• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.131-136
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to compare the relative risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) in middle aged adults with different body weights. 155 subjects living in urban Beijing were recruited from 24 neighborhood committees of urban Beijing. They were divided into normal weight, overweight and obese groups according to their BMIs. The general information of the subjects was collected using an interview-administered questionnaire. Standard procedure was followed to measure subject's weight, height and waist. Biochemical parameters (total cholesterol (TC), low- and high­density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C ; HDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and fasting glucose) and blood pressure were also determined. The results indicated that the systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HDL-C of obese group was lower than that of the normal weight group. Fasting glucose of obese males was significantly higher than that of normal weight males. No significant difference of fasting glucose was found among female groups. No significant difference of TG was found among male groups, while TG of overweight and obese females was both significantly higher than normal weight females. There was no significant difference of TC and LDL-C among normal weight, overweight and obese groups in both males and females. The MS rate of obese males was significantly higher than the normal weight and overweight males, as was the female. The relative risk of MS in obese group was about 11 times higher (OR=11.249, $95\%CI$ = 3.812 - 33.191) than the normal weight group after adjusting for age, gender, smoking, drinking, family economic level and education status. It is concluded that obesity contributed to lower HDL-C, hypertriglyceride, hypertension and MS after controlling the effects of age, gender, socioeconomic status, alcohol drinking and smoking. Obese individuals have a higher risk of having MS than their normal weight counterparts.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.21-37
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• 2023

This study examines the living conditions and life satisfaction of single-person households according to their life cycle. The survey was conducted from August to October 2022, and respondents were single-person households from Kimpo, South Korea. The respondents were categorized to three groups namely, young, middle-aged, and older adults by life cycle, and items regarding their sociodemographic background, personal life, family relations, and life satisfaction were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis were performed. The key findings were as follows. First, significant differences were found according to life cycle in the respondents' diet, clothing, housing, financial and home management, self-care, and leisure life. Second, the variables that significantly affected the level of life satisfaction of single-person households were the life cycle with young adults showing a higher level of satisfaction; having a family member to care; living alone voluntarily, discrimination experience; community awareness; and ties with the local community. Based on the results, it is clear that single-person households have different needs and problems in each stage of life cycle. Thus, to reflect the different experiences and needs of single-person households by life cycle, tailored policy and programs should be provided for young, middle-aged, and older adult single-person households.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors of suicidal ideation among middle class Korean. Methods: Cross sectional study was designed for secondary data analysis. From the 8th Korea Health Panel survey (2008~2013), a total of 6,037 data was drawn and analyzed by developmental stage using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, $x^2$ test, and logistic regression analysis. Results: Across all age groups, high physical-mental stress, frustration, anxiety about the future and low self-perceived health status or social class were found to be the risk factors of suicidal ideation. Peer-compared subjective health status and frustration significantly influenced the adolescents. The young adults'suicidal ideation was mainly influenced by physical and mental stress, frustration and absence of economic activity. For the middle-aged, physical and mental stress, frustration, future anxiety, low peer-compared subjective health status were found to be the major influencing factors. The predominant risk factors for the elderly were frustration and low peer-compared subjective health status. Conclusion: Making comparisons to others significantly influence suicidal ideation throughout all life cycles. Improvement of mental health and suicide prevention can be enhanced by avoiding negative comparison to others.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between dietary variables and the prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) in middle-aged Korean adults using data from the 2007-2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Because IR is closely linked with metabolic syndrome, subjects were divided into three groups according to symptoms of metabolic syndrome: the 'Normal group' without any symptoms, the 'Risk group' with one or two symptoms, and the Metabolic syndrome (MetS) group' with three or more symptoms. Subjects between the ages of 30 and 65 years with no prior diagnosis or treatment for diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia were selected. The number of subjects per group was as follows: 2,085 adults in the Normal group, 3,699 adults in the Risk group, and 1,160 adults in the MetS group. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to Adult Treatment Panel III criteria with modified waist circumference cutoff values (men ${\geq}$ 90 cm, women ${\geq}$ 85 cm). Subjects with HOMA-IR > 2.0 were classified as IR. Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated using the following formula: (fasting plasma glucose ${\times}$ fasting plasma insulin)/22.5. Nutrients and food groups intake were obtained from a single 24-hour recall. Subjects with IR in the Normal group were more obese and less physically active than non-IR subjects. In the MetS group, subjects with IR were more obese and had a lower prevalence of smoking and drinking, compared with non-IR subjects. Men with IR in the Normal group had a tendency to consume more oils and sugars than non-IR men, while women with IR in the same group had higher intake of carbohydrate, dietary glycemic index, and dietary glycemic load than non-IR women. Women with IR in the Risk group had lower energy intake but higher intake of oils and sugars than non-IR women. In the MetS group, consumption of fruits was higher in subjects with IR than in non-IR subjects. In conclusion, findings of this study suggest that dietary carbohydrate intake, including glycemic index, may be associated with IR in healthy women. Further research in prospective cohort studies in order to examine the effects of dietary carbohydrate on IR incidence will be necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.210-217
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• 2024

