BACKGROUND: This study aimed to know the state of caregiver burden of family caregivers of patients with dementia and also to know factors associated with the severity of caregiver burden. METHODS: Family caregivers of dementia patients were enrolled from five general hospitals in Daegu Metropolitan city, Korea. The participants analyzed in the present study were 199 subjects who were 24 to 86 years old, living in Daegu or Kyungsang Bukdo province. Demographic features, general characteristics, characteristics of caring patients were collected and Burden Interview was done by a psychologist. Factors affecting caregiver burden were assessed using statistical analyses. RESULTS: The average severity of caregiver burden of family caregivers were between mild and moderate. Factors affecting the severity of caregiver burden were caregiving days per week among caregiver's characteristics and Neuropsychiatric Inventory and Geriatric Depression Scale among patient characteristics by multiple regression linear analysis. Caregiving cost shows marginal significance. Interestingly, cognitive scales like Mini-Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating, Physical and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living did not affect caregiver burden of family caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that caregiving days per week of caregivers and neuropsychiatric symptoms including depressive mood of patients are closely related with caregiver burden of family caregivers of patients with dementia in Korea.
Activities of Daily Living ; Caregivers* ; Daegu ; Dementia* ; Depression ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Psychology ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: Hearing loss can lead to a number of disabilities and can reduce quality of life. Noise-induced hearing losses have become more common among adolescents due to increased exposure to personal music players. We, therefore, investigated the use of personal music player among Korean adolescents and the relationship between hearing threshold and usage pattern of portable music players. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 490 adolescents were interviewed personally regarding their use of portable music players, including the time and type of player and the type of headphone used. Pure tone audiometry was performed in each subject. RESULTS: Of the 490 subjects, 462 (94.3%) used personal music players and most of them have used the personal music player for 1-3 hours per day during 1-3 years. The most common type of portable music player was the MP3 player, and the most common type of headphone was the earphone (insert type). Significant elevations of hearing threshold were observed in males, in adolescents who had used portable music players for over 5 years, for those over 15 years in cumulative period and in those who had used earphones. CONCLUSION: Portable music players can have a deleterious effect on hearing threshold in adolescents. To preserve hearing, adolescents should avoid using portable music players for long periods of time and should avoid using earphones.
Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; *Audiovisual Aids ; Auditory Threshold ; Female ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/*epidemiology ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; *Music ; Sex Distribution

No abstract available.
Humans ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Inflammatory bowel disease has a potential risk of developing colorectal cancer. However, there is little causal relationship between intestinal tuberculosis and colon cancer because intestinal tuberculosis is curable disease and has relatively short disease course. But there were a few case reports of intestinal tuberculosis associated with colon cancer. Diffuse infiltrating colon cancer, characterized by tumor cells in the presence of inflammatory changes with much fibrosis, is very rare in the colon. We experienced a 49-year-old woman who had tuberculous colitis combined with diffuse infiltrative colon cancer. She visited our hospital because of chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain. Colonoscopy showed multiple geographic ulcers in the transverse colon and partial intestinal obstruction. Histological examination revealed non-caseating granuloma and Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cultured in biopsied tissue. She took an anti-tuberculosis drug for 2 weeks, but her symptoms were aggravated. Therefore, extended right hemicolectomy was performed and revealed mucin-secreting, diffuse infiltrating adenocarcinoma. Herein, we report a rare case of diffuse infiltrative colon cancer coexisting with colonic tuberculosis with a review of liferatures.
Abdominal Pain ; Adenocarcinoma ; Colitis ; Colon* ; Colon, Transverse ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis* ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Three dimensional (3-D) ultrasonography is definitely more accurate than conventional 2-D ultrasonography in volume measurement of intra-abdominal organs. However, its application in measuring gastric emptying time has been limited. Thus, we tried to measure gastric antral emptying time by using 3-D ultrasonography and compare with that by radio-scintigraphy. METHODS: We performed both 3-D ultrasonography and radio-scintigraphy on the same day in 23 healthy subjects. After overnight fast, the subjects ingested 500 mL of soup meal (84 Kcal) that had been pre-mixed with 1 mCi of technetium(99m). The half emptying time (T(1/2)) measured by 3-D ultrasonography was defined by the time when the gastric antral volume decreased to half. RESUTLS: The mean T(1/2) of 23 healthy subjects measured by 3-D ultrasonography was 23.4 +/- 10.5 min, while that measured by scintigraphy was 28.4 +/- 14.4 min. The difference (p=0.11 by paired t-test) between the two methods was not significant. Moreover, no significant correlation of T1/2 between the two methods (r=0.361, p=0.09) was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Measuring gastric antral emptying time with 3-D ultrasonography may be useful but require further validation studies and advance in technology.
Adult ; English Abstract ; Female ; *Gastric Emptying ; Humans ; *Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Male ; Stomach/radionuclide imaging/*ultrasonography ; Technetium/diagnostic use

Candida can be a part of normal human flora, but can be harmful in immunocompromised patients. While oral or esophageal moniliasis can be found in healthy people or gravely ill patients, ulceration of the duodenum is far less common. Acid-reducing drugs such as H2 receptor blocker increase growth of microbes, including fungus, and candidal invasion is regarded as rare one of the factors that are associated with failure to respond to H2 receptor blocker therapy. Recently, we experienced a case of atypical duodenal ulcer which was found in a patient with iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome and diabetes mellitus and failed to respond to H2 receptor blocker therapy. Fungal spores and hyphae were histologically identified from the biopsy specimens that were obtained from the margin of the duodenal ulcer, and this fungus was confirmed as Candida albicans by blood culture. It should be considered that in immunocompromised patients, gastroduodenal ulcers can be caused by fungal infection.
