• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.260-274
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• 2016

Objectives: Previous epidemiological studies about oxidative stress and depression are limited by hospital-based case-control design, single-time measurements of oxidative stress biomarkers, and the small number of study participants. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the association between biomarker of oxidative stress and depressive symptom scores using repeatedly measured panel data from a community-dwelling elderly population. Methods: From 2008 to 2010, a total of 478 elderly participants residing in Seoul, Korea, were evaluated three times. Participants underwent the Korean version of the Short Form Generic Depression Scale (SGDS-K) test for screening depression, and urinary malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured as an oxidative stress biomarker. We used a generalized estimating equation with a compound symmetry covariance structure to estimate the effects of oxidative stress on depressive symptom scores. Results: A two-fold increase in urinary MDA concentration was significantly associated with a 33.88% (95% confidence interval [CI], 21.59% to 47.42%) increase in total SGDS-K scores. In subgroup analyses by gender, a two-fold increase in urinary MDA concentration was significantly associated with increased SGDS-K scores in both men and women (men: 30.88%; 95% CI, 10.24% to 55.37%; women: 34.77%; 95% CI, 20.09% to 51.25%). In bivariate analysis after an SGDS-K score ${\geq}8$ was defined as depression, the third and the fourth urinary MDA quartiles showed a significantly increased odds ratio(OR) of depression compared to the lowest urinary MDA quartile (third quartile OR, 6.51; 95% CI, 1.77 to 24.00; fourth quartile OR, 7.11; 95% CI, 1.99 to 25.42). Conclusions: Our study suggests a significant association between oxidative stress and depressive symptoms in the elderly population.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.325-336
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• 1996

Community organization of the drosophilid flies was investigated with respect to the seasonal variation in species abundance and vertical microdistribution on the basis of the trapped collections in the two natural forests on Cheju-do from May to October 1994. The dominant species were Drosophila bizonata, D. curviceps, D. lutescens, D. angu leris, D. tsigana and D. immigrans in the annual collections. The pattern in seasonal changes of the dominant species was similar at the two survey sites. Seasonal fluctuation in the species diversity was more affected by evenness than by species richness (number of species). The seasonal variation of abundance showed an unimodal pattern in all of the dominant species. The seasonal patterns of vertical microdistribution revealed difference in some of the dominant species between the two survey sites. These results suggest that the predominant species in the forest avoid niche overlap by means of seasonal separation of breedings and that the vertical microdistribution is strongly affected by factors associated with season and vertical site in the deep wooded forests.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.164-173
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• 2011

Purpose: The colorectal polyps has been regarded as a precursor of colon cancer, and the prevalence and mortality of colon cancer in Korea has increased due to westernized lifestyle and environmental factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and the risk factors on colorectal polyps in adults. Methods: The participants were 956 adults enrolled from health screen examinees underwent colonoscopy at the health promotion center in Seoul. Results: 49.5 percent of examinees has colorectal polyps and the most common sites were ascending colon (27.6%) and sigmoid colon (23.2%). The colorectal polyps showed a significant difference according to gender, age, and health behavior related characteristics including alcohol intake, exercise, and BMI. In male, the relative odds of having an colorectal polyps decreased as exercise (OR=1.74; 95% CI=1.01-1.04), and increased as BMI (OR=1.57; 95% CI=1.07-2.50) and age (OR=1.02; 95% CI=1.02-1.04). In female, it decreased as exercise (OR=2.49; 95% CI=1.52-4.10), and increased as age (OR=1.05; 95% CI=1.02-1.08). Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, age and exercise were the influencing factors of colorectal polyps in health screen examinees. Therefore, effective exercise and appropriate health education program about colorectal polyps need to be developed and applied in nursing interventions to prevent colorectal polyps in the community dwelling adults.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.286-298
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• 2006

