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BACKGROUND: This study examined the mediating function of body weight perception (BWP) in the relation between body mass index (BMI) and unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCBs; eg, fasting, using diet pills, or laxatives), and between BMI and suicidal ideation. It also explored the correlation between exposure to multiple UWCBs and suicidal ideation among Korean adolescents. METHODS: Data on BMI, BWP, UWCBs, and suicidal ideation were obtained from the 2006 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, a school-based survey conducted on a nationally representative sample of students in grades 7–12 (36,463 boys and 33,433 girls). Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: BMI was significantly associated with both UWCB and suicidal ideation among boys and girls, even after controlling for covariates. However, the significance and magnitude of the association between BMI and UWCB were considerably attenuated when BWP was added to the model. When BWP was included, the association between overweight BMI status and suicidal ideation became nonsignificant in both sexes, whereas the association between underweight BMI status and suicidal ideation remained significant among boys. Adolescent boys and girls engaging in multiple UWCBs were at greater risk for experiencing suicidal thoughts. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that BWP represents a potential mediator between BMI and UWCB, and between BMI and suicidal ideation among both boys and girls. Thus, school programs addressing issues related to BWP should be developed and targeted at adolescents to reduce the potential risks for both UWCB and suicidal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Little attention has been paid to whether temperature is associated with suicide and to whether suicide seasonality appears in Asian countries as shown in Western countries, even though suicide rates in Korea have increased steadily. The goal of the present study was to examine the association between daily temperature and daily suicide rate in Korea, taking gender, age, and education level into account. Data were analyzed using a generalized additive model, adjusting for confounding factors such as sunshine, relative humidity, holidays, and long-term trends. Suicide rates were higher in spring and summer than other seasons. We observed a 1.4% increase (95% confidence interval=1.0–1.7%) in suicide with each 1°C-increase in daily mean temperature. The suicide risks related to the temperature for males, elderly people, and those with less education were higher than for females, younger people, and those with more education, respectively. These findings have confirmed that temperature is associated with suicide in Korea and further our understanding of more susceptible groups, the effects of gender, age, and education level. Therefore, temperature, one of the meteorological factors, is an important risk factor on suicide. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examined the association between all-cause/cardiovascular mortality and PM(2.5) as related to Asian dust (AD), smog-AD, smog, and nonevent days and evaluated the differential risks according to specific events for mortality. The daily records of all-cause/cardiovascular mortality and PM(2.5) from March to May 2003-2006 in Seoul, Korea, were used as independent and dependent variables. Differences in the event effects were assessed using a time-series analysis. Both all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities were significantly associated with PM(2.5) during smog-AD and AD days only. Differences in chemical composition emerging during long-range transport to Korea may explain these observations, especially as regards secondary aerosol, metal-sulfate/or nitrate, and metallic components. These results suggest that exposure to PM(2.5) during specific events is differentially associated with human mortality and that changes in the chemical composition of PM(2.5), occurring during long-range transport, represent important factors in such differential effects on health.

Purpose: This study examined the association between early initiation of problem behaviors (alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and sexual intercourse) and suicidal behaviors (suicidal ideation and suicide attempts), and explored the effect of concurrent participation in these problem behaviors on suicidal behaviors among Korean adolescent males and females., Materials and Methods: Data were obtained from the 2006 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally representative sample of middle and high school students (32,417 males and 31,467 females) in grades seven through twelve. Bivariate and multivariate logistic analyses were conducted. Several important covariates, such as age, family living structure, household economic status, academic performance, current alcohol drinking, current cigarette smoking, current butane gas or glue sniffing, perceived body weight, unhealthy weight control behaviors, subjective sleep evaluation, and depressed mood were included in the analyses., Results: Both male and female preteen initiators of each problem behavior were at greater risk for suicidal behaviors than non-initiators, even after controlling for covariates. More numerous concurrent problematic behaviors were correlated with greater likelihood of seriously considering or attempting suicide among both males and females. This pattern was more clearly observed in preteen than in teen initiators although the former and latter were engaged in the same frequency of problem behavior., Conclusion: Early initiation of alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and sexual intercourse, particularly among preteens, represented an important predictor of later suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in both genders. Thus, early preventive intervention programs should be developed and may reduce the potential risks for subsequent suicidal behaviors.

Purpose: To descriptively examine trends in body dissatisfaction and suicidal ideation during adolescence, and to investigate whether body dissatisfaction at an early stage (Time 1) predicts suicidal ideation at a later stage (Time 2) among boys and girls in different stages of adolescence (early and midadolescence), controlling for Time 1 of relevant variables, including suicidal ideation, depressed mood, and self-esteem., Methods: Data were obtained from Korea Youth Panel Survey data sets for early adolescents (1380 boys and 1209 girls, Time 1 mean age 10 years) and midadolescents (1429 boys and 1437 girls, Time 1 mean age 15 years) and from follow-up surveys of the same individuals after 2 years. Multivariate logistic analyses were carried out to assess the relationship of Time 1 body dissatisfaction to Time 2 suicidal ideation., Results: For both genders, body dissatisfaction and suicidal ideation progressively increased until peaking at midadolescence and slightly decreasing thereafter. After controlling for psychological problems and other possible variables, body dissatisfaction prospectively predicted the risk of suicidal ideation in early-adolescent girls and midadolescent boys, but not in early-adolescent boys or midadolescent girls., Conclusions: The results underscore that programs aimed at adolescents with body dissatisfaction should contain different material according to their gender and stage of adolescence. Such differential interventions may reduce suicide risk in adolescents.

