The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the health status as determined by a self-assessment checklist was related to the nutritional status of elderly Korean women. We interviewed 59 female subjects living in the Daegu area aged over 55 years. Information on their dietary intake on two consecutive days was collected by the 24-hour Recall Method. Their body compositions were measured using a Bio-electrical Impedence Fatness Analyzer. Their zinc status was evaluated according to their dietary zinc intake and urinary zinc excretion in urine samples collected for 24 hours. Their heath status was determined by a NSI Checklist. While 50.9% of the total subjects belonged to a moderate nutritional risk group, 23.7% of the subjects were at a high nutritional risk. It appeared that only 25.4% of the subjects were evaluated as being healthy. Therefore, the overall nutritional health status of the elderly females belonged to the moderate nutritional risk group. Except for vitamin C, the average daily nutrient intake of the subjects was below the level of the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for Koreans. The lower the nutritional health score, the better was their dietary intake of energy (p < .05), protein (p < .001), and zinc (p < .01). A positive relationship between their nutritional health score and body fat ratio was also observed (p < .05). Therefore, we suggest that the NSI Checklist could be used as a practical screening tool at the beginning of nutritional surveillance of the elderly in the community.
Adipose Tissue ; Aged* ; Ascorbic Acid ; Body Composition ; Checklist* ; Daegu ; Female ; Humans ; Mass Screening* ; Nutritional Status ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Risk Factors* ; Self-Assessment ; Zinc*

In an attempt to figure out the relationship between zinc status and taste acuity of old and young women, dietary zinc intake, urinary zinc excretion, and taste acuity were determined for 118 women. Zinc intake was measured by 2-day food records and food frequency method. Urinary zinc excretion was measured from urine samples collected for twenty four hours. Body fat, lean body mass (LBM), and total body water were measured by bio-impedence. Average dietary zinc intake by food record was 4.15+/-1.33mg (=35% if Korean RDA) for the old women and 5.41+/-2.76mg (=25% of RDA) for young women. When zinc intake was measured by a frequency method, the average intakes of the old and young women were 3.5+/-1.7mg 4.5+/-1.9mg, respectively. It appears that dietary zinc intake of young women was significantly higher than that of the old women. Average urinary zinc excretion of the subjects was 0.27+/-0.16mg in the elderly and 0.24+/-0.13mg in young women, which indicated a marginal zinc status. However, zinc status was not significantly different between old and young women. Correlation analysis indicated that zinc intake and urinary zinc excretion were positively related to BMI and LBM in young women. The old women (m=49) showed significantly higher taste detection thresholds than young subjects (n=47) for both sweet and salty tastes. Recognition thresholds for sodium chloride and sucrose were not significantly different between old and young women. The lower the taste thresholds for salty taste, the higher the average dietary zinc intake. However, taste perception concentration was not related to the urinary zinc excretion level.
Adipose Tissue ; Aged ; Body Water ; Female ; Humans ; Sodium Chloride ; Sucrose ; Taste Perception ; Taste Threshold ; Zinc*

In an attempt to figure out the relationship between zinc status and taste acuity of old and young women, dietary zinc intake, urinary zinc excretion, and taste acuity were determined for 118 women. Zinc intake was measured by 2-day food records and food frequency method. Urinary zinc excretion was measured from urine samples collected for twenty four hours. Body fat, lean body mass (LBM), and total body water were measured by bio-impedence. Average dietary zinc intake by food record was 4.15+/-1.33mg (=35% if Korean RDA) for the old women and 5.41+/-2.76mg (=25% of RDA) for young women. When zinc intake was measured by a frequency method, the average intakes of the old and young women were 3.5+/-1.7mg 4.5+/-1.9mg, respectively. It appears that dietary zinc intake of young women was significantly higher than that of the old women. Average urinary zinc excretion of the subjects was 0.27+/-0.16mg in the elderly and 0.24+/-0.13mg in young women, which indicated a marginal zinc status. However, zinc status was not significantly different between old and young women. Correlation analysis indicated that zinc intake and urinary zinc excretion were positively related to BMI and LBM in young women. The old women (m=49) showed significantly higher taste detection thresholds than young subjects (n=47) for both sweet and salty tastes. Recognition thresholds for sodium chloride and sucrose were not significantly different between old and young women. The lower the taste thresholds for salty taste, the higher the average dietary zinc intake. However, taste perception concentration was not related to the urinary zinc excretion level.
Adipose Tissue ; Aged ; Body Water ; Female ; Humans ; Sodium Chloride ; Sucrose ; Taste Perception ; Taste Threshold ; Zinc*

