• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.34-42
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• 2024

Objectives : This study aimed to explore the association between depression and perceived stress, viral anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, and poor sleep quality among the general population in Bangladesh, with self-efficacy as a possible mediator. Methods : Data on stress and anxiety during the pandemic in Bangladesh were collected through an online survey from September 16, 2021 to October 4, 2021. Viral anxiety and depression were measured using the Bangla version of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemic-6 (SAVE-6) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), respectively. Self-efficacy was measured by the General Self-efficacy (GSE) scale. Reassurance-seeking behavior related to the coronavirus disease 2019 infection was measured by the Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale (CRBS). Results : The CRBS showed a significant correlation with SAVE-6 (r=0.281, p<0.001) and PHQ-9 (r=0.227, p<0.001). People with higher anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, and poor sleep quality had lower self-efficacy, which led to depression. In contrast, perceived stress increased self-efficacy. The psychological factors impacted depression directly as well as indirectly, and self-efficacy mediated the association. Conclusions : Viral anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, perceived stress, and poor sleep quality have a close correlation with depression both directly and indirectly. Self-efficacy can be a mediating factor in the association between psychological distress and depression. Viral anxiety, reassurance-seeking behavior, and poor sleep quality reduce self-efficacy. On the other hand, perceived stress can strengthen self-efficacy.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.63-84
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aims to understand the stress patterns and coping behaviors of women with infertility and to improve existing infertility stress assessment tools to develop a tool suited for Korean society. Methods: The study involved 10 women diagnosed with primary or secondary infertility. Data were collected through surveys and in-depth interviews. Participants were recruited voluntarily, and snowball sampling was used for additional recruitment. Data collection occurred from September 2023 to April 2024. Data analysis included Spearman's rank correlation, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Interview results were analyzed using text mining and network analysis with Python 3.12. Results: There was a significant correlation between IVF/ICSI treatment and resilience scores, with non-IVF/ICSI groups showing higher resilience scores. Existing infertility stress assessment tools were generally useful but had limitations, such as discomfort with religious expressions and fixed gender roles, as well as issues with the number of items and response scales. Text mining of interview responses revealed key stress-related keywords including worry, depression, burden, pregnancy outcome, and health. Main stressors included uncertainty about pregnancy outcomes, physical discomfort during treatments, economic burdens, and emotional reactions from family and social relationships. Conclusions: This study identified the stress patterns of women with infertility through interviews. It showed the need for a new assessment tool to evaluate and support the complex stressors experienced by these women. Developing a comprehensive tool is essential for better understanding and managing the various stress factors faced by infertile women.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.603-610
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• 2020

This study examined the mental health-related factors of Korean adolescents, especially focusing on the influence of internet use. This study analyzed the raw data from the 14th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2018. The study population was 60,040, with 50.7% male students and 49.3% female students, and 49.7% high school students and 50.3% middle school students. The dependent variables were stress, sadness and despair, suicidal ideation, suicidal plan, and suicidal attempt. The independent variables were gender and age, health behaviors, and time using the internet. Logistic regression analysis was applied to derive the related factors. For all dependent variables, the main contributing variables were gender, grade, economic status, and academic performance. The mental health of adolescents was related to various factors. In particular, the time using the internet was linearly related to the degree of stress, and a higher student group of time using the internet had a more significant effect on sadness, despair, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal plans. In conclusion, the time using the internet has harmful effects on the mental health of Korean adolescents.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.393-403
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• 2013

