• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.418-431
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• 2022

Purpose: The aims of this study were to examine the rate of depression among older adults living alone and to identify factors associated with depression in older adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A secondary data analysis was performed using data from the 2020 Korea Community Health Survey. The study participants were 18,824 older adults aged 65 years and over living alone. The data of the complex sample design was analyzed with consideration for weights, stratification, and clustering. Complex sample multiple logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with depression in older adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The results showed that the rate of depression in older adults living alone was 6.3%. Older adults living alone with decreased physical activity, decreased hours of sleep, and an increased or similar frequency of meeting with friends or neighbors were found to be more likely to have depression. In terms of factors related to the practice of COVID-19 infection prevention and control rules, not disinfecting regularly and not wearing a mask indoors were related to depression. For health-related factors, fair or poor self-rated health status, not having breakfast every day, and feeling stressed were related to depression. Conclusion: It is recommended to develop tailored interventions to prevent depression among older adults living alone by considering the factors related to their depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.659-668
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• 2016

Purpose: This study utilized secondary data and investigated the factors associated with life satisfaction by living arrangements among community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older in Korea. Methods: A total of 2,134 participants were selected from the 2014 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results: The significant factors associated with life satisfaction in older adults living with others were education level (odds ratio [OR] 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41~2.11), place of residence in medium-size city (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.25~1.97), place of residence in rural town(OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.19~1.95), depression (OR 2.99, 95% CI 2.43~3.68), frequency of contact with neighbors (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.10~1.76), and social participation (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.14~1.93). In contrast, factors associated with life satisfaction among older adults living alone were education level (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.15~3.24) and depression (OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.48~4.19). Conclusion: These findings indicated that nursing interventions for improving life satisfaction among older adults should take into account their specific living arrangements.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.79-89
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• 2022

Whereas systolic blood pressure (SBP) continuously rises with age, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) gradually decreases after the age of 55 years. Therefore, hypertension in the elderly shows the pattern of isolated systolic hypertension. There is evidence on the benefits of controlling blood pressure (BP) in elderly patients with hypertension. The BP lowering effect has also been demonstrated in patients over 80 years of age with hypertension. The BP threshold for the initiation of antihypertensive drug treatment for older adults with hypertension is gradually decreasing. The antihypertensive treatment is recommended if, despite therapeutic lifestyle modifications, SBP ≥140 mmHg or DBP ≥90 mmHg in those aged 65-79 years old, and SBP ≥140-160 mmHg or DBP ≥90 mmHg in those aged ≥80 years old. Although there is no consensus on the target BP for older adults with hypertension, a target SBP of <130-140 mmHg and DBP of <80-90 mmHg are recommended. In older adults over 80 years of age with hypertension, the target SBP is <140-150 mmHg. When the dose of antihypertensive drugs is increased to reach the target SBP, DBP may decrease to less than 70 mmHg, but it should not be <60 mmHg. Thiazide diuretics, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or angiotensin receptor blockers can be selected as the first-line drug for older adults with hypertension. Beta-blockers may be selected in case of compelling indications.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.291-302
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• 2020

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between oral health and suicide attempts in adults aged 19 years or older using the 7^th Korea National Health and Examination Survey (KHANES, 2016-2018). Methods: Of the 24,269 participants in the 7^th KHANES (2016-2018), 7,261 adults aged 19 years or older who had an oral health examination were selected. Complex samples crosstabulation (χ²-test) was performed to determine the rate of suicide ideation by general characteristics. Complex samples logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of oral health on suicide attempts. Results: Participants with gingivitis were 1.7 times more likely to receive mental health counseling (p<0.05) and 1.6 times more likely to attempt suicide (p<0.05). Conclusions: Oral health is significantly associated with suicide attempts in adults aged 19 years or older, and this emphasizes the importance of oral health management as an intervention for preventing suicide and improving the health of adults.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.344-353
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to offer the basis contributes to extract the standardized body data from 3D body measuring for women aged 60 and older. The WB4 of Cyberware was used, and the measuring program of 3D scanning data was 3DM. This study was focused to verify the reliability of 3D data and to offer the effective utilization of 3D measuring on the research for elderly women■s body. Subjects were 19 women aged 60 and older. And three women in late twenties and three dressforms for women were comparing subjects to analyze the signiscant difference by age or human body variable making error. First, 3D scanning was executed twice on each subject, but any significant difference was not appear between two scanning data. So we certifed we could get the consistent and reliable data from the 3D scanner used in this study. Second, the reliability of 3D measuring data was analyzed, and the error range which meant the difference between 3D data and traditional measuring data was analyzed. In elderly women, the significant difference between two data was appeared in 19 body parts. The 7 of 19 were concerned with armpit point. In young women, three significant difference were appeared, and in dressforms, any significant difference was not certified. From these results, we could certify that age or human body variable produced the difference between two data. Third, the data of elderly women from three measuring methods, 3D measuring, traditional measuring, and measuring on 2D photographs were compared. From the result, we found that the 3D measuring data was quite reliable for most body parts excluding some width parts. But in elderly women, there were some limitation to extract reliable data because of their unique body characteristics. In order to be a role of the effective measuring method, the 3D measuring protocol reflected the body characteristics of each age or gender had to be prepared.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2024

