• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.115-121
• /
• 2002

Objectives: Although sleep paralysis (SP) has been known as one of the symptoms of narcolepsy, recently it has become recognized as occurring frequently in the general population. However, the prevalence of SP and its associated factors in patients with major psychiatric disorders remain unknown. This study investigated the prevalence of SP and a variety of associated experiences in those patients. Methods: The subjects were 160 psychiatric patients and 143 age- and sex-matched controls. The Korean version SP questionnaire as well as the Sleep-Wake Schedule, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Insomnia Severity Index were administered to all the subjects. The patients were referred from Dong-A University Hospital and consisted of 74 diagnosed as schizophrenia (47.7%), 26 as bipolar disorder (16.8%) and 55 as major depression (35.5%). Results: Nearly 42% of the patient group and 39% of the control group had experienced at least one episode of SP in their lifetime, with no significant difference between the groups. However, the patient group had experienced SP more frequently than the control group. Among all subjects, no gender difference in SP incidence was found. The peak age of onset was in the range of 16-25 years for both groups. Over eight tenths of both groups reported hallucinations and over seven tenths of both groups experienced fear accompanying SP. Conclusion: This study shows that there is no difference in the lifetime prevalence of SP between psychiatric patients and the general population, whereas frequency of SP experience is higher in psychiatric patients. Terrifying hallucinations and fearful feelings frequently accompany SP in both groups.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.45-54
• /
• 2021

Jeong Sun-Ah built up her performance career for twenty years with bold and energetic acting and solidified her status as a leading actress of Korean musical since her debut. To benefit from the value of her experience this study performed an in-depth interview with her, applying the Theory of "Projection" and "Back-projection", which are the psychological principles of acting, and derived "acting(entering the roles)" and "de-acting(leaving the roles)" techniques. As result, Her acting mechanism involved emptying her ego, embodying a persona by projecting the role created by intensive exploration of materials like previous performance, film of the same title, original novel, and script, and then getting the ego back by back-projecting through dynamic activities such as overseas travel and dance. She pre-studied the roles by physically visiting sites that are important to the characters. She was unique in that she pursued a difference by changing vocal trainers for each musical production and undertook more intense physical training than vocal practice to achieve powerful singing performance. In most of her works (75%), she suffered from aftereffects such as depression, narcissism, hysteria, and insomnia due to disorder caused by breaking away from the roles. However, she relied on self-help and alternatives are needed in the future such as reinforcement of expert counselling. Jeong Sun-Ah appeared on an average of 1.6 productions per year, practiced for an average of 1.7 months, and performed for an average of 3.9 months with an average of 100 days of break between productions. Her performance record from this research demonstrates her constant preparation and passion, as well as the know-how of reserving and distributing energy. So, it has a valuable implications for acting education and self-management of actors and actress.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.25-48
• /
• 2021

This study intended to examine the willingness to use as well as necessary functions for ICT-based care assistance devices in older adults living alone. A total of 241 older adults living alone from a city participated in the study. Study results show that many older adults living alone are willing to use ICT-based care assistance devices at their home and the functions of care assistance devices that they perceived as necessary were diverse. In addition, there were differences in perception of functional necessity by socio-demographics and medical and functional characteristics of older adults living alone. In particular, there were significant differences in the functions perceived as necessary according to the presence of osteoporosis, depression, insomnia, and limitations in daily activities. Our study findings suggest that the functions of ICT-based care devices should be developed in various ways in order to help healthy aging in place. Findings also imply that it is necessary to provide individualized services and customized care assistance devices according to individual's medical and functional characteristics and needs.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.103-115
• /
• 1999

