• Anxiety and mood
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.80-87
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• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate prevalence and clinical characteristics of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in North Korean defectors (NKD). Methods : The study population consisted of 300 NKDs registered in the multi-regional adaptation center (Hana Center), within three years of settling in South Korea. We conducted in-person interviews and a survey with each subject, based on the North Korean version of the WHO-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (NK-CIDI) and various clinical scales. Results : Lifetime prevalence of PTSD in NKDs was 15.3%, approximately nine times higher than South Koreans (1.7%). Although experiencing broader type of traumas with higher rate than South Koreans, NKDs revealed lower odds of PTSD in most type of trauma (p<0.05). Conclusion : NKDs are at higher risk of experiencing different types of trauma than the general population in South Korea, and it is further validated that prevalence of PTSD is also higher. Careful evaluation for comorbid psychiatric symptoms and type of traumas prior to PTSD treatment for NKDs is necessary to facilitate more appropriate intervention for each subject, according to personal experience.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.61-74
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aims to examine hypertension patients' quality of life by using the data of the 7^th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1^st year, 2016), identify the factors related to this, and utilize the results as basic data for intervention that can improve hypertension patients' quality of life. Methods: For the research subjects, this study extracted 1,531 patients who were diagnosed with hypertension by a doctor from the total sample of 8,150 participants of the 7^th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and selected 1,072 patients with no missing value in the variables to be analyzed as the final research subjects. The SPSS(version25.0) program was used for the analysis of the collected data. Then, this study used a backward elimination multiple regression analysis method that applied complex sample, to examine the factors related with the finally estimated quality of life. Results: The results of this study revealed that hypertension patients' quality of life was related with age, occupation, spouse, household income, weight gain, restriction of activity, subjected health status, perceived stress, and presence of comorbidity. The final model explained 37.0% of the variance (Wald F=30.012 p<.001). Conclusions: When an intervention program is implemented for the improvement of hypertension patients' quality of life in the future, it will be effective to construct the program according to age group, employment, marital status and household income. As for the program operation, patients should get help therefrom to control weight, facilitate activities and relieve their stress, and they should be also motivated to feel healthy. Furthermore, education should be offered so that they appropriately manage their underlying disease at an early stage.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.329-339
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to develop and train caregivers in tracheostomy tube care using a self-management program to assist patients with an 'at home' tracheostomy procedure. Caregivers' self-efficacy and knowledge of tracheostomy management before and after the training was also identified. Methods: Research participants were the main caregivers for patients with tracheostomies who were affiliated with a 'Home Healthcare Center'. Training and observation were done at 'A Hospital' and 'G Hospital' both affiliated with 'K University' in Seoul. Data were collected from May 3, 2010 to January 25, 2011 and analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank test with SPSS program version 12.0. Results: Significant differences were found for the pre and post evaluation of the 'self-management program' for the implementation of tracheostomy care. The development and implementation of the 'self-management program' improved the main caregivers' knowledge of tracheostomy tube management (Z=-3.599, p<.001). Conclusion: Results show that this program has identified an effective nursing intervention for promoting the caregivers' knowledge of tracheostomy care and self-efficacy. We recommend that further research should be done to test primary caregivers' maintenance of knowledge and self-efficacy in tracheostomy tube management and identify factors affecting knowledge and self-efficacy in the care of these patients.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.629-637
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of activity restriction and the number of remaining teeth of the elderly and to analyze the correlation. Methods: Statistical analysis of the collected data was analyzed using the SPSS window program 25.0 version (IBM) using a composite sample for the analysis of the 7th National Health and Nutrition Survey data, and a composite sample multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to confirm the effect of activity restrictions on the number of remaining teeth. Results: As a result of analyzing the effect of activity restriction on the number of remaining teeth, in the model that analyzed only activity restriction variables, the risk ratio of less than 20 remaining teeth was 1.61 times higher and the age-adjusted model, the risk ratio of less than 20 remaining teeth was 1.46 times higher (p<0.001). In the model that corrected all variables, the results were not statistically significant. Conclusions: In this study, the relationship between activity restriction and the number of remaining teeth could be confirmed, and in subsequent studies, more in-depth studies are considered to be needed using sub-variables that specifically reflect the reasons for activity restriction.

• Neurospine
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.383-387
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• 2018

Objective: Lower back pain (LBP) is a worldwide health problem, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a common modality used to aid in its diagnosis. Although specific guidelines for assessing the necessity of MRI usage exist, the use of MRI as the initial imaging method for LBP seems to be more common than necessary in general practice. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 313 patients who had undergone MRI of the lumbosacral spine during 2014-2015. We recorded and compared various factors, including age, sex, body mass index, current smoking status, race, symptoms, MRI findings, and progression to surgery within the next year. All rates were compared according to whether the MRI results showed radiographically significant findings (MRI-positive) or not (MRI-negative) using the chi-square or Fisher exact tests (if the expected cell count was <5). All analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the rates of each symptom between the MRI-positive and MRI-negative groups, which accounted for 58.5% (183 of 313) and 41.5% (130 of 313) of the MRIs, respectively. The difference in the rate of surgery in the next year (18% among MRI-positive patients and 8.5% among MRI-negative patients) was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: Based on our findings, 41.5% of patients underwent lumbar MRI unnecessarily and 81% of patients with positive MRIs did not have surgery within the next year. Further physician training is needed to avoid unnecessary investigations and expenditures.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.231-236
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• 2017

