• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.411-416
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to identify pathogenic microorganisms in the oral cavity of Alzheimer's dementia patients and recognize the necessity and importance of oral prevention management. Methods: The participants comprised 40 dementia patients aged 60 years or older and general patients who were using nursing care facilities in Gwangju from February to July 2017. Samples were collected with Eazyperio products for oral pathogenic microbial testing. Eighteen types of bacteria could be detected by analyzing Multiplex-Quantity Real Time polymerase chain reaction at a genetic testing agency. Results: The study comprised more women than men. Most participants were in their 80s. Statistically significant differences were observed in some oral pathogenic microorganisms. Conclusions: Pathogenic microorganisms could more easily proliferate in the oral cavities of Alzheimer's dementia patients than they could among general elderly participants due to a lack of awareness of oral hygiene and prevention management. To improve this, it is considered necessary to deploy oral health care professionals.

• Journal of Korean Medical Ki-Gong Academy
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.96-114
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• 2005

This study was carried out to provide essential data for the future health promotion projects to be aimed at improving quality of life for the elderly people in the increasingly aging society of Korea by investigating factors related to the yangseng of old people in urban areas. The results of this study are to be used as basis for efficient approach toward health promotion projects for the elderly in urban communities. For the purpose, a survey by questionnaires was conducted to urbanites from May th June 2004. The collected replies were analyzed from the viewpoints of Oriental Medicine for yangseng. 1. The average points of health care were 3.24. In details by sub-areas, 3.78 was rated for morality yangseng, 3.29 for mind, 3.30 for diet, 3.79 for activity and rest, 2.32 for exercise, 3.72 for sleeping, 2.95 for season and 1.81 for sexual life, which showed that the area of activity and rest yangseng was scored highest while the area of sexual life yangseng was rated lowest. 2. As for the extent of health care depending on the characters of subjects, higher scores were rated by men than women, younger ones than aged and spoused ones than singles. Married couples living without other family members were found to yangseng most, while more yangseng was taken by the educated, job holders and those who utilize leisure and have religion in order. 3. Men exercised more yangseng than women in the diet, exercise and sleeping. By age, the group aged 65 to 69, the more yangseng in the exercise and sexual life. The group with spouse featured higher concern for yangseng in all categories except for season. Married couples who are living with no other family members recorded the highest point in all areas except for exercise. 4. The more one is educated, the more he/she is tended to take yangseng in the sub-areas of exercise and sexual life. The group with occupation is also inclined to take more yangseng in the same sub-areas as those of the highly educated. When they pay living cost together with offspring, they appeared to be the most yangseng in season and sexual life. People who enjoy leisure showed higher yangseng in all areas except for season. Religion had a significant influence in all areas except for activity and rest yangseng. 5. Those who reply that they are confident with health and have no disease proved to have higher yangseng. Depending on whether one has disease or not, higher yangseng was confirmed in such sub-categories as mind and sleeping. Those who replied they are confident with health had higher yangseng in all areas except for season. As seen above, yangseng of the old people in the urban area is found to have different extent depending on the individual and socioeconomic characters, factors which should be seriously considered in the local health promotion projects and projects for the health of the elderly. It seems therefore necessary to launch health promotion programs and to analyze their effects to promote health care particularly in the areas of sexual life, exercise and season yangseng that featured lowest grade of yangseng in each sub-area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.1399-1408
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• 2007

This study was conducted to compare health and nutritional status of 45 home-living elderly people receiving free Meals on Wheels (MOW) (13 men, 32 women) and 81 low income class elderly people receiving free congregate meals (CM) (10 men, 71 women) served in Seoul. Data were obtained from questionnaires, anthropometry and interviews for the 24-hour dietary recall methods. There were no significant differences between the two groups in age and body mass index. Education level, type of housing, family type and income of the two groups also were not significantly different. In MOW, frequencies of exercise were lower while the prevalence of stroke, respiratory disease and loneliness were higher, compared with the CM. The scores of ADL, IADL and food habit of MOW were lower than those of CM. The average daily nutritional intake of both MOW and CM were as a whole under the DRI for Koreans. Energy and macro-nutrient intakes of MOW were tended to be lower than CM (except protein intakes for female). Ca, K, vitamin A, vitamin $B_1$, vitamin $B_2$, vitamin C and folate intakes of MOW were less than 50% of DRI. Percentages of subjects consuming energy less than 75% of EER and 4 nutrients intakes less than EAR were higher in MOW (42.2%) than in CM (1.2%). Our results indicated that dietary nutritional status of MOW was very poor, especially in the case of female elderly groups. For the welfare of the home-living elderly people receiving free MOW, meal service programs should be improved in quality of diet by national supports.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.104-110
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• 2013

