• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.107-113
• /
• 2015

Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate the factors including possibility of bipolar disorder that are related to intensity of suicidal idea. Methods : The study subjects consisted of 50 patients who did suicidal attempt and treated at the Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital Emergency Room. All participants underwent psychiatric interview and underwent Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale(C-SSRS), Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), Korean Version of Mood Disorder Questionnaire(MDQ) and Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale(BSDS) to evaluate patient's suicide attempt, severity of depression and possibility of bipolar disorder. Results : Compared to non-high risk group, suicide high risk group showed significantly higher BDI(p<0.001) and intensity of ideation(IOI) in C-SSRS(p<0.001). Also intensity of ideation(IOI) was correlated with Mood Disorder Questionnaire(MDQ) bipolarity positive(p=0.033). Conclusions : The present study indicated that possibility of bipolar disorder plays a significant role in suicide attempters. Assessment of suicide ideation severity and possibility of bipolar disorder should be considered when suicide attempters come to emergency room.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.44-51
• /
• 2003

Objectives: Antidepressants are frequently associated with sexual dysfunction. Especially, there were few report of sexual dysfunction related with venlafaxine and mirtazapine in Korea. The purpose of this survey was to evaluate the frequency and nature of sexual dysfunction related with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs), venlafaxine and mirtazapine by the use of specific questionaires. Methods: In one hundred twenty two patients, sexual dysfunction was investigated cross-sectionally by using The questionaires for sexual dysfunction, which includes questions about decreased libido, delayed orgasm or ejaculation, premature ejaculation or orgasm, absence of orgasm or ejaculation, erectile dysfunction in men/vaginal lubrication dysfunction in women, sexual pain and patient's tolerance of the sexual dysfunction. BDI was also measured. Sexual dysfunction was analyzed in association with the duration and the dose of medications and the severity of depression. Results: The incidence of sexual dysfunction during antidepressants use in our survey was 37.7%. There were no difference of incidence in sexes(p=.746). In comparison of paroxetine, venlafaxine and mirtazapine, there were no significant differences of the incidence(p=.065) and the severity of any type of sexual dysfunction. Conclusion: Although there were no significant differences of sexual dysfunction in our survey, sexual dysfunction may be closely associated with antidepressants. Further prospective study of sexual dysfunction should be needed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.58-65
• /
• 2001

Objectives : It is well known that pharmacologic and behavioral therapies of panic disorder show remarkable acute treatment outcome, however the course of panic disorder in clinical settings is often chronic and relapsing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the treatment outcome of panic disorder and the factors related to good treatment outcome by prospective follow-up study after 6 month in clinical settings. Methods : Twenty nine patients were diagnosed to have panic disorder by SCID(Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R), among the patients who had visited the psychiatric out-patients clinic of the Asan Medical Center for the first time. We determined the initial clinical and demoraphic features of each patient and reevaluated them after 6 months, investigating the treatment outcome by anxiety, phobia, impairment scales. We looked into the rate of the patients who showed good treatment outcome and determined the factors that had relation with good treatment outcome among demographic and clinical features. Results : Nineteen out of 29 patients could be followed after 6 months. Among them, 10 patients 52.6%) on the impairment scale and phobia scale each, and 8 patients(42.1 %) on the anxiety scale showed good treatment outcome. 8 patients(42.1 %) showed good treatment outcome on the all three scales. High score in initial phobia scale had significant relation with good treatment outcome. Short duration of illness did not have significant relation with good treatment outcome however there was a trend(p=0.07). Conclusion : About half(42.1 %) of the panic disorder patients showed good treatment outcome on all three scales. Severe initial phobic symptom and short duration of illness were expected to have relation with good treatment outcome.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.72-78
• /
• 1999

This study was aimed to investigate the nature of functional impairment in social phobia and the correlation between the functional impairment and the duration of the disease, and the severity of the symptoms. In 66 patients with social phobia, the functional impairments were assessed with the SDS(Sheehan's disability scale) and the LSRDS(Liebowitz self-rated disability scale), and the severity of the symptoms was assessed with the SPS(social phobia scale). The results were summarized as follow : 1) Most of the social phobic patients reported moderate to severe impairment in their lives in areas of education, employment, family relationships, romantic relationships, social networks, and other interests, etc. 2) There was a significant correlation between the severity of the symptoms and the disability in their lives. 3) The offensive social phobic patients reported that they had more disability in their lives and more severe symptoms than non-offensive patients did. 4) There was no significant correlation between the duration of disease and the disability in their lives. Conclusively, we confirmed that social phobia was associated with the functional impairment in most areas of their lives.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.3-9
• /
• 1994

The psychobiological model of cancer has a long history, with Galen's view on melancholic woman being often quoted. From a historical perspective, the 1950s witnessed a surge of interest in psychosomatic medicine and in researches linking psychological, social, and environmental factors to disease onset and progression. The 1960s witnessed the growth of animal experiements, in the hope of better understanding the effects of psychological and behavioral factors on carcinogenesis while controlling confounding variables. The 1970s saw rapid advances in immunology and neurochemistry. Further researches in the 1980s in psychoneuroimmunology explored relationships between immunological responses and psychosocial variables, and their implications for cancer vulnerability and progression. In this review, the interacting aspects of oncology and psychiatry are presented with selected major findings in the fold of psychooncology researches.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.66 no.4
• /
• pp.281-306
• /
• 2014

