OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) as a measure of the night eating syndrome (NES) in a sample of outpatients with schizophrenia. METHODS: The behavioral and psychological symptoms of NES were assessed with the 14-item self-report questionnaire (NEQ). Body weight and height were measured to calculate the body mass index (BMI). Subjective estimates of depression, binge eating patterns, sleep quality and weight-related quality of life were evaluated using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), the Binge Eating Scale (BES), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Korean version of Obesity-related Quality of Life (KOQoL) Scale. RESULTS: Among 165 schizophrenic outpatients who completed the NEQ, 15 (9.1%) patients screened as having NES (total NEQ > or =25). The NEQ demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.72), and the item-total correlations (r=0.29-0.75 ; p<0.001, respectively) were acceptable, except for morning anorexia. A principal components analysis revealed five factors (nocturnal ingestions, evening hyperphagia, mood/sleep, morning anorexia, and delayed morning meal), which explained 65.7% of the total variance. Although the NEQ total score was not correlated with BMI, age at onset, duration of illness, or use of atypical antipsychotics, it was significantly correlated with total scores on the BDI, BES, PSQI and KOQoL. Test-retest reliability was also good (r=0.74, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the NEQ appears to be an efficient, valid measure of NES in outpatients with schizophrenia.
Alkanesulfonic Acids ; Anorexia ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Bulimia ; Depression ; Eating ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Outpatients ; Psychometrics ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia

This study was designed to identify the ultrastructural changes of mouse endometrum during peri-implantation period and obtain the fundamental information for the establishment of 3-dimensional culture system of mouse endometrial cells in vitro. The used female ICR mice (6~8 wks) were conducted on pregnant. The biopsies were obtained from whole uterus at cycle day 1 (D1) and day 5 (D5) after hCG injection and mating. The biopsies materials were fixed 2.5% glutaraldehyde and 1% osmium tetroxide. Subsequently, for observation using light and transmission electron microscopy (LM and TEM), they were dehydrated and embedded in Epon and the embedded biopsies were sectioned and stained. For scanning electron microscypy (SEM), the fixed specimens were dehydrated, dried and coated with gold. 1)For LM, the biopsied materials at D5 (late secretory phase) were appeared the extended stromal layer by increased connective tissues and the fully developed endometrial glands and vessels compared with D1 (early secretory phase). 2) For TEM, the mouse endometrium was consisted of 3-layers, a simple polarized columnar epithelial cells, basement membrane and stromal cells. At D5, the distribution of microvilli, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi body, lipid and glycogen deposits, secretory granules and surface area of basement membrane were increased. 3) For SEM, the degree of folding and microvilli of surface of mouse epithelial cells was became more and more according to the process of secretory phase, and at D5, implantation time of mouse, the appearance of pinopodes as a specific marker of uterine receptivity was found. The uterine pinopodes of mouse were found in narrow sites at the luminal surface, irregularity and appeared the different stages in the same sample. Therefore, these results indicated that the mouse endometrium was experienced dramatic morphological changes during peri-implantation period.
Animals ; Basement Membrane ; Biopsy ; Connective Tissue ; Endometrium* ; Endoplasmic Reticulum ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Glutaral ; Glycogen ; Humans ; Mice* ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Microvilli ; Osmium Tetroxide ; Phenobarbital ; Secretory Vesicles ; Stromal Cells ; Uterus

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the indicator of human rights of people with mental illness (HRPM). METHODS: The HRPM scale was administered to 382 inpatients at national hospital psychiatric (schizophrenia 77.0%, bipolar disorder 7.6%). Reliability of HRPM was tested by internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and item-total correlation. Domains and contents were examined for assessment of construct validity of HRPM. RESULTS: Human rights of people with mental illness was highly reliable in terms of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=0.87), test-retest reliability (r=0.81), and corrected item-total correlation r range from 0.42 to 0.71. In addition, construct validity of HRPM was established with the domains and contents in conceptually expected ways. CONCLUSION: These results offer reliability and validity for the indicator of HRPM. The implications and limitations of this study were discussed, and future directions of study were suggested.
Bipolar Disorder* ; Human Rights* ; Humans* ; Inpatients ; Reproducibility of Results ; Schizophrenia*

