• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.449-457
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• 2001

This study was performed to show change of fat-free mass(FFM), representing mostly the muscle mass change, and muscle strength with increasing age, and relationship between dietary, exercise behaviors and FFM in healthy middle-and old aged women who are of age over 55 years. The FFM and correspondingly hand grip strength showed significant positive correlation with age. But concentration of serum albumin showed no significant relationship with age. The subjects were categorized into groups according to FFM tertile. The anthropometry such as weight, BMI, fat mass, circumferences of waist and hip, WHR, and hand grip strength decreased significantly in the lowest FFM group. But the albumin level showed no change according to FFM level. The FFM showed significant correlation with nutrient intakes such as energy, carbohydrate, protein, Fe, P, Ca. No association, however, was shown with exercise behavior probably because of no case with resistance exercise habits. The variance of FFM was explained 55.2% by height and carbohydrate intake. The variance of height-adjusted FFM could be explained only 16.2% by intake amount of carbohydrate. In conclusion, the decrease of FFM may cause to reduce muscle strength in female elderly. The increasing nutrient intakes were associated with the increased FFM and may protect from risk of sarcopenia. However, only the carbohydrate intake could influence independently the FFM in middle- and old-aged women. The FFM has no association with endurance exercise habits. (Korean J Nutrition 34(4) : 449∼457, 2001)

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.26
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• pp.279-288
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• 1995

The objective of the study was to provide fun-damental data on somatotype for elderly women by classifying the somatotype and analyzing the characteristics of their somatotype. The subjects were 368 women ages of 60∼84, they were measured direct anthropometry. In or-der to find out differences among the age groups, the 368 subjects were grouped into two age groups(Group 1 aged 60 to 69, Group 2 ; aged 70 to 84) Data were analyzed using Factor analysis, Cluster analysis, Duncan test and Analysis of variance. The results of this study were as follows. 1. The characteristics of Elderly women's somatotype were bending of the upper-torso, fat-ness of the waist and abdomen, drooping of the bust and shoulder and hip. In addition, height, girth, depth and width items were decreased in their sizes respectively. 2. Through the factor analysis, we extracted 5 factors from anthropometric measurements. Factor components were obesity, height, girth of the leg and arm, length of the upper-torso except the center front length, the center front length, we categorized by 4 clusters using 5 factor scores. And after the cluster analysis using 5 factor scores, 4 clusters were categorized. The characteristics of clusters were as follows. Type 1 was characterized by short, obesity type, and droopy bust. Type 2 was characterized by short and slender type, dropped bust, and bending somatotype from the lateral view. Type 3 was characterized by middle sized and straight somatotype from the lateral view. Type 4 was characterized by tall and obese type from the lateral view.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.156-166
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• 2011

This study investigated the casual jacket design preferences of women aged 50s and 60s and suggested a prototype design for functional clothing. All age groups liked the casual jacket with a length between the waist and hip, a convertible collar, and a single-breasted design. Those in their 50s preferred fitted or semi-fitted casual jackets while those in their 60s preferred semi-fitted casual jackets. Although, there were significant differences between the preferred jacket designs and ready-made brand jacket designs, most brand jacket designs were casual, semi-fitted, middle-hip length, single-breasted, and with stand-rolled or convertible collars. The analysis of the sleeve styles in brand jackets showed that consumers needed designs that are more decorative. Fashion designers for senior citizens need to design elderly clothing that is comfortable, fashionable, functional, and considers a universal design for ease of clothing function. It will also make the senior citizen fashion market more appealing to consumers. To provide jacket designs for senior citizens, we suggested casual jacket designs for embedding a functional device as well as a new jacket design library for women in their 50s and 60s.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.205-210
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• 2022

