Cardiovascular disease has the potential to lead to sudden in-flight incapacitation and permanent grounding. The aims of this study are to examine the relationships between lifestyle, job stress and blood lipid levels of male aircrew personnel of a Korean airline and to identify which factors influence their hyperlipidemia.

Two hundred sixteen male aircrew personnel completed a questionnaire by self-report and consented to participate in the study. The questionnaire collected data related to job stress, life style, serum cholesterol levels and general characteristics of the aircrew. The cholesterol levels of the subjects were collected from their most recent health check-up records. Subjects were divided into two groups (the desirable group and the risk group) based on their serum cholesterol level, 200 mg/dl.

Mean age and marital status were significantly different between the two groups. More subjects in the risk group had habits of eating high lipid foods, while more subjects in the desirable group exercised more frequently than the risk group. In logistic regression analysis, after controlling age and marital status, types of working situation (domestic duty or international duty, odds ratio=.390, p=.018), diet (odds ratio=.429, p=.037), and exercise (odds ratio=.320, p=.055) were influencing factors on aircrew's serum cholesterol levels.

The cholesterol level of aircrew personnel is closely related to their lifestyle, such as lipid diet and exercise. The type of work situations, e.g. staying in an airplane for long periods of time or staying abroad, may influence these diet patterns and exercise habits.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 6-week Tai Chi exercise program on reducing blood pressure for hypertensive patients.

A non-equivalent pretest-posttest experimental design was used. Participants were recruited from the Community Health Center in Busan, Korea. Twenty-eight hypertensive patients participated in this study. Among them, fourteen were in the experimental group and the rest are in the control group. Members in the experimental group participated in a 6- week program of Tai Chi exercise. In order to evaluate the effects of the Tai Chi program, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and cortisol level were measured before and after week 6.

After the 6-week Tai Chi program, there were significant differences in systolic pressure (t=-3.13, p= .004) and diastolic blood pressure (t=-4.75, p= .000) in the experimental group when compared to the control group. However there were no significant differences in the total cholesterol (t=1.07, p=.294) and cortisol level (F=1.35, p= .256).

These results suggest that a 6-week Tai Chi program can be utilized as an effective nursing program to reduce blood pressure for hypertensive patients.

This study was done to identify correlates and variables predicting daily activity among elders with Diabetes Mellitus (DM).

Seventy-six elders registered in the Department of Endocrine Medicine at C university hospital participated in data collection. Data on daily activity and biochemical variables were collected via actigraph accelerator (Actical) and blood tests between September 2009 and July 2010. Data analysis was done using SPSS WIN 15.0 program and included one-way ANOVA, independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression.

This study showed a positive correlation between daily activity and High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) and a negative correlation among Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), and Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C). The variables predicting daily activity were frequency of exercise, HDL-C, and TC. These factors accounted for 40.0% of the variance of daily activity in elders with DM.

The results indicate that it is necessary to improve daily activity to reduce Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG), TC, and TG in elders with DM.

A descriptive correlational study was designed to examine the relationship of trait anger and anger expression to blood pressure, cholesterol, and depression in middle-aged Korean men. In addition, this study investigated the mediating effect of social support in relation to anger and other variables.

Two hundred and ninety nine men aged 40 to 64 years were recruited from a health center at K University Hospital located in Ansan City, Kyungki province, Korea. The instruments used were Spielberger's state trait anger expression inventory-the Korean version for trait anger and anger expression, Beck's depression inventory for depression, and a Personal resource questionnaire for perceived social support.

Men with high trait anger showed significantly higher systolic blood pressure(BP) and diastolic BP. The level of cholesterol did not have a significant relationship with trait anger and anger expression. The severity of depression was significantly higher in men with high trait anger or more frequent uses of anger-in or anger-out. The perceived social support had a significant mediating effect in relation to trait anger and depression.

Various nursing interventions for managing anger or improving social support need to be developed in a future study.