• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.176-181
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• 2008

Stomach cancer shows the highest incidence among cancer patients in Korea and it deteriorates the patients' health-related quality of life considerably. This study measured utility weights of severe stomach cancer symptoms using VAS (Visual Analogue Scale), TTO (Time-trade Off) and EQ-5D (EuroQol-5 Dimension) methods. A survey questionnaire was developed to describe the symptoms of severe stomach cancer comprehensively and concisely using VAS, TTO and EQ-5D. A face-to-face interview was conducted for 21 cancer inpatients in a hospital and 25 non-patients. The mean utility weight is 0.498 for VAS, 0.375 for EQ-5D and 0.300 for TTO. Using VAS or TTO methods, there were no statistically significant differences between patients and non-patients while there was significant difference in EQ-5D. The utility weight with VAS and EQ-5D has shown similar trend - higher score in patient group, male and aged while it has opposite trend with TTO.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for patients with panic disorder using EQ-5D and EQ-VAS, and to examine the relationship between health-related quality of life and clinical outcomes following treatment. Methods : 29 patients with panic disorder were recruited from the Seoul Metropolitan area and 20 patients were followed up after two months of outpatient treatment. The Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) was used to assess the severity of the panic disorder and the changes in symptoms. HRQoL was assessed with EQ-5D and EQ-VAS at baseline and at two months of treatment. Results : All enrolled panic disorder patients showed significantly impairment of HRQoL in view of the subscales of EQ-5D, EQ-VAS index scores. The severity of PDSS was correlated the HRQoL in the panic patients. After treatment, the EQ-5D, EQ-VAS index scores showed significant improvement. Conclusion : Panic disorder patients suffer from lower HRQoL as well as from symptoms of the disorder. They showed clinical improvement and a restored HRQoL with treatment. These outcomes suggest using the EQ-5D, EQ-VAS such as the HRQoL in the assessment of patients with panic disorder is essential.

• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.88-100
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• 2021

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the daily lifestyle of Vietnamese immigrant women and to find out if they could affect health-related quality of life improvement. Methods The subjects of this study were 273 women who immigrated to Korea from Vietnam. This study was conducted at Daejeon and nearby Healthy Family Support Centers from September 2019 to January 2020 with the cooperation of the Daejeon City Healthy Family Support Center. Correlation analysis was performed between lifestyle and quality of life, and ANOVA analysis was performed to confirm the difference in health-related quality of life scores for each subgroup of dietary nutrition, sleep quality, and physical activity. A regression analysis was conducted to investigate the contribution of dietary nutrition, sleep quality, and physical activity to the quality of life of Vietnamese immigrant women. The significance level was p<0.05. Results Physical activity showed significant correlations with Euro Quality of Life -Visual Analogue Scale (EQ VAS), sleep quality with EQ VAS and Euro Quality of Life-5Dimension (EQ-5D) Index, and dietary nutrition with EQ-5D Index. There were significant differences in EQ VAS and EQ-5D Index scores for each sleep quality subgroup, and a significant difference in EQ VAS scores for each activity subgroup. The quality of sleep was found to have the greatest effect on EQ VAS and EQ Index of Vietnamese immigrant women, and physical activity on EQ VAS and dietary nutrition had some influence on EQ-5D Index. Conclusions Quality of sleep is closely related to health-related quality of life, and plays an important role in health-related quality of life for Vietnamese immigrant women.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.151-160
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• 2020

Background: Blood stasis (BS) is commonly used for pattern identification in traumatic injuries, including traffic accidents (TAs). Various studies have identified the efficacy of Korean medicine treatments for TA patients, but studies focusing on the BS-based herbal medicine (BSHM), including Tongdo-san (TDS), are rare. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective observational study, conducted from August 24^th, 2018 to December 27^th, 2018, which included 40 TA patients. Participants underwent routine Korean medicine treatments including acupuncture, electronic moxibustion, cupping, physical therapy, and herbal medicine. In the herbal medicine treatment, participants took BSHM with more than 3 days including taking TDS. The primary outcome measures were the scores from a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) and numerical rating scale (NRS). Secondary outcome measures included scores from EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ-5D) and EQ-VAS questionnaires, the BS and cold/heat indices, and safety assessments. Results: There were significant improvements in the VAS, NRS, EQ-5D, EQ-VAS scores, and BS index after treatment. In the sub-analysis, VAS, NRS, EQ-5D, and EQ-VAS scores were higher in groups with a higher BS index. The moderate and severe BS index groups showed more improvement than the minor BS index group, and there was a significant difference in the EQ-5D scores. There was no significant differences observed in cold/heat index groups scores. Conclusion: BS is associated with TA-related symptoms. BSHM, including TDS, may significantly reduce BS, pain, and discomfort.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.479-489
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• 2014

Objectives: This study intended to determine significant factors that influence the health-related quality of life ("HRQoL"; EuroQol 5 Dimension health-related quality of life (EQ_5D) & EuroQol visual analogue scale (EQ_VAS)) of the elderly in Korea. Methods: This study was based on 3,903 subjects aged 65 years or more who participated in the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V), 2010~2012. The HRQoL was analyzed by various factors (general characteristics, health habits, mental health, chronic diseases, nutrient intakes). SPSS statistics for complex samples (Windows ver. 21.0) was used. Results: The HRQoL was higher in the males, those with higher educational level or higher income level while it was lower in those belong to single households. In particular, the EQ_5D was significantly higher in the group who reported walking practice, moderate physical activity (male), and the group who reported no vigorous physical activity (female). The EQ_VAS was significantly higher in the group who reported walking practice. Both EQ_5D and EQ_VAS were significantly lower in the group with stress, melancholy, suicidal thinking, and osteoarthritis. EQ_5D was significantly lower in the group with < 75% Estimated Energy Requirements (EER) in energy intake, and with < Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) in iron or niacin intake. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that i) higher educational level (male), and good self-rated health status significantly increased the EQ_5D, ii) age, alcohol intake (male), melancholy (female), suicidal thinking, osteoarthritis, and niacin intake deficiency (male) significantly decreased the EQ_5D, iii) higher income level (male) and good self-rated health status significantly increased the EQ_VAS, and iv) age (male), stress, suicidal thinking (female) and osteoarthritis significantly decreased the EQ_VAS. Conclusions: This study suggested that general characteristics, mental health, osteoarthritis, and niacin intake were associated with the HRQoL. Prospective research of long-term control is needed to establish the causal relationship between factors and the HRQoL.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2017

