Background
: Unlike that of adults, depression of adolescents need screening because learning ability, physical growth and social adaptation are seriously affected. But Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), the assessment tool for adults, is generally used for adolescents as well because only few are available. The purpose of this study is to examine the reliability of a Korean version of BDI(K-BDI) as a screening instrument of adolescent depression.

Methods : From May 1, 1998 to June 1, 1998 we visited two high schools (one male, one coeducation) in Sungnam city and K-BDI questionnaires were given. The subjects were 1,107 high school students. This study was to evaluate the reliability of BDI and to find out factor structure through analysis.

Results : The sex distribution of subjects was 929(83.9%) males and 178(16.1%) females. Cronbach's internal consistency and Spearman-Brown split half correlation coefficient was 0.85, 0.86, respectively, in the male group, 0.74, 0.86, respectively, in the female group and 0.85, 0.86, respectively, in the total group. By principal axis factoring, 4 factors were extracted. Which were factor I: Negative Self Attitude, factor II: Performance Difficulty, factor III: Guilty and Psychomotor Retardation, and factor IV: Somatic Symptom. All of the correlations between total BDI score and the individual items showed positive correlation(P<0.001).
Average BDI score and prevalence rate was 11.7±7.24, 11.4%, respectively, in the male group, 18.51±6.65, 34.8%, respectively, in the female group and 12.85±7.56, 15.2%, respectively, in the total group.

Conclusion : The results suggest that the K-BDI is a reliable tool in adolescence. Therefore, it may be used as a screening tool for adolescent depression.

Background
: As life span is increasing, so is interest about adult disease. Especially the number of postmenopausal women has increased, and postmenopausal symptoms have become an important problem causing low quality of life. Hormone replacement therapy was introduced to overcome these problems. Authors investigated to evaluate the effect hormone replacement therapy on the quality of life of postmenopausal women.

Methods : From April to June 1997, we surveyed 188 postmenopausal women(91 women were on hormone replacement therapy, and 97 women were in the controlled group in Sungnam Center Hospital) with COOP/WONCA chart Korean version.

Results : COOP/WONCA chart(Korean version) is composed of seven dimensions, among these four dimensions(change in health, overall health, daily activity and pain) were shown statistically significant difference between two groups. But three dimensions (social activity, physical fitness and feelings) were not shown to be statistically different. Total mean score of COOP/WONCA chart showed statistically significant difference.

Conclusion : To improve the quality of life of postmenopausal women, primary care physician should consider hormone replacement therapy along with proper patient selection and periodic follow up.

Background
: Doubtlessly the incidence of cancer has increased. As the technology for diagnosis of cancer improves, the possibility of early diagnosis of cancer has increased, and the primary physicians experience many chances to tell their patients about the diagnoses of cancer. Despite the increasing number of ethical dilemmas that the primary physicians have to face, the medical schools do not offer enough moral educations. Instread, many primary phsicians have to depend only on their personal experiences in dealing their inevitable dilemma. Moreover, as the patients are more conscious of their rights as patients, and the conversations between the patients and doctors decrease, it is discove-red that the patients are found to have unsatisfactory feelings toward the medical doctors who do not tell their patients about the diagnosis of their disease and do not explain the procedures on the treatment of the disease. Considering the fact that patients have the right to decide on their own, and that the doctors have to help the untreatable cancer patients to cope with their remaining life, this research is conducted to establish a principle for doctors in telling the diagnosis of cancer based on the comparative study between the cancer patients and the non-cancer patients' experience in hearing about the diagnosis of cancer.
Method: In this study, the 40 non-cancer patients and 36 cancer patients were selected randomly as sample pupulation, from patients who were admitted to the Korea University Hospital between May 1 and May 31, 1994.

Results : 88.9% of cancer patients were told about the diagnosis of their disease by the doctors, 92.5% of non-cancer patients have answered that they want to know the diagnosis if they would develop cancer, 70% and 77.8% of non-cancer patients and cancer patients, respectively, have answe-red that they believe that the patient should know the diagnosis of cancer if a member of their family happens to develop cancer. 82.5% of non-cancer patients and 77.8% of cancer patients have answered that they wanted to be notified by their doctors. And, 37.5% of non-cancer patients and 55.6% of cancer patients have answered that both patients and their families should be told about the diagnosis of cancer at the same time. For their reason, 56.7% of the interviewee gave answered that it is because knosing the diagnosis of cancer would help the teatment of the disease.

Conclusion : The results of this study revealed that the doctors should that the doctors should tell the diagnoses of cancer to their patients, as a principle, and the doctors should bestow psychological comfort and hope to their patients. The patients also want to be told about the treatment procedures and the prognosis of their cancer. The principle on telling the diagnosis of cancer to the patient should be based on its beeficial effects. An exquisite exploration of the patient should be conducted before deciding to tell the diagnosis of cancer, I.e. the personality of the patient, educational and emotional status, support of the family, etc. Hence, the customary pracitce of alienating the patients in decision making procedures during the coures of diagnosis and treatment should be subjugated, and the patients should be informed about their diagnoses of cancer.