Social Isolation, Loneliness and Their Relationships with Mental Health Status in South Korea

Objective@#This study aims to investigate the prevalence and psychological impact of social isolation and loneliness in South Korea. Loneliness and social isolation have been regarded as a risk to both physical and mental health. However, most studies have focused on the elderly; hence, there are limited studies on the characteristics of socially isolated or lonely people considering age. @*Methods@#A sample of 1,700 participants was selected from three major cities in South Korea. In-person interviews were conducted to evaluate loneliness, social isolation and mental health status. @*Results@#Among the participants, the prevalence of social isolation and loneliness was 17.8% and 4.1%, respectively. Males decreased the odds of loneliness (AOR 0.49, 95% CI=0.28–0.87), while increasing the odds of social isolation (AOR 1.44, 95% CI=1.12–1.86) after adjusting for age and sex. Greater depressive and social phobic symptoms were associated with increased odds of loneliness and social isolation. @*Conclusion@#Social isolation and loneliness are prevalent among Koreans and associated with depression, social phobic symptoms, and suicidality. This study provides a foundation for further research to investigate nationwide prevalence and a more in-depth analysis of loneliness and social isolation.

Social Isolation, Loneliness and Their Relationships with Mental Health Status in South Korea

Objective@#This study aims to investigate the prevalence and psychological impact of social isolation and loneliness in South Korea. Loneliness and social isolation have been regarded as a risk to both physical and mental health. However, most studies have focused on the elderly; hence, there are limited studies on the characteristics of socially isolated or lonely people considering age. @*Methods@#A sample of 1,700 participants was selected from three major cities in South Korea. In-person interviews were conducted to evaluate loneliness, social isolation and mental health status. @*Results@#Among the participants, the prevalence of social isolation and loneliness was 17.8% and 4.1%, respectively. Males decreased the odds of loneliness (AOR 0.49, 95% CI=0.28–0.87), while increasing the odds of social isolation (AOR 1.44, 95% CI=1.12–1.86) after adjusting for age and sex. Greater depressive and social phobic symptoms were associated with increased odds of loneliness and social isolation. @*Conclusion@#Social isolation and loneliness are prevalent among Koreans and associated with depression, social phobic symptoms, and suicidality. This study provides a foundation for further research to investigate nationwide prevalence and a more in-depth analysis of loneliness and social isolation.

Public Acceptance of a Health Information Exchange in Korea / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the public acceptance of a health information exchange (HIE) and examined factors that influenced the acceptance and associations among constructs of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). METHODS: We collected data from a survey of 1,000 individuals in Korea, which was administered through a structured questionnaire. We assessed the validity and reliability of the survey instrument with exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficients. We computed descriptive statistics to assess the acceptance and performed regression analyses with a structural equation model to estimate the magnitude and significance of influences among constructs of TAM. RESULTS: Eighty-seven percent of the respondents were willing to use the technology, and the average level of agreement with the need for the technology was 4.16 on a 5-point Likert scale. The perception of ease of use of the technology significantly influenced perceptions of usefulness and attitudes about the need for HIE. Perceptions of usefulness influenced attitude and behavioral intention to use HIE, and attitude influenced intention. Age showed a wide range of influences throughout the model, and experience with offline-based information exchange and health status also showed noteworthy influences. CONCLUSIONS: The public acceptance of HIE was high, and influences posited by TAM were mostly confirmed by the study results. The study findings indicated a need for an education and communication strategy tailored by population age, health status, and prior experience with offline-based exchange to gain public buy-in for a successful introduction of the technology.

Diagnostic predictability of self-reported questionnaire for periodontitis / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to evaluate the validity of a set of self-reported questionnaires for periodontitis for estimating the prevalence of chronic adult periodontitis in the Korean population. METHODS: The questionnaire is comprised of a total of 14 questions with four summarized concepts including self-diagnosis of oral status, subjective signs related to oral health, smoking and drinking status, and use of auxiliary oral hygiene devices including scaling. The predictiveness of the measures from these self-reported questions was assessed by logistic regression modeling using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) statistics, sensitivity, and specificity. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and AUC including all questions were 0.571, 0.768, and 0.781, respectively; the sum of sensitivity and specificity was 1.34. To gain robustness, a simplified predictive model was built with six questions. Its results were 0.536, 0.817, and 0.762 for sensitivity, specificity, and AUC, respectively. The sum of sensitivity and specificity was found to be 1.35. CONCLUSIONS: The self-reported questionnaire for periodontitis showed considerable validity, but further study is required to provide optimal validity and predictability.

