• Anxiety and mood
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 2010

Objective : The reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ- 9) was examined in Korean patients with depressive symptoms. Methods : Eighty six outpatients diagnosed as major depressive disorder or depressive episode of bipolar I disorder according to the DSM-IV criteria were assessed with the PHQ-9, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self Report (QIDS-SR), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results : The Cronbach's alpha coefficient from the PHQ-9 was 0.81. And the correlations of each item with the total score were statistically significant (r=0.28-0.70, p<0.01). The test-retest correlation coefficient (r=0.89, p<0.01) was relatively high and correlations of the PHQ-9 with the HDRS, QIDS-SR and CES-D were 0.70, 0.81, and 0.81 respectively. Conclusion : These results demonstrated that the Korean version of PHQ-9 could be a reliable and valid tool for the screening and assessment of depressive patients. The Korean version of PHQ-9 will be a useful tool for screening depressive symptoms in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2016

Objectives : As the prevalence of elderly depression increases, it becomes urgent problem to provide preventive and management measures. But in practice, it is difficult to detect depression in early stage. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between sociodemographic factors and depression in elderly welfare facility users in a city. Methods : In this research, the severity of depression and sociodemographic factors(gender, age, education, co-morbid disease, housing type, number of children, number of family members living with the subjects) was evaluated through PHQ-9 and interview. Using the data, the associations of depression and sociodemographic factors were analyzed. Based on PHQ-9 depression cut-off value(10 points), the subjects were divided into two groups, and the difference of the variables between groups were analyzed statistically. Results : 'Own house'(YES/NO), education(less than elementary school graduation/more than elementary school graduation) were sociodemographic factors which showed significance difference in mean PHQ-9 scores. Group with Over PHQ-9 10 points showed less 'having their own house' and less education level than group with less PHQ-9 10 points. Conclusions : With this research, it is expected that the risk factors for the elderly depression can be understood and the measures for early detection and invention of elderly depression would be provided.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.136-143
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• 2021

Objectives : The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a global medical crisis imposing particular burden on public sector employees. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychiatric distress among public sector workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional study with 531 public sector workers in Gwangmyung city who completed Korean versions of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised-Korean (IES-R-K). Results : The results revealed more than moderate levels of stress (85.2%), depressive symptoms (22.2%), and posttraumatic stress symptoms (38.8%). PSS total score was significantly correlated with PHQ-9, IES-R-K total scores as well as IES-R-K subscale scores. Total scores on the PSS, PHQ-9, and IES-R-K were all inversely correlated with age. Conclusions : COVID-19-related workers experience considerable stress and depressive symptoms, with self-rated stress correlating significantly with depression scores. Age may serve as a protective factor against occupational stress and burnout. These findings highlight the need for adequate psychiatric screening and intervention for public sector workers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.381-391
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• 2023

This study was conducted to analyze relationships between depression indices, mini nutritional assessment scores, and nutritional quotients among 80 elderly in Yangpyeong-gun and to identify factors that help prevent depression and malnutrition. Nutrition assessment scores were low in the high-risk group (PHQ-9 score ≥10), and nutritional quotient scores were lower in the high-risk group than in the normal group (PHQ-9 score ≤4). Interestingly, the consumption frequencies of fruits, eggs, and nuts were low in the high-risk group, and subjective health awareness, dental condition, and sleep were poorer. The total PHQ-9 score was correlated with malnutrition, body mass index, calf circumference, weight change, independent daily living, reduced meal amount, water intake, and the need for help when eating. Analysis of correlations between items of the PHQ-9 and nutritional status evaluation indices showed that a self-perceived feeling of depression, low energy, difficulty controlling sleep or appetite, negative thoughts (e.g., failure, disappointment), and difficulty concentrating were negatively correlated with total nutritional status scores. These results show that attention is required when food or water intake decreases and that deviation from normal sleep and appetite cycles flags the need to prepare guidelines to prevent depression.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.18-26
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• 2013

Objectives : Type D personality was originally introduced to study the role of personality in predicting outcomes of heart disease. However, researches showed that other medical conditions are also affected by this personality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between type D personality and somatic symptom complaints in depressive patients. Methods : Eighty-two individuals diagnosed with depressive disorder were included. Type D personality was measured with DS14. Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ) 9 and 15 were used to measure depression severity and somatization tendencies. For alexithymia, TAS-20 was used. Student T-test and linear regression analysis were performed. The best regression model was determined by stepwise variable selection. Results : More than half of the subjects(56%) complained at least medium degree somatic symptoms according to PHQ-15 criteria. Two-thirds of the subjects were classified as Type D personality(63.4%). The mean PHQ-15 score of the Type D individuals was significantly higher than the remaining subjects(PHQ-15 mean=12.7, $p=8.2{\times}10^{-7}$). The best regression model included age, PHQ-9 score and NA subscale score as predictor variables. Among these, only the coefficients of age($p=1.5{\times}10^{-3}$) and NA score($p=1.5{\times}10^{-7}$) were found to be statistically significant. Conclusions : The result showed that Type D personality was one of the strong predictors of somatic complaints among depressive individuals. The finding that negative affectivity rather than social inhibition was more closely associated with somatization tendencies does not fully agree with the traditional explanation that inability to express negative emotion predispose the individuals to somatic symptoms. The finding that alexithymia was not shown to be a significant predictors also substantiated this discrepancy. However, it might be possible that the high correlation between NA and SI subscore(r=0.65) and between NA and TAS-20 score(r=0.44) hid the additional effects of social inhibition and alexithymia. Further research with a larger sample would be needed to investigate the effects of the latter two components over and above the effect of negative affectivity on the somatic complaints in depressive patients.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.27-43
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• 2013

