OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effects of the social engagement (size of the social networks, social support, social conflict) by relationship types (spouse, family and kin, and neighbor and friends) on the cognitive functions of older adults in rural communities. METHODS: The participants of this study were normal older adults who participated in the first wave of the Korean Social Life, Health and Aging Project. Five hundred two older adults (men 218, women 284) aged 60 and over (mean age=71.44±6.81) participated. We analyzed the effects of different types of social engagement on Mini-Mental State Examination for Dementia Screening (MMSE-DS) performance using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The result showed that, after controlling for the education level and age, the social support from the spouse, the conflict with neighbors or friends, the number of neighbors or friends significantly predicted MMSE-DS scores. These three variables accounted for additional 5.2% of the total variance of MMSE-DS. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that social engagement (network size, support, conflict) is associated with cognitive function among older adults. However, social engagement in different types of social relationship may contribute differently to cognitive function of older adults.
Adult* ; Aging ; Cognition ; Cognitive Aging ; Cognitive Reserve ; Dementia ; Education ; Female ; Friends ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Rural Population ; Spouses

The purpose of this study is to compare menu patterns by sex and age (3-6, 7-12, 13-19, 20-29, 30-49, 50-64, 65 over years old) between the 1998 and 2001 National Health and Nutrition Surveys of Korea. Frequently consumed menu patterns were investigated using the 24-hour recall data for 19,809 subjects (1998:10,102; 2001:9,707). To analyze patterns, dishes were classified into 29 categories by cooking method (KHIDI 2003). The results are as follows: the most frequent menu patterns were "rice + soup + kimchi" and "rice + stew + kimchi" in both men and women in both 1998 and 2001. Intake frequency of these menu patterns, a traditional Korean menu pattern, was higher with increased age. Intake frequency of "noodles" and "bread" increased in 2001 in both men and women, compared to 1998. And these patterns increased in the younger age groups, especially women in their twenties. Menu patterns of 2001 showed greater variety than those of 1998. Overall, the men's menu patterns showed more side dishes than those of women; intake frequencies of "seasoned vegetables", "stir-fried foods", and "grilled foods" were higher in men than in women. In short, so far the main menu pattern has been "rice-style" in both men and women, and in all age groups in Korea, whereas the Western menu pattern is increasing in younger age groups. The diet of 2001 showed more side dishes than that of the 1998 menu pattern; however, certain groups such as female and males in adolescents and young adults were still a simple menu pattern. Consequently, to make recommended menu patterns and nutrition education programs for Koreans should take into consideration sex and age.
Adolescent ; Cooking ; Diet ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Young Adult

The objectives of this study were to investigate the current status of the Korean government-funded meal support program for low-income children through convenience stores and to evaluate the nutritional quality of the meal items available under the program. The POS data of three convenient stores where children had used their electronic meal cards most often in Seoul during January 2010 and the kinds and amounts of ingredients of the meals items available to the children were obtained from the headquarter of the convenient stores. A total of 5,081 transactions by 693 children included in the POS data was analyzed. In addition, nutritional contents of meal items, which were meal boxes (11 kinds), kimbab (13 kinds), rice balls (27 kinds), inari sushi (1 kind), and sandwiches (26 kinds), were analyzed with Can Pro 3.0. The results showed that children had purchased flavored-milk products most often. Children tended to purchase meal items together with drinks (60.9% of transactions), but some purchased drinks (27.6%) or meal items only (11.5%). Except for meal boxes, none of the meal items satisfied 1/3 of Estimated Energy Requirements of the 9-11 year-old boys per day. The average energy contents of different kinds of meal boxes, kimbabs, rice balls, and sandwiches were 619, 357, 200, and 380 kcal, respectively, and the energy content of a package of Inari sushi was 457 kcal. Vitamin C amount was found to be deficient in all the meal items, compared to 1/3 of Recommended Intake of the 9-11 year-old boys per day. The results of this study could be useful to develop nutritionally appropriate meal items for the convenient stores participating in the government-funded meal support program for children from low-income families.
Ascorbic Acid ; Child ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Humans ; Meals ; Nutritive Value