Purpose: This study investigated hand-washing practice among community-dwelling older adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and aimed to identify the impact of COVID-19-related concerns and depression on hand-washing practice. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data extracted from the 2020 Community Health Survey. The primary data were collected through self-reporting from August 10 to September 8, 2020 in a cross-sectional study. The subjects comprised of 1,350 adults aged 65 or older living in Jeju Province who participated in the 2020 Community Health Survey. Results: The factors affecting hand-washing practice among older adults were male older adults (β = -.18, p < .001), age (β = -.07, p = .001), no education (β = -.20, p < .001) and elementary, middle, and high school graduation (β = -.15, p < .001) compared to a college or higher education, poor health perception (β = -.13, p < .001), COVID-19-related concerns (β = .08, p = .005), and depression (β = -.07, p = .001). To summarize, the factors negatively affecting hand-washing practice included male gender, lower education level, poor health perception, and depression. In contrast, factors positively associated with hand-washing practice included COVID-19-related concerns. Conclusion: These findings show the importance of considering these multifaceted determinants when designing targeted interventions and educational programs to promote hand-washing among older adults. Additionally, based on the relationship between hand-washing practice and COVID-19-related concerns and depression, interventions that can alleviate mental problems along with providing proper education are required.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study is a data analysis study to determine the physical health problems and reasons for disabilities and activity limitation rates that limit daily life and social activities among the elderly population aged 75 or older in Korea. METHODS: This study data was extracted from the raw data of the 7th National Health and Welfare Survey (2016-2018). The subjects of this study were 1,995 elderly people (823 men, 1,172 women) aged 75 years or older. The collected data were analyzed using frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: From 2016 to 2018, the activity limitation rate among the elderly population aged 75 or older in Korea was 20.6% for men, 24.6% for women, and 23.1% overall. The three major diseases with the highest frequency of activity limitations were back and neck problems (36.5%), arthritis and rheumatism (28.7%), and knee and leg pain (14.7%). Activity limitation due to old age was found to be 13.1%, making it the fourth most frequent reason. The rate of activity limitations due to mental retardation and obesity was found to be 0%. The three major activity limitation rates were significantly related to gender. CONCLUSION: The main diseases causing activity limitations among the elderly population aged 75 or older in Korea were back and neck problems, arthritis and rheumatism, and musculoskeletal diseases such as knee and leg pain. Therefore, it is believed that it can be used as basis data for reducing the activity limitation rate of the elderly population in the aging era.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.205-212
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• 2019

Background: Sleep disorder is a precursor to depression, which is one of the psychological factors associated with periodontal disease that, in turn, affects general and periodontal health. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, depression, and periodontitis in older people aged over 65 years. Methods: A total of 2,002 older adults aged 65 years or older were included in the study. Their general and health aspects, including smoking, drinking, diabetes, hypertension, and depression, were investigated. Periodontitis was examined using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Data were analyzed through a complex sampling design method. Frequency and crossover analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between depression and periodontitis. To investigate the effect of depression on periodontitis, a logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Regarding depression and participants' general characteristics, statistically significant differences were found in sex, economic activity, smoking habit, and CPI (p<0.05). In the presence of depression, the odds ratio for periodontitis was 1.84, and the adjusted odds ratio for age, sex, economic activity, residence type, household income, education level, smoking habit, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes was 1.72, representing a significant difference (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study examined the relationship between depression and periodontitis in older persons and confirmed a significant correlation. As the population of older adults increases, we should pay attention to their mental and oral health as well as systemic diseases. Various programs for the health promotion of older persons need to be implemented to improve the quality of life of older people.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.242-251
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• 2024

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between objective social isolation (SI) and unmet medical needs (UMN) in adults aged 19 and older. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of 208 619 adults aged 19 and older, excluding missing data, using the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey. To analyze the association between objective SI and UMN, the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: The prevalence of UMN was 1.14 times higher (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 1.23) among those with SI than among those without SI, and the OR for groups with 5 SI types was 2.77 (95% CI, 1.86 to 4.12) compared to those with no SI types. In addition, a stratified analysis by age group showed that the association between SI and UMN existed even in groups under 64 years old. However, among those aged 65 and older, SI was associated with an OR of 1.53 (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.71) for UMN compared to non-SI. As the number of SI types increased, the prevalence of UMN also increased, indicating a strong association between SI and UMN in older adults. Conclusions: This study found that individuals with SI experienced UMN due to fear and anxiety about interpersonal relationships. Therefore, based on the results of this cross-sectional study, it is necessary to investigate the causal relationship between SI and UMN through future longitudinal data.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.111-131
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• 2018

Objectives: This study examined the effects of residential proximity to adult children on the mental and physical health of middle-aged and older parents. The study also evaluated whether the parental age and gender of the adult child in closest proximity to the parent might moderate the association. Method: Data were drawn from five waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging(2006-2014). The analytic sample consisted of 7,359 parents aged 45 or older who had at least one non-coresidential adult child aged 19 or older. The analyses were conducted by estimating a series of fixed effects models while adjusting for the nested structure of the data. Results: The results showed that first, a closer distance between an adult child and the parent was generally associated with the parent experiencing a decrease in depressive symptoms. Yet, the mental health benefit was smaller for parents aged 65 years or older whose closest living adult child was a son. Second, a closer distance was observed to affect chronic illness only among middle-aged parents (aged 45 to 64). When the closest living adult child was a daughter, the middle-aged parent experienced deterioration in their chronic illness. On the other hand, the opposite pattern was observed when the closest living adult child was a son. Conclusions: The parental age and gender of the adult child in closest proximity to the parent might have varying effects on parents' health. A closer distance between an adult child and their parent has a positive impact on the mental health of the parent as a whole, whereas the effect of living closer was mixed in relation to the parental physical health.