• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.124-133
• /
• 2010

Objectives: This study is to offer basic data to understand the relationships between mental health, level of depression, and internet addiction of high school students in farming communities for developing a mental health management program for adolescents. Methods: The survey was carried out on a convenience sample of 299 high school students in farming communities during May of 2008. Data analysis procedure included $X^2$-test, t-test, Pearson correlation among Adolescent Mental Health & Problem-behavior Screening Questionnaire (AMPQ), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and Scales of Internet addiction (K-scales). Results: First, the level of mental health according to the AMPQ for subjects from this study showed problematic behavior was lower when compared to other researches. There were statistically significant differences according to the school type for externalization problems and overall problematic behavior. Based on gender, it was even more problematic for male students in regards to externalization problems. Secondly, the level of depression was relatively low : 5.1% for potential risk and 0.3% for high risk. Thirdly, a total of 96.9% were considered normal for Internet addition levels. 1.7% for potential risk, 1.4% for high risk; however, there was no statistically significant difference between each variable. Fourthly, there was a strong relationship between subjects AMPQ, level of depression and Internet addiction. As depression worsens, Internet addiction also becomes stronger. Conclusion: There is a need for awareness of the mental health of adolescents and precautionary measures, the development of a program for early treatment, adequate management, and decisions on the direction of treatment.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.247-260
• /
• 2018

This study examined the mental health status (depression, cognitive impairment and dementia) and its association with the related factors in the elderly people who were admitted from long-term care insurance. The study subjects were 1,488 people (male 740, female 748) aged over 70 years of age who had been recognized for long-term care insurance services in the years 2011~2014 from the National Health Insurance Corporation. The data collected from the National Health Insurance Corporation set forth a lifestyle questionnaire, itemized health screening tests, and long-term care as recognition data for research purposes. As a result, depression, cognitive impairment, and dementia of subjects increased significantly with age. As a multiple logistic regression result, the risk ratios of depression, cognitive impairment, and dementia, which indicated the mental health status, were significantly higher in women than in men, in the lower body weight group than in the overweight group, in the smoking group than in the non-smoking group, and in the drinking group than in the non-drinking group. These results suggest that the mental health status (depression, cognitive impairment, and dementia) of subjects decreased with increasing age, particularly the group with poor health related behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, and regular exercise, indicating that the mental health condition is lower than in the good group.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.49-64
• /
• 2012

With the burden of chronic diseases mounting among the population as a result of its aging, the importance of health examination is being stressed in order to identify and manage diseases in the early stage. Health examination in Korea is divided largely into periodic health examination provided as a national health screening program and individual physical checkups. The advantages of the former include little economic burden on the examined and those of the latter include the freedom of the individual to select various examination headings depending on the individual's characteristics and preferences. With both examinations now being expanded, empirical analyses from various standpoints are needed. This study proposes to analyze traits of the examined and non-examined as shown in the facts and figures of the 1st and 2nd Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA), thereby make the determinant factors clear leading to the acceptance of the examinations, and analyze the effects of the examinations upon maintaining or moving to healthy lifestyle. It was confirmed that demographic features such as gender and age, socioeconomic features such as the level of education, place of residence and household income, physical and mental state of health such as chronic disease and dementia, and daily living habits are significantly related with whether to accept physical examination. It is also confirmed that physical examination leads to non-smoking, regular physical exercises and regular dietary habits. It is suggested that, to enhance effects of health examinations, follow-up management programs making use of results of health examinations be further expanded, and the national health screening program be more actively put into operation for the bracket lying in the blind spot of the program.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.115-128
• /
• 2001

