse and decrease in usage of contraception observed in our study between the pre-and post-COVID-19 periods suggests a potential threat to sexual health among South Korean adolescents.This trend emphasizes the ongoing necessity of raising awareness about adolescent sexual behavior in South Korea.

Estimated prevalence and trends in smoking among adolescents in South Korea,2005-2021:a nationwide serial study

Background Although smoking is classified as a risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes,there is a scarcity of studies on prevalence of smoking during the COVID-19 pandemic.Thus,this study aims to analyze the trends of prevalence of smoking in adolescents over the COVID-19 pandemic period.Methods The present study used data from middle to high school adolescents between 2005 and 2021 who participated in the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey(KYRBS).We evaluated the smoking prevalence(ever or daily)by year groups and estimated the slope in smoking prevalence before and during the pandemic.Results A total of 1,137,823 adolescents participated in the study[mean age,15.04 years[95%confidence interval(CI)15.03-15.06];and male,52.4%(95%CI 51.7-53.1)].The prevalence of ever smokers was 27.7%(95%CI 27.3-28.1)between 2005 and 2008 but decreased to 9.8%(95%CI 9.3-10.3)in 2021.A consistent trend was found in daily smokers,as the estimates decreased from 5.4%(95%CI 5.2-5.6)between 2005 and 2008 to 2.3%(95%CI 2.1-2.5)in 2021.However,the downward slope in the overall prevalence of ever smokers and daily smokers became less pronounced in the COVID-19 pandemic period than in the pre-pandemic period.In the subgroup with substance use,the decreasing slope in daily smokers was significantly more pronounced during the pandemic than during the pre-pandemic period.Conclusions The proportion of ever smokers and daily smokers showed a less pronounced decreasing trend during the pandemic.The findings of our study provide an overall understanding of the pandemic's impact on smoking prevalence in adolescents.

National trends in alcohol and substance use among adolescents from 2005 to 2021:a Korean serial cross‑sectional study of one million adolescents

Background Although previous studies have provided data on early pandemic periods of alcohol and substance use in adolescents,more adequate studies are needed to predict the trends of alcohol and substance use during recent periods,including the mid-pandemic period.This study investigated the changes in alcohol and substance use,except tobacco use,throughout the pre-,early-,and mid-pandemic periods in adolescents using a nationwide serial cross-sectional survey from South Korea.Methods Data on 1,109,776 Korean adolescents aged 13–18 years from 2005 to 2021 were obtained in a survey operated by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.We evaluated adolescents’alcohol and substance consumption prevalence and compared the slope of alcohol and substance prevalence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to see the trend changes.We define the pre-COVID-19 period as consisting of four groups of consecutive years(2005–2008,2009–2012,2013–2015,and 2016–2019).The COVID-19 pandemic period is composed of 2020(early-pandemic era)and 2021(midpandemic era).Results More than a million adolescents successfully met the inclusion criteria.The weighted prevalence of current alcohol use was 26.8%[95%confidence interval(CI)26.4–27.1]from 2005 to 2008 and 10.5%(95%CI 10.1–11.0)in 2020 and 2021.The weighted prevalence of substance use was 1.1%(95%CI 1.1–1.2)from 2005 to 2008 and 0.7%(95%CI 0.6–0.7)between 2020 and 2021.From 2005 to 2021,the overall trend of use of both alcohol and drugs was found to decrease,but the decline has slowed since COVID-19 epidemic(current alcohol use:βdiff 0.167;95%CI 0.150–0.184;substance use:βdiff 0.152;95%CI 0.110–0.194).The changes in the slope of current alcohol and substance use showed a consistent slowdown with regard to sex,grade,residence area,and smoking status from 2005 to 2021.Conclusion The overall prevalence of alcohol consumption and substance use among over one million Korean adolescents from the early and mid-stage(2020–2021)of the COVID-19 pandemic showed a slower decline than expected given the increase during the prepandemic period(2005–2019).

Cardinality compensation method based on information-weighted consensus filter using data clustering for multi-target tracking

In this paper, a cardinality compensation method based on Information-weighted Consensus Filter(ICF) using data clustering is proposed in order to accurately estimate the cardinality of the Cardinalized Probability Hypothesis Density(CPHD) filter. Although the joint propagation of the intensity and the cardinality distribution in the CPHD filter process allows for more reliable estimation of the cardinality(target number) than the PHD filter, tracking loss may occur when noise and clutter are high in the measurements in a practical situation. For that reason, the cardinality compensation process is included in the CPHD filter, which is based on information fusion step using estimated cardinality obtained from the CPHD filter and measured cardinality obtained through data clustering. Here, the ICF is used for information fusion. To verify the performance of the proposed method, simulations were carried out and it was confirmed that the tracking performance of the multi-target was improved because the cardinality was estimated more accurately as compared to the existing techniques.

PARTIAL RECONSTITUTION OF BOTANICAL EXTRACT PG102 BY COMBINING CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS KNOWN TO BE PRESENT IN ACTINIDIA ARGUTA: IMPLICATIONS FOR QC OF PHYTOMEDICINES

One of the most important factors limiting the success of plant-derived therapeutics is that these products are generally a mixture containing many different molecules.The compounds responsible for bioactivities and/or clinical effects are also not yet identified.To overcome this hurdle,we investigated whether we can reconstitute bioactivities

USE OF CELL-BASED BIOASSAY FOR THE QUALITY CONTROL OF BOTANICAL THERAPEUTICS

The single most important factor in modernization efforts of traditional oriental medicines is the limited understanding of active compounds responsible for claimed therapeutic effects.Indeed,the unknown identity of biologically active molecules generates major difficulties associated with botanical therapeutics in general.This includes management of raw materials,poor understanding of