한국노인의 우울증상에 관한 연구

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine what variables affect the depression of the elderly focusing on differences in residential area. In order to achieve the purpose, data from the 2020 The Korean Elderly Survey conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs were analyzed (N=9930). The data were divided into two groups, those who were living in urban area and rural area. Logistic regression was used because the dependent variable, depression, was divided into two categories: ‘no depression’ and ‘depression’ according to the depression score. As a result, among residents of urban areas, women were more likely to have depression than men and those who were educated in junior college or higher than the uneducated. On the other hand, those who were living with children or others in rural areas were about 2.4 times more likely to have depression than those who were living with spouse. In both areas, those who were working were significantly less likely to have depression than those who were not working. Among health-related variables, in both areas, the more negative self-rated health and the higher the number of chronic diseases, and having experiences with hospitalization in the past year, the higher the possibility of depression is. Currently, in the case of drinking and not exercising, the possibility of depression was significantly higher in both areas. However, smoking has had a significant impact only in urban areas. People who thought of suicide after the age of 60 were significantly more likely to have depression in the two areas than those who did not. It was found that the elderly living in urban areas caused depression due to dissatisfaction with their health condition and the friends or community, and the elderly living in rural areas caused depression due to dissatisfaction with their leisure life. According to the result, I suggest regional customized policy to protect depression of the elderly.