• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.866-882
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was: 1) To investigate health status(health behavior, health problem and cognition), depression and social support of elderly beneficiaries of the National Basic Livelihood Security System. 2) To identify the relationships among health status, depression and social support. Methods: This descriptive study used a cross-sectional design. The study sample was a total of 883 elderly recipients supported from the National Basic Livelihood Security System. Quotas for sampling were designed and conducted nationwide throughout Korea. Results: The mean age was 76.2 and the 79.6% of the sample were female. The scores for the health behavior, health problem, ADL, and cognition were 23.9, 4.4, 39.6 and 24.9, respectively. Additionally, the depression score was 19.8 and the social support score was 63.2. Gender, age, education, religion, marital status and monthly income were found as important variables in increasing health status and in decreasing depression among the elderly. Furthermore, depression showed a positive correlation with health problems, but showed negative correlations with health behavior, ADL, and cognition. The upper 25% of social support recipients suffered less depression than the lower 25% of the recipients. Subjects with more social supports had higher ADL scores and less health problem. Conclusion: These findings provide significant practical implications for nursing intervention, including social support for the elderly receiving assistance from the National Basic Livelihood Security System.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3279-3286
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Korea. To reduce cancer incidence, the Korean National Cancer Center (KNCC) has been expanding its organized cancer screening program. In addition, there are opportunistic screening programs that can be chosen by individuals or their healthcare providers. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with participation in organized and opportunistic cancer screening programs, with a particular focus on socioeconomic factors. Materials and Methods: We used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), a cross-sectional nationwide study conducted by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare from 2007 to 2011. The study included information from 9,708 men and 12,739 women aged 19 years or over. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted, adjusting for age, year of data collection, residential region, current smoking status, current alcohol consumption status, exercise, marriage status, job status, perceived health status, stress level, BMI, limitation of activities, cancer history, health insurance type, and private insurance status, to investigate the association between education level, economic status, and cancer screening participation. Results: In terms of education level, disparities in attendance were observed only for the opportunistic screening program. In contrast, there was no association between education level and participation in organized screening. In terms of economic status, disparities in opportunistic screening participation were observed at all income levels, but disparities in organized screening participation were observed only at the highest income level. Conclusions: Our findings reveal that socioeconomic factors, including educational level and economic status, were not significantly associated with participation in organized cancer screening, except at the highest level of income.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.957-962
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• 2012

Objective: Rapidly increasing colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence in Malaysia and the introduction of cutting edge new treatments, which prolong survival, mean that treatment outcome measures meed to be evaluated, including consideration of patient's quality of life (QoL) assessment. There are limited data on QoL in CRC patients, especially in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was performed focusing on cancer stages and age groups. Methods: The cross sectional study was conducted from June to September 2011 at three public tertiary hospitals with the EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire in addition to face to face interview and review of medical records of 100 respondents. Results: The mean age was 57.3 (SD 11.9) years with 56.0% are males and 44.0% females, 62% of Malay ethnicity, 30% Chinese, 7% Indian and 1% Sikh. Majority were educated up to secondary level (42%) and 90% respondents had CRC stages III and IV. Mean global health status (GHS) score was 79.1 (SD 21.4). Mean scores for functional status (physical, emotional, role, cognitive, social) rangeds between 79.5 (SD 26.6) to 92.2 (SD 13.7). Mean symptom scores (fatigue, pain, nausea/vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, insomnia, dyspnoea, loss of appetite) ranged between 4.00 (SD 8.58) to 20.7 (SD 30.6). Respondents role function significantly deteriorates with increasing stage of the disease (p=0.044). Females had worse symptoms of pain (p=0.022), fatigue (p=0.031) and dyspnoea (p=0.031). Mean insomnia (p=0.006) and diarrhea (p=0.024) demonstrated significant differences between age groups. Conclusion: QOL in CRC patients in this study was comparable to that in other studies done in developed countries. Pain, fatigue and dyspnoea are worse among female CRC patients. Given that functions deteriorates with advanced stage of the disease at diagnosis, a systematic screening programme to detect cases as early as possible is essential nationwide.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.517-524
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: There are limited studies investigating the eating patterns of children's favorite foods. The present study aimed to evaluate a wide range of children's favorite foods, derive its eating patterns, and identify factors related to the patterns. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A nationwide cross-sectional study included 5,458 students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The survey was conducted at each school to evaluate children's favorite food intake, including the intake frequency of 31 food items or food groups, and its related factors, such as demographic, economic, and environmental characteristics and awareness of policies on children's favorite foods. Factor analysis using varimax rotation method and logistic regression analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Two factors were derived as major eating patterns from data of children's favorite foods: the 'unhealthy eating pattern' which mainly involves confectionery, chocolate, ramen, fried food, etc.; and the 'healthy eating pattern' which mainly involves soybean milk, vegetables, fruit juice, and nuts. A stepwise selection procedure through the regression analysis revealed that allowance, use of screen media, less awareness of policies on children's favorite foods, and less interest in health were positively related to the tendency of unhealthy or less-healthy eating patterns (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study examined that the eating patterns of children's favorite foods were associated with certain environmental characteristics and awareness about the related policies. These findings suggest that a nutrition education program regarding children's favorite foods needs to be conducted according to the characteristics of students to develop their healthy eating habits and proper choice of favorite foods.

