COVID-19 Obesity: Differences in Infection Risk Perception, Obesity Stress, Depression, and Intention to Participate in Leisure Sports Based on Weight Change.

This study examined the impact of COVID-19 on individuals' weight change and mental health by analyzing differences in risk perception, obesity, stress, depression, and intention to participate in leisure sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in the Republic of Korea between June and August 2022. This study included 374 individuals aged ≥ 20 years who regularly participated in leisure sports. A comparative analysis subdivided the participants into two groups based on weight changes during the pandemic: weight loss and maintenance (Group 1) and weight gain (Group 2). These formed the independent variable. The dependent variables were (a) infection risk perception, (b) obesity stress, (c) depression, and (d) intention to participate in sports. The results revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups in infection risk perception, obesity stress, and depression factors, but not in the intention to participate in sports. This study demonstrated the impact of COVID-19 on weight changes and mental health. These findings can guide future quarantine strategies to control new infectious diseases and policies to prevent obesity and stress.

The Structural Relationship between Basic Psychological Needs, Grit, and the Quality of Life of Individuals with Disabilities.

Individuals with disabilities who engage in regular physical activity reduce their risk of diseases such as obesity and heart disease, as well as other risk factors; relieve tense emotions, and improve their quality of life via interaction with others. Despite these advantages, only one out of every four Koreans with a disability engages in physical activity. Grit is the ability to maintain interest and effort towards a goal in the face of adversity and failure. Grit can act as an important factor in increasing the psychological level of individuals with disabilities. We investigated the relationship between basic psychological needs, grit, and the quality of life of disabled individuals to determine if physical activities can improve their quality of life. Our dataset included 296 disabled individuals registered with the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. Using structural equation modelling, the direct and indirect effects of grit, quality of life, and psychological needs satisfaction such as competence, relatedness, and autonomy were examined. We found that competence positively affects consistency of interests (ß = 0.150, t = 1.854), relatedness positively affects consistency of interests (ß = 0.354, t = 4.409), and autonomy has no statistically significant effects (ß = 0.101, t = 1.086). Second, competence positively affects perseverance of effort (ß = 0.249, t = 3.206), autonomy negatively affects perseverance of effort (ß = -0.269, t = -2.880), and relatedness has no statistically significant effects (ß = -0.017, t = -0.249). Third, autonomy positively affects quality of life (ß = 0.214, t = 2.349) while competence and relatedness had no statistically significant effects (ß = -0.018, t = -0.208; ß = 0.096, t = 1.288). Fourth, consistency of interests positively affects quality of life (ß = 0.312, t = 4.191) while perseverance of effort had no statistically significant effects (ß = -0.094, t = -1.480). Fifth, competence was found to have positive indirect effects on quality of life through grit. This study underscores the importance of addressing these three basic psychological needs and elements of grit when designing future quality of life interventions for disabled individuals.

A Gap between Relaxation of Government Quarantine Policy and Perceptions of COVID-19 among the General Public in Sports: Focusing on Vaccination Status.

Although an increasing number of people are getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and quarantine policies are easing owing to fatigue from high-intensity social distancing, people's fear remains. This study attempted to determine the appropriateness of quarantine policies that are gradually easing by comparing and analyzing sports participation and respiratory infection perception recognized by sports participants according to vaccination status. Data were collected from 302 ordinary Korean citizens aged 20 or older for three months from November 2021 in the Republic of Korea. From the survey respondents, data on the main factors of this study included (a) demographic information, (b) vaccination, (c) loyalty in sports, (d) behavioral intention to participate in sports, (e) infection anxiety from others, and (f) risk perception of COVID-19. As a result, the survey respondents, subdivided into an unvaccinated group (Group 1) and a vaccinated group (Group 2), derived statistically significant results on sports participation and respiratory infection perception. Specifically, survey participants who had completed all secondary vaccinations showed a relatively higher (a) loyalty in sport (M = 3.789), (b) behavioral intention for participation in sport (M = 4.056), and (c) infection anxiety from others (M = 3.548), but showed a relatively lower (a) risk perception of COVID-19 (sensitivity) (M = 3.494). The results of this study could be utilized as valuable data to minimize the gap between the relaxation of government quarantine policy and perceptions of COVID-19 among the general public in sports, which have not yet been clarified.

