• Anxiety and mood
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.110-115
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• 2007

Objective : The authors examined the treatment response and remission rates in patients with panic disorder after short-term pharmacotherapy in an effort to determine the factors that can be used to predict remission in Korean patients with panic disorder. Methods : Sixty-one patients with panic disorder were recruited for participation in this study. The psychological symptoms of the patients were measured using the HAMA, HAMD, STAIS, STAIT, ASI and API at baseline and after 3 months of pharmacotherapy. Results : Patients with panic disorder showed significantly lower scores on all psychological measures after 3 months of pharmacotherapy with paroxetine. The remission rate was 44.3%, and the response rate was 54.1%. The remitters showed significantly lower HAMD, HAMA, STAIS, STAIT, and ASI scores than the non-remitters. Linear regression analysis revealed that the baseline HAMA, HAMD, and ASI scores could be used to predict the remission rate after controlling for age, sex and agoraphobia. Conclusion : Compared with previous reports, our study showed a similar remission rate in Korean patients with panic disorder. Lower baseline levels of anxiety, depression, and anxiety sensitivity were found to be predictors of treatment remission in panic disorder.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2017

Objective : This study aimed to investigate differences in demographic, clinical characteristics, and quality of life between panic-disorder patients with generalized anxiety disorder (PD+GAD) and without generalized anxiety disorder (PD-GAD). Methods : We examined data from 218 patients diagnosed with PD+GAD (150 patients) and PD-GAD (68patients). The following instruments were applied: Stress coping strategies, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS), Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (ASI-R), Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire (APPQ), NEO-neuroticism(NEO-N), Short Form health survey-36 (SF-36). Results : Compared to the PD-GAD group, the PD+GAD group had higher scores in emotion-focused coping strategies and clinical severity, such as BDI, BAI, PDSS, ASI, APPQ, and neuroticism. The PD+ GAD group showed lower scores in most scales in SF-36 status than PD-GAD group. Conclusions : This study shows that PD+GAD patients are different from PD-GAD patients in coping strategies, clinical severity and quality of life. It emphasizes the need of personalized therapy in clinical approach among patients with PD+GAD.

• Mood & Emotion
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.67-72
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• 2017

Objectives : Mindfulness meditation has recently become a major component in mainstream modern cognitive behavioral therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of a mindfulness meditation program on positive resources of outpatients with depressive disorder and anxiety disorder. Methods : Participants were 55 psychiatric clinic outpatients. Participants received eight weekly sessions in a mindfulness meditation training program, that was approximately 90 minutes each. Measures included the Positive Resources Test (POREST), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-16 (AAQ-16), Life Satisfaction Expectancy Scales (LSES), and Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). Variables were measured at two time points : pre- and post-implementation (eight weeks later). Results : Paired t-test results of participants before and after the mindfulness meditation program revealed statistically significant improvement in positive resources (t=-5.847, p<.001), acceptance (t=-4.090, p<.001), life satisfaction expectancy (t=-3.892, p<.001), but not in subjective happiness. Conclusion : Results suggest mindfulness meditation may be effective to enhance positive resources, acceptance, and life satisfaction in outpatients with depressive disorder and anxiety disorder. Mindfulness meditation may be a factor in improving psychological well-being and positive psychological features in outpatients with depressive disorder and anxiety disorder.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.75-80
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• 2023

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by extreme mood and behavioral swings, such as highs of euphoria and lows of depression. It is a socially significant disorder in which people with the disorder experience intense mood swings and, for those with severe bipolar disorder, it is even difficult leading a normal life. High stress levels in people with mental illness can lead to neuroendocrine disruption, and it is strongly linked to aging. When the neuroendocrine system becomes vulnerable to these mental illnesses and stress, it is likely to accelerate aging. And it's the epigenetic clock that can measure the extent of this accelerated aging. The Epi clock, a pan tissue clock, measures aging through DNA methylation, and the degree of methylation is modified and changed by environmental conditions in the body. Therefore we wanted to check the changes in the epigenetic age of the patients with bipolar disorder. While we found no significant differences in epigenetic age, we did confirm the possibility that people with bipolar disorder have different methylation than normal people. We also found that the EPIC array data fit better on the Epi clock than on the Horvath clock with age-accelerated data from normal people.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2017

This study covers pattern differentiation based on Korean medical references, research trend and modern clinical applications about Sleep-Wake disorders of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-V) published by American Psychiatric Association. Insomnia disorder is mostly caused by yin deficiency of liver-kidney or liver qi depression and main patterns are heart-kidney non-interaction, deficiency-excess complex pattern containing phlegm-heat due to qi stagnation and blood stasis. Hypersomnolence disorder is more due to yang deficiency rather than yin deficiency and it's major pattern is spleen-kidney yang deficiency. Cataplexy is main feature in narcolepsy and corresponds to depressive psychosis or fainting in terms of Korean Medicine and narcolepsy is assumed to be relevant to liver wind. Breathing-related sleep disorders are related with phlegm-fluid retention brought on spleen deficiency with dampness encumbrance. Pattern of circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders is combined with yin deficiency of liver-kidney or liver qi depression of insomnia disorder and spleen-kidney yang deficiency or dampness-phlegm of hypersomnolence disorder. Yin deficiency with effulgent fire brought on drugs or alcohol is one of main patterns of substance/medication-induced sleep disorder and combined patterns with yin deficiency of liver-kidney and blood stasis or dampness-phlegm-heat are mostly applied clinically. This study drew major and frequently applied patterns of sleep-wake disorders based on Koran medical literature and modern clinical applications. And that can be the groundwork for the task ahead like clinical practice guideline of sleep-wake disorders containing pattern differentiation, diagnosis and prescriptions.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2023