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the changes in bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations in urine from before to after sealant filling and the relationship between BPA and the number of teeth with sealed surfaces. Methods: Thirty-one children aged 6 and 7 years from three elementary schools in Daegu city who did not have any sealant and resin filling were selected as subjects. Urine samples were collected before and after sealant filling until 24 hours, with informed consent from their caregivers. The BPA concentration in all the collected urine samples was analyzed at Seegene Medical. Statistical analysis was performed using the Friedman test, Scheirer-Ray-Hope test, and the repeated-measures generalized linear mixed model of SPSS version 22.0. Results: The BPA concentrations increased from $3.49-{\mu}g/g$ creatinine before to $4.91-{\mu}g/g$ creatinine 2-3 hours later and to $4.15-{\mu}g/g$ creatinine after 24 hours. The more teeth with sealed surfaces, the higher the BPA concentration in children, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusions: The BPA concentrations were highest at 2-3 hours after sealant filling and decreased at 24 hours. Exposure to the sealant appears to have a meaningful correlation with the concentration of BPA in the urine of children.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.75-89
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This study measured the impact of a 12-week fall-prevention exercise program on balance, ambulatory ability, lower limb strength, and psychosocial characteristics in older adults diagnosed with dementia. METHODS: The participants comprised 31 older adults (9 men, 22 women) diagnosed with Alzheimer's or vascular dementia at a long-term care hospital located in Gunsan City. A fall-prevention exercise program was provided to the experimental group, while the control group was only provided with instruction and materials related to the fall-prevention exercise program. The participants were evaluated before the intervention, 6 weeks after the intervention, and 12 weeks after the intervention on static and dynamic balance abilities (using Timed Up and Go test: TUG, Tinetti-balance scale, one-leg standing test: OLS), gait (Tinetti-balance scale, 6-minute walk test: 6MWT), lower limb strength (sit to stand test; STS), and psychosocial characteristics (Short Form 36 Health Survey-Korean version, Korean Mini-Mental State Exam). RESULTS: An independent samples t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance were used for the statistical analysis. There were statistically significant improvements after the intervention (p<.05) in dynamic balance abilities (TUG and OLS using the left foot), gait (6MWT), and lower limb strength (STS) for the experimental group, but not for the control group. No difference was seen in psychosocial characteristics. CONCLUSION: Older adults with dementia who participated in the fall-prevention exercise program showed significant improvements in their static and dynamic balance abilities, lower limb strength, and ambulatory ability after the intervention.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.151-161
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• 2019

PURPOSE: To investigate the validity of a smartphone application for post-stroke daily living activity management based on an evaluation by users and experts. METHODS: The study design adhered to the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation ADDIE (Analysis-Design-Development-Implement-Evaluation) model. We downloaded the application onto the smartphones of 33 users and 30 experts, taught them how to use it, and asked them to use the application for four weeks. The users' daily lives before and after using the application were compared based on the K-MBI (Korean Version of Modified Barthel Index) to evaluate the usability of the application. For the expert group, we investigated the content validity and reliability of the application and evaluated the usability of the application. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 software. Users' general characteristics and experts' evaluation scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Content validity was tested using the content validity index (CVI), and reliability was tested with Cronbach's alpha. Users' K-MBI scores before and after using the application were compared with the paired sample t-test. RESULTS: Users gave an average rating of 2.93 out of 4 for the application for managing the daily lives of stroke patients, while experts gave an average score of 3.14. With regard to the K-MBI scores, only the dressing score improved significantly (p<.005) after using the application, and scores for other categories slightly improved but not to significant levels. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the STROKECARE application is usable and could help stroke patients manage their daily lives.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.595-602
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• 2018

Quality control (QC) of Computed Tomography (CT) devices is based on image quality measurement on AAPM CT phantom which is a standard phantom. Although it is possible to control the accuracy of the CT apparatus, it is expensive and has a disadvantage of low penetration rate. Therefore, in this study, we make image quality measurement phantom at low cost using FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) type three-dimensional printer and try to analyze the usefulness, compare it with existing standard phantom. To print a phantom, We used three-dimensional printer of the FFF system and PLA (Poly Lactic Acid, density: $1.24g/cm^3$) filament, and the CT device of 64 MDCT (Aquilion CX, Toshiba, Japan). In addition, we printed a phantom using three-dimensional printer after design using various tool based on existing standard phantom. For image quality evaluation, AAPM CT phantom and self-generated phantom were measured 10 times for each block. The measured data were analyzed for significance using the Mannwhiteney U-test of SPSS (Version 22.0, SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). As a result of the analysis, phantom fabricated with three-dimensional printer and standard phantom showed no significant difference (p>0.05). Furthermore, we confirmed that image quality measurement performance of a phantom using three-dimensional printer is similar to the existing standard phantom. In conclusion, we confirmed the possibility of low cost phantom fabrication using three dimensional printer.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.333-343
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the association between dental implants and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Data were collected from the baseline survey (2016-2017) of the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. The study sample comprised 1115 community-dwelling people aged 70 years to 84 years who had 0-19 natural teeth. Dental implants and natural teeth were identified by panoramic radiography, while the cognitive function was assessed by the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-KC). The association between dental implants and cognitive function was analyzed by multiple linear regression. Sensitivity analysis was performed to test for potential bias. Results: The mean number of natural teeth in the study population was 9.50 (standard deviation [SD], 6.42), and the mean MMSE-KC score was 24.93 (SD, 3.55). In the simple univariate analysis, tooth replacement, age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index, osteoporosis, number of natural teeth, periodontitis, chewing discomfort, tooth-brushing frequency, education level, monthly household income, participation in economic activity, living alone, and marital status had a significant impact on the association. After adjusting for confounders, the association between dental implants and cognitive function remained significant (B, 0.85; standard error, 0.40; p<0.05). Age, body mass index, periodontitis, tooth-brushing frequency, and education level were also significantly associated with cognitive function. The results of the sensitivity analyses were consistent with those of the primary analysis. Conclusions: Dental implants were associated with cognitive function in older adults living in the community. Dental implants as tooth replacements may play a role in preserving cognitive function.