• Gut and Liver
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.655-663
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• 2018

Background/Aims: The association between metabolic syndrome and colorectal cancer (CRC) has been suggested as one of causes for the increasing incidence of CRC, particularly in younger age groups. The present study examined whether the current age threshold (50 years) for CRC screening in Korea requires modification when considering increased metabolic syndrome. Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Corporation database, which covers ~97% of the population in Korea. CRC risk was evaluated with stratification based on age and the presence/absence of relevant metabolic syndrome components (diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension). Results: A total of 51,612,316 subjects enrolled during 2014 to 2015 were analyzed. Among them, 19.3% had diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or some combination thereof. This population had a higher incidence of CRC than did those without these conditions, and this was more prominent in subjects <40 years of age. The optimal cutoff age for detecting CRC, based on the highest Youden index, was 45 years among individuals without diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Individuals with at least one of these components of metabolic syndrome had the highest Youden index at 62 years old, but the value was only 0.2. Resetting the cutoff age from 50 years to 45 years achieved a 6% increase in sensitivity for CRC detection among the total population. Conclusions: Starting CRC screening earlier, namely, at 45 rather than at 50 years of age, may improve secondary prevention of CRC in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study examined the distribution dynamics and proposed determinants, including morphological measurements, clinical laboratory tests, and lifestyle factors among young Korean men aged 20 to 29 years with the coexistence of age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and obesity (CALSMO). METHODS: Six hundred and sixty-six participants were divided into two groups based on their skeletal muscle mass index, with 12 individuals categorized in the CALSMO group and the remaining 654 in the normal group. The proposed determinants variables consisted of three main components: morphological measurements, clinical laboratory tests, and lifestyle factors. The morphological measurement variables were height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and skeletal muscle mass index. The clinical laboratory tests were fasting glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol levels, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The lifestyle factors considered were alcohol consumption and tobacco use. Complex sampling analysis was performed for the evaluation. RESULTS: The distribution dynamics were determined to be 1.81(1.02-3.18) %. Morphological factors, such as height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and skeletal muscle mass index, showed significant differences (p < .05). The clinical laboratory test variables, specifically the fasting glucose, triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels, also exhibited significant differences (p < .05). The lifestyle factor, alcohol consumption, also showed a significance (p < .05). CONCLUSION: This study provides insights into the distribution dynamics. The proposed determinants in young Korean individuals with CALSMO are height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass index, fasting glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol levels, and alcohol consumption.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.329-340
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• 2012

