To investigate the relationship between indoor radon level and stroke, which is a major factor for background radiation. This study combines 2 nationwide studies. Demographic characteristics and medical history of participants were obtained from Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2007 to 2012. Participants over 40 years old and who completed the questionnaire were included in the study. Indoor radon concentration was analyzed using the mean value of winter housing radon concentration from 2012 to 2016 published by the National Institute of Environmental Research. The average values of each metropolitan city and province were assigned to the residence of the participant. To eliminate the potential confounding factors, participants’ age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, education level, occupation, smoking, drinking, exercise, and dietary intake were adjusted in multivariable logistic regression. Total of 28,557 participants were included in this study. Indoor radon levels were significantly higher in the participants with stroke, and the prevalence of stroke increased as indoor radon levels increased (P < .001, P for linear trend <.001). Indoor radon level was associated with stroke even after adjusting potential confounding factors (OR: 1.004 [95CI: 1.001–1.007], P = .010) and high radon exposure (indoor radon over 100Bq/m3) was also associated with stroke (OR: 1.242 [95CI: 1.069–1.444], P = .005). Trend analysis showed linear correlation of increased odds between radon quartile and stroke (P for linear trend < .001). In subgroup analysis, elevated indoor radon was most strongly associated in participants with age over 76(OR: 1.872[95%CI:1.320–2.654], P < .001). High indoor radon concentration may be associated with stroke. Specifically, elevated radon was associated with stroke in participants over 76 years old. In high-risk population, home modification to reduce indoor radon may help decreasing the risk of stroke.

Purpose: Studies on to what extent the combined therapy of modified constraint-induced movement therapy and mental practice is more effective than modified constraint-induced movement therapy alone are lacking. This study aims to compare the effects of the combined therapy with modified constraint-induced movement therapy alone on corticospinal excitability, quality of the movement of the affected upper extremity, upper motor functions, and performance of the affected arm in daily life of hemiplegic stroke patients. Methods: The participants comprised 14 people who had suffered stroke and were randomly divided into two groups. All participants participated in modified constraint-induced movement therapy, while only the experimental group partook in additional mental practice. Both groups were tested for corticospinal excitability, quality of movement, hand function, and activities of daily living. Results: Both groups showed significant improvement in the movement quality of reaching and performance of activities of daily living. In the experimental group, functional improvement of the upper limb was also observed. The improvements in corticospinal excitability, upper extremity function, and performance in daily activities were significantly greater in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusions: This study confirmed that the combined therapy produces more effective improvement in corticospinal excitability, upper limb function, and performance in daily activities. The combined therapy of mental practice and modified constraint-induced movement therapy could be used as a clinically useful intervention.

Purpose: This study aims to provide evidence of the benefits and effects of environmental modification intervention on activities of daily living, quality of life and social participation in older adults. Methods: This study searched and used randomized controlled trial research studies from the databases of MEDLINE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using the Jadad scale, risk of bias and the patient, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) process. The domains of impact considered in this meta-analysis were activities of daily living, quality of life and social participation. The analysis was completed with the Review Manager software 5.3. Results: Jadad scores of collected studies were 3–4 in seven studies and 2 in one study, which means that most studies had high levels of quality. This study comprised of 733 subjects in the experimental group and 672 subjects in the control group. The effect size of environmental interventions on basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and overall activities of daily living were 0.37, 0.65 and 0.47, respectively. Meanwhile, the environmental intervention was neither effective on quality of life nor social participation. Conclusions: Environmental modifications are effective in facilitating the daily life activities of older adults. This kind of intervention is shown to be useful for enhancing life performance. In order to confirm intervention effects on the quality of life and social participation of older adults, studies should conduct environmental modifications interventions that take into account contexts such as individual characteristics, lifestyle and physical activities.

Purpose: This study aims to systematically evaluate and synthesize the literature on the effects of assistive technology devices on the activities of daily living and cognitive functions of people with brain injury. Methods: Eight randomized controlled trials were selected from online databases pertaining to the scientific use of AT devices for people with brain injury. The Jadad scale was used to analyse the subjects qualitatively, and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.0 was used to test the statistical heterogeneity, effect size, sensitivity and publication bias of each of the selected studies. Results: All selected studies were assigned a score of three on the Jadad scale, which could classify them as high-quality studies. The total number of participants in the studies was 385. The effect size of activities of daily living was 0.72, which is a medium effect size and that of cognitive function was 0.30, which is a small effect size. Conclusion: Assistive devices are effective in improving the activities of daily living and relatively less effective in enhancing the cognitive function of people with brain injury. This meta-analysis is evidence that assistive devices could be an effective intervention method for people with brain injury.

Purpose: To compare the effect of intervention providing home modifications and assistive devices based on MOHO theory with home exercise on people with disability in time use, competence and values of occupational performance and activity limitations. Methods: Participants were 20 people with disabilities due to deficits in central nervous system. Eleven people in the experimental group partook in environmental modifications and assistive device intervention and nine people in the control partook in home exercise programmes. A total of eight sessions were progressed, one pre-test, six sessions of interventions and one post-test. Occupational Questionnaire (OQ) was used to evaluate one’s time use. Occupational Self Assessment (OSA) was used to test the competence and values of one’s everyday occupational performance. Activity Limitations Measure (ACTIVLIM) was used to assess the activity limitation of one’s functional ability. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to analyse the comparison of the pre-post of time use, competence and values of occupational performance, and activity limitations. Mann–Whitney U was used to compare between both groups. Results: Among the four occupational areas of OQ, the participation time in ADL significantly increased and rest significantly decreased in the experimental group (p<.05). The competence of occupational performance also increased in the experimental group whereas the values of occupational performance increased in the control group (p<.05). The activity limitation significantly decreased in control group (p<.05) but not in the experimental group. Conclusions: Using the interaction between human and environment for environmental modification increased the time use in occupational participation and competence to perform occupation in people with disability. By applying MOHO theory to evaluate and modify one’s home environment and activity performance, we could comprehend the life style of clients and suggest opportunities to actively participate in ADLs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of assistive technology-based occupational therapy on occupational performance, satisfaction, and psychosocial impacts of community-dwelling ...