PURPOSE: To develop nurses' educational needs scale for woman with infertility. METHODS: A total of 201 nurses in charge of infertility health services in 4 infertility hospitals and 1 public health center were enrolled for this study. The scale was developed through literature review, in-depth interview, development of preliminary items, verification of content validity, development of secondary items, verification of construct validity, and extraction of final items. Data were analyzed using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and Cronbach's α. RESULTS: Nurses' educational needs scale for women with infertility consisted of 41 items. Three factors (education for disease and symptom of infertility, supporting and counselling for infertility patients, and education for daily life of infertile patients) explained 63.7% of the total variance. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses' educational needs scale for woman with infertility demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. Its items could be used to assess the level of educational needs for nurses in charge of infertility health services.
Education ; Female ; Health Services ; Humans ; Infertility ; Needs Assessment ; Public Health ; Reproducibility of Results

Genome-wise association studies (GWASs) have become popular approaches to identify genetic variants associated with human biological traits. In this study, we applied Structural Equation Models (SEMs) in order to model complex relationships between genetic networks and traits as risk factors. SEMs allow us to achieve a better understanding of biological mechanisms through identifying greater numbers of genes and pathways that are associated with a set of traits and the relationship among them. For efficient SEM analysis for GWASs, we developed a procedure, comprised of four stages. In the first stage, we conducted single-SNP analysis using regression models, where age, sex, and recruited area were included as adjusting covariates. In the second stage, Fisher's combination test was conducted for each gene to detect significant genes using p-values obtained from the single-SNP analysis. In the third stage, Fisher's exact test was adopted to determine which biological pathways were enriched with significant SNPs. Finally, based on a pathway that was associated with the four traits in common, a SEM was fit to model a causal relationship among the genetic factors and traits. We applied our SEM model to GWAS data with four central obesity related traits: suprailiac and subscapular measures for upper body fat, BMI, and hypertension. Study subjects were collected from two Korean cohort regions. After quality control, 327,872 SNPs for 8842 individuals were included in the analysis. After comparing two SEMs, we concluded that suprailiac and subscapular measures may indirectly affect hypertension susceptibility by influencing BMI. In conclusion, our analysis demonstrates that SEMs provide a better understanding of biological mechanisms by identifying greater numbers of genes and pathways.
Adipose Tissue ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Quality Control ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: This study attempts to examine the extent to which competencies were identified in a Korean community nursing practice based on the 11 core competencies required by US health nurses. METHODS: This was a descriptive research study, and the subjects of this study were 11 students who were in a four-year nursing course. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire from October 19 to November 22, 2016. RESULTS: Core competencies in total were practiced in 60.0% to 98.5% of schools in Korea. Among these, competencies corresponding to the practice level of ‘high’ were identified as ‘communicating effectively with community nursing subjects and colleagues, and accepting various personal characteristics without criticism or prejudice’. On the other hand, competencies corresponding to the practice level of ‘low’ were identified as ‘to comply with social justice, public good, public health principles, and leadership in a community nursing practice’. CONCLUSION: This study can be used as a resource to categorize the competence of nursing students expected in the field of community nursing. Based on a careful review of core competencies with low practice, it is necessary to seek specific practical strategies to strengthen these competencies in the future.
Community Health Nursing* ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea ; Leadership ; Mental Competency ; Nurses, Public Health* ; Nursing ; Public Health Nursing ; Public Health* ; Social Justice ; Students, Nursing

