• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.398-404
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• 2017

The present study aimed to examine the influence of mental health factors on oral health factors using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). A total of 1,548 elderly individuals aged over 65 years who completed the screening and health questionnaire were selected as the final study participants. The psychological health factors related to perceived oral health status were depression and stress when the gender was controlled, and in terms of gender, both elderly male and female individuals were stressed and depressed. These results suggested that the psychological health of elderly individuals negatively affects not only perceived oral health but also the quality of life. In addition, the psychological health of the elderly individuals should be systematically managed along with oral health care and overall health care and lifestyle. If a comprehensive health management system is available for low-income groups or an elderly person living alone, it should positively affect and improve the quality of life of elderly individuals.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.210-222
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• 2004

In recent years, the number and proportion of Korean elderly have grown rapidly, and elderly individuals show a disproportionate risk for poor nutritional status. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of sociodemographic background to nutrient intake of persons 65 years of age or older, living in 15 cities in Korea. Data on 1973 subjects (603 males, 1370 females), who participated in the Korean Elderly Nutrition Survey (2000), were analyzed. Their mean age was 72.3 years and their mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.2 kg/$m^2$. Basic sociodemographic data were obtained through personal interviews. The 98-item semi-food frequency questionnaire, developed and previously validated for Korean middle-aged and elderly subjects, was administered. “Percentage of subjects who consumed under 75％ Korean RDA,” “number of nutrients consumed below 75％ Korean RDA,” “mean nutrient adequacy ratio,” and “nutrient density” were used to determine nutritional status. Male elderly had better nutritional quality than female elderly. Nutritional quality decreased with age, especially in older elderly (over 75). Elderly who were underweight (BMI 〈 20 kg/$m^2$) showed poorer nutritional quality than those who were normal weight (BMI 20∼25 kg/$m^2$) and overweight (BMI $\geq$ 25 kg/$m^2$). Elderly who lived alone had significantly poorer nutritional quality than those who lived with a spouse, and/or with children. Lower education level and economic dependence also showed lower nutritional quality. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the effects of specific sociodemographic factors on nutritional quality. For number of nutrients under 75％ RDA as a dependent variable, education level explained 4.8％ of the variance, followed by living status, age, body mass index, gender, and living expense support (Model $R^2$ = 0.091). For mean nutrient adequacy ratio as a dependent variable, model $R^2$ was 0.098. Therefore, sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, body mass index, living status, educational level, and economic status influenced elderly nutrition status. These results indicate that an elderly nutrition intervention should focus on subjects who are poorly educated, living alone, age 75 or older, and/or underweight.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.133-148
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• 2021

This study was undertaken to identify dietary patterns of Korean elderly people living alone, and to compare the quality of diet consumed. Data of 821 elderly people aged 65 years or older who were living alone, was obtained from the 2016~2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey. The percentage energy intake from 24 food groups was calculated, and a cluster analysis was applied to identify dietary patterns. General characteristics, energy and nutrient intake, nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), mean adequacy ratio (MAR), and index of nutritional quality (INQ) were analyzed. Dietary variety score (DVS) and dietary diversity score (DDS) were subsequently calculated. The rice-centered diet group and mixed diet group were characterized as consuming higher intake of rice and a wider variety of food groups, respectively. The mean age and percentage of participants living in rural areas were higher, whereas education level and monthly income were lower, in the rice-centered diet group (P<0.001 for all). Intakes of energy and all other nutrients (except carbohydrate and thiamine) were lower in the rice-centered diet group (P<0.001 for all). The NAR for all nutrients (except thiamine), MAR, and INQs (except thiamine and iron) were significantly lower in the rice-centered diet group (P<0.001 for all). The rice-centered diet group had significantly lower DVS (P<0.001) and DDS (P<0.001), as compared with the mixed diet group (P<0.001). Due to the insufficient energy and nutrient intake in the rice-centered diet group, it is necessary to develop nutritional monitoring and customized nutrition policies for these individuals.

• 한국노년학
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.353-371
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to provide clues to social welfare policy making by revealing discourse on social intervention and response based on big data on elderly living alone in the COVID-19 situation. Keyword analysis, network analysis, and topic analysis were utilized to explore the ways in which news media have portrayed challenges facing older individuals and the ways in which the central and local government as well as private organization have responded to them. Results are as follows. First, networks(degree, closeness, betweenness) were formed around region, delivery, society, support, and vulnerability, suggesting an increased demand for economic assistance and social support as well as stronger service delivery systems. Second, key topics derived included "establishing public delivery systems", "establishing local networks", "Managing care gap", "Establishing a private economic support system", and "Establishing service organization system". Based on the research results, discourse on the organic role of government, communities and the private sector has been presented, suggesting policy and practical implications by proposing a discussion on how to intervene for elderly living alone in disaster situations such as COVID-19.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.461-471
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• 2014