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effect of laser-assisted zona thinning (LAZT) at one or four-points on the blastocyst formation and hatching process in mice with respect to female age. METHODS: Eight-cell or morula embryos collected from superovulated C57BL female mice with different ages (6-11 and 28-31 weeks) were treated with LAZT at one-point (LAZT1) or four-points (LAZT4). The zona pellucida was thinned to more than 70% of its initial thickness by making two holes of 15-20 microm. RESULTS: In the young mice, LAZT resulted in a significant increase in early hatching and hatching rates compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, in the old mice, LAZT significantly increased blastocyst formation as well as early hatching and hatching compared to the controls (p<0.05). These effects were more remarkable in LAZT4 than in LAZT1 and in aged mice than in young ones. CONCLUSION: These results show that multi-point LAZT leads to a significant improvement of blastocyst formation and hatching in mice compared to controls.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Herpes Zoster* ; Humans ; Mice* ; Morula ; Zona Pellucida

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the subjective well-being of schizophrenic patients who switched their antipsychotics to risperidone as the maintenance treatment over 24 weeks. METHODS: Thirty-one patients were evaluated using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for psychopathology and UKU side effects rating scale for drug-induced adverse events. Also the subjects were asked to score the 10 items self-rating scale (KmSWN-10), which derived from the 19-items of Korean modified version of Subjective Well-being under the neuroleptic treatment (KmSWN) scale. The assessments were administered at baseline, 2 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks after switching to risperidone. Analysis were done using repeated measures of ANOVA. Pearson correlation analysis were also done to assess the correlation between KmSWN-10 and psychopathology and drug induced side effects. RESULTS: There were significant improvements on the scores of KmSWN-10 and reductions on the PANSS and UKU side effect rating scores during the treatment of risperidone. KmSWN-10 was negatively correlated with the total, negative and general psychopathology scales of PANSS at baseline, and also negatively corrleated with total, positive, negative, general psychopathology scales and depressive factor of PANSS scores and total UKU side effects rating scores at 24 weeks of treatment. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the maintenance treatment with risperidone positively affected on the subjective well-being of schizophrenic patients due to improvement of psychotic symptoms and decrement of side effects. KmSWN-10 may be more related with negative and general psychopathlogy scales of PANSS in this study.
Antipsychotic Agents* ; Humans ; Psychopathology ; Quality of Life ; Risperidone* ; Schizophrenia ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVES: The aim of study was to examine the prevalence of night eating syndrome(NES) and its correlates in schizophrenic outpatients. METHODS: The 14 items of self-reported night eating questionnaire(NEQ) was administered to 201 schizophrenic patients in psychiatric outpatient clinic. We examined demographic and clinical characteristics, body mass index(BMI), subjective measures of mood, sleep, binge eating, and weight-related quality of life using Beck's Depression Inventory(BDI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI), Binge Eating Scale(BES) and Korean version of Obesity-Related Quality of Life Scale(KOQoL), respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of night eaters in schizophrenic outpatients was 10.4%(21 of 201). Comparisons between NES group and non-NES group revealed no significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics, clinical status and BMI. Compared to non-NES, patients with NES reported significantly greater depressed mood and sleep disturbance, more binge eating pattern, and decreased weight-related quality of life. While 'morning anorexia' and 'delayed morning meal'(2 of 5 NES core components in NEQ) were not differed between groups, 'nocturnal ingestions', 'evening hyperphagia', and 'mood/sleep' were more impaired in NES group. CONCLUSION: These findings are the first to describe the prevalence and its correlates of night eaters in schizophrenic outpatients. These results suggest that NES has negative mental health implications, although it was not associated with obesity. Further study to generalize these results is required.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Bulimia ; Depression ; Eating* ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Obesity ; Outpatients* ; Prevalence* ; Quality of Life

