• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.54-62
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• 2020

Objectives : Acute low back pain syndrome causes pain and poor quality of life. There are various studies of SBV (Sweet bee venom) pharmacopuncture, but few have identified the therapeutic effects for patients unable to walk due to acute back pain. This case series report three cases of acute low back pain syndrome treated with SBV pharmacopuncture combined with Korean Medicine (KM) treatments. Methods : Three acute low back pain syndrome patients with no other acute abnormalities in the imaging were treated by KM treatments including SBV pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine and physical therapy. The improvement of symptoms was evaluated using Numerical rating scale (NRS), Oswestry disability Index (ODI), EuroQol-5 dimension index (EQ-5D) and EuroQol-visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS). Results : Patients who were unable to walk due to acute back pain were able to walk. There were significant improvements of NRS, ODI, EQ-5D and EQ-VAS after treatment. The patients experienced an average 90% decrease in low back pain after inpatient KM treatment for about 8 days. NRS decreased by an average of 78.9%, ODI decreased by an average of 49.4%, and EQ-VAS increased by an average of 92.6%. In the case 1, EQ-5D decreased in all categories, but in the case 2, it decreased in all categories except for pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, but in the case 3, it decreased in all categories except anxiety/depression. There was no serious side effect after treatment of SBV pharmacopuncture. Conclusions : KM treatments including SBV pharmacopuncture may be effective for acute low back pain syndrome patients. However, randomized controlled trials are needed in the future to confirm the clinical effects of these interventions.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2017

Objectives : Little is known about the influence of urinary incontinence and depression on individual's QOL(Quality of life). We aimed to clarify how the interaction between urinary incontinence and depression influences one's QOL. Methods : A total of 1262 patients were enrolled in this study from April, 2011 to July, 2011. We estimated the severity of depressive symptoms and QOL, using SGDS-K, EQ-5D. We also investigated the morbidity of urinary incontinence for each patient in person or by questionnaire. Comparisons of QOL between groups with or without depression, with or without urinary incontinence were established using t-test, ANOVA and Scheffe's post hoc analysis. The interaction between urinary incontinence and depression was analyzed by each domain of QOL, using multiple regression analysis. Results : Patients with depression and urinary incontinence showed significantly higher EQ-5D scores on every domain of QOL than other patients, which means significantly lower QOL. Patients with depression, no urinary incontinence reported lower QOL, especially in the domain of 'usual activity', 'anxiety' and 'visual analogue scale(VAS)', whereas those with urinary incontinence, no depression showed lower QOL in 'motility', 'usual activities' and 'pain' domain. Statistically significant interaction effects of two diseases were observed in the domain of 'VAS', 'self care' and 'anxiety'. Conclusions : Comorbidity of urinary incontinence and depression showed significantly lower QOL of patients, compared with urinary incontinence or depression respectively, which implies additive interaction effects of the two diseases. Optimal diagnosis and treatment of depression should be emphasized for patients with urinary incontinence.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.514-524
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between working poverty and health status among Korean workers. Methods: This study is secondary analysis of data extracted from the 2018 Community Health Survey. For the present analysis, 23,575 of the working poor whose household disposable income is below 50.0% of the national median and 111,443 of the working nonpoor were selected. Based on existing literature, a set of variables were chosen from the Community Health Survey. Health status was measured using self-rated health status measure, Patient health Questionnire-9, and EuroQol-5dimension. Results: The proportion of subjective unhealthy status, depressive symptoms, and poor quality of life were significantly higher among the working poor than among the working nonpoor. After adjusting for general characteristics and health behavior factors, the working poverty was a significant predictor of subjective unhealthy status (AOR=1.32, 95% CI=1.25~1.40), depressive symptoms (AOR=1.61, 95% CI=1.38~1.88]), and poor quality of life (β=-0.02, p<.001). Conclusion: The current study confirmed the health disparities between the working poor and the working nonpoor. Therefore, health care programs and policies are required for reducing the health inequalities among the workers.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.161-169
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• 2022