Objectives: This study was to examine not only the contribution of body image dissatisfaction to suicidal ideation, according to gender, but the mediating role of parent and peer relationships on the association between body image dissatisfaction and suicidal ideation., Methods: Data from the 2004 Korean Education and Employment Panel, a school-based survey administered to a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents, are used in the study. With the exception of participants with missing data on important questions (suicidal ideation, self-evaluated body image, self-reported weight/height, risk factors related to suicide), information from 5426 students (2896 males and 2530 females) in grades 9 and 12 was separately analyzed along gender lines using multivariate logistic regression., Results: In both genders, body image dissatisfaction contributed to suicidal ideation, after controlling for covariates (i.e., school type, perceived family economic hardship, parent-related negative life events, delinquent behaviors, unhealthy behaviors, and self-efficacy). Such association existed throughout all body mass index ranges, and underweight males and normal females were most vulnerable to suicidal ideation if they are dissatisfied with their bodies. Parent and peer relationships partially mediated the association between body image dissatisfaction and suicidal ideation in both genders, but these effects were very small., Conclusions: How adolescents evaluate their body image may be an important indicator of suicidal ideation. Future research should further test the link between body dissatisfaction and suicidal ideation, even after controlling for other important forms of psychopathology known to be associated with these issues.

Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the mediating function of body weight perception (BWP) on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCB: e.g., fasting, or taking diet pills or laxatives) and between BMI and depressed mood, and to explore the effect of distorted BWP on UWCB and depressed mood among adult women., Methods: A regionally representative sample of 8,581 women aged 20-64 years residing in Seoul, the capital of Korea, completed the 2001 Seoul Citizens Health Indicator Survey which provides self-reported information about height, weight, BWP, UWCB, depressed mood, demographic/ socioeconomic characteristics, and health-related behaviors. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression., Results: BMI was significantly associated both with UWCB and depressed mood, even controlling for all covariates. However, the magnitude and significance of each association was considerably attenuated when BWP was taken into account, indicating that BWP functioned, in part, as a mediator between BMI and UWCB and between BMI and depressed mood, respectively. Among the combinations of BMI and BWP, women who perceived themselves to be heavier than their actual BMIs appeared more likely to use UWCB, whereas women who had a distorted BWP, either underestimation or overestimation as compared with their BMIs, tended to be at greater risk for depressed mood than those who had an undistorted BWP., Conclusions: These findings suggest that how women perceive their body weight may be an important predictor and/or mediator of UWCB and depressed mood among adult Korean women.

Objectives: This study examined the relationship of parent-related negative life events with mental health and delinquent behaviors among Korean adolescents., Methods: A total of 2,976 high school first-grade pupils (1,498 boys & 1,478 girls) taking part in the third wave of Korean Youth Panel Survey completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding parent-related life events, depressive feelings, suicidal ideation, delinquent behaviors, demographic characteristics, parental socioeconomic status, social support, and social capital. Data analyses were conducted using multivariate logistic regression., Results: After adjusting for all covariates, the more parent-related negative life events adolescents experienced throughout their whole life, the more likely adolescent were to have mental and behavioral problems. A significant dose-response relationship between them was more clearly observed in girls than in boys. The experience of parent-related negative events during childhood was significantly associated with suicidal ideation and delinquent behaviors for boys, and with depressive feelings for girls during adolescence. Indeed, parental social support, social capital, and having a close friend with delinquent behaviors, especially for girls, partially mediated the relationship between parent-related negative life events and both outcomes., Conclusions: The study showed a clear dose-response relationship of frequency of parent-related negative life events with poor mental and behavioral health for both genders. The residual effect of being exposed to parent-related events during childhood on mental health and delinquent behaviors during adolescence still remained.

Objectives: This study examined the risk factors associated with a negative self-rating of subjective health among North Korean asylum seekers, paying particular attention to the unusual social experiences of this population., Study Design: This study utilized the North Korean Health Care System Data Set (NKHCS). This data set is comprised of information on 221 North Korean asylum seekers (aged 20 years and over) who were housed in Hanawon, a South Korean government facility. We specifically examined the effect of three separate risk factors (major country of residence after exiting North Korea, duration of stay in country, and whom they were accompanied by during their migration event) associated with the unusual social experiences of North Korean asylum seekers on their global health., Methods: Multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out in order to assess the consistency and validity of extant hypotheses and general expectations., Results: North Korean asylum seekers who entered South Korea within one year of their defection or were accompanied by non-family members tended to negatively self-report their health status. However, major intermediate country of residence after exiting North Korea showed no effect. Higher educational attainment and membership of the Labour Party of North Korea were negatively associated with the global health of this population, though this was not statistically significant., Conclusions: We found that the unusual social experiences of North Korean asylum-seekers, particularly intermediate country duration and companionship characteristics, were significantly associated with their health. Future studies need to examine the relationship between diverse social experiences during residence in intermediate countries and the health of this population.