• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.149-160
• /
• 2014

The suicide rate in the elderly is continually increasing. Effective suicide prevention requires that factors affecting suicidal ideation are specifically identified and personalized intervention programs are developed. This study aimed to identify the influencing factors of suicidal ideation in Korean elderly. The data of the 2012 Korean National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey was analyzed by using the SPSS program. Frequency, percentile, Chi-square test, multiple logistic regression were used. The influencing factors of suicidal ideation were education, income, exercise, perceived stress and depression. The Odds Ratio of the depression was 5.68 and the Odds Ratio of the perceived stress was 3.45. This study suggested that elderly suicidal prevention programs should be developed in preventing and reducing stress and depression.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.105-118
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of Activities Daily Living(ADL)(physical health), depression(mental health), social participation(social health) on suicidal ideation among community dwelling elderly. Methods: Samples were obtained from 184 people aged over 65 years old in one county of Kyungsangbukdo. The survey samples were divided into the presence and absence group of the suicidal ideation. Data were analyzed with x² test, t-test and logistic regression analysis. Results: First, suicidal ideation were significantly different by religion. Secondly, after adjusting for socio-economic variables, logistic regression analysis showed that only depression was associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation Conclusions: It was suggested to develop customized depression and suicide prevention program were required to reduce suicide rate of the elderly.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.371-379
• /
• 2015

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the factors influencing inadequate energy intake among Korean elderly. Methods: Our study included 1,869 elderly people (over 60 years old) who completed a dietary survey from the fifth Korean NHANES (2010). Factors that could affect the nutritional status of the elderly included age, family status, socio-economic factors (education, family income, livelihood security, employment), and health related factors (having chronic disease, functional status, diet therapy, depression, and suicidal thoughts). Energy and protein intake were assessed using the dietary intake data from 24hr recall method. Results: The percentage of people who consumed energy less than 75% of EEA for Koreans was 23.7% in men, 31.1% in women. The carbohydrate contribution to the total energy intake in the inadequate energy intake group was significantly higher than that in the adequate intake group (p < 0.05). Factors significantly related to inadequate energy intake after adjusting for age, family status, education, family income, employment, functional status, and suicidal thoughts were education (OR: 1.480 in men, 1.614 in women) and employment (OR: 1.751 in men, 1.464 in women), age 70 years or older in men (OR: 1.475), and living with family but without spouse in women (OR: 1.496). Conclusion: In summary, the results imply that energy intake of elderly would be affected by the status of social environment with aging and nutrition-related policy for Korean elderly should be based on the social status as well as health related conditions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.17 no.10
• /
• pp.509-519
• /
• 2016

This study intends to examine how the subjective health perception of drinkers influences the depression trajectory change by using longitudinal data for elderly drinkers. This study has set up a balanced panel by combining the results from "Aging study panel research" conducted in the year 2006 (1st), 2008 (2nd), 2010 (3rd), 2012 (4th). A total of 543 elderly drinkers, who have responded to each research have been selected as targets for the final analysis. In the analyses, descriptive statistics and Latent Growth Modeling were conducted to examine the causal relationship between the observed and latent variables. The results are as follows: First, it was found that there was a negative correlation-with statistical significance-between the initial value of subjective health perception and the initial status of depression symptom. Second, there was a positive correlation between the initial value of subjective health perception and the changes of depression symptom. This indicates that elderly drinkers with high health perception usually have high degree of depression change; however, this does not mean it was statistically significant. Third, there was a statistically significant correlation between subjective health perception change and depression symptom change. It was found that the depression change level would be low if the subjective health perception change level was high. Thus, we can assume that the depression symptoms of elderly drinker c would slow down if the subjective health perception level increases.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.47 no.9
• /
• pp.111-124
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study was to develop the group counseling program for elderly decreasing the level of depression and preventing suicidal ideation and to evaluate the effectiveness of this program. The subjects of this study were 18 elderly people who are older than 65 years old, they were divided into 2 groups: the experimental group(n = 9) and control group(n = 9). The experimental group participated in the group counseling program. The programs of these experimental groups were implemented twice a week for 90-120 minutes per session over 6-week period. But there were no treatments for the control group. The pre-test, the post-test and the follow-up test were implemented in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The instruments used in the study were the Korean Dementia Rating Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form-Korean Version and the Scale for Suicidal Ideation. The data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U Test and Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed Ranks Test. The findings of the study were as follows: The experimental group had significant effects on decreasing the level of depression and the suicidal ideation. Meanwhile the control group were increasing the depression and did not show any significant change in the suicidal ideation. Based on these findings, the limitation of the study was discussed, and further research was suggested.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.24-29
• /
• 2014

Objectives : This study aimed to investigate the associations between physical disorders and prevalent/incident suicidal ideation in a community dwelling older population aged 65 years or over. Methods : 1204 people aged 65 years or over evaluated at baseline. Suicidal ideation was identified using the questions from the community version of the Geriatric Mental State Schedule ("GMS B3"). Reported physical disorders covering 11 common and generally chronic health problems were ascertained. Covariates included were depression, age, gender, years of education, accommodation status, past occupation, and current occupation. Of 1066 without suicidal ideation at baseline, 805 (76%) were followed 2 years later, and incident suicidal ideation was evaluated. Results : Prevalent suicidal ideation was significantly associated with 4 of 11 physical disorders: eyesight problems, persistent cough, heart disease and paralysis or weakness in one leg or arm. Incident suicidal ideation was associated with 3 physical disorders: asthma, high blood pressure and paralysis or weakness in one leg or arm. Both prevalent and incident suicidal ideation were significantly associated with increased number of physical disorders. Conclusions : Certain physical disorders were comorbid and precipitating factors of suicidal ideation in elders. And appropriate intervention and treatment of physical disorders might prevent suicidal ideation in elderly.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.139-146
• /
• 2014

