OBJECTIVES: Research on the gender differences of health among older Korean people has been limited compared with the research for other stages of life. This study first examined the patterns and magnitude of the gender differences of health in later life. Second, we examined the gender differences in the health of older men and women that were attributable to differing socioeconomic conditions. METHODS: Using the nationally representative 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the gender differences in disability and subjective poor health were assessed by calculating the age adjusted and gender-specific prevalence. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess if the differences between the men and women for health could be explained by differential exposure to socioeconomic factors and/or the differential vulnerability of men and women to these socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: Our results indicated that older women were more likely than the men to report disability and poor subjective health. The health disadvantage of older women was diminished by differential experiences with socioeconomic factors, and especially education. The differences shrink as much as 43.7% in the case of disability and 35.4% in the case of poor subjective health by the differential exposure to educational attainment. Any differential vulnerability to socioeconomic factors was not found between the men and women, which means that socioeconomic factors may have similar effect on health in both genders. CONCLUSIONS: Differential socioeconomic experience and exposure between the men and women might cause gender difference in health in old age Koreans.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Disabled Persons ; Female ; *Health Status ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Sex Factors ; *Social Class

PURPOSE: Recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C was determined on the basis of preventing the scurvy without considerations of the important function of the vitamin C as a first line antioxidant. So we measured the whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations of the contemporay healthy elementary school children in Chinju for the establishment of the optimal daily vitamin C requirment in the elementary school children. METHODS: Whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations were measured by the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method in 338 children from the 1st to the 6th grade of one elementary school in Chinju. RESULTS: Whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations were 1.36+/-0.34mg/dL and 1.07+/-0.33mg/dL respectively. There existed an close relationship between whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations (r=0.77, p=0.0001). Whole blood vitamin C concentration decreased as the age became older (r=-0.22 p=0.0001), but plasma vitamin C concentration did not change. There were no sex differences in the whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations except in the 3rd grade (p<0.05). Twenty-three of 338 elementary school children (6.8%) had the plasma vitamin C concentration less than 0.6mg/dL. CONCLUSIONS: We produced the blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations of the contemporay elementary school children in Chinju. These values were not satisfactory in consideration of the importance of the childhood health.
Ascorbic Acid* ; Child* ; Gyeongsangnam-do* ; Humans ; Plasma* ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Scurvy ; Sex Characteristics ; Vitamins*