• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was conducted to figure out the cognitive characteristics of the elderly living in apartment complex in order to construct basic data for the design of sustainable and age friendly apartment area. Methods: Cognitive map was used to identify and analyze the elderly residents' status of residential environment cognitions. The elderly living in Gongreung-dong apartment was randomly interviewed outdoor area and requested to draw cognitive maps on their living environment. 26 valid cognitive maps collected were analyzed, classified into two different types: Line type and Dot type. The average age, cognitive distance, length of residence, number of elements in the map(complexity) were then compared by Line and Dot type, as well as by gender. Correlations among variables also were analysed. Results: Males showed a tendency to draw dot types, which means they are place-centered, and females drew line types more than males, which means they are way-centered. The average cognitive distance of male group was greater than that of female group. As the age went up, the number of perceived place and the cognitive distance decreased. Oder people tended to draw line types rather than dot types. As the cognitive distance was longer, the perceived place and the number of lines increased. Implications: The age was more related to the recognition of the residential environment. The younger the residents were, the more they recognized the elements. The points that were represented by dots in the cognitive maps are places for memories for the individuals. Creating more memorable spaces will affect the cognition of residents on living environment. It is better to improve the cognitive environments before cognitive abilities of residents decrease.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.223-232
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• 2013

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of salt (NaCl) recognition threshold and pleasant salt concentrations of Korean rural elderly subjects on preference of salty food as well as food group consumption patterns. The subjects were 213 elderly people (male 71 and female 142) over 65 and under 90 yr of age from Sunchang area. The higher values were found with male subjects in the areas of basic taste recognition threshold and pleasant concentration level of salt. The taste sensitivity scores of male subjects did not decrease with the increasing age, but female subjects exhibited a significant decrease with the age. The major determinant factor of salt preference of the elderly subjects in this study appeared to be personal pleasant concentration of salt rather than salt recognition threshold level and this trend was more evident in males than in females. The subject group of lower salt pleasant concentration i.e. consuming less salt showed the higher number of fruit and fruit juice intakes per week, and higher MNA (define this) scores were implying that they display more desirable nutritional status. Therefore, nutritional education focused on not only a variety of food consumption but also lowering pleasant salt concentration levels is advised to improve the quality of nutrition in the elderly.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.454-463
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to assess the biochemical nutritional status of the long-lived elderly. The subjects of the study were 148 elderly people of age over 85 years living in Kyungpook Sung-Ju area who have no problem in daily living. The anthropometric measurement and biochemical assessment of the blood sample were carried out. The subject group for this study was composed of 25.9% males and 74.1% females, the average age being 87 years old. The mean Body Mass Index(BMI) of the male and female subjects were 20.7 and 21.2 respectively. The average body fat amounts of the male and female were 21.4% and 29.8% respectively, and the average waist/hip ratios were 0.9 and 0.7 respectively. The mean levels of the total blood protein and albumin of the subjects were in the normal ranges. The mean levels of serum cholesterol and triglyceride were 167.9mg /dL and 123.9mg/dL respectively. The mean levels of the subjects below normal range of hemoglobin were 63.5%. Serum levels of antioxidant nutrients were very poor. The mean levels of serum lipid peroxidation products were 3.3nmol/mL. BMI and WHR were positively correlated with the serum cholesterol levels. The resuts showed that the long-lived elderly had good nutritional status except for antioxidant nutrients status. In addition antioxidant supplement for long-lived elderly may be effective to maintain healthy life in later years.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.124-136
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• 2017

This study was performed to investigate the perception and preferences regarding commercial universal design foods (UDF) made with different ingredients. A one-to-one interview was used for data collection and the survey was conducted on 41 elderly people (over age 65; males: 11, females: 30) attending senior welfare centers in Seoul. Twelve UDF samples were collected, which were widely sold in Japan. Majority of respondents prepared meals (53.7%) and ate alone (43.9%), respectively. The preferred cooking level of elderly food was "ready to eat (RTE)" (43.9%) or "ready to heat (RTH)" (43.9%) rather than fresh cut product. In most, the elderly had no problem with chewing-action (90.2%). Generally, food ingredients such as grain, meat, seafood and fruits showed higher preference than vegetable and nuts. Among 12 UDF samples, pumpkin gratin (4.17) and peach flavored jelly (4.27) showed higher preferences among tested samples on a 5-point facial hedonic scale. There were no significant differences in overall preferences of all samples by difficulty in terms of chewing and swallowing of respondents. Demi-glace sauce hamburger and pot sukiyaki were more preferred as age increased (p<0.05).

