• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2021

Objectives: Recent studies have suggested that assessing handgrip strength (HGS) asymmetry together with HGS may be helpful for evaluating problems in geriatric patients. This study aimed to identify whether HGS asymmetry, weakness, or both were associated with depression in Korean older adults. Methods: This study included 4274 subjects from the sixth and seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The maximum HGS of the dominant hand was used as a representative value. HGS symmetry was categorized by the ratio of the HGS of the dominant hand to that of non-dominant hand. The odds ratio (OR) for depression was calculated according to the HGS and its symmetry. Results: In total, 240 (12.5%) men and 534 (22.7%) women had depression. HGS or HGS asymmetry showed no statistically significant associations with depression in elderly men. Elevated odds of depression were observed in elderly women with low HGS (OR, 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33 to 2.81) or prominent HGS asymmetry (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.08). There was a positive additive interaction between asymmetric HGS and weakness, as women with low and prominently asymmetric HGS showed higher odds of depression (OR, 3.77; 95% CI, 2.16 to 6.59) than women with high and symmetric HGS. Conclusions: Depression in elderly Korean women was associated with both low and asymmetric HGS. Our findings support the potential value of HGS asymmetry as an indicator of HGS.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 1999

Sleep is a necessity for survival. Disruption of sleep leads to numerous adverse physiological and psychological consequences. These could be particularly undesirable for older patients, who are subject to many additional factors. But there is limited research related to hospitalized elderly in Korea. The purpose of the study is to explore sleep patterns and disturbing factors of before and after hospitalization, in order to present basic information regarding elderly sleep to develop nursing intervention. The sample consisted of 32 elderly men and women between the ages of n and 87 years. Data collection was done from September to November 1997. Measures of sleep patterns and related factors were obtained from self-reported sleep questionnaires. Analysis of data was done by use of t-test, paired t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation Coefficient. The results of this study were summarized as follows : 1. In comparision between before and after admission of their sleep pattern, “sleep onset” tends to be delayed and nocturnal sleep time was significantly reduced. So, hospitalized elderly reported less total sleep time than before admission. 2. Regarding the sleep disturbing factors, medication(hypnotics ; 37.5%), physiological factor (snoring ; 59.4%) environmental factor (pillow ; 78.1%), emotional factor(anxiety related to disease ; 37.5%), and illness factor(fatigue ; 34.7%) were reported. 3. Significant differences in gender were found. Men had more disturbances in sleep than women owing to difficulty in falling a sleep and lack of nocturnal sleep. Women consumed more sleep inducing drugs. Significant increase was reported in napping during the day with increasing age. 4. Significant differences between good sleepers and poor sleepers were found for the following variables : nocturnal sleep time, total sleep time, bed time, sleep onset latency time, sleep latency time after nocturnal awakening, time spent in bed upon arousal, environmental factors, and emotional factors. In conclusion, it was found that the quantity and quality of sleep were significantly altered in hospitalized elderly, but adequate strategies for better sleep were not practiced. Further research is needed to develop Intervention strategies to promote sleep and to prevent sleep problems.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 2021

This study was conducted with the elderly who used a senior welfare center to help their health improvement. After the status of body composition, senior fitness, life habits, and nutrition levels in the elderly were investigated, a wellness health improvement program was conducted for 12 weeks. Effects before and after the program were examined. The following conclusions were drawn. 1. For the changes of body composition by age associated with sex, while elderly men had a significant difference in BMI, elderly women had a significant difference in B.M.I and body fat percentage. 2. For the changes of senior fitness by age associated with sex, while elderly men had a significant difference in lower body muscle, upper body muscle, upper body flexibility, and transformed general endurance, elderly women had a significant difference in lower body muscle and upper body muscle. 3. For the changes of life habits and nutrition levels by age associated with sex, while elderly men had a significant difference in diet habits and exercise habits, elderly women had a significant difference in exercise habits, stress relief habits, and total nutrition level. Based on the findings, the elderly's participation in the wellness improvement program can enhance lower body muscle which is a risk factor of daily activities and fall and increase upper body muscle which is good to carry and move everyday objects. In addition, it may play a positive role in improving diet habits and changing stress relief and exercise habits, resulting in better health and quality of life of the elderly.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.336-345
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• 2013

Objectives: Research has shown that obesity appears to spread through social ties. However, the association between other characteristics of social networks and obesity is unclear. This study aimed to identify the association between social network characteristics and body mass index (BMI, $kg/m^2$) in an elderly Korean population. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 657 Koreans (273 men, 384 women) aged 60 years or older who participated in the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Network size is a count of the number of friends. Density of communication network is the number of connections in the social network reported as a fraction of the total links possible in the personal (ego-centric) network. Average frequency of communication (or meeting) measures how often network members communicate (or meet) each other. The association of each social network measure with BMI was investigated by multiple linear regression analysis. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, the men with lower density (<0.71) and higher network size (4-6) had the higher BMI (${\beta}$=1.089, p=0.037) compared to the men with higher density (>0.83) and lower size (1-2), but not in the women (p=0.393). The lowest tertile of communication frequency was associated with higher BMI in the women (${\beta}$=0.885, p=0.049), but not in the men (p=0.140). Conclusions: Our study suggests that social network structure (network size and density) and activation (communication frequency and meeting frequency) are associated with obesity among the elderly. There may also be gender differences in this association.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.303-315
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• 2008