OBJECTIVES: The importance of kimchi as a traditional food in Korean cuisine has gradually decreased due to rapid industrialization, economic growth and changes in dietary patterns in Korea. This study aimed to examine the shifts in kimchi consumption by region and by income level between 2005 and 2015 in Korea. METHODS: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys III (2005) and VI (2015) were used in the study (n=15,558). Intake of kimchi was estimated using a single 24-hour dietary recall. The sample weights were applied in all analyses to reflect population estimates. All statistical analyses were carried out by using SPSS IBM Statistics 20. RESULTS: Kimchi intake has significantly decreased by 27.6 g/day per capita during the last decade in Korea; 25.0 g for males and 29.9 g for females, respectively. Over the past decade, the decline of kimchi intake has been particularly significant in Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Gwangju, while there has been no significant change in males living in rural areas. The consumption of kimchi across all income levels has decreased, however, the decrease was higher in ‘middle and low income level’. The amount of kimchi consumption in 2015 was the highest in ‘low income level’. The results were similar after adjusting for gender and age. CONCLUSIONS: For the past decade, the overall intake of kimchi in Korea has decreased, however, it has been found that the decrease of kimchi intake for males living in the rural areas was not significant. Therefore, in order to keep our traditional kimchi culture and promote a balanced diet including kimchi for Korean, it is necessary to develop more efficient policies and approaches. A variety of dishes using kimchi should be developed, besides merely serving kimchi with rice as a side dish, to increase the consumption of kimchi.
Busan ; Diet ; Economic Development ; Female ; Gwangju ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Incheon ; Korea* ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Seoul ; Weights and Measures

This study was purposed to make the referenced range of stomach antral contraction strain in 50 dogs using 2-dimensional speckle tracking. In addition, the strain results were compared among body condition scores to reveal the correlations of obesity among the subjects of the study. Finally, the medetomidine group that was comprised of 10 dogs was compared with the normal group to identify the medetomidine pharmacologic effect in the stomach antral contraction. Clinically healthy 50 dogs were recruited for the study. In an ultrasonographic examination, the stomach antrum region was scanned, and at least one cycle of antral contraction was recorded. The peak strain of antral contraction in healthy dogs was 58.2 ± 20.47% (mean ± SD). The obesity group showed a high strain result and there were significant correlations between the body condition score (BCS) 2, BCS 3 groups and BCS 8 group. The medetomidine group revealed a low strain result and was significantly correlated with normal group. Two-dimensional speckle tracking was useful to the evaluation of stomach motility disorders.

Objective: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a global burden but is also one of the most undertreated mental disorders. This study estimates the treatment rate (i.e., help-seeking status) of high-risk drinkers and factors associated with not receiving treatment in Korea using nationally representative National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) data. Methods: Among 1,025,340 participants, we eliminated those under 20 and those who did not respond to the question regarding alcohol consumption. High-risk drinkers were classified based on their frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption (4 or more drinks for women, 5 or more drinks for men per day on average). In total, 32,225 high-risk drinkers were checked for an actual AUD diagnosis to see their treatment-seeking status. Results: Among 32,225 high-risk drinkers, only 1.24% had an AUD diagnosis, showing that over 98% of those who could be diagnosed with AUD are not seeking treatment. Factors associated with not seeking treatment were female sex, BMI higher or equal to 18.6, former smoker, middle-aged, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Conclusion Our data show that many high-risk drinkers do not seek treatment in Korea. Experts, policymakers, and clinicians should promote help-seeking behavior for AUD and pay close attention to those at risk of not receiving treatment for AUD.

Purpose: This study investigated the incidence of secondary malignancy in multiple myeloma (MM) patients compared with that in the general population using a population-based database covering all residents in Korea. Materials and Methods: Based on the national health insurance system in Korea, all people primarily diagnosed with MM between January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018 were identified. A total of 9,985 MM patients aged ≥ 20 years in Korea were included. Results: Among them, 237 (2.4%) developed secondary malignancies by 2018. The standardized incidence rates (SIRs) of all secondary malignancies in MM patients were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 0.98), with a higher incidence of hematologic malignancies than in the general population with an SIR of 3.80 (95% CI, 2.61 to 5.00). The incidence rates of both lymphoid malignancy (SIR, 3.56; 95% CI, 2.31 to 4.82) and myeloid malignancy (SIR, 3.78; 95% CI, 1.16 to 6.39) were higher in MM patients than in the general population. In contrast, a lower incidence of solid cancer was observed in MM patients than in the general population (SIR, 0.76, 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.86). There was no significant difference in survival in MM patients without secondary malignancies, with hematologic malignancy, and with solid cancer (p=0.413). Conclusion MM patients had a greater risk of secondary malignancies, especially hematologic malignancies, than the general population. Future studies with a focus on analyzing patients’ history, treatment details, and genetic information in various stages of MM patients are needed to better understand the mechanism behind this increased risk.