Objectives : The aim of this study was to examine the prospective impact of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ${\varepsilon}4$ on cognitive performance in the community-dwelling elderly individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods : The total number of subjects was 30 (12 men and 18 women) who were diagnosed with AD from a Korean project of "Early Detection of Dementia". People aged 65-85 years were included in the analysis. The eight neuropsychological domains from the Korean version of Consortium to Establish a Registry of Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) were conducted to test subjects. They have been followed at 24-month intervals with the same assessments at each interval. Their cognitive performance at 2 year intervals was compared by the occurrence of the APOE ${\varepsilon}4$. Results : The impact of ${\varepsilon}4$ allele was significant in the Word List Memory Test (WLMT, F = 4.345, df = 1, p = 0.021) and Word List Recall Test (WLRT, F = 5.569, df = 1, p = 0.033). Conclusions : The APOE ${\varepsilon}4$ allele was significantly correlated especially with verbal episodic memory domain in community-dwelling elders diagnosed with AD.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.8
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• pp.97-107
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• 2008

This study was conducted in order to identify the relationship between psychological factors, such as depression and self-esteem, and nutritional status, such as nutritional risk index and nutrient intake, among the elderly in Chunnam Province. The participants were 119 elderly individuals over the age of 65 years who visited the Senior Welfare Center in Chunnam province between January 29 and February 2, 2007. This study was conducted using a structured questionnaire that included, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), General Self Efficacy Scale (GSES), Nutritional Screening Initiative Checklist (NSI checklist), questions pertaining to the general characteristics of the participants and an estimation of nutrient intake using the 24-hour recall method. Data were analyzed by the SPSS program. Analysis of the participant's CES-D scores revealed that 43.7% of the subjects were normal and 56.3% had more than mild depression. The mean GSES score was 45.9 for the entire group of subjects (51.9 for men, 43.6 for women). The mean nutritional risk index value was 4.30 (5.03 for men, 4.01 for women). Analysis of the participant's scores on the NSI checklist revealed that 69.7% of the subjects were normal and 30.3% exhibited a moderate nutritional risk. The CES-D was positively correlated with the NSI checklist (p < 0.05) but negatively correlated with nutrient intake. However, the GSES was negatively correlated with the NSI checklist (p < 0.05), but positively correlated with nutrient intake (P < 0.01 for protein, calcium, phosphorus, zinc etc.). The results of this study indicate that it is necessary to manage psychological factors, including depression and self-esteem, in the elderly in order to decrease their nutritional risk and increase their nutrient intake.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.1 s.49
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• pp.59-72
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• 1995

This study was carried out to analyze the food intake and associated factors of the urban poor elderly by comparing poor district, Unbong rental apartment in Bansong 2 dong with other areas in Pusan. 135 elderlies(men 36, women 99) in Unbong rental apartment, 136 elderlies(men 45, women 91) in the other areas were investigated during the period of March to August in 1994. The assumption that the study area represented poor district was satisfied because the age and sex distribution was not significantly different, and the income of the study area was significantly lower than that of the control area. The variables of hospitalized in previous 12 month, gastrointestinal problem, alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking did not differ significantly. But the variables of chronic disease, take medicine, perceived health, vitamin supplement differed significantly between two groups. Therefore some factors associated with health state in the study area are worse than those of the control area. At most of all variables, nutrients intake of the study area did not reach the recommended dietary allowances(RDA) for Koreans, and that nutrient intakes of the study area were significantly lower than those of the control area. The hypothesis of this study that nutrient status depends on economical status was proved. As for the score of nutritional knowledge, the study area was significantly lower than the control area. But as for the score of nutritional behavior, two areas were not significantly different. The latter is counter result of our hypothesis, owing to the effect of the confounding factors including education etc. As for the correlation of variables, not only economic status and educational level, but the score of nutritional knowledge effects strongly on nutrient status in the study area, the poor district. Therefore, adequate nutritional education to the elderly in e poor district should be considered.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.319-333
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• 2024