This study was carried out to offer the basic data for more qualitative lives of the adulthood with obesity through their health maintenance and control. So, the researcher reviewed and analyzed the health problems of the subjects according to sex, age, and positive rate on the screening tests. The subjects were 91 obese persons in K university hospital in Seoul from December 1, 2000 to January 31, 2001. A Questionnaire developed by researcher to obtain subject's general characteristics, main symptoms, medical examination, diagnosed disease was used as the tool for the study. The results of this study are as follows: 1. For the distribution of diagnosis in subjects, liver disease was most frequent and hypertension was second. 2 The most common complaints were indigestion in the digestive system, throat pain in the respiratory system, dyspnea in cardiovascular system, thirsty in endocrine system, frequent urine in the urinary system, vertigo in the hematologic system. 3. The main symptoms according to sex were for females, a statistically significant higher rate of complaints in the digestive system, musculoskeletal system as compared to males. 4. The main symptoms according to age were that in the fourth decade there were higher rate of complaints in the musculoskeletal system. 5. In screening tests according to sex, males showed a higher positive rate for Alk-Phosphatase and females, in FBS, urine-micro, VDRL. 6. In screening tests according to age, higher positive rates of BP, Chest X-ray, mammography, ESR, CRP were seen in the fourth decades. 7. Obesity was positively related to cardiovascular system, endocrine system, urinary system, musculoskeletal system, mental and nervous system in main symptoms. 8. Obesity was positively related to BP, Sonography, FBS, SGOT, SGPT in screening tests.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.200-207
• /
• 2008

Objectives : This study examined whether serious psychological distress (SPD) is associated with occupational injury among US employees. Methods : The employed population aged 18-64 years was examined (n=101,855) using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2000-2003. SPD was measured using the Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale (K-6), a screening scale designed to identify persons with serious mental illness. The predicted marginal prevalence of psychological distress and occupational injury with the adjusted odds ratio were estimated using multiple logistic regression analyses. Results : The age-adjusted 3-month prevalence of occupational injury was $0.80{\pm}0.12%$ in workers with SPD, which was 37% greater than in workers without SPD ($0.58{\pm}0.03%$). The odds of occupational injury in workers with SPD were higher compared to workers without SPD (OR=1.34, 95% CI=0.93-1.92), after controlling for sex, age, race, education, occupation, and activity limitation by at least one medical condition. Male, service and blue collar occupation, and activity limiation by co-morbidity showed significantly higher odds of occupational injury for workers with SPD. Conclusions : The findings suggest that SPD accounts for an increased likelihood of occupational injury among US employees. A further longitudinal study is needed to differentiate the mechanism or causal pathways linking individual injury risk at the workplace, SPD, and socioeconomic factors.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.123-130
• /
• 2000

The development of inexpensive high throughput methods to identify individual DNA sequences is important to the future growth of medical genetics. This has become increasingly apparent as psychiatric geneticists focus more attention on the molecular basis of complex multifactorial diseases at which most of psychiatric disease is estimated. Furthermore, candidate gene approaches used in identifying disease associated genes necessitate screening large sequence blocks for changes tracking with the disease state. Even after such genes are isolated, large scale mutational analysis will often be needed for risk assessment studies to define the likely medical consequences of carrying a mutated gene. This review provide basic knowledge of up-to-date technology, cDNA microarray which enables above mentioned various research themes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.24
• /
• pp.10927-10932
• /
• 2015

Background: Older age is associated with an increase in the incidence of cancer cases. Diagnosis and treatment of cancer in older adults can be stressful because of health decline related to age, comorbidities and inadequate treatment for pain and other symptoms of the disease. This survey is one of the unique studies in Jordan and in the Arab world that aimed at exploring the predictors of older adult individuals awareness towards cancer. Materials and Methods: A stratified random sampling technique was followed to reach a representative sample of 753 participants. The questionnaire of the study consisted of parts regarding demographic variables, awareness about screening tests, and signs and symptoms of cancer. In addition, specific questions related to factors linked to cancer were included. Cross-sectional design was adopted with face-to-face interviews at the interviewees' households. Results: The mean age of the participants was about 63 years; around 44% of them are above the age of 65 years. 'Being convinced that having no health problem makes the individual feel safe and not at risk of getting cancer' was the major reason for not doing a routine health check-up. Conclusions: The low levels of awareness about cancer, as well as the low use of the screening methods were crucial outcomes of this study. Thus, raising the awareness among health care providers and policy makers in the country about older adults' perception of cancer is a high priority.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.135-141
• /
• 2018

