• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.500-513
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• 2023

Purpose: Women are more vulnerable to post-traumatic stress (PTS) than men, causing several health problems. Nurses should understand and work with women who have experienced trauma and provide interventions to promote their physical, social, and mental health. Methods: This quasi-experimental pilot study used a one-group pre-test/post-test design. Data were collected from 14 women recruited between December 2019 and May 2020 from a self-sufficiency support center in South Korea for sexually-exploited women who had experienced trauma. The program consisted of six one-on-one intervention sessions per week for six weeks. Each session averaged 60~120 minutes. Participants were assessed at pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up. Changes in outcome variables over time were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank and Friedman tests. Results: The caring program for health promotion was divided into six sessions: understanding the self, sharing traumatic events and negative emotions, reframing the meaning of traumatic events, identifying thoughts and physical and emotional responses, developing health promotion activities, and maintaining a positive attitude during the process of change. As a result of the caring program, PTS (F = 36.33, p < .001), depression (F = 24.45, p < .001), health-promoting behaviors (F = 7.06, p = .004), and self-esteem (F = 19.74, p < .001) among the participants differed significantly at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. Conclusion: This study provides foundational information for the implementation of a theory-driven program by nurses in clinical and community settings to provide comprehensive care for women who have experienced trauma.

• Journal of TMJ Balancing Medicine
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• v.13 no.sup
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• pp.9-14
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate patients' demand for music and art therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and to understand how patients view the use of music and art therapy as a complementary form of treatment that can improve their quality of life and increase their self-efficacy in addition to medication. Methods: To this end, 60 Parkinson's patients visiting Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital at Daejeon University were surveyed about music and art therapy. Results: The survey demonstrated a highly positive response to the music program, with strong belief in its efficacy for Parkinson's disease and significant interest in participation. Group music therapy was perceived as effective for enhancing mental health, respiratory function, language disorders, and overall quality of life. Although the art program was also deemed effective, patients showed slightly lower interest and willingness to participate compared to music therapy. The patients preferred 60-minute sessions once a week for about 8 weeks. Conclusions: We propose the following directions for a Parkinson's music and art therapy program. First, develop a once-a-week, 8-week music and art program for Parkinson's patients. Second, design the music program to focus on improving respiratory function and quality of life. Third, the art program focuses on creating a sense of security and comfort through emotional exchange among patients and improving self-efficacy.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.31-33
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• 2024

Purpose: Music therapy helps alleviate anxiety, depression, and pain for cancer patients, contributing to stress relief. With such advantages, music therapy is applied across a broad spectrum of treatment areas, including mental disorders, developmental disabilities, and conditions affecting the elderly. It has been shown to enhance the quality of life for terminally ill cancer patients. Recent research has revealed its positive effects in boosting immune function and resilience. In light of these findings, the author conducted a study to investigate patient satisfaction with music listening. Materials and Methods: First, a survey was conducted with 30 individuals to inquire about the perceived necessity of listening to music in a waiting area. Next, participants were asked whether listening to music could contribute to psychological stability. Finally, preferences for music genres and satisfaction with music listening were assessed with a sample of 20 individuals. Results: In terms of the perceived necessity of listening to music in the waiting area, 28 out of 30 individuals, or 93%, expressed agreement. Regarding the belief that music listening could contribute to psychological stability, 28 out of 30 individuals, or 93%, believed that it would indeed help with stability. When it comes to preferred music genres, 4 individuals (13%) favored classical music, 2 individuals (6%) preferred traditional Korean music, 2 individuals (6%) enjoyed trot music, and 20 individuals (66%) had no specific genre preference. As for music listening satisfaction, 17 out of 20 individuals, or 85%, reported being satisfied. Conclusion: When patients visit the hospital, stress can increase due to concerns about their medical conditions. To address this, providing a variety of music genres at the hospital has been effective in reducing patient stress and promoting psychological stability.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1131-1141
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• 2023