Objectives: South Korea has the highest suicide rate among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries; there is an increasing trend in suicide attempts among middle and high school students. Various factors contribute to the risk of suicide among adolescents, and the perception of suicide prevention has emerged as a significant factor. This study aimed to investigate the association between emotional and behavioral difficulties among middle and high school students and their perceptions of suicide prevention and to explore differences in suicide perception according to age. Methods: A survey was conducted among community middle and high school students, including 530 participants, between 2020 and 2021. Emotional and behavioral difficulties were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Korean version, and participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on the importance and possibility of suicide prevention. A correlation test and analysis of variance were used to examine the relationships between the variables, and suicide awareness was compared according to age. Results: The participants who displayed higher strength or lower difficulty were more likely to respond positively to suicide prevention measures. They also exhibited high strength and low difficulty levels, thus agreeing with the importance of suicide prevention. Regarding age-related perceptions of suicide, adults aged 20-29 years reported the lowest probability of suicide prevention. Conclusion: Suicide perceptions influence the incidence of suicide. Therefore, active societal engagement through suicide prevention campaigns and related education is essential to improve such perceptions. Continuous attention and support are required to address this issue.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.60-72
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine differences in eating-out, dietary life styles, and healthy dietary competencies among middle-aged consumers according to obesity status and gender for implications of consumer education. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2016 Food Consumption Behavior Survey, and 3,022 subjects (mail 1,388; female 1,634) who were middle-aged adults were investigated. Analysis of variance with $Scheff\acute{e}$ test, t-test, $x^2$-test, and factor analysis were performed using SPSS v.24. Results: Males showed less interest in diet than females. For both males and females, higher BMI degrees were associated with higher levels of interest in diet. For frequency, monthly average consumption expenditure, one-time cost for eating out, and drinking frequency, males showed higher levels than females. Especially for the male group, higher obesity status was associated with higher levels of eating out and drinking. Dietary lifestyles of males and females turned out to be very similar. For the male group, normal weight group was more likely to show 'health and high quality pursuit dietary life-style' than the other groups. For females, the normal weight group were more likely to show 'health and high quality pursuit dietary life-style' and 'safety pursuit dietary life-style' than the other groups. The level of 'healthy dietary competence' for females was found to be higher than that for males. For the female group, there were significant differences according to obesity status, and practice was more important than knowledge in determining a healthy dietary life. Conclusion: For dietary life-related education for obese middle-aged consumers, it is important to emphasize less eating-out and drinking and less overeating while eating-out based on the results that eating-out, drinking, and overeating in the obesity group were significantly higher than in the normal group. It is important to focus on the value of dietary life and diverse foods, based on the results that the obesity group was less likely to be have healthy dietary lifestyles and consume less diverse foods than the normal group.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of socioeconomic factors and health behaviors on the prevalence of oral diseases(dental caries and periodontal disease) among Korean adults. Data from the 2005 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was analyzed for adults aged over 19 years (n=25,215). Oral disease was defined as disease diagnosed by a dentist for the previous 12 months. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used to conduct statistical analysis. The population without dental caries and periodontal diseases were used as the reference category for all analysis. The overall prevalence of annual dentist-diagnosed dental caries and periodontal diseases were 23.5% and 10.6% respectively. The relative risk of developing dental caries for graduates of middle school and lower were 1.53 times (95% CI: 1.24-1.89) more likely to develop dental caries comparing to college graduates. Low income earners were 1.23 times(95% CI: 1.01-1.49) more likely to develop dental caries than high income earners. Persons covered by national medical insurance were 1.45 times(95% CI: 1.08-1.95) more likely to develop dental caries comparing to persons covered by employee medical insurance. Compared with persons not eating snacks, the risk of developing caries in persons eating snacks once a day was 1.16(95% CI: 1.01-1.32), while those who snacked twice or more a day were 1.19(95% CI: 1.01-1.41). The relative risk of developing periodontal disease was 3.71(95% CI: 2.38-5.80) higher in older individuals than younger. In terms of education level, middle school graduates and lower were 1.54 times more likely to develop periodontal disease than college graduates. Low income earners were 1.47 times more likely to develop periodontal diseases than high income earners. Using data from a large, nationally representative sample of Korean populations, we support the hypothesis that the prevalence of oral diseases is related with socioeconomic factors and health behaviors. More intensive intervention efforts to reduce the prevalence of dental diseases are warranted in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.379-402
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• 2010

