PURPOSE: The purpose was to investigate the factors influencing alcohol consuming behavior of the female university students to provide the basic data for a nursing intervention program to improve health and prohibit of alcohol consuming behavior. METHOD: The subjects were 134 female university students, studying at K university and K educational university in Chungnam province from April 1 to 20, 2002. The instruments were the alcohol consuming behavior scale, that is drinking intensity score, and alcohol problem developed by Shin(1998), refusal self-efficacy scale by Aas et. al.(1995), alcohol expectancy by Goldman at. al.(1989), TPQ scale by Cloninger(1991), depression scale modified by Shin(1977) using Zung(1965)' tool, family cohesion scale by Olson at. al.(1983). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, canonical correlation and stepwise multiple regression. RESULT: The most powerful predictor of alcohol consuming behavior was influence of friends-drinking(21.0%). A combination of economic status(8.0%), and personality of novelty seeking(3.0%), accounted for 32.0% of the variance in alcohol consuming behavior. CONCLUSION: I recommended that economic status, influence of friends drinking frequently, and personality of novelty seeking were contained of the developing nursing intervention program for decreasing the alcohol consuming behavior in female university students.
Chungcheongnam-do ; Depression ; Disulfiram ; Drinking ; Female* ; Friends ; Humans ; Nursing ; Child Health

Background/Aims: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is associated with a wide range of gastrointestinal (GI) changes. The University of California–Los Angeles Scleroderma Clinical Trial Consortium Gastrointestinal Tract (UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0) instrument is a self-administered GI assessment instrument for patients with SSc. We developed a Korean version of the UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 instrument and evaluated its reliability and internal consistency. Methods: The participants were 37 Korean patients with SSc. Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 were performed according to international standardized guidelines. We evaluated reproducibility by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficients and assessed the internal consistency of the Korean version of the UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0. We assessed its construct validity by evaluating its correlations with the Short Form Health Survey version 2 and EQ-5D scores by means of Spearman correlation analyses. Results: Patients with SSc were mostly women (89.19%) with a mean age of 52.2 years, median disease duration of 24 months, and median modified Rodnan total skin score of 4. The median total GIT score on the UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 was 0.3. The UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 Korean version showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α of total GIT score = 0.863). Most domains of the ULCA SCTC GIT 2.0 were correlated with those of the EuroQol (EQ)-5D score. Conclusions The Korean version of the UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 has acceptable internal consistency, reliability, and validity. Therefore, it can be used to assess GIT involvement in Korean patients with SSc.

Objective: Although the close interactions between the epidermis and dermis of the skin have been widely explored, the skin barrier functions of the stratum corneum (SC) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) are not well known. We aimed to investigate the biophysical characteristics of the skin, including transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the SC water content, erythema, and the melanin index, in patients with SSc and pSS. Methods: This case-control study included 34 patients with SSc, 31 patients with pSS, and 25 healthy controls. All parameters were measured on the extensor surface of the forearm and compared between patients and healthy controls. In patients with SSc, we performed subgroup analyses by disease subtype (diffuse and limited cutaneous SSc), the modified Rodnan skin sclerosis score (>6 or ≤6), and comorbid secondary SS status. In patients with pSS, subgroup analyses were performed by anti-Ro/SSA antibody status and the findings of salivary gland ultrasound. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in TEWL or skin hydration between patients with SSc and pSS and healthy controls. In the pSS group, only the erythema index was significantly increased compared to the control group. In subgroup analyses, no significant differences were observed in the extent of TEWL or skin hydration by disease subtype, severity, autoantibody profile, or comorbidities. Conclusion Patients with SSc or pSS did not exhibit specific impairments of skin barrier function or skin hydration. Further studies with larger sample sizes and age-matched controls are required.

Objective: Although the close interactions between the epidermis and dermis of the skin have been widely explored, the skin barrier functions of the stratum corneum (SC) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) are not well known. We aimed to investigate the biophysical characteristics of the skin, including transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the SC water content, erythema, and the melanin index, in patients with SSc and pSS. Methods: This case-control study included 34 patients with SSc, 31 patients with pSS, and 25 healthy controls. All parameters were measured on the extensor surface of the forearm and compared between patients and healthy controls. In patients with SSc, we performed subgroup analyses by disease subtype (diffuse and limited cutaneous SSc), the modified Rodnan skin sclerosis score (>6 or ≤6), and comorbid secondary SS status. In patients with pSS, subgroup analyses were performed by anti-Ro/SSA antibody status and the findings of salivary gland ultrasound. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in TEWL or skin hydration between patients with SSc and pSS and healthy controls. In the pSS group, only the erythema index was significantly increased compared to the control group. In subgroup analyses, no significant differences were observed in the extent of TEWL or skin hydration by disease subtype, severity, autoantibody profile, or comorbidities. Conclusion Patients with SSc or pSS did not exhibit specific impairments of skin barrier function or skin hydration. Further studies with larger sample sizes and age-matched controls are required.

