Ethnoracial Disparities in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Brief Report.

Despite the well-identified vulnerability of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unclear about their experiences with COVID-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptomology (COVID-PTSD). This study examined ethnoracial disparities in the level of, and factors associated with, COVID-PTSD using a national data set, including 1926 Whites and 488 ethnoracial minorities. Results showed that ethnoracial minorities reported a greater COVID-PTSD than Whites.

The role of visual expectations in acupuncture analgesia: A quantitative electroencephalography study.

Acupuncture is a complex treatment comprising multisensory stimulation, including visual and tactile sensations and experiences of body ownership. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of these three components of acupuncture stimulation in acupuncture analgesia. 40 healthy volunteers participated in the study and received acupuncture treatment under three different conditions (real-hand, rubber-hand synchronous, and rubber-hand asynchronous).

Urban/Rural Digital Divide Exists in Older Adults: Does It Vary by Racial/Ethnic Groups?

Despite the overall increase in older adults' internet use, the digital divide within older Americans remains substantial, particularly for those in rural areas and with racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. The current study examines how one's residential area and racial/ethnicity relate to internet access, both singularly and in concert. Data were from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study.

Usefulness of Short-Term Imaging and Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen to Early Predict Response to Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Patients With Cervical Cancer.

Objective: The objective is to investigate the factors that can predict early treatment response in patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for cervical cancer.

Methods: We assessed clinical factors and treatment response in patients who underwent CCRT for cervical cancer at four time points: initial, 2.5 weeks, 6 weeks after starting CCRT, and 3 months after completing CCRT.

Association of the Magnitude of Nurses With the Use of Health Information Exchanges: Analyzing the National Health Insurance Claim Data of Hospitals and Clinics in Korea.

Background: Many features of health care organizations (HCOs) have been identified to be associated with health information exchange (HIE), but subcategories of organizational factors focusing on nurse workforces still need to be identified. The objective of this study is to investigate the association of number of nurses with HIE use in Korea.

Methods: This study had a retrospective study design and used health insurance claim data from June 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018.

Steroids plus antiviral agents are more effective than steroids alone in the treatment of severe Bell's palsy patients over 40 years of age.

Objective: The effectiveness of the combination of steroids and antiviral agents in the treatment of Bell's palsy remains unclear. This study evaluated the therapeutic effect of combination therapy in severe Bell's palsy patients and assesses specific conditions under which combination therapy is more effective than steroids alone.

Methods: From January 2005 to December 2019, the records of 1710 Bell's palsy patients who visited Kyung Hee University Hospital were reviewed retrospectively.

Effect of vitamin D supplementation on hepatic lipid dysregulation associated with autophagy regulatory AMPK/Akt-mTOR signaling in type 2 diabetic mice.

Vitamin D has been reported to protect liver against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by attenuating hepatic lipid dysregulation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the mechanism of vitamin D on hepatic lipid metabolism-associated autophagy in hyperglycemia-induced NAFLD remains yet to be exactly elucidated. C57BL/6J mice were intraperitoneally injected with 30 mg/kg of streptozotocin and fed a high-fat diet for induction of diabetes.

The Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis between Frailty and Physical Activity among Community-Dwelling Older Adults by Age Groups.

This study was to investigate the reciprocal relationship between frailty and physical activity among older adults by age group (middle-old: 70-79 years; oldest-old: 80-84 years) within 2 years using cross-lagged panel analysis. The study data were derived from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study, and a total of 1092 participants were included. Frailty and high physical activity had significant reciprocal relationships in the middle-old group, which indicates that frailty was associated with less high physical activity, and high physical activity predicts less frailty after 2 years.

Accelerated Epigenetic Age in Normal Cognitive Aging of Korean Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Background: Epigenetic age acceleration has been studied as a promising biomarker of age-related conditions, including cognitive aging. This pilot study aims to explore potential cognitive aging-related biomarkers by investigating the relationship of epigenetic age acceleration and cognitive function and by examining the epigenetic age acceleration differences between successful cognitive aging (SCA) and normal cognitive aging (NCA) among Korean community-dwelling older adults (CDOAs).

Methods: We used data and blood samples of Korean CDOAs from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study.

Effects of acupuncture on cardiovascular risks in patients with hypertension: a Korean cohort study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of acupuncture on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), myocardial infarction, stroke and death in hypertensive patients taking anti-hypertensives.

Methods: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) database, this study identified 59,370 patients taking anti-hypertensives who had been diagnosed with hypertension between 2003 and 2006. They were divided into acupuncture and non-acupuncture groups.