Purpose
Patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) experience a variety of symptoms. This descriptive correlational study aimed to determine the prevalence of symptoms and the physiological and situational factors associated with these symptoms in ICU patients.
Methods
We analyzed the Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) of 1,214 cases admitted to and discharged from the ICUs of a university hospital in Seoul over a 1-year period from June to September 2022. This analysis utilized standardized instruments embedded in EMRs and a natural language analysis framework developed by the researchers. Descriptive statistics, the x 2 test, the Fisher exact test, and multivariate logistic regression were employed to identify common symptoms and their related factors.
Results
In total, 85.7% of the cases had at least one symptom during their ICU stay, and 36.6% experienced 2 symptoms. Pain was the most frequently experienced symptom, affecting 69.5% of cases, followed by agitation (29.7%), dyspnea (29.7%), and delirium (4.8%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the length of ICU stay influenced pain (odds ratio [OR]=1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02~1.06; p<.001), delirium (OR=1.08; 95% CI, 1.06~1.11; p<.001), agitation (OR=1.07; 95% CI, 1.05~1.10; p<.001), and dyspnea (OR=1.19; 95% CI, 1.13~1.26; p<.001).
Conclusion
Pain, agitation, and dyspnea are common in ICU patients and are associated with the length of their ICU stay. Our study identifies factors related to these symptoms that could be targeted to manage and reduce their occurrence, providing a foundation for future research on various symptom assessment tools and natural language transcripts.

Purpose
The objective of this study was to ascertain the level of life satisfaction among baby boomers in South Korea, as well as the factors that influence it.
Methods
We conducted a secondary analysis and descriptive research using data from the 2020 Korea National Survey of Elderly. From a total of 10,097 individuals, we analyzed the responses of 605 who provided feedback on life satisfaction, applying sample weights for accuracy. Data analysis was performed using hierarchical multiple regression in the SPSS/WIN 23.0 program.
Results
The study's participants comprised 61.8% women, 80.2% individuals with a living spouse, and 54.8% high school graduates, and the participants had an average subjective health status score of 3.77 points. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed several significant factors impacting life satisfaction. These included the presence or absence of a spouse (p<.001), education level (p<.001), subjective health status (p<.001), experience of suicidal thoughts after the age of 60 (p=.004), and use of a smartphone or tablet (p=.037), degree of social respect (p<.001) and the degree of preparation for death (p=.001). The overall explanatory power for life satisfaction was 57.5%.
Conclusion
The life satisfaction of baby boomers did not differ greatly from that of previous generations of older adults. A future longitudinal study should observe changes in older adults' life satisfaction. Additionally, it is important to explore variations in life satisfaction across different age groups, especially given the increasing longevity of older adults.

Citations

• Deficits in facial emotion recognition and cognitive function among baby boomers
  Hyunsan Cho, Hee-Jin Park, Yoon Hee Park, Intae Hwang, Hyo Jin Kang
  Acta Psychologica.2025; 253: 104738.     CrossRef
• Purposes of Internet Use and Its Impacts on Physical and Psychological Health of Korean Older Adults
  Gyeong-Suk Jeon, Kyungwon Choi
  Healthcare.2024; 12(2): 244.     CrossRef