Clusters of oral health-related behaviors by gender and their relationship with psychosocial factors for adolescents in Gangneung / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: To verify the clusters of oral health-related behaviors by gender for adolescents in Gangneung, and to assess the influences of psychosocial factors (family socioeconomic status factors, individual economic factors, and psychological factors) on these clusters. METHODS: A survey was conducted of 3,611 adolescents (6th grade students in primary school, 2nd grade students in middle school, and 2nd grade students in high school) in Gangneung. The response rate was 96.6% (1,846 boys; 1,765 girls). The data were collected via self-administered structured questionnaires assessing participants 'smoking experience,' 'tooth brushing,' 'consumption of crackers or soft drinks,' and 'consumption of fruits or vegetables.' K-means cluster analysis was used to cluster the oral health-related behaviors by gender. A chi-square test was used to assess the difference between the clusters for oral health-related behaviors by gender and psychosocial factors. RESULTS: Clusters of oral health related-behaviors were classified into the unhealthy group (group 1; bad oral health-related behaviors), healthy group (group 2; good behaviors), and complex group (group 3; low smoking experiences and complex other behaviors). The clusters were different by gender. In the unhealthy group, boys represented 19.9% while, in the healthy group, girls represented 47.3%, which are both higher than the theoretical rates. Psychosocial factors in the unhealthy group were significantly lower than the healthy group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Meaningful clusters of oral health-related behaviors by gender were identified. Furthermore, the clusters were different by psychosocial factors. This finding suggests that one of the best ways to enhance oral health for adolescents is to develop oral health promotion programs for each oral health-related behavior cluster.

The differences of oral health-related behaviors by type of school among high school students in Gangneung city / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The principle purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of oral health-related behaviors by a type of school among high school students in Gangneung city. The secondary purpose was to assess the influences of other factors (father's education status, mother's education status, subjective economic status, FAS, experienced part-time job, pocket money and perceived stress) on these differences. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 1,282 high school students was conducted in Gangneung city. The response rate was 93.4%; general high school students were 773 and vocational high school students were 509. The data were collected by self-administered structured questionnaires. The differences of oral health-related behaviors of high school students by school type were assessed by a chisquare test. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the influences of other factors on these differences. RESULTS: Oral health-related behaviors were markedly better in students attending general high school, rather than vocational high school (P<0.001). The differences of oral health-related behaviors by school type were persisted after adjusting for gender (Model 1), socio-economic factors (Model 2), part-time job and pocket money (Model 3), psychological variables (Model 4) and all variables (Model 5), except for visiting a dental clinic. CONCLUSIONS: We found a marked influence of school type in oral health-related behaviors. This finding suggests that school type is a risk factor of oral health-related behaviors in high school students. Therefore, one of the best ways to enhance oral health for high school students is to develop oral health promotion programs for vocational high school students.

Allele Sequence Variations of GABARB1 Locus and Allele Frequency by New Allele Designation in Korean / 대한법의학회지

To determine allele frequency of GABARB1 Jcus in Korean, first, we sequenced each allele, which was amplified with primers that published before. We found mismatching between allele number and size of each allele when 'GATA' repeats are counted. The sequence revealed new 'GATA' repeat. So we had made new allele designation with total number of in 176 Korean people. The heterozygosity this locus was 0.716 and mean exclusion chance (MEC) and power of discrimination (PD) were 0.433 and 0.845, respectively. In this study, we emphasized necessity of sequencing of 2-3 alleles, which have same size before setting up allelic ladder.

Isolation of polymorphic loci from the human genome using multi-locus probe pV47-2 / 대한법의학회지

Two polymorphic loci, so- called FS106 and FS185, have been isolated from the human genome, using a multilocus probe pV47-2, which is extensively used in Korea for forensic investigation such as resolving paternity disputes. Among the several plaques selected from lambda Fix-II genomic libraries, fourteen clones have been characterized. Restriction maps of 14 clones were constructed to define the flanking as well as repeat parts. The repeat-free flanking DNA fragments were tested for single locus specific polymorphism, and repeat containing DNA fragments were sequenced for the design of PCR primers. None of the repeat-free flanking DNA fragments was not shown any polymorphisms by RFLP analysis. The (GGT)(n)-rich sequences in most of repeat containing DNA fragments were identified by sequencing analysis. Most of repetitive sequences consists of major units of (GGT)(n), but a regular repetition pattern can not be found in all clones. Two sets of primers designed from flanking sequences of repeat containing DNA fragments were shown length polymorphisms by PCR analysis, when tested in 50 unrelated individuals. Three and four alleles were detected at FS106 and 0.58 for FS185. In addition, two loci, FS106 and FS185, have been mapped on chromosome 5 and 3, respectively, by somatic cell hybrid analysis.