• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.89-100
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• 2024

Purpose : The objective of this study was to determine the major factors influencing the onset of diabetes and prediabetes and for collection of the basic data required to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and plan for administration of an effective health care system. By classifying the level of blood sugar management according to three categories: normal, prediabetes, and diabetes diagnosis, and determining the causes of diabetes in consideration of various variables, we will conduct an analysis of the main factors to be addressed for effective management of blood sugar and for preparation of basic data for use in early management. Methods : In this study, an analysis of raw data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected over a period of three years from 2019 to 2021, including 8,110 subjects in 2019, 7,359 subjects in 2020, and 7,090 subjects in 2021 was performed. A total of 22,559 subjects were aged 19 years or older, and 15,821 subjects were classified as subjects for inclusion in the final analysis. In the analysis, categorical variables were tested for difference, analysis of continuous variables using regression was performed, and analysis of influencing factors was performed using multinomial logistic analysis. Result : Significant factors related to the onset of diabetes and prediabetes included age (p<.001), marital status (p<.001), occupation (p<.001), hypertension (p<.001), dyslipidemia (p<.001), cardiovascular disease (p=.008), alcohol (p=.030) smoking (p=.005), systolic blood pressure (p<.001), diastolic blood pressure (p<.001), body mass index (p<.001) and waist circumference (p=.037), blood triglycerides (p<.001), and blood cholesterol (p<.001). Conclusion : Diabetes, a complex disease affected by a variety of diseases, requires active management from the prediabetes stage, and providing an appropriate level of medical information and services to elderly individuals without family support is considered a long-term health care system requirement in Korean society where the demographic structure is changing. In particular, determining the causes of prediabetes and development of a preventive approach to administering the health care system will be important for efficient management of diabetic patients.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.69-80
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• 2023

Purpose: Suicide ranks among the top causes of death among youth in South Korea. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of suicidal individuals treated at emergency departments between 2011 and 2020. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from January 2011 to December 2020 in the Injury Surveillance Cohort, a prospective registry. Patients' sex, age, mortality, methods of self-harm, and previous suicide attempts were analyzed. The methods of self-harm were categorized into falls, asphyxiation, blunt injuries, penetrating injuries, poisoning, and others. Sub-groups with and without poisoning were compared. Results: The proportion of self-harm/suicide attempts increased from 2.3% (2011) to 5.0% (2020). The mortality rate decreased from 10.8% (2011) to 6.3% (2020). Poisoning was the most common method (61.7%). Mortality rates ranged from 42.0% for asphyxiation to 0.2% for blunt injuries. Individuals in their 20s showed a marked increase in suicide/self-harm attempts, especially in the last three years. A large proportion of decedents in their 70s or older (52.6%) used poisoning as a method of suicide. The percentage of individuals with two or more previous attempts rose from 7.1% (2011) to 19.7% (2020). The death rates by poisoning decreased from 7.7% (2011) to 2.5% (2020). Conclusion: Our findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and suicide prevention policies. Managing and reducing suicide and self-harm in emergency settings will require a focus on poisoning, the 10-29 age group, and the elderly. This paper will be valuable for future policies aiming to reduce the societal burden of suicide and self-harm.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1265-1272
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• 2020

Objective: We investigated the prevalence of pneumonia in novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients using chest radiographs to identify the characteristics of those with initially negative chest radiographs, who were positive for pneumonia on follow-up. Materials and Methods: Retrospective cohort data of 236 COVID-19 patients were reviewed. Chest radiography was performed on admission, with serial radiographs obtained until discharge. The 'positive conversion group' was defined as patients whose initial chest radiographs were negative but were positive for pneumonia during follow-up. Patients with initially positive chest radiographs were defined as the 'initial pneumonia group.' Patients with negative initial and follow-up chest radiographs were defined as the 'non-pneumonia group.' Clinical and laboratory findings were compared between groups, and predictors of positive conversion were investigated. Results: Among 236 patients, 108 (45.8%) were in the non-pneumonia group, 69 (29.2%) were in the initial pneumonia group, and 59 (25%) were in the positive conversion group. The patients in the 'initial pneumonia group' and 'positive conversion group' were older, had higher C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase levels, and lower absolute lymphocyte counts than those in the 'non-pneumonia group' (all p < 0.001). Among patients with negative initial chest radiographs, age ≥ 45 years (odds ratio [OR]: 3.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.76-8.75, p = 0.001), absolute lymphocyte count < 1500 cells/μL (OR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.03-4.89, p = 0.041), and CRP > 0.5 mg/dL (OR: 3.91, 95% CI: 1.54-9.91, p = 0.004) were independent predictors for future development of pneumonia. Conclusion: More than a half of COVID-19 patients initially had normal chest radiographs; however, elderly patients (≥ 45 years of age) with abnormal laboratory findings (elevated CRP and low absolute lymphocyte counts) developed pneumonia on follow-up radiographs.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 1997

