The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of soybean intake on bone mineral density and bone turnover markers in postmenopausal rural Korean women.

This study was carried out during nine months from Oct. 25 2004 to Aug. 31 2005. The subjects of this study were female patients over 50 living in rural areas diagnosed with osteoporosis. There were 18 women in the experimental group and 20 in the control group. In this study, the experimental group received 100 mg of isoflavone (soybean) and calcium 1,500 mg for nine months while the control group received 1,500mg of calcium only.

After the soybean intake, the change of bone mineral density between the experimental group and control group was statistically significant. However, the bone turnover markers of osteocalcin and deoxypyridinoline between the experimental group and control group were not significantly different statistically. In the Pearson Correlation between bone mineral density and bone turnover markers, the osteocalcin and deoxypyridinoline of the experimental group had a positive correlation, and osteocalcin and DPD/osteocalcin ratio had anegative correlation. In the control group, osteocalcin and DPD/osteocalcin ratio had a negative correlation.

This result showed that soybean intake changed bone mineral density in postmenopausal woman.

This cross-sectional survey research was undertaken to examine the degree of depression in postmenopausal women and to analyze the factors affecting that depression.

325 people from public health center in Inchon were surveyed as the subject of this study. Data collection was conducted through the use of questionnaires.

The above half of these sampled people were in depressed state (64.0%) and the mean score of depression was 12.71. There were significant differences in the depression state according to presence of spouse, economic level, exercise, and smoking. A positive correlation was found between depression and climacteric symptoms. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the most powerful predictor was climacteric symptom. Climacteric symptom, presence of spouse, smoking, and exercise accounted for 45% of the variance in postmenopausal women's depression.

Nurses are able to use these results to plan and implement nursing interventions for decreasing depression and consequent the improved quality of life in Korean postmenopausal women. Also, the nurses have to be more aware of the following groups; solitary women, low-income group and smokers, that they have higher mean score of depression.

This cross-sectional survey was conducted to describe the sexuality of Korean women after menopause using a national sample, and to examine relationships between the sexuality and demographic, body mass index, and life style factors including smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity.

From Dec. 20, 1998 to April 30, 1999, 2196 naturally postmenopausal women aged between 41 and 65 years were recruited by a disproportional stratified random sampling method from 7 metropolitans and 6 provinces in Korea. The questionnaire was used to obtain information on the demographic characteristics, life style factors, body mass index, and sexual activities.

The findings show that the frequency of intercourse after menopause decreased among most of postmenopausal Korean women (64.5%). The frequency of women reported their sexual activity as satisfactory was higher among women doing physical activity, not smoking, with higher educational status, with middle socioeconomic status, without sleep disturbance, with lower body mass index, and with good subjective health status.

Further studies need to be designed as the longitudinal studies with larger random samples and better measures of sexuality.

Natural menopause resulting in the decline in endogenous estrogen concentrations is responsible for an increased risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a 6-month Tai Chi exercise program on cardiovascular risk factors and quality of life in post-menopausal women.

A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures was used. The participants in the study, 29 women in the Tai Chi group and 31 in the control group, were enrolled for 6 months.

After 6 months of Tai Chi exercise, total cholesterol (M=213 to 185), LDL-cholesterol (M=135 to 128), and their 10 yr cardiovascular disease risk (M=2.62 to 2.27) had improved significantly for the Tai Chi participants compared to the control group. Total scores for quality of life along with the sub-dimensions of health perception and mental functioning were also significantly higher in the Tai Chi participants.

Tai Chi exercise favorably affected cardiovascular health and quality of life in post-menopausal women after 6 months. Additional rigorous studies are needed to examine long term effects on the prevention of cardiovascular disease in this population.