J Korean Soc Biol Ther Psychiatry.  2022 Oct;28(3):109-118.

Mental-Physical Comorbidity of Depression: Results From Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

• Park HG
• Lee J
• Kim BS
• Chang SM

Abstract

Objectives
：Depression is known to be very common for coexistence with physical diseases, but reports of this are not well known in Korea. The purpose of this study is to investigate demographic factors related to adult depression in Korea and the association between physical diseases and depression.
Methods
：This study used raw data from the 7th National Health and Nutrition Survey of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 and 2018, and analyzed by integrating data from adults over the age of 19. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was applied to the diagnosis of depression. Cross-analysis and logistic regression analysis were used for the association with depression according to socio-demographic characteristics and health-related characteristics.
Results
：The point-prevalence of depression in Korea using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 is 5.4%. Regarding sociodemographic characteristics, risks of depression were increased among the elderly, women, people with low household income, and people with low education levels. It was analyzed that the risk of coexistence of depression with physical diseases such as diabetes, stroke, myocardial infarction, arthritis, asthma, thyroid disease, renal failure, and cirrhosis was significantly high.
Conclusions
：In this study, the presence of chronic diseases greatly increased the risk of depression, and it was confirmed that certain groups were at high risk for depression.

Keyword

Comorbidity; Mental disorders; Epidemiology; Depression; Patient Health Questionnaire-9