Objective: Cortical iron deposition has recently been shown to occur in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we aimed to evaluate how cortical gray matter iron, measured using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), differs in the clinical cognitive impairment spectrum. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 73 participants (mean age ± standard deviation, 66.7 ± 7.6 years; 52 females and 21 males) with normal cognition (NC), 158 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 48 patients with AD dementia. The participants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging using a three-dimensional multi-dynamic multi-echo sequence on a 3-T scanner. We employed a deep neural network (QSMnet+) and used automatic segmentation software based on FreeSurfer v6.0 to extract anatomical labels and volumes of interest in the cortex. We used analysis of covariance to investigate the differences in susceptibility among the clinical diagnostic groups in each brain region. Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to study the association between susceptibility values and cognitive scores including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: Among the three groups, the frontal (P < 0.001), temporal (P = 0.004), parietal (P = 0.001), occipital (P < 0.001), and cingulate cortices (P < 0.001) showed a higher mean susceptibility in patients with MCI and AD than in NC subjects. In the combined MCI and AD group, the mean susceptibility in the cingulate cortex (β = -216.21, P = 0.019) and insular cortex (β = -276.65, P = 0.001) were significant independent predictors of MMSE scores after correcting for age, sex, education, regional volume, and APOE4 carrier status. Conclusion: Iron deposition in the cortex, as measured by QSMnet+, was higher in patients with AD and MCI than in NC participants. Iron deposition in the cingulate and insular cortices may be an early imaging marker of cognitive impairment related neurodegeneration.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.37-68
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to systematically review thread-embedding treatment studies for depression, anxiety, and dementia and examine the effectiveness and safety of thread-embedding treatment. Methods: Ten domestic and international search databases were used for study selection, including CNKI, PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, PsycArticles, RISS, OASIS, and KCI. We included studies that presented diagnostic or appropriate criteria for depression, anxiety, and dementia, and randomized control studies using thread-embedding therapy. We searched papers published until October 10, 2023. Results: Twenty-one studies were selected, of which 11 studies were conducted on depression, nine on dementia, and one on anxiety disorders. The most commonly used acupoint for depression was Gansu (BL18), whereas zusanli (ST36) and fenglong (ST40) were used for dementia. The most commonly used type of thread was 1-0 United States pharmacopeia (USP) and 1 cm for depression and 2-0 USP and 1 cm for dementia. The treatment period for most of the studies was once every 2 weeks and for 8 weeks. Among the included studies, 17 showed significant improvements in depression scales, such as Hamilton depression rating scale and Self rating depression scale, activities of daily living scales, and cognitive function scales, such as Hasegawa dementia scale and Mini-mental state examination. Six studies reported adverse events, and no studies reported significant adverse events. Two studies reported follow-ups. Conclusions: This study presents limited evidence for the effectiveness and safety of thread-embedding therapy for depression, anxiety, and dementia. Well-designed studies are needed to review the clinical efficacy and safety of thread-embedding therapy in the future.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.44-53
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• 2024

Background and purpose: The anti-aging standard forest healing program (ASFHP), which uses forest therapy, was reported to be effective in improving psychological, physical, and cognitive functions. However, there are several challenges to directly visiting the forest. This study aimed to investigate the impact of multi-session ASFHP with forest visit on the mental and physical health of the older people with visits to forest facilities and compared them with those of the same program conducted indoors. Methods: Individuals aged over 70 years with concerns about cognitive decline were recruited at dementia relief centers and divided into control and experimental groups. A total of 33 people were administered ASFHP under the supervision of a forest therapy instructor. The control group stayed indoors, while the experimental group visited a forest healing center and repeated the program 20 weeks. Results: The multiple-session ASFHP positively affected cognitive impairment screening test (CIST) total scores (p=0.002), memory (p=0.014), Korean version of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status total scores (p<0.001), immediate recall (p=0.001), visuospatial/construction (p<0.001), language (p<0.001), forest healing standard questionnaire total scores (p=0.002), and cognitive function (p=0.019), regardless of location. The forest visits during the ASFHP showed positive effects on orientation (p=0.035), delayed recall (p=0.042), emotional stability (p=0.032), physical activity (p=0.005), and health (p=0.022). The CIST scores of the memory domain were the strongest indicator of the multiple-session ASFHP effects. Conclusions: The 20-week multi-session ASFHP with forest visit showed effects on cognitive improvement and physical and emotional stability compared to indoor education.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.95-106
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• 2024

Background and Purpose: Ventricle enlargement has been implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We studied the relationship between ventricular size and cognitive function in patients with AD. We focused on the effect of the initial ventricle size on the rate of cognitive decline in patients with AD. Methods: A retrospective analysis of probable clinical AD participants with more than 2 magnetic resonance imaging images was performed. To measure ventricle size, we used visual rating scales of (1) Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) score and (2) conventional linear measurement method. Results: Increased clinical dementia rating (CDR) was correlated with a decreased Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score, and increased medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTLA) and global ventricle size (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.021, respectively). There was a significant correlation between the change in cognitive function in the group (70%-100%ile) with a large initial ventricle size (p=0.021 for ∆CDR, p=0.01 for ∆MMSE), while the median ventricle size (30%-70%ile) showed correlation with other brain structural changes (MTLA, frontal atrophy [FA], and white matter) (p=0.036 for initial MTLA, p=0.034 for FA). Conclusions: In this study, the initial ventricle size may be a potential new imaging biomarker for initial cognitive function and clinical progression in AD. We found a relationship between the initial ventricle size and initial AD-related brain structural biomarkers.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.236-244
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• 2024