A 50-year-old Korean male tour guide without any medical or family history complained of left knee pain. After receiving umbilical cord blood injection treatment, the pain gradually worsened. After being diagnosed with septic arthritis in the left knee, arthroscopic lavage, debridement, antibiotic treatment, and routine rehabilitation therapy were performed, but the symptoms persisted. In the hospital, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, acupotomy, Chuna manual therapy, and cupping therapy were performed in addition to the usual treatment for 59 days. To evaluate the patient's improvement, the numeric rating scale, EuroQol 5-dimension, pain disability index, and Lysholm knee scoring system were used. After treatment, the symptoms improved in all assessment tools, swelling, and range of motion of the joint. Through this study, it was found that complex Korean medical therapies may be effective for postoperative ankylosis in septic arthritis of the knee, and further studies are needed to clarify the therapeutic effect.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2020

Background: Cross-culturally adapted questionnaires may not be comparable to their original version. Objects: To examine concurrent validity of two health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments for the Korean versions of EuroQOL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument. Methods: A total of 139 cancer survivors from two rehabilitation institutes was recruited. All participants were registered for palliative rehabilitation care. Both instruments were concurrently administered by health care providers following the second bout of the rehabilitation cares. Rasch partial credit model and Spearman's correlation analysis were used to investigate: 1) dimensionality, 2) hierarchical item difficulty, and 3) concurrent validity using correlations between two instruments. Results: For the WHOQOL-BREF, all items except negative feeling, pain, dependence of medical aid, were found to be acceptable, while all items of EQ-5D were acceptable. There was an evidence of negative correlations between EQ-5D and 4 domains of WHOQOL-BREF. Two correlations were strong (EQ-5D vs. physical health domain, ρ = -0.610, 95% CI = -0.716 to -0.475) and moderate (EQ-5D vs. psychosocial domain, ρ = -0.402, 95% CI = -0.546 to -0.236). Other two correlations were weak (EQ-5D vs. social relationship and environmental domains, ρ = -0.242, 95% CI = -0.401 to -0.075 and ρ = -0.364, 95% CI = -0.514 to -0.207, respectively). Item difficulty calibrations of the two measurements were ranged from -0.84 to 0.86 for the EQ-5D and -1.07 to 1.06 for the WHOQOL-BREF. Conclusion: The study provides some supports for the concurrent validity of the two Korean versions of HRQOL instrument, with evidences of weak to strong correlations between the EQ-5D and four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF applied to various cancer survivors. Additionally, the cancer survivors appeared to have more of a tendency to view the EQ-5D items as being slightly more challenging than the WHOQOL-BREF items.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3345-3350
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• 2015

Background: Evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cervical cancer patients is important in order to design the interventions for improving patient outcomes. Reports of HRQOL among cervical cancer patients in Indonesia are limited. Moreover, measurement using EQ-5D-3L is to our best knowledge has hitherto not been performed. This study aimed to examine the HRQOL of cervical cancer patients in Indonesia using EQ-5D-3L. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewing cervical cancer patients using the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. Percentages of patients who reported having problems in each dimension of EQ-5D as well as EQ-5D index score (utility) were calculated. Results: Our findings indicated that the most frequent reported problems were pain/discomfort (67.8%) followed by anxiety/depression (57.5%). The mean of EQ-5D VAS was 75.8 (SD=17.0). The mean (SD) utility scores were 0.85 (0.19), 0.76 (0.20), 0.71 (0.21), and 0.77 (0.13) for cervical cancer patients in stage I, II, III, and IV, respectively. Conclusions: Cervical cancer significantly affects patient HRQOL. Efforts should be made to improve the quality of life of cervical cancer patients especially in terms of pain /discomfort and anxiety/depression reduction.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.212-219
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• 2020

