Factors associated with psychological stress and distress among Korean adults: the results from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Yejin Cheon,E Hwa Yun,Jin-Kyoung Oh,Jinju Park,Bo Yoon Jeong,Eun Young Park,Min Kyung Lim

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-71789-y

Abstract

The prevalence of stress and distress has been increasing and being important public health issues; nevertheless, few studies have assessed the factors associated at the population level. This study identified factors associated and how they differentially influence stress and distress. A total of 35,105 individuals aged 19 years and older using nationally representative data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007–2012) were included in the study. Subjects were differentiated by gender and psychological state (no symptoms, stress, distress). The associations of socio-demographics, psychosocial factors, health behaviours, and chronic illness with psychological states were analysed by gender. Socio-demographics and psychosocial factors such as lower household income, lower education level, living alone or negative outcome of marriage, and unemployment were associated with distress in both genders. Male and female educated higher and with short sleep duration, male living alone and with higher household income, and female married and with a lower household income was associated with stress. A perceived body image of slim or fat was associated with distress and stress in both genders. Behavioural factors, such as smoking, higher alcohol consumption, and abnormal calorie intake, were associated with stress and distress in both genders, with the exception of alcohol consumption in distress and abnormal calorie intake in stress of male. Socio-economic deprivation and negative psychosocial and behavioural factors were differently associated with psychological distress or stress by gender. Intervention strategies for distress and stress should be specifically tailored regarding these differences.

Highlights

The prevalence of stress and distress has been increasing and being important public health issues; few studies have assessed the factors associated at the population level
Compared with the no symptom and psychological stress alone groups, both male and female subjects with psychological distress were more likely to be older, live in country, have lower education level, have lower household income, have negative marriage outcome, live alone without family members, be unemployed, have a slim perceived body image (PBI), have shorter or longer sleep duration, have ever been smokers, be non-drinkers, have a low calorie intake, and have chronic illness. The distribution of these factors was inversed among subjects with psychological stress alone when they were compared with the no symptom group
The current findings show the associations between various factors and psychological stress and psychological distress (Figs. 1, 2)

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of stress and distress has been increasing and being important public health issues; few studies have assessed the factors associated at the population level. The associations of socio-demographics, psychosocial factors, health behaviours, and chronic illness with psychological states were analysed by gender. Socio-economic deprivation and negative psychosocial and behavioural factors were differently associated with psychological distress or stress by gender. Several factors have been investigated with respect to their role in psychological stress and distress: sociodemographics, health behaviours, and the psychosocial environment. Age, household income, education, and occupation are sociodemographic factors that have been investigated[6,7] Clinical illness such as pulmonary disease, asthma, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dementia, mental disability, cancer, and degenerative diseases, has been studied as a strong predictors of psychological stress and distress in some of previous studies focusing on the association of a specific chronic illness[17]. The associations found between the aforementioned factors and psychological stress and distress have been inconsistent due to differences in study design, target population, and other potential factors included in analyses, and there are lack of studies to include potential factors associated with psychological stress and distress, comprehensively

Methods

Results

Conclusion