• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.83-88
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a disorder that usually occurs in the elderly, leading to dementia in some progressive cases. The purpose of this study is to examine the utility of central auditory processing tests as early diagnostic tools for identifying the elderly with MCI. Subjects and Methods: This study was conducted on 20 elderly patients with MCI and 20 healthy matched peers. The speech perception ability in a quiet environment and in the presence of background noise and also temporal resolution were assessed by using Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) and Gap in Noise (GIN) tests, respectively. Results: The results indicated that the ability to understand speech in a quiet environment did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, SPIN at the three signal-to-noise ratios and the temporal resolution scores were significantly different between the two groups (p<0.001). Conclusions: Individuals with MCI appear to have poorer speech comprehension in noise and a lower temporal resolution than those of the same age, but without cognitive defects. Considering the utility of these tests in identifying cognitive problems, we propose that since the GIN test seems to be less influenced by intervening factors, this test can therefore, be a useful tool for the early screening of elderly people with cognitive problems.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the depression and cognitive function of community-dwelling older adults. Methods: 243 aged over 65 in Won-Ju in South Korea participated in this study. Data were collected from April to June 2013 through interviews. This study utilized the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, the Korean version of MMSE-DS (MMSE for Dementia Screening), and infirmity testing for basic health status. Descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2$, t-test, ANOVA, $Scheff{\acute{e}}^{\prime}s$ test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used. Results: 75.3% of the participants belonged to the depression group, and the prevalence of cognitive impairment was 17.3%. There were significant differences in depression and cognitive function according to gender, educational level, type of insurance, subjective health, frailty, and whether to be a client of home care service. The level of depression was significantly higher and the level of cognitive functions was significantly lower in older adults in home care services than in community-dwelling older adults. Conclusion: This study is meaningful in that it included older adults in home care services to provide information to develop effective prevention programs for improving cognitive functions. The results of this study can be used to develop future community prevention and intervention.

• Journal of Korean geriatric psychiatry
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of galantamine treatment, especially attention ability between patients with pure Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mixed dementia (MD) during a 24-week trial. Methods : A total of 40 patients were recruited for this 24-week study. The effect of galantamine on attention was measured using Seoul Computerized NeuroCognitive Function Test (SCNT) and frontal functions test of Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB). Patients'activities of daily living using the Seoul-Activities of Daily Living (S-ADL) and the Seoul-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (S-IADL) ; behavioral symptoms using the Korean version Neuropsychiatric Inventory (K-NPI) were measured at baseline and 24-week. Results : 17 pure AD patients and 23 MD patients were analyzed in this study. Attention as measured by SCNT was not significantly different from baseline after 24 weeks of treatment in both groups. There was no significant difference between two groups in mean change from baseline in the SCNT, S-ADL, S-IADL and K-NPI scores at 24-week. Conclusion : Galantamine showed a therapeutic effect on cognition, activities of daily living, neuropsychiatric symptoms in pure AD and MD. Furthermore, Galantamine may specifically help to maintain attention and it may have positive effects on other cognitive and functional abilities.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 1993

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) has been known to have peripheral actions as well as central actions. Recently physiological roles of 5-HT as a central neurotransmitter have been studied in detail and this is a subject of the present study. Plausible central actions mediated by 5-HT receptor seem to be a control of appetite, bring about psychiatric disorders such as anxiety or dementia, and migraine headache. In this study, thirty-five medicinal plants were tested for their antagonistic activities to 5-HT mediated actions. Through the preliminary screening, methanol extracts of three medicinal plants (Saussureae Radix, Sanguisorbae Radix and Xanthii Fructus) were shown to possess relatively specific antagonistic activities to 5-HT mediated ileal contraction over acetylcholine. To luther investigate the central antagonistic activities of the selected plant in vivo, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) which is known to be a 5-H $T_{1c}$ receptor agonist was injected to mouse to induce an anxious and/or hypolocomotion states, and also social interaction test, which was based on the method described by File (S.E. File, 1980), was performed to see whether ethylacetate fraction of Sanguisorbae Radix methanol extract possessed a specific anxiolytic activity.y.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.49-57
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• 2023

