• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.99-119
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• 2006

Objectives: This study intends to understand the difference within group of social support level and the effect of social support to health behaviors and health status of the elderly by selecting the old of local society as target. Methods: Data were obtained from self-administered questionnaire of 8,688 persons, older than 65 years, living in a community. We measured the sociodemographic characteristics, social support(family support, other support, quality of support), physical health state(subjective health status, number of chronic disease), physical function state(activities of daily living; ADL, instrumental activities of daily living; IADL), cognition state(mini-mental state examination-Korean; MMSE-K) and depression state(short form of geriatric depression scale; SGDS), health behaviors(smoking, drinking, exercise, eating habit). Univariate, multinominal logistic regression and covariance structure analysis were employed to analyze factors affecting on the social support of the elderly. Results: When considering the degree of social support by the sociodemographic characteristics of the older adults, the family support, other support and quality of support is better when the old is male, young, high education and self-reported living status is good and it has significance statistically. When considering the relation between social support and health status, the family support, other support and quality of support is better when the old's subjective and objective physical health status is good. The family support, other support and quality of support is better when the old's subjective health status is better. The other support and quality of support is better when the old's ADL(activities of daily living) and IADL(instrumental activities of daily living) are good. The family support, other support and quality of support is better when the old's cognitive function and depression state is better. When considering the relation between social support and health behaviors, in case of smoking and drinking, the quality of support, family support and other support is better when the old smokes and drinks rather than the old does not. In case of exercise and eating habit, the family support, other support and quality of support is better when the old exercises and eats regularly rather than the old does not. It has significance statistically. From the result of performing covariance structure analysis by structural equation modeling(SEM) with two endogenous variable(health behaviors and health status) and one exogenous variable(social support), factor loading of health status is 0.74 and factor loading of health behaviors is 0.05. The social support explains health status of 55.4% and health behaviors of 2.9%. Conclusions: This study has the meaning that it finds the difference of social support generating from inside of the group for the old residing in city and country and specifies the effect that the difference of social support influences to health status and health behaviors. From now on, in the development of health improvement strategy of the olds, it is necessary to approach from inclusive aspect while considering psychosocial factor such as social support and social economical factor as well as health status.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.63-68
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• 2016

Objectives Haenyeo are Korean professional women breath-hold divers in Jeju island. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of depressed Haenyeo group, compared to non-Haenyeo depressed group. Methods This study included 75 Haenyeo and 340 non-Haenyeo with depressive disorders recruited from the Dementia Early Detection Program in Jeju island. Structural diagnostic interviews were performed using the Korean version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. All patients completed the questionnaires, including the Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire (SMCQ), the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), and the Blessed dementia scale. Depression was evaluated by the Korean version of short form the Geriatric Depression Scale (K-SGDS) and cognition was assessed by the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) assessment packet. Results Although the mean scores of the K-SGDS were similar between Haenyeo and non-Haenyeo depressed groups, the Haenyeo group showed a higher mean score on the PSQ-15 (p < 0.001, ANCOVA adjusting for age, the K-SGDS and education). The Haenyeo group showed poorer performance on the Korean Version of Frontal Assessment Batter (p < 0.001), the Mini-Mental State Examination in the Korean version of the CERAD Assessment Packet (p < 0.018), the word fluency test (p < 0.001), and the word list memory test (p = 0.012) in ANCOVA adjusting for age and education. The mean SMCQ score was higher in the Haenyeo depressed group than in the non-Haenyeo depressed group. Conclusions The Haenyeo depressed group shows cognitive dysfunction, especially frontal lobe dysfunction, compared to the non-Haenyeo depressed group, indicating the Haenyeo depressed group may have more severe frontolimbic dysfunction due to chronic exposure to hypoxia. The Haenyeo depressed group suffers more somatic symptoms than the non-Haenyeo depressed group.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• 제43권9호
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• pp.1431-1438
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• 2014

This study assessed the risk and prevalence of anorexia as well as associated factors among home-dwelling elderly adults. The subjects were 419 elderly men (116) and women (303) aged 65 years and older ($76{\pm}5.6yr$) living in Korea. Data were collected by personal interviews using questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation. The prevalence of anorexia was 35.1% among participants. Male elders (74.1%) had higher proportions of anorexia than female elders (20.1%) (P<0.001). Significant differences in the appetite were observed according to type of disease, depression, and activities of daily living (ADL) index. In the poor appetite group, central nervous system diseases were the primary illness in male elders (P<0.01), whereas endocrine diseases were the primary illness in female elders (P<0.01). Elders with good appetites had less symptoms of depression (P<0.001) and greater independence in ADL (P<0.001). These results explored the high prevalence of anorexia in geriatric populations in Korea and its impact on elderly nutritional status and health. Further research should be performed to identify the causes of anorexia and establish an intervention protocol allowing the early diagnosis of anorexia.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.107-113
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• 2014