The study aimed to identify major factors related to global self-rated health of the community-dwelling elderly people in rural areas. Interviews were conducted with 433 persons over 65 years of age. The socio-economic characteristics, chronic disease status, measures of functional and mental health, life satisfaction, health-related behaviors including smoking, drinking, exercise, social activity, dietary habit, and food intakes were analyzed to determine their influence on self-rated health index. Data on food intake were obtained through the 24-hour recall method. The self-rated health of rural elderly was poor or very poor as reported by 42.6% and 52.4% of the men and women, respectively. Poor self-rated health was found to be related to elderly aged $65{\sim}74$, female, absence of work, more chronic diseases, dependence on Instrumental Activity Daily Living (IADL), higher mental unhealthy days, lower current life satisfaction, less social activity, lower dietary habit scores, lower intake of total food, fruit, eggs, fishes & shell fishes, vitamin C (%RDA), and Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR). The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that poor self-rated health index is significantly associated with more chronic diseases, mental unhealthy days, gastrointestinal disease, musculoskeletal disease, less social activity, and lower intake of fruits. The results also suggested that improving the nutritional status and functional ability, and reducing the burden of chronic diseases are beneficial to the self-rated health index of the elderly.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.358-364
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• 2014

Purpose: Flexed posture commonly increases with age in older women and is characterized by an excessive curvature in the thoracic spine (kyphosis), forward head posture, and decline in height. This study was conducted in order to determine the relationship between flexed posture, physical performance, and psychosocial factors in community dwelling elderly women in Korea. Methods: Fifty-two subjects with thoracic kyphosis of $40^{\circ}C$ or greater participated in this study. Flexed posture was measured using kyphosis angle (KA), forward head posture (FHP), and round shoulder (RS), and physical performance was evaluated using the short physical performance battery (SPPB), grip strength, and static and dynamic balance. Psychosocial factors were measured using depression and the quality of life (QOL). All data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 software for windows. Results: KA showed significant correlation with SPPB score (r=-0.447) and dynamic balance (r=0.426) (p<0.05) depression (r=0.405) and QOL (r=-0.464) but not with grip strength and static balance in elderly individuals. FHP and RS showed significant correlation with SPPB score (r=0.002, r=-0341) and dynamic balance (r=-0.278, r=0.346) (p<0.05) but not with psychosocial factors. Conclusion: These findings suggest that flexed posture provides meaningful information about physical performance and psychosocial factors in elderly women. Our data suggest that the flexed posture may need to be addressed as part of the health management process for elderly women.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.486-495
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• 2010

Objectives: The effect of meat consumption on cardiometabolic risk has been continuously studied, but their associations are not conclusive. The aim of this study is to examine the association between the consumption of meat or red meat and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in healthy Korean adults. Methods: This study evaluated 2374 community-dwelling adults (933 men and 1441 women) who were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer, living in a rural area in Korea. Total meat and red meat intakes were assessed with a validated 103 item-food frequency questionnaire. Carotid IMT was evaluated ultrasonographically, IMTmax was defined as the highest value among IMT of bilateral common carotid arteries. Results: After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the mean IMTmax tended to increase in higher meat consumption groups in both men and women with metabolic syndrome (p for trend= 0.027 and 0.049, respectively), but not in participants without metabolic syndrome. Frequent meat consumption (${\geq}5$ servings/week) was significantly associated with higher IMTmax in men with metabolic syndrome (by 0.08 mm, p=0.015). Whereas, the association was not significant in women (by 0.05 mm, p=0.115). Similar but attenuated findings were shown with red meat intake. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a higher meat consumption may be associated with a higher carotid IMT in Korean adults with metabolic syndrome. The frequent meat consumption (${\geq}5$ servings/week), compared with the others, was associated with a higher carotid IMTmax only in men with metabolic syndrome. Further research is required to explore optimal meat consumption in people with specific medical conditions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1894-1903
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of group task-oriented circuit training (TOCT) based on motor learning applied in conjunction with physical and occupational therapy on functional activity, activities of daily living (ADLs), and quality of life in individuals with chronic stroke. Six chronic stroke patients participated for a duration of 31 weeks. Treatment outcomes were assessed via Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment, the Berg Balance Scale, the Assessment of Motor and Process Skill (AMPS), and the Stroke Impact Scale pre- and post-intervention. The participants exhibited significant improvements in impairment, static and dynamic balance, and mood and emotion after group TOCT. The results of AMPS indicated an improvement in the motor area in 3 of the subjects. In the process area, 4 of the subjects exhibited improvement. The results of this study suggest that TOCT is beneficial to physical functions for chronic hemiparetic stroke patients in community-dwelling.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2015

