• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.476-482
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• 2023

Introduction: There is a growing global interest in the issue of precarious employment. We aimed to analyze the characteristics and socio-demographic distribution of precarious employment using a summative score approach. Methods: To operationalize precarious employment, we utilized data from the Korean Working Conditions Survey and focused on three distinct dimensions: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and a lack of rights and protections. By constructing a summative scale ranging from -16 to 2, with lower scores indicating higher precariousness, we measured employment precariousness among Korean wage workers. To compare employment precariousness according to survey participant characteristics, we employed the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test. Results: We analyzed a weighted number of 38,432 workers. The overall sample showed a median (Q1, Q3) summative scale score of -3 (-6, -1). The median summative score was lower for women compared to men (men: -2; women: -5; p < 0.001), as well as for young or older workers compared to middle-aged workers (young: -4; middle-aged: -2; older: -5; p < 0.001). Similarly, workers with lower educational levels (middle school or below: -8; high school: -5; college or above: -2; p < 0.001) and non-white collar workers (blue collar: -5; service/sales worker: -6; white collar: -2; p < 0.001) experienced higher levels of employment precariousness. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that certain vulnerable groups, such as women, young or older adults, workers with low educational attainment, and caregiving or low-skilled elementary workers, are disproportionately exposed to high employment precariousness. Active policy interventions are needed to improve the employment quality of vulnerable groups.

• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.1083-1101
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to describe how the structural and functional features of social network change among widowed middle and older adults and to examine the effect of personal predictors of the social network change. Data was obtained from men and women between 45 to 98 years of age(N=118) who were bereaved by the death of their spouse since the first wave survey and participated in the second wave survey of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA). The main findings are as follows: First, their social network after the bereavement was strengthened centered around children; for example, the number of adult children living in proximity to the parent, frequency of contact with children, and the financial and non-financial support from children generally increased. Second, the social network change pattern was categorized into four types such as "overall increased type," "children-centered increased type," "children/close relationship-centered increased type," and "stagnation type." Finally, the health condition of the widowed middle and older adults was a strong predictor of the social network change.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.179-190
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• 2011

This study examined the association between marital status and mental health(depression, and suicidal ideation) of Korean adults by age and sex, using 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Differences of marital status in depression and suicidal ideation were assessed by age and sex-specific prevalence according to each stage of the life course. Our results indicated that adults who divorced, separated, and widowed had significantly higher risk of poor mental health than married adults. Men with no spouse at the stage of middle and older aged are reported higher in depressive symptom than married men. For the suicidal ideation, men with no spouse had higher risk of suicidal ideation through all stage of life course. Women were more likely to report depressive symptom and suicidal ideation than men through all stage of life course. But we could not found the mental health advantage of marriage among Korean women through all stage of life course. Based on findings, the study clearly indicate that the implication of marriage on mental health could be different for adults of different age group and sex.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2002

This study was designed to assess diet and health-related factors of older adults in Korea. Subjects females were 2,660 adults aged 50 and over living in Korea. Males were 847 persons and were 1813 persons. The mean weight and height for males and females were 63.8 $\pm$ 0.3kg / 164.0 $\pm$ 0.2cm and 57.0 $\pm$ 0.2kg /150.6 $\pm$ 0.1cm respectively. BMI (body mass index), body fat, and percent fat were significantly greater in females than in males. The muscle mass and body water were significantly greater in males than in females. Twenty-one percent of total subjects lived alone and 26% with spouse only. Most of the subject's self-reported income was in middle level (65%) or low level (24%). Proportion of subjects who answered 'very poor' or 'poor' on perceived health status was higher in older group. The 50-64 years old group was facing more stress than 65yr and over group. Among male subjects,38.4% were current-smokers and 22.0% were ex-smokers. But only 6.5% of female subjects were current-smokers. Males turned out to have better dietary habits-meal frequency per day, mealtime regularity, regular meal size and balanced eating-than females (p < 0.001). This study revealed that the diet and health-related factors affect nutritional status and chronic diseases of the elderly. For better management and evaluation of health status of the elderly, more effective nutritional assessment tools should be developed.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.103-116
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to empirically describe the everyday life of middle-aged adults in terms of their time-use activities. From the original '2004 Time dairy' Data, developed by the Korean National Statistical Office (KNOS), 17,684 respondents aged between 35-59 were selected. In order to categorize their activity patterns, work/labour, domestic labour, and spare leisure time were classified according to the action classification system. As a result, four dominant types were found: namely work-leisure, work-oriented, family-oriented, and leisure-oriented activities. Results of multinomial logistic analysis revealed that gender, age, socioeconomic status, job characteristic, and family structure were the major determinants on time-use. Compared with work-leisure, young middle aged women holding a part-time job with less income tended to be involved in a family-centered time use. Dual earners with lower SES status were likely to have work-oriented time schedules. Older men with relatively lower income were more likely to be involved in leisure-oriented activities rather than work-leisure activities. Multitasking behavior was a significant variable in explaining the four different types of time-use. Work-oriented group showed the highest level of time pressure as well as fatigue. Group differences in these measures, however, was not as large as expected.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.37-46
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• 2016

