Associated Factors of Depression and Suicidal Behaviors among Korean Adolescents: Web-based Survey of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior in 2015~2017

Purpose@#Suicide among adolescents is a serious problem worldwide, and especially, the suicide rate of teenagers is increasing rapidly in South Korea. This study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the respective suicidal behavior in terms of home-environment characteristics, health behavior characteristics, and psychological health characteristics in Korean adolescents. @*Methods@#The data of the Web-based Survey of the Youth Risk Behavior from 2015 to 2017 collected by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. @*Results@#The influential factors by depression and suicidal behavior (suicidal ideation (SI), suicidal plan (SP), and suicidal attempt (SA)) were female(adjusted odds ratios [aOR], 1.45, 1.69, 1.30, 2.19), age (aOR 1.03, 0.98, 0.97, 0.90), no family members (aOR 1.21, 1.36, 2.11, 2.32), living with only the father (aOR 1.05, 1.06, 1.07, 1.11), high economic status (aOR 1.15, 1.22, 1.34, 1.46), residence in relatives’ home (aOR 1.6, 1.36, 2.34, 1.97), drinking experience (aOR 1.35, 1.47, 1.57, 1.76), smoking experience (aOR 1.28, 1.30, 1.31, 1.94), hospital treatment experience due to violence (aOR 2.18, 3.33, 6.24, 8.40), bad health status (aOR 1.23, 1.48, 2.00, 2.15), unhappiness (aOR 2.49, 6.14, 6.72, 8.89), and a lot of stress (aOR 6.05, 10.40, 4.86, 5.52). @*Conclusion@#The suicidal behavior risk screening and prevention program for adolescents should be developed considering the subjective happiness and hospital treatment experience status due to violence that affects suicidal behavior.

Effects of Sarcopenic Obesity on Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Elders: Using Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2011)

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine effects of sarcopenic obesity on metabolic syndrome in Korean elders. METHODS: This study is based on the analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) with 1,155 subjects (524 men, and 631 women) aged 60 or older, from 2008 to 2011. Sarcopenia was defined as an appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM), divided by weight (%) of <1 SD (standard deviation) below the sex-specific mean for young adults. Obesity was defined as a total body fat percent (men≥25%, women≥35%). RESULTS: The prevalence of SO (sarcopenic obesity) was 13.3% among men and 22.5% among women. Both sexes showed a higher total body fat percent, and the SMI (skeletal muscle index) was the lowest in the SO group. Metabolic syndrome was highly prevalent in the SO group (52.5% men, 60.4% women). The SO group showed a higher risk for metabolic syndrome (odds ratio men 6.57 [95% CI 5.19~7.27], women 3.89 [95% CI 2.41~6.29]) than the obese group (men 3.14 [95% CI 1.76~4.14], women 2.54 [95% CI 1.38~4.65]). CONCLUSION: SO is a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome in Korean elders. Therefore, a nursing program should be given to the Korean elderly SO group to prevent metabolic syndrome.