• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.36-49
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• 2000

Evaluation of nutritional status is an essential element in providing appropriate intervention strategies to achieve the highest level of health, Nutritional assessment of the older population is complicated by many factors which do not significantly affect the nutritional status in young adults, therefore, it should be considered in two ways; community-dwelling elders group and hospitalized or institutionalized elderly group. To sort out the individuals with nutritional problems in a community efficiently, nutrition screening tools must be simple, relatively inexpensive, and applicable to a large number of subjects. Combination of tools and indicators such as 24-hour food recall, body weight and height, and questionnaires on eating practices, and the presence of chronic diseases is practically applicable as basic tools of nutritional screening of older age group. However, the lack of validated screening techniques remains a barrier in improving nutrition. Validation is only limited to energy, BMI, protein intake of the older populations living in western countries. Further refinement of nutritional assessment tools is demanded to figure out whether those are practically applicable to community-living older adults in Asian Society. A careful and systematic evaluation of nutritional assessment tools should be carried out prior to implementation of stepwise nutrition service to the heterogeneous older population. For an in-depth nutritional assessment at the individual level, we need to extend research efforts to clarify the requirements of nutrients due to aging and diseases. More cost-effective method that will allow rapid analysis of survey results are needed so that information can be readily available to policymakers.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2007

This study was designed to examine, applying Rasch analysis based on item response theory, the questionnaires of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale for the elderly. The subjects were 99 institutional older adults and clients of social welfare facilities. The subjects (17 men, 72 women) ranged in age from 65 to 94 years (mean age 76.5 yrs). The Winsteps software was used to assess whether the ABC scale fits the Rasch model, to estimate the score and to refine the rating scale. The results are as follows. Twenty-two subjects were excluded as misfit persons. Four items were found to be misfits and the order of difficulty of the remaining 12 items was rearranged. Their balance confidence is indicated by -.64~1.12 logit, and the transformation formula is score=[(logit score+2.76)/(2.76+3.48)]${\times}$100. The most difficult item was "Walk outside in icy sidewalks" and the easiest item was "Walk around house." In conclusion, the ABC scale for the elderly has been proven reliable and valid. Therefore, it is expected to be used as an effective examination tool for treatment planning and screening for older adults.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of the ICPP on cognitive function, level of depression, and quality of life of older adults. Methods: This study follows a pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental design. The subjects of this study were elderly people aged 65 years or older registered at comprehensive social welfare centers. A total of 42 participants took part: 21 in the control group and 21 in the experimental group. Data collection was conducted between September 18, 2017 and November 2, 2017. The ICPP was conducted for the experimental group for 6 weeks as a group program (3-4 times a week, for a total of 20 sessions). The control group underwent a simple exercise program for 6 weeks (once a week, for a total of 6 sessions). Results: The experimental group showed significant improvement in their cognitive function, level of depression, and quality of life. Conclusion: These results suggest that the ICPP helps improve cognitive function, alleviates depression, and increases quality of life, and is expected to be an effective nursing intervention for older adults.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.65-73
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between intention to use advance directives and level of death anxiety in community-dwelling elders. Method: The participants were 200 older adults who were aged 60 or over and attended the community welfare centers. The level intention to use advance directive was measured by a questionnaire that was developed by the authors for the study. The measure by Kraus and Ellisond was administered to evaluate the level of death anxiety. Result: The average score for intention to use advance directives was $2.05{\pm}0.88$ and that of death anxiety was $6.2{\pm}2.28$. There were significant differences in the intention to use advance directives according to education levels and individual properties. Although there was no significant relationship between the intention to use advance directives and the level of death anxiety, they were negatively associated. Therefore, older adults who had lower death anxiety would tend to use advance directives. Conclusion: It would be necessary to screening the level of death anxiety to promote use of the advance directives. In addition, education programs for advance directives would be essential to consider about advance directives for their end-of-life especially for the community-dwelling elderly in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.191-200
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of participation in leisure activities on the quality of life by comparing gender and household type. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2017 Korean Elderly Survey and the participants were 7,406 people who are 65 years and above. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS (version 18.0) statistical package. Results: The result of this study revealed that participation in leisure activities has a significant effect on the quality of life of In the case of older adults who are men and live with couple, voluntary activities have a significant effect on their quality of life, while for elderly women living alone, arts & cultural activities have a significant effect on their quality of life. Conclusions: Based on these results, we suggested some implications for supporting healthy leisure activities and improving the level of quality of life among aged people.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.257-265
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• 2002

This study was performed to investigate the effect of kimchi intake on free radical and oxidative substance production in young adults and the elderly. Daily kimchi intake by people in their twenties (n = 93, 20 to 29 years old) and over sixty-five (n = 143, over 65 years old) in M city were surveyed and blood was drawn to analyze the free radicals in their plasma. The average amount of kimchi intake by the subjects was 115.8 $\pm$ 91.7 g. The amount of kimchi intake of those in their twenties (106.1 $\pm$ 80.6 g) was significantly lower than that of those over sixty-five (125.5 $\pm$ 102.9 g, p < 0.05). Concentrations of total free radicals and OH radicals were 27 and 33% greater respectively, in those over sixty-five than in those in their twenties, indicating that more free radicals were produced by the older group. The concentration of GSH was not signiacantly different in the two groups, but that of GSSG in the over sixty-five age group was 53% greater than in the twenties group, which resulted in a 35% reduction in GSH/GSSG in the elderly group. TBARS concentration in the over sixty-five group was 26% greater than that of the twenties group. In order to see the effect of kimchi intake on free radical production, subjects in same age group were divided into two sub groups-the mean over and the mean under groups-according to the average amount of kimchi intake, which was 115.8 g. The total free radicals, the OH radicals, the GSH, the GSSG, and the GSH/GSSG in the twenties group were not significantly different in the two kimchi intake groups. However, those in the over sixty-five group were significantly different. The concentration of total free radicals and OH radicals of the mean over group were 21 and 26% lower respectively, than those of the mean ova. group (p < 0.05). The GSH and GSH/GSSG of the mean ova. groups were higher by 8 and 12%, respectively. The correlation coefficient between the kimchi intake and the total free radicals was -0.1862 (p < 0.05) and that for GSH/GSSG was 0.1861 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the production of free radicals and oxidative substances increased with age, and kimchi seemed to retard this phenomena.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.43-53
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• 2019

