Relationship between systolic hypertension assessed by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and aortic diameters in young women with Turner syndrome.

Objective: Patients with Turner syndrome (TS) are at high risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to aortic dilation. We evaluated the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors and investigated the relationship between systolic hypertension and aortic diameter in young patients with TS.

Design: Observational, cross-sectional study.

[Prerequisite for Korean advance directives: from the view of healthcare providers].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the main prerequisite for Korean Advance Directives [KAD] to ensure their better use.

Methods: Data were collected from two focus group interviews and individual email responses. Study participants were 5 doctors and 6 nurses.

Relationships of basal level of serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone with that of serum androstenedione and their stimulated responses to a low dose of ACTH in young adult patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

A single measurement of serum 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) level can be unreliable because of its marked diurnal variation. We investigated the relationship of serum level of 17OHP with that of androstenedione (AD), which shows a smaller diurnal variation. And we tested whether the responses of these two hormones to low-dose ACTH stimulation are correlated in patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

Changes in bone mineral density and body composition in children with central precocious puberty and early puberty before and after one year of treatment with GnRH agonist.

Background/aims: Much concern has been raised and debated on the effects of obesity and bone mineral density (BMD) after treatment with GnRH agonist. The aim of this study was to assess BMD and body composition, especially percent body fat (%FM) based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), before and after 1 year of treatment with GnRH agonist in Korean girls.

Methods: We assessed BMD and body composition in 121 Korean girls with precocious puberty before and after 1 year of treatment with GnRH agonist.

[A study on the related factors of the wellbeing of family caregivers in elderly with stroke].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors related to the wellbeing of the family caregivers of the elderly with a stroke.

Methods: The subjects of this study were 199 elderly treated in four oriental hospitals in Korea, and their primary family caregivers. The data was collected by interviews and a self-reported questionnaire, during the period from October, 2003 to April, 2004.

[The effect of senior simulation on nurses' attitude toward the elderly].

Purpose: This study was performed to explore the effect of senior simulation on nurses' attitudes toward the elderly.

Method: Twenty-seven nurses working in various settings such as acute hospitals, community health centers, geriatric hospitals, and clinics were recruited. Among them, 25 subjects completed the whole experimental protocol.