Yonsei Med J.  2011 May;52(3):502-509. 10.3349/ymj.2011.52.3.502.

Anxiety and Depression among North Korean Young Defectors in South Korea and Their Association with Health-Related Quality of Life

• Choi SK
• Min SJ
• Cho MS
• Joung H
• Park SM

• KMID: 1777024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2011.52.3.502

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study examined anxiety and depression among 108 North Korean adolescent and young adult (age, 12-29 years) defectors who settled in South Korea, and evaluated the relationship between their mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Subjects completed a questionnaire that included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Short Form with 36 questions (SF-36; consists of mental and physical health components) for measuring HRQoL, and items related to the period of time since defection and settlement and socio-demographic variables.
RESULTS
Among the participants, 53.7% scored> or =8 on the anxiety measure questionnaire, and 22.2% scored> or =11; 36.1% of the participants scored> or =8 on the depression measure questionnaire and 14.8% scored> or =11. Both anxiety and depression subscales were associated with lower scores of total SF-36, physical component and mental component score. Depressive symptom appeared more frequently among the subjects who had lived in South Korea for <1 year than among the subjects who had lived in South Korea for 2 year or longer (odds ratio=3.77, 95% confidence intervals=1.12 to 12.70).
CONCLUSION
Among North Korean adolescent and young adult defectors, anxiety and depression were associated with lower HRQoL. Therefore, it is needed to develop strategies to screen for mental health and intervene to reduce anxiety and depression during their early resettlement stage.

Keyword

Anxiety; depression; mental health; quality of life; North Korea

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Anxiety/*epidemiology
Child
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Depression/*epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Republic of Korea
Sex Factors
*Social Adjustment
Time Factors

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