Haejong Lee1, Kyung Sook Cho2,3, Jangho Yoon2,4, Hyun Suk Park5

1Department of Health Administration, Yonsei University College of Health and Science, Wonju, Korea, 2Health Management and Policy Program, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA, 3Ministry of Health and Welfare, Sejong, Korea, 4Applied Economics Graduate Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA, 5Department of Health Service Management, Daejeon University College of Business Administration, Daejeon, Korea


Background: We compared factors associated with self‐reported depression and, in particular, diagnosis and treatment of depressive symptoms in Korean adults.
Methods: The sample included 13,306 adults aged 19 years or older from the 2010 and 2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES Ⅴ). Data were applied to the χ 2 test and multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: The following characteristics of individuals are significantly associated with self-reported depression: female (vs. male, OR [odds ratio]=3.35), ages 50-59 years (vs. 60+, OR=1.45), economic status (low vs. high, OR=1.35; middle-low vs. high OR=1.29), unemployed (vs. employed, OR=1.23), education (elementary vs. college, OR=1.18; middle school vs. college, OR=1.27; vs. high school vs. college, OR=1.18), current smoking (vs. no, OR=1.19), high-risk alcohol consumption (vs. no, OR=1.18), perceived health (good vs. very good/excellent, OR=1.156; poor/fair vs. very good/excellent, OR=2.65), chronic disease (vs. no, OR=1.26), activity limitation due to health problems (vs. no, OR=1.74), and being in a sickbed during the past month (vs. not in a sickbed, OR=1.69). Living in a metropolitan area (vs. rural, OR=1.40) is significantly associated with greater odds of being diagnosed with depression. The odds of being treated for depression are lower for female (vs. male, OR=0.53). Greater odds of being treated for depression was seen for those with chronic conditions (vs. no, OR=1.73) and activity limitation due to health problems (vs. no, OR=2.05), as well as, those in a sickbed (vs. not, OR=1.88).
Conclusions: Applying our findings, policy makers should address the lower rates of depression diagnosed in non-metropolitan areas to reduce regional variations, and also promote treatment in females.
Korean J Health Promot 2014;14(1):9-16

Keywords: Depression, Diagnosis, Treatment