Background: This study aims to identify the factors that influence the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) for the elderly living alone and to discuss how to manage CHE for the elderly living alone. Methods: This study utilizes 6th (2016), 7th (2018), and 8th (2020) data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging to identify the incidence rate of CHE among the elderly living alone and conducts a panel logit analysis. The dependent variable is the incidence of CHE (thresholds: 10%, 20%, 30%), and the independent variables include demographic factors (gender, age group, region), socioeconomic factors (education level, economic activity status, income quintile, financial support rate from children), health-related factors (subjective health status, regular exercise, smoking, drinking, number of chronic diseases), and healthcare coverage factors (type of health insurance, private health insurance). Results: Descriptive statistics classified by gender show that female elderly living alone are more vulnerable than male elderly living alone in terms of disease prevalence and socioeconomic status. In addition, the incidence of CHE is higher for elderly women living alone than for elderly men living alone across all thresholds. The main results of the panel logit analysis show that higher education, income quintile, and financial support rate from children are associated with lower odds of CHE, while poorer subjective health and a higher number of chronic diseases are associated with higher odds of CHE. Medical aid recipients are less likely to incur CHE than those covered by national health insurance. Conclusion: The implications of this study are as follows. First, vulnerable elderly living alone with multiple chronic diseases and low income and education levels are more likely to incur CHE. Second, it is necessary to review policies such as a CHE support program and chronic disease management programs focused on vulnerable elderly individuals living alone. Third, the CHE support program should be operated in a patient-centered manner, with consideration given to a customized system for selecting and supporting elderly individuals living alone who are in need.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.5-39
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• 2011

The objective of this study is to survey Social Participation of the Elderly's quality of life according to their activity levels and examine the differences by their gender and age. The subjects of this study were elderly aged 60 or older who are living in the metropolitan area and those reportedly participating in various social activities at the time of the survey. A total of 586 cases were used for the analysis. Data were analyzed through multi group analysis using a structural equation model, and AMOS 7.0 was used in statistical processing. The results of this study showed that, first, the quality of life was significantly and positively affected by flow experiences in economic participation, social fellowship participation, and self development participation. Second, the results of multi group analysis on the relations between the social participation level and the quality of life according to gender demonstrated that the there were gender differences on the full path model, and that there were significant differences in relationships between the volume of social fellowship participation and the quality of life between men and women. Third, a similar finding was found for the age group that the paths between flow experiences in economic participation and the quality of life significantly differed by age groups. Based on these findings, implications for theory and practice were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.41-51
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• 2008

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine how the cognitive state of the elderly influences the activities of daily living(ADL) in order to increase their achievement capacity and their ability to exercise this capacity in daily life. The MMSE-K(Mini-Mental State Examination-Korean) was used to evaluate the daily activities and cognitive state of a group of subjects more than 65 years of age. The goal was to understand (1) How their achievement level in their daily activities changes according to the increase and decrease of their cognition points by analyzing and comparing their achievement points in the mental state examination, and (2) What variables influence that daily achievement level. Methods: The survey was conducted by a group of students from AnSan College who were trained for this method of data collection. The group surveyed 224 senior citizens older than 65 to determine their ADL performance. The subjects were selected from Silver Care Centers in the Gyounggi Province area including centers in Suwon, Anyang, Kwachun, and Sanbon City. The subjects were given enough information to fully understand the purpose of the study and the method by which it would be conducted. The survey method was a direct interview: which involved an interviewer reading the questionnaire to the subject and recording the answer. Result: The following results were calculated using SPSS WIN ver. 13.0: In the lower score of the MMSE-K regarding ADL performance (K-MBI) for activities such as individual hygiene, bathing activity, food activity, toilet management, going up stairs, getting dressed ad undressed, controlling stools and urination, walking, and chair/bed movement, most of the subjects responded that they could not perform these activities by themselves (p<.01). In the higher scores for the same activities, most response that they could perform the tasks by themselves (p<.01). In the results of the multiple regression analysis, there influence of the variables for ADL performance (K-MBI) and MMSE-K score was higher for females than males. Conclusion: This study evaluated the cognitive state of the elderly using the MMSE-K, which is the most convenient method, and examined how the cognitive state influences the achievement capacity of the daily lives with other variables. In conclusion, the higher the score on the MMSE-K, the more independent the elders are in the activities of daily living, especially among women more than men.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.430-440
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to analyze the degree of depression, cognitive function, communication ability, and the quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) in elderly individuals with hearing loss and to investigate their inter-relationship. Hearing-impaired elderly participants, aged 60 years or older (37 men and 26 women) who visited the S Hearing Rehabilitation Center in Y City from June 20, 2020, to September 3, 2020, participated voluntarily after a recruitment announcement.The participants' overall characteristics, depression, and cognitive functions were evaluated with a structured questionnaire. The Word Recognition Score (WRS) was evaluated with an audiometer using the Korean Standard Monosyllabic Word Lists for Adults (KS-MWL-A). The quantitative EEG was measured with dry electrodes using a 2-channel EEG on the frontal lobes Fp1 and Fp2. The results are summarized as follows: Communication ability showed a positive correlation with the left-right symmetry of the frontal lobes (**p<.01) and a negative correlation with right-brain mental distraction and stress (*p<.05). In the difference WRS test for each group, the left-right symmetry of the frontal lobes (**p<.01) showed the greatest correlation with communication ability. Our results suggest that the left-right symmetry of the frontal lobes can be a biomarker indicative of the communication ability of older people with hearing impairments.