Hypertension is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have shown that changes in diet and lifestyle factors can prevent the development of hypertension, but the combined effects of these modifiable factors on hypertension are not well established. The objective of this study is to investigate associations of diet and lifestyle factors, evaluated both individually and in combination, with prevalent hypertension among Korean adults. We analyzed data obtained from the 2007-2008 Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, a nationwide cross-sectional study using a stratified, multistage probability sampling design. The associations of 12 nutrient intakes and lifestyle factors with risk of hypertension were explored using restricted cubic spline regression and logistic regression models among 6,351 adults. Total energy and several nutrients and minerals, including, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and sodium, showed non-linear relationships with the risk of prevalent hypertension. In multivariate logistic regression models, dietary score, obesity and alcohol intake were independently associated with the risk of prevalent hypertension, but smoking and physical activity were not. Overall, participants whose dietary habits and lifestyle factors were all in the low-risk group had 68% lower prevalence of hypertension (OR: 0.32, 95 CI: 0.14-0.74) compared to those who were at least one in the high-risk group of any dietary or lifestyle factors. The result suggests that combined optimal lifestyle habits are strongly associated with lower prevalence of hypertension among Korean adults.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors of suicidal ideation among middle class Korean. Methods: Cross sectional study was designed for secondary data analysis. From the 8th Korea Health Panel survey (2008~2013), a total of 6,037 data was drawn and analyzed by developmental stage using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, $x^2$ test, and logistic regression analysis. Results: Across all age groups, high physical-mental stress, frustration, anxiety about the future and low self-perceived health status or social class were found to be the risk factors of suicidal ideation. Peer-compared subjective health status and frustration significantly influenced the adolescents. The young adults'suicidal ideation was mainly influenced by physical and mental stress, frustration and absence of economic activity. For the middle-aged, physical and mental stress, frustration, future anxiety, low peer-compared subjective health status were found to be the major influencing factors. The predominant risk factors for the elderly were frustration and low peer-compared subjective health status. Conclusion: Making comparisons to others significantly influence suicidal ideation throughout all life cycles. Improvement of mental health and suicide prevention can be enhanced by avoiding negative comparison to others.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.8
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• pp.321-328
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• 2020

Background: Pediatric hypertension is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric populations. Purpose: To examine pediatric hypertension in a clinical setting, we used the percentile rank approach and defined hypertension as that above the 95th percentile. Methods: The present study was linked to the a national analytical cross-sectional community-based Iranian Children and Adolescents' Psychiatric Disorders (IRCAP) survey. The survey was nationwide and funded by the National Institute of Medical Research Development. The IRCAP survey included 31,000 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years in all 31 Iran provinces. The current study included 1,035 children and adolescents and linked the data of the risk factors of cardiovascular disease only in Yazd province via random cluster sampling. Results: Of the total participants, 456 (44.1%) were male and 579 (55.9%) were female. The mean age was 11.2±3.8 years (11.7±3.7 years for males, 11.0±3.6 years for females), while mean height was 146±20.0 cm overall, 147.2±22.0 cm for males, and 144.6±17.0 cm for females (P=0.009). The blood pressure distributions and percentiles were evaluated. Conclusion: Here we determined age- and height-specific 50th, 90th, 95th, and 99th percentiles of systolic and diastolic blood pressures in Yazd boys and girls using 10-cm height intervals.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.67-75
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of major chronic diseases related to daily oral water intake and to identify the physiological parameters related to dehydration in Korean elderly. Methods: The data were collected from the sixth Korea Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KHANES), which was a nationwide and cross-sectional survey in 2015. We analyzed 1,392 participants using t-test and logistic regression. All participants were divided into the adequate water intake (AWI) group and the non-adequate water intake (NAWI) group based on the dietary reference intakes for Koreans. Results: There was a significant difference in the water intake between the AWI (6.8 cups in a day) and NAWI (2.8 cups) groups (p< .001). There was no statistically significant association between the level of water intake and any of the major chronic diseases. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and BUN/Creatinine (Cr) ratio were significantly higher in the NAWI group. Especially, BUN/Cr ratio shows that the NAWI group reached dehydration status. Older age (adjusted odd ratio, OR= 1.07, 95% confidence interval, CI [1.04-1.10]), female gender (adjusted OR= 1.56, 95% CI [1.05-2.33]), lower body mass index (BMI) (adjusted OR = 1.00, 95% CI [0.92-1.00]), higher BUN (adjusted OR = 1.04, 95% CI [1.01-1.08]), and higher urine specific gravity (USG) (adjusted OR= 1.56, 95% CI [1.19-2.05]) were factors associated with the NAWI group. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the level of water intake needs to be considered in relation to age, gender, BMI, BUN, and USG. These are sensitive physiological parameters used for predicting dehydration of the elderly according to their daily oral water intake. It would be helpful to develop strategies to prevent dehydration in elderly individuals and enhance their water intake.