• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.204-221
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• 1999

Due to the ever increasing life-span of human beings, the average woman is living well into her 70's. Henceforth, they spend at least one-third of their life after menopause. Climacteric encompasses the time preceding, during, and proceeding menopause : a transitional period of shifting from the period of being fertile to the period of senescence. In other words, this is the time at which they lose the ability to reproduce. Menopause can influence a woman's sexual life immensely due to the physiological, social, and psychological changes that occur during that period. In korea, where some women still live according to Confucian Culture in terms of sexology, nurses can play a vital role in the dissemination of sexual facts to women. This study was designed to clarity the characteristic and satisfaction of sexual life. This was done according to the classification of three types of climacteric women : pre-meno-pausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal. I studied 159 climacteric women between the ages of 45 & 59, living in or around the vicinity of Taegu City. This study utilized the investigative tools for sexual life patterns which were constructed with field experts' consultation and reference review by the author. The sexual satisfaction was translated from DSFI. The climacteric symptoms were invented by Kupperman, This research is descriptive. The data was collected between July 15, 1998 and October 14, 1998. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Pearson Correlations, and was computed with the SPSS program. The results obtained are summarized as follows; The frequency of sexual activity was highest in pre-menopause and declined after menopause. The frequency of genital caressing declined after menopause. The difference between the frequency of masturbation and coital pain was not significant according to the classification set forth in this experiment. Congruently, the frequency of orgasms declined after menopause. The mean satisfaction of sexual life is 27.1 years. The range of expected score is 9-45 years of age. Satisfaction was highest in the pre-menopausal group and proved to be statistically significant. Some of the general characteristics that affected the satisfaction a woman's sexual life in the climacteric stage during this project were ; age, income, satisfaction in younger pre-menopausal and the large income group than the other experimental groups. The climacteric symptoms were conversely correlated with the satisfaction in one's sexual life.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.101-112
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• 2011

Objectives : This study was done to investigate the degree of the pulse wave parameter of post-mastectomy women and to identify the relationships between each of them. Methods : Data were obtained from public health center in Busan Metropolitan city. Participants were 82 post-mastectomy women aged 31-82. the data collection was from Oct, 1, 2010 to Oct, 31, 2010. the data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Duncan test. A p-value less than .05 was considered significant by 2-tailed test. All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS/Win(ver 12.0). Results : As for the difference in the pulse wave by the general characteristics. The pulse energy was showed highly in the order of Chon, Quan and Chuk of left and right pulse respectively. In the pulse energy of left Quan and right Chon, the case of both mastectomy was showed highly and in the pulse energy of left Chuk, the case of right mastectomy was showed highly. Left and right pulse energy of menopause female were significantly higher than normal range except left Chon and Chuk. In h1, h2, h4, h5, t1, t2, AP and Aw, the pulse energy of left Chon was showed the largest significantly. In As, the pulse energy of right Chon was showed the smallest and in Ad, right Chuk was showed the largest. In RAI, right and left Chuk was showed the highest respectively. Conclusions : From these result, we can see that there are relation between women's age, area of operation breast and menopause after mastectomy in pulse wave. The result of this study will become basic data necessary for the Oriental Medicine treatment to reduce or prevent women's functional difficulties, symptomatology after mastectomy.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.116-126
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• 2011