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between sella turcica morphology and delayed dental age. In total, 389 participants under 16 years old were selected. Dental age was evaluated by the Demirjian method and age discrepancy (AD), the value subtracted from dental age to chronological age, was calculated. The participants were divided into 8 groups based on the sella turcica type. Bridging ratio (BR) was defined as interclinoid distance divided by sella turcica length to determine the degree of sella turcica bridging (STB) and the participants were classified into 4 groups by BR. The data were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis test and the Mann Whitney test. Some groups with sella turcica abnormality showed lower AD than that of the normal group and the AD differences varied from 4 months to 1.3 year. As the STB severity increased, AD decreased. AD differences varied from 7 months to 1.19 year. No distinct differences were observed in sella turcica type and STB groups according to sex. The results indicate that sella turcica morphology is associated with delayed dental age. Sella turcica can be used as a supplementary indicator to predict dental development.

In Korea, children aged 5 to 11 have been vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from March 2022. Due to this age group not being at a high risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, each major country has different, circumstance dependent, immunization policies for children. In this review, the COVID-19 vaccination policies for 5–11 years old children in major countries were reviewed and considerations were presented for Korea, where children 5–11 years old are starting to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Purpose: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the content and effect of using Korean mobile apps for mental health care as reported in previous studies. Methods: We conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. Randomized controlled trials published up to May 2021 were searched in the PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, RISS, KISS, and KoreaMed databases. We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool version 2 for randomized trials to evaluate the selected studies. Results: Out of 3,374 articles retrieved, 12 were selected. These studies included people with mental disorders (mood disorder, panic disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder), psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, attention deficit, etc.), and people in specific groups (college students or nurses). The apps were based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, cognitive training, well-being cognition technique, or relaxation techniques. The apps were effective in reducing depression, anxiety, panic attacks, attention deficit, negative emotions, and dysfunctional attitudes, and boosting memory and positive emotions. Conclusion Mobile apps with well-established, theory-based content can serve as an effective intervention for managing several mental health symptoms. However, the scope of the research subjects and symptoms in Korea remains limited. Further studies with more varied populations and symptoms are required.

Purpose: Hyperdontia is a developmental disorder of the oral cavity. Mesiodens refers to the hyperdontia located between the maxillary central incisors. During the surgical procedure, the anesthetic method for pain control should be considered along with factors related to the surgery itself. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the impacted position of the mesiodens on the selection of sedation method and to suggest incisive foramen as a brief reference. Materials and Methods: This study included 126 patients who were scheduled for extraction of mesiodens. The selection criteria included patients with one palatally impacted inverted mesiodens accessible from the palatal gingival margin, and those with good cooperation potential in order to control for clinical information. Using cone beam computed tomography, vertical, horizontal, and palatal positional factors were measured, and the anesthetic method was determined by two examiners. The patients were grouped into vertical and horizontal groups based on the position of the incisive foramen. Data were statistically analyzed using the Mann–Whitney test, the chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis.Result: All positional factors differed between the outpatient and inpatient anesthetic groups. The vertical minimum distance from the alveolar ridge to the mesiodens (Va) and the minimum distance from the palatal surface to the crown tip of the mesiodens (Tc) were factors affecting the choice of anesthetic method. The distribution of the vertical and horizontal positional groups differed between the outpatient and inpatient anesthetic groups. Conclusion The incisive foramen can be used as a brief reference to determine the appropriate anesthetic method.Referral for inpatient anesthesia may be a priority if they are in the V 2 H 2 group with Va ≥5 mm, and Tc ≥6 mm, and outpatient sedation may be considered if they are in the V 1 H 1 group with Va ≤1.5 mm, and Tc ≤2.5 mm.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine premenstrual symptoms (PMS) of shift nurses and identify the association between PMS, sleep, and occupational stress. Methods: This study was conducted with a secondary data analysis that used data from the Shift Work Nurse’s Health and Turnover study. The participants were 258 nurses who were working in shifts including night shifts. PMS, sleep patterns (sleep time and sleep time variability), sleep quality, and the occupational stress of each participant were measured using the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, a sleep diary, an actigraph, the Insomnia Severity Index, and the Korean Occupational Stress Scale, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23 and STATA 15.1 to obtain descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, multiple linear regression with generalized estimating equations (GEE) and Baron and Kenny’s mediating analysis. Results: The average PMS score, average sleep time, average sleep time variability, average sleep quality score, and average occupational stress score of the participants was 53.95 ± 40.45, 7.52 ± 0.89 hours, 32.84 ± 8.43%, 12.34 ± 5.95, and 49.89 ± 8.98, respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis with GEE indicated that sleep time variability (B = 0.86, p = .001), and sleep quality (B = 2.36, p < .001) had negative effects on nurses’ PMS. We also found that sleep quality had a complete mediating effect in the relationship between occupational stress and PMS. Conclusion These findings indicate that both sleep time variability and sleep quality are important factors associated with PMS among shift work nurses. To improve shift nurses’ PMS status, strategies are urgently needed to decrease sleep time variability and increase sleep quality.

