초록 열기/닫기 버튼
Purpose: The characteristic topography and climate often affect the occurrence of large-scale wildfires in the Eastern Gangwon-doregion of Korea. However, there are no studies on the health effects of these wildfires in Korea. This study aimed to analyze the dif ferences in medical use between a wildfire-affected area and an adjacent non-affected area before and after a wildfire in 2019 inGangwon-do, Korea. Materials and Methods: We used medical usage data from the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation. Rates of medicaluse were determined for citizens of a wildfire-affected area in the Eastern Yeongdong region and a non-affected area in the West ern Yeongseo region. Logistic regression analysis was performed considering an increase in medical use per individual as a de pendent variable; age, sex, income, smoking, drinking, and exercise were included as confounding variables. Results: The odds ratio for medical use in Yeongdong region increased significantly after 3 days, 3 months, and 1 year after a fireoccurred, compared with Yeongseo region. Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed that the use of medical care increased for residents of a wildfire-affected area,compared with those of an adjacent non-affected area. This is the first study on the relationship between wildfires and inpatientmedical use in Korea.
