No abstract available.
Female ; Humans ; Menopause* ; Obesity* ; Pregnancy*

No Abstract Available.
Humans

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between self reported climacteric symptoms, knowledge of menopause, menopausal management, in middle-aged women. The subjects of this study were 209 women from 40 to 64 years of age. The data was analyzed using SPSS program for t-test, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficients. The results of the study were as follows : 1. The characteristic variables significantly related to self reported climacteric symptoms were education(F=6.371, p<0.001), income (F=4.481, p<0.05), mensturation state(t= -2.004, p<0.05), mensturation cycle(t=-2.039, p<0.05), hormone therapy(t=2.107, p<0.05), health condition(F=21.111, p<0.001).2. The characteristic variables significantly related to knowledge of menopause were education(F=6.580, p<0.001), health condition (F=3.487, p<0.05).3. The characteristic variable significantly related to menopausal management was income(F=3.080, p<0.05). 4. The relationship between self reported climacteric symptoms and menopausal management was statistically significant with a negative correlation(r=-0.323, p<0.05).In conclusion, climacteric symptoms - based complaints by middle-aged women was negatively correlated to menopausal management. Therefore, health promotions designed to increase climacteric women's health should be a planned program based on results of the study.
Climacteric* ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Menopause* ; Self Report ; Women's Health

BACKGROUND: Obesity is becoming an increasing public health problem. Weight gain in adults causes increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) change on cardiovascular risk factors in Korean men. METHODS: This study subjects consisted of 1,169 people, aged 20~71 y at baseline year who had undergone health examinations 2 times for average 8-year period. Height, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C, fasting plasma glucose, and urate were measured. Smoking status, alcohol drinking, and exercise were assessed through self-questionnaire. RESULTS: The baseline mean age was 43.1 6.7 year, the mean weight was 66.8+/-5.2 kg, and the mean BMI was 23.3+/-2.5kg/m2. BMI significantly increased by 0.9 0.04 kg/m2 the during 8-year period. An increase of 1 kg/m2 in BMI was significantly associated with increase of blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-C, and urate, and decrease of HDL-C. The risk of cardiovascular diseases was increased with more weight gain. Compared with the lowest quintile of BMI change, the adjusted relative risk of the highest quintile of BMI change for hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-C, and hyperuricemia were 5.59 (95% CI: 1.19~26.36), 3.24 (95% CI: 1.53~6.88), 5.16 (95% CI: 2.27~11.77), and 2.18 (95% CI: 1.17~4.06), respectively. The adjusted relative risk for cardiovascular disease tended to increase according to BMI increase (P for trend<0.0001). CONCLUSION: The increase of BMI was significantly associated with worsening of cardiovascular risk factors in Korean men.
Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Fasting ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertriglyceridemia ; Hyperuricemia ; Male ; Mortality ; Obesity ; Public Health ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Triglycerides ; Uric Acid ; Weight Gain

BACKGROUND: The assessment of how much people exercise needs to be analyzed in order to promote their health status. METHODS: Accordingly, 2001 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey was performed during a two-month period beginning November 1st, 2001. Questionnaires on physical activities have been completed by 9,170 persons (88.45%) among 10,368 persons over 12 years old. We analyzed 7,838 subjects who were over 20 years old. RESULTS: Among the total, 71.8% persons of the respondents did not work out at all. Among them, 14.9% respondents were classified as lower exercise group, 6.9% middle exercise group and 6.4% as higher exercise group. The number of middle and higher exercise groups were increased on 2001 survey compared to those in 1998. Daily walking hours were 65.8 +/- 73.6 minutes. A proper amount of exercise were performed by older age groups than those in their twenties, by town residents than villagers, by unmarried people than married or divorced or bereaved ones, by higher educated people, by people with more weight, by those who were felt less stress, and by non drinkers. Favorite exercises were walking, mountaineering, jogging and working out at a fitness club which were chosen by 62.6% of the respondents. CONCLUSION: Many respondents did not work out at all and overall exercise rate was low. The rate of proper exercise was different by demographic features.
Adult* ; Child ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Divorce ; Exercise ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Jogging ; Motor Activity* ; Mountaineering ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Single Person ; Walking ; Young Adult

Pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a serious medical problem causing considerable morbidity and mortality. Risk factors of thrombosis are surgery, trauma, pregnancy, tumor, oral contraceptive as well as genetic risk factors though genetic risk factors were found in about 5% to 10% of cases. Yasmin, a combined oral contraceptive containing ethinylestradiol 30 microg and drospirenon 3 mg was launched in the United Kingdom in 2002. We had experienced a patient, 24-year-old young woman with left inguinal pain on ambulation, and edema of left leg four months after taking Yasmin. We performed chest pulmonary angiography computed tomography (CT) and lower extremity venogram CT. She was diagnosed to PE in both lower lobes and DVT below the level of left external iliac vein, and treated by low molecular weight heparin and warfarin. We report this case with brief review of literatures.
Androstenes ; Angiography ; Edema ; Ethinyl Estradiol ; Female ; Great Britain ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; Humans ; Iliac Vein ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Pregnancy ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Risk Factors ; Thorax ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thrombosis ; Walking ; Warfarin

