김정호, 서병성, 김동일, 윤기정, 홍정연, 이원철, 이지은

성균관대학교 의과대학 강북삼성병원 직업환경의학과

Background: Though many factors have been found to be associated with depression, still many others remain
uncovered. There are few studies that have focused on the younger population whose depressive symptoms
are socioeconomically more important than that of the older population. This study is designed to clarify if there
is a relationship between depression and smoking and obesity in the young population.
Methods: Office workers from 40 companies who underwent medical check-ups in 2011 were initially selected.
Of these, 65,309 subjects had responded to self-reported questionnaires on depressive symptoms with 4,187
subjects being excluded on the basis of past medical history and current medication. Logistic regression was
performed to evaluate the relationship between depression and the selected variables.
Results: The proportion of high risk groups for depression was significantly high in females. Statistically significant
results were only seen in females. Smoking and obesity were related to depression in females as assessed
by the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale score. Logistic regression analysis also
showed that smoking (odds ratio [OR], 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.62-2.05) and obesity (OR, 1.48;
95% CI, 1.18-1.82) were related to depressive symptoms in females.
Conclusions: Depressive symptoms in young female office workers under 40 years of age are related to smoking
and obesity. By acting towards stopping smoking and being in a healthy weight category, females may lessen
their risk for depression, and thereby lessen their socioeconomic losses.

Korean J Health Promot 2013;13(1):25-33
Keywords: Depression; Smoking; Obesity