Effect of Low Frequency Cerebellar Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Balance Impairment in Patients With Cerebral Infarction.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of low frequency cerebellar repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on balance impairment in patients with cerebral infarction. METHODS: Thirty-two patients were randomly divided into two groups: rTMS group (n=16) and control (n=16). In the rTMS group, treatment was performed five times per week for 2 weeks (10 sessions), and in the control group, a sham coil was used with the sound and sensation of scalp similar to the rTMS coil. Patients in both groups underwent a conventional rehabilitation program. Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was used as the primary outcome measurement. Timed Up and Go test (TUG), 10-m walk test (10mWT), and Activity-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC) were used as the secondary outcome measurement. All scales were measured at baseline (T0), after 10 sessions of rTMS (T1), and at 4 weeks after treatment completion (T2) by therapists with over 5 years of clinical experience. RESULTS: There were significant improvements between T0 and T1, and between T0 and T2, for all assessed items in the rTMS group. Whereas there were significant improvements between T0 and T1, and between T0 and T2, for the BBS and 10mWT in the control group. TUG (-4.87±5.05 vs. -0.50±2.97 seconds) and ABC score (8.10±8.33 vs. 0.16±0.97) were observed significant differences in comparison of the changes from T0 to T1 between the two group. BBS score (4.40±3.66 vs. 1.88±3.14), TUG (-4.87±4.56 vs. -0.62±2.96 seconds) and ABC score (8.22±7.70 vs. -0.09±0.86) differed significantly from T0 to T2 between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that low-frequency cerebellar rTMS is helpful for improving balance in patients with cerebral infarction, and maybe a beneficial treatment for these patients.

Changes in Blood Glucose Level After Steroid Injection for Musculoskeletal Pain in Patients With Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in blood glucose level after steroid injection in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and factors affecting those changes. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 51 patients with type 2 DM who underwent steroid injection for shoulder and back pain. Mean fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels for 7 days before steroid injection was used as the baseline blood glucose level, which was compared with FBS levels for 14 days after steroid injection. We compared the differences in blood glucose changes between HbA1c >7% and HbA1c ≤7% groups and those between insulin and non-insulin treated groups. Demographic data, injection site, and steroid dose were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared to baseline, blood glucose significantly (p=0.012) elevated 1 day after steroid injection but not 2 days after injection. In the HbA1c >7% and insulin groups, blood glucose was significantly increased 1 day after injection compared to that in the HbA1c ≤7% (p=0.011) and non-insulin (p=0.024) groups, respectively. Higher HbA1c level before injection was significantly (p=0.003) associated with the degree of blood glucose increase 1 day after injection. No significant differences were noted in the degree of blood glucose increase according to injection site or steroid dose. CONCLUSION: Higher HbA1c level was associated with greater elevation in blood glucose 1 day after steroid injection. Careful monitoring of blood glucose is required on the first day after steroid injection in patients with poorly controlled DM.

Association between Cigarette Smoking Frequency and Health Factors among Korean Adults.

BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been a trend that cigarette smoking rate in Asian and Africa adults has increased while the age group to start smoking has decreased gradually. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between lifetime smoking and hypertension, diabetes, obesity, waist measure, fasting blood pressure and food consumption, in order to look into health status depending on smoking status in Koreans. METHODS: Totally, 1075 men and 697 women with no disease participated in this study, in which one-way ANOVA was conducted by using SPSS version 18.0 for statistical process. The level of statistical significance was 0.05. RESULTS: As a result of analysis on relationship between lifetime smoking and hypertension, obesity and diabetes, statistically significant differences were revealed.Lifetime smoking was found to be significantly associated with increased waist measure, higher level of fasting blood sugar, and more ingestion of nutrients (carbohydrate, fat, and protein). CONCLUSION: Increased amount of lifetime cigarette smoking was shown to negatively influence various health factors, which might become to be a drive to cause diseases. Therefore, method to improve health factors must be sought for via education and campaign to control an amount of cigarette smoking in Korean adults.