Social Factors of Depressive Symptoms in an Urban Community Population.
- Author:
Eun Kyung WON
1
;
Hee Yeon CHOI
;
Soo In KIM
;
Eui Jung KIM
;
Jae Hong RYOO
Author Information
1. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea. 72sooik@ewha.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Depressive symptoms;
Epidemiology;
Social factors;
Life stress
- MeSH:
Alcohol Drinking;
Depression;
Depressive Disorder;
Divorce;
Epidemiologic Studies;
Family Characteristics;
Female;
Humans;
Logistic Models;
Male;
Mass Screening;
Prevalence;
Surveys and Questionnaires;
Stress, Psychological;
Urban Population
- From:Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
2011;50(6):434-440
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and the correlates of social factors and life stress in an urban population. METHODS: 932 residents of Yangcheongu, Seoul were selected using multi-phasic cluster sampling method to represent each district. Trained interviewers visited each separate household individually and collected self-reported questionnaires, which represent socio-demographic characteristics of community residents. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to evaluate depressive symptoms (CES-D score over 21). Global Assessment of Recent stress (GARS) was used to evaluate life stress level. RESULTS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms in men was 11.8%, while in women it was 14.1%. Depressive symptoms were higher in divorced or separated persons, those with lower family incomes, high self-assessed level of stress scores, and frequent alcohol drinking patterns. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, high level of stress scores was independently associated with depressive symptoms. Sudden changes in relationship, sickness/injury and ordinary daily stress subscales were significantly associated with depressive symptoms when other subscales were controlled. CONCLUSION: Compared with point prevalence of depressive disorder, the prevalence of depressive symptoms in an urban population is relatively higher. The assessment of life stress level, especially for sudden changes in relationship, sickness/injury or ordinary daily stress, can be used as an effective screening tool for detection and prevention of depressive disorder.
