• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2000

The microsurgical reconstruction is necessary for elderly patients to treat severe trauma and head and neck tumor. The aim of this study is to analyze the risks of microvascular surgery and whether or not happening of more complication in elderly patients who are older than 60 years old and to suggest the solution of the complication. The retrospective study included 41 elderly patients who underwent treatment of 44 microsurgical reconstructions among total 271 cases of microsurgical reconstruction from July, 1988 to December, 1998. Their ages ranged from 61 years to 79 years. There were 26 males and 15 females. The involved sites were 23 head and necks, 13 upper gastrointestinal tracts, 3 lower extremities, 1 chest and 1 sacral region. The causes of microsurgical reconstruction were 36 head and neck tumors, 2 radionecrosis, 2 traumas and 1 melanoma in lower limb. The used flaps were 14 radial forearm flaps, 13 jejunal flaps, 10 latissimus dorsi muscle flaps, 3 rectus abdominis muscle flaps, 2 lateral arm flaps, 1 scapular flap, and 1 iliac osteocutaneous flap. They had medical problems which were 29 tobacco abuse, 14 hypertensions, 13 alcohol abuse, 10 chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, 7 diabetes mellituses, 3 ischemic heart diseases. All patients have had successful results without specific complications except 3 cases of free flap failure and 3 perioperative death. The causes of 3 flap failures were 2 flap necrosis due to arterial insufficiency and 1 flap loss due to secondary infection. All of these cases were treated with secondary free flap surgery. However 3 patients died perioperatively due to 2 respiratory arrests and 1 sepsis. It was not related to operate microsurgical reconstruction itself, but was correlated with the complication of postoperative care after head and neck surgery. We conclude that plastic surgeons consider the importance of prevention of expected complication as thorough analysis of operative risk factor and appropriate treatment. We had to select the donor and recipient vessel appropriately to perform successful microsurgery in elderly patients and consider vein graft and end-to-side anastomosis to reduce complication if necessary. In addition, we emphasize the importance of pre, peri and postoperative care in head and neck cancer patients to reduce postoperative complication and morbidity.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.200-217
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess energy and nutritional intake and investigate the preference for food and cooking methods of the residents in elderly care facilities. Methods: Data were collected from 72 residents (10 males and 62 females) aged ${\geq}70$ years in elderly care facilities using questionnaires, food photographs for estimating dietary intake and records for daily physical activity. Results: Average age of the study participants was 85.0 years and 41, 36 and 8 had dementia, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, respectively. 15%, 65% and 19% of subjects were physically mobile, enervated, and immobile, respectively. Daily energy intake was 1360.2 kcal in men and 1378.0 kcal in women, which were 68.0% and 86.1% of the estimated energy requirement (EER) of dietary reference intake for Koreans (KDRI) for ${\geq}75$ year old individuals, respectively. Estimated energy expenditure (EEE) of subjects calculated using formula from KDRI was 1361.9 kcal and EER calculated using estimated daily physical activity (EDPA) was 1232.9 kcal. Energy intake and EEE from KDRI were higher than EER from EDPA. Dietary intake of dietary fiber, calcium, potassium, zinc, vitamin $B_2$, niacin, vitamin C were lower, and protein, phosphorous, iron, sodium, vitamin A, vitamin $B_1$, vitamin $B_6$, vitamin E were higher than the corresponding ones of KDRI. Subjects liked meats, fishes and shellfish, and fruits, while subjects disliked milk, seaweeds and salted fish and salted vegetables. Cooked rice, soybean paste soup, beef, cooked sliced radish strip, and yogurt were favorite foods, with steam being a favorite cooking method. Subjects considered nutrition as the most important factor for improving food service quality. Conclusions: Results of this study could be utilized for improving food-service for the residents in elderly care facilities, and provide a basis for setting reference intake of energy and nutrients of the elderly having very low activity levels.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.995-1003
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• 2021