Objectives:The purpose of this study is to report the effect of acupotomy on pain, lumbar function, and quality of life in acute low back pain patients. Methods:We performed Acupotomy in three patients who have acute low back pain due to a traumatic motive within one week. NRS was used to evaluate patients' pain, ROM and RMDQ were used to evalutate lumbar function, EQ-5D and EQ VAS were used to evaluate quality of life, and a five-point Likert scale was used to evaluate treatment satisfaction. Results: Acupotomy reduced the patient's NRS, increased ROM and reduced RMDQ. EQ-5D increased in cases 1 and 3 but decreased in case 2 and EQ VAS increased in all cases. Conclusions: This study shows acupotomy has useful effect and acupotomy can be a effective treatment on acute low back pain patients.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.213-225
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how members of the general public in Korea interpret the concept of health, and which dimensions of health are most important to them. We also explored their perceptions of the EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D), including the EuroQoL visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS). Methods: We conducted face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 20 individuals from the general population, using a semi-structured interview guide. Content analysis was performed with verbatim transcripts and field notes to identify codes and categorize them according to their similarities and associations. Results: In total, 734 different codes were derived and classified into 4 categories. Participants cited the importance of both the mental and physical aspects of health, although they emphasized that the physical aspects appeared to play a larger role in their conceptualization of health. Participants noted that the EQ-5D has the advantage of being composed of 5 dimensions that are simple and contain both physical and mental areas necessary to describe health. However, some of them mentioned the need to add more dimensions of mental health and social health. Participants showed great satisfaction with the visually well-presented EQ-VAS. However, participants opined that the EQ-VAS scores might not be comparable across respondents because of different ways of responding to the scale. Conclusions: While physical health is a fundamental aspect of health, mental and social aspects are also important to Koreans. The content of the EQ-5D broadly matched the attributes of health considered important by Koreans.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.49-59
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• 2017

Objectives: To measure the quality of life in patients according to virtual cerebral palsy severity by using the Korean version of EQ-5D-Y proxy, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and Time Trade-Off method (TTO). Methods: The study was conducted in parents of children and adolescents aged 4 to 15 years in Seoul. We analyzed the difference in the utility value according to five levels of cerebral palsy severity in the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and test-retest reliability. Results: 1. There were significant differences in VAS, TTO, and EQ-5D-Y proxy according to the cerebral palsy severity (p<.001). 2. VAS was significantly different according to the respondent's visit to the medical institution, the presence of disease in the respondent, a visit to the child's medical institution, the age of the child, and the sex of the child. The value of TTO was significantly different according to the respondent's visit to the medical institution, respondent's sex, and the age of the child. Also, EQ-5D-Y proxy was significantly different according to the age of the child. 3. Intraclass correlation coefficient values were more than 0.6 for both VAS and TTO at all stages. But for the EQ-5D-Y proxy, the value was less than 0.6 at all stages. Conclusions: The quality of life assessment using EQ-5D-Y proxy showed significant differences in the severity of cerebral palsy. However, large-scale studies using EQ-5D-Y proxy are needed because of low test-retest reliability.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5287-5291
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• 2014

Background: The cancer survival rate in Korea has substantially increased, necessitating the management of not only patients with cancer but also longer term survivors. Although the divorce rate has drastically increased in Korea, there is not sufficient research regarding the relationship between changes in marital status and quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients and survivors. Thus, we aimed to examine the relationship between marital status and QOL in such cases. Materials and Methods: This study was performed using the Community Health Survey of 2008 administered by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (N=169,328). We used t-tests and Chi-square tests to compare demographic variables between men and women, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare QOL scores among comparison groups. We also performed a multilevel analysis on the relationship between QOL and marital status while accounting for provincial differences. Results: Decline of EuroQOL five dimensions (EQ-5D) in single patients with cancer was greater than in any other marital status group, but there was no statistically significant decline in survivors of cancer with regard to marital status. In the general population, the decline of EQ-5D was higher among single people than married people. Using the EuroQOL visual analog scale (EQ-VAS), single people had higher values than those of other marital status among both patients with cancer and survivors of cancer. In the general population, EQ-VAS values were higher for single people compared to married people. Conclusions: There may be a significant relationship between marital status and QOL in cancer patients and survivors. Policy interventions to manage patients with cancer who experience a decline in QOL as well as marital problems should be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to report the case mental health of people with disabilities has improved through visit treatment at public health centers. From October 26, 2021 to January 04, 2022, 6 visits were conducted and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Korean version of Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (K-CES-D), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Euro Qol-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS), Modified Barthel Index (MBI) were used to check changes. After Korean Medicine treatments such as acupuncture, electroacupuncture, electromoxibustion, PHQ-9 decreased from 18 to 8, BDI decreased from 22 to 15, K-CES-D decreased from 42 to 21. And VAS decreased from 85 to 50, EQ-VAS increased from 30 to 50. But There was no change in the MBI. Confirmation of improvement in mental health-related indicators of disabled patients through Korean Medicine treatments.