Background: Although the original version of the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires are found to be acceptable, the cross-culturally adapted versions may not be comparable to their original version. Objects: To examine dimensionality and construct validity of two Korean versions of the brief version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) and EuroQOL-5 dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires. Methods: A total of 77 cancer survivors undergoing palliative rehabilitation programs from two rehabilitation institutes was recruited from April 16, 2018 to June 26, 2019. The WHOQOL-BREF and the EQ-5D were filled out by the various cancer survivors following a particular session of rehabilitation programs. The scores were analyzed with Winsteps Rasch analysis computer program using the rating scale model. Rasch fit statistics were used to determine the dimensionality and the item difficulty calibrations of WHOQOL-BREF and EQ-5D. Results: All items except two, negative feeling, need treatment function and pain prevent activity (mean square [MnSq] = 2.42, 1.82 and 2.51, respectively), were found to be acceptable, while two items of the EQ-5D, anxiety/depression and self-care, were misfit (infit MnSq = 1.65 and 0.38, respectively). Item difficulty calibrations of WHOQOL-BREF match person ability measures (i.e., HRQOL) fairly well. However, the person ability distribution showed obvious ceiling effects for EQ-5D. All items of EQ-5D were appeared to be less challenged in comparison with those of WHOQOL-BREF. Conclusion: Item-level analysis using the Rasch model supports the quality of culturally adapted items used to measure the HRQOL one exception; that is, whether or not to include misfit items as part of the HRQOL measurements. Additionally, cancer survivors undergoing palliative rehabilitation programs appear to have more of a tendency to view the EQ-5D items as being more challenging than the WHOQOL-BREF.

• Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.73-83
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• 2022

Background: This study was aimed at reducing depression and improving the quality of life and oral health of the elderly Koreans by elucidating the effect of depression on their life quality and oral health. Methods: Original data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Survey (2019) were analyzed and implemented. The elderly (age≥65years) Koreans were enrolled. The oral health status was determined using the Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) index and subjective self-report. The quality of life was quantified as the sum of score of each item in the Euro Qol-5 dimension (EQ-5D) and Health-related Quality of Life Instrument with 8 Items (HINT-8). The t-test, one-way analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were performed to statistically compare the quality of life, oral health status, and oral health status according to the depression status. Results: EQ-5D and HINT-8 scores differed significantly with the history of depression, current depression, stress perception, depression for 2 weeks, and annual suicidal intention (p≤0.05). The DMFT index score differed significantly with the depression diagnosis and depression for 2 weeks (p≤0.05). EQ-5D, HINT-8, and DMFT index differed significantly with all oral health behavior variables (p≤ 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study could serve as a basis to formulate oral health programs for the elderly to reduce depression and improve the quality of life.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2023

Background: Equating is a statistical procedure used to create a common measurement scale across two instruments. Item-level information should be taken into consideration so that scores can communicate interchangeably across the instruments. Objects: To investigate a common measurement scale across two health-related quality of life questionnaires (HRQOL) applied to various cancer survivors who underwent palliative care in healthcare institutions. Methods: A total of 139 cancer survivors who underwent palliative care were recruited from two rehabilitation hospitals and an oriental medicine hospital. Participants consisted of various cancer survivors who presented to the sites for palliative care. They were asked to fill out Korean versions of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) and EuroQOL-5 dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires following the palliative care. For the item level comparison, the Rasch rating scale model was used to investigate how participants regarded individual test items of two instruments in relation to item difficulty calibrations. Results: All items except the three items fit the Rasch model. One item (anxiety/depression) of the EQ-5D and two items (dependence on medical aids and negative feelings) of the WHOQOL-BREF are misfit. The WHOQOL-BREF targets the survivors well, while the EQ-5D is able to target the survivors with lower HRQOL levels with some ceiling effects. By inspecting the item difficulty calibrations of the two instruments, five items of the WHOQOL-BREF are selected as common items in relation to the EQ-5D. These five items are considered compatible with each other. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis reveals that the healthcare item of the WHOQOL-BREF vs the self-care item of the EQ-5D exhibits significant DIF. Conclusion: Findings suggest that one paired item should be taken into consideration when equating the WHOQOL-BREF and the EQ-5D applied to cancer survivors who underwent palliative care.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.7034-7042
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of metabolic syndrome(MS) on quality of life(QoL) using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2013. We analyzed data for 4,890 adults, aged 19 year or older and provided the correct data about MS and QoL. MS was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III with Korea-specific waist circumference cutoffs and QoL was measured by the EuroQol 5-dimension(EQ-5D). The prevalence of MS was 22.1% and high density lipoprotein(HDL)-cholesterol was the highest prevalence in MS components. The mean of EQ-5D index was significantly lower in subject with MS compared to subjects without MS. Among MS components, only higher waist circumference led to EQ-5D index decreasing and the regression coefficient was -0.018. In conclusion, we suggest the attention to QoL and intervention program for improving the QoL in subjects with MS.