OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to develop the evaluating scale of adherence to guideline 2.0 for suicide reporting declared by Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Suicide Prevention Center. METHODS: Four hundred and fifty one subjects who work in suicide prevention center or mental health center across the country participated in survey. They responded to 20 items after reading media report regarding suicide episode. Two hundred and twenty six cases of recruited data were analyzed. Reliability and validity were assessed by Chronbach-α and exploratory factor analysis. Then, confirmatory factor analysis based on another 225 data was conducted. RESULTS: The Results of exploratory factor analysis shows three factor structures. The validity of previous three factor structure based on confirmatory factor analysis was appropriate and the three factor structure consisted of 10 questionnaires with three subconcepts such as ‘glorification’, ‘lasciviousness’, and ‘providing information’. CONCLUSION: Three factor structures in the scale on media reports regarding as suicide is appropriate and this scale will contribute to evaluating suicide report on media.
Korea ; Mental Health ; Reproducibility of Results ; Suicide*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

OBJECTIVES: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in the elderly is related to cognitive dysfunction. We aimed to analyze the difference in the neurocognitive function between the elderly groups with and without EDS and examine the correlation between sleep parameters and the neurocognitive function in the elderly with EDS. METHODS: Thirty seven subjects who visited Kangwon National University Hospital were recruited. We excluded those who had abnormalities in laboratory examination or chronic systemic diseases. For each subject, a neuropsychological battery in the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) Assessment Packet was applied. Nocturnal polysomnographies were conducted in 16 subjects with EDS. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the neurocognitive function between EDS positive and EDS negative groups. In the EDS positive group, the amount of stage 1 sleep negatively correlated with scores on Boston naming test, word list memory and Stroop interference, respectively (r=-0.611, -0.583, -0.611). Also, REM sleep amount positively cor-related with scores of word list recognition (r=0.568), and limb movement index negatively correlated with scores of word list memory (r=-0.523). CONCLUSION: The poor sleep quality was associated with impaired language, memory and executive functions. Also, increased limb movements were associated with the memory decline.
Aged* ; Alzheimer Disease ; Executive Function ; Extremities ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Memory ; Polysomnography ; Sleep, REM

We investigated the association between the oxidative stress and the concentration of heavy metals in blood among welders. The study subjects were male manual CO2 welders(N=127) exposed to several heavy metals. The age distribution was from 20 to 63 (GM=33.7) and the geometric mean(GM) of work duration was 4.2 years. We analyze the level of blood lead, cadmium, managese and chromium which was related with the oxidative stress in the animal studies. Blood selenuim, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), plasma alpha-tocopheol and orythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) were analyzed as biological markers of the oxidative stress. The results of univariate analysis showed that the plasma MDA was significantly correlated with D-tocopherol (r=0.327) and blood selenium (r=0.313) concentration. But we could not find out any relationship between the erythrocyte SOD activities and those metal concentrations. Neither smoking nor alcohol consumption was related to the level of heavy metals and the oxidative stress biomarkers. As the results of multiple regression analysis with stepwise selection method, 1) the change of MDA level were dependant with the level of alpha-tocopherol and blood selenium concentration (R2=19.7), 2) the plasma alpha-tocopherol level was dependant with MDA and blood chromium concentration (R2=15.6), 3) in case of erythrocyte SOD activity, only the duration of work was significantly selected.
Age Distribution ; Alcohol Drinking ; alpha-Tocopherol* ; Animals ; Biological Markers ; Cadmium ; Chromium ; Erythrocytes* ; Humans ; Male ; Malondialdehyde* ; Metals, Heavy* ; Oxidative Stress ; Plasma* ; Selenium ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Superoxide Dismutase* ; Superoxides*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects and safety of a sleep aid for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-eight patients were prospectively assigned to either the zolpidem group (multimodal analgesia+zolpidem; 39 patients) or the control group (multimodal analgesia; 39 patients). Self-rated pain levels were assessed twice a day using a visual analog scale (VAS). The need for additional rescue analgesic, duration of functional recovery, and adverse effects were assessed for the first 5 days after surgery. RESULTS: The mean number of times that additional rescue analgesic was required during 5 days after surgery was 2.1+/-2.0 in the zolpidem group and 3.3+/-2.8 in the control group, a significant difference. There were no significant differences between the two groups in mean VAS pain scores during the first 5 days after surgery, although the zolpidem group had lower VAS pain scores than the control group. Additionally, there were no significant differences in duration of functional recovery and adverse effects between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The use of zolpidem for analgesia after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair provided a significant reduction in the need for rescue analgesic without increasing adverse effects. Nevertheless, mean VAS pain scores during the first 5 days after surgery did not differ between the zolpidem group and the control group.
Adult ; Analgesia/*methods ; Analgesics/*therapeutic use ; Arthroscopy/*adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain Management ; Pain Measurement ; Pain, Postoperative/drug therapy/etiology/*prevention & control ; Postoperative Period ; Prospective Studies ; Pyridines/*therapeutic use ; Rotator Cuff/injuries/*surgery ; Sleep/drug effects ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Analog Scale