Background: Nasal bone fractures are the most common type of facial bone fracture, but are under-studied in adults above 65 years of age. Therefore, we investigated the epidemiology and patterns of nasal bone fractures among older adults in comparison to different age groups. Methods: This retrospective study included 2,321 nasal bone fracture patients who underwent surgery at our hospital from January 2010 to December 2017. The patients were classified by age as preschoolers, school-age children, young and middle-aged adults, and the elderly. We performed pairwise comparisons between elderly patients and each other age group in terms of sex, cause of injury, and fracture type. Results: The 2,321 nasal bone fracture patients included 76 elderly patients (50 men [65.8%] and 26 women [34.2%]). In these patients, the two most common injury causes were falling or slipping down (n= 39; 51.3%) and road traffic accidents (n= 19; 25.0%). According to the Stranc and Robertson classification, the most common force vector was lateral, and plane 2 fractures with lateral forces predominated. Conclusion: The elderly showed similar patterns of nasal bone fractures to those observed in young and middle-aged adults, but significant differences from preschoolers (in the injury vector and plane of fracture) and from school-age children (in the sex ratio and plane of fracture). However, elderly patients presented significantly different epidemiological characteristics compared to the other three groups. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of life of the elderly and prepare for the upcoming super-aged society by taking steps to reduce the incidence and severity of fractures. Possible options for doing so include strengthening individual-level safety factors and expanding the social safety net for the elderly.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.89-108
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors influencing life satisfaction in widowhood among older females. Using the sixth Korean Retirement and Income Study (KReIS) supplementary survey data, a total sample of 1,471 women aged 65 or older whose spouse had died were selected, divided into 508 young-old (65-74), 745 middle-old (75-84), and 218 oldest-old (85+). Then, factors influencing the life satisfaction of these three groups were analyzed, based on a combination of perceived health and interpersonal satisfaction levels. It was found that among the young-old group, a higher level of subjective health perception indicated by monthly income and material support and interpersonal satisfaction linked to more frequent participation in community gathering combined for an overall higher level of life satisfaction. For the middle-old group, higher life satisfaction was provided by monthly income, informational support, and material support for subjective health perception and no diseases for interpersonal satisfaction. The oldest-old group with higher life satisfaction referred to monthly income for subjective health perception and no experience in donation activities for interpersonal satisfaction. Based on these findings, this study provides implications for policy and practice to improve the life satisfaction of elderly women who have experienced their spouse's death.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.128-140
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a self-transcendence enhancement program and examine its effect on self-transcendence, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being in elderly women who live alone. Methods: A self-transcendence enhancement program was developed through theory, literature review, and in-depth interviews. The theoretical framework came from the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health intervention model based on Reed's middle-range theory of self-transcendence. The program consisted of multiple modalities in a structured, theory-based program lasting for eight weekly sessions. Using a single-group pretest-posttest design, the program was tested on a group of 40 elderly women aged 75 to 84 years living alone in Daejeon, Korea. Participants completed self-reported study questionnaires before and after the program at the elderly welfare center. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0, with significance level set at .05. Paired t-test was used to compare mean differences before and after the program. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 79.1 years. After completing the program, the participants showed higher levels of self-transcendence (t=8.78, p<.001), overall spiritual well-being (t=8.30, p=.002), religious spiritual well-being (t=1.79, p=.040), existential spiritual well-being (t=6.75, p=.002), and positive affect (t=3.77, p=.001) than they did before the program. They also reported lower levels of depression (t=-7.59, p<.001) and negative affect (t=-6.15, p<.001). Conclusion: The self-transcendence enhancement program developed in this study may be effective for improving the level of self-transcendence in elderly women living alone and helping them to attain spiritual and psychological well-being.