Objectives : A large of studies have found an association between premenstrual syndrome and affective disorder, in particular, depression. Some studies have reported that women with depressive disorders may experience menstrual cycle-associated changes in the severity of their symptoms. This study was designed to compare the characteristics of premenstrual changes between control group and affective patient group, and to assess possible risk factors for premenstrual changes in patients. Methods : Eighty normal controls and eighty outpatients given maintenance therapy with fixed dose for at least more than four weeks were asked to complete questionnaires on menstrual history, obstetric-gynecological history, and functional impairment. In addition, to compare the characteristics of premenstrual changes, 16 items based on DSM-IV criteria A for premenstrual dysphoric disorder were rated on the following scale : 0(no change), 1(mild), 2(moderate), 3(severe). Moderate or severe change in each item was considered as premenstrual change and the subjects who reported more than one premenstrual change were defined as premenstrual change group. Results : The results were as follows : 1) The percentage of premenstrual change group was 32.6% in patient group and 50% in control group. 2) Frequently reported premenstrual changes were as follows in control group : breast tenderness; anger ; affective liability ; lethargy, easy fatigability, or marked lack of energy ; abdominal pain or discomfort. In patients, the mood or behavioral changes were frequently reported. The changes were as follows : lethargy, easy fatigability, or marked lack of energy ; change in appetite; affective liability ; sense of difficulty in concentrating : hypersomnia or insomnia. 3) In the premenstrual change group, the patients with only mood or behavioral changes were significantly more than those with only physical changes or both changes. 4) The severity of functional impairment was significantly correlated with the frequency of mood or behavioral changes in patients. 5) There were no significant differences in menstrual characteristics between patients with premenstrual changes and patients without them except the severity of dysmenorrhea. And the severity of dysmenorrhea was correlated with the frequency of premenstrual change. Conclusion : The proportion of patients with affective disorder, who reported moderate-to-severe premenstrual changes, experiencing mood or behavioral changes larger than those experiencing physical changes during premenstrual period. It is possible that some patients with affective disorder, who reported premenstrual mood or behavioral changes, suffer from coexisting premenstrual syndrome with affective disorder or premenstrual exacerbation of affective disorder. Since the more premenstrual changes, the severer functional impairment, the patients reporting mood or behavioral disturbance in premenstrual period should be carefully evaluated, and appropriate therapeutic stategies might be considered.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.3-10
• /
• 2013

Objectives : Many patients diagnosed with cancer suffer from various psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety and insomnia as well as cancer itself. Patients with cancer are more vulnerable to possible adverse events of psychotropic medications. Although antidepressants are widely used among cancer patients, there is little information about tolerability of antidepressants. This study was conducted to compare tolerability of antidepressants in cancer patients referred for psychiatric consultation. Methods : The participants were cancer patients who had been referred to psychiatrist for their psychiatric symptoms. We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients diagnosed with cancer from 9 general hospitals in Korea. The discontinuation rate for a 6 months period after treatment initiation for three antidepressants(Escitalopram, Mirtazapine, Paroxetine) were compared. Results : Antidepressants were prescribed for 96.3% of subjects and Escitalopram 150(47.2%), Mirtazapine 92(28.9%) and Paroxetine 76(23.9%) were prescribed frequently in order There were no significant differences in discontinuation rates among the three antidepressants during the 6 month period after initiation of pharmacotherapy. But there was a difference in discontinuation rates between inpatients versus outpatients(p<0.0001). Conclusions : In a naturalistic setting for the antidepressant treatment for cancer patients, it seems that there are no differences in discontinuation rates among these three antidepressants. It is therefore essential that such interactions are carefully considered when treating patients of antidepressants who already have cancer.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 1995

Objective : Patients with sleep apnea should be diagnosed with polysomnography(PSG). However, it is not easy to recommend PSG for all patients suspected with sleep apnea in practice. Therefore, we tried to develop the screening test for referral of PSG. Method : 140 patients with snoring and sleep apnea syndrome were studied by the PSG. Sleep apnea questionnaire. Zung's scale for depression. Stanford Sleepiness Scale(SSS), insomnia scale and neuropsychological test were administered. Also, blood pressure, height, weight and neck circumference were measured and some histories were taken. Correlations between respiratory disturbance index(RDI) and various parameters mentioned above and discriminant coefficients of the parameters to RDI were computed. And, we investigated sensitivities of screening tests for selection of the patients with RDI above 20. Results : Using six parameters(neck circumference, systolic blood pressure before sleep, degree of alcohol drinking, frequency of breath-holding during sleep, degree of dry mouth during sleep, sleep apnea score), the patients with RDI above 20 could be discriminated in 92.8% sensitivity. In case of more than two among six parameters(neck circumference of above 40cm, systolic blood pressure of above 125mmHg, frequent alcohol drinking, frequent breath-holding during sleep, frequent dry mouth during sleep, sleep apnea score of above 35), same patients could be discriminated in 87.6% sensitivity. And, in case of more than one among four parameters(neck circumference of above 40cm. systolic blood pressure of above 125mmHg, frequent alcohol drinking, body weight of above 80kg), discrimination sensitivity was 83.5%. Conclusions : Patients with RDI above 20 could be discriminated by above parameters with high sensitivity. Therefore, the screening test using above parameters can be applied in selection of the patients with sleep apnea for PSG in practice.