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the weight reduction program designed for schizophrenic patients. It's effects were assessed especially in the aspects of the obesity-related quality of life, emotional and physical well-being of the patients. METHODS: Fifty-one obese schizophrenic inpatients were enrolled in a 12-week, randomized weight reduction program. Thirty-two patients were randomly assigned to an intervention group in which they received the weight management program. Nineteen patients were allocated to the control group in which they received the usual clinical inpatient treatments. Body weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Quality of Life Scales such as Short Form of Medical Outcome Study (SF-36), Korean version of Obesity-related Quality of Life Scale (KOQOL) and Korean version of Body Weight, Image and Self-Esteem Evaluation Questionnaire (B-WISE-K) were evaluated during 12-week period. All assessments were done at baseline, 4, 8 and 12 week. Repeated measures of analysis of variance and post-hoc comparisons were done to compare the group differences from baseline at each visit. RESULTS: Sixteen of 32 (50%) patients in intervention group and 12 of 19 (69.4%) patients in control group completed this study. We found significant group by time interaction effects in weight, BMI and waist circumferences (p<0.05, respectively). The weight changes from baseline to 8 week and 12 week were significant in post-hoc comparisons between intervention and control groups (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). The changes of BMI and waist circumference from baseline to 12-week were also significant in post-hoc comparisons (p<0.05). After completion of the weight management program, there were significant differences on the subjective estimates such as physical component summary of SF-36, and total scores, psychosocial heath, physical health and diet of the KOQOL, and total scores of B-WISE-K between intervention and control group. These significant differences were found at 12-week of treatment in post-hoc comparisons (p<0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: The weight reduction program was effective for weight loss in schizophrenic inpatients. In addition, it might improve the subjective estimates such as obesity-related quality of life and weight-related body image in schizophrenic inpatients.
Body Image ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Diet ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Obesity ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia ; Waist Circumference ; Weight Loss ; Weight Reduction Programs ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND: This study examined how mental health status influenced suicidal ideation among community-dwelling elderly at senior citizen centers in Korea.METHODS: Data were obtained from a survey on elderly mental health in Jeollanam-do (a southwest province in Korea) conducted by the Jeollanam-do Provincial Mental Health and Welfare Center. In total, 4,113 people were recruited from all 22 cities in Jeollanam-do. We evaluated sociodemographic factors and mental health status using self-reported questionnaires, namely, the Suicidal Ideation Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form Korean Version, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Korean version of the General Health Questionale-12, and Satisfaction with Life Scale, to assess psychosocial factors affecting suicidal ideation. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the factors associated with suicidal ideation.RESULTS: Among the 4,113 subjects, 325 (7.9%) reported recent suicidal ideation. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that depression (p<0.001), low-level social support and life satisfaction (p=0.006), poor general mental health (p<0.001), physical disease (p=0.009), and poor self-perceived health status (p=0.039) were significantlyassociated with suicidal ideation.CONCLUSION: The presence of physical disease, poor self-perceived health status, depression, and poor general mental health conditions increase the risk of suicide ideation among the elderly. Social support and life satisfaction affected their suicidal ideation independently of depression.
Aged ; Depression ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mental Health ; Psychology ; Suicidal Ideation ; Suicide

Background: Depression is increasing among college students in general. Moreover, almost one-third of college students have been reported to suffer from depression. Thus, this study aimed to assess differences in stress coping strategies and resilience between depressed and normal-mood groups among college students. Methods: A total of 3,306 college students participated in this study. The students responded to a questionnaire that included questions of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, stress coping scale (SCS), and brief resilience scale. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of variables on depression. Results: Using the CES-D (cutoff score ≥21), 423 (12.8%) college students were classified as depressed. Adjusting for individual demographic factors, the SCS results of the students with depression showed significantly higher scores in emotion-focused coping (p<0.001), wishful thinking (p<0.001), and lower problem-focused coping (p<0.001) than the normal-mood group. Moreover, they presented lower resilience scores. Students who had emotion-focused coping (odds ratio [OR], 1.11; p<0.001) and lower resilience scores (OR, 0.76; p<0.001) were associated with higher CES-D scores. Conclusion The study findings revealed significant differences between the depressed and normal-mood groups in terms of stress coping skills and resilience, suggesting the need for promoting stress coping strategies and resilience to lower depression-related problems among college students.

Background: Alcohol drinking among college students is socially permissible in Korea. However, this population’s tendency to consume alcohol excessively results in many alcohol-related problems, including psychiatric problems.This study aimed to identify the sociodemographic characteristics and psychiatric comorbidities associated with hazardous alcohol drinking among college students. Methods: In total, 2,571 college students participated in the study. Data were collected using the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-K), the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, a modified Korean version of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire, the Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale-Version 1.1, and a stress-coping scale. Logistic regression analysis was performed on variables significantly correlated with hazardous alcohol drinking. Results: In total, 633 students were grouped into the hazardous alcohol drinking group (AUDIT-K, ≥12). The associ-ated variables were age (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; p<0.05), smoking (OR, 4.00; p<0.001), bipolar disorder (OR, 2.45; p<0.05), depressive disorder (OR, 1.35; p<0.05), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; OR, 1.44; p<0.05), and problem-focused stress coping (OR, 0.97; p<0.05). Conclusion In this study, hazardous alcohol drinking was associated with smoking, mood disorders, and ADHD. We suggest that alcohol use among college students be carefully monitored and managed in terms of its psychiatric comorbidities.