Objectives: To identify the difference of autonomic nervous system activity in women with overactive bladder between women with pre-menopausal onset and post-menopausal onset. Methods: Total of 46 women with overactive bladder participated in this study. Patients were categorized in two groups, patients with pre-menopausal onset(n=31) and post-menopausal onset(n=15). We measured and compared parameters of Heart Rate Variability of patients. The results were analysed using SPSS for windows 12.0. Results: On frequency domain analysis, the patients with post-menopausal onset had significantly decreased mean value of Total Power, High Frequence, Low Frequence, compared with the patients with post-menopausal onset. Conclusion: Decreased Total Power of patients with post-menopausal onset indicated that they may have had decreased activity of autonomic nervous system. Also, the patients with pre-menopausal onset had relatively increased sympathetic activity than the patients with post-menopausal onset.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.336-345
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors influencing quality of life in post-menopausal women. Methods: The participants were 194 post-menopausal women who visited a women's clinic in Changwon, Korea from July 1 to August 31, 2018, and completed questionnaires containing items on menopausal symptoms, marital intimacy, current menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), and quality of life. Collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, the independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression using SPSS for Windows version 23.0. Results: Quality of life had a significant negative correlation with menopausal symptoms (r=-.40, p<.001), and a significant positive correlation with marital intimacy (r=.54, p<.001). The factors influencing the quality of life of post-menopausal women were current MHT (t=6.32, p<.001), marital intimacy (t=4.94, p<.001), monthly family income (t=4.78, p<.001), menopausal symptoms (t=-4.37, p<.001), and education level (t=3.66, p<.001). These variables had an explanatory power of 59.2% for quality of life in post-menopausal women. Conclusion: In order to improve the quality of life of post-menopausal women, nursing interventions are needed to help menopausal women choose appropriate MHT, alleviate menopausal symptoms, and increase marital intimacy. Interventions should also be prioritized for women of a low educational level and with a low income in consideration of their health problems.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.603-612
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of aromatherapy massage on abdominal fat and body image in post-menopausal women. Method: A Non-equivalent control group pre-post test Quasi-experimental design of random assignment was applied. All subjects received one hour of whole body massage as treatment by the same researcher every week for 6 weeks. Participants also massaged their own abdomen two times everyday for 5 days each week for 6 weeks, The two groups used different kinds of oil. The experimental group used 3% grapefruit oil, cypress and three other kinds of oil. The control group used grapeseed oil. Data was collected before and after the treatment using Siemens Somatom Sensation 4, a tape measure and MBSRQ. Data was analyzed by ANCOVA using the SPSS/PC+Win 12 Version. Result: Abdominal subcutaneous fat and waist circumference in the experimental group significantly decreased after aromathetapy massage compared to the control group. Body image in the experimental group was significantly better after aromathetapy massage than in the control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that Aromatheapy massage could be utilized as an effective intervention to reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat, waist circumference, and to improve body image in post-menopausal women.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.566-572
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• 2005

The aim of this study was to determine if the isoflavones from Sophorae fructus (SISO) have potential clinical benefit in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the treat ment of menopausal signs, such as the levels of total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). An additional aim was to present the potential antioxidant effect of SISO in a microglial cell line. For the animal model, the ovaries were removed from adult rats and the indicators of menopause were measured at the pre- and post-administration time points. Although no statistically significant correlation was found, SISO tended to decrease the TC level (p=0.15) and the FSH level (p=0.36), but to increase the HDL level (p=0.303).SISO (< 5${\mu}g$/mL) also exerted antioxidant activity on BV-2 microglial cells by inhibiting lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide. This cytoprotective effect was confirmed by trypan blue staining, which was used to test for cellular damage from H$_2O_2$. In conclusion, this study highlights the anti-menopausal and antioxidant effect of SISO in an ovariectomized rat model, as well as in microglial cells, and provides new clinical targets for the screening of phytoestrogens as potential candidates for HRT in menopausal women.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.7
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• pp.1112-1121
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate intake status and recognition of health functional foods by pre- and post-menopausal women in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. Survey questions were administered to 400 women around menopausal period, and data analysis was completed using the SPSS window program. Thirty-three percent of women recognized that they are healthy, and 47.1% of respondents are concerned with maintaining their health. However, respondents showed a low level of knowledge about the definition of menopause and health functional foods. Health concerns of respondents were significantly affected by marital status and level of education (P<0.05). Purchasing and intake of health functional foods was also significantly affected by health concerns and menopause symptoms (P<0.05). Twenty-nine percent of participants had taken health functional foods to prevent disease. However, most of them (85.9%) showed no knowledge of the main components of functional foods. In addition, knowledge associated with menopause and functional foods was affected by the level of education. The respondents' health concern, and thus purchase and intake frequencies of health functional foods, were affected by level of education. 'Effect of functional foods' was a top priority when respondents purchased health functional foods. The respondents answered black bean and pomegranate as foods that relieve menopause symptoms. However, they actually showed high intake frequency of black beans than pomegranate due to the high accessibility of black beans. The results of this study show that educational support for dietary guidelines is needed for middle-aged woman to be healthy after menopause.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.956-966
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to examine the comparative between depression and stress related to life events among women in the menopausal stage. Menopausal stages were divided into two groups: Pre and post-menopausal stages. The degree of depression and stress related to life events between pre and post menopausal women were compared to each other. Women, aged between 41 and 59 years, answered self-reported questionnaires which included Zung's depression scale and life events scale modified by Lee (1984). Findings were as follows; 1) The mean score of premenopausal women who experienced depression was 39.66, and for post-menopausal women the score was 41.45. There was no significant differences in depression levels between pre and post menopausal group.s (t=-1.55, p=.122). 2) Menopausal women experienced low levels of stress related to life events. There were no significant differences between pre and post menopausal groups(t=.527, p>.05). Both pre and post menopausal groups were highly concerned about education issues of their children and disharmony between couples. 3) There was a significant relationship between depression and stress related to life events among post-menopausal groups (r=.22, p<.01). Based on the findings of this study, the menopausal depression was associated with stress related to life events, especially among post-menopausal women. Feelings of lost fertility and feminine attributies result in menopausal depression, which is significantly correlated with women's negative perception of their life events. Therefore, nursing intervention needs to develop to help reduce the levels of depression and overcome their negative perception of the menopausal experience. Nurses should develop nursing strategies to help menopausal women to have positive perceptions and enhance quality of life by assisting their adaptability to physiological and psychological changes related to menopause.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.113-133
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• 2007