Purpose : This study aimed to systematically review the correlation between hand dexterity and cognitive function in the elderly, and summarize various evaluation tests and results analysis methods for manual dexterity tests applied to this population. Methods : We searched published studies in the Korean Studies Information Service System and PubMed databases from January 2013 to March 2023. The main keywords used were "dexterity," "fine motor," "elderly," "cognitive function," and "correlation." A total of 10 studies were selected for analysis from the 1,524 searched articles. The included studies consisted of a cohort study, a longitudinal study, and eight cross-sectional studies which were analyzed for patients, intervention, comparison, and outcomes. Results : Analyzing the qualitative level of 10 studies, 8 articles (80%) were non-randomized two-group studies that provided level II evidence whereas the remaining 2 studies (20%) were non-randomized single-group studies (level III evidence). Therefore, these results indicated that the level of evidence in this field is generally high. The Purdue pegboard test was the most commonly used evaluation test for manual dexterity, and velocity speed was the most frequently employed analysis method. Results indicated that there were significant differences in manual dexterity test between the normal elderly, those with mild cognitive impairment, or dementia. Conclusions : These results can be used as a basis for selecting dexterity test evaluation items and methods to analyze it in the elderly while screening for cognitive impairment. In addition, this study highlights potential areas for future research on the development of manual dexterity evaluation tools and techniques for analysis and the need for more reliable and valid methods for assessing cognitive function in the elderly.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.481-487
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• 2016

The elderly population with dementia is rapidly growing in South Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between dementia and oral health in 197 subjects aged ${\geq}65$ years. The questionnaire included questions on subjective health status, subjective health concern, subjective oral health status and behavior, mastication ability, Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), and Korean Dementia Screening Questionnaires (KDSQ). Oral examination was conducted by a single dentist to evaluate upper or lower denture use, and determine the numbers of remaining and functioning teeth, including implant and fixed prosthesis. The subjects who required a dementia test (KDSQ-C [cognition] of ${\geq}6$) had significant differences in systemic disease prevalence rate, subjective health status, subjective health concern, KDSQ-V (vascular disease) score, KDSQ-D (depression) score, subjective oral treatment need, key food mastication ability and OHIP-14 score compared to the healthy subjects. The proportion of denture wearers, total remaining teeth, total functioning teeth, toothbrushing frequency, oral pain severity, symptoms of periodontal disease, subjective oral health status, and subjective oral health concern showed no significant differences between the two groups. KDSQ-C and OHIP-14 scores showed a strong positive relationship, while KDSQ-C score and total remaining teeth or key food mastication ability showed a weak negative relationship. In the multiple regression analysis, the KDSQ-D, KDSQ-V, and OHIP-14 scores influenced the KDSQ-C scores. We suggest a relationship between oral health and cognitive impairment.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.57-68
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a short-term group multimodal intervention program that mixes physical activity, cognitive motion, and social interaction, on the cognitive function and depression level of healthy over 75-year-old individuals. Method: This study used a one group pre-test-post-test design, and intervention was made for 70 minutes per session, once a week, for four sessions in total. To compare changes in cognitive function, depression level and physical function before and after intervention, this study used the Mini-Mental State Examination-Dementia Screening (MMSE-DS), Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Result: After applying group multimodal interventions to healthy over 75-year-old individuals, there was a statistically significant improvement in their cognitive function (p < 0.01), and there was a statistically significant decrease in their depression level (p < 0.05). Also, there was an increase in the rating score of the degree of balance from $46.83{\pm}9.11$ points before the intervention, to $48.08{\pm}7.00$ points after the intervention; however, it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Short-term group multimodal intervention that mixes physical activity, cognitive motion, and social interaction had a significant effect on slowing down the deterioration of cognitive function in healthy over 75 year-old individuals, and decreased their depression level. This study is significant in that it presents a foundation for providing more systematic intervention for the prevention of dementia and depression in the healthy older individuals. Follow-up studies should verify the result through research on the effects of an occupational therapist's professional treatment, and experimental group-control research.

