Prevalence of depression and somatic symptoms among Korean elderly immigrants.
10.3349/ymj.1994.35.2.155
- Author:
Keum Young PANG
1
;
Man Hong LEE
Author Information
1. College of Nursing, Howard University, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Depression;
somatic symptoms;
Korean elderly immigrants
- MeSH:
Aged;
Aged, 80 and over;
Depression/*epidemiology;
District of Columbia/epidemiology;
*Emigration and Immigration;
Female;
Human;
Korea/ethnology;
Male;
Middle Age;
Prevalence;
Psychophysiologic Disorders/*epidemiology
- From:Yonsei Medical Journal
1994;35(2):155-161
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Forty-one Korean immigrants in Washington, D.C. (of the United States) metropolitan area over age 60 were interviewed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (Korean version) with additional questions about culture-specific somatic symptoms identified in previous research with Korean populations. The lifetime and current prevalence were 29.27 percent and 14.63 percent, respectively, for major depression; 9.76 percent and 2.44 percent for generalized anxiety disorder; and 9.76 percent and 7.32 percent for somatization disorder. The lifetime and current rates of co-occurrence of major depression and somatization disorder were 25 percent and 33.33 percent. Subjects who met criteria for depression were more likely to experience culture-specific Korean somatic symptoms than subjects who did not meet those criteria.
