• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.181-192
• /
• 2020

The present study comprehensively explored the experiences of cognitive decline and of overcoming such decline in climacteric women to gain a deeper understanding of these women's cognitive health issues. Fourteen climacteric women were recruited, and data were collected through in-depth qualitative interviews. The collected data were analyzed using phenomenological methods suggested by Colliazzi. The quality of the present study was further improved according to the evaluative criteria for rigor suggested by Lincoln and Guba. The interviews resulted in 210 statements, 43 significant statements, 17 themes, and 5 theme clusters. The theme clusters were "loss of memory and distraction in everyday life," "struggle to overcome," "greeting an inevitable guest," "conforming to life changes," and "dreams of the past and future plans." As they experienced menopause, the participating women experienced decline in memory and concentration, as well as problems communicating. Climacteric women experienced cognitive decline during menopause and made significant efforts to overcome it; therefore, effective programs that promote cognitive function and adaptation should be provided for climacteric women.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.57-64
• /
• 2019

Objectives This study is to investigate the effect of sasang constitutional medicine on the delirium and cognitive decline caused by traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in a soeumin alzheimer patient Methods We have treated a 79-year-old Soeumin patient mainly with Doksampalmul-tang. She was already suffering from Alzheimer's disease. After traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, there were symptoms of delirium and cognitive decline. The degree of improvement was checked by K-MMSE and K-MOCA scores. Results The K-MMSE score improved from 0 to 11 and the K-MOCA score from 0 to 3. Conclusions Sasang constitutional medicine has been effective in the treatment of delirium and cognitive decline caused by traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.355-363
• /
• 2016

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a 12-week virtual reality exercise program using the Nintendo Wii console (Wii) in improving balance, emotion, and quality of life among patients with cognitive decline. Methods: The study included 30 patients with cognitive decline (12 female, 18 male) who were randomly assigned to an experimental (n=15) and control groups (n=15). All subjects performed a traditional cognitive rehabilitation program and the experimental group performed additional three 40-minute virtual reality based video game (Wii) sessions per week for 12 weeks. The berg balance scale (BBS) was used to assess balance abilities. The short form geriatric depression scale-Korean (GDS-K) and the Korean version of quality of life-Alzheimer's disease (KQOL-AD) scale were both used to assess life quality in patients. Statistical significance was tested within and between groups before and after treatment, using Wilcoxon signed rank and Mann-Whitney u-tests. Results: After 36 training sessions, there were significant beneficial effects of the virtual reality game exercise on balance (BBS), GDS-K, and KQOL-AD in the experimental group when compared to the control group. No significant difference was observed within the control group. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that a virtual reality-training program could improve the outcomes in terms of balance, depression, and quality of life in patients with cognitive decline. Long-term follow-ups and further studies of more efficient virtual reality training programs are needed.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2008

Objectives : This study aimed to test potential modifying effects of education on the association between apolipoprotein E ${\varepsilon}4$ (Apo E4) and cognitive decline. Methods : A community cohort(N=683) aged 65 or over completed the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE-K) at baseline and two years later(1999-2001). Apo E polymorphisms were genotyped, and classified into that with or without Apo E4. Educational levels were categorized into people with or without education. Covariates included demographic(age, gender), life style(smoking, alcohol drinking), clinical (depression, sleep disorder, vascular risk factors) characteristics. Results : The association between Apo E4 and cognitive decline was significant only in the old persons with no education. The interaction term between education and Apo E4 on cognitive decline was significant(p=0.040). Conclusion : Elders with no education might be more vulnerable to the impact of Apo E4 on cognitive decline, which suggests gene-environment interaction.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.587-594
• /
• 2014

This study was carried out to look into the cognitive function of the elderly in community and investigate the factors affecting their cognitive decline provide preliminary data so as to help develop a program to maintain and promote cognitive function. With 481 senior citizens aged over 65 in J. city, a survey was conducted on their demographic characteristics, health-related characteristics and depression using structured questionnaires from September 1 through 7, 2011. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics V. 20. As a result of this study, 40.1% of the subjects showed cognitive decline and the factors related to their cognitive decline turned out to be the level of education (p<.001), age (p=.000), depression and exercise (p<.05). Therefore, intervention programs on depression or exercise should be implemented intensively and in particular, various programs and educations should be provided considering individual differences according to the level of education and age.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.27-36
• /
• 2020

The prevention of cognitive decline and dementia is an increasingly important global public health priority due to an increase in the percentage of the elderly population. Dementia, a severe cognitive disorder, not only negatively impacts the patients' quality of life but also creates a substantial burden for caregivers. This review introduced recent advances regarding the protective effects of dairy product intake against dementia and cognitive decline. Recent epidemiological studies have suggested that specific components of dairy products including bioactive peptides, colostrinin, proline-rich polypeptides, α-lactalbumin, vitamin B₁₂, calcium, and probiotics might promote healthy brain function during aging. Additionally, oleamide and dehydroergosterol in Camembert cheese have been suggested as agents capable of reducing microglial inflammatory responses and neurotoxicity. The intake of neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory compounds in meals is safe and easy, hence nutritional approaches, including dairy product consumption, serve as a promising intervention for the prevention of neurodegenerative disorders.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.137-146
• /
• 2020

