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The number of North Korean adolescent defectors entering South Korea has been increasing. The health behavior, including mental health-related behavior, and factors associated with depression in North Korean adolescent defectors residing in South Korea were investigated.
Data obtained from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (2011–2014) dataset were utilized. In total, 206 North Korean adolescent defectors were selected, and for the control group, 618 matched South Korean adolescents were selected. Frequency analysis was used to determine the place of birth and nationality of the parents, chi-square tests were used to compare the general characteristics of the North and South Korean subjects, and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to compare the health behavior of the two sets of subjects. To determine the factors associated with depression in the North Korean subjects, a logistic regression was performed.
The North Korean adolescents reported higher current smoking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48 to 4.35), current drinking (aOR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.15 to 2.99), and drug use rates (aOR, 10.99; 95% CI, 4.04 to 29.88) than did the South Korean adolescents. The factors associated with depression in the North Korean adolescents were current smoking (aOR, 6.99; 95% CI, 1.62 to 30.06), lifetime drinking experience (aOR, 5.32; 95% CI, 1.51 to 18.75), and perceived stress (aOR, 4.74; 95% CI, 1.74 to 12.90).
There were differences in health behavior between the North and South Korean adolescents. A specialized approach for North Korean adolescent defectors is required to promote proper health behavior and adaptation to South Korean society.
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Youth suicide is increasingly being recognized as a major social problem in South Korea. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of parental support on the relationship between life stress and suicidal ideation among middle-school students.
This study analyzed data from a cross-sectional study on mental health conducted by the South Korea National Youth Policy Institute between May and July of 2013. Questionnaire responses from 3,007 middle-school students regarding stress factors, thoughts of suicide during the past year, and parental support were analyzed in terms of 3 subscale elements: emotional, academic, and financial support.
Among the participants, 234 male students (7.8%) and 476 female students (15.8%) reported experiencing suicidal ideation in the past year. Life stress significantly influenced suicidal ideation (P<0.001), and parental support and all of the subscale elements had a significant influence on decreasing suicidal ideation. As shown in model 1, life stress increased suicidal ideation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.318; P<0.001), and, in model 2, the effect of life stress on suicidal ideation decreased with parental support (aOR, 1.238; P<0.001).
Parental support was independently related to a decrease in suicidal ideation, and life stress was independently related to an increase in suicidal ideation. Parental support buffered the relationship between life stress and suicidal ideation.
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In various studies in adults, caffeine may increase wakefulness and relieve pain, but caffeine overdose can cause many adverse serious effects on health. Caffeine intake has recently been increasing in adolescents. In spite of importance of caffeine effects on Korean adolescents, there are lack of scientific and systematic studies. The purpose of our study was to identify the relationship between caffeine consumption and effects on adolescents.
We performed study on 234 middle school students at one middle school in Daegu using a self-report questionnaire. We divided students to quartiles according to amount of caffeine intake. We used Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to evaluate the degree of depression and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to evaluate the degree of anxiety. We also used Insomnia Severity Scale (ISI) to evaluate the degree of insomnia and Global Assessment of Recent Stress (GARS) to evaluate the stress in students. We used logistic regression analysis to identify the relationship between caffeine consumption and effects.
Higher caffeine intake was associated with higher weight, height, lower academic achievement, and higher score in BDI, BAI, ISI, and GARS (P for trend <0.005). Higher caffeine intake quartile was associated with greater odds of having significant depression (BDI ≥10, P for trend=0.011), and insomnia (ISI ≥8, P for trend=0.015) after adjustment for factors that can affect the psychological status.
We found that caffeine intake is associated weight, height, academic achievement, and higher score in BDI, BAI, ISI, and GARS. Caffeine intake was positively associated with the severity of depression and the severity of insomnia among adolescents in Korean.
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An increase in the obese adolescent population is being recognized as a serious medical and social problem. The present study aimed to examine the association between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity in Korean adolescents based on total available resources and local social inequality models.
The present study used data from the 2013 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey in analyzing 72,438 Korean adolescents aged 12–18. The analysis investigated obesity odds ratio (OR) according to neighborhood SES adjusted for age and individual SES indices, which included family affluence scale (FAS), education level of parents, cohabitation with parents, and weekly allowance. Obesity OR was investigated according to neighborhood SES by FAS, and according to FAS by neighborhood SES.
After adjusting for age and individual SES variables, there was no significant association between neighborhood SES and adolescent obesity for either boys or girls. However, girls in the high FAS group showed a pattern of lower neighborhood SES being associated with a significant increase in risk of obesity; in the high neighborhood SES group, boys showed a pattern of higher FAS being associated with a significant increase in risk of obesity, whereas girls show a pattern of decrease.
Although limited, the present study demonstrated that some girl groups exhibited a pattern of lower neighborhood SES being associated with an increase in risk of obesity, as well as a gender-based difference in risk of obesity by individual SES. Therefore, measures to prevent adolescent obesity should be established with consideration for differences in risk according to individual and neighborhood SES.
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Adolescent smoking is positively related to weight control attempts, especially by unhealthy methods. The co-occurrence of smoking and unhealthy weight control behaviors may cause serious health problems in adolescents. This study examined the relationship of smoking with unhealthy weight control behaviors among Korean adolescents.