Objective : People are living longer and the elderly population continues to increase. The incidence of degenerative spinal diseases (DSDs) in the elderly population is quite high. Therefore, we are facing more cases of DSD and offering more surgical solutions in geriatric patients. Understanding the significance and association of frailty and central sarcopenia as risk factors for spinal surgery in elderly patients will be helpful in improving surgical outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of prospectively collected data to assess the impact of preoperative central sarcopenia, frailty, and comorbidity on surgical outcome in elderly patients with DSD. Methods : We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent elective spinal surgery performed from January 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020 at our hospital. We included patients aged 65 and over who underwent surgery on the thoracic or lumbar spine and were diagnosed as DSD. Central sarcopenia was measured by the 50th percentile of psoas : L4 vertebral index (PLVI) using the cross-sectional area of the psoas muscle. We used the Korean version of the fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses, and loss of weight (K-FRAIL) scale to measure frailty. Comorbidity was confirmed and scored using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). As a tool for measuring surgical outcome, we used the Clavien-Dindo (CD) classification for postoperative complications and the length of stay (LOS). Results : This study included 85 patients (35 males and 50 females). The mean age was 74.05±6.47 years. Using the K-FRAIL scale, four patients were scored as robust, 44 patients were pre-frail and 37 patients were frail. The mean PLVI was 0.61±0.19. According to the CD classification, 50 patients were classified as grade 1, 19 as grade 2, and four as grade 4. The mean LOS was 12.35±8.17 days. Multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that postoperative complication was significantly associated with surgical invasiveness and K-FRAIL scale. LOS was significantly associated with surgical invasiveness and CCI. K-FRAIL scale showed a significant correlation with CCI and PLVI. Conclusion : The present study demonstrates that frailty, comorbidity, and surgical invasiveness are important risk factors for postoperative complications and LOS in elderly patients with DSD. Preoperative recognition of these factors may be useful for perioperative optimization, risk stratification, and patient counseling.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1096-1107
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of combined exercise on blood inflammatory factors, DHEA-s and arterial stiffness in elderly women. The subjects were 42 elderly females volunteers, aged 70 to 85 years, composed of the combined exercise group (n=21) and control group (n=21). The 60 minute combined exercise program(aquarobics 1 time/week, strength exercise 2 times/week) was performed 3 times per week for 12 weeks, and the intensity was progressively increased every 4 weeks(1-4 weeks: RPE 12 to 13, 5-8 weeks: RPE 13 to 14, 9-12weeks: RPE 14 to 15). The test data were analyzed by two-way repeated measures ANOVA, paired t-test, independent t-test and the alpha level of .05 was set for all tests of significance. As a result, the combined exercise for 12 weeks reduced the inflammatory response of elderly women, and DHEA-s was found to have a positive effect on aging hormone. The arterial stiffness decreased the central arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), prevented the increase of the pulse pressure and the wave increase index, and decreased the pulse wave velocity. These results suggest that regular and continuous combined exercise may be recommended for the healthy aging and longevity of elderly women by inducing anti-inflammation effect and improving the aging hormonal function and the vascular health.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.237-250
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• 2021

This study analyzed 'how the elderly's sexual relations and marital intimacy affect the elderly's life satisfaction'. Interviews and visits were conducted for 11 days targeting 309 elderly people aged 65 years or older. As a result of the analysis, 51% were male, 49% were female, and 84.7% were in their 60s and 70s. Approximately 60.1% of them were religious, of which 24.7% were protestants. In the region, 42.9% lived in rural and fishing villages. The percentage of those who answered that their health status was above average was 87.6%. Regarding the frequency of sexual life, 41.4% of the respondents said they had sex once or twice a month. Males had a higher frequency of sexual life than females. A lower age, higher education, living in small and medium-sized cities, better health status, and higher income level were associated with a higher frequency of sexual life. The factors that showed a significant difference in sex life satisfaction were gender, region, and health status. Those with religion as Protestantism, residing in a small or medium-sized city or over, with better health and higher income levels were found to have higher life satisfaction. The satisfaction with sex life had a positive correlation with emotional intimacy (p<.01) and life satisfaction (p<.01). Based on the above results, the sexual life satisfaction of the elderly has a positive effect on life satisfaction, and emotional intimacy between spouses had a positive influence on life satisfaction.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.71-80
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• 2017

