• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.177-184
• /
• 2020

Objectives : Postpartum depression is known to occur in 10-15% of mothers. The concentration of cytokine varies depending on stress, depression, pregnancy and general medical conditions. We hypothesized that the concentration of cytokines may be related to reproduction and childbirth, and that women with postpartum depression would show alterations in cytokines levels. Methods : A total of 104 pregnant women were selected as subjects, and 60 non-pregnant women were selected as normal controls. Symptoms of depression were evaluated in the pregnant study subjects using the diagnostic criteria outlined in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The pregnant subjects were divided into three groups perinatal non-depression controls (n=61), postpartum depression-recovery (n=18), and postpartum depression (n=25). Results : The plasma concentration of TGF-β1, IGF-1 was higher in the pregnant group than in non-pregnant controls (TGF-β1 ; p<0.01, IGF-1 ; p=0.026). At 24 weeks of pregnancy and 6 weeks of delivery, there were no significant differences in the plasma concentration of TGF-β1, IGF-1, β-NGF, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α between the three groups. There was no statistically significant difference in all three groups during the course of depression in pregnant women. Conclusions : This study found significant difference in plasma cytokines concentrations between non-pregnant controls and perinatal non-depression controls.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.33-43
• /
• 2019

Objectives: Bipolar disorder is characterized by repetitive relapses that result in psychosocial dysfunctions. The functioning of bipolar disorder patients is related to the severity of symptoms, quality of sleep, drug compliance, and social support. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between sociodemographic and clinical factors and functional status in bipolar disorder patients. Methods: A total of 52 bipolar disorder patients participated in the study. The following scales were utilized: Korean version of personal and social performance scale (K-PSP), Korean version of Hamilton rating scale for depression (K-HDRS), Korean version of young mania rating scale (K-YMRS), Korean version of pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI-K), Korean version of drug attitude inventory (K-DAI), mood disorders insight scale (MDIS), and multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS). Results: The K-PSP score showed a negative relationship with K-HDRS score (r = -0.387, p = 0.005), but not with K-YMRS score (r = -0.205, p = 0.145). The K-PSP score showed a negative relationship with global PSQI-K score (r = -0.378, p = 0.005) and overall sleep quality (r = -0.353, p = 0.010). The K-PSP scores were positively associated with the KDAI score (r = 0.409, p = 0.003) and MSPSS score (r = 0.334, p = 0.015). The predictive factors for K-PSP were overall sleep quality and social support from family. Conclusion: Our study showed that depressive symptoms were related to overall function in bipolar disorder. Also, our study suggested that improving sleep quality is important in maintaining functional status. Appropriate social support and positive perception toward the drug may lead to the higher level of functioning. This study is meaningful in that the functional status of bipolar disorder patients is analyzed in a multivariate manner in relation to various variables in psychosocial aspects.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.97-107
• /
• 2020

Since long ago, there has been a saying that "Drink water to quench thirst, drink alcohol to remove anguish and anxiety, and drink tea to recover from fatigue and refresh mind." Tea is really better for body and mind than water when it is drunken long and is valuable Jinda(眞茶) given by mother nature. In particular, curing tea reflecting characteristics of climate changes in all seasons helps in keeping health. Since tea contains the Yin-Yang system, which is a philosophical ideology of ancient people, old predecessors knew which tea they should brew and drink for curing in harmony with Yin and Yang. As a factor that influences component changes of tea, a complex interaction of heaven, earth and man is important and especially, mind of a person to handle tea is most important. Tea is a natural curing drink, which plays a role as a bridge between humans and nature.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.67 no.4
• /
• pp.127-152
• /
• 2015

This study aimed to implement the enhancement program for the social work practice competency for children of community child center workers and to evaluate the program's effects. For this purpose, the program was implemented for ten community child center workers five times for five weeks(once a week, 120 minutes per session). For the quantitative evaluation, a non-equivalent control group design among quasi-experimental designs was used, and for the qualitative evaluation, the written materials related with the program were collected and analyzed. The results of the quantitative evaluation revealed that the social work practice skills and worker-client relationship empowerment of the community child center workers who participated in the competency enhancement program were significantly improved. In the qualitative evaluation, the subjective experiences were presented, including the improvement of the worker's practice competency and the worker's awareness of the changes in the child, the recognition of the strong points and the points to be improved in the program. This study is expected to raise the expertise and effectiveness of community child center workers, and ultimately, to contribute to the healthy development and the improvement of the mental health of children by improving the social work practice competency of the workers in community child centers, which comprise the representative service delivery system for children in South Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.187-201
• /
• 2022

Purpose: This study discovered a substantive theory of the experience and process of peer support work among people with mental illness. Methods: The participants were members of community-based mental health facilities and had been working as peer supporters for more than six months. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with twelve participants and analyzed using Corbin and Strauss's grounded theory approach. Results: The core category was "becoming a healer going with patients in the journey of recovery," and the core phenomenon was "identity confusion as a peer supporter." The causal conditions were "starting peer support work without certainty" and "standing at the boundary between the therapist and patient." The intervening conditions were "willingness to become a successful peer supporter," "feeling a sense of homogeneity with the patient," "accepting the mental illness," and "support from people around." The action and interaction strategies were "letting go of greed," "being open about oneself," "developing professional skills," "maintaining wellness in the body and mind," and "being with the patient." The consequences were "becoming a useful person," "changing attitude toward life," "expansion of the sense of self-existence," "recovering from mental illness," and "discovering a role as peer supporter." Finally, the substantive theory of "becoming a healer going with patients in the journey of recovery" was derived. Conclusion: This study provides a holistic understanding of peer support work and the implications of interventions to help people with mental illness in a person-centered recovery process.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.39
• /
• pp.322-349
• /
• 1999