Objectives Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep disorder characterized by uncomfortable and unpleasant sensations in the legs and an urge to move the legs, usually at night. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of RLS in patients with late life depression and its influence on various clinical outcomes such as severity of depression, sleep quality, cognitive function, and quality of life and accordingly, to elucidate the clinical significance of RLS in patients with late life depression (LLD). Methods This study enlisted 170 depressive patients aged 65 years or older from an outpatient clinic. Structured diagnostic interviews were performed using the Korean version of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. All patients completed the questionnaires, including the International RLS Severity Scale, the Korean version of Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The severity of depression was evaluated by the Korean form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (KGDS) and the level of global cognition was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination in the Korean version of The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (MMSE-KC). Results The incidence of RLS was 17.6% in LLD patients. RLS was more prevalent among the subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) than those with minor depressive disorder or subsyndromal depressive disorder. The RLS group showed higher score in the KGDS than the Non-RLS group but the difference did not reach the statistical significance (p = 0.095, Student t-test). The mean PSQI score was significantly higher in the RLS group than in the Non-RLS group (p = 0.001, Student t-test). The MMSE-KC score was also lower in the RLS group than in Non-RLS group (p = 0.009, analysis of covariance). But, there was no difference in the score of SF-36 between the RLS group and the Non-RLS group. Conclusions RLS is common in LLD patients, especially in the patients with MDD and is associated with poor sleep quality and cognitive dysfunction, indicating that RLS is clinically significant in patients with LLD. Therefore, RLS should be considered as an important clinical issue in the management of LLD.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.35-45
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• 2014

Purpose: This study analyzes occupational therapy interventions to improve activities of daily living (ADL) in dementia patients and the instruments used to verify their effects through a systematic review and attempts to use the results as preliminary data in selecting further interventions and instruments. Method: The databases searched included NDSL, DBpia, RISS, KISS and National Assembly Library with search words including 'Alzheimer's disease', 'Alzheimer', 'daily living' and 'ADL.' The subjects of analysis were a total of 7 studies, and a frequency analysis was used for the usage count of the interventions used in each study. In order to provide evidence, PICO Method was used for sorting. Result: As a result of this study, there were 7 occupational therapy interventions applied to improve ADL in dementia patients, which were used 7 times total. As for the instruments used to validate the effects of the interventions for the ADL, it turned out that '3 studies used AMPS (42.9%),' which was the most, followed by 'Allen Cognitive Level Screen' (ACLS) and Functional Independence Measure' (FIM), respectively used in 2 studies (28.6%); and 'Modified Barthel Index' (MBI) and 'Philadelphia Geriatric Center IADL' (PGC IADL), respectively used in 1 study. Regarding the qualitative level of evidence, it turned out that 4 studies were Level III (57.1%), followed by 2 studies at Level IV (28.6%) and 1 study at Level I (14.3%). Conclusion: This study suggested the kinds and frequencies of usage of the interventions and instruments of occupational therapy for the improvement of ADL in dementia patients, and the studies of evidence were presented by the PICO Method. It is judged that the results of this study can be used as preliminary data in selecting interventions and instruments to improve the ADL in dementia patients. In the future, studies should be carried out on the ADL in other areas related to dementia.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• 제6권5호
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• pp.295-302
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to convergence approach analyse the depression tendency by family situation and leisure history in the elderly who live in town house in Gyeonggi-do. This study analysed factors such as family situation, leisure history related to the depression tendency. This study selected 20 elderly people over 65 as research subjects and all data analysis was to conduct analyze by multi-variables independent t-test and one-way ANOVA. The results of GDS showed 11 people(55%) presented with mild depression tendency(M=13.0) and 1 person(5%) showed severe depression tendency. 11 out of 30 questions in GDS had a significant difference among the depression degree. Individual disease type had a significant difference in depression tendency statistically(F(3, 16)=4.534, p<.05). Past leisure satisfaction among total leisure history factors had a significant difference in depression tendency(F(2,17)=3.989, p<.05). The participants whose leisure activity was absent in the past and present showed a regressive depression tendency. Participants with no social companions also presented with the same. The study concluded to grasp the real condition of depression, and make practical alternatives for that, multilateral depression tendency analysis using diverse methods are necessary in the near future for improving reliability of tools.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제50권1호
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• pp.1-9
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• 2017