Korea is facing various social problems including single elderly household, increase in the number of disabled people and poverty rate and a difference in the proportion of males to females between urban areas and rural areas along with the advent of rapid aging society. Especially, the ratio of poor households in rural areas residing in housing which falls below the minimum housing level and most of them are in the dead zone of housing welfare. In addition, if it is impossible for them to move (relocate) to new housing, the house remodeling is the only measure for improving their housing welfare. However, we don't have enough prior relevant academic and practical experience, and house remodeling requires a series of process including prior planning construction and post-occupancy evaluation, but almost no fundamental research that provides relevant insight has been carried out. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe all field situations that occur in the whole customized house remodeling process for disabled female senior citizens living alone in a rural area. The remodeling process was classified into initial planning stage, field verification and adjustment stage and construction stage as the method to participate in the field directly, and any change in the remodeling plan and its causes at each stage were analyzed. As a result, some remodeling items were changed from the main viewpoint of participating parties before the beginning of construction and for reasons such as the deterioration level of housing site, limitation in building equipment and rearrangement of housing, etc., and the remodeling method and its details were developed. It was identified that constant change that occurred in the remodeling process resulted from 1) unique poor characteristics of existing housing and 2) physical condition of residents and their unique lifestyle characteristics that were two aspects required to be emphasized by customized remodeling.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2016

Background: The assessment tool developed in other countries should be translated into Korean language using rigorous methodological approaches in order to be used in Korea. Because these procedures are insufficient for establishing the cross-cultural and linguistic equivalence, the need for statistical methods is raised. The Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale was translated into Korean and the content validity was verified through the back translation method, but the reliability and validity have not yet been proven by statistical methods. Objects: The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale (KFAB) by statistical methods in elderly people. Methods: A total of 97 elderly adults (39 males and 58 females) participated in this study. Internal consistency of the KFAB was measured using Cronbach's alpha and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess test-retest reliability between the two measurement sessions. Concurrent validity was measured by comparing the KFAB responses with the Korean version of the Berg Balance Scale (KBBS) using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Construct validity of the KFAB was measured using the exploratory factor analysis to evaluate the unidimensionality of the questionnaire. The significance level was set at ${\alpha}=.05$. Results: The internal consistency of the KFAB was found be adequate with Cronbach's alpha (.96), and test-retest reliability was excellent as evidenced by the high ICC (r=.996). Concurrent validity showed high correlation between the KFAB and KBBS (r=.89, p<.001). Construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis. The result from Bartlett test of sphericity was statistically significant (p<.001), and the value of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was .93. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the existence of only one dominant factor that explained 76.43% of the variance. Conclusion: The KFAB is a reliable, valid and appropriate tool for measuring the balance functions in elderly people.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.1181-1187
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• 2012

The depression of the elderly decreases satisfaction in life and is also an important risky factor of their suicide. The subjects of the study were 615 males and 904 females aged above 65 who had the 2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on the relations between presence of spouses and depression given by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Through a chi-square test and a multiple logistic regression, the relations between general characteristics, contraction, health characteristics and depression were analysed. As a result of the multiple logistic regression for which age, family income, subjective health status, presence of activity limitation and stress were revised, the odds ratio of the males without spouses was 2.37(95% CI 1.03-5.45), which indicates that they had more depression than female subjects. However, for the female subjects, there were no relations between presence of spouses and depression.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.109-118
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of line dance programme on the balance ability during walking to reveal the exercise intervention for fall prevention. A 12-week line dance programme was applied to 18 elderly females who aged more than 65 years in the community. Balance ability during walking was evaluated by the range of center of pressure(cop), the velocity of cop, and free torque that calculated on the basis of ground reaction force data. The range and velocity of cop in the anterio-posterior were significantly reduced after performing(p<.01, p<.05, respectively), but change in those of cop in the medio-lateral and free torque were not found. It was demonstrates that 12-week line dance programme allows more effective in anterio-posterior stability of walking. It was suggested that the effect of fall prevention exercise should be studied more associate with fall frequency as future study.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.280-286
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• 2019

This study verified the difference in biomechanical variation and the pattern of the lower limb between using or not using functional insoles on the gait of elderly people. Ten females subjects were selected (age: 73.2 years, height: 152.1 cm, body mass: 59.4 kg) for testing their gait with using functional insoles and without using functional insoles. The gait motions were captured with the Qualisys system and the gait parameters were calculated with Visual-3D. As a result, the subjects' stride length and swing time were significantly increased (p<.05). Also, the lower limb's extension moment was significantly increased (p<.05) when using the insole. These differences suggest the functional insole used in the experiment increases the subjects' gait stability. However, to generalize the results of this study, it is necessary to accumulate more quantitative data with more subjects. Further studies to examine gait variables and changes of walking patterns need to be conducted by gathering and utilizing the results of those subjects who have used insoles for a long period of time.