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.15-30
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to examine how the rural elderly assess the multi-dimensions of health. This includes the physical, mental and social dimensions of health, correlations among them, and whether there are gender differences and age-group (60's, 70's, 80 and over) differences. For this purpose, survey data was gathered from 881 rural elderly who live in a village. The statistical methods used for data analysis were descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and correlations. The major findings of this study are as follows: Physical health was measured by self-rated health, ADL, IADL, and farmer symptoms. The respondents classified as 80 and over and female perceived their physical health more negatively. Mental health was perceived somewhat positively in general but female participants perceived their mental health more negatively than males. Social health of the rural elderly was relatively positive in comparison to the other dimensions of health. The rural elderly engaged in many social activities, and the majority of them had many social support networks composed of more than 12 persons. Relationships among the physical, mental and social health dimensions were different. The correlation of physical and mental health and the correlation of social and psychological health were statistically significant. However, the correlation of physical and social health had no significant meanings.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.388-393
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• 2021

At present, in Korea, due to developments in medicine and technology and an increasing mean lifespan, the expected lifetime for elderly people is increasing (at 70 years, the expected additional lifespan is 14.8 years for males and 18.3 years for females). However, among all causes of death, malignant neoplasm is ranked first for all ages. Further, the incidence rate of oral cancer tends to increase with age. Thus, oral and maxillofacial surgeons have increased opportunity to experience the 'oldest old' patients with oral cancer. Elderly patients commonly have several comorbidities, poor general condition, limited socioeconomic support, fear of various postoperative complications, and perception of short for the rest of their life. In this situation, the patient, caregiver, and surgeon often choose undergraded treatment rather than standard treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma owing to patient age. In elderly patients with oral cancer, ablation of tumor or reconstructive surgery is challenging for surgeons. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons must evaluate carefully the patient's medical condition and make a decision regarding treatment plans after sufficient discussion with patient and caregivers. We review the literature to consider the factors involved for deciding on a treatment plan regarding surgery in elderly patients with oral cancer.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.819-829
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the relationship between dental care needs and dental service use in Korean elderly. Methods: Using the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from 22,948 individuals, 1,572 (male 701, female 871) elderly individuals aged above 65 years were included in the study. All analyses were stratified by sex. Results: In males, the group with subjective needs was 3.74 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.58-5.41) times more likely to use dental services than the group without subjective needs. For females, the group with subjective needs was 2.17 (95% CI: 1.57-2.98 ) times more likely to use dental services than the group without subjective needs. Conclusions: To conclude, the elderly with symptoms, used the dental services for pain relief and functional recovery. Fundamental efforts to improve oral health are needed, such as providing treatment, prevention and educational services, besides efforts to provide treatment-oriented dental services. Further research is needed for the middle and elderly individuals who are in the blind spot of the existing policy.

• Journal of the FoodService Safety
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.60-66
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• 2023

This study was to suggest the roles of social enterprises in maintaining healthy life of the socially vulnerable by creating a customized care environment through chronic disease diet management targeting the elderly at home in need of care in the community. As for the subjects of this study, 102 in-home elderly people aged 65 or older (14 males & 88 females) who needed care in the community were provided with a diet management lunch box delivery service customized for chronic diseases. Theoretical education and cooking class on chronic diseases were provided to 15 volunteers with 10 sessions, and customized lunch boxes were provided to the elderly with chronic diseases at home on that day. In conclusion, it is believed that only by increasing the level of knowledge about chronic diseases and nutritional knowledge of the elderly will it be possible to establish a proper meal plan. Since the role of volunteers is important, it is necessary to systematically seek nutritional education methods for volunteers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.269-273
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• 2016

Presently, the world population of the elderly is growing. By improving health hygiene and welfare indicators, mortality and birth rates decrease and life expectancy increases, making the present century the century of elderly. Aging is one of the main risk factors for development of cancer, which itself is the second cause of death in old people. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of cancer in the elderly covered by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) insurance program and to obtain suitable programs for cancer screening and early detection, increase patient survival, improve elderly care and to reclaim the cost of treatment in comparison to the national and international statistics. This is a cross-sectional study conducted on all elderly patients diagnosed with malignancy based on their pathology reports. In this study, of the total 75,500 patients covered by IRIB insurance, 17.2% belonged to the elderly group, males accounting for 53.3%. The most common cancers in old men were prostatic cancer (61.3%), colon cancer (10.3%) cancer of the hematologic system, bladder cancer (9.6%), lung cancer (9.1%), thyroid cancer (3.9%) and brain tumors (1.3%). In the elderly women, the most common cancers were breast cancer (80.1%), colon cancer (5.1%), thyroid cancers (4.4%), bladder and hematologic system malignancies (3.6), lung cancer (2.9%) and brain tumors (0.7%). In addition, the prevalence of cancer was almost the same as national and international statistics. With the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer no difference was shown in prevalence of cancer between IRIB elderly patients and the other groups of cancer patients in Iran.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-12
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• 2002

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between socio-familial characteristics and health status in early stage of elderly life. In this study, a total of 252 Korean males and females aged 55 to 74 were interviewed to obtain information on various socio-familial characteristics such as age, gender, residence, marital status, education, religion, distance with children, household size, and living arrangements. They were also examined for self-perceived depression and diagnosed health problems. The analysis of the results show that marital status, gender, and living arrangement were major characteristics differentiating health status; widowed women living apart from their children are at lower level for most items of hea1th status such as emotional, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and muscle and skeletal function. Based on this analysis, suggestions are made for efficient health management. First, widowed females living without children are encouraged to participate in regular health promotion programs in self-organized groups. Second, usual welfare service programs need to be segregated for each age group, so that relatively young elderly are not frustrated from being treated together with extremely frail older elderly. Third, low education group living in rural area are offered preventive medical services for muscular and skeletal related health problems.