• Journal of Sport and Applied Science
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.17-27
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• 2019

Purpose: This study is to conduct usability evaluations from the perspective of developing comfort-shoes for the middle-aged and elderly to identify key factors and derive implications for optimal comfort-shoes production. Research design, data, and methodology: A total of 10 middle-aged and elderly women in their 50s and 60s were selected as eligible for the rescue. For data collection, the study was conducted in a Gang Survey, where pre-explanations, shoes test, and interviews were conducted. The collected data were analyzed in a total of four stages. In step 1, the contents obtained through interviews with the subjects were recorded in text, organized and analyzed systematically, and in step 2, unnecessary vocabulary, sentences, and overlapping opinions were eliminated. In step 3, we classified areas around key functions and carried out categorization tasks. Finally, in Step 4, the results and implications of the study were derived by classifying each usability evaluation shoe as positive and negative text around categorized data. Results: There are a total of seven factors for comfort-shoes usability evaluation, which are categorized as cushion, fitting, stability, flexibility, lightweight, comfort, and pressure. Positive/negative factors for the derived usability evaluation factors were shown in the form of a positive-centered, negative-centered, and positive-mixed mix for each of the four products. Positive-focused products are VA products, which are seven times more positive than negative factors. Negative-centered products are CL and SA products, which are five times more negative than positive factors. Positive mixing was a CA product with a ratio of 1:1. Text-based usability evaluations allow us to proceed with analysis based on more scientific data rather than simply listening to opinions and judging by comments. Conclusions: The study discussed implications of developing comfort-shoes for middle-aged consumers and future directions were discussed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.611-623
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• 2018

Ten middle-aged women who support their biological parents have been interviewed to investigate their experiences of caregiving their parents. As a qualitative research method, data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed by Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Consequently 244 meaningful sentences were selected from the collected interview data and then were sorted into 67 meaningful sentences and, consequently into 9 sub-themes. Finally four high-level themes are wrapped through the summarizing process. The first theme is motivation of caregiving. Inevitable cases are most common for caregiving their biological parents. And, general responsibilities to their parents are also deduced as a motivation of caregiving. The second theme is a psychological phenomenon of middle-aged women while they provide consistent caregiving their biological parents even though they have some troubles with their parents. The third theme is meaning of caregiving. For some women, caregiving their biological parents is their own happiness and gratitude such as lifelong gifts. The final theme is influence of caregiving. Further understanding their parents, and more distinct prospecting their future lives are unexpected fruits from the caregiving their biological parents.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.670-678
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• 2010

Recognition thresholds for NaCl, sucrose, citric acid, and caffeine, as well as the pleasant concentration of NaCl were assessed in 176 males and 312 females aged 50-88 years. Furthermore, relationships among taste sensitivities, taste preferences, and lifestyles were examined. The taste solutions were presented one after the other in ascending order using the sip-and-spit method. For the recognition thresholds of the 4 basic tastes, women perceived significantly lower concentrations than the men. However, the pleasant concentration of NaCl did not show a gender difference. Sensitivities for the 4 basic tastes did not decrease with age in the men, but they did significantly decrease with age for the women, especially for those above 70 years. For men, regular exercise was positively correlated with sensitivities for sour taste and bitter taste, and physical activity was negatively correlated with the pleasant concentrations of NaCl. For women, who had more physical activity, sensitivities for sweet taste and sour taste were lower compared to the others. This study indicates that the sensitivities for 4 basic tastes in water diminished with age, but pleasant salt concentration did not change with age. Further research on pleasant NaCl concentration is required to determine factors affecting salt preference, in order to decrease salt intake in the elderly.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.353-361
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of adult the women's satisfaction with their appearance, self-esteem, depression and stress to health related quality of life (HRQOL) across the lifespan. Method: In this study a convenience sample of Korean women aged 20 years and over was used. There were 1152 women and data were collected from November 2007 to February 2008. Results: There was no difference in satisfaction with appearance in all age group. Elderly women reported lowest self esteem and HRQOL and highest depression and stress. There were statistical significances between satisfaction with appearance, self-esteem, depression, stress and HRQOL for all age groups. The most significant predictors of HRQOL in early adulthood women were stress and depression. The most significant predictors of HRQOL in middle adulthood women were stress, disease, depression, self-esteem, and monthly income. The most significant predictors of HRQOL in elderly women were stress, disease, depression, and satisfaction with appearance. Conclusion: The results indicate that HRQOL of Korean women is associated with psychological distress as with stress and depression. When developing programs to enhance health in elderly women, consideration should be given to body image as well as psychological distress and chronic conditions.