• Journal of the Korean society of biological therapies in psychiatry
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.209-217
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• 2018

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of suicidality among community-dwelling elderly. Methods : The participants were 2,201 elderly people whose ages were over 65. The participants were asked to complete questionnaires, including Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview(MINI), module C, Short Geriatric Depression Scale of Korean version(SGDS-K), Korean Geriatric Anxiety Inventory(K-GAI), The Korean Health Status Measure for Elderly V 1.0, Korean version of Mini-Mental Status Examination for Dementia Screening(MMSE-DS). Their sociodemographic factors were investigated. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test and the logistic regression test to examine the relationship between suicidality and participants' risk factors. Results : The prevalence rate of suicidality was 23.3%. In multiple logistic regression, depressive symptoms (OR=3.301, 95% CI : 2.453-4.440), anxiety symptoms(OR=3.289, 95% CI : 2.515-4.303), low physical function (OR=1.606, 95% CI : 1.229-2.098), no spouse(OR=1.571, 95% CI : 1.037-1.690), elderly aged 80 years or older (OR=1.506, 95% CI : 1.094-1.740) were independently associated with suicidality. Conclusion : Suicidality in community-dwelling elderly was quite high, particularly related to depressive symptoms. The results of this study can be useful for development of community-based prevention and management programs for suicidality.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2024

Purpose : This study aimed to demonstrate the effects of visiting cognitive activities using brain training on cognition, subjective memory complaints and depression among elderly participants residing in community living in Gwangmyeong city. Methods : Over a 14-month period (October 2022 to December 2023), four brain training instructors visited the homes of older adults and conducted the intervention using a brain training kit. The participants included 32 elderly individuals aged 65 years and older, who were living in Gwangmyeong city. The assessments were conducted by an occupational therapist, a nurse and a social worker at the Gwangmyeong dementia relief center. These assessments included the following the subjective memory complaints questionnaire (SMCQ), short geriatric depression scale-Korean (SGDS-K), a cognitive impairment screening test (CIST), the consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease-Korean (CERAD-K). The participants were divided into three groups (A: 20-30 points, B: 10-19 points, C: 1-9 points) based on the CIST score. For data analysis, descriptive statistics and wilcoxon signed-rank test were performed using SPSS 24.0, and the statistical level was at a=.05. Results : The results of the intervention showed that the SMCQ score of group A improved significantly (p<.05), the CIST score of group B also improved significantly (p<.05). However, the SGDS-K score of group C improved, but did not demonstrate statistical significance (p=.080). Conclusion : The visiting cognitive activities using brain training produced significant effects on cognition, depression, and subjective memory disorders, depending on the cognitive level of the elderly participants. In the future, it will be necessary to demonstrate the effects according to cognitive level in various aspects with more elderly people.

• Journal of Society of Occupational Therapy for the Aged and Dementia
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.19-28
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• 2018

Objective : The aim of current investigation was to standardize the grip strength of elders and to examine the correlation between grip strength, anthropometric parameters, depression and quality of life. Method : The researchers used Korea national health and nutrition examination surveys (2016) for analysis and analyzed the data of 919 elders who had completed the screening test among right-handed elderly without activity limitation. The researchers classified the age of the elders as 65~69, 70~74, 75~79, and 80 years old for standardization of grip strength. Anthropometric parameters are height, weight, body mass index, and waist circumference. Depression was measured by PHQ-9(Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and quality of life was assessed by EQ-5D. Result : The ratio of right handedness of the elderly was 87.8%, left handed 4.9%, and both handles 5.7%. In the standardization and correlation analysis, the grip strength decreased with age (p<.01, r=-.308~-.305). The grip strength showed a strong correlation with height (p<.001, r=.747~.741). There was a significant correlation between depression (p<.01, r=-.172~-.163) and quality of life (p<.01, r=.285~.267). Conclusion : The findings of this investigation suggest that height, depression, and quality of life need to be considered when assessing the level of grip strength in the elderly.