Objective: Although the close interactions between the epidermis and dermis of the skin have been widely explored, the skin barrier functions of the stratum corneum (SC) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) are not well known. We aimed to investigate the biophysical characteristics of the skin, including transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the SC water content, erythema, and the melanin index, in patients with SSc and pSS. Methods: This case-control study included 34 patients with SSc, 31 patients with pSS, and 25 healthy controls. All parameters were measured on the extensor surface of the forearm and compared between patients and healthy controls. In patients with SSc, we performed subgroup analyses by disease subtype (diffuse and limited cutaneous SSc), the modified Rodnan skin sclerosis score (>6 or ≤6), and comorbid secondary SS status. In patients with pSS, subgroup analyses were performed by anti-Ro/SSA antibody status and the findings of salivary gland ultrasound. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in TEWL or skin hydration between patients with SSc and pSS and healthy controls. In the pSS group, only the erythema index was significantly increased compared to the control group. In subgroup analyses, no significant differences were observed in the extent of TEWL or skin hydration by disease subtype, severity, autoantibody profile, or comorbidities. Conclusion Patients with SSc or pSS did not exhibit specific impairments of skin barrier function or skin hydration. Further studies with larger sample sizes and age-matched controls are required.

Objective: Although the close interactions between the epidermis and dermis of the skin have been widely explored, the skin barrier functions of the stratum corneum (SC) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) are not well known. We aimed to investigate the biophysical characteristics of the skin, including transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the SC water content, erythema, and the melanin index, in patients with SSc and pSS. Methods: This case-control study included 34 patients with SSc, 31 patients with pSS, and 25 healthy controls. All parameters were measured on the extensor surface of the forearm and compared between patients and healthy controls. In patients with SSc, we performed subgroup analyses by disease subtype (diffuse and limited cutaneous SSc), the modified Rodnan skin sclerosis score (>6 or ≤6), and comorbid secondary SS status. In patients with pSS, subgroup analyses were performed by anti-Ro/SSA antibody status and the findings of salivary gland ultrasound. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in TEWL or skin hydration between patients with SSc and pSS and healthy controls. In the pSS group, only the erythema index was significantly increased compared to the control group. In subgroup analyses, no significant differences were observed in the extent of TEWL or skin hydration by disease subtype, severity, autoantibody profile, or comorbidities. Conclusion Patients with SSc or pSS did not exhibit specific impairments of skin barrier function or skin hydration. Further studies with larger sample sizes and age-matched controls are required.

This study assesses the sodium intake of adults by 24-hour urine analysis, dietary records review and a food intake questionnaire. Subjects were 236 adult female in Daegu. The results are summarized as follows: Sodium intake as indicated by the 24-hour urine analysis was 5,805.4 +/- 3836.8 mg. This was significantly higher than intake indicated by dietary records (4415.4 +/- 1935.1 mg) and the dish frequency questionnaire (DFQ 55)(4293.5 +/- 1526.5 mg). The results of the 24-hour urine analysis and DFQ 55 showed that sodium intake was higher for the 65-to-74-year-old age group than for other age groups (p < 0.05, p < 0.05). Review of dietary records to examine typical sodium intake by food groups showed that 53.7% of the sodium consumed by subjects in all age groups came from seasonings and spices (2399.0 +/- 1526.5 mg). The analysis of sodium intake by food groups using DFQ 55 showed 34.2% of their sodium came from consumption of kimchi (p < 0.001) and kimch, soup, stew and fish jorim accounted for 57.8% of total sodium intake. The results indicate positive correlation between age and sodium intake, as shown by the 24-hour urine analysis and food intake questionnaire (p < 0.05). Therefore, these results would be valuable as basic data for planning nutrition education for sodium intake reduction.
Adult ; Diet Records ; Eating ; Female ; Humans ; Porphyrins ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Seasons ; Sodium ; Spices

BACKGROUND: Behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) are common in dementia. These may be helpful for clinical differentiation between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). Most previous studies have reported the prevalence and severity of BPSD regardless of severity of progression. However, we evaluated the differences of BPSD by grading dementia progression and including severe cases only. METHODS: 141 dementia outpatients from clinics of Busan-Gyeongnam Dementia Association in Korea were analyzed. All patients were administered the Korean version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (K-NPI), the expanded version of Korean Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR), and the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE). RESULTS: There were 95 patients with AD and 46 patients with VD. AD patients revealed higher frequency of manifested BPSD symptoms and most of subscales showed higher composite scores also. But apathy was more severely and frequently manifested in VD. AD patients had more frequent night-time behavior and aberrant motor symptoms above 3 point in CDR 0.5 and VD patients had more frequent apathy symptom above 3 point in CDR 1. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that generally AD patients revealed more frequent and severe BPSDs than VD patients. Apathy was a more dominant symptom in VD. It seemed that some of the symptoms were valuable clues for the differential diagnosis even though a better designed study was required.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Apathy ; Behavioral Symptoms ; Dementia ; Dementia, Vascular* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Korea ; Outpatients ; Prevalence