• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.273-284
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• 2019

Objective: This study was performed to estimate the number of those who used humidifier disinfectants (HDs) and experienced health effects from exposure to HDs in Korea between 1994 and 2011. Methods: A nationwide interview survey was conducted for the representative sample to identify the proportion of those who used HDs among the general population (n=3,001). Another online survey was conducted for those exposed to HDs to find the proportion of those who experienced health effects among those who were exposed to HDs (n=3,993). Statistics for population size by region and year (1994-2011) were used to estimate the cumulative number of those exposed to HDs and those who experienced health effects. In terms of the proportion of those exposed to HDs, those less than 30 years of age were excluded due to an issue related to information bias. Various approaches for estimation included the capture-recapture method for estimation of those who experienced health effects. Results: The cumulative proportion of those exposed to HDs was 6.7% among the general population, and the proportion of those who experienced health effects among those who were exposed to HDs was 13.9%. Based on these factors, it was estimated that 3.5 to 4.0 million people were exposed to HDs and 350 to 400 thousand experienced health effects at least requiring visiting a hospital. Conclusion: It is suggested that a nationwide representative sample may be essential for population size estimation of those exposed to environmental risk factors and of those who experienced health effects.