PURPOSE: In addition to dental education, a system for the evaluation and management of dental licensing and certification is required to meet the growing societal demand for more competent dentists. In this study, the Delphi technique was used to gather opinions from a variety of professionals on the problems of and remedies for the dental license management system in Korea. METHODS: Delphi surveys were conducted from April 2016 to October 2016 in South Korea. A variety of dental professionals were included and categorized into 3 groups according to their expertise as follows: the basic dentistry group, the clinical dentistry group, and the policy group. The Delphi technique was conducted in 3 rounds of e-mail surveys, each with different questions that probed with increasing depth on the dental license management system. In each successive round, the responses were categorized, scored on a Likert scale, and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: After categorizing the results of the first survey and ranking the results of the second survey using the Delphi technique, regulation by a licensing authority was found to be the most critical issue. This was followed by the license renewal system, continuing education, a tiered licensure system, improvement of foreign license approval, and utilization of retirees, in decreasing order of importance. The third Delphi survey showed a similar ranking, with regulation by a licensing authority being the major concern. Opinions regarding the dental license management system were provided as open-ended responses. The responses of the 3 groups showed statistically significant differences in the scores for the issue of regulation by a licensing authority. After re-grouping into the dentistry group and the policy group, the issue received a significantly higher score in the dentistry group. CONCLUSION: The quality of dental treatment should be managed to protect patients and dental professionals. For this purpose, the establishment of an independent license regulation authority along with legislative changes is required.
Certification ; Delphi Technique* ; Dentistry ; Dentists ; Education, Continuing ; Education, Dental ; Electronic Mail ; Humans ; Korea* ; Licensure* ; Licensure, Dental ; Quality Control

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility of using digital pictures to assess individuals' nutrient intakes from school lunch. The subjects for the study were 29 male students and 40 female students from two classes in a middle school located in Daejeon Metropolitan City, Korea. The school lunch service was self-operated and the students were allowed to portion the foods by themselves. The teacher in charge of each class took digital pictures of every student's lunch plate that was tagged with an i.d. number, before and after eating for two consecutive days. The researchers estimated the amount of food, which an individual actually consumed by comparing pre- and post-pictures of their plate with reference food pictures for better visual estimation of the food amounts. Individual energy and nutrient intakes were calculated using CAN-Pro (ver 3.0) using the food intake data visually estimated from the digital pictures and school lunch recipes. The teachers in charge reported that about 10~15 additional minutes were needed to take the pictures used for the study and this additional time did not place much burden on the service process during the lunch period. The results showed that the students' actual energy and nutrient intakes from the same school lunch menus were quite varied as the serving portions were not regulated and left-overs were not prohibited. This pilot study suggests that examination of individual nutrient intake using digital picture is a feasible method in the context of school lunch service.
Eating ; Fees and Charges ; Female ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Korea ; Lunch ; Male ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Pilot Projects