OBJECTIVES: Thyroid hormone deficiency during the neurodevelopmental period can impair brain development and induce psychiatric symptoms. This study examined the association between thyroid dysfunction and the severity of symptoms in schizophrenia patients, and the treatment response of patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Three hundred thirty-eight schizophrenia patients, with no prior history of thyroid disease or taking medication associated with it, were studied. We assessed the blood thyroid hormone level, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores on the day of admission and discharge, admission period, dose of administered antipsychotics, and the number of antipsychotic combinations. The collected data were subsequently analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Pearson's chi-square test. RESULTS: The percentage of schizophrenia patients who presented with abnormal thyroid hormone level was 24.6%. High total triiodothyronine (TT3) (p = 0.003), low TT3 (p = 0.001), and high free thyroxine (fT4) (p < 0.001) groups showed a higher BPRS score on admission than did the normal thyroid hormone group, while thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were not significantly correlated with the severity of symptoms. Furthermore, thyroid hormone was not associated with the treatment response assessed by the rate of BPRS score reduction, admission days, use of clozapine, and dose of antipsychotics. CONCLUSIONS: The TT3 and fT4 hormone levels were significantly associated with the severity of symptoms in schizophrenia patients. These relations suggested that thyroid dysfunction may be associated with the severity of schizophrenia. And hence, further analysis of the results of the thyroid function test, which is commonly used in cases of psychiatric admission, is required.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Brain ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Clozapine ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Schizophrenia ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Hormones ; Thyrotropin ; Thyroxine ; Triiodothyronine

This study was started to find out if plasma malondialdehyde(MDA), alpha-tocopherol and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity could be markers of biological activity resulting from exposed to lead in workers. Blood samples were randomly obtained from lead -exposed workers(n=29), CO2 welders(n=60) and office workers(n=60). We used whole blood to analyse blood lead with atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Superoxide dismutase activity in erythrocyte was measured with spetrophotometer. MDA and alpha-tocopherol in plasma were measured with high performance liquid chromatography. Lead-exposed workers was significantly high in blood lead concentration(29.37 ng/dl) compared with welders(6.42 ng/dl) and office workers(5.01 ng/dl). The level of plasma MDA was significantly higher in the lead-exposed workers(1.87 nmol/g cholesterol) than the welders(1.41 nmol/g cholesterol) and office workers(1.41 nmol/g cholesterol). Erythrocyte SOD activity in lead-exposed workers(56.80 U/g Hb) was significantly increased than those of welders(37.63 U/g Hb) and office workers(20.47 U/g Hb). The plasma alpha-tocopherol level of lead-exposed workers(4.93 ng/g cholesterol) was statistically different from welders(4.25 ng/g cholesterol) and office workers(4.28 ng/g cholesterol). Neither age nor smoking was related to SOD or MDA level. Blood lead was significantly correlated with erythrocyte SOD activity(r=0.405), plasma MDA(r=0.296) and alpha-tocopherol(r=0.207). Plasma MDA was also significantly correlated with SOD (r=0.217). In multiple regression analysis, the change of MDA and SOD activity level related to the blood lead concentration. These results suggested that the increase of plasma MDA and erythrocyte SOD activity in lead-exposed workers had a close relationship with the oxidative stress induced by lead.
Absorption ; alpha-Tocopherol ; Antioxidants* ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Erythrocytes ; Lipid Peroxidation* ; Oxidative Stress ; Plasma ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Superoxides

