• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 2011

Objectives: We examined gender differential changes in employment-related health inequalities according to occupational position (professional/nonprofessional) in South Korea during the last decade. Methods: Data were taken from four rounds of Social Statistical Surveys of South Korea (1995, 1999, 2003, and 2006) from the Korean National Statistics Office. The total study population was 55435 male and 33913 female employees aged 25-64. Employment arrangements were divided into permanent, fixed-term, and daily employment. Results: After stratification according to occupational position (professional/nonprofessional) and gender, different patterns in employment - related health inequalities were observed. In the professional group, the gaps in absolute and relative employment inequalities for poor self-rated health were more likely to widen following Korea's 1997 economic downturn. In the nonprofessional group, during the study period, graded patterns of employment-related health inequalities were continuously observed in both genders. Absolute health inequalities by employment status, however, decreased among men but increased among women. In addition, a remarkable increase in relative health inequalities was found among female temporary and daily employees (p = 0.009, < 0.001, respectively), but only among male daily employees (p = 0.001). Relative employment-related health inequalities had clearly widened for female daily workers between 2003 and 2006 (p = 0.047). The 1997 Korean economic downturn, in particular, seemingly stimulated a widening gap in employment health inequalities. Conclusions: Our study revealed that whereas absolute health inequalities in relation to employment status increased in the professional group, relative employment-related health inequalities increased in the nonprofessional group, especially among women. In view of the high concentration of female nonstandard employees, further monitoring of inequality should consider gender specific patterns according to employee's occupational and employment status.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.140-149
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify activities of daily living, depression and self-rated health and related factors for Korean Elderly. Methods: Data from the survey for the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging in 2010 were used. The data were analyzed using frequencies, weighted proportions, and hierarchical multiple logistic regression. Results: Significant difference was observed in health status induced by socioeconomic status between men and women, but not among age groups. Socioeconomic status was strongly associated with self-rated health among male and female elders. Being unschooled and low net family asset were significantly related with dependency in activities of daily living and depressive symptoms among men. Only low net family asset was significantly related with depressive symptoms among women. Family support provides a slight decrease to the negative relationship between socioeconomic status and health status, especially depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This study suggests that interventions to reduce health inequalities should target elderly with lower socioeconomic status and with poor family support, using a gender-specific approach.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.65-77
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• 2008

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with the self-rated health status of the elderly and whether these factors were different from younger adults. Methods: An interview survey was conducted on non-institutionalized adults in Wonju City, Korea. Determinants of self-rated health status were identified and compared between individuals aged 19 to 64 years and those aged 65 years and over, using an ordered logistic regression conducted separately on these two groups. Participants were 1,685 younger adults and 188 elderly people. Self-rated health status was measured along a continuous scale from 0 to 100 (0 for the worst and 100 for the best they could imagine) and then binned into 11 categories. Results: Self-rated health status of the elderly in Wonju was associated with household income, education, bereavement, adequate sleep, daily and social life being affected by poor health status, mobility, and anxiety and depression. Household income, adequate sleep, and participation in social activities were significant only in the elderly, while some factors associated with the self-rated health status of younger adults, such as rural dwelling, regular exercise, living alone, and skipping breakfast were not significant in the elderly. Conclusion: In order to improve the health of the elderly in Wonju City, it would be necessary to develop programs addressing those specific needs of the elderly and to integrate them effectively in the Healthy City projects.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.449-459
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• 2019

