Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a combined biofeedback and brief emotion regulation (C-BABER) program for sexually abused adolescents. Methods: This study employed a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants included 26 sexually abused adolescents from eight Sunflower Centers of South Korea–with 13 in the experimental group and 13 in the control group. The experimental group received four sessions of the individual C-BABER program, each lasting 60 minutes. Results: Compared with the control group, sexually abused adolescents in the experimental group exhibited significant score differences in traumatic symptoms, including depression (Z = - 2.24, p = .025), dissociation (Z = - 2.21, p = .027), anxiety (Z = - 2.02, p = .044), and posttraumatic stress (Z = - 2.01 p = .045); and impulsivity, including positive urgency (Z = - 3.35, p = .001) and negative urgency (Z = - 2.28, v = .023). Additionally, the experimental group exhibited significant score differences in meta-mood, including emotional attention (Z = - 2.45, p = .014), emotional clarity (Z = - 2.30, p = .021), and emotional repair (Z = - 2.28, p = .022); and emotional regulation modes, including emotional suppression (Z = - 2.65,p = .008) and cognitive reappraisal (Z = - 1.98, p = .047). Regarding bio-attention, significant changes were identified in the experimental group for the bio-attention rate and attention maintenance time in the posttest compared to the pretest (p = .001). Conclusion The C-BABER program for sexually abused adolescents is effective in decreasing traumatic symptoms and impulsivity, and in improving meta-mood, emotional regulation mode, and bio-attention. Therefore, we recommend providing sexually abused adolescents the C-BABER program to help them regulate their emotions and effectively adapt to their lives.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to develop a Cancer Patient Guide with patients involvement using evidenced based practice research. The purpose of this patient guide was to help patients undergoing chemotherapy to manage their nausea and vomiting based on evidence. METHODS: The design of the research was a methodological study. The participants consisted of seven cancer patients who were asked about their' need for nausea and vomiting management, and secondly, 16 expert & 15 cancer patients to evaluate the Cancer Patient Guide using the DESCERN tool. RESULTS: 1) Sixty-four relevant research evidences based articles were reviewed. 2) Patients were interviewed as to their needs in controlling nausea and vomiting. 3) The preliminary Cancer Patient Guide utilizing the research evidenced and the cancer patients interviews was then evaluated and revised by the experts and cancer patients. Lastly, the Cancer Patient which included an overview of chemotherapy, pathophysiology of nausea & vomiting, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions was finalized with each intervention supported by research evidence and patients' narratives of their experience. CONCLUSION: The Cancer Patient Guide was developed using evidenced based research and cancer patients in-put and be used to improve patients' self-management skill of nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy. The guide t also provides evidence based patient friendly information and contributes as a baseline data for developing and evaluating evidence-based guide for patients.
Humans ; Nausea ; Self Care ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of oral health education on oral health knowledge, oral health behavior, and oral hygiene status of children from North Korea. METHODS: Participants were 32 North Korean children defectors (15 in the education group, 17 in the control group). The oral health education program, including theoretical training and toothbrush training, was done once a week for 4 weeks. Effects of the education program were assessed for oral health knowledge, oral health behavior, and oral hygiene status at pretest, 0, and 4 weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANCOVA with the SAS program. RESULTS: Children in the education group showed increased oral health knowledge and behavior over time compared to the control group and an improvement in oral hygiene status including significantly decreased S-PHP and Snyder test for oral micro-organism. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that oral health education is effective in improving oral health knowledge, oral health behavior and oral hygiene status. These improvements could lead to a better quality of life for North Korean children defectors.
Child* ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea* ; Education* ; Health Behavior ; Health Education ; Humans ; Oral Health* ; Oral Hygiene* ; Quality of Life

This study was aimed to map the 1 kb cis-acting DNA of ephA8 gene, which regulates the spatial and temporal expression in the anterior mesencephalon. It was demonstrated that the 1 kb ephA8 enhancer DNA was sufficient to drive the lacZ expression to the anterior mesencephalon under the human beta-globin minimal promoter. It was also found that a 180 bp within the 1 kb enhancer DNA was highly conserved between human and mouse, and that this 180 bp DNA was capable of inducing the lacZ expression in the anterior mesencephalon under the ephA8 or human beta-globin basal promoter. Further analysis using 5'-55 bp deleted or 3'-55 bp deleted mutant DNA revealed that the 55 bp portion present at the 3'-end of 180 bp DNA was critical for the regulation of ephA8 gene expression in the anterior mesencephalon. Taken together, these results indicate that 180 bp ephA8 enhancer DNA contains cisacting elements for the regulation of ephA8 gene expression in the anterior mesencephalon.
Animals ; beta-Globins ; DNA ; Gene Expression* ; Humans ; Mesencephalon* ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic

The Eph family is thought to exert its function through the complementary expression of receptors and ligands. The dorsal mesencephalon appears to be segmented into two broad regions demarcated by the mutually exclusive expression of EphA receptors and ephrinA ligands. In this study, we analyzed transgenic embryos expressing ephrinA2 in the anterior region of the developing midbrain where the EphA8 receptor is expressed. First, 1% of transgenic embryos showed cephalic neural tube closure defects. Second, it was confirmed that mis-expression of ephrin-A2 in the anterior mesencephalon induced an increase in the EphA8 tyrosine kinase activity. Accordingly, an increased MAPK activity was also detected in the anterior mesencephalon of E14.5 transgenic embryo. Third, cell adhesion assay revealed that mis-expression of ephrinA2 promoted cell attachment to fibronectin. Taken together, these findings suggest that co-expression of EphA receptors and ephrinA ligands significantly alter cell behaviors including cell adhesion.
Animals ; Cell Adhesion ; Diencephalon* ; Embryonic Structures ; Ephrin-A2 ; Fibronectins ; Humans ; Ligands ; Mesencephalon* ; Mice* ; Mice, Transgenic ; Neural Tube ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Receptor, EphA8 ; Receptors, Eph Family

OBJECTIVES: A common problem with analyzing survey data involves incomplete data with either a nonresponse or missing data. The mail questionnaire survey conducted for collecting lifestyle variables on the members of the Korean Elderly Phamacoepidemiologic Cohort(KEPEC) in 1996 contains some nonresponse or missing data. The proper statistical method was applied to evaluate the missing pattern of a specific KEPEC data, which had no missing data in the independent variable and missing data in the response variable, BMI. METHODS: The number of study subjects was 8,689 elderly people. Initially, the BMI and significant variables that influenced the BMI were categorized. After fitting the log-linear model, the probabilities of the people on each category were estimated. The EM algorithm was implemented using a log-linear model to determine the missing mechanism causing the nonresponse. RESULTS: Age, smoking status, and a preference of spicy hot food were chosen as variables that influenced the BMI. As a result of fitting the nonignorable and ignorable nonresponse log-linear model considering these variables, the difference in the deviance in these two models was 0.0034(df=1). CONCLUSION: There is a lot of risk if an inference regarding the variables and large samples is made without considering the pattern of missing data. On the basis of these results, the missing data occurring in the BMI is the ignorable nonresponse. Therefore, when analyzing the BMI in KEPEC data, the inference can be made about the data without considering the missing data.
Aged ; Body Mass Index ; Humans ; Life Style ; Linear Models ; Postal Service ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Smoke ; Smoking

PURPOSE: To evaluate the treatment outcome and prognostic factor of postoperative radiotherapy for extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty three patients with extremity STS were treated with conservative surgery and postoperative radiotherapy from January 1981 to December 2010 at Korea University Medical Center. Median total 60 Gy (range, 50 to 74.4 Gy) of radiation was delivered and 7 patients were treated with chemotherapy. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 70 months (range, 5 to 302 months). Twelve patients (27.9%) sustained relapse of their disease. Local recurrence occurred in 3 patients (7.0%) and distant metastases developed in 10 patients (23.3%). The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 69.2% and disease free survival was 67.9%. The 5-year local relapse-free survival was 90.7% and distant relapse-free survival was 73.3%. On univariate analysis, no significant prognostic factors were associated with development of local recurrence. Histologic grade (p = 0.005) and stage (p = 0.02) influenced the development of distant metastases. Histologic grade was unique significant prognostic factor for the OS on univariate and multivariate analysis. Severe acute treatment-related complications, Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) grade 3 or 4, developed in 6 patients (14.0%) and severe late complications in 2 patients (4.7%). CONCLUSION: Conservative surgery with postoperative radiotherapy achieved a satisfactory rate of local control with acceptable complication rate in extremity STS. Most failures were distant metastases that correlate with tumor grade and stage. The majority of local recurrences developed within the field. Selective dose escalation of radiotherapy or development of effective systemic treatment might be considered.
Academic Medical Centers ; Disease-Free Survival ; Extremities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Sarcoma ; Treatment Outcome