Baicalein (BA), a plant-derived active flavonoid present in the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has been widely used for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders including depression. Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated restraint stress disrupts the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, resulting in depression. The behavioral and neurochemical basis of the BA effect on depression remain unclear. The present study used the forced swimming test (FST) and changes in brain neurotransmitter levels to confirm the impact of BA on repeated restraint stress-induced behavioral and neurochemical changes in rats. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg BA (i.p.) 30 min prior to daily exposure to repeated restraint stress (2 h/day) for 14 days. Activation of the HPA axis in response to repeated restraint stress was confirmed by measuring serum corticosterone levels and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor in the hypothalamus. Daily BA administration significantly decreased the duration of immobility in the FST, increased sucrose consumption, and restored the stress-related decreases in dopamine concentrations in the hippocampus to near normal levels. BA significantly inhibited the stress-induced decrease in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the ventral tegmental area and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the hippocampus. Taken together, these findings indicate that administration of BA prior to the repeated restraint stress significantly improves helpless behaviors and depressive symptoms, possibly by preventing the decrease in dopamine and BDNF expression. Thus, BA may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare health promotion behavior and influencing factors between aged women of rural areas and urban areas, to investigate factors affecting their behavior, and to provide the primary data for developing heath enhancing program that is appropriate for the population. Method: A survey was conducted on 221 aged women 100 from urban areas and 121 from rural area. The data were collected through a questionnaire and interview. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and multiple stepwise regression were found by using SPSS PC Win. Package. Result: There were significant difference of factors relating health promotion behavior in Pender model between the aged women in urban areas and rural areas, urban women showed higher scores in factors such as previous heath relating behavior, perceived confidence, self-efficacy, social support, satisfaction with marriage, situational influence, and behavioral plan involvement, while rural women showed higher scores in the factors of fixed idea regarding gender role, perceived disabled feeling, and activity related emotions. At the subscale of HPLP, interpersonal relation, nutrition, health responsibility, stress management, spiritual growth of rural group was lower than urban group. With the multiple stepwise regression analysis, commitment to a plan of action, social support, activity related affect, self efficacy were proved to be significant to urban group, while commitment to a plan of action. activity related affect, social support, sex-role stereotype were proved to be significant to rural group statistically. Conclusion: There were differences of health promotion behavior and influencing factors between aged women in urban areas and rural areas and women in rural areas were found to have more weakness than women in urban areas. With the results, it is concluded that health promotion programs for aged woman should be designed differently between urban and rural area regarding the factors affecting health promotion behaviors.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 1999

In this study, focus group interviews were used to investigate female university students' eating behavior, factors related to eating behavior, information sources for nutrition, and formats for nutrition education. Thirty-six students participated in one of five focus groups during December 1998 in Seoul. Focus group discussions were video, audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed by major themes. Results showed that subjects have undesirable eating behaviors, such s eating irregular meals and skipping meals. These behaviors are caused by a lack of time, habit, or for the purpose of losing weight. The students tended to have unbalanced diets and frequently ate out. They had a large amount for dinner and frequently snaked when stressed or had an empty stomach. Most of them were interested in weight control and had attempted to lose weight, but they did not participate in regular exercise. The most frequently used source for nutrition information was the mass media, but much nutrition information was based on what they learned from home economics class during middle to high school. They received more support from mothers, elder sisters, and friends for eating behaviors, such s lowering caloric intake and losing weight. In nutrition education, they wanted to learns behaviorla skills to adopt healthy behaviors, including meal planning, applying scientific weight control methods, exercise that fit into their lives, and stress management. They also mentioned that nutrition screening and assessment should be a part of nutrition education programs. As a method for nutrition education, subjects preferred an individualized approach to group education. These results provide the qualitative information for developing nutrition education programs which will be implemented for Korean University students.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.125-138
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• 2020

