LAUSR

The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of depression in Korean middle-aged adults and to identify the gender difference in factors associated with the severity of depression. The data of 2,241 individuals who participated in the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2014 were used. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed. The prevalence rate of moderate to severe depression (PHQ-9≥10) was identified at 5.2% (men 3.3%, women 7.0%). The factors associated with the severity of depression in men were younger age, living in metropolitan, unemployed, lower body mass index, and heavily drinking. On the other hand, women were affected by having no spouse, lower income, limited physical activity, and sleeping shorter hours.