The present study was conducted to measure health-related utility for post-menopausal symptoms among Korean woman. A survey questionnaire was developed to measure utility based on visual analogue scale(VAS) and time trade-off method (TTO). From January 29 to February 3, 2007, a face-to-face interview was conducted with 274 women aged 45 to 60 to ask about their subjective utility for hypothetical health status of mild or severe post-menopausal symptoms. Among the participants, 160 were recruited from outpatient departments of 3 hospitals and 114 from 2 sports centers located in Seoul. For mild symptom, the average utility score of the respondents was $0.63{\pm}0.14$ based on VAS and $0.61{\pm}0.26$ based on ITO. For severe symptoms, the average utility was $0.39{\pm}0.16$(VAS) and $0.44{\pm}0.27$ (TTO). For severe symptom, a higher utility score was observed for TTO than for VAS, which is consistent with earlier studies and thus supports the validity of the utility measurement in this study. Overall, the severity of post-menopausal symptoms of the respondents themselves was not significantly associated with the utility score that the respondents answered for hypothetical health status. Multiple regression analysis results showed that the utility score was significantly higher among respondents with older age, higher education, higher family income, and from hospitals. It is expected that the utility score measured in this study will enhance the understanding of the quality of life of women after menopause and will be used to conduct cost-utility analysis of health care interventions to treat post-menopausal symptoms.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.80-87
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• 2008

Purpose: Hypoestrogenism caused by ovariectomy, disease, or menopause is associated with increased obesity in women. Altered fat distribution and weight gain are consequences of menopausal hypoestrogenism, but the mechanisms responsible are not completely known. This study examined the effect of estrogen on obesity in ovariectomized rats. Method: The groups of female rats were 4 weeks post ovariectomy (OVX) or, 4 weeks post-sham operation (SHAM), and 2 weeks post ovariectomy followed by 2 weeks replacement with estradiol benzoate (ER-$16{\mu}g$/kg, subq, qd). Serum ghrelin level was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The expression of adrenergic receptors in adipose tissue was measured by Western blotting assay. Result: OVX significantly increased body weight, serum cholesterol. Two weeks estrogen replacement reduced body weight accompanied by the increment of serum ghrelin and the reduction of the receptor ratio of adrenergic ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_1$, and ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_3$. Conclusion: We provide evidence that estrogen reduces obesity through the altered receptor ratio of adrenergic ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_1$, and ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_3$ in adipose tissue in ovariectomized rats.