Objectives: This study was conducted to observe the progression of symptoms according to the treatment period of patients with social anxiety disorder who received complex Korean medicine treatment. Methods: The medical records of 25 patients who were diagnosed with social anxiety disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, and received complex Korean medicine treatment (herbal medicine, acupuncture, and Korean psychotherapy) for 12 weeks were analyzed. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Korean-Social Avoidance and Distress scale (K-SAD), and the Korean-Fear of Negative Evaluation (K-FNE) were measured at the initial hospital visit and during the 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Missing values were replaced with the average evaluation index value at that time. Results: 1) Statistically significant changes in STAI-X1, STAI-X2, BDI-II, BAI, K-SAD, and K-FNE scores were seen according to the time of treatment. 2) When scores were compared between each treatment time point, STAI-X2 and BDI-II showed statistically significant changes between the initial visit and four weeks of treatment, the initial visit and eight weeks of treatment, and the initial visit and 12 weeks of treatment. STAI-X1 and K-FNE showed statistically significant changes between the initial visit and eight weeks of treatment and the initial visit and 12 weeks of treatment. There was a statistically significant change in BAI scores between the initial visit and the 12th week of treatment. Conclusions: Complex Korean medicine treatment alleviated anxiety, depression, fear, and avoidance of social situation symptoms in patients with social anxiety disorder. The longer the treatment period, the more symptoms tended to be alleviated. However, the evidence should be supplemented with prospective, controlled research.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2022

There is little research about medical treatment after prison. The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing mentally-ill prisoner's decision making for medical treatment on release from prison. With the data collected from prisoners in 2019, binary logistic regression was used to analyze the effect of variables on the mentally-ill prisoner's decision making. In result, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, and panic disorder decreased the likelihood of answering that I will have no medical treatment plan after prison, whereas lack of experience in receiving medical care increased the likelihood of answering as such. Bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, counseling, medical treatment, and education had a positive effect on selecting mental hospital in the answer. Depression enhanced the likelihood of choosing mental health center for treatment. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.250-263
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• 2019

This study aimed to improve the public perception of people with mental illness by suggesting the need for public efforts and proposing specific plans. Demographic differences in the attitudes towards mental illness, the need of public service announcements to improve public perception of mental illness, and the current and expected situation of each advertising medium were analyzed, and plans to improve the advertising were proposed. Three mental illnesses that are possible to recover from through treatment-depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD), and panic disorder-were examined primarily, and the general public residing in Seoul and the capital area were surveyed. A comparison of the respondents' attitudes towards people with mental illness showed that there were significant differences in their attitudes with respect to gender, marital status, age, and family history. On the other hand, there was no significant difference with respect to religion, monthly income, or academic background. Most of the respondents recognized that public efforts to improve the public perceptions of mental illness, i.e., efforts through the mass media, were necessary and should be intensified though television, Internet, radio, billboard, and transport advertising. Based on the above findings, this study highlights the necessity for advertising through mass media for positive public perceptions of people with mental illness and proposes plans to intensify the advertising, focusing on social, organizational, and individual levels.

• Psychiatry investigation
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1046-1052
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• 2018

Objective The aims of the present study were to explore the occurrence of childhood trauma and importantly to determine the impacts of childhood trauma on psychosocial features in a Chinese sample of young adults. Methods A survey was carried out in a group of 555 university students by using Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Dysfunctional Attitudes Questionnaire (DAS), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). The moderate-severe cut-off scores for CTQ were used to calculate the prevalence of childhood trauma, and then psychosocial features were compared between individuals with and without childhood trauma. Results A proportion of 18.6% of university students had self-reported childhood trauma exposures. Subjects with childhood trauma reported higher scores of SDS, SAS, DAS, and psychoticism and neuroticism dimensions of EPQ (t=4.311-5.551, p<0.001); while lower scores of SSRS and extraversion dimension of EPQ (t=-4.061- -3.039, p<0.01). Regression analyses further revealed that scores of SAS and DAS were positively (Adjusted B=0.211-0.230, p<0.05), while scores of SSRS were negatively (Adjusted B=-0.273- -0.240, p<0.05) associated with specific CTQ scores. Conclusion Childhood trauma is still a common social and psychological problem. Individuals with childhood trauma show much more depression, anxiety, distorted cognition, personality deficits, and lower levels of social support, which may represent the social and psychological vulnerability for developing psychiatric disorders after childhood trauma experiences.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.212-218
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• 2017

Objectives We aimed to examine whether mindfulness skills are mediating the improvements of depressive symptoms in patients with mood disorders who practiced Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Methods A total of 19 patients with mood disorder were included in this study. The participants were divided into two subgroups: a normal to mild depression group and a moderate depression group. The participants completed questionnaires to assess depressive symptoms, anxiety, quality of life, suicidal idea, and mindfulness skills which were measured by the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) before and after MBCT course. Results The moderate depression group showed improvements through MBCT in depressive symptoms and suicidal idea, but not in anxiety and quality of life. The normal to mild depression group showed no significant change through MBCT. The improvement of depressive symptoms in the moderate depression group was predictable by improvements of the five facets of mindfulness, especially by 'observe' and 'non-react' components. Conclusions This study showed that currently depressive patients with moderate severity but not with normal to mild severity benefit from MBCT in reducing depressive symptoms and suicidal idea. The improvement of depressive symptoms was mediated by improved mindfulness skills through MBCT.