Objective : This study aimed to identify the characteristics of hand function according to age and sex in older adults. Methods : This study included 103 healthy adults aged ${\geq}60$ years. The Korean version of TEMPA was used to assess hand function and a Jamar dynamometer and pinch gauge were used to assess hand and pinch strength in all participants. Results : The results of hand function assessment showed that speed of task execution (mean = 121.32 s, SD = 18.07 s in subjects aged 60-69; mean = 144.97 s, SD = 28.43 s in subjects aged 70-79; and mean = 160.93 s, SD = 38.33 s in subjects aged ${\geq}80$, p < .001) and fine movement (mean score = -.14, SD = .40 in subjects aged 60-69; mean score = -.63, SD = 1.07 in subjects aged 70-79; and mean score = -.57, SD = .65 in subjects aged ${\geq}80$, p = .01) decreased significantly with age. The male group showed better speed of task execution (mean = 133.54, SD = 22.83 in males vs. mean = 150.55, SD = 39.89 in females, p < .01) and fine movement (mean score = -.16, SD = .37 in males vs. mean score = -.46, SD = .58 in females, p < .01) than the female group. Hand strength also decreased significantly with age (p < .05, to p < .001). Conclusion : Occupational therapists should be aware of the decline in hand function (especially speed of task execution and fine movement) and strength in older adults, as well as the need to provide interventions to treat this decline.

• The Journal of Korean Institute for Practical Engineering Education
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.157-164
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• 2010

In these days, the frequency in use of senior friendly products including walker, mattress preventing bedsore, etc. is going up by an increase in the elderly population. In the case of the elderly, bad ergonomic design causes some problems in the aspects of usability and safety. In fact, lots of accidents came from using senior friendly products. In this paper, older adults' usability when using senior friendly products was studied through industry-university collaboration. Usability evaluation program was developed to support companies that develop or manufacture a senior-friendly product. Walker and mattress preventing bedsore were evaluated in aspect of its usability and the result were provided to the company.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1203-1211
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to compare the health status, sleep and depression and to examine relationships between health status, sleep and depression by employment status in the elderly. This study used the data from the "2008 Korean National Survey on Older Adults" by Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family. Out of the total 15,146 Korean elderly surveyed, 5,204 subjects with job and 9,942 subjects without job at the present were used in a final analysis. There were significant differences in health status, sleep and depression by employment status. As for old adults with job, job satisfaction had the greatest effect on depression, followed by perceived health status, difficulty of daily activities by disease, and deep-sleeping days in the order. These variables accounted for 29% of depression. As for old adults without job, perceived health status had the greatest effect on depression, followed by difficulty of daily activities by disease, deep-sleeping days and total sleeping time in the order. These variables accounted for 32% of depression. Therefore, the health-promotion intervention to improve the health status, sleep and depression of the elderly should be planed and provided considering such differences by employment status.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1152-1162
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether there are regional differences in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability of cognitively normal elderly participants and to identify factors influencing BBB permeability with a clinically feasible, 10-minute dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI protocol. Materials and Methods: This IRB-approved prospective study recruited 35 cognitively normal adults (26 women; mean age, 64.5 ± 5.6 years) who underwent DCE T1-weighted imaging. Permeability maps (K_trans) were coregistered with masks to calculate the mean regional values. The paired t test and Friedman test were used to compare Ktrans between different regions. The relationships between K_trans and the factors of age, sex, education, cognition score, vascular risk burden, vascular factors on imaging, and medial temporal lobar atrophy were assessed using Pearson correlation and the Spearman rank test. Results: The mean permeability rates of the right and left hippocampi, as assessed with automatic segmentation, were 0.529 ± 0.472 and 0.585 ± 0.515 (K_trans, x 10^-3 min^-1), respectively. Concerning the deep gray matter, the K_trans of the thalamus was significantly greater than those of the putamen and hippocampus (p = 0.007, p = 0.041). Regarding the white matter, the K_trans value of the occipital white matter was significantly greater than those of the frontal, cingulate, and temporal white matter (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0007, p = 0.0002). The variations in K_trans across brain regions were not related to age, cognitive score, vascular risk burden, vascular risk factors on imaging, or medial temporal lobar atrophy in the study group. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated regional differences in BBB permeability (K_trans) in cognitively normal elderly adults using a clinically acceptable 10-minutes DCE imaging protocol. The regional differences suggest that the integrity of the BBB varies across the brains of cognitively normal elderly adults. We recommend considering regional differences in K_trans values when evaluating BBB permeability in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.