PURPOSE: The study was designed to verify effects of aromatherapy on depression, anxiety and the autonomic nervous system in breast cancer patients who are undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy. METHODS: Data were collected from November 2006 through March 2007 at the C university hospital in Seoul. The study included 33 patients and they were assigned to three groups. Group I had aroma oil inhalation for 2 minutes per time, three times a day for six weeks whereas Group II and a control group inhaled aroma oil for 2 minutes per time, once a day for six weeks. For Groups I and II, a mixture of lemon, lavender, rosewood and rose essential oils were used while control group inhaled tea tree oil. RESULTS: Depression was significantly decreased in patients in the experimental groups only. In Groups I and II patients, anxiety level was lower than that in control patients. Patients in Groups I and II also showed stronger physical resistance to stress than control group patients. CONCLUSION: Aromatherapy should be considered as a method that can significantly decrease depression in breast cancer patients who are undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy.
Anxiety ; Aromatherapy ; Autonomic Nervous System ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Depression ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Lavandula ; Oils, Volatile ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Tea

BACKGROUND: It is generally known that the principle treatment of obesity is life-style modification and behavior therapy for weight reduction. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of office-based education for weight control and behavior modification in overweight patients. METHODS: We selected 119 patients among the overweight or obese (BMI >or=23 kg/m2) patients who visited the Department of Family Medicine at Asan Medical Center. Life styles such as diet, exercise, smoking, and alcohol drinking were evaluated by self-questionnaire. Weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, and body fat were measured. The patients were divided randomly into two groups, the intervention (n=60) and the control (n=59) group. We educated the intervention group about the importance of weight reduction, life-style modification and provided specific guidelines. Two months later, we measured anthropometric variables and evaluated changes of behavior modification. RESULTS: After two months, 28 patients of the intervention group and 22 patients of the control group were followed up. At the follow-up time, the body weight and waist circumference decreased significantly in the intervention group compared with those of the control group. The exercise time increased significantly in the intervention group compared to the control group. The frequency of fatty meal ingestion decreased significantly in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: The office-based education for weight reduction in overweight or obese patients has contributed substantially in changing their life-style and reducing their waist circumference. As a result, we have found that patient education for behavior modification was essential part of comprehensive approach for weight control in overweight patients.
Adipose Tissue ; Alcohol Drinking ; Behavior Therapy* ; Body Height ; Body Weight ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Diet ; Eating ; Education ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Life Style ; Meals ; Obesity ; Overweight* ; Patient Education as Topic* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio ; Weight Loss

Background: In Korea, the length of stay and medical expenses incurred by medical aid patients are increasing at a rate faster than the national health insurance. Therefore, there is a need to create a management strategy for each type of hospitalization to manage the length of stay of medical aid patients. Methods: The study used data from the 2019 National Health Insurance Claims. We analyzed the factors that affect the length of stay for 186,576 medical aid patients who were hospitalized for more than 31 days, with a focus on the type of hospitalization in long-term care hospitals. Results: The study found a significant correlation between gender, age, medical aid type, chronic disease ratio, long-term care hospital patient classification, and hospitalization type variables as factors that affect the length of hospital stay. The analysis of the differences in the length of stay for each type of hospitalization showed that the average length of stay is 291.4 days for type 1, 192.9 days for type 2, and 157.0 days for type 3, and that the difference is significant (p<0.0001). When type 3 was 0, type 1 significantly increased by 99.4 days, and type 2 by 36.6 days (p<0.0001). Conclusion A model that can comprehensively view factors, such as provider factors and institutional factors, needs to be designed.In addition, to reduce long stays for medical aid patients, a mechanism to establish an early discharge plan should be prepared and concerns about underutilization should be simultaneously addressed.

BACKGROUND: Given emerging evidence of the association between stress and disease, practitioners need a tool for measuring stress. Several instruments exist to measure perceived stress; however, none of them are applicable for population surveys because stress conceptualization can differ by population. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Perceived Stress Inventory (PSI) and its short version for use in population surveys and clinical practice in Korea. METHODS: From a pool of perceived stress items collected from three widely used instruments, 20 items were selected for the new measurement tool. Nine of these items were selected for the short version. We evaluated the validity of the items using exploratory factor analysis of the preliminary data. To evaluate the convergent validity of the PSI, 387 healthy people were recruited and stratified on the basis of age and sex. Confirmatory analyses and examination of structural stability were also carried out. To evaluate discriminatory validity, the PSI score of a group with depressive symptoms was compared with that of a healthy group. A similar comparison was also done for persons with anxious mood. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor construct (tension, depression, and anger) for the PSI. Reliability values were satisfactory, ranging from 0.67 to 0.87. Convergent validity was confirmed through correlation with the Perceived Stress Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. People with depressive or anxious mood had higher scores than the healthy group on the total PSI, all three dimensions, and the short version. CONCLUSION: The long and short versions of the PSI are valid and reliable tools for measuring perceived stress. These instruments offer benefits for stress research using population-based surveys.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Humans ; Korea