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate cognitive function decline by socio-demographic and health-related characteristics (health behaviors and health status) using 5th Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging panel data. Methods: The subjects were 4,440 community-dwelling people aged over 57 years. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, χ²-test, and binary logistic regression analysis using SPSS ver. 25.0. Results: The findings revealed that socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, area of residence, educational level, marital status, number of children, number of grand-children) and health-related characteristics (smoking, drinking, regular exercise, weight category by body mass index, hypertension and diabetes mellitus) were factors that influenced cognitive function decline (p<.05). Conclusions: Cognitive function decline was closely related to health behaviors and disease types. Future studies must examine related constructs to accurately determine these relationships among various populations. The present study could be used as a tool for the development and implementation of health promotion and prevention strategies.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.17-25
• /
• 2021

Objectives : This study aimed to investigate quality of life, severity of depression, suicidality, subjective health and subjective stress of depression with subjective cognitive decline in Korean adults. Methods : We used the 7th KNHANES data to enroll 415 participants with a score of 10 or higher on Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), aged 20-64. Depression was divided into two groups based on the presence/absence of subjective cognitive decline. Demographic and psychological characteristics were compared between two groups. Correlation analysis of subjective cognitive decline, quality of life, depression, suicidal idea was carried out. To detect which variables influenced quality of life, a multiple regression analysis was carried out. Results : Among the 415 participants, 98 had depression with subjective cognitive decline. We identified significant differences in age, marital status, education, employment between the two groups. After adjusting for these variables, depression with subjective cognitive decline had lower EuroQol-5D index scores, more severe depressive symptoms without cognition and worse subjective health than depression without cognitive decline. There was a significant correlation between subjective cognitive decline and quality of life (r=-0.236, p<0.001), suicidal idea (r=0.182, p<0.001), depression score without cognition (r=0.108, p=0.028). Through multiple regression analysis, subjective cognitive decline was predictor of reduced quality of life (β=-0.178, p<0.001). Conclusions : Depression with subjective cognitive decline has poor quality of life and severe depression. Cognitive decline should be considered to improve treatment result in depression.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.19-28
• /
• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the mediating effect of psychological distress in the relationship between chemotherapy related cognitive impairment (CRCI) and quality of life (QOL) in people with cancer. Methods: A purposive sample of 130 patients undergoing chemotherapy was recruited for the cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from November 2014 to June 2015. The instruments were K-MMSE (Korean Mini-Mental State Examination), Everyday Cognition (ECog), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression using Baron and Kenny steps for mediation. Results: The mean score for objective cognitive function was 27.95 and 69.32 for perceived cognitive decline. Overall quality of life was 91.74. The mean score was 17.52 for psychological distress. The prevalence was 56.2% for anxiety and 63.1% for depression, and 20.0% for CRCI. There were significant correlations among the variables, objective cognitive function and self-reported cognitive decline, psychological distress, and quality of life. Psychological distress was directly affected by CRCI. ($R^2=29%$). QOL was directly affected by CRCI. Psychological distress and CRCI effected QOL ($R^2=43%$). Psychological distress had a partial mediating effect (${\beta}=-.56$, p <.001) in the relationship between self-reported cognitive decline and quality of life (Sobel test: Z= -5.08, p <.001). Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, nursing intervention programs focusing on managing cognitive decline, and decreasing psychological distress are highly recommended to improve quality of life in cancer patients.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.212-219
• /
• 2022

Recently, the efficacy of probiotics in treatment of neurodegenerative disorders has been reported in animal and clinical studies. Here, we assessed the effects of Bacillus coagulans JA845 in counteracting the symptoms of D-galactose (D-gal)/AlCl₃-induced Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a mice model through behavioral test, histological assessment and biochemical analysis. Ten weeks of pre-treatment with B. coagulans JA845 prevented cognitive decline, attenuated hippocampal lesion and protected neuronal integrity, which demonstrated the neuroprotective features of B. coagulans JA845 in vivo. We also found that supplementation of B. coagulans JA845 alleviated amyloid-beta deposits and hyperphosphorylated tau in hippocampus of D-gal/AlCl₃-induced AD model mice. Furthermore, B. coagulans JA845 administration attenuated oxidative stress and decreased serum concentration of inflammatory cytokines by regulating the Nrf2/HO-1 and MyD88/TRAF6/NF-κB pathway. Our results demonstrated for the first time that B. coagulans has the potential to help prevent cognitive decline and might be a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.