Differences in Health-related Quality of Life and Mental Health by Living Arrangement among Korean Elderly in the KNHANES 2010–2012
Abstract
Background: This cross-sectional study examined the association between types of living arrangements, quality of life, and mental health of the Korean elderly.
Methods: We used secondary data analysis from the data of 4248 elderly people aged 65 yr or older that completed the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010–2012). Data concerning participants’ demographic characteristics, living arrangements, quality of life, and mental health were used. Data were analyzed using the SAS survey procedure.
Results: The living arrangements were as follows: living alone=18.3%, living with a spouse only =44.5%, living with family without a spouse =13.4%, and living with family including a spouse=23.8%. Mobility, self-care, usual activity, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression significantly differed by living arrangement. In the final model corrected for covariance, for the elderly living with their families without a spouse compared to the elderly living with a spouse only, the odds ratios were the following: stress =1.40 (95% CI: 1.03–1.91), depression=1.48 (95% CI: 1.07–2.04), and suicidal ideation=1.48 (95% CI: 1.10–2.00). The odds ratio of suicidal ideation of elderly living alone compared to the elderly living with a spouse only was 1.32 (95% CI: 1.01–1.72). Finally, the elderly living with family without a spouse or living alone had an increased risk of stress, depression, and suicidal ideation. In addition, they had decreased health-related quality of life.
Conclusion: Health-related quality of life and mental health differ by living arrangement in elderly adults. Therefore, interventions to improve quality of life and mental health for the elderly who are living without a spouse are necessary.
Korea National Statistical Office (2013). 2013 Statistics on the aged. Korea National Statistical Office: Daejon.
Park EA, Lee IS (2009). Factors affecting the depression of the elderly women in poverty. Journal of Agricultural Medicine and Community Health, 34(2), 256–266. doi: 10.5393/jamch.2009.34.2.256
OECD (2013). Health at a glance 2013: OECD indicators, OECD Publishing. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/health_glance-2013-en.
Korean Association for Suicide Prevention (2011). Annual suicide report in Korea. Korean Association for Suicide Prevention: Seoul.
Streib GF, Beck RW (1980). Older families: A decade review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 42(4), 937–956.
Yu GS, Park HS (2003). Comparison of health status between senior people living alone and those who live with their families. Journal of the Korean Gerontological Society, 23(4), 163–179.
Lee MA, Kim J, Kang JH (2011). Living ar-rangement and the life satisfaction of Korean older adults: Examining the mediating effects of parent-adult child relationship. Health Soc Sci, 29, 41–67.
Kim JG (2011). The impact of family type on health behavior of elderly people. Journal of Welfare for the Aged, 51, 35–55.
Rueda S, Artazcoz L (2009). Gender inequality in health among elderly people in a combined framework of socioeconomic position, family characteristics and social support. Ageing and Society, 29(4), 625–647.
Park JH, Cheong JH (2010). The influence of depression on the life satisfaction of the elderly people living alone: A mediating effect of problem drinking. Journal of Welfare for the Aged, 47, 309–329.
Han SS, Kang SW, Jeong SH (2012). Expe-riences of depressive symptom and suicidal thinking between the elderly living alone and the elderly couples. The Korean Journal of Health Service Management, 6(3), 29–38. doi: 10.12811/kshsm.2012.6.3.029
Jang SN, Kawachi I, Chang J, Boo K, Shin HG, Lee H, Cho SI (2009). Marital status, gender, and depression: Analysis of the baseline survey of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA). Soc Sci Med, 69(11), 1608–1615.
Kim DB, Sohn ES (2005). A meta-analysis of the variables related to depression in elderly. Journal of the Korean Gerontological Society, 25(4), 167–187.
Oh DH, Park JH, Lee HY, Kim SA, Choi BY, Nam JH (2015). Association between living arrangements and depressive symptoms among older women and men in South Korea. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 50(1), 133–141.
Russell D, Taylor J (2009). Living alone and depressive symptoms: The influence of gender, physical disability, and social support among Hispanic and non-Hispanic older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, 64B(1), 95–104.
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011). Korea health statistics 2010: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-1). Available from: https://knhanes.cdc.go.kr/knhanes/index.do
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012). Korea health statistics 2011: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-2). Available from: https://knhanes.cdc.go.kr/knhanes/index.do
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). Korea health statistics 2012: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-3). https://knhanes.cdc.go.kr/knhanes/index.do
EuroQol Group (1990). EuroQol--A new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life. Health Policy, 16(3), 199–208.
Lee YK, Nam HS, Chung LH et al (2009). South Korean time trade-off values for EQ-5D health status: Modeling with observed values for 101 health states. Value Health, 12(8), 1187–1193.
Lee ES, Shin HC, Yang YJ, Cho JJ, Ahn KY, Kim SH (2010). Development of the stress questionnaire for KNHANES: Report of scientific study service. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gigantesco A, Morosini P (2008). Development, reliability and factor analysis of a self-administered questionnaire which originates from the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview–Short Form (CIDI-SF) for assessing mental disorders. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health, 10;4:8.
Kim KH, Cho YY, Shin DW, Lee JH, Ko YJ, Par SM (2013). Comparison of physical and mental health status between cancer survivors and the general population: A Korean population-based survey (KNHANES II-IV). Supportive Care Cancer, 21, 3471–3481.
Gaynes BN1, West SL, Ford CA et al (2004). Screening for suicide risk in adults: A summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med, 140(10), 822–835.
Byeon HW (2012). The trend of the association between amount of smoking and self-reported voice problem. Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial Cooperation Society, 13(3), 1246–1254. doi: 10.5762/KAIS.2012.13.3.1246
Ryan H, Trosclair A, Gfroerer J (2012). Adult current smoking: Differences in definitions and prevalence estimates–NHIS and NSDUH, 2008. J Environ Public Health, 1–11.
Kim MK (2000). Sociological approach of family for the study of the elderly's welfare–women's role for caring the elderly. Korean J Sociol, 34(SPR), 65–84.
Jeong SS, Kim JS (2014). Comparison of health behaviors and health level between elders living alone and those living with a spouse. Global Health & Nursing, 4(1), 27–36.
Kim S (2008). A comparative analysis on the poverty of female householders in Korea. Health and Social Welfare Review, 28(2), 33–52.
Jang MH (2013). A poverty solution of low-income elderly women in Korea and their life conditions. Health Welfare Policy Forum, 206, 18–27.
Gornick JC, Sierminska E, Smeeding TM (2009). The income and wealth packages of older women in cross-national perspective. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, 64(3), 402–414.
Shin SH, Sok SR (2012). A comparison of the factors influencing life satisfaction between Korean older people living with family and living alone. Int Nurs Rev, 59(2): 252–258.
Sandilands EA, Bateman DN (2007). Self-poisoning by the older person: A review. Rev Clin Gerontol, 17(3): 191–198.
Schroepfer TA (2008). Social relationships and their role in the consideration to hasten death. Gerontologist, 48(5): 612–621.
Raue PJ, Meyers BS, Rowe JL, Heo M, Bruce ML (2007). Suicidal ideation among elderly homecare patients. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 22(1), 32–37.
Harwood DMJ, Hawton K, Hope T, Harriss L, Jacoby R (2006). Life problems and physical illness as risk factors for suicide in older people: A descriptive and case-control study. Psychol Med, 36(9), 1265–1274.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 46 No 11 (2017) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Quality of life Mental health Living arrangements Elderly | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
