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Urinary incontinence (UI) is highly prevalent in the aging population. UI is one of the most common geriatric syndromes and affects overall health, quality of life, and economical burden in patients. The aims of this study were to investigate the characteristics of patients with UI and to assess its association with other geriatric health problems.
We used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing obtained in 2006. Among the 10,254 individuals aged 45 years and older, we analyzed data from 2,418 women aged 65 years and older. Data were obtained using questionnaires for UI, comorbidities, and lifestyle factors.
Among the 2,418 women aged 65 years and older, 506 (20.9%) had UI. Cerebrovascular disease (odds ratio [OR], 2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26 to 3.23), arthritis (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.18 to 1.77), and fear of falling (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.18 to 2.22) were significantly associated with UI, while chronic lung disease, psychiatric disease, difficulty in daily living due to visual and hearing problems, and experiencing a fall in the last 2 years were not associated with UI.
Cerebrovascular disease, arthritis, and especially fear of falls were significantly associated with UI in elderly Korean women.
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Being underweight has been related to health risks. However, little is known about the relationship between suicidal ideation and attempting to lose weight. This study was conducted to examine if there is an association between suicidal ideation and attempting to lose weight among underweight adults.
A cross-sectional study of 1,122 underweight adults (range, 19 to 69 years) was conducted based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2012. We examined suicidal ideation, doctor-diagnosed depression, depressive mood, stress, physical activity, health-related behavior, comorbidity, and socioeconomic status by weight loss attempts. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between suicidal ideation and weight loss attempts. The following covariates were controlled for: age, sex, physical activity, alcohol problem, marital status, education, income, occupation, self-perception of body image, chronic disease, and body mass index.
There were 101 subjects in the weight loss attempt group and 1,021 in the non-attempt group. The attempt group had a higher risk of suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR], 2.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35 to 4.53) and depressive symptoms (OR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.19 to 3.98). After depressive symptoms were added to the covariates, the risk of suicidal ideation was also significant (OR 2.11, 95% CI: 1.03 to 4.35). The two groups did not significantly differ in doctor-diagnosed depression and stress.
Weight loss attempts were associated with suicidal ideation in underweight Korean adults.
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The number of internet users is increasing rapidly and internet addiction among adolescents has become a serious public health problem in Korea. In the light of behavioral addiction, this study was aimed to identify the associations between the risk of internet addiction and other problem behaviors which can lead to addiction, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, drug abuse, and sexual intercourse among a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents.
Data from the 2010 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (respondents, 73,238) were analyzed. Risk of internet addiction was assessed by the 'Korean Internet Addiction Proneness Scale for Youth-Short Form: Self Report' which was developed by the Korean National Information Society Agency in 2008. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios of problem behaviors among adolescents at high risk for internet addiction and adolescents at low risk for internet addiction.
The odds of smoking experience, drug abuse experience, and sexual intercourse experience were significantly higher among boys at high risk for internet addiction compared to boys at low risk for internet addiction. Among girls at high risk of internet addiction, the odds of smoking experience, drinking experience, and drug abuse experience were significantly higher compared with girls at low risk of internet addiction.
The risk of internet addiction was associated with cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, drug abuse, and sexual intercourse experience among Korean adolescents.
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It is important to know and decide when to end regimen for the quality of life of the patients. However, there is currently no clear agreement on when to terminate palliative chemotherapy. We investigated the duration between the last chemotherapy and death, and associated factors affecting patients receiving palliative care after the last chemotherapy.
We studied 242 patients who were put into palliative care ward after receiving chemotherapy and died during hospitalization from 2008 to 2009. Electronic medical records were used to gather information on demographic characteristics, types of primary cancer, and palliative chemotherapy. Then we analyzed the relationship between the clinical characteristics of patients and interval between last chemotherapy and death.
The average survival time of patients after referral to palliative care was 17.5 days; survival time after discontinuation of chemotherapy was 103 days. Also, 104 (43.0%) patients died within 3 months and 14 (5.8%) patients died within 1 month of persistent palliative chemotherapy. Chemotherapy on patients within 3 months from their death was not associated with the social characteristics of the population.
The patients who were referred to palliative care were found to have continued to receive chemotherapy within 3 months before death. However, only a small number of patients received chemotherapy within 1 month before death, which confirms that futile chemotherapy that extends to the end of life was less frequent. Doctors should be able to recognize the implications of excessive and aggressive use of chemotherapy and should actively communicate with patients about therapeutic choices.
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