This paper explores the how the disability type, severeness and economic activeness affects marital satisfaction, and seeks to improve marital satisfaction among disabled by clarifying mediating effects of discriminatory experiences in everyday experiences. This research was done with 3,463 married disabled who were prone to everyday discrimination, among whom were enrolled in research database of Employment Development Institute of Korea Employment Promotion Agency for the Disabled. The research showed positive effects between marital satisfaction and everyday discriminatory experience except for unemployed people and severe among all the disabled type (external disability, sensory disability, mental disability, internal disability), disability severeness (severe and light), and economic activeness (paid workers, self-employed, home-worker, unemployed, not economically active). Also, relationship between disability type, severeness, economical activeness and marital satisfaction was partly mediated through everyday discriminatory experiences. Therefore, active movements to reduce everyday discrimination are strongly advised.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.3-10
• /
• 2010

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a chronic motor and vocal tic disorder of childhood onset. Abnornmalities in basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits may play an important role in the pathophysiology underlying the involuntary tics. It is often complicated by comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) is a neurophysiologic technique with research ap-plication. As there is good evidence that this technique can modify cortical activity, repetitive TMS is also used for treatment to change the cortical excitability and therefore affect underlying interconnected cortical-sub-cortical loop. We reviewed the neurophysiologic parameters and the clinical applicability of TMS and rTMS.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.3-14
• /
• 2002

Childhood psychic trauma appears to be a crucial factor in the development of serious disorders both in childhood and in adulthood. Traumatized children show strong tendency to revisualize or re-feel a traumatic events. Play and behavioral reenactments are frequent manifestations of both the single blow and the long-standing traumas in childhood. Those children who suffer the results of single, intense terror appear to exhibit detailed memory, retrospective reworkings and misperceptions. In long-standing or repetitive trauma, children would show psychic numbing, self-hypnosis, dissociation and rage. Child's brain is undergoing critical and sensitive periods of differentiation. During this time, developing central nervous system is exquisitely sensitive to stress. Stressor-activated neurotransmitters and hormones can play major roles in neurogenesis, migration, synaptogenesis, and neurochemical differentiation. Internal opiate system operates in some trauma and causes the victim to fail to respond, to avoid, to shut off feelings. Evidence is also accumulating in traumatology that dysfuntion of locus coeruleus and ventral tegmental neucleus system leads to catecholamine receptors hypersensitivity. This change result in hypervigilance, increased startle, affective lability, and increased autonomic nervous system hyperreactivity. Another site of action of trauma on the brain is hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Individuals with PTSD do not have enough cortisol to halt the alarm reaction. When children are exposed to long-standing extreme events, massive attempts to protect the psyche and to preserve the self are put into gear. These developmental traumas mobilize various kinds of defense mechanisms. Massive denial, dissociation, self anesthesia, identification with aggressor and aggression turned against the self often lead to profound character changes in the youngsters.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.75-81
• /
• 2009

Objectives : This study aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of Korean version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire(SDQ-Kr) by comparing with Korean version of Childhood Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). Methods : The parent version of SDQ-Kr and K-CBCL were administered to parents of 313 children in psychiatric clinic, 91 children referred for psychiatric consultation from pediatric clinic and 93 control children in pediatric clinic. All children aged 4-11 years old. Children in psychiatric clinic were diagnosed with one of followings;ADHD, emotional disorders and oppositional/conduct disorder. Mean scores were compared among three groups by gender. Coefficients were calculated for corresponding problem scales and total scores of both questionnaires. ROC analysis was performed for discriminant validity to distinguish psychiatry and pediatrics samples, and also to distinguish diagnostic groups of psychiatry sample. Results : The psychiatry sample showed highest means of problem scales and total scores, followed by consultation and control sample of pediatrics. SDQ-Kr and K-CBCL were significantly correlated, and equally able to distinguish those samples with SDQ-Kr showing better results. Within the psychiatry sample, SDQ-Kr had higher predictive power for all diagnostic groups. Conclusion : This study supports clinical usefulness of SDQ-Kr. We suggest that SDQ-Kr could be used not only as a diagnostic tool for children in psychiatric clinic but also as an effective and efficient screening instrument for children in need for psychiatric evaluation in pediatric clinic.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.105-111
• /
• 2012

Objectives : We investigated the prevalence and composite score of the neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with mild cognitive impairment(MCI), and dementia of Alzheimer's type(AD). The aim of this study is to analyze the correlation between the result of Korean Neuropsychiatric Inventory(K-NPI) and cognitive function. Methods : A total of 163 patients diagnosed with MCI or AD was divided into three groups(55 MCI patients, 56 dementia patients with mild stage, and 52 dementia patients with moderate, severe stage). We examined neuro-psychiatric symptoms by K-NPI and compared the prevalence and composite score of each subdomain in K-NPI among three groups. Results : The most common symptoms in the MCI group were depression/dysphoria, sleep/night-time behavior, anxiety, and irritability/lability. In mild AD group, the most frequent disturbance was agitation/aggression, depression/dysphoria, anxiety, apathy/indifference, and sleep/night-time behavior. In moderate to severe AD group, the most frequent disturbance was apathy/indifference, depression/dysphoria, agitation/aggression, and delusion. The frequencies of delusion, hallucination, agitation/aggression, apathy/indifference, aberrant motor behavior, appetite/eating change were statistically significant. The total NPI score showed a negative correlation with MMSE-KC and a positive correlation with GDS. Conclusions : Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common features of MCI and AD. These symptoms observed in MCI are similar to those of mild AD. Psychosis is most common in moderate to severe AD, leading to a faster rate of cognitive decline. Therefore, proper management according to the neuropsychiatric symptoms of MCI and three stages of dementia is needed.