No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Blood Donors* ; Chemistry* ; Chlamydia* ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae* ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Prevalence*

No abstract available.
Pregnancy*

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between insomnia severity, depression, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity and to find out the explanatory variables that account for the insomnia severity among depression, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity in general population. 95 mentally healthy volunteers who visit health promotion center of Kangbuk Samsung hospital for their regular medical examination were requested to complete Athens Insomnia Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Association between total scores of Athens Insomnia scale and other variables (total scores of Beck Depression Inventory excluded item 16, total scores of State Anxiety, total scores of Trait Anxiety, and total scores of Anxiety Sensitivity Scale) was assessed individually with partial correlations adjusted by age and then together using multiple regression analysis. The total scores of Athens Insomnia Scale were significantly associated with total scores of Beck Depression Inventory excluded item 16(r = 0.541, p<0.001), total scores of Trait Anxiety(r = 0.642, p<0.001), total scores of State Anxiety(r = 0.267, p<0.05), and total scores of Anxiety Sensitivity Index(r = 0.312, p<0.01). Total scores of trait anxiety showed the highest correlation with the total scores of Athens Insomnia Scale and was the significant predictor to total scores of Athens Insomnia Scale among the other predictor variables (p<0.001). These results show that insomnia severity is positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity. The correlation was strongest with trait anxiety. In addition, our results suggest that trait anxiety is associated with insomnia severity in general populations.
Anxiety* ; Depression* ; Health Promotion ; Healthy Volunteers ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders*

No abstract available.
Bacteria*

No abstract available.
Bacteroides fragilis* ; Bacteroides*

The objective of this study is to measure eosinophil count and Eosinophil Cationic Protein (ECP) levels of tears and sera in patients with acute allergic conjunctivitis and normal subjects and to assess the correlation of this mediator with allergic conjuctivitis and the clinical usefulness. Seventeen subjects were selected on the basis of clinical manifestation, history, skin prick test, total IgE. Serum IgE and eosinophil count were increased in 10patients, and eosinophilia in conjunctival epithelium were present in 11subjects. ECP in tears were increased in patients significantly (12.0+/-8.0 vs 3.9+/-3.8ng/ml,p=0.01), but not in serum (52.5+/-43.1 vs 28.3+/-25.9ng/ml). There was significant relationship beween serum and tear eosinophil count(p=0.004,r=0.66). But there was no significant correlation between eosinophil count and ECP in serum (p>0.05m r=0.19), and no significant correlation between eosinophil count of conjectival epithelium and tears ECP (p=0.043, r=0.05). In conclusion, ECP in tears may be very important role in allergic conjunctivitis and is more reliable indicatior of diagnosis clinically rather than eosinophil count in tear and conjunctival epithelium.
Child* ; Conjunctivitis, Allergic* ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophil Cationic Protein* ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils* ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Skin

The prevalence rate of Social Phobia (Social anxiety disorder) varies among cultures and patient populations. Possible reasons for this differences are that the expression of social anxiety may differ according to cultures. It has been suggested that offensive type of social phobia (which is similar with taijin kyofusho; a kind of culture-bound syndrome in DSM-IV) exist in east-asian countries, especially Korea and Japan, and it shares many common aspect with the western concept of social phobia. It is important to consider cultural influences of social phobia and understand various clinical presentations of this disorder. In this paper, the authors reviewed current diagnostic classification of diverse social phobia subtype and relationship among subtypes and also suggested the offensive type as a subtype of social phobia.
Anxiety ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Phobic Disorders ; Prevalence

The best and only solution for suicide is prevention. Suicidal behavior can be divided into 3 phases: suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicide attempt. To prevent suicide more effectively, it is better to intervene at an earlier phase of suicidal behavior before suicide attempts occur. It is essential to educate the public, gatekeepers, and mental health professionals about suicide prevention. The authors suggest that the role of the public and the gatekeepers-identifying signs of suicide earlier and referring to professionals-is very important because suicidal behavior is common in Korea. Although many public institutions or private organizations that are working for suicide prevention in Korea have made an effort to educate the public and the gatekeepers, the outcome has not yet been satisfactory due to a lack of structured programs for education. There are several kinds of well-made educational programs for gatekeepers. However, most of these programs were developed in foreign countries which have social and cultural backgrounds different from Korea. It is essential to develop a structured, systemized educational program that reflects the cultural and social characteristics of Korean society for the public and the gatekeepers.
Korea ; Mental Health ; Sociology ; Suicidal Ideation ; Suicide

OBJECTIVES: The diagnosis of depression is based on a highly variable set of symptoms. Therefore, depression should not be viewed as a single disease, but a heterogenous syndrome comprised of different pathophysiologies. There are several subtypes of depression which were already incorporated in DSM-IV. This article provides a systematic review of pharmacological treatments of two recognized subtypes of depression-dysthymic disorder and atypical depression. METHODS: Systematic search of relevant literatures on dysthymic disorder and atypical depression was performed by proposed search strategy of the Clinical Research Center for Depression of Korean Health 21 R&D Project. All identified literatures were carefully reviewed and classified according to SIGN grading system and summarized in a narrative manner. RESULT: For the treatment of dysthymic disorder and atypical depression, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs) and moclobemide have more evidence than the other antidepressants. SSRIs and moclobemide showed superior tolerability than tricyclic antidepressants. CONCLUSION: The authors proposed treatment recommendations for dysthymic disorder and atypical depression by the methods of evidence-based medicine(EBM). However, guideline developing methods of EBM also have several inevitable limitations. Therefore, in the absence of clear and significant differences in efficacy, the choice of medication must be individualized for a particular patient based on psychiatrist's own clinical decision.
Antidepressive Agents ; Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic ; Depression* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Dysthymic Disorder* ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Moclobemide ; Serotonin

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to examine the association between zinc and lead level and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among Korean children. METHODS: A total of 89 clinic-referred children participated in the study (ADHD group=45, control group=44). The participants were 5-15 years old, and were mainly from urban areas of Seoul, Korea. ADHD was diagnosed using the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version. We excluded children with a comorbid psychiatric disorder, medical illness requiring medication, or a prior history of taking ADHD medication. In order to evaluate the severity of ADHD symptoms, parents' Korean ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS) was used. The ADHD diagnostic system (ADS) was used for evaluation of the severity of inattention and impulsivity. All participants completed the intelligence test and hair mineral analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the effect of hair zinc and lead levels on the K-ARS and ADS. We measured the predictive ability of the zinc and lead levels using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The lead level explained the score for omission errors, commission errors, and response time SD in visual ADS in the ADHD group (adjusted R2=.243, p<.01, adjusted R2=.362, p<.01, and adjusted R2=.275, p<.01), the score for omission errors of auditory ADS in ADHD group (adjusted R2=.407, p<.01) and the entire group (adjusted R2=.292, p<.01). Zinc was significantly explanatory for the K-ARS scores for the entire group (adjusted R2=.248, p<.001) and the ADHD group (adjusted R2=.247, p<.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a possible role of zinc and lead in ADHD. Lead concentration in hair samples affected the ADS scores, and this was more prominent in children with ADHD. Children with ADHD had a lower zinc concentration in their hair, and the zinc concentration in hair showed negative correlation with the K-ARS score.
Child ; Hair* ; Humans ; Impulsive Behavior ; Intelligence Tests ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mood Disorders ; Reaction Time ; Seoul ; Zinc*