This study was carried out to reveal the status of health examination among farmers and to attract more attention to the health care system for farmers. Ten pre-trained medical students interviewed the rural residents 18 years of age and older in eight villages which were randomly selected from a county near Taegu city in Korea, in August 1996. Finally 751 persons were interviewed of whom the percentages of male and female were 41.8%, 58.2% respectively. Among the subjects, 361(48.3%) were fully engaged in farming, 184(24.4%) were partly engaged, and the remaining 206(27.3%) were not engaged in farming at all. The overall prevalence of farmer's disease was 23.0% and there was no significant difference between the group of fully engaged in farming(23.3%) and the group of not-fully engaged(22.9%). But the prevalence of farmer's disease in female subjects(27.8%) was significantly higher than that in male(16.2%)(p<0.01). Among the 288 farmer engaged in spraying pesticide, 113(39.2%) had experienced one or more pesticide related symptoms during last one year, but only 18(15.9%) of them had visited medical facilities due to their symptoms. The experience of receiving education about pesticide was significantly correlated with the degree of wearing protectors during pesticide spraying(p<0.001). Among the 736 persons excluding non-respondents, 281(38.2%) received health examination during last one year ; 176(62.6%) of them received free health examination, and 105(37.4%) received charged one. Among the 533 persons 40 years age and older, only 124(23.3%) had received the 'health examination for the elderly' during last one year, which is provided for the 40 years age and older by Korea medical insurance corporation and medical insurance societies. Most of all beneficiaries of self-employed medical insurance thought the imposed contributions as very expensive(77.4%) or moderately expensive(13.2%). The great majority of farmers are exposed to various health risk factors including pesticide, high temperature, overwork etc. comparable to industrial workers. But farmers are excluded from the regular yearly worker's health examination because of not belonging to a company despite they pay relatively more medical insurance contributions compared with the industrial workers and the urban self-employed medical insureds. It is necessary to develop special health management program for farmers such as the special health examination for the industrial workers exposed harmful agents.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.93-106
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• 1984

Today, elderly people has desperately felt isolation and desolation due to the loss of activity at home and society by the change of social structure and the tendancy of nuclear family. The mutual-relationship between parants and their children is important to solve the problem of eldery people's isolation and desolation. The present study was conducted to investigate the status of mutual-communication by visiting, telephone and letter on 678 parents over 55 years of age and 1,316 their adult children from September 1st to 30th, 1982. It was investigated with questionaire by students. The frequency of communication from children to parents was highest in 25.4% by telephone and 21.6% by visiting, 4 times a month. Correspondence of letter showed only 18.1% in a year. The frequency of communication from parents to children was highest 16.1％ by telephone and 15.6％ by visiting, 4 times a month. Correspondence of letter showed only 11.3％ in a year. Urban parents showed higher frequency than rural parents by visiting and telephone, but lower by letter. The older age group of children showed higher frequency than the younger by visiting and telephone but 3rd decade was highest by letter. The younger age group of parents showed higher frequency than older age group. Mother was showed higher frequency than father by visiting and telephone, but father by letter. Higher education level group showed higher frequency than lower education level group. Merchants and factory workers showed the highest frequency by visiting and telephone, but officials by letter. Upper class group in socio-economic status showed higher frequency than lower class group generally, but lower class group dy letter from parents to children. The group within samedistrict between parents and children showed the highest frequency by visiting and telephone, but the group within long distance by letter.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.790-800
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• 2017

As men get older, total testosterone levels decline gradually, and concentrations of free and bioavailable testosterone decline sharply with each decade beyond their 30s. Andropause or testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS) is defined as a decrease in sexual satisfaction or decline in general well-being accompanied by low levels of testosterone in older men. This male climacteric is characterized by nervousness, reduced potency, decreased libido, irritability, fatigue, depression, memory problems, sleep disturbances, and hot flushes. Cirsium japonicum (CJ) is used as a traditional medicine for hemorrhage, blood congestion, and inflammation in Korea. However, there is no report on the efficacy of CJ treatment for TDS. In this study, we observed the mitigating effect of CJ extract (CE) and fermented CJ extract (FCE) on symptoms of TDS. In elderly male rats, total and testosterone levels, hind limbs muscles, forced swimming time, and total and motile sperm counts significantly increased after daily intake of CE and FCE for 6 weeks. In contrast, sex hormone binding globulin, retroperitoneal fat, total serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in CE and FCE groups. However, there was no difference in prostate specific antigen, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase levels among all groups, which means CE and FCE did not have putative adverse effects. In a cell experiment, we also observed that CE and FCE enhanced expression of genes related to testosterone biosynthesis but reduced genes involved in testosterone conversion. On the whole, these positive effects on TDS were greater in FCE compared to CE. Thus, these results suggest the potential of FCE as a promising natural product for recovering testosterone levels and alleviating TDS.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.183-188
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• 2012