The aim of this study is to explore the school adaptation and aggression of the children selected from 3 different SES communities and to investigate how parenting styles and children' school adaptation and aggression are different according to community-level socio-economic status. Subjects were 441 elementary school graders(229 boys and 212 girls, from the 4th graders to the 6th graders. Community SES was measured by the proportion of adult population holding a bachelor's degree or higher among the whole adults aged more than 30 and divided into 3 regions(rated high, middle and low in the metropolitan city). Data analysis was by F-test and multiple regression. The children from the high and middle SES community were more adaptive to school and less aggressive than those from the lower SES community. And the parents(or caregivers) from the high and middle SES community were more authoritative than those from other regions. These findings tell us that the children from the lower SES community are at risk and that some special programs to support children and their parents are needed.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.69-84
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• 2024

Objective : This study aimed to categorize the lifestyles of older adults into two types - healthy and unhealthy, and use machine learning to identify the personal values that influence these lifestyles. Methods : This cross-sectional study targeting middle-aged and older adults (55 years and above) living in local communities in South Korea. Data were collected from 300 participants through online surveys. Lifestyle types were dichotomized by the Yonsei Lifestyle Profile (YLP)-Active, Balanced, Connected, and Diverse (ABCD) responses using latent profile analysis. Personal value information was collected using YLP-Values (YLP-V) and analyzed using machine learning to identify the relative importance of personal values on lifestyle types. Results : The lifestyle of older adults was categorized into healthy (48.87%) and unhealthy (51.13%). These two types showed the most significant difference in social relationship characteristics. Among the machine learning models used in this study, the support vector machine showed the highest classification performance, achieving 96% accuracy and 95% area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The model indicated that individuals who prioritized a healthy diet, sought health information, and engaged in hobbies or cultural activities were more likely to have a healthy lifestyle. Conclusion : This study suggests the need to encourage the expansion of social networks among older adults. Furthermore, it highlights the necessity to comprehensively intervene in individuals' perceptions and values that primarily influence lifestyle adherence.

• 한국노년학
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.73-89
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• 2020

This study validates an abridged version of the age integration scale by Chung et al. (2015), which constitutes sub-dimensions of age flexibility and age heterogeneity-from Riley et al. (1994)-and observes disparities in the perception of age integration among different socio-cultural characteristics. This study analyzed 1,433 people in the "Age Integration and Generation Integration Survey" data, with the support of the Social Science Competency Enhancement Project (SSK) (supported by the Korea Research Foundation). This paper analyzed the data using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, multiple-group factor analysis, and a compare means test. The results are as follows. First, the scale was abridged to 13 items from 28, of which eight items concern age heterogeneity and five concern age flexibility. Second, the multi-group analysis did not show a significant difference among younger, middle, and older age groups, therefore allowing the scale to be used among all age groups. Third, when sociocultural characteristics were observed, younger adults showed differences in their levels of age integration, age heterogeneity, and age flexibility regarding their residential area. Middle-aged adults showed dif f erences in their levels of age integration, age heterogeneity, and age flexibility regarding their residential area and social status. Older adults showed differences in their level of age integration regarding their residential area, education level, and social status. They also showed differences in the level of age flexibility regarding their residential area and social status and differences in the level of age heterogeneity regarding their residential area and education. Based on the results of the study, political and practical measures to promote perception on age integration in the future were suggested.