Objective : This study evaluated the role of smartphone application in the self-assessment of three psychiatric symptoms: stress, depression, and suicidal ideation. Methods : A total of 5,646 respondents were evaluated with three scales (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS, Center for Epidemiologic Study for Depression, CES-D, Scale for Suicidal Ideation, SSI) via smartphone application 'mindscan'. We analyzed the sociodemographic variables, the levels of three symptoms, and the association between the scores on all three scales. Results : The mean total scores of PSS, CES-D, and SSI were 24.86, 35.15, and 18.03, respectively. Women showed significantly higher scores on PSS, CES-D, and SSI when compared with men. Younger users showed a significantly higher score on all three scales when compared with older users. The scores on all three scales were higher than in other studies with off-line surveys. The PSS was positively correlated with CES-D (r=0.690), and with SSI (r=0.367). The CES-D was positively correlated with SSI (r=0.540). Conclusions : A smartphone application for mental health based on three scales (PSS, CES-D, and SSI) is a relatively useful screening tool compared with off-line general population surveys. The association between the three scales reflects the relationship between the three psychiatric symptoms observed in clinical practice.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.63 no.11
• /
• pp.438-446
• /
• 2020

Background: Most developmental screening tools in Korea are adopted from foreign tests. To ensure efficient screening of infants and children in Korea, a nationwide screening tool with high reliability and validity is needed. Purpose: This study aimed to independently develop, standardize, and validate the Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children (K-DST) for screening infants and children for neurodevelopmental disorders in Korea. Methods: The standardization and validation conducted in 2012-2014 of 3,284 subjects (4-71 months of age) resulted in the first edition of the K-DST. The restandardization and revalidation performed in 2015-2016 of 3.06 million attendees of the National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children resulted in the revised K-DST. We analyzed inter-item consistency and test-retest reliability for the reliability analysis. Regarding the validation of K-DST, we examined the construct validity, sensitivity and specificity, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and a criterion-related validity analysis. Results: We ultimately selected 8 questions in 6 developmental domains. For most age groups and each domain, internal consistency was 0.73-0.93 and test-retest reliability was 0.77-0.88. The revised K-DST had high discriminatory ability with a sensitivity of 0.833 and specificity of 0.979. The test supported construct validity by distinguishing between normal and neurodevelopmentally delayed groups. The language and cognition domain of the revised K-DST was highly correlated with the K-Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II's Mental Age Quotient (r=0.766, 0.739), while the gross and fine motor domains were highly correlated with Motor Age Quotient (r=0.695, 0.668), respectively. The Verbal Intelligence Quotient of Korean Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence was highly correlated with the K-DST cognition and language domains (r=0.701, 0.770), as was the performance intelligence quotient with the fine motor domain (r=0.700). Conclusion: The K-DST is reliable and valid, suggesting its good potential as an effective screening tool for infants and children with neurodevelopmental disorders in Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.317-324
• /
• 1999

Objectives: Since 1991, nationwide massive neonatal screening program for phenylketonuria (PKU) and congenital hypothyroidism have been performed in Korea. As in many other countries, efficiency of this program has not been definitely concluded. For the purpose of evaluation of this program, from the perspective of efficiency, a cost-benefit analysis was carried out. Methods: Costs of the detection and the treatment program were compared with the projected benefit(avoided costs) that results from the prevention of the mental retardation associated with the disorders due to PKU and hypothyroidism. Costs and benefits were discounted at an annual rate of 5%, and duration of life-long labor was assumed to be 30 years. Cost and benefit were estimated based on the detection rates of one case of PKU per 5,572 and one case of congenital hypothyroidism per 32,554 babies screened during 1991-1997. Results: The benefit-cost ratio was 0.418. The sensitivity analysis for the discount rates and labor durations showed that most cost-benefit ratios were lower than one(1.0) except when discount rate was changed to 3% and detection rate to two- or threefold and/or labor duration to 40 years. Conclusion: The result of this study suggested that present program of mass screening for PKU and congenital hypothyroidism could not be justified in terms of efficiency. It doesn't coincide with the results of previous studies in major developed countries, presumably because of difference in detection rates and welfare cost for the disabled.