The purpose of the study is to investigate kinds of social support provided by various types of family members, relationships between types of family support and personal variables of the elderly and structural variables of the family network, and the relationships between family support and depression of the elderly. Here, family included a spouse, sons and daughters and their spouses, grandchildren, siblings and parents of an older person. Social support consisted of emotional, instrumental, financial help and social companionship. Two-hundred-eight older persons of age 60 years and over were interviewed. The main results of the study were as follows: an older person's spouse tended to provide more for emotional support, sons for financial help, daughters-in-law for instrumental support, and daughters for emotional and financial support. Some elderly were also provided for emotional support by parents and siblings. Possibility of daughters-in-laws and grandchildren as support providers was also verified. Various factors among personal and network-structural characteristics were significantly related to many types of social support provided by various types of family members. In general, while younger female elders, elders with good IADL ability or more frequent contacts with family members tended to have social support from more family members, support from daughters-in-law was provided to the elderly with less functional abilities. Various types of social support from a spouse were significantly related to depression level of the elderly. Their depression level was more related to whether or not sons and daughters-in-law exist rather than whether or not they provide social support. Practical methods to increase family support for the elderly were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.69 no.3
• /
• pp.165-191
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study is to identify the major predictive factors of intention of drug users to use treatment services. The theoretical framework was used extended Behavioral Model of Health Services Use which integrates the Andersen model and the Theory of Planned Behavior. Thus, this study examined the effects of individual characteristics(predisposing, enabling, need factor) and attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control on drug users' intention to use treatment services. Factors with a statistically significant effect were as follows: from the individual characteristics - gender and past treatment experiences of the predisposing factors along with psychiatric diagnosis, anxiety and depression, and severity of drug abuse of need factors. From the Theory of Planned Behavior - subjective norm and perceived behavior control turned out to have impacts on their intention to use treatment services. The study emphasizes that a concern of women, increasing positive experiences of treatment, efforts to change the subjective norms and perceived behavior control of drug users to promote their determination to get treatment.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.458-463
• /
• 2016

This study aimed to assess changes in maximum bite force and psychological elements in patients with bruxism treated with botulinum toxin who visited the hospital with a chief complaint of masseter hypertrophy. From among the subjects with masseter hypertrophy as the chief complaint, 10 patients with and 10 without bruxism were selected. We measured bite force prior to botulinum toxin injection and at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the injection and assessed changes in psychological elements by using Symptom Checklist 90 Revision. The study results showed statistically significant differences in maximum bite force on both the right and left sides between the patients with and those without bruxism, according to periodic changes (p<0.05). Depression elements showed statistically significant changes in the patients with bruxism (p<0.05). In the bruxism and non-bruxism groups, the patients recovered from anxiety in accordance with the periodic changes (p<0.05). Our study results indicate that the patients with bruxism show significant changes in interpersonal sensitivity, depression, and anxiety according to the treatment periods, and that occlusal force and depression were significantly related. Therefore, when setting a treatment plan for bruxism, multilateral psychological elements must be considered, along with functional elements.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.120-128
• /
• 2017

Objectives : Although antipsychotics are commonly used to control symptoms of delirium, there is a lack of research on the prescription pattern and its clinical effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of antipsychotics prescription pattern on clinical course of delirious patients consulted to psychiatry. Methods : During the period from July 2016 to February 2017, 212 patients who were referred for delirium were reviewed for their medical records. The duration of delirium was monitored using CAM-ICU, and duration of admission, mortality, and delirium at discharge were reviewed. Clinical course was compared among three groups according to the antipsychotic drug administration pattern: Continuous use group, optimal use group and PRN use group. Results : The pattern of taking antipsychotic medication longer than duration of delirium did not associated with better clinical course compared with the pattern of adapting to the period of delirium and rather increased the risk of taking antipsychotic medication at discharge. When used for a shorter period than the delirium period, it was associated with poor clinical course. Conclusions : The results of this study suggest that a strategy to administer antipsychotics for a minimum period, according to periods of delirium, is appropriate. Also, efforts are needed to minimize the use of antipsychotic drugs after recovery from delirium.

• 재활복지
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.247-259
• /
• 2017

We investigated the improvement of cognitive functions, activity of daily living (ADL), and quality of life (QoL) after hemorrhagic stroke and identified associated factors. For this research, twenty-five patients with a hemorrhagic stroke were enrolled. We measured cognitive function, activity of daily living (ADL), and quality of life (QoL) from 7 days to 12 months after onset of stroke. Then we analyzed the correlation between cognitive function and other risk factors. According to results, cognitive functions improved during 12 months with statistically significant differences. Other functions were similar to cognitive functions. Improvement of cognitive functions were correlated with age, the type of hemorrhagic stroke and Glasgow coma scale at 7 days after stroke. Overall, cognitive function in patients with hemorrhagic stroke recovered from acute to 12 months after onset of stroke. And, improvement of cognitive function at this phase were associated with age, the type of hemorrhagic stroke and GCS score at 7 days. These results would provide us an information to plan cognitive rehabilitation in patients with hemorrhagic stroke.