Heterogeneous association patterns of depressive subfactors in suicidality: The 2014 and 2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

Association of social network properties with resilience and depression among community-based Korean population

We aimed to determine how the properties of social networks relate to resilient-related status. This cross-sectional study used baseline data from the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Etiology Research Center cohort and included 11,132 participants. Ego-centric social network size and intimacy were used to reflect social network properties. Resilient-related status was operationally defined based on the participant's response to the Life Experience Survey and the Back Depression Inventory Ⅱ. Participants were categorized into three groups: reference (no negative life event; no depression), resilient (with negative life event; but no depression), and depression (no/with negative life event; with depression). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the association of social networks on the resilient-related status after adjusting for all covariates. Social network size was positively associated with the resilient group for both sex (male: OR = 1.01 [95% CI = 0.96 to 1.05], female: OR = 1.07 [95% CI = 1.03 to 1.11]), whereas intimacy showed a negative association (male: OR = 0.91 [95% CI = 0.82 to 1.01], female: OR = 0.84 [95% CI = 0.76 to 0.92]). Additionally, as each social network property increased, the likelihood of being categorized as belonging to the depression group decreased, regardless of age and sex.

Impact of COVID-19 on mental health according to prior depression status: A mental health survey of community prospective cohort data

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to investigate the mental health impact of COVID-19 on a demographically well-characterized population cohort by gender and previous depression status.

METHODS

Among people who participated in a community cohort study between 2013 and 2018 with previous depression measurement, a total of 1928 people without quarantine experience (680 men and 1249 women) were included after responding to an online survey in March 2020. In the 2020 survey, people were queried about daily needs supply, social support, risk perception, change during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as mental health indices measuring loneliness, anxiety symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. Separate analyses by gender were conducted to assess the association between COVID-19-related experiences and each mental health index, using multivariable logistic regressions with additional adjustment and stratification with pre-existing depression status.

RESULTS

We could not observe significant gender differences for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and loneliness at 55 days after the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Most external support, including daily needs supply and social support, protected men and women from experiencing severe anxiety (for life supply, OR = 0.92 (95%CI 0.88-0.97) (men) and OR = 0.95 (95% CI 0.91-0.99) (women); for social support, OR = 0.92(both for men and women, p < 0.01)). The results were similar for depression and PTSD. External support showed a larger reduction in the likelihoods for anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic among people with pre-existing depression compared to previously healthy people, and it was more prominent in men.

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 significantly affected the mental health of both men and women in the early period of the pandemic. Having enough supply of daily needs and social support seems important, especially for people with previous depression.

Correlates of psychological resilience and risk: Prospective associations of self-reported and relative resilience with Connor-Davidson resilience scale, heart rate variability, and mental health indices

BACKGROUND

There are several ways to determine psychological resilience. However, the correlation between each measurement is not clear. We explored associations of baseline relative "resilience" and risk with later self-reported trait resilience and other biological/mental health indices.

METHODS

We utilized baseline and follow-up survey data from 500 participants aged 30-64 in the community cohort. Baseline "relative" resilience was defined by: (a) negative life events (NLEs) in the six months before baseline and (b) depressive symptoms at baseline, yielding four groups of individuals: i) "Unexposed and well," "Vulnerable (depression)," "Reactive (depression)," and "Resilient." "Trait" resilience at follow-up was self-reported using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Associations between relative resilience at baseline, CD-RISC, and heart rate variability (HRV) indices at follow-up were assessed with generalized linear regression models after adjustments. Associations between baseline resilience and subsequent loneliness/depression indices were also evaluated.

RESULTS

Overall trait resilience and its subfactors at follow-up showed strong negative associations with "Reactive" at baseline (adj-β for total CD-RISC score: -11.204 (men), -9.472 (women)). However, resilience at baseline was not associated with later HRV, which was compared with the significant positive association observed between CD-RISC and HRV at the same follow-up time point. The "Reactive" exhibited significantly increased depressive symptoms at follow-up. The overall distribution pattern of CD-RISC subfactors differed by baseline resilience status by sex.

CONCLUSIONS

The "relative" resilience based on the absence of depression despite prior adversity seems to be highly related with trait resilience at follow-up but not with HRV. The sub-factor pattern of CD-RISC was different by sex.