TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between living alone and generalized anxiety disorder in Korean adults
AU - Park, Su Min
AU - Kim, Dan Bi
AU - Joo, Min Jeong
AU - Park, Eun Cheol
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/10/1
Y1 - 2024/10/1
N2 - Background: Globally, the rise in single-person households poses a potential risk to mental health, with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) being a prominent concern. The proliferation of single-person households may exacerbate social isolation and foster loneliness and anxiety. Notably, research investigating the association between single-person households and GAD remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between single-person households and GAD across sexes in Korea. Methods: We utilized data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2021 and 2022, comprising a sample of 9936 participants aged 19 or older. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screening Tool (GAD-7) was employed to assess anxiety levels in adults. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between single-person households and GAD. Results: The reference variable used in the analysis was multi-person households (consisting of two or more individuals). The association between single-person households and GAD was statistically significant across sexes (male: odds ratio [OR]: 1.92, 95 % CI: 1.15–3.20; female: OR: 1.56, 95 % CI: 1.03–2.36). Participants in single-person households exhibited higher scores on the GAD-7 compared with those in multi-person households. Notably, marital status and education level displayed disparate effects based on sex, whereas physical activity demonstrated consistent effects irrespective of sex. Limitations: Given the use of cross-sectional data, only correlations could be established. Conclusion: The findings indicate an elevated risk of GAD in single-person households compared with multi-person households. Furthermore, promoting physical activity emerged as a potential strategy for mitigating GAD in single-person households.
AB - Background: Globally, the rise in single-person households poses a potential risk to mental health, with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) being a prominent concern. The proliferation of single-person households may exacerbate social isolation and foster loneliness and anxiety. Notably, research investigating the association between single-person households and GAD remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between single-person households and GAD across sexes in Korea. Methods: We utilized data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2021 and 2022, comprising a sample of 9936 participants aged 19 or older. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screening Tool (GAD-7) was employed to assess anxiety levels in adults. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between single-person households and GAD. Results: The reference variable used in the analysis was multi-person households (consisting of two or more individuals). The association between single-person households and GAD was statistically significant across sexes (male: odds ratio [OR]: 1.92, 95 % CI: 1.15–3.20; female: OR: 1.56, 95 % CI: 1.03–2.36). Participants in single-person households exhibited higher scores on the GAD-7 compared with those in multi-person households. Notably, marital status and education level displayed disparate effects based on sex, whereas physical activity demonstrated consistent effects irrespective of sex. Limitations: Given the use of cross-sectional data, only correlations could be established. Conclusion: The findings indicate an elevated risk of GAD in single-person households compared with multi-person households. Furthermore, promoting physical activity emerged as a potential strategy for mitigating GAD in single-person households.
KW - Education level
KW - Generalized anxiety disorder
KW - Physical activity
KW - Single-person household
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.112
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.112
M3 - Article
C2 - 39029664
AN - SCOPUS:85198924218
SN - 0165-0327
VL - 362
SP - 630
EP - 637
JO - Journal of affective disorders
JF - Journal of affective disorders
ER -