Background and Purpose: Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the Telephone-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA) has gained popularity as a remote cognitive screening tool. T-MoCA includes items from the original MoCA (MoCA-30), excluding those requiring visual stimuli, resulting in a maximum score of 22 points. This study aimed to assess whether the T-MoCA items (MoCA-22) demonstrate comparable discriminatory power to MoCA-30 and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in screening for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Methods: Participants included 233 cognitively normal (CN) individuals, 175 with MCI, and 166 with dementia. All completed the Korean-MoCA-30 (K-MoCA-30) and Korean-MMSE (K-MMSE), with the Korean-MoCA-22 (K-MoCA-22) scores derived from the K-MoCA-30 responses. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted. Results: K-MoCA-22 showed a strong correlation with K-MoCA-30 and a moderate correlation with K-MMSE. Scores decreased progressively from CN to MCI and dementia, with significant differences between groups, consistent with K-MoCA-30 and K-MMSE. The study also explored modified K-MoCA-22 index scores across 5 cognitive domains. ROC curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) for K-MoCA-22 was significantly smaller than that for K-MoCA-30 in distinguishing both MCI and dementia from CN. However, no significant difference in AUC was found between K-MoCA-22 and K-MMSE, indicating similar discriminatory power. Additionally, the discriminability of K-MoCA-22 varied by education level. Conclusions: These results indicate that K-MoCA-22, although slightly less effective than K-MoCA-30, still shows good to excellent discriminatory power and is comparable to K-MMSE in screening for MCI and dementia.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.83-95
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• 2024

Objectives: This study analyzed the factors related to outpatient service to Western medicine (WM) and Korean medicine (KM) of Korean adults with depressed mood using data from the 2019 Korea Health Panel Study. Methods: The general characteristics according to group of 827 individuals, and the factors influencing the use of integrative medicine (IM) medical service were identified using the Chi-square test and binary logistic regression results. The factors were classified based on the Andersen healthcare utilization model. The results of regression analysis were presented as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Among the individuals of the study, 658 (79.6%) were in the WM group and 169 (20.4%) were in the IM group. In the WM group and the IM group, the presence of suicidal ideation was common at 37.7% and 43.2%, respectively. As a result of regression analysis, the living in Busan/Daegu/Ulsan/Gyeongsang compared to living in Seoul/Gyeonggi/Incheon [OR = 0.522 (95% CI = 0.328 to 0.830)], and presence of musculoskeletal [OR = 1.686 (95% CI = 1.071 to 2.653)] and mood disorders [OR = 1.737 (95% CI = 1.106 to 2.726)] were the most influential factors on the use of IM medical service. Conclusions: This study is the first in Korea to analyze the patterns of medical institution use and factors used in KM treatment among adults with depressed mood. The results of this study provide preliminary evidence for the contribution of KM to national mental health in the context of depression.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.243-245
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• 2024

Objectives: This study analyzed the factors related to outpatient service to Western medicine (WM) and Korean medicine (KM) of Korean adults with depressed mood using data from the 2019 Korea Health Panel Study. Methods: The general characteristics according to group of 827 individuals, and the factors influencing the use of integrative medicine (IM) medical service were identified using the Chi-square test and binary logistic regression results. The factors were classified based on the Andersen healthcare utilization model. The results of regression analysis were presented as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Among the individuals of the study, 658 (79.6%) were in the WM group and 169 (20.4%) were in the IM group. In the WM group and the IM group, the presence of suicidal ideation was common at 37.7% and 43.2%, respectively. As a result of regression analysis, the living in Busan/Daegu/Ulsan/Gyeongsang compared to living in Seoul/Gyeonggi/Incheon [OR = 0.522 (95% CI = 0.328 to 0.830)], and presence of musculoskeletal [OR = 1.686 (95% CI = 1.071 to 2.653)] and mood disorders [OR = 1.737 (95% CI = 1.106 to 2.726)] were the most influential factors on the use of IM medical service. Conclusions: This study is the first in Korea to analyze the patterns of medical institution use and factors used in KM treatment among adults with depressed mood. The results of this study provide preliminary evidence for the contribution of KM to national mental health in the context of depression.