Prevalence of Symptoms of Depression in a Nationwide Sample of Korean Adults

The prevalence and correlates of symptoms of depression in a nationwide sample of Korean adults, collected during the National Health and Health Behavior Examination Survey, were examined. A probability sample of 3,711 respondents (a response rate of 81.3%) completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and a variety of sociodemographic questions. In this sample 23.1% of males and 27.4% of females had scores above the cutoff point of 16 (probable depression) on the CES-D scale, and 6.8% of males and 10.4% of females were above the cutoff point of 25 (severe, definite depression). Apart from a few reports describing Afro-American and Puerto-Rican samples, these rates were somewhat higher than those found in the US and Western countries. In this report, female gender, fewer than 13 years of education, and disrupted marriage (widowed/divorced/separated) proved to be statistically significant predictors of severe, definite symptoms of depression.