Objectives: By the end of the 2000s, the economic situation in many European countries started to deteriorate, generating financial uncertainty, social insecurity and worse health status. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the recent financial crisis has affected the lifestyle health determinants and behaviours of older adults living in the Mediterranean islands. Methods: From 2005 to 2015, a population-based, multi-stage convenience sampling method was used to voluntarily enrol 2749 older adults (50% men) from 20 Mediterranean islands and the rural area of the Mani peninsula. Lifestyle status was evaluated as the cumulative score of four components (range, 0 to 6), that is, smoking habits, diet quality (MedDietScore), depression status (Geriatric Depression Scale) and physical activity. Results: Older Mediterranean people enrolled in the study from 2009 onwards showed social isolation and increased smoking, were more prone to depressive symptoms, and adopted less healthy dietary habits, as compared to their counterparts participating earlier in the study (p<0.05), irrespective of age, gender, several clinical characteristics, or socioeconomic status of the participants (an almost 50% adjusted increase in the lifestyle score from before 2009 to after 2009, p<0.001). Conclusions: A shift towards less healthy behaviours was noticeable after the economic crisis had commenced. Public health interventions should focus on older adults, particularly of lower socioeconomic levels, in order to effectively reduce the burden of cardiometabolic disease at the population level.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.331-347
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• 1990

This study was designed under the purpose to analyze the Korean Traditional Folk Remedies on food, to submit the basic statistical data, and to utilize them by examining how much they know about the Korean Traditional Folk Remedies and also by examining how frequently they used them. The sample was consisted of 312 housewives living in Daegu, Kyungsan city and Kyungsan-eup, the survey was made by use of questionaires from July 15 to August 1 1989. The results are as follows 1. Analysis of Folk Remedical Contents 1) The method of the Folk Remedies used in this area was mainly food, which can be easily found around their house and easy to use, it was possible to apply scientific principles in some cases. 2) The major popular method was shown to feed boiled barley or brown rice which are known as the Folk Remedy for Diabetes. 3) The ANOVA of variable shows the significant influence on each object which age, religion, the level of education, job, monthly income, and the area except family formation. 2. The Frequency of Folk Remedies and additional analysis 1) The most frequently used Folk Remedy was Arterio-sclerosis(1.44), which is followed by the loss of Eyesight(1.40), Hang over(1.28), Couth(1.27), Cold(1.26) etc. 2) In the analysis of Pearson Correlation between frequencies of Folk Remedies used, and demographic variables such as age(p<.05), the monthly income(p<.01), in that area, total number of response items showed a positive correlation. 3. The source to learn about Folk Remedy. 1) It is acknoledged that they are mostly instructed by their forefathers, friends, neighbors, professional textbooks, mass communications, herb doctors, other medical sources or education at school etc. 2) The ANOVA of Variables shows the big differences between each group by age. Based on the above findings, the following suggestions are made ; Most of Korean Traditional Folk Remedies are recognized scientific and reasonable which are based on the scientific research and herb medicine therefore it should be made good use of for our life in good health additionally. I hereby insist that the importance of our Folk Remedies should be reviewed and focused for maintenance our health.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.41-52
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• 2001

The purpose of this research is to plan the activation of university health business through the appraisal of the function and role of university health centers. To be more specific: Firstly, analyze the facility, personnel, health service of the health centers, Secondly, appraise the role and function of the health centers, and Thirdly, consider the activation plans of health centers. The research method taken was the study of surveys conducted and written research materials on 5 women's universities in Seoul. These materials where descriptively analyzed by converting the surveys, facility and usage of health center and current personnel status in to percentage. The major results of the research are as follows: Unlike as stated in each university's additional clause on the number of personnel were working. This lack of specialized personnel resulted into lack of specialized and various services. Medicine for external application were stocked well whereas only simple medicine for internal application were on shelf and were issued only with a doctor's prescription. Universities with a full-time doctor had various available equipments. One university conducting dental treatment was equipped with indirect chest camera, dental X-ray, unit, chair(dental treatment chair) and even supersonic, electrocardiogram were available. In the case of D women's university, the number of beds compared to the number of students was lower than that of the other 3 universities, to the total size of the university was smaller than that of the other 3 universities. Among health prevention and care matters, health consultation was the only matter practised by all universities. Uniquely, there was one university that hosted epidemic prevention business. There are various tests given by each university, with each showing many differences, but some universities did not even conduct these tests. Vaccinations were usually being conducted through commission. All universities provided basic treatment, therefore matters concerning treatment at health centers were being conducted well. Concerning the management of equipment and documents, all the matters were being conducted except one university where instead of a student medical record, they were using a daily record. Because these were women's universities, most of the educations were on women's health. The subjects of these educations included: sex, contraception, prevention and control of tuberculosis, obesity, mouth hygiene, alcohol, geriatric disease, mental health and first-aid. The rate of health center usage is growing. Being women's universities, the service and treatment practised were mostly concerning sex education.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제64권6호
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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.