Unmet healthcare needs do not end with the phenomenon itself, but lead to possibilities of increased severity of illness. Missed opportunities for treatment at the right timing increase possibilities of complications, and affect prognosis of disease. To examine current status and trends of unmet needs in Korea, we used data from four sources: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHNES, '2007–2016); the Community Health Survey (CHS '2008–2016); the Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP '2011–2014); and the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS '2006–2016). The proportion of individual reporting unmet healthcare needs as of 2016 was 8.8% (KNHNES), 11.5% (CHS), and 12.8% (KHP, as of 2014). Annual percentage change which characterizes trend for the follow-up period was −9.9%, −3.1%, and −1.3%, respectively. The proportion of individuals reporting unmet healthcare needs due to cost was 1.8% (KNHNES), 1.5% (CHS), and 3.0% (KHP). The proportion of households reporting unmet healthcare needs due to cost was 1.0% (KOWEPS). Annual percentage change was −10.0%, −15.2%, −5.4%, and −17.5%, respectively. Low income populations had more unmet healthcare needs than high income populations. Therefore, in order to improve unmet healthcare needs, it is necessary to focus on low income populations.
Delivery of Health Care ; Family Characteristics ; Follow-Up Studies ; Health Surveys ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Population Growth ; Poverty ; Prognosis

Suicide has been a public health issue in many countries, and Korea has ranked highest suicide rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries over a decade. To address these issues, we updated the recent trends in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Korean adults followed by previous data observation. We used data from five sources: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination (KNHANES, '07–12, '13, '15–16), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, '08–09, '13), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, '12–16), Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, '10–13), and cause of death data from Statistics Korea ('07–16). We used weighted frequencies and trend tests. The rate of suicidal ideation as recent year was 5.10% (KNHANES, '15), 8.95% (KCHS, '13), 2.08% (KOWEPS, '16), and 5.39% (KHP, '13). That of suicide attempts as recent year was 0.59% (KNHANES, '16), 0.41% (KCHS, '13), and 0.08% (KOWEPS, '16). Annual percentage change of suicidal ideation was −2.80% (KNHANES, '07–12), 5.78% (KNHANES, '13–15), 0.62% (KCHS, '08–13), −8.50% (KOWEPS, '12–16), and −10.94% (KHP, '10–13). Annual percentage change of suicide attempts was −3.84% (KNHANES, '07–12), 2.26% (KNHANES, '13–16), −2.53% (KCHS, '08–13), and −20.22% (KOWEPS, '12–16). Annual percentage change of death by intentional self-harm was −0.49% (Statistics Korea, '07–16). Individuals who had lower income level were more likely to experience suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. According to these results, the rate of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts showed the decreasing tendency. However, the suicide rate of Korea has remained higher than that of OECD countries. Thus, continuous data observation and effective policies on suicide are needed.
Adult ; Cause of Death ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Korea ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Public Health ; Suicidal Ideation ; Suicide

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) and the risk of death from specific causes other than cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: We calculated the risk of specific death by SBP and DBP categories for 506 508 health examinees in 2002-2003 using hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Compared to normal levels (SBP < 120 or DBP < 90 mmHg), stage I systolic and diastolic hypertension (SBP 140-159, DBP 85- 89 mmHg, respectively) were associated with an increased risk of death from diabetes mellitus, alcoholic liver disease, and renal failure (HR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.51 to 2.22; HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.46; HR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.64 to 3.21; HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.20; HR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.41 to 2.81; HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.99 to 1.73, respectively), but a decreased risk of death from intestinal pneumonia (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.98; HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39 to 0.91). Only stage II systolic hypertension (SBP ≥160 mmHg) was associated with an increased risk of death from pneumonia, liver cirrhosis, and intestinal ischemia (HR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.98; HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.00 to 2.15; HR, 3.77; 95% CI, 1.24 to 11.40, respectively), and stage I and II diastolic hypertension (SBP 140-159 and ≥160 mmHg) were associated with an increased risk of death from intestinal ischemia (HR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.27 to 7.38; HR, 4.39; 95% CI, 1.62 to 11.88, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: An increase in blood pressure levels may alter the risk of death from certain causes other than cardiovascular diseases, a well-known outcome of hypertension, although the mechanism of these associations is not well documented.
Adult* ; Blood Pressure* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Ischemia ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; Pneumonia ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Renal Insufficiency