• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.406-421
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the blood biochemical characteristics, comorbidities, dietary intake, and other risk factors leading to poor glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) control in elderly Korean diabetes patients over 65 years of age. Methods: Data from the 4^th (2007-2009) and the 7^th (2016-2018) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) were used. Socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, region, household income, education level, marital status, nutrition education, diabetes duration and diabetes treatment), lifestyle characteristics (drinking, smoking, regular walking, and subjective health perception), anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, and waist circumference), blood biochemical characteristics (HbA1c, high- density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen, and blood creatinine), co-morbidities (obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and anemia), energy and nutrients intake, food group intake, and HbA1c control-related risk factors were compared. Results: Compared to the 4^th survey, the 7^th survey showed an increase in diabetes prevalence among men, an increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the older patients, and an increase in the duration of diabetes. The energy ratio from carbohydrate consumption in the 7^th survey was lower than in the 4^th. Compared to the 4^th survey, thiamine and riboflavin intake had improved, and the intakes of vitamin A, vitamin C, and niacin had worsened in the 7^th. A comparison of food group intakes showed that there was a decrease in the consumption of whole grains, potatoes, and milk and an increase in the intake of beverages and alcoholic beverages. The risk factors for poor control of HbA1c were the duration of diabetes and co-morbid hypertriglyceridemia in the 4^th survey, whereas subjective health perception, obesity, and hypercholesterolemia as co-morbidities were found to be risk factors in the 7^th in addition to the risk factors highlighted in the 4^th survey. Conclusions: For the future management of elderly Korean diabetes patients, greater care is indicated for men over 75 years, and those with low levels of education. It is necessary to increase the intake of milk and vegetables, and reduce the intake of beverages and alcoholic beverages. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the incidence of obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia for proper control of blood sugar.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.971-984
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to analyse the relations among the residents' characteristics, the policy of the facility, and the physical characteristics of activity areas, and to understand the elements for the lively use of activity areas in the elderly nursing facilities. The results of the study are as follows: First, there was a relationship between the characteristics of semi-public activity areas and the residents' management-control policy. The facilities having semi-public areas of living room type showed more flexibility in time and place and more respects for the residents. Second, the activity areas of connection type were much more used than the compartment type, especially in the facilities having more residents incapable of walking. On the other hand, the facilities having high control for the residents showed high using rate in public activity areas, and all those did not have semi-public areas or showed low using rate in there. Third, in the analysis of the relationship between the physical characteristics and the using rate of activity areas, the public activity areas having compartment type in the spatial composition and hall as a form were likely to have multiple usages. On the whole, the various form of activity areas, the area per residents, openness, accessibility and centrality were having interactions each other for high using rate in activity areas. Especially, many stimulations and the furniture arrangements that were good for the residents' interactions had a function of compensation for the poor physical characteristics of activity areas. This study investigated only the using rates to understand the lively use of the space. For the future study, it is suggested that the detail using behavior of the residents should be examined to understand the influential elements.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.216-222
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• 2012

Purpose: Weight-bearing exercise is a type of physical exercise that is widely performed for rehabilitation after acquiring nervous-system diseases or sports-related injuries. It is one of the most commonly prescribed rehabilitation programs for strengthing of the lower extremities. Weight-bearing exercise is important for the conduct of such activity of daily living (ADLs) as walking, and up and down the stairs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the muscle activities during one-leg standing and one-leg squatting, the two most representative weight-bearing exercises. Methods: A total of 43 elderly (60~70 years old) males who could perform weight-bearing exercises were included in the study. During the one-leg standing and one-leg squatting, the electromyographic (EMG) signals were quantified as maximum voluntary isometric contraction (%MVIC) using surface EMG, and then the muscle activities of the lower extremities during the two exercises were compared. For statistical analysis, an independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were performed. Results: The results of the study are as follows: (1) in the one-leg standing, the activity of the gluteus medius was the greatest among the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, bicep femoris, (2) in the one-leg squatting, the activity of the vastus medialis was the greatest; and (3) the activity was greater in the one-leg squatting than in the single-leg standing exercise. Conclusion: The one-leg standing and squatting exercises are suitable for strengthening the muscles for the prevention of and recovery from lower-extremity injury, and for functional ADL in elderly people. In addition, dynamic exercise was shown to be more effective than static exercise for strengthening the muscles.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.17-21
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the correlations, if any, between SPPB (Short physical performance battery), FRT (Functional reach test), and TUG (Timed up and go test) in hospitalized frail people. Methods: Seventy frail elderly patients (male/female: 16/54) participated in this study. All subjects could walk with or without an assisting device and they had no mental problems. Subjects were scored on physical functioning using the SPPB, FRT, and TUG. The data were analyzed using Pearson Correlation Coefficients. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between (a) SPPB and (b) FRT (p<0.01) and TUG (p<0.01). SPPB and FRT scores showed a positive correlation (r = 0.38) and SPPB and TUG scores showed a negative correlation (r = -0.56). Conclusion: SPPB, FRT, TUG scores are correlated with each other. From these results, we conclude that the SPPB is a useful method for predicting walking, balance, and physical function in frail elderly people.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.237-256
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to verify whether Mediterranean diet, which proved to have a significant effect on preventing dementia for people aged 65 or older, could be well modified to be a Korean-style Mediterranean diet. This study was performed as a randomized-controlled trial for 6 weeks. Functional physical changes, cognitive scores, depression scores and dietary changes were all assessed. The walking speed (P<0.001) and the cognitive scores were statistically improved in only the experimental group (P<0.001), and the depression scores were also significantly improved in only the experimental group (P<0.01). The dietary intake showed a 30% improvement for consuming more than 7 cups per day of vegetables and fruits. When the participants were contacted four months after the end of the study, 90% of them said that the Korean-style Mediterranean diet was feasible and 100% said the nutrition interventions helped them maintain the diet during their daily lives. The results suggest that although the Mediterranean diet can be difficult to apply, any limitations of this healthy diet can be overcome.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.107-115
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aims to systematically review the dual-task evaluation applied to the screening of mild cognitive impairment. It also aims to present various evaluation items and results analysis methods for dual tasks applied to patients with mild cognitive impairment. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of published studies in PubMed databases and KISS from January 2000 to August 2020 using the main keywords such as "Dual task," "Mild Cognitive impairment," "Elderly," and "Screening." We selected a total of 10 studies for the analysis from 1314 searched articles. Results: We analyzed the qualitative level of 10 studies that were nonrandomized two-group studies with evidence level II (100.0%). These results suggest that the evidence level of the studies was high. We analyzed 10 studies and identified 12 motor tasks and 19 cognitive tasks. Walking was the most commonly used evaluation motor task and counting backward by ones and naming animals were the most commonly used evaluation cognitive tasks. Moreover, the velocity speed was the most used result analysis method. The results indicate that there were significant differences in dual-task performance between patients with normal and mild cognitive impairment. Conclusion: The results of this study can be used as a basis for the selection of dual-task evaluation items and methods of analyzing the results for screening mild cognitive impairment. Furthermore, they are expected to be used for research on the development of dual-task evaluation tools. It is necessary to compare and analyze the usage trends of dual-task evaluation by cultural differences in future studies.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.63-74
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present an evacuation performance analysis model that can derive vulnerable evacuation spaces with considering the movement behavior as per the elderly groups in the event of a fire in a geriatric hospital. Methods: The evacuation characteristics of geriatric hospital users were investigated through the review of precedent studies. First, the occupant conditions and the evacuation scenario were set to analyze a study target hospital. Then, the evacuation simulation was carried out considering the group types and the density of each group. Finally, an evacuation performance analysis model according to the group type was presented based on the simulation results. Results: The results of this study are as follows: (1) The evacuation performance according to the group type is to be clarified through the suggested study model. (2) It is necessary to secure a ramp or an emergency elevator to distribute the evacuation personnel at the design stage because congestion occurs due to collisions between evacuees on the stairs and delays the evacuation time. (3) It is necessary to consider the evacuation stairs and openings of sufficient size by analyzing the frequency of congestion occurrence and the escape routes of occupants in advance to identify the space where the evacuation flow overlaps. Implications: It is expected that the study result is to be used as primary data for studies that consider the elderly and clustering evacuation behavior in the event of a fire in a geriatric hospital.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.41-48
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• 2023