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the correlation between health status, health-promoting behavior, self-esteem and suicidal ideation among the elderly. Method: Subjects consisted of 115 elderly persons. Data were collected from January to March 2013, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation analysis. Results: The mean scores for health status ($2.41{\pm}.68$), health-promoting behavior ($2.38{\pm}.43$), and self-esteem ($2.87{\pm}.69$) among the elderly fell in the average range, whereas scores for suicidal ideation ($.48{\pm}.36$) among the elderly fell in the below average range. Health status differed significantly according to age, educational level and economic status. Health-promoting behavior did not differ significantly based on these general characteristics. Self-esteem differed significantly according to age, job, and number of people living in the household. Suicidal ideation differed significantly based on age, educational level, and economic status. Significant correlations were found between health status, health-promoting behavior, self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. Conclusion: These findings indicate that perceived health status, health-promoting behavior, and self-esteem may be factors that need to be considered in order to decrease the prevalence of suicidal ideation among the elderly. These results can be used to develop a suicide prevention program for the elderly.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.335-346
• /
• 2020

Objectives: This study investigated the association between oral health and suicide attempts in adults aged 65 years or older using the 7^th Korea National Health and Examination Survey (KHANES, 2016-2018). Methods: Of the total 24,269 participants of the 7^th KHANES (2016-2018), 1,488 adults aged 65 years or older who had an oral health examination were selected. Variations in suicide attempts with demographic characteristics and perceived oral health status were analyzed using the χ² test, and the association between oral health and suicide attempts was analyzed using the logistic regression model. Results: The suicide attempt rate was higher among older adults with chewing (p<0.01) and speaking (p<0.05) difficulties. The odds ratio for a suicide attempt was 1.05 times higher among those with tooth loss (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results showed that older adults with tooth loss had an increased risk of suicide. Thus, it is important to prevent tooth loss, in the first place, through proper oral health management. If tooth loss occurs, appropriate treatment should be prioritized to facilitate functional recovery. Finally, national support is required for older adults with limited access to dental care.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.603-614
• /
• 2017

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the health and nutritional status of Korean adults according to food security by age group. Methods: The subjects were 20~79 year old adults (n = 16,595) who participated in the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010~2012). Subjects were divided into three groups based on food security such as secure, mildly insecure, and moderately/severely insecure groups. Dietary intake was estimated by 24-hour dietary recall. As for mental health status, the data on mental stress, sleep hours, depression symptoms, and suicide ideation were used. Results: Korean adults who were exposed to high food insecurity typically had low income levels, lived alone, and were recipients of basic welfare. In the 20~39y group, people with higher food insecurity had lower concentrations of hemoglobin and higher iron-binding capacity. In the 40~59y group, people with higher food insecurity had lower HDL-cholesterol. In the 60~79y group, people with higher food insecurity had higher total cholesterol levels, more stress, more experiences of depression symptoms, and were more suicidal. Mean intakes of energy, protein, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, carotene, vitamin $B_1$, vitamin $B_2$, niacin, and vitamin C were lower in the food insecure groups. Amounts of vegetables, fruits, and seasoning intakes tended to be lower in people with higher food insecurity. The effects of food security on nutrition intake were greater in the 40~59y and 60~79y groups than the 20-39y group. Conclusion: Food insecurity was related to certain health indicators such as anemia and cholesterol levels and affected mental health. The effects of food insecurity on health and nutritional status were different by age group.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.210-217
• /
• 2010

Objectives : We investigated a correlation of cognitive function, depression, suicidal idea and serum lipid levels in Korean elderly over 60 years old to find risk factors of deprssion and cognitive decline. Methods : 834 persons participated in this study. Clinical evaluation was done at a point by using Mini-Mental State Examination in the Korean version of CERAD assessment packet(MMSE-KC). We also evaluated 165 persons that agreed to our exact examination for Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS), Scale for Suicidal Ideation(SSI), Hachinski Ischemic Score and serum lipid profile. Correlation analysis was used to evaluate correlation among serum lipid levels, MMSE-KC and SSI. One-way ANOVA was used for comparison of serum lipid levels and cognitive function, depression and SSI. We did a post-hoc analysis. Results : Depression and suicidal ideation were related with cognitive impairment in Korean elderly over 60 years old. Those who have more severe cognitive impairment and depressive symptom, have higher Hachinski ischemic score. We can see high HDL cholesterol levels only in the normal control group. Low total, HDL, LDL cholesterol were related with depression. Conclusion : There was high prevalence of depression in the Korean elderly over 60 years old and low serum lipid level was related with severity of depression and high suicidal ideation. In the normal control group, we can see high HDL cholesterol levels. To confirm this result, we need well-designed and wide range study.