BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: With the rapid increase in the number of elderly people in Korea, multiple socio-economic problems have emerged. In 2015, 6.4 million people accounting for about 13% of the total population in Korea were aged 65 years and over. As the elderly population continues to grow, the elderly who live alone are also increasing. They have potential risks in medical and neuropsychological aspects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between cognition and socio-environmental status in the elderly who live alone. METHODS: This study was conducted on 512 people who live alone (equivalent to 1% of the total elderly people) in Daejeon Metropolitan City between April and November 2015. Structured questionnaires were used to investigate the general characteristics, socio-economic status, physical status, and mood for participants. Simple tests using Mini-Mental Status Examination-Demetia Screening, Geriatric Depression Scale and Korean-instrumental activities of daily living were also performed. RESULTS: Among the 512 participants, 109 participants (21.3%) had cognitive impairment, and 128 participants (25.0%) had depression. The number of daily meals, frequency of meeting with family, and depression were independent risk factors for cognitive impairment. Factors including the duration of living alone, cognitive impairment, poor self-perceived health status, frequency of meeting with family and duration of education were considered an independent risk factor for depression. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the elderly who live alone are susceptible to cognitive impairment and depression, and factors including the number of daily meals, social contact, and self-perceived health status may affect cognition and depressive mood. Thus, physicians need to pay attention to management of major factors that may cause cognition impairment and depression in the elderly who live alone; in addition, they require ongoing community interest and support.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged* ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders* ; Depression* ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Meals ; Risk Factors

Arteries ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Bone Marrow ; Fragaria ; Gingivitis ; Glomerulonephritis ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Maxilla ; Osteonecrosis ; Respiratory System ; Surgery, Oral ; Tooth ; Toothache ; Ulcer ; Vasculitis ; Veins ; Wegener Granulomatosis

Acute abdominal pain as a common complaint in elderly patients may differ from that in younger patients. In elderly patients, the diagnostic accuracy of acute abdominal pain is lower compared to that in younger patients. On the other hand, the mortality in elderly patients with acute abdominal pain is far higher than that in the younger patients. Therefore, early and correct diagnosis of acute abdominal pain for the elderly patients could significantly influence the outcome. In this report, we describe a case of a 84-year-old man with a ruptured small bowel gastrointestinal stromal tumor who presented at the Emergency Department with acute abdominal pain. Laparotomy was performed because perforation of a tumor in the jejunum was found by computed tomography. Diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Therefore, small bowel disease should be considered when exploring the cause of acute abdominal pain in elderly patients.
Abdominal Pain* ; Aged* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* ; Hand ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Jejunum ; Laparotomy ; Mortality

OBJECTIVE: Compared to elderly men, elderly women have substantially reduced performance of postural balance and greater risk of falls. To investigate the effect of age and sex on electromyographic (EMG) reaction time of tibialis anterior muscle contraction. METHOD: Fifty-nine elderly subjects and 29 young subjects participated in this study. Subjects were instructed to dorsiflex the ankle of the dominant leg as forcefully and quickly as possible in response to audible beeps. EMG activity was recorded over the tibialis anterior muscle and delays in initiation and termination of EMG signal were measured by two examiners. Mean and intrasubject variability of each delay were used as outcome measures. RESULTS: Both the intra-examiner and inter-examiner reliability of delay variables were above 0.97. Delays in initiation and termination of muscle contraction, as well as their intrasubject variability, were significantly greater in the elderly (p<0.01). However, there were no sex differences or interaction in all outcome measures. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the EMG reaction time and their variability increase in the elderly population with no sex difference.
Aged ; Animals ; Ankle ; Electromyography ; Female ; Humans ; Leg ; Male ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscles ; Oxazoles ; Postural Balance ; Reaction Time ; Sex Characteristics