• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.78-85
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• 2021

Objectives: When elderly patients show depressive symptoms, discrimination between depressive disorder and prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease is important. We tested whether a quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) marker was associated with cerebral amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in older adults with depression. Methods: Non-demented older individuals (≥ 55years) diagnosed with depression were included in the analyses (n = 63; 76.2% female; mean age ± standard deviation 73.7 ± 6.87 years). The participants were divided into Aβ+ (n = 32) and Aβ- (n = 31) groups based on amyloid PET assessment. EEG was recorded during the 7min eye-closed (EC) phase and 3min eye-open (EO) phase, and all EEG data were analyzed using Fourier transform spectral analysis. We tested interaction effects among Aβ positivity, condition (EC vs. EO), laterality (left, midline, or right), and polarity (frontal, central, or posterior) for EEG alpha band power. Then, the EC-to-EO alpha reactivity index (ARI) was examined as a neurophysiological marker for predicting Aβ+ in depressed older adults. Results: The mean power spectral density of the alpha band in EO phase showed a significant difference between the Aβ+ and Aβ- groups (F = 6.258, p = 0.015). A significant 3-way interaction was observed among Aβ positivity, condition, and laterality on alpha-band power after adjusting for age, sex, educational years, global cognitive function, medication use, and white matter hyperintensities on MRI (F = 3.720, p = 0.030). However, post-hoc analyses showed no significant difference in ARI according to Aβ status in any regions of interest. Conclusion: Among older adults with depression, increased power in EO phase alpha band was associated with Aβ positivity. However, EC-to-EO ARI was not confirmed as a predictor for Aβ+ in depressed older individuals. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our results.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 2024

This study attempted to examine the research trends of single-person households with disabilities using a systematic literature review research method. To this end, 2,161 papers published by September 30, 2023 were searched in a total of four databases: KCI, RISS, KISS, and e-Articl, combining related search terms such as single-person households with disabilities, single-person households and disabled person living alone. In five stages, irrelevant literature to single-person households with disabilities was excluded, and the final 13 documents were selected and analyzed. As a result of the study, first, research topics were classified into research topics for single-person households, analysis of the actual conditions and related factors, issues and support measures related to single-person households, and three case studies related to single-person households. Second, women, age, income, interpersonal skills, health, unemployment, and family support are lower in single-person households with disabilities. Accordingly, based on the research results, suggestions for follow-up studies and practical and policy implications for social welfare were presented.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.275-280
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• 2010

Propose: Due to the rapid growth of medical technologies and the increasing population of older people, we investigated clinical status of ocular dimensions and visual acuity for pre and post cataract surgeries of people over age 90. Methods: From March 2007 to February 2009, we investigated eighty-two eyes of forty-eight patients who had undergone cataract surgeries at an ophthalmic clinic (Ansung, Kyungi-do), investigated maximum corrected vision, axial length, anterior chamber depth and accompanied ocular diseases before and after the surgeries based on the collected data. Results: As patients aged, axial length unchanged but anterior chamber depth decreased over all due to the increase of intraocular lens thickness, and men tended to have a higher degree than women. Seventy-one (86.6%) of eighty-two eyes showed improved corrected vision than before surgeries and forty-three (52.4%) eyes could see more than visual acuity of 0.5. Conclusions: Patients with the systemic disease and accompanied ocular disease showed low vision less than 0.5 after cataract surgery compared to same healthy age peoples. But the others improved correction visual acuity more than 0.5, so the cataract surgery was surely necessary for people over 90 years old and also the presence of ocular disease could have a great influence on correction visual acuity.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.417-431
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• 2007

This study investigates the differences among residental areas in the health, standard of living, and social relationships of female elderly living alone. The total of 501 subjects(185 from rural areas, 159 from fishing communities, 77 from the islands, and 80 from urban areas) were questioned from May to July, 2006. The research area was confined to Chungcheong Province. The female elderly living alone of this study were an average of seventy-three years old, had a low cost of living, and received little formal school education. Over sixty percent(60.3) of them lived on less than thirty dollars a month which was the recognized Korean poverty level in 2006. The female elderly living alone were evaluated as being in good health, but they themselves perceived their health as being poor. Observed by residential areas, the subjects in urban areas were lower in ADL, and both the urban dwellers and the islanders appeared to be higher in their satisfaction with medical services as compared to those in rural areas and fishing communities. The fishing villagers showed the lowest standard of living for female elderly living alone. The analysis of social relationships as seen in the different residental areas revealed that the female elderly living alone g in urban areas tended to be receiving social supports rather than providing for others, and subjects living in fishing areas and the islands proved to be relatively higher in the exchange of social supports. In relation to offspring, the female elderly living alone in urban areas had a lower frequency of meeting with their children and also a lesser degree of intimacy with them because they lived at a distance. On the other hand, subjects living in rural areas and fishing communities had a higher frequency of meeting with their children and a greater degree of intimacy with them even if they lived at a distance. The study also showed that the female elderly living alone in the islands had a higher frequency of once meeting per three week with their offspring and a higher degree of intimacy with them because they all live in the same islands. In conclusion, the subject living in urban areas appeared to be isolated from their offspring as compared to the other seniors in the study. The female elderly living alone in urban areas suffered from an insufficient network of relatives and neighbors, and they experienced a poor quality of relationships to their offspring. Almost all of the lone seniors in the study had a low score in social activities; however, the female elderly living alone in urban areas revealed a higher level of participation in volunteer activities, group activities, and educational activities. Nevertheless, the lone seniors living in urban areas were not satisfied with their participation in social activities. The subjects living in rural in fishing communities and the islands showed more participation in money-making activities. This study suggests that the policies for female elderly living alone should reflect the differences of regional characteristics.