Yonsei Med J.  2015 Mar;56(2):418-425. 10.3349/ymj.2015.56.2.418.

Exploring the Non-Linear Relationship between Alcohol Consumption and Depression in an Elderly Population in Gangneung: The Gangneung Health Study

• Kim SA
• Kim E
• Morris RG
• Park WS

• KMID: 2070019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2015.56.2.418

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to examine a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and depression among the elderly in South Korea.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cross-section data were drawn from a community-based sample of individuals 60 years of age and older (n=1819). Respondents completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Intensification Test (AUDIT) and the Korean Beck Depression Inventory. Using a regression approach, the effect of alcohol consumption as a non-linear effect was assessed in relation to gender, marital status, exercise, smoking, age, education, and physical and mental health.
RESULTS
AUDIT total score were found to exert linear and quadratic effects that were significantly associated with higher depression scores among sample respondents. The results lend support to a J-shaped relationship between alcohol use and depression, wherein abstainers and problem drinkers were at a higher risk of depression.
CONCLUSION
This study confirms a J-shaped (i.e., curvilinear) relationship between alcohol consumption and depression among elderly South Koreans, similar to that frequently found in studies of Western-based samples. The findings of this study, therefore, imply the applicability of the J-shaped relationship hypothesis for non-Western society samples and within different cultural contexts.

Keyword

Depression; alcohol consumption; AUDIT; BDI; a J-shaped relationship; South Korean elderly population in Gangneung city

MeSH Terms

Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alcohol Drinking/*epidemiology/*psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression/*diagnosis/*epidemiology/psychology
Depressive Disorder/diagnosis/psychology
Female
Geriatric Assessment
Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Marital Status
Middle Aged
Personality Inventory
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Residence Characteristics
Smoking/epidemiology

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Curvilinear relationship between depression and alcohol consumption after controlling for other variables (n=1819). AUDIT, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; BDI, Beck Depression Inventory.

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