Biopsy ; Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; Candidiasis ; Cushing Syndrome ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Duodenal Ulcer* ; Duodenum ; Fungi ; Humans ; Hyphae ; Immunocompromised Host ; Peptic Ulcer ; Spores, Fungal ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between bowel symptom changes and dysmenorrhea in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) according to the menstrual cycle. METHODS: Two hundred thirty-seven female medical students filled up questionnaires including change of bowel symptom, dysmenorrhea and perimenstrual symptom. Seventeen volunteered to keep diaries concerning their bowel habits and menstruation for two menstrual cycles. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-three (68.8%) reported that their bowel habit was changed according to menstrual cycle. Ninety-three (39.2%) fit the Rome II criteria of IBS. The number of subjects who reported changed bowel habit during the menstruation period was more in the IBS group than in the non-IBS group (84/93 vs. 83/144, p<0.005). The severity of dysmenorrhea was not different between IBS and non-IBS groups. The menstrual distress score during the menstruation period was significantly higher in the IBS group than in the non-IBS group. In 17 volunteers (12 IBS, 5 non-IBS), stool consistency and frequency were not significantly different between the menstruation and non-menstruation periods, regardless of their IBS status. The mean score of abdominal pain was higher in the menstruation than in the non-menstruation period only in the IBS group. CONCLUSIONS: IBS women have more bowel symptoms during their menstruation period than non-IBS women. Its mechanism should be further clarified.
Abdominal Pain ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome* ; Menstrual Cycle ; Menstruation ; Students, Medical ; Volunteers ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Measuring colonic transit time (CTT) by the radio-opaque marker method is simple, widely available and important for the diagnosis of slow transit constipation. Moreover, the effects of gender and menstrual cycle on CTT remain controversial. Thus, in this study, we examined the effects of gender and menstrual cycle on CTT in healthy subjects. METHODS: We measured CTT in 42 healthy subjects (21M, 21F) by using a radio-opaque marker, Kolomark (TM). Two simple abdominal radiographs were taken on the 4th and 7th days. Average daily intake of dietary fiber and menstrual history were surveyed. RESULTS: The mean CTT of the 42 healthy subjects was 26.5 +/- 19.4 hours. The mean CTT was not significantly different between the male and female subjects (22.3 +/- 16.1 h vs. 30.1 +/- 21.4 h, p> 0.05). However, the mean CTT of 11 female subjects in the luteal phase was significantly longer than that of 10 female subjects in the follicular phase (40.9 +/- 19.0 h vs. 20.6 +/- 19.2 h, p< 0.05). Serum progesterone level, age, BMI, and the average daily intake of dietary fiber did not correlate with CTT. CONCLUSION: The effects of the menstrual cycle should be considered in interpreting CTT in young women.
Adult ; Colon/*physiopathology/radiography ; Comparative Study ; Constipation/physiopathology/radiography ; Contrast Media ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Transit/*physiology ; Human ; Male ; Menstrual Cycle/*physiology ; Middle Aged ; Radiography, Abdominal ; Sex Factors ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Constipation and the use of laxatives are relatively common in patients with diabetes mellitus. However, the mechanisms responsible for the constipation are unclear. Even though autonomic neuropathy is regarded as one of the important mechanisms of constipation, it requires further clarification. In addition, the colonic function in diabetic patients requires further investigation. The aim of this study was to compare the colonic transit time between patients with diabetes mellitus and healthy subjects, and correlate it to the presence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy. The colonic transit time was measured by a noninvasive, radio-opaque marker method, and the presence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy was evaluated by the beat-to-beat variation and the orthostatic hypotension. Constipation was defined by the Rome II criteria. The mean total colonic transit time of the 28 diabetic patients (34.9 +/- 29.6 h, mean +/- S.D.) was significantly longer than that of the 28 healthy subjects (20.4 +/- 15.6 h, p < 0.05). Among the diabetic patients, 9/28 (32%) had constipation and 14/28 (50%) had cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy. The diabetic patients with constipation showed longer total, left and recto-sigmoid colonic transit times than those without constipation. However, the mean colonic transit time of diabetic patients with and those without cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy was similar. In conclusion, other mechanisms than the mere presence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy might be more relevant to the development of constipation in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Adult ; Aged ; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases/*physiopathology ; Colon/*physiopathology ; Constipation/physiopathology ; Diabetic Neuropathies/*physiopathology ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Transit ; Human ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Time Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The clinical significance of serum CA 125 levels in patients with chronic liver disease has not been widely appreciated in relation to the severity of the disease. We examined serum CA 125 levels in patients with chronic liver disease according to the severity of liver disease and the presence of ascites. METHODS: Fasting serum CA 125 levels were measured by a commercial RIA kit in 92 patients with chronic liver disease: 22 with chronic hepatitis and 70 with liver cirrhosis (Child class A, 19; B, 28; C, 23). Forty-one patients (45%) had ascites. RESULTS: The patients with Child class C liver cirrhosis had significantly higher mean serum CA 125 level than those with class A (p<0.05). In Child class B patients, the mean serum CA 125 level was significantly higher in patients with ascites than in those without (p<0.05). A multiple regression analysis showed that the presence of ascites, serum albumin, and prothrombin time were independent factors related to the increase of serum CA 125 levels. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of ascites is more closely related to the increase of CA125 levels in patients with liver cirrhosis than the severity of liver disease.
Adult ; Aged ; Ascites/blood ; CA-125 Antigen/*blood ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*blood ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*blood ; Male ; Middle Aged