This study explores the moderating effects of income on the relationship between geriatric depression and health satisfaction among elderly individuals in Korea. The data were obtained from public data files in the 2011 Elderly Living Condition Survey database. The sample included 9,461 cases. The results show that the factors influencing health satisfaction were geriatric depression (${\beta}$=-.510, p<.001), gender (${\beta}$=.123, p<.001), activities of daily living (${\beta}$=-.116, p<.001), income (${\beta}$=.050, p<.001), living alone (${\beta}$=.044, p<.001), and the area of residence (${\beta}$=.017, p<.05). Income moderated the effect of geriatric depression on health satisfaction. Noteworthy is that an increase in income slightly weakened the negative relationship between geriatric depression and health satisfaction.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.365-373
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the quality of life of elderly who live alone according to gender. The participants in this study were 959 elderly living alone from a total of 22,948 individuals studied in the 2013-2015 Korean national health and nutrition examination survey. IBM SPSS 23.0 was used to analyze the data. There were significant differences between the two groups in age, level of education, and amount of calorie intake. Economic status, presence of arthritis, presence of restrict activity, subjective health status had an influence on quality of life in men with an explanatory power of 50.5% (p < .001). Presence of back pain, subjective health status, suicidal ideation had an influence on quality of life in women with an explanatory power of 41.4% (p < .001). Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life of elderly living alone, it is necessary to provide appropriate intervention depending on gender.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.479-488
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate factors affecting low body weight of solitary elderly people by grasping the illness and health behavior of elderly living alone. Using the raw data of the community health survey from 2014, the data of 922 elderly living alone who are 65 years or older were used for the final analysis. Data were analyzed by technical analysis statistics, The Rao Scott $x^2$ test, and logistic regression analysis using the composite analysis module of the SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. The results of this study showed that elderly living alone had a high percentage of chronic diseases as well as poor health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, poor eating habits, difficulties in dentistry due to dentures, and poor subjective health status. Result of logistic regression analysis the risk probability of low-weight due to gender of the elderly living alone is as follows. Risk of low body weight because of smoking was 3.004 times among occasional smokers in women and the elderly, while risk of low body weight due to walking amount is less than 3 days the possibility that the person walking is low is 1.420 times significantly higher. When feeling subjective stress, the possibility of low body weight was 2.220 times greater for male elderly and 1.282 times for female elderly. The probability of low body weight for a person with a poor subjective health level was 3.633 times for male elderly and 1.590 times for female elderly. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to establish appropriate nursing intervention and management strategies to improve health behavior of low body weight elderly living alone. It is also necessary to conduct additional studies considering various variables such as physical, psychological, and social characteristics of low-weight elderly individuals.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.929-945
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• 2012

This study examined structured social network types and their relationship to quality on life satisfaction of older adults. Respondents were 418 adults aged 60 or older living alone or as couples. The data was analyzed using K-means cluster analysis. Four networks types were identified: diverse, friend-neighbor focused, family focused, and restricted. Life satisfaction was highest for individuals in the diverse network group and lowest for individuals in the restricted network group. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that life satisfaction of the elderly was affected by the diverse network, family focused network, the relationship quality with children, the relationship quality with neighbors, and the relationship quality with relatives. Results suggested that having diverse social network in close proximity is very important in old age and structural network types may have important practical implications for improving the quality of life among the elderly.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.534-545
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• 2020

In the super-aged societies, an increased elderly population living in solitude has been causing many problems. Since the elderly may incur a sense of loss and interest in suicide when living alone, this study investigated the effects of smartphones as well as types of living arrangements on elderly peoples' sense of loss and suicidal thoughts. This study found social roles and relationships were lower for older individuals using smartphones than those using 2G phones. Not surprisingly, those living with family members or a partner had significantly fewer suicidal thoughts than those living in solitude. However, our results indicate subjects' loss of role and relationships was affected more significantly by their smartphone usage (2G phone vs. smartphone) rather than their living arrangements (i.e., living with family or a partner vs. living in solitude). Moreover, smartphone users showed a lower sense of loss in terms of social roles and relationships. Among the elderly, loss of health, social role, and relationships were identified as precedents for increased suicidal thoughts; yet, economic capacity was surprisingly not an indicator of suicidal thoughts.

• Journal of Advanced Technology Convergence
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.63-68
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• 2022

It is not easy to predict the future society in the rapidly changing present, but it is said that a new social environment of sensibility and virtuality will come, and we should pay attention to the fact that women have entered this as the subject. This study is a literature review study on gender roles. Through the study, it was found that gender stereotypes that exist in our society allow men to enjoy a lot of vested rights just by being male, and that women have to endure pain because they are women is accepted as a matter of course. Living in the 21st century, we were able to know the reality that we could not escape the pre-modern patriarchal ideology and still worshiped the idea of preferring boys. Through this study, unlike other elderly groups, elderly people who live alone are likely to be cut off from society and lead a limited life in their own world. However, through the efforts of the government, local organizations, and individuals, the goal of welfare for the elderly is to increase the satisfaction of life for the elderly living alone so that they can enjoy a successful old age. From this point of view, the support measures for the elderly living alone will be effective only when systematic and complementary in various dimensions such as family structure, physical, economic, and social aspects.