OBJECTIVE: The present study has examined whether subjective age would be associated with cognitive functioning in older adults. METHODS: Data from the third wave of Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project were used. This study was conducted with 152 older adults aged 60–89 years (mean=72.26, standard deviation=6.41) who completed measures of subjective age, Mini-Mental State Examination for Dementia Screening, Elderly Verbal Learning Test, Digit Span Test, Korean-Color Word Stroop Test, Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test, Korean Boston Naming Test-Short form. The association of subjective age and cognitive functioning was analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Sex, depression, and chronological age were included as control variables. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that a younger subjective age was associated with better processing speed, immediate memory, and executive function respectively. Even after controlling for chronological age, depression, and sex, the subjective age was associated with cognitive functioning in old age. CONCLUSION: Beyond chronological age, the subjective experience of age was associated with cognitive aging.
Adult ; Aged ; Aging ; Cognition ; Cognitive Aging ; Dementia ; Depression ; Executive Function ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Memory, Short-Term ; Stroop Test ; Trail Making Test ; Verbal Learning

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis in rural elementary school children. METHODS: Children in 12 elementary schools in Jinan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, a typical rural area in Korea, were enrolled. We conducted cross-sectional survey using a Korean version of International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 947 questionnaires out of 1,062 were completed and the response rate was 89.1%. The symptom prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) in the last 12 months was 7.4% and 28.1%. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma and AR was 7.2% and 22.2%. Male, passive smoking, visible mold at home, and use of antibiotics during infancy more than 3 times were associated with higher prevalence of asthma diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30 to 4.26; aOR 2.49, 95% CI 1.38 to 4.48; aOR 2.19, 95% CI 1.23 to 3.89; and aOR 8.45, 95% CI 4.23 to 16.59). Parental history of allergic diseases, children without siblings, use of antibiotics during infancy more than 3 times were associated with higher prevalence of AR (aOR 4.89, 95% CI 3.37 to 7.10; aOR 5.20, 95% CI 2.38 to 11.35; and aOR 2.39, 95% CI 1.36 to 4.19). CONCLUSION: In Jinan-gun, the symptom prevalence of asthma and AR in the last 12 months was 7.4% and 28.1%. The environmental factors such as passive smoking, visible mold at home, use of antibiotics during infancy and number of siblings are associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Asthma ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Fungi ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Parents ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Risk Factors ; Siblings ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Musical Background Questionnaire (MBQ) has been developed to assess formal musical training and listening enjoyment. The aims of this study were to translate MBQ into Korean with subsequent linguistic validation and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Korean version of MBQ (K-MBQ).SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Between 2013 and 2014, a panel affiliated with the questionnaire committee of the Korean Audiological Society reconciled the first draft K-MBQ translated by a bilingual person. A separate bilingual translator, who had never seen the original MBQ, translated the draft K-MBQ back into English, and subsequently, the panel reviewed its equivalence to the original one. K-MBQ was administered to 29 adults (M:F=15:14; aged 21 to 76 years) for cognitive debriefing. Pure tone and speech audiometry were performed in all participants. RESULTS: The translation of K-MBQ was completed through a multi-step process of forward translation, reconciliation, reverse translation, cognitive debriefing and proofreading. Thirteen (45%) of 29 subjects reported formal musical training, and 16 participants (55%) judged themselves as having no musical education and background. No significant correlation was found between musical background and hearing level, whereas self-perceived quality of music and self-perception of music elements quantified by K-MBQ were associated with hearing ability in terms of pure-tone and speech audiometry. CONCLUSION K-MBQ was translated and linguistically validated. The use of this questionnaire can provide further evaluation of musical background in patients with hearing loss or cochlear implant users.