- Abstract - Objectives: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression and identify its related factors among an urban elderly. Methods: The data for this study were obtained from 333 men and 514 women, aged 65-79 years who participated in '2007 community health survey' in Donggu, Gwangju metropolitan city. Their depressive symptoms were measured by Korean version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Results: The mean CES-D score (mean±S.D) for all subjects was 7.68±0.31. The mean CES-D score was significantly greater in the women (9.09±0.43) than in the men (5.51±0.39) (p<0.001). The prevalence rates of possible depression (CES-D score ≥16), probable depression (CES-D score≥21), and definite depression (CES-D score≥25) were 8.1%, 5.4%, and 3.9% in men, respectively. The prevalence rates of possible depression, probable depression, and definite depression were 19.5%, 11.1%, and 7.2% in women, respectively. Existence of spouse (no/yes), education level (no/high school or higher), health security system (medical aid/national health insurance), self-reported health status (poor/good), vascular risk factors (present/absent) proved to be statistically significant related factors of depression. Conclusions: This study suggests that a systematic effort and attention to support for elderly people living alone, low educational level, medical aid, poor self-reported health status and vascular risk factors should be promoted to reduce the incidence of depression.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of suicidal ideation and to investigate related factors contributing to suicidal ideation in elderly people with focus on comparison of gender differences. Methods: From the database of the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES-IV), the researchers selected 3,164 old adults aged over 65. The original study was a population-based epidemiological survey of health and nutrition in a stratified multistage clustered probability design. Data were analyzed by using ${\chi}^2$-test and t-test and multiple logistic regression with the SPSS/WIN18.0 program. Results: Suicidal ideation in women (37.5%) occurred more frequently than men (17.5%). Depression, stress, restriction on activities and quality of life were significant variables of suicidal ideation in both the men and women aged 65 over. Low educational levels and economic states were significantly associated with suicidal ideation in men but not in women. Conclusion: The development of a suicide prevention program for elders requires different approaches to the genders respectively. It is also recommended that programs be developed that can help control the variables identified in this study along with a follow-up study for verifying the model.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.3-25
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• 2017

Objectives: We examined which socioeconomic and intergenerational characteristics were associated with the level of intention to marry among Korean men and women in young adulthood. Method: Data came from 351 men and 391 women who were 25-34 years old, had never been married, and had at least one living parent. We conducted multiple regression analyses by gender after controlling for age and current romantic relationship. Results: Among the socioeconomic characteristics, more years of education was linked to both men's and women's higher levels of intention to marry. For women, having a secure, full-time job was related to greater intention to marry. For men, the higher their subjective socioeconomic status, the greater their intention to marry. Among intergenerational characteristics, both men's and women's positive attitudes toward supporting elderly parents were related to a higher level of intention to marry. For men, the frequency of providing instrumental support for their parents was negatively associated with the men's intention to marry. For women, higher levels of agreement with parents' responsibility to support their adult children as well as greater affection for their parents were positively related to greater intention to marry. Conclusions: The findings suggest that young adults' socioeconomic resources and the family context are important predictors of young adults' marital intentions. The results also reveal gender differences in the factors associated with young adults' marital intentions.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2002

This study examined the changes in body temperature through conductive heat applied to the body and clarified the influences of body fluid on the thermal effects. Body fluid was measured using the Segmental Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis method. The subjects consisted of 13 men and 14 women. TBW was 37.56 (4.35 L for men and 29.93 (3.12 L for women, with the former being significantly (p<0.01) higher. The amount of body fluid in the right and left legs was 6.46 (0.83 L and 6.39 (0.86 L for men and 4.78 (0.49 L and 4.78 (0.49 L for women, respectively, with men's values being significantly (p<0.01) higher than women's on both the right and left sides. The maximal change in the surface temperature was 33.93 (0.61(C at the start of a warm bath to 3407 (0.61(C after 14 min for men. In contrast, the maximal change was 33.38 (0.99(C at the start to 33.73 (0.86(C after 18 min for women. For the other sites, the maximal temperature in Depths 1 and 2 was attained earlier for men than for women. The decrease in body temperature after the end of warming was more remarkable for men. Men had fluid with a higher conductivity than women, indicating influences of body fluid on the changes in body temperature. There were few changes in body composition with a partial bath having a crossed effect, indicating that this is a safe therapeutic method for elderly people.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.83-94
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• 1997

This article aims to investigate the perceptions of mistreatment of elderly among the married men and women. The subjects of this study are 291 married men and women. The major finding is that the increased stress of caregiver may lead to elder abuse of neglect. According to the above finding, it may be appropriate to offer various assistance to the suspected abuser. That is, education, couseling and social support services may help alleviate the caregiving stress contributing to the mistreatment.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to examine nutritional status of iron in 27 rural elderly subjects. The daily intake, urinary excretion and serum level of iron were determined by 24-hr food collection method, and 24-hr urine and serum collection for 3 days. The results were summarized as follows. 1. The mean age, height, weight, and blood pressure were 67.7 years, 163.2cm, 55.9kg, and 121.1/80. 0mmHg in men and 69.9 years, 146.5cm, 47.6kg, and 108.9/71.1mmHg in women, respectively 2. The daily intake of energy, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B$_1$, vitamin B$_2$, niacin, vitamin C, and iron were lower than Korean recommended dietary allowances. 3. The daily iron intake was 7.82mg. The proportion of heme iron and nonheme iron to the total iron intake were 8.05% and 91.94%, respectively Major iron sources of the rural elderly were cooked rice, Ko Chu Jang, beef blood, anchovy, soybean paste, and leafy radish. 4. The hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum iron, and total iron binding capacity were 14.3g/㎗, 42.9%, 79.4 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗, and 268.4 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗ in men and 12.9g/㎗, 38.8%,92.4 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗, and 277.9$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗ in women, respectively. 5. There was a significant positive correlation between dietary intake and urinary excretion of iron.