PURPOSE: Falls are caused by a decline in physical and cognitive function. A quantitative evaluation tool that can comprehensively evaluate motor and cognitive functions for elderly people with an impaired physical function. This study assessed the clinical application potential by confirming the correlation between the physical function tests, cognitive and the stepping trail-making test (S-TMT). METHODS: Fourteen community-dwelling older patients (65-75 years) were recruited. The study conducted cognitive function tests with the trail-making test (TMT-A, B), and physical function tests (6-minute walking test (6MWT), short physical performance battery (SPPB), and timed up and go (TUG)). The results of were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Descriptive statistics were used for the general characteristics of the study subjects, and the correlations between S-TMT, other functional tests were examined through Pearson's correlation analysis. The statistical significance was set to .05. RESULTS: S-TMT had a significant positive correlation with the TUG (r = .588^*) and trail-making test-B (TMT-B) (r = .689^*, p < .05). Furthermore, S-TMT showed a negative correlation between SPPB (r = -.397) and 6MWT (r = -.422), but it was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: S-TMT is a cognitive-gait dual-task performance evaluation tool that can be performed safely. A significant correlation was confirmed between the TUG test and the TMT-B. S-TMT is a dual-task screening tool that can evaluate both physical and cognitive functions simultaneously.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.771-782
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• 2017

This paper describes the development of a wearable robot to assist ankle power for the elderly. Previously developed wearable robots have generally used motors and gears to assist muscle power during walking. However, the combination of motor and reduction gear is heavy and has limitations on the simultaneous control of stiffness and torque due to the friction of the gear reducer unlike human muscles. Therefore, in this study, Mckibben pneumatic muscle, which is lighter, safer, and more powerful than an electric motor with gear, was used to assist ankle joint. Antagonistic actuation using a pair of pneumatic muscles assisted the power of the soleus muscles and tibialis anterior muscles used for the pitching motion of the ankle joint, and the model parameters of the antagonistic actuator were experimentally derived using a muscle test platform. To recognize the wearer's walking intention, foot load and ankle torque were calculated by measuring the pressure and the center of pressure of the foot using force and linear displacement sensors, and the stiffness and the torque of the pneumatic muscle joint were then controlled by the calculated ankle torque and foot load. Finally, the performance of the developed ankle power assistive robot was experimentally verified by measuring EMG signals during walking experiments on a treadmill.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.87-96
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• 2022

The traffic vulnerable, including elderly pedestrians, have a relatively low walking speed and slow cognitive response time due to reduced physical ability. Although a smart crossing system has been developed and operated to improve problem, it is difficult to operate a signal that reflects the appropriate walking speed for each pedestrian. In this study, a neural network model and a multiple regression model-based traversing speed estimation model were developed using image information collected in an area with a high percentage of traffic vulnerability. to support the provision of optimal walking signals according to real-time traffic weakness. actual traffic data collected from the urban traffic network of Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do were used. The performance of the model was evaluated through seven selected indicators, including correlation coefficient and mean absolute error. The multiple linear regression model had a correlation coefficient of 0.652 and 0.182; the neural network model had a correlation coefficient of 0.823 and 0.105. The neural network model showed higher predictive power.