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore different types of self-rated health trajectories among one-person households in Korea. Methods: We used five time-point data derived from Korea Health Panel (2011~2015). A latent growth curve modeling was used to assess the overall feature of self-rated health trajectory in one-person households, and a latent class growth modeling was used to determine the number and shape of trajectories. We then applied multinomial logistic regression on each class to explore the predicting variables. Results: We found that the overall slope of self-rated health in one-person households decreases. In addition, latent class analysis demonstrated three classes: 1) High-Decreasing class (i.e., high intercept, significantly decreasing slope), 2) Moderate-Decreasing class (i.e., average intercept, significantly decreasing slope), and 3) Low-Stable class (i.e., low intercept, flat and nonsignificant slope). The multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the predictors of each class were different. Especially, one-person households with poor health condition early were at greater risk of being Low-Stable class compared with High-Decreasing class group. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that more attentions to one-person households are needed to promote their health status. Policymakers may develop different health and welfare programs depending on different characteristics of one-person household trajectory groups in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.290-301
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• 2012

This survey of 836 midlife women ($51.0{\pm}4.0$ yrs) was undertaken by exclusively a face to face interview by well-trained interviewers guarantying data collection of higher quality. This survey data was analyzed using the SPSS program. The main purpose of this study was to describe the factors affecting self-rated health status, including dietary habits and physical mental social factors. In the self-rated health status of a 'good' group, age was lower (p < 0.05), monthly income was higher (p < 0.01), dietary habits score (p < 0.001) and appetite (p < 0.001) and the degree of movement (p < 0.001) and life satisfaction (p < 0.001), marital intimacy (p < 0.001) and relationship satisfaction with their children (p < 0.001) were significantly higher than the 'bad' group. The level of depression (p < 0.001) and severe feeling of menopausal symptoms (p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the 'poor' group. The results of correlation analysis demonstrated that educational level (r = 0.069, p < 0.05), income (r = 0.157, p < 0.001), eating habits (r = 0.235, p < 0.001), appetite (r = 0.263, p < 0.001), life satisfaction (r = 0.197, p < 0.001), marital intimacy (r = 0.167, p < 0.001), child relationship satisfaction (r = 0.149, p < 0.001), positive attitude toward menopause (r = 0.070, p < 0.05) showed a positive correlation, but depression (r = -0.122, p < 0.001) and menopausal symptoms (r = -0.292, p < 0.001) showed a negative association with self-rated health status. The predictable factors affecting the self-rated health status of middle-aged women were examined by multiple regression analysis. The 'menopausal symptoms - physical discomfort' was the most important variables followed by the 'appetite', 'eating habits', 'menopause symptoms - sensory problems', 'BMI', 'positive attitude toward menopause' and 'high marital intimacy'. These results showed that the 'appetite' and 'eating habits' are important factors affecting the self-rated health status. Therefore, a program of dietary education must be considered for the effective health education and counseling of middle-aged women.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.141-146
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• 2020

The purpose was to examine the factors related to subjective poor oral health in middle school and high school adolescents using data from '2019 Youth Health Behavior Online Survey'. Independent variables related to sociodemographic status and oral health related behaviors were the following:gender, grade, household economy, academic achievement, residence, frequency of daily and after lunch toothbrushing, smocking, alcohol,annual dental visit and preventive treatment. Almost all variables revealed a significant difference in poor oral health among boys and girls in school except resident area of girls and annual dental visit of boys. The odds ratios of subjective poor oral health were as follows:the highest ORs was subjective household economy and the second was frequency of daily toothbrushing in boys. The highest ORs was subjective household economy and the second was subjective academic achievement in girls.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.319-328
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationships of alcohol consumption patterns to mental distress and self-rated health. Data of 19,856 adult drinkers over 19 years of age and older from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Risks of experiencing perceived high stress, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts were higher in alcohol use disorder group in male, whereas the risks were higher in both alcohol use disorder and hazardous drinking groups in female, reflecting higher susceptibility to mental distress. In both male and female, former drinkers presented poor self-rated health compared with low-risk drinkers, although no difference was found in the prevalence of mental distress. Specialized mental health management measures for female drinkers are required, and former drinkers are suggested to be assessed separately from never or low-risk drinkers for their physical and mental health status.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.431-444
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• 2019

