Relationship of loneliness and subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly / 대한구강보건학회지

Objectives@#Loneliness was associated with not only social status but also general health. Psychological conditions in older people have negative effects on general health and oral health. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between loneliness and subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly. @*Methods@#This cross-sectional study analyzed the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) for the questionnaire, UCLA loneliness scale data of 1,511 older adults living in a rural community. Logistic regression was conducted to identify the relevance of subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly according to the level of loneliness. @*Results@#According to the final model that after adjustment for other risk factors (age, gender, level of education, smoking, drinking, etc.), in the elderly who rarely feel loneliness group compared to the elderly who never feel loneliness was Odds ratio (OR) 1.256 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.99-1.60) and sometimes+often feel loneliness was OR 2.110 (95% CI: 1.39-3.21). @*Conclusions@#Loneliness is associated with subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly. Older people feeling loneliness are likely to have more subjective chewing discomfort.

Development of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences Guideline for Rating Physical Impairment

Systematic and effective welfare for the disabled is possible when there are scientific and objective criteria demonstrating either presence or severity of the impairment. We need our own scientific criteria suitable for our culture and society, since the impairment is influenced by them. In 2007, we established the Developing Committee of Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) Guideline for Impairment Rating under KAMS supervision. We included all fixed and permanent physical impairments after a sufficient medical treatment. The impairment should be stable and medically measurable. If not, it should be reevaluated later. We benchmarked the American Medical Association Guides. The KAMS Guideline should be scientific, objective, valid, reasonable and practical. In particular, we tried to secure objectivity. We developed the KAMS Guideline for Impairment Rating.