This cross-sectional study involved 31,090 students of grades 7 to 12, who had tried to reduce or maintain their weight during the 30 days prior to The Tenth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, 2014. Data on height, weight, weight control methods, smoking, alcohol intake, living with one's family, and perceived economic status were obtained through self-report questionnaires. ‘Unhealthy weight control behaviors’ were subcategorized into ‘extreme weight control behaviors’ and ‘less extreme weight control behaviors.’
The smoking rates were 13.3%±0.4% in boys and 3.8%±0.2% in girls. Current smokers were more likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors (odds ratio [OR], 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09 to 2.00 in boys, and OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.59 to 2.65 in girls) and less extreme weight control behaviors (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.40 in boys, and OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.22 to 1.76 in girls) compared to non-smokers among both boys and girls.
Current smoking is independently related to a high likelihood of engaging in unhealthy weight control behaviors among Korean adolescents. This relationship is stronger for girls than for boys. Extreme weight control behaviors have a stronger relationship with current smoking than less extreme weight control behaviors.
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This study aimed to determine the prevalence of metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity (MHO and MUO, respectively) and examine the demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle predictors of metabolic health status in Korean children and adolescents.
This study was based on data collected from the Korean Children-Adolescent Study in 2010. A total of 1,700 children (846 boys and 854 girls) were included in the primary cohort and classified into metabolically healthy and unhealthy groups according to factors related to the metabolic syndrome. Demographic and biochemical features were evaluated in study participants. Logistic regression estimated the odds ratios of having more fat mass among MUO compared with MHO children after adjusting for confounding factors.
Mean body mass index was higher in the MUO group than in the MHO group (24.83 vs. 23.02 kg/m2, respectively). The proportion of obese participants was also higher in the MUO group (59.4%) than in the MHO group (20.7%). MHO children were more likely to have parents with better socioeconomic status and a higher fruit and vegetable intake compared with MUO children. Higher fat mass and percent fat was associated with MUO according to multiple logistic regression analysis.
Fat mass and percent fat are associated with metabolically healthy phenotypes of obesity among children and adolescents.
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The relationships of total and regional body fat percent with bone mineral density (BMD) in Korean adolescents were examined using the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-1), 2010.
Body fat percent at whole body (WBFP), trunk (TBFP), and extremities (both upper and lower extremities fat mass/body weight, EBFP), ratio of trunk fat mass to extremities fat mass (TEFR), and BMD at whole body, total femur, and lumbar spine were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in a population-based sample of 433 boys and 362 girls, aged 12 to 18 years. The analyses were conducted using linear regression analysis with complex sampling design.
After adjusting for confounders such as age, height, weight, serum 25-(OH) vitamin D concentration, energy intake, calcium intake, physical activity, and menarche status for girls, WBFP, TBFP, and EBFP were inversely associated with whole and regional BMD in both sexes (P < 0.05). TEFR was positively associated with whole and regional BMD in boys after adjusting for confounders, while it was negatively associated in girls (P < 0.05). However, the associations were non-significant when bone mass-free lean mass was adjusted instead of bodyweight except for a positive association between TEFR and BMD in boys.
In Korean adolescents, total and regional body fat percent is not independently associated with BMD after adjusting for bone mass-free lean mass but higher fat in trunk as compared to extremities may be protective for BMD in boys.
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The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) III using the circumplex model has been widely used in investigating family function. However, the criticism of the curvilinear hypothesis of the circumplex model has always been from an empirical point of view. This study examined the relationship between adolescent adaptability, cohesion, and adolescent problem behaviors, and especially testing the consistency of the curvilinear hypotheses with FACES III.
We used the data from 398 adolescent participants who were in middle school. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate the FACES III and Youth Self Report.
According to the level of family adaptability, significant differences were evident in internalizing problems (P = 0.014). But, in externalizing problems, the results were not significant (P = 0.305). Also, according to the level of family cohesion, significant differences were in internalizing problems (P = 0.002) and externalizing problems (P = 0.004).
The relationship between the dimensions of adaptability, cohesion and adolescent problem behaviors was not curvilinear. In other words, adolescents with high adaptability and high cohesion showed low problem behaviors.
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The number of internet users is increasing rapidly and internet addiction among adolescents has become a serious public health problem in Korea. In the light of behavioral addiction, this study was aimed to identify the associations between the risk of internet addiction and other problem behaviors which can lead to addiction, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, drug abuse, and sexual intercourse among a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents.
Data from the 2010 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (respondents, 73,238) were analyzed. Risk of internet addiction was assessed by the 'Korean Internet Addiction Proneness Scale for Youth-Short Form: Self Report' which was developed by the Korean National Information Society Agency in 2008. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios of problem behaviors among adolescents at high risk for internet addiction and adolescents at low risk for internet addiction.
The odds of smoking experience, drug abuse experience, and sexual intercourse experience were significantly higher among boys at high risk for internet addiction compared to boys at low risk for internet addiction. Among girls at high risk of internet addiction, the odds of smoking experience, drinking experience, and drug abuse experience were significantly higher compared with girls at low risk of internet addiction.
The risk of internet addiction was associated with cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, drug abuse, and sexual intercourse experience among Korean adolescents.
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