Objectives: This study examines the awareness of hypertension and its age-specific characteristics among Korean adults. Methods: Data were derived from the fourth Korean National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES IV, 2007-2009) of 14,637 subjects aged 30 and older. Self-reported prevalence of hypertension (HTN) was compared with measured arterial systolic/diastolic blood pressure, employing Kappa index, sensitivity, and specificity. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors in hypertension awareness by age groups. Results: Kappa agreement between self-reported and measured data in hypertension was high (0.70, 95% CI 0.68-0.71). Awareness by sensitivity was relatively high (65.3%) and specificity was very high (98.8%) for all ages. After age stratification, the results revealed the very lowest level of hypertension awareness among the youngest age group: 29.1% of adults aged 30-49 years, 57.5% of adults aged 45-59 years, and 76.9% of those aged ${\geq}60years$. Predictors for awareness differed by age group. Among adults aged 30-49 years, men exhibited lower awareness to HTN than women. Among middle-aged adults, workers showed lower awareness than non-workers. Among those aged ${\geq}60years$, men and the less educated showed lower awareness to HTN than their counterparts. Conclusions: Age-specific prevention strategies are needed for hypertension management.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.155-167
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• 2008

The study examines the prevalence and characteristics of school violence in elementary school, utilizing a census-based nationwide sample of 2,037 adults, 19 years of age and older. A structured questionnaire was administered, which reported their experiences of school violence retrospectively. The findings revealed that a third of the respondents were victims of one or more episodes of school violence during their elementary school years. Men reported much higher rates of victimization than women, and those from low-income families experienced more episodes of victimization than those from middle or high-income families. The study also showed that the rate of school violence is increasing among the younger generations.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2005

Objectives: Much attention has been paid to sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in the elderly because of its high prevalence. It is expected that SAS in the elderly has both similarities and differences compared to SAS in the young or middle-aged populations. The aim of this study was to elucidate the characteristics and consequences of SAS in the elderly. Methods: In this study we included 210 young or middle-aged adults between 23 and 59 years (20 women and 190 men) and 65 older adults between 60 and 83 years of age (16 women and 49 men). Respiratory disturbance indices (RDIs) of the study subjects were more than 5 in an overnight polysomnography. They completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Informations about body mass index (BMI), neck, waist, and hip measurements, and blood pressure were obtained. Results: No difference was observed between older adults with SAS (older SAS) and adults aged under 60 with SAS (SAS aged under 60) in RDI, apnea index, % time of oxygen saturation less than 90%, and PSQI. Obstructive apnea index and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) were lower in older SAS. Compared to SAS aged under 60, lowest oxygen saturation and central apnea index were higher in older SAS, but they were statistically not significant. BMI and neck circumference were significantly lower in older SAS compared to SAS aged under 60. Diastolic blood pressure was lower in older SAS compared to SAS aged under 60 with no difference in systolic blood pressure. Older SAS showed lower scores in ESS than SAS aged under 60. Significant correlation was observed between RDI and BMI in SAS aged under 60, but not in the case of older SAS. The relationships between RDI and neck circumference, systolic and diastolic pressure, and ESS were similar. Conclusions: The elderly with SAS were not over-weight and there was no relationship between body weight and the severity of SAS. Also, the behavioral and cardiovascular effects of SAS were not marked in the elderly, which might be partly explained by decreased ODI and relatively higher lowest oxygen saturation in older SAS. The normal aging process, aside from increased body weight, might contribute to the development of SAS in the elderly with modest complications.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.205-210
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• 2022

Background: Nasal bone fractures are the most common type of facial bone fracture, but are under-studied in adults above 65 years of age. Therefore, we investigated the epidemiology and patterns of nasal bone fractures among older adults in comparison to different age groups. Methods: This retrospective study included 2,321 nasal bone fracture patients who underwent surgery at our hospital from January 2010 to December 2017. The patients were classified by age as preschoolers, school-age children, young and middle-aged adults, and the elderly. We performed pairwise comparisons between elderly patients and each other age group in terms of sex, cause of injury, and fracture type. Results: The 2,321 nasal bone fracture patients included 76 elderly patients (50 men [65.8%] and 26 women [34.2%]). In these patients, the two most common injury causes were falling or slipping down (n= 39; 51.3%) and road traffic accidents (n= 19; 25.0%). According to the Stranc and Robertson classification, the most common force vector was lateral, and plane 2 fractures with lateral forces predominated. Conclusion: The elderly showed similar patterns of nasal bone fractures to those observed in young and middle-aged adults, but significant differences from preschoolers (in the injury vector and plane of fracture) and from school-age children (in the sex ratio and plane of fracture). However, elderly patients presented significantly different epidemiological characteristics compared to the other three groups. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of life of the elderly and prepare for the upcoming super-aged society by taking steps to reduce the incidence and severity of fractures. Possible options for doing so include strengthening individual-level safety factors and expanding the social safety net for the elderly.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.395-403
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• 2021

Objectives: Previous studies have shown that participation in social activities (SA) can prevent cognitive decline (CD) and that living arrangements (LA) can affect cognitive function. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of SA and LA on CD, as well as their interactions, using longitudinal data. Methods: Data were used from the 2006-2018 Korean Longitudinal Study for Aging, which followed 10 254 adults older than 45 years over a 12-year period. CD was defined as a ≥4-point score decrease in the Mini-Mental Status Exam over 2 years. We developed an extended Cox proportional hazards model for time-dependent covariates to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of CD in 4 groups: (1) socially active and living with others, (2) socially active and living alone, (3) socially inactive and living with others (SILO), and (4) socially inactive and living alone (SILA). The model was stratified by gender and adjusted for important confounders. Results: The HR of CD was significantly higher in the SILO group in men (HR,1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 1.78) and in the SILA group in women (HR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.75). However, the interaction term for gender was not significant. Conclusions: Among socially inactive elderly adults, the HR of CD was elevated in men who lived with others and in women who lived alone, although the interaction term for gender was not significant. Socially inactive men who live with others and socially inactive women who live alone are particularly encouraged to participate in SA to prevent CD.