Effectiveness of NVX-CoV2373 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccination in South Korean Adolescents.

Background And Aims: Adolescents can have severe/chronic outcomes from COVID-19. Real-world data on relative vaccine effectiveness between mRNA- and protein-based vaccines are limited, and more data are needed on disease outcomes in this age group.

Methods: The K-COV-N database, COVID-19 vaccine registry and health insurance claims were retrospectively reviewed to identify adolescents (12- to 18-year-olds) in South Korea who received a homologous primary series of NVX-CoV2373 or BNT162b2 and a heterologous or homologous third vaccine dose.

Real-world effectiveness of NVX-CoV2373 and BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in South Korea.

Objectives: In February 2022, NVX-CoV2373 became available in South Korea; real-world effectiveness of multiple doses compared with mRNA-based vaccines has not been thoroughly evaluated.

Methods: This retrospective study identified NVX-CoV2373 and BNT162b2 recipients aged ≥12 years from the K-COV-N database. Vaccine groups were propensity score-matched based on demographic characteristics, Seoul capital area residence, income level, comorbidity/disability, prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, and prior vaccination dose/timing.

Erratum: Correction of Tables in the Article "Maternal Exposures to COVID-19 Vaccine and Adverse Birth Outcomes: National Population Study".

This corrects the article on p. e63 in vol. 40, PMID: 40329789.

Associations between environmental chemical mixtures and anthropometric measures in Korean girls: a cross-sectional study.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between environmental chemicals and anthropometric indices using preliminary data from the Puberty and Environment in Adolescents Cohort Project. Random urine samples from 370 Korean girls aged 7-14 years were evaluated for 15 environmental phthalates, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites, and three heavy metals using growth metrics. We calculated the body mass index (BMI) z-score, weight z-score, height z-score, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) based on the World Health Organization growth references.

Maternal Exposures to COVID-19 Vaccine and Adverse Birth Outcomes: National Population Study in Korea.

Background: This study aimed to estimate the association between mRNA coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine exposure during pregnancy and the risks of preterm birth and congenital malformations leveraging a national population data.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized national data from the National Health Insurance System, linking maternal and infant records with COVID-19 vaccination registries. Newborns with congenital malformations were identified using diagnosis codes.

Parents' employment and non-chromosomal congenital anomalies in Korea: a national population cohort study.

Objectives: We assessed the association between parents' employment status, including industrial classification, and non-chromosomal congenital anomalies in offspring.

Methods: We analyzed data from mothers who delivered live births between 2020 and 2022, linking their records with those of their neonates from the National Health Information Service (NHIS) database. Our analysis focused on common industrial classifications representing at least 6% of the total workforce.

Evaluating Short-course Antibiotic Therapy for Pediatric Community-acquired Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: The optimal duration of antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children remains uncertain. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether short-course antibiotic therapy (≤6 days) is associated with poor clinical outcomes compared with long-course antibiotic therapy (>7 days) in children with CAP.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed.

Relative effectiveness of homologous NVX-CoV2373 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccinations in South Korea.

To estimate the relative effectiveness of NVX-CoV2373 versus BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 disease during the Omicron variant dominance in South Korea, we conducted a retrospective cohort-study among ≥12-year-olds using the K-COV-N database, which links COVID-19 vaccine registry data with health insurance claims data. The Cox proportional-hazards model and inverse probability of treatment weighting were employed to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs). Among homologous primary-series NVX-CoV2373 versus BNT162b2 recipients at Day 180 post-vaccination, the aHR was 0.

Methodology of comparative studies on the relative effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines: a systematic review.

Background: This study aimed to comprehensively outline the methodological approaches used in published research comparing the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted on June 13, 2024, to identify comparative studies evaluating the effectiveness of mRNA versus non-mRNA and monovalent versus bivalent COVID-19 vaccines. We screened titles, abstracts, and full texts, collecting data on publication year, country, sample size, study population composition, study design, VE estimates, outcomes, and covariates.

Neighbourhood environment and early menarche among adolescent girls of five countries.

Introduction: We aim to investigate the relationship between individuals' perceptions of their neighbourhood environment and early menarche.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 7,486 girls of Ethiopia, India, South Korea, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US), born in 1997-2011 was analysed. Early menarche was defined as being below the 10th to 20th percentiles in each cohort, considering the varying distributions across countries.

Income-based disparities in the risk of distant-stage cervical cancer and 5-year mortality after the introduction of a National Cancer Screening Program in Korea.

Objectives: This study assessed the socioeconomic gradient in the risk of distant-stage cervical cancer (CC) at presentation and 5-year mortality for new CC patients after the introduction of a national Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) in Korea.

Methods: All new CC cases from 2007 to 2017 were retrieved from the Korea Central Cancer Registry database linked with the National Health Information Database of the National Health Insurance Service. The age-standardized cumulative incidence of CC, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of distant metastasis at presentation, and adjusted all-cause mortality hazard ratios (HRs) within 5 years post-diagnosis were assessed according to the income gradient.

Alcohol use during pregnancy: findings from a gender-based violence survey in Mongolia.

This study aimed to explore the risk factors for alcohol use during pregnancy in Mongolia, wherein high-risk alcohol use is prevalent. We analyzed nationwide data from the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Survey of Mongolia conducted in 2017. We conducted an analysis restricted to 2714 women who had given birth within 5 years of the survey and who had responded to questions about their health-related behaviors during pregnancy.