Background: This study aimed to properly manage diseases such as blood sugar control so that patients with diabetes can benefit from both medication and health activities. Also, these health practices are greatly influenced by self-rated health, a subjective assessment of health status. Because self-rated health does not necessarily match the objective health status, it is important to identify which factors affect self-rated health. Methods: For the study, the data was gathered from the 4th-6th National Health Nutrition Survey (2007-2015). Out of the total 73,353 participants in the survey, 2,303 patients with uncontrolled blood sugar with an HbA1c level of more than 7% were selected for the final study. Dependent variables fell into two categories depending on how the participant reported whether he or she was in good health or not. Independent variables included socio-demographics, health behavioral, and health status factors. This study performed logistic regression analysis. Results: Out of 2,303 participants, 18.1% reported that their heath was 'good,' despite the fact that their blood sugar level was not controlled. After running a logistic regression model, the odds ratio of groups that perceive subjective health awareness as good was higher in the groups of people as below: in the people over 60 years old; in the people who graduated from a junior college or higher than those who had a level of education of primary school completion or less; in the people living in Chungnam than those living in Seoul; and in the group with hypertriglyceridemia. Conclusion: The study identified factors associated with those failed to perceive the blood sugar level as a severe health problem despite of the fact that blood sugar was not controlled. To improve public health, diabetes management policies need to be addressed to population groups with these problems above.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.355-363
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• 2008

Objectives : Most studies about multiple roles and women's health suggested that combining with paid job, being married and having children was more likely to improve health status than in case of single or traditional roles. We investigated whether there was better health outcome in multiple roles among Korean women coinciding with previous studies of other nations. Methods : Data were from the 2005 Korea National Health & Nutritional Examination Survey, a subsample of women aged 25-59 years (N=2,943). Health status was assessed for self-rated poor health, perceived stress and depression, respectively based on one questionnaire item. The age-standardized prevalence of all health outcomes were calculated by role categories and socioeconomic status. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association of self rated health, perceived stress, and depression with multiple roles adjusted for age, education, household income, number of children and age of children. Results : Having multiple roles with working role was not associated with better health and psychological wellbeing. Compared to those with traditional roles, employed women more frequently experienced perceived stress, with marital and/or parental roles. Non-working single mothers suffered depression more often than women with traditional roles or other role occupancy. Socioeconomic status indicators were potent independent correlates of self-rated health and perceived stress. Conclusions : Employment of women with other roles did not confer additional health benefit to traditional family responsibility. Juggling of work and family responsibility appeared more stressful than traditional unemployed parental and marital role in Korean women.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2020

Background: Childbirth represents a significant transition for women, with physical and psychological sequelae. Reentry to the workplace during the postpartum period is understudied, with implications for maternal well-being and job-related outcomes. This study's aim was to examine selected pregnancy, childbirth, and return-to-work correlates of overall self-rated health within the first month of work reentry after maternity leave. Methods: Between December 2016 and January 2017, we surveyed women employed at a large, public Midwestern university who had given birth in the past five years (N = 249) to examine self-rated overall health in the first month of work reentry. Using ordinal logistic regression, we examined whether physical or psychological health problems during pregnancy, childbirth complications, length of maternity leave, and depression and anxiety at work reentry were related to overall health. Results: Women who experienced depression (odds ratio [OR] = 0.096 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 0.019 to 0.483, p = 0.004]) and anxiety (OR = 0.164, [95% CI = 0.042 to 0.635, p = 0.009]) nearly every day reported worse health at work reentry than those with no symptoms. Controlling for demographics and mental health, women who experienced medical problems during pregnancy (OR = 0.540 [95% CI = 0.311 to .935, p = 0.028]) were more likely to report poor health, while taking a longer maternity leave (OR = 14.552 [95% CI = 4.934 to 42.918, p < 0.001]) was associated with reporting better health at work reentry. Conclusion: Women who experience medical complications during pregnancy, return to the workplace too soon after birth, and experience mental health symptoms are vulnerable physically as they return to work.