Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science

Eun-Jin Cheon

3 Articles

The characteristics of elderly suicidal attempters in the emergency department in Korea: a retrospective study: Ji-Seon Jang, Wan-Seok Seo, Bon-Hoon Koo, Hey-Geum Kim, Seok-Ho Yun, So-Hey Jo, Dae-Seok Bai, Young-Gyo Kim, Eun-Jin Cheon; J Yeungnam Med Sci. 2024;41(1):30-38. Published online December 29, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.12701/jyms.2023.01004

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Background
Although Korea ranks first in the suicide rate of elderly individuals, there is limited research on those who attempt suicide, with preventive measures largely based on population-based studies. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of elderly individuals who attempted suicide with those of younger adults who visited the emergency department after suicide attempts and identified the factors associated with lethality in the former group.
Methods
Individuals who visited the emergency department after a suicide attempt from April 1, 2017, to January 31, 2020, were included. Participants were classified into two groups according to age (elderly, ≥65 years; adult, 18–64 years). Among the 779 adult patients, 123 were elderly. We conducted a chi-square test to compare the demographic and clinical features between these groups and a logistic regression analysis to identify the risk factors for lethality in the elderly group.
Results
Most elderly participants were men, with no prior psychiatric history or suicide attempts, and had a higher prevalence of underlying medical conditions and attributed their attempts to physical illnesses. Being sober and planning suicide occurred more frequently in this group. In the elderly group, factors that increased the mortality rate were biological male sex (p<0.05), being accompanied by family members (p<0.05), and poisoning as a suicide method (p<0.01).
Conclusion
Suicide attempts in elderly individuals have different characteristics from those in younger adults and are associated with physical illness. Suicides in the former group are unpredictable, deliberate, and fatal. Therefore, tailored prevention and intervention strategies addressing the characteristics of those who are elderly and attempt suicide are required.

Hypertension and cognitive dysfunction: a narrative review: Eun-Jin Cheon; J Yeungnam Med Sci. 2023;40(3):225-232. Published online November 29, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.12701/jyms.2022.00605

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Cognitive dysfunction is relatively less considered a complication of hypertension. However, there is sufficient evidence to show that high blood pressure in middle age increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in old age. The greatest impact on cognitive function in those with hypertension is on executive or frontal lobe function, similar to the area most damaged in vascular dementia. Possible cognitive disorders associated with hypertension are vascular dementia, Alzheimer disease, and Lewy body dementia, listed in decreasing strength of association. The pathophysiology of cognitive dysfunction in individuals with hypertension includes brain atrophy, microinfarcts, microbleeds, neuronal loss, white matter lesions, network disruption, neurovascular unit damage, reduced cerebral blood flow, blood-brain barrier damage, enlarged perivascular damage, and proteinopathy. Antihypertensive drugs may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Given the high prevalence of dementia and its impact on quality of life, treatment of hypertension to reduce cognitive decline may be a clinically relevant intervention.

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Chronic Neuroinflammation and Cognitive Decline in Patients with Cardiac Disease: Evidence, Relevance, and Therapeutic Implications
Jan Traub, Anna Frey, Stefan Störk
Life.2023; 13(2): 329. CrossRef
The A-to-Z factors associated with cognitive impairment. Results of the DeCo study
María Gil-Peinado, Mónica Alacreu, Hernán Ramos, José Sendra-Lillo, Cristina García, Gemma García-Lluch, Teresa Lopez de Coca, Marta Sala, Lucrecia Moreno
Frontiers in Psychology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef

Apathy syndrome in a patient previously treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for depression: Hye-Geum Kim, Bon-Hoon Koo, Seung Woo Lee, Eun-Jin Cheon; Yeungnam Univ J Med. 2019;36(3):249-253. Published online March 15, 2019; DOI: https://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2019.00150

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Abstract PDF

There is considerable overlap in the clinical presentations of apathy and depression. However, differential diagnosis between apathy and other psychiatric conditions, including depression and dementia, is important. In this report, we present the case of a 67-year-old woman with a history of receiving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment for depression. Differential diagnosis between treatment-resistant depression and SSRI-induced apathy syndrome was required. The symptoms of her apathy syndrome were relieved after the discontinuation of SSRIs and the addition of olanzapine, methylphenidate, and modafinil. Furthermore, we briefly review related literature in this article.

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Citations to this article as recorded by

Apathy associated with antidepressant drugs: a systematic review
Vasilios G. Masdrakis, Manolis Markianos, David S. Baldwin
Acta Neuropsychiatrica.2023; 35(4): 189. CrossRef
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Muhammad Youshay Jawad, Maurish Fatima, Umer Hassan, Zaofashan Zaheer, Muhammad Ayyan, Muhammad Ehsan, Muhmmad Huzaifa Ahmed Khan, Ahsan Qadeer, Abdul Rehman Gull, Muhammad Talha Asif, Mujeeb U. Shad
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Investigation of the efficiency of various antidepressant replacement regimens in the development of SSRI-induced apathy syndrome
V. E. Medvedev, R. A. Kardashyan, V. I. Frolova, A. M. Burno, S. V. Nekrasova, V. I. Salyntsev
Neurology, Neuropsychiatry, Psychosomatics.2020; 12(2): 48. CrossRef

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