Cross-cultural comparative study of psychological distress between older Korean immigrants in the United States and older Koreans in South Korea

The moderating role of social factors in the relationship between an incident of fall and depressive symptoms: a study with a national sample of older adults in South Korea

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of an incident of fall on depressive symptoms and the moderating role of social factors (marital status, living arrangement, family network, and friend network) in older adults in South Korea. We hypothesized that the adverse mental health effect of a fall would be pronounced among those who lack social resources (e.g., no spouse, living alone, and social disconnectedness).

METHOD

Using the 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans, data were drawn from 8,522 survey participants (aged 65 or older). Multivariate linear regression models of depressive symptoms were examined with an array of predictors: (1) demographic and health variables, (2) social factors, (3) an incident of fall, and (4) interactions between falls and social factors.

RESULTS

More than 15% of the sample had at least one fall in the past 12 months. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with an incident of fall, not married and living alone, and lack of family and friend networks. Not married and living alone and family network significantly moderated the relationship between falls and depressive symptoms. The adverse mental health effect of a fall was more pronounced among those who were not married and living alone and who reported not having any close family members than their counterparts.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the critical role of family and social resources in protecting older Koreans from the negative mental health consequences of a fall. Findings also provide implications for developing fall prevention and management programs, suggesting prioritizing older adults with limited social resources.

Serious psychological distress and disability among older persons living in conflict affected areas in eastern Ukraine: a cluster-randomized cross-sectional household survey

Background

Older persons are often unable to leave conflict areas; however, little is known about the mental and physical health among this population. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of and whether there was an association between psychological distress and disability among older persons affected by conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Methods

We conducted a cluster-randomized cross-sectional household survey of persons aged ≥60 years in government and non-government controlled areas (GCA and NGCA) of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in January–March 2016. Psychological distress and dependency (degree of disability) were measured using the Kessler K6 Psychological Distress Scale and Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living, respectively. Association between psychological distress and dependency was assessed using logistic regression adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Results

Final sample included 758 and 418 persons in GCA and NGCA, respectively. Prevalence of serious psychological distress was 33.6% (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 28.0–39.7%) in GCA and 42.5% (95%CI, 36.1–49.2%) in NGCA. Overall, 32.2% (95%CI, 27.9–36.7%) of independent persons and 74.0% (95%CI, 65.2–81.2%) of moderately/severely dependent persons reported serious psychological distress (P < .0001). Being dependent, a woman, and having a chronic disease were all significantly associated with psychological distress in a logistic regression model.

Conclusions

Prevalence of serious psychological distress was very high compared with rates reported from developed countries and was highly associated with disability. Health services for the disabled, including psychological as well as physical support, could help in reducing the proportion of people needing mental health services not normally identified.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13031-019-0194-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.