Objective: Balance is a preceding task for functional activities in daily activities as well as community-dwelling activities. To learn skilled and functional activities, it is also necessary to imagine an appropriate and effective movement representation used to plan and execute the functional activities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of balance imagery of semi-tandem stance on a flat floor and balance beam on balance abilities for elderly and young adults. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Fifteen elderly and thirty-four young adults were enrolled in this study. In order to determine whether there is a change in postural control ability according to the different imagery training methods used, standing static balance measurements were performed. According to the therapist's instructions, participants were to stand in a semi-tandem position on the Good Balance System for 1 minute while imagining that they were standing on a balance beam, and while the postural control abilities was assessed. Results: Postural control was significantly different in balance ability of semi-tandem stance on a flat floor compared to on a balance beam in both geriatrics and young adults. Postural sway was more significantly decreased in young adults than older adults during balance imagery of semi-tandem stance on a flat floor as well as on balance beam (p<0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the ability to mentally represent their actions was similar in older adults compared to young adults, although older adults showed a drop in efficiency of postural control more than young adults.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.395-407
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• 2020

The current study aims to examine whether dementia service utilization is associated with cognitive function and whether health literacy moderates the relationship between dementia service utilization and cognitive function. Data were drawn from the 2016 Dementia Literacy Survey collected by K University. The final analytic sample included 522 community-dwelling older Koreans aged 60 to 79. Results from multivariate regression analyses showed that both dementia service use and higher levels of health literacy were related to better cognitive function and that health literacy had significant moderating effects. When older adults used dementia service, those with higher levels of health literacy reported higher levels of cognitive function than those with lower levels of health literacy. Our findings suggest that health literacy plays an important role in determining the cognitive health benefits arising from dementia service utilization.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.16-26
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• 2016

Background: Deficiencies in the ability to maintain balance are common in elderly. Augmented feedback such as knowledge of results (KR) can accelerate learning and mastering a motor skill in older people. Objects: We designed this study to examine whether one session of Wii-Fit game with self-regulated KR is effective for elderly people, and to compare the effect of two different timings of self-regulated KR conditions. Methods: Thirty-nine community-dwelling elders, not living in hospice care or a nursing home, participated in this study. During acquisition, two groups of volunteers were trained in 10 blocks of a dynamic balancing task under the following 2 conditions, respectively: (a) a pre-trial self-regulated KR ($n_1=18$), or (b) a post-trial self-regulated KR ($n_2=21$). Immediate retention tests and delayed retention tests of balancing performance were administered in 15 minutes and 24 hours following acquisition period, respectively. Results: In both groups, significant improvements of balancing performances scores were observed during the acquisition period. Regardless of the group, mean of balancing performance scores on retention tests were well-maintained from the final session. There were no significant differences between groups in balancing performance scores during the acquisition period (p>.05); however, the post-trial self-regulated KR group exhibited significantly higher balancing performance scores in both the immediate retention test and delayed retention test than that of the pre-trial self-regulated KR group (p<.05). Conclusion: Therefore, subjects who regulated their feedback after a dynamic balancing task, during the acquisition period, experienced more efficient motor learning during the retention period than did subjects who regulated their feedback before a dynamic balancing task. Accordingly, in case of presenting the KR of motor learning in clinical settings to elders who reduced dynamic balance abilities, the requesting time of KR is imperative according to self-estimation processes as well as types of KR and practice.