Objectives : We surveyed this study for knowing the relation within stress, depression and medical comorbidities, and finding the risk factors of major depression. Methods : 1764 subjects were enrolled from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2009 who visit Korea University Guro hospital healthcare center. The subjects answered the questionnaire of PSS(Perceived Stress Scale), PHQ-9(Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and the demographic data. We categorized them as the stress group, depressive group, medical comorbidity group and analyzed the correlation analyses and logistic regression analyses. Results : 198 of 1764 subjects(11.8%) were applied to major depression, and the depressive group showed the higher mean stress score(23.19) and mean depression score(12.95) than the normal group. The total PHQ-9 score was increased by perceiving more stress, having more medical comorbidities. The subjects with female, visiting due to recent health problems, irregular exercise, current smoking, history of angina and cerebrovascular disease showed the increased risk of major depression. Conclusions : In this study, we find the PSS, PHQ-9 were valuable for mental health screening in healthcare center. As perceiving more stress and having more medical comorbidity, risk of major depression were increased. Accordingly the individuals with medical diseases or unhealthy lifestyle would need the mental health screen.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.10
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• pp.549-559
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of depression in Korean middle-aged adults and to identify the gender difference in factors associated with the severity of depression. The data of 2,241 individuals who participated in the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2014 were used. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed. The prevalence rate of moderate to severe depression ($PHQ-9{\geq}10$) was identified at 5.2% (men 3.3%, women 7.0%). The factors associated with the severity of depression in men were younger age, living in metropolitan, unemployed, lower body mass index, and heavily drinking. On the other hand, women were affected by having no spouse, lower income, limited physical activity, and sleeping shorter hours.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.40-44
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• 2013

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the differences according to depressive symptom-related difficulty status. Methods 2828 participants were a divided into depressive symptom-related difficulty group (difficult group, n = 774), and a non-depressive symptom-related difficulty group (not difficult group, n = 2054). The psychological character of the participants were assessed using the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Statistical analyses were done using t-test, chi-square, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results Compared with the no difficulty group, the difficulty group reported significantly higher score in all items of PHQ-9. The score of "feeling tired" was the highest and the score of "suicidal ideation" is the lowest in both groups. ANCOVA analysis that is adjusted with the total score of PHQ-9 showed the differences in SWLS, GHQ-12, and CD-RISC scores between the difficulty group and the no difficulty group. Conclusions The findings suggest that there are different characters on PHQ-9, SWLS, GHQ-12, and CD-RISC according to depressive symptom-related difficulty. Therefore, it is required not only to evaluate depressive symptoms in patients with depression, but also the depressive symptom-related difficulty to understand these differences.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.138-146
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• 2019

Objectives : This study examined the association between depression and survival time in terminal cancer patients admitted to the palliative care unit. Emotional problems are important for terminal cancer patients in the palliative care unit, and evaluation of patients' depression plays an important role in treatment planning. Methods : From October 2015 to August 2018, we conducted a retrospective study of 291 terminal cancer patients admitted to a palliative care unit at a university hospital and evaluated depression with PHQ-9 at admission. Of the 291 patients, 146 (50.2%) completed PHQ-9 but 145 (49.8%) were not evaluated due to loss of consciousness or rejection. Results : 4-week survival rate in the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were 45.4% in the non-depressed group (PHQ-9<10) and 18.7% in the depressed group (PHQ-9≥10). According to the severity of depression, in the Cox proportional hazard model, the risk of mortality in moderate, moderately sever and severe group was 2.778, 1.882 and 3.423 times higher than minimal group, respectively. Conclusions : Of the patients with terminal cancer who were admitted to the palliative care unit, the survival time was shorter in the depressed group than in the non-depressed group. Further research is needed to determine if treatment of depression increase the survival in terminal cancer patients.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.179-188
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• 2017

Objectives : This study tried to examine whether there is any difference between the middle-aged men and women in terms of the effect of health-related and oral health-related characteristics on their depressive symptoms (PHQ-9). Methods : We used the 2nd year data of the 6th session of the National Health and Nutrition Survey of 2,008 adults(aged40~64 years) for fulfilling the research objectives. Results : The analysis showed that among middle-aged male and female respondents, household income, subjective health conditions, and stress perception among health-related characteristics had common elements affecting their depressive symptoms. The self-reported oral health conditions affected depressive symptoms for male respondents. On the other hand, chewing problems and contraction of periodontal disease affected depressive symptoms of female respondents. Conclusions : Thus, it is necessary to consider the effect of sex in the relationship between health-related and oral health-related characteristics, and to make efforts to develop differential programs to manage and prevent depressive symptoms among men and women.