Previous studies of the relationship of TMJ signs and symptoms in elderly people have provided inconsistent findings. The objective of this study was to retrospectively analyze the prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders(TMD). Additionally, young subjects were examined as a control group. Forty old patients (28 female, 12 male, mean age: $65.2{\pm}2.5$ years) and forty young patients (30 female, 10 male, mean age: $23.3{\pm}2.6$ years) clinically diagnosed with TMD were screened. Patient records were analyzed regarding: pain on chief complain, amount of range of mouth opening, TMJ noises(clicking sounds, crepitus), pain on palpation of the TMJ and masticatory muscles and neck and upper back muscles. Differences between the groups were assessed using t-test and the chi-squared test. (SPSS v.17) P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Geriatric subjects more often exhibited crepitus on mouth opening (25%), muscular palpation pain of masseter muscles (82.5%) and temporal muscles(60%). In contrast, young subjects more frequently exhibited joint sounds (62.5%), more amount of range of passive mouth opening (p=0.043). It was found that the younger subjects (82.5%) and the older subjects (87.5%) suffered from subjective sign (orofacial pain on chief complain). There were not statistically significant relationships between orofacial pain (VAS) and the groups. Differences between the groups with respect to joint sounds, muscular palpation pain and mandibular range of motion were significant. Although older subjects more frequently exhibited objective signs (crepitus on opening, pain on muscular palpation) of TMD, younger subjects more frequently objective signs (clicking sound on mouth opening, amount of mandibular range of motion).

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.113-119
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• 2007

This study attempts to find factors contributing to the use pattern of prosthetics by investigating the current condition of prosthetics for the aged of over 65 years old by place of practice. Among those of over 65 years old who live in Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, Seongbuk-gu, and Gwanak-gu of Seoul and use the apartment senior's center, those having prosthetics were selected as subjects of this study, and this study was conducted in forms of interview and record. Findings of this study are summarized as follows: First, in regard of the state of prosthetics and relevant symptoms in the mouth according to the place of prosthetics practice, there was significant difference in the questions except the medical benefit of prosthetics between unlicensed facilities and dental clinics and hospitals. Second, regarding difference in satisfaction according to the place of prosthetics practice, dental clinics and hospitals showed a higher level of aesthetic satisfaction than unlicensed facilities. For difference in satisfaction at pronunciation, chewing, pain, a sense of foreign body, and holding power, dental clinics and hospitals showed a higher level than unlicensed facilities, Third, after factor analysis on the perception factors of unlicensed treatment and dental treatment, unlicensed facilities showed the highest level of reliability, and then convenience, word of mouth, and modernity in order. Dental clinics and hospitals also showed the highest level of reliability, however, and then convenience, modernity, and word of mouth in order. Fourth, as a consequence of analyzing the factors to influence the use pattern of prosthetics, regarding residential pattern, there were higher possibilities to use dental clinics and hospitals when the subjects lived together with their children and in Gangnam, and the more were the number of pyeong for the residence, pocket money, medical expense, and property in their name, compared to unlicensed facilities. In conclusion, economic factors appear to be the most important factors in selecting facilities for denture prosthodontics. Therefore, it is important to ensure the denture prosthodontics for the elderly are reimbursable so that they can enjoy a healthier life.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.280-294
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of social capital characteristics, socio-demographic characteristics, physical condition, and health behavior characteristics on health-related quality of life of the elderly in Korea. Methods: T-test, one-way ANOVA, and regression analysis were performed by applying a complex sample design to 57.787 people aged 65 and over using the 2019 Community Health Survey. Results: First, as a result of complex-sample T-test and ANOVA analysis, it was found that there were differences in health-related quality of life according to social capital characteristics, physical condition & health behavior characteristics, and socio-demographic characteristics. Complex Sample Regression Analysis Results, the explanatory power of the model was 28%. When living in the metropolitan area, living in an apartment building, having a spouse, having a higher household income, economic activity, higher educational attainment, increase sleeping time, walking time, frequent binge drinking, health checkup, networking, trust, and social participation showed higher health-related quality of life. When people were older, their gender was female, higher BMI, number of chronic diseases, and severe stress that showed lower health-related quality of life. Conclusions: It was proved that the factors affecting the health-related quality of life of the elderly are not only physical condition and health behavior factors, but also social capital and socio-demographic characteristics. It was found that the role as a member was important.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.57-68
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a short-term group multimodal intervention program that mixes physical activity, cognitive motion, and social interaction, on the cognitive function and depression level of healthy over 75-year-old individuals. Method: This study used a one group pre-test-post-test design, and intervention was made for 70 minutes per session, once a week, for four sessions in total. To compare changes in cognitive function, depression level and physical function before and after intervention, this study used the Mini-Mental State Examination-Dementia Screening (MMSE-DS), Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Result: After applying group multimodal interventions to healthy over 75-year-old individuals, there was a statistically significant improvement in their cognitive function (p < 0.01), and there was a statistically significant decrease in their depression level (p < 0.05). Also, there was an increase in the rating score of the degree of balance from $46.83{\pm}9.11$ points before the intervention, to $48.08{\pm}7.00$ points after the intervention; however, it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Short-term group multimodal intervention that mixes physical activity, cognitive motion, and social interaction had a significant effect on slowing down the deterioration of cognitive function in healthy over 75 year-old individuals, and decreased their depression level. This study is significant in that it presents a foundation for providing more systematic intervention for the prevention of dementia and depression in the healthy older individuals. Follow-up studies should verify the result through research on the effects of an occupational therapist's professional treatment, and experimental group-control research.