BACKGROUND: The plasma B-type natriuretic peptide(BNP) concentration increases with the degree of pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic respiratory disease. The aim of this study was to examine the prognostic role of BNP in the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). METHOD: We selected 67 patients who were admitted our hospital because of an acute exacerbation of COPD. Their BNP levels were checked on admission at the Emergency Department. Their medical records were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to their in-hospital mortality. The patients' medical history, comobidity, exacerbation type, blood gas analysis, pulmonary function, APACHE II severity score and plasma BNP level were compared. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis identified three independent predictors of mortality: FEV1, APACHE II score and plasma BNP level. The decedents group showed a lower FEV1(28+/-7 vs. 37+/-15%, p=0.005), a higher APACHE II score(22.4+/-6.1 vs. 15.8+/-4.7, p=0.000) and a higher BNP level (201+/-116 vs. 77+/-80pg/mL, p=0.000) than the sSurvivors group. When the BNP cut-off level was set to 88pg/mL using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the sensitivity was 90% and the specificity was 75% in differentiating between the survivors and decedents. On Fisher's exact test, the odds ratio for mortality was 21.2 (95% CI 2.49 to 180.4) in the patients with a BNP level > 88pg/mL. CONCLUSION: The plasma BNP level might be a predictor of mortality in an acute exacerbation of COPD as well as the FEV1 and APACHE II score.
APACHE ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain* ; Odds Ratio ; Plasma ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Survivors

Coxiella burnetii is the etiological agent of Q fever, that may occur either acutely or the chronically. To understand the seroepidemiological patterns of C. burnetii infection in Korea, we examined a total of 3,178 sera from patients with acute febrile episodes by using indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for detectable antibodies to C. burnetii and other eight rickettsial antigens. The IFA seropositivity>or=1:20 for C. burnetii phase II was 11.5% (368 out of 3,178 sera). The co-existence of antibodies to other rickettsial antigens was found in 216 out of the 368 positive sera. Thirty-seven point five percent (n=138) had antibodies to R. tsutsugamushi (cutoff>or=1:20), 16% (n=59) to Ehrlichia sennetsu, 14.9% (n=55) to Rickettsia typhi, 13.5% (n=50) to R. akari, 11.4% (n=42) to R. japonica, 8.9% (n=33) to R. prowazekii, 7.6% (n=28) to R. sibirica, and 6.7% (n=25) to R. conorii by IFA, respectively. These results are consistent with previous reports documenting diverse serum cross-reactivity in chronic Q fever. Therefore we excluded the samples that reacted to other rickettsial antigens at same or higher titers than to C. burnetii, resulting in the seropositive rate of 4.1%. The serological prevalence was 2% (n=64) when the conventional cut-off titer of 1:80 was used. Our results suggest that infections with C. burnetii are more prevalent than expected previously and should be differentially diagnosised for febrile illness occurring after exposure to ticks or other vectors.
Antibodies ; Coxiella burnetii* ; Coxiella* ; Diagnosis ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Humans ; Korea ; Neorickettsia sennetsu ; Prevalence ; Q Fever ; Rickettsia ; Rickettsia typhi ; Seroepidemiologic Studies* ; Ticks