Purpose: The study investigated the effect of adolescent health behavior on the prevalence of current allergic diseases. Methods: The subjects were 57,303 middle and high school youth. Data were analyzed using Rao-Scott χ² test and complex sample logistic regression analysis. Results: While controlling the affect of the general characteristics of the subjects, health behaviors affecting the current prevalence of allergic diseases were smoking, drinking, physical activity, eating habits, drug abuse, and mental health. Smoking behaviors affecting the current prevalence of allergic diseases were lifetime smoking experience, smoking days, liquid e-cigarette lifetime smoking experience, number of liquid electronic cigarette smoking days, e-cigarette lifetime smoking experience, e-cigarette smoking days, amount of smoking, second-hand smoking and drinking behaviors were lifetime drinking, drinking days, the amount of drinking, and severe drinking. Variables such as physical activity exceeding 60 minutes days, intake of energy and sweet drinks, water intake, habitual drug use and mental health behavior such as stress perception, weekday sleep time, subjective sleep satisfaction, depression, suicidal thoughts/ plan/ attempts affect current allergic diseases (p<.001). Conclusion: The results showed that current allergic disease related health behaviors in Korean adolescents. Therefore, considering these factors, it may be helpful to facilitate a health promotion plan for prevention and management of such diseases and to promote evidence-based health practices at school.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was to compare health behaviors, DM management and HRQoL among Diabetic patients according to education experience. Methods: Data were obtained from Community health Survey(CHS) of 2015. The participants were 22,937 diabetic patients who had education experience or not. Data were analyzed on complex sample anaysis using SPSS 24 program. Results: The education experience group showed higher percentages of health behaviors and DM Management and higher HRQoL. The significant negative factors influencing HRQoL were Bed ridden experience, higher subjective stress, depression expereince, age, low education and positive factors were good subjective health status, walking, mod-exercise, drinking, employment, spouse, good subjective happiness. Conclusion: These results show that education experience is a way to help diabetic patients' health behavior, DM management, HRQoL.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.95-106
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• 2001

Since many adolescents start and continue Smoking to cope with stress from school and home environments, peer pressure, and to compensate for lowered self-esteem The smoking prevention program should consist of the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding smoking and how to cope with these stresses. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a smoking prevention program on smoking related knowledge, attitudes, and self-esteem and stress in first year middle school students. The study was performed on a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest. 151 subjects(76 experimental group, 75 control group) were selected by a convenience sampling method. The study was carried out in two middle schools in Kwang-ju city, Korea, from the 1st of May to the 23rd of June, 2000. The experimental group attended the smoking prevention program which was held for 45 minutes a week for 4 weeks. The questionnaire was administered to measure the degree of knowledge, attitudes, self-esteem and stress of the subjects. The SAS-PC program was used to analyze the data along with peroentages, $x^2$-test. t-test, and paired t-test. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The first hypothesis, 'The experimental group who receives a smoking prevention program would have higher scores of smoking related knowledge than the control group', was supported(t=3.68, p=0.0003). 2. The second hypothesis, 'The experimental group who receives a Smoking prevention program would have more positive attitudes regarding smoking than the control group', was supported(t=3.42, p=0.0008). 3. The third hypothesis, 'The experimental group who receives a smoking prevention program would have higher scores of self-esteem than the control group', was supported(t=2.24, p=0.0270). 4. The forth hypothesis, "The experimental group who receives a smoking prevention program would have lower scores of stress than the control group', was supported(t=-2.07, p=0.0407). The smoking prevention program in this study was effective in increasing the knowledge regarding smoking, enhancing more positive attitudes regarding smoking, and also increasing the scores of self-esteem and lowering the scores of stress. The results of this study will be applicable in smoking prevention education for early adolescents in middle schools.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.107-115
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• 2018

Background: Depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed neuropsychiatric diseases, but the underlying mechanism and medicine are not well-known. Although Panax ginseng has been reported to exert protective effects in various neurological studies, little information is available regarding its antidepressant effects. Methods: Here, we examined the antidepressant effect and underlying mechanism of P. ginseng extract (PGE) in a chronic restraint stress (CRS)-induced depression model in mice. Results: Oral administration of PGE for 14 d decreased immobility (depression-like behaviors) time in forced swim and tail suspended tests after CRS induction, which corresponded with attenuation of the levels of serum adrenocorticotropic hormone and corticosterone, as well as attenuated c-Fos expression in the amygdala. PGE enhanced messenger RNA expression level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor but ameliorated microglial activation and neuroinflammation (the level of messenger RNA and protein expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase) in the amygdala of mice after CRS induction. Interestingly, 14-d treatment with celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, and $N_{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride, a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, attenuated depression-like behaviors after CRS induction. Additionally, PGE inhibited the upregulation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 and heme oxygenase-1 pathways. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings suggest that PGE exerts antidepressant-like effect of CRS-induced depression by antineuroinflammatory and antioxidant (nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 activation) activities by inhibiting the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis mechanism. Further studies are